City: NOIDA (U.P.)

Nestled on the foothills of the Himalayas in the city of Dehradun, a facility for assisted living sits in hypnotic tranquility. The plot is around 4 acres which is surrounded by dense Mango & Litchi orchards and a British Bungalow, dating back to the Colonial Period. The approach was to capitulate to a design solution that would respect the heritage and natural environment of the site. Although the plot was in the middle of an urban landscape, it still had its independent eco-system with orchards. This instilled a sense of safety due to the site’s proximity to city-facilities yet enjoying the calming shade of green foliage.

Detail of Construction Materials:

Terracotta jaleli tiles for Jallie screens in façade 

Steel pipes for V-shaped members

Exposed brick work in the wall going along the corridor spine

Earthy color palette and natural and exposed materials used for a soothing effect

Wooden veneer with spirit polish for all doors.

Grass pavers used in the landscaped 

Kota Stone for open to sky stage area & hardscaping

Special Features:

Conservation of Heritage Bungalow & Planning Building Footprint without cutting any trees:

There were two necessary aspects of the site that had to be taken into consideration before starting the design. First, the old British Bungalow had to be celebrated instead of merely standing indifferently with the upcoming construction. Second, to obtain clear space for the new structure by cutting trees to an absolute minimum. Favourably, a relatively empty patch of land was located right opposite to the bungalow. This enabled the possibility of the new structure to face the bungalow and share the same line of symmetry. To make things tricky, in the open space, there were still three trees standing in its middle. On deeper look, they appeared to form a triangle. Hence, they were taken as extent points and a circular spine was envisioned having terminal ends at the two laterally standing trees. Thus, the site’s flora was entirely retained. 

Zoning Concept

The circular layout of the whole complex is intended to resonate with the long existent concept of “Circle of Life”. It consists of bedrooms, meditation hall, dining-kitchen block, and a multipurpose hall. All the spaces are seamlessly merged inside-out through the singly loaded curved corridor that links them all. All the private areas are zoned towards the back of the building, which is opening out into the thick green orchards. At the mid-point of the arc, lies a skewed meditation hall which is placed inside the serenity of the green orchard and aims to help its users revitalize their body and soul by connecting with nature. Towards the other end of the central axis, stands the majestic bungalow as a reminiscent of past glory, with its gabled roof, forming a focal element of the entire campus. 

Shadow play & Landscaping Concept

The curved corridor with its intermittent façade openings, encloses a central circular courtyard of 40 m diameter. The building façade has perforated clay-tile screens and V-shaped tubular pipe sections, which provide a dramatic shadow effect in the circular corridor behind, naming this entire setup as ‘the walk of introspection’. The central landscape forms a plaza, an open-air theatre, and a stage area, all overlooking the entire space. The contrast of white with earthy tone, bolsters the harmony of the entire building-setting with nature, where the user can sit and tell tales of their youth and vigor, achieving solace in this communion of architecture and repose.

I am an architect and an industrial designer from education. A firm believer of design as a process of story telling , problem solving and engaging with the end user.

These being the common thread  has lead me to co-found – design factory india, a multi-disciplinary design studio. 

We do projects ranging from designing museum spaces, exhibitions , urban and heritage spaces. Recently we have finished the museum on Redfort at Delhi , National museum at Delhi , museum and memorial of earthquake at Kutch , museum of socialism at Lucknow , redevelopment of Taj ganj at Taj Mahal agra, redevelopments of ghats at Varanasi etc .   

Because of my interest in design education, I have been a core team member of “The design village” (TDV) – an industry centric design school.

I wish to take my design journey facing design challenges, experimenting with multidisciplinary design forms and keeping a strong connection with design education for learning, introspection and reflection.

Red Fort Centre

Red Fort Centre is a new gateway for visitors to re-experience the events and the fortress’s heritage-built fabric. The visitor centre has been designed and developed by adaptively reusing one of the defunct structures of the British military barracks at the world heritage site of the Red Fort. The colonial government built the military barracks after the first war of Independence of 1857. The Britishers had destroyed significant structures within the Red Fort to build the barracks with the material from the ruins. The barracks are defunct or partially used since independence; however, only withering under the deep layers of plaster, paint, and lack of ethical conservational measures.

Once the multiple layers of plaster were removed from the surfaces of the barrack, many intricately carved stones were found embedded in the masonry. These pieces are living proof that the barracks were built using the ruins of the original Mughal buildings that once existed in the Red Fort’s premises. Therefore, the contemporary design strategy of the visitor centre lives up to the fortress’s multi-layered history without being ostensive or subdued, making the spaces breathable.

The project’s design strategy pursues restoration and conservation efforts to replicate the ancient materiality deciphered from the fort’s in-depth factual research. The contemporary design intervention shave translated the existing buildings’ expression into a present progressive language.

Visual language, scenography, customised lighting design, furniture design, installations to the finest of details critically preserve the pariahs of our yesterday and activate the dormant spatial experiences. The sediment layers of stones, the contemporary colour tones and textures surrender to their surroundings. The flashes of red oxide act as highlights. The grey tones in furniture, design elements, and products in the
historic brick and stone muted ruggedness make the experiential design embody transparency. The scenography shapes and emulsifies with the antiquated background. It tells stories to an amiable wanderer or invites a stranger searching for a welcoming new home to rest. The clarity of the frosted or clear glass in corridors and the brilliance of the natural daylight accentuates their crystalline geometries.

