VR Mall, Chennai
Chennai
- Client
- VR Mall, Chennai
- Location
- Chennai
- Year
- 2022
- Sector
- Retail
- Architect
- Broadway Malyan
- Developer
- Virtuous Retail
- Certification
- LEED Gold
VR Mall in Anna Nagar stands as one of Chennai's most recognisable lifestyle and cultural destinations. Designed by the architectural firm Broadway Malyan, the building's striking façade draws inspiration from the towering temple Gopurams of Tamil Nadu and the vibrant geometry of the Madras Check.
To bring this vision to life, TPRS Glass supplied specialised coloured glass solutions processed using its advanced ceramic printing technology. The façade features five distinct colours arranged in varying panel sizes across the North, East, West, and South entrances. These colours were created using TPRS Innovink ceramic screen printing, where each shade is precisely applied and then heat-treated. The ceramic inks fuse permanently into the glass surface, ensuring long-lasting brightness, UV stability, and weather-resistant performance throughout the building's lifespan.
TPRS Glass's solution not only delivered the desired aesthetic richness but also provided a sustainable, low-maintenance, and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional cladding materials.
Developed by Virtuous Retail and awarded LEED Gold certification, VR Mall stands today as a contemporary landmark where culture and innovation intersect.
Glass Solutions Used
- TPRS Innovink – Ceramic Screen-Printed Glass
Glass Range
Lines used in retail work
Glass Insights
Retail glazing questions
Toughened or laminated glass, in the largest panels the structure and the opening will take. Retail wants uninterrupted sightlines with as few joints as possible, which pushes thickness up, and at that size safety glass is mandatory rather than a choice. Ground-floor frontage is also the most exposed position in a building, which is an argument for laminated construction that stays in the opening after an impact.
With fired ceramic ink, not film or paint. Ceramic inks are printed onto the glass and fused into the surface during the toughening cycle, so the colour becomes part of the glass and will not fade under ultraviolet light, wash off in rain, or peel. This is the only durable route for anything on a weather-exposed elevation.
Fired ceramic ink will not. Because the frit melts into the glass surface in the furnace it is as durable as the glass itself and is unaffected by sunlight, rain or cleaning. Lacquered and back-painted coatings are interior products and should not be used outside.
It follows from the pane dimensions, the design wind pressure and how many edges are supported, not from a rule of thumb. A four-edge supported pane behaves very differently from a two-edge supported one, so the thickness schedule should come from a calculation against the actual elevation.