Climate driven design shapes Stella office tower in Nagpur

In Nagpur, one of India’s hottest cities, where summer temperatures climb to 48 degrees Celsius, Stella proposes an alternative to the fully glazed office tower. Designed by Sanjay Puri Architects, the fourteen storey commercial building rethinks workplace architecture in a tropical climate, replacing the anonymous glass box with a layered, breathable envelope shaped by light, heat and air.

Built on a compact 836 square metre plot, the project delivers 5,575 square metres of office space across fourteen levels. Four offices are arranged on each floor. The limited footprint and mandatory setbacks necessitated a vertical configuration, yet the building avoids the sense of compression often associated with dense urban sites. Instead, its massing is animated by semicircular decks that carve depth into the façade and extend the workspace outward.

The envelope functions as an environmental mediator. Open decks and integrated planters are wrapped in aluminium louvers that alternate horizontally and vertically around the perimeter. This layered skin reduces direct solar gain while filtering daylight into the interiors. Vegetation forms a continuous green buffer, cooling the building envelope and establishing shaded microclimates that temper the harsh western sun. The result is a façade that performs as both climatic device and architectural identity.

The service and circulation core is placed along the eastern edge, liberating the north, west and south façades for workspaces with natural light and cross ventilation. Larger office units occupy the front and rear, benefitting from extended views and shaded outdoor terraces. Indirect sunlight and controlled airflow create comfortable interiors without relying solely on mechanical cooling, lowering operational energy demand in a city where air conditioning is often unavoidable.

Stella rejects the generic glass curtain wall that has become synonymous with contemporary commercial development. Instead, it demonstrates how passive design strategies can generate form, spatial quality and visual character. The interplay of louvers, shadow and planted terraces produces a dynamic surface that shifts throughout the day, transforming environmental necessity into architectural expression.

Completed in January 2026 for Prestige Builders, Stella stands as a compact yet ambitious response to its context. By integrating greenery, shading devices and orientation based planning, the building positions sustainability not as an add on but as the driver of its design language. In a region defined by extreme heat, Stella proposes a workplace rooted in climate intelligence, spatial generosity and contemporary form.

Project Credit

Project name: Stella
No. of Floors: G+14
Location: Nagpur, Maharashtra, India
Completed: January 2026
Size: 60,000 sq.ft. (5574.14 sq.m.) 
Design firm: Sanjay Puri Architects  / @sanjay_puri_architects
Photo: Vinay Panjwani / @panjwani.vinay

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