Cielo is a 12-level residential building in Nagpur, India, featuring one apartment per floor. On a compact 900-square-metre plot, it maximises a 270-square-metre plinth to reach a 3600-square-metre built-up area.

Responding to Nagpur’s extreme heat (exceeding 40 degrees Celsius), rooms open onto balconies with perforated screens that reduce heat and promote airflow. These screens curve to create two-storey-high shaded decks. With bedrooms at corners and central living areas, the design uses passive cooling and traditional principles to create a sustainable, vertical community on a restricted urban site.

Photography: Vinay Panjwani