Amaan Aliakbar Lokhandwala

AR2029

The site is in Kamati baug, Vadodara, where the river Vishwamitri flows and the location is near the planetarium, which is built along the river's edge and has the shape of a truncated pyramid. The design programme is of a book studio and is inspired by the planetarium's skin. The planetarium's façade is cut at an angle to the structure of columns and beams, with the protruding portion serving as a skylight to the space inside. 
Three cubes of varied sizes, identical to the structure of the planetarium, have been extracted and set along the axis of the planetarium, establishing a visual hierarchy. The cubes here serve as a skylight and a primary source of light for the book studio below. A gesture of diving further below was established, so that the area directly under the skylight serves as a focused reading space as well as a venue for events such as book signings and book launches.