Designing commercial workplaces for increasingly hot climates has become one of architecture’s defining challenges. In the Indian city of Jaipur, where summer temperatures exceed 40°C for much of the year, The Primus by Sanjay Puri Architects demonstrates how passive design, integrated landscape, and flexible planning can shape a more resilient, energy-conscious workplace.
In many hot climates, commercial office buildings continue to depend heavily on mechanical cooling to maintain comfortable working conditions. Greater emphasis on energy efficiency, occupant wellbeing, and climate resilience is prompting architects to revisit passive environmental strategies that respond to local conditions while reducing operational energy demand.
The Primus, a recently completed nine-storey office building in Jaipur, reflects this shift in thinking. Designed by Sanjay Puri Architects, the project turns a constrained urban site into a workplace where environmental performance is embedded in the architecture.
Designing within constraints
Located beside Jaipur Airport, the site was subject to strict height limitations. The building could rise no higher than 30 metres, yet it still had to deliver a commercially viable office scheme capable of serving multiple tenants while allowing flexibility for future expansion.
The architects responded with a building composed of a series of capsule-shaped volumes stacked vertically, with eight office suites per floor ranging from 60m2 to 125m2. A flexible structural grid allows adjoining units to be combined into larger workspaces as tenant requirements evolve.
Architecture shaped by climate
Jaipur experiences prolonged periods of intense heat, with temperatures exceeding 40°C for nearly eight months of the year. Under such conditions, limiting solar heat gain is as critical as providing efficient commercial space.
Every office opens onto a sheltered planter terrace through large sliding glazed openings. Wrapped in vertical aluminium screens, these outdoor spaces act as shaded environmental buffers.
The landscaped terraces shade the building envelope, reduce direct solar exposure, filter daylight, and soften views towards the surrounding roads and airport. The screening also helps mitigate traffic and aircraft noise from the adjacent arterial road and airport while preserving natural daylight and outward views.
Collectively, these measures reduce solar heat gain, improve thermal comfort, and lessen reliance on mechanical cooling, contributing to a more energy-efficient workplace.
Bringing nature into a compact urban site
With a site area of about 1,735m2 and a building footprint of 1,116m2, the development left little opportunity for conventional ground-level landscaping.
Greenery is distributed throughout the building through planter terraces that wrap every floor, creating continuous landscaped buffers.
A landscaped rooftop garden further extends usable outdoor space, giving occupants access to greenery despite the site’s high-density constraints.
Beyond their visual appeal, the planted terraces contribute to shading, cooling, and the building’s passive climate control, while reinforcing the project’s biophilic design approach.
Flexibility for changing workplaces
Flexible office layouts have become increasingly important as occupier requirements continue to evolve.
The Primus addresses this through modular office spaces that can accommodate different tenant sizes over time. Individual office units can operate independently or be combined into larger floorplates without altering the building’s overall organisation.
This adaptability enhances the building’s long-term usability and reduces the need for significant alterations as business requirements change.
Designing for a warmer future
At The Primus, environmental performance is woven into the architectural concept rather than added through technology alone.
Its composition is driven as much by climate response as by architectural expression. Integrated planting, external shading, opportunities for natural ventilation, and adaptable planning collectively improve building performance.
As temperatures continue to rise across many regions, commercial buildings will increasingly be expected to balance energy efficiency, occupant wellbeing and commercial viability without relying solely on mechanical systems.
The Primus suggests that the next generation of office buildings in hot climates will be defined less by increasingly complex building services than by architecture that responds intelligently to its environment. Its greatest achievement lies not in its capsule-shaped form, but in the way that form supports comfort, flexibility, and long-term environmental performance.
Images: Courtesy of Vinay Panjwani