Empowering local expertise: The local material combination included lime, surkhi (powdered bricks), stalls of jute, bail water and Badarpur sand. The colour of lime surkhi matching the ancient texture has been achieved after a series of combinations. It will age with the changing weather to provide a robust, archaic yet beautiful contemporary appearance. The customised bricks measuring 300x150x75 mm (1.5times the regular brick size) match the existing dimension of the bricks used within the barrack. In the absence of a traditional kiln, the raw material was procured from Meerut and transported to Moradabad to burn handmade bricks in an electric kiln. Red Agra Sandstone procured from the actual Dholpur mines that provided the stone for Red Fort adorns the flooring. The handmade concrete pendant lights in the corridors have a form attained by juxtaposing the heritage and modern material—the barrack’s refurbishment by replacing existing m.s. Girders and the process of replenishing initially used wood with new seasoned Teak and Sagwan wood aimed to support the centre to play a host and the first stop to an exponentially growing tourist footfall at Red Fort (precisely, 1122 visitors per hour, 10,000 to 12,000 visitors per day).

Respecting the monumental heritage: partitions, furniture, flooring, false ceiling and services at a distance are placed like an offset from the surfaces. Grazers within the skirting on the edge of the floor accentuate the restored exposed stone walls and protect the materiality from getting soiled. The visitors observe the exhibits from a distance and not touch the artefacts and objects. Ushers guide the visitants in
small groups, and the markings on the floor will allow them to practice social distancing.

“Making an individual visible amongst everybody and everybody visible in oneself”, the Infinity room with mirrors on all surfaces and customised lighting design provides a kaleidoscopic experience on a larger scale. This space in mirrors with etched Ashok Chakras conjures a backlit effect on all six surfaces. The diorama installation, glass installations and magnetic boards on a significant scale empirically herald the
visitors and children to retreat with the reflective perspectives. The various exhibits, experiences, and informative zones at the centre indulge the visitors in incidents that reflect a shared feeling of pride and patriotism, elevating their secular emotions.

Advanced Amenities: On the ground floor known as Daastan, the institution offers social and recreational spaces with the only cafeteria at the Red Fort, reception and shops, a 360-degree projection theatre and augmented reality. On the first floor known as Afsana, the Red Fort Story, visitors embark on an interactive journey that underpins the life and culture of the fort and its context in today’s India. The digitaltravelogue commences with immersive illustrations showcasing Shahjahanabad expanding to Delhi city through ages, to celebratory live demonstrations of Red Fort’s bazaar area called Chhata Chowk, audio- visual representations of Naubat Khana (entrance) and the Hamam (Turkish bath). It further unfolds significant historical events that shaped the country’s political order, the independence movementmarking Red Fort as the forever edifice of power.

Projection mapping, holography, LED tv panels and augmented reality room for realistic photography, and grand scale models herald an interactive spectrum of the spaces. ‘I pledge to clean India and build a New India”, the live band installation is an initiative to indulge the visitors into the more significant nation-  building goals of India.

The visitors will now reinterpret the Red Fort through the visitor centre, more than just a frame of reference or a photogenic wonder. The immersive experiences engage the visitors of Red Fort and, in extension, the Delhi city to enjoy the cultural richness and admire the Indian heritage’s ingenuity with open nooks of aesthetically pleasing and highly functional explorations. It distinguishes this monument of
national importance as a universal landmark of courage, sapience, knowledge and hands-on innovation.

JAYAPRAKASH NARAYAN MUSEUM OF SOCIALISM

The JPN Museum is a gateway framing the centre placed as a wedged-shaped monument with a massive arch carved out of the mass; its nine-metre height and twenty-metre ambitious span are clearly attempts to push the limits of structural design and construction. Its stepped roof terminates in a pavilion that gifts a panoramic view of the R.M. Lohia Park and the Convention Centre.

The museum within is an experience in space design with the depiction of Jayaprakash Narayan as a chronological narrative of a linear journey. It is divided into two zones; the zone of absorption and the zone of reflection. As the names suggest, these spaces enable absorption of information triggering curiosity and contemplation which then is expected to lead to reflection and assimilation. Thus the museum is not just a container that preserves frozen albeit inspiring moments of a past but breeds them and ensures that they percolate into current reality, and lay the foundation for the future.Thus while the various exhibits and narratives remain centre stage, the building offers surfaces, volumes and elements as   tactile backdrops.

The contemporary nature of the museum’s architecture takes responsibility for creating what will be tomorrow’s history, while narrating the current one. Although it celebrates and shares the ideology of socialism in retrospect, it also reflects the times we live in – both in its experience and space-making. The monolithic and bold form of the building takes a stance, and exudes empowerment, saying that, be it a building or man, one must be undaunted while envisioning and realizing a dream. It is much like what we understand of Jayaprakash Narayan’s life. The conception of the institution was a journey that evolved with the project. The architecture sits in conversation and merges seamlessly with museum and exhibition planning, experience design and landscape.