TRANSCENDING CURVES

While working on an adaptive reuse project in this studio, the focus was on creating spaces that transform based on future needs and thus the design transitions present concepts of voids and arches through form, material, and overall structure in a way that creates a cohesive visual appearance while also creating a new spatial experience. This experience would be based on exposing the building to let in more daylight and designing passive strategies to enhance the micro-climate.

EXISTING STRUCTURE

The existing structure consists of a combined geometry of two buildings. The aim is to preserve the existing wood and reuse it in the form of CLT slabs to reduce the carbon footprint

CONCRETE BRACING

The existing facade is tied together and strengthened by giving additional support with the help of reinforced concrete columns and beams

CONCRETE CORE

Shear walls are constructed in the center of the building to protect it from lateral wind loads

ADDITIONAL STRUCTURE

Additional columns and beams tie the bracing of the existing structure to the core to establish stability in the structure

FACADE LAYERS

The final design with layers of facade braced by the internal structural grid

Managed a team of five junior architects to develop conceptual designs and facade studies for this project. Therefore the project is a combination of different user types & activities and therefore the zones were divided vertically to segregate the circulation. Dealing with such contrasting end-users with a heavy requirement of parking and other axillary spaces on a contour plot required designing not just horizontally but also on multiple levels in cross section.

An entire floor was dedicated to the commercial and hotel lobby to manage the footfall consequently, increasing the grandness of the space because of its volume. The lobby is designed to hold the heavy footfall of the hotel and commercial users. Landscape spaces on the front facade act as a noise barrier from the highway across for the lobby area. The 6M height gives the delusion of grandeur to the spaces while connecting the interiors to the external landscape by adding glass partitions, this allows the illusion of expanse to continue.

Garden retreats with water cascades, pools and framed views, become spaces for socialising and rejuvenating amid nature. Groves of indigenous trees create areas of privacy.