This design for a 5000 sq.m. building on a 2100 sq.m. lot in a semi industrial suburb of New Delhi in India attempts to insert a functionally and visually sophisticated office into gritty, visually unkempt surroundings.
While the clients desired a state of the art office to reflect the dynamic nature of their global travel company and to provide an energizing workspace for its team : The architects were keen to explore other dimensions possible in an office building : from issues of sustainability to those of climate and context appropriate expressive yet distinct form while ensuring clarity and simplicity of planning principles for maximum flexibility and reuse and maximizing occupant wellness.
Discarding the glass box aesthetic, the materiality of the built form merges industrial materials like a raw steel framework with polished materials like metal sheathing, thin tile cladding and extensive yet shaded screened glazing into a visually complex and articulated exterior using a restrained material palette in shades of grey, while the suspended frame of planters make greenery itself a core feature of the exterior.
The internal spaces are sheltered and screened to provide a quietened interiorized atmosphere while they actively engage visually & functionally with the street below. Diverse features are employed to minimize energy consumption & footprint : Maximal day lighting, passive cooling principles like the external green screens & proposed shading solar parasol, Low E glazing, post tensioning technology, recycled waste water and eschewing use of quarried stone or felled hardwoods.
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