The client brief was to design a shopping complex on a very prominent and busy road in a tight urban site near railway station and Bus stand. The challenge was attracting and offering an experience of sophisticated street shopping to various genre of people, from villager to an urban dweller. For the upper floors we wanted to provide the inmates with open lung spaces and create a buffer between the inmates and the busy, noisy, polluted node in the city, especially after the pandemic.
These two characteristics helped us formulate the generative diagram for the conception of the project. We decided to conceive the plan, such that the building weaves around like a street giving clear moment from one side to another. The second important stand taken was to wrap most of the building with a thick layer of green along with a modern interpretation of traditional jali screen.
The idea of the jali with green was twofold. The jali screen would enable us to cut down the harsh sound from the street traffic and the general humdrum of the city. It would also cut the harsh light that would infiltrate the interiors. The traditional Jali was re-imagined in a contemporary pattern to form a light ephemeral veil for the interiors. We infused life into this jali by juxtaposing it with a layer of curated plants. The plants protected by the jali help create a soft ambience in the interior.
The basement, ground and first floor have the street shopping zone, the second and third floor are planned as office spaces. The fourth floor houses the health and wellness centre. The top floor has restaurants and food court. We also included an organic restaurant along with a kitchen at this level which encourages general well - being.
