Transforming Sangath from Enclosures To Spaces

Heer Bimal Shah

AR3029

The garden and building are no longer separate entities but flow into one another. The Office now goes beyond the building, engaging the whole site, and functions as one big garden room.

Programs are designed by spaces incorporating garden rooms rather than mere enclosures and forms an interface between the garden and the edges. The garden is activated by wrapping the built form around with shaded walkways acting as thresholds. The shaded walkway brings the built form together which is interspersed with courtyards for the spill out of activities and cooling effect.

The office is no longer seen as a mere place of work but acknowledges human activities of gathering, meeting, eating, celebrating and taking breaks. It is no longer a series of rooms but is an environment that brings people together and connects them to nature.

New Studio is a synchronous space on the ground level with no hierarchy in seating structure which is also connected to pockets of smaller spaces for working groups. The public component of the classroom and Gallery is integrated with the office through the shaded pathway and garden and is organised such that they can work independently and simultaneously. The office and the public program are brought together by the articulation of the edge which is in response to the context of creating a symbiotic relationship with the vendors and respond to the frequently pedestrianised street.

Thus, the building is not just an object to be seen but rather a space that takes into account the activities of inhabitation.

Report Content

Critique - Sangath started out with the primary idea of creating a picturesque form which lead to a series of formal design gestures which created serious functional and spatial constraints.

The new design strategies are now articulated keeping in mind the activities of inhabitation.

The garden is activated by shaded walkways which create an interactive edge with the street creating a symbiotic relationship between the vendors and Office.

The garden and building are no longer separate entities but flow into one another. The Office now goes beyond the building, engaging the whole site, and functions as one big garden room.

The Foyer creates a dynamic sense of arrival for the office. It is an important node in the path of circulation and acts as an interface between the garden and edge. It is a stopping point for visitors to check in at the reception. It is a communal space for the studio because of the drinking water fountain. It is also connected with a happy mess yard which acts as the threshold between the studio and Building Workshop.

The office is no longer seen as a mere place of work but acknowledges human activities of gathering, meeting, eating, celebrating and taking breaks. It is no longer a series of rooms but is an environment that brings people together and connects them to nature.

The new terraces are habitable spaces which allow for small gatherings and discussions.

New Studio is a singular large space on the ground level which is also connected to pockets of smaller spaces for smaller working groups. It is a synchronous space with no hierarchy in seating structure.

Steel is used as a Componential element to create an architectural language. The enclosures are designed as interfaces between the garden and the edges strengthening the site as one entity. The fenestrations are offset inside so that the structure becomes a part of the outdoor landscape.

The Garden As An Intrinsic Element - The garden is engaged by associating it with the activities of inhabitation. Programs are designed by spaces incorporating garden rooms rather than mere enclosures. The garden is an active part of the built environment at all scales ranging from spatial organisation to thresholds to details to truly bring out its essence in the project.