“I think architectural education is flawed,” Akshat Bhatt, principal architect of New Delhi-based studio Architecture Discipline, states plainly. This pronouncement, meant to be provocative for the most part—mentioned here as conjecture—forms the set-up to a conversation with STIR about the Indian architect’s recent project for an office complex in Goa for Delhivery. The proposed site for the new office building of one of India’s largest logistics companies was set out to be a linear tract of land in Pilerne, an industrial district in Goa, with a dilapidated workshop already occupying the plot. Divided into two phases, the proposal involved revitalising the structure into a contemporary workspace and extending the site’s functions by constructing a recreational block and an elevated garden, creating a holistic environment for the complex’s occupants.
The decision by the team to adaptively reuse the workshop—having degraded considerably and not serving any function—presents a fascinating trend in architectural practice. Architects have increasingly considered approaches that work with and aim to rejuvenate/refurbish industrial buildings—usually forlorn, the vestiges of society’s shift to a primarily post-industrial age—to update these spaces for contemporary use. On that note, the reason for this flaw in the architectural education system according to Bhatt? “I feel that there is a flaw in our education where we are pushed to do remarkable things only for remarkable conditions. Typically when you say, I am going to adaptively use this building; [the presumption is] it has to be pretty, or it has to have a story, something special, a narrative behind it. For the most part, preservation is a path forward, but only for the special who deserve it,” he adds sardonically.
Admittedly and a fact Bhatt reiterates, the lone structure standing in a sea of similar industrial sheds is not remarkable. “What’s the point of talking about adaptive reuse stories and preservation narratives if it needs for us to identify something special every time? So, while I felt [the existing block] was absolutely unremarkable, it had consumed material. It already occupied the space. We did a quick structural study and said let’s preserve this.” The result of this renovation exercise is a terracotta-hued brutalist block, which efficiently uses the already available vast space afforded by the industrial architecture. The refurbishment, undertaken with a swift turnaround time of two months, involved reinforcing the columns of the abandoned workshop with steel jacketing and replacing its trusses and roof. Significantly, to suit the needs of a productive work environment, the design team also cut out a central skylight in the building along with light shelves that run along its length, bathing the interior spaces in natural light.
As stated in the official release, the interventions within the former building respond to the client’s wishes “for a contemporary workspace that reflects [Delhivery’s] values of innovation, adaptability and youthful energy, while also establishing a setting for collaboration and co-creation.” To foster a productive and collaborative atmosphere, the interior design of the office block prioritises a flexible layout. Further, apart from an open planning scheme that follows a symmetrical logic, meeting rooms have roofs that can double as mezzanine break-out spaces for the employees. Details such as these, not to forget the subtle interjection of red in the interiors, add a signature whimsy to the design. The office architecture then, though quite rational, is not staid but lively.
As one moves through the office block at the front of the site, one encounters an open breakout space including a roof terrace with a small vegetable garden and seating, spaces for relaxation and gathering, a gym and a cafeteria on the lowest level of the site. In this sense, the office is envisioned as a campus, where recreation and work co-exist. With a considerable dip in the terrain towards the back of the plot, the designers incorporate stilt parking below the landscape design on the terrace. Approached from the back, a visitor would first encounter the stilt parking with its distinctive chamfered edges and a generously designed staircase that doubles as an amphitheatre or what the occupants have dubbed “Harvard steps” according to Bhatt.
The structure is sectioned into three floors with the lowest opening out to the lowest level of the site and the mezzanine level connecting to the workspaces through an angled bridge. The interplay of levels, staircases and the jankiness of it all—with all the elements seeming to be layered on top of each other at different angles—brings the architecture alive. The interior design further cultivates this playful mood, through pops of yellow, red and olive green.
The straight lines employed by the office block are tonally offset by this block, where each element is intentionally designed to feel not quite straight. This is evident in the placement of the beams, the outline of the staircase/amphitheatre and also the main door. Overall, the campus design aims for a precarious balance between work and play. As Bhatt elaborates, there is a certain rationality to the disarray. “When you see something straight but have this edge over here, it changes how you look at it. There has to be poetry in how you make someone’s eye move.” The ability of architecture to create this movement is enhanced here not only by formal gestures such as the chamfered edges of the terraced garden but also the perspectival views of the office block and the subtle play of colour and light.
