The new two storeyed structure had been under development for the better part of 2015. The ground floor holds a children’s fitness center while the AR studio is housed on the upper floor. Both spaces had separate entrances, split under a shaded drop off area, courtesy, a bridge at upper level which in turn binds the sprawling architectural form as one entity.

We had been playing with the idea of a fabric-like envelope for the facade. What was conceived, among other things, provides partial shade to the spaces inside.

Due to cost and time constraints, we had to let go of some schemes. Passive cooling strategies to reduce temperatures, extensive green cover, an open office layout, a building automation system to monitor energy usage and on-site solar energy plant, are some of the features. The heliotropic louvres around some of the windows help maximize partial shading throughout the day.

As Project Architect, I had to coordinate the sequential execution of various processes on site. I had to supervise and delegate work to juniors and keep the design director updated. I now know, how planning in advance, from designing to execution, can be likened to maintaining an optimal distance from vehicles in front, while driving. If the current stage suffers changes, following a blueprint can help restructure the plan so that work on site is not stalled. I also learnt how monitored allocation of resources can ensure cost effective execution.

In this project, I saw some of my contributions reach execution while many more did not. However, instead of dejection, I became aware of the vision of other stakeholders and experienced how collaborative optimization may churn out the best fit results from the multiple aspirations held for a project. I made my share of blunders and suffered oversight: the price I paid for the lessons learnt.

Apical Reform Design Team

Design Director - Darshan Soni
Project Architect - Maharshi Bhattacharya
Junior Architect - Gauri Mathur
CG & Creative Input - Manoj Patel
Photography - Anil Patel (Apical Reform)