Alien designs

Select Indian architects talk to us about their most unusual design solutions.

Wild, wacky, unusual and different. With these adjectives, we posed a question to some Indian architects who are busy designing schools, hotels, corporate offices and infotech parks.

We put them to task and asked them to pick up the most "unconventional" structure that they had designed. From an egg shaped office to landscape which makes its way into a hotel's interiors, to an otherwise drab-looking mill transformed magically into trendy office space, these architects told us stories of some of the most fascinating structures they've designed.

There's also India's first home decor park in Noida and an unusual flower auction hall in Bangalore that feature in our list. While it's easy for designs to be unusual, what makes these structures unique is their easy marriage with functionality.

Sohrab Dalal
director,
Spazzio Architecture Design

The most unconventional design, according to architect Sohrab Dalal, is the structure his firm is building for The Taj, Bangalore.

The hotel, says Dalal, has been a big challenge, especially as the architects have tried to make the landscape an intrinsic part of the interiors too.

Spazzio Architecture Design has worked in association with Warner Wong Associates on this project and together they have come up with a rather unusual design for the hotel. "The landscape," elaborates Dalal, "is actually the binding force in the overall design element."

While usually landscapes are relegated to the exteriors, for the new Taj hotel in Bangalore, the two architectural firms have included it in the interiors.

In other words, the landscape that one might view from the pool will casually run into the lobby, emerging later in the hotel's restaurants too. "You'll find the landscape designed in a unique way to enhance not just the exteriors but even the interiors."

Quaid Doongerwala
partner, Dcoop

Transforming old and dilapidated mills into swanky offices can be a daunting task. Especially the ones in Mumbai's Lower Parel area. But Quaid Doongerwala did just that. Doongerwala, partner in Mumbai-based architectural firm Dcoop, completely changed the look of one of the buildings in the Sun Mills compound.

Unconventional in terms of the swiftness with which it was designed, Doongerwala is naturally proud of this design. While the old paint was stripped down to splash a riot of bright colours, corrugated steel and acrylic sheets were used to create a glossy and trendy look. "We completed the entire project in six weeks flat and it was a pretty challenging assignment."

Vidur Bhardwaj
director,
Design & Development

Vidur Bhardwaj feels that the Home Deco Park designed by him is by far his most distinctive work. India's first home decor park and "the only one of its kind", this , he says, "is unique in its very concept".

He adds, "Only a select few will get to visit the park, strictly by invitation." The five-acre park with 40,000 sq ft built up space is aimed at creating a one-stop shop home decor destination with 100 high-end design studios for the export market.

The structure is a mix of highrise and lowrise landscaped walkthroughs. The 3,000-5,000 sq ft studios have a common façade done in glass, wood, steel and leather.

Also housing a business centre, besides showcasing trade shows, this home deco park in Noida will also have a design training section for young interns. Since the park is aimed at the growing export market, select packers will also be available.

Deb Guha
Arcop Associates

The plot where the school stands is near a heritage wall where authorities did not permit a brick and mortar structure.

This restriction was turned into an opportunity and architect Deb Guha decided to build a playschool in wood supported by steel. Keeping in mind its young users, the entire structure was built to relate to their small world fantasies.

"We kept the roofs low at about 7-8 feet, to let kids relate to such spaces better," says Guha. Being a two-storey wooden structure, the school exudes warmth. The upper deck of the school has a mock city built on it. While a wooden ramp takes us to the upper floor, Guha elaborates on the safety measures taken especially against fire.

Guha imported special fire balls from Thailand. These are always kept in classrooms and other sections of the school and can burst as extinguishers on their own every time there is a fire alert.

And though people might have reservations about a wooden structure in Delhi's climate, Guha says, "This structure is more weather friendly." The 1,000-yard plot with 7,000 sq ft built-up area cost approximately Rs 2 crore to build.

Prem Chandavarkar
Chandavarkar and Thacker Architects

Forget the traditional phool mandis, Bangalore now boasts of a unique and swanky flower auction hall. Architect Prem Chandavarkar, who is the force behind the auction hall, feels it is one of his most challenging works.

The site is a sloping one, surrounded by rocks and trees with pathways leading to various sections.

The structure of the auction halls has sheet metal roofs, creatively set in angular forms, "symbolising the nature of a flower", as Chandavarkar calls it. There is a main section for not just receiving and storing a wide variety of flowers but even distributing them.

Design and functionality goes hand-in-hand, especially when one looks at the wide path that has been especially created so that trucks can come right up to the section for offloading and loading. Buyers and visitors pass through a picturesque ravine to check out the different sections including the office blocks.

A special cafeteria was perched on a rock for visitors to take a better look at the entire space. The architect decided to create the main auction hall in between the sloping area and completed the structure in red while using a lot of glass. "It really is one of its kind in India," says Chandravarkar.

Hafeez Contractor

Contractor doesn't like the term "wacky" but he does consider his "egg," "spear," "dew drop" (take your pick) building unconventional. "The unique shape of the software development block," says Contractor, "was inspired by the notion of germinating seeds. The building needed to induce creativity and the entire theme was based on the evolution of an idea."

The egg-shaped blocks with a façade of glass and calzip have tapering columns at the entrance. Inside the building, the large space allows people to look from one side of the building to the other directly.

The elliptical form allowed the architect the creation of different floor plans "" the first and second levels overlooking the clear glass entrance, and the third, fourth and fifth levels taking in the entire profile of the form. The floor-plates of the structure increases from one side and decreases from another to achieve the curving nature of the oval form.

"This allowed us greater creative interior spaces," feels Contractor. Despite its unusual design, this building manages to achieve economy, efficiency and functionality. "It's a new generation building incorporating all practicalities in it," he says.

Reported by Aabhas Sharma and Abhilasha Ojha