SCREEN 504 Residential Building by Sanjay Puri Architects

Rising 21 storeys above the urban fabric of Udaipur, the SCREEN 504 Residential Building by Sanjay Puri Architects offers a contemporary reinterpretation of the region’s traditional screened architecture. Located on a compact 3,690 sqm site surrounded by distant Aravalli hills, the project comprises 78 family-sized apartments arranged to maximize views, daylight, and cross-ventilation. With temperatures in Rajasthan soaring between 35°C and 48°C during summer, the building draws inspiration from centuries-old architectural responses to heat—particularly the deep, screened balconies of 16th- and 17th-century palaces and havelis. These passive cooling elements inform a new model of high-rise living that merges climatic intelligence with modern comfort.

Each of the four apartments per floor is situated within one quadrant of the plan, ensuring dual-aspect orientation and views toward two directions. This quadrant arrangement not only grants privacy but also establishes a rhythmic façade that reflects the internal logic of the tower. Despite strict zoning constraints—mandatory setbacks of 14 meters on all sides and a height limit of 70 meters—the architects formulated an efficient 36 × 30 meter block that maintains spatial generosity, openness, and a constant relationship with the surrounding landscape.

Reinterpreting Traditional Screening for Contemporary Living

A defining feature of SCREEN 504 lies in its varied decks: a sequence of open and screened balconies that act as climatic filters between interior rooms and the outdoors. Every apartment includes five outdoor spaces—one for the living room and one for each of the four bedrooms—allowing residents to modulate sun, shade, airflow, and privacy throughout the day.

The sliding perforated screens draw from traditional motifs, forming intricate patterns that create dappled light while reducing heat gain. Residents can adjust the opacity of these screens depending on weather conditions, offering a customizable experience of indoor-outdoor living. Unique to the project, one balcony per unit extends vertically across 20 feet, enabling either a dramatic double-height outdoor room or two stacked single-height spaces. This flexibility adds volumetric richness to the façade and enhances passive ventilation by creating taller air channels along the building’s perimeter.

Interior Planning with Minimal Circulation and Maximum Outlook

Given the site constraints and permissible built-up area of 20,000 sqm, the architects prioritized a layout with minimal internal corridors, ensuring that every primary room opens outward to natural light and expansive views. The apartments are spacious and logically organized, with circulation positioned away from the building’s edges to free the façade for living spaces.

The design supports cross-ventilation through dual-orientation, while generous balconies function as extended living areas that respond to changing seasons. The façade’s layering of screens and voids creates a dynamic interplay of solids and perforations, transforming the high-rise into a climatically sensitive, regionally rooted architectural expression.

Community Spaces Connected to Landscape and Light

At ground level, the project integrates a sequence of shared amenities—including a gym, swimming pool, community hall, and games room—framed by landscaped outdoor zones and low site walls made from locally sourced sandstone. A rooftop terrace with a garden provides additional social space and panoramic views of Udaipur’s hillscape. These communal areas strengthen the social life of the building, anchoring it within its environment while offering respite from the dense urban setting.

Parking is accommodated in a single basement, preserving ground-level permeability and allowing the landscape to remain an integral part of the residential experience.

Sustainable Strategies Embedded in Local Materiality and Resource Cycles

SCREEN 504 incorporates numerous sustainable strategies, many of them low-tech and rooted in regional construction traditions. The full perimeter of the balconies and rooftop terraces is drained into a rainwater harvesting system, reducing reliance on external water supply. Greywater is recycled and reused for irrigation, supporting the landscaped areas that soften the development.

Construction choices further reinforce environmental responsibility. Internal walls are made from fly-ash brick, while site boundaries and garden elements use sandstone sourced locally. All construction labour was drawn from nearby communities, strengthening local economies and minimizing transportation emissions. These measures collectively reflect an architectural ethos that embraces both environmental stewardship and cultural continuity.

A Climate-Responsive Urban Residence for Udaipur

SCREEN 504 embodies a sensitive dialogue between modern vertical living and the vernacular strategies that have shaped Rajasthan’s architectural legacy for centuries. Through adaptive screened balconies, efficient planning, sustainable systems, and attention to local tradition, Sanjay Puri Architects have created a residential building that is not only energy efficient, but also deeply attuned to regional character. In a rapidly urbanizing context, the project stands as a model of how contemporary housing can remain contextual, climate-responsive, and rich with spatial variety for its residents.