Designing for Modern India

DESIGNING for MODERN INDIA

DESIGNING for MODERN INDIA

In this volume, the design practitioners at INI Stantec talk about their vision for creating unique, sustainable solutions to address the needs of a a growing society.

Through a comprehensive showcase of 68 Indian and international projects, including a wide variety of commercial, residential, healthcare, and hospitality domains, this book demonstrates the firm’s sensibility that guides their design in a world whose dynamics are rapidly changing. Their work showcases their ability to leverage technological advances to harness sustainability solutions as a deliverable practical outcome, often at no additional cost to the client. The firm’s interdisciplinary and collaborative practices are revealed in their civic government and transport projects, while their emphasis on architecture as social art informs their work on recreational centres like sports stadia.

This illuminating volume, illustrated with maps, plans and photographs, marks yet another milestone in INI Stantec’s evolution as a leading player in the critical dialogue for design awareness in India.

plans

DESIGNING for MODERN INDIA

First published in India in 2017 by Mapin Publishing

706 Kaivanna, Panchvati, Ellisbridge, Ahmedabad 380006 INDIA in association with INI Press

71–72, Titanium, Corporate Road, Satellite Ahmedabad 380015, India

T: +91 79 66128870/71/72 • F: +91 79 66128873

E: info@inipress.com • www.inidesignstudio.com

Simultaneously published in the United States of America in 2017 by Grantha Corporation

77 Daniele Drive, Hidden Meadows, Ocean Township, NJ 07712

E: mapin@mapinpub.com

distributors

North America

Antique Collectors’ Club

T: +1 800 252 5231 • F: +413 529 0862

E: info@antiquecc.com www.antiquecollectorsclub.com

United Kingdom and Europe

Gazelle Book Services Ltd.

T: +44 1 5246 8765 • F: +44 1524 63232

E: sales@gazellebooks.co.uk www.gazellebookservices.co.uk

Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar

Paragon Asia Co. Ltd

T: +66 2877 7755 • F: +66 2468 9636

E: info@paragonasia.com

Malaysia

Areca Books

T: +604 2610307

E: arecabooks@gmail.com

Rest of the World Mapin Publishing Pvt. Ltd

T: +91 79 40 228 228 • F: +91 79 40 228 201

E: mapin@mapinpub.com • www.mapinpub.com

Text and images © INI Design Studio except the following images: ©Vikram Bhatt, pp. VIII, XI, XIII, XV

ISBN: 978-93-85360-16-9 (Mapin)

ISBN: 978-1-935677-73-4 (Grantha)

LCCN: 2016951187

Text compiled by: Meeta Goel and Isha Talsania / INI Design Studio

Copyediting and Proofreading: Ankona Das and Neha Manke / Mapin Editorial

Design: INI Design Studio

Design Support: Mapin Design Studio

Production: Gopal Limbad / Mapin Design Studio

Printed at Parksons Graphics, Mumbai

Foreword Building Contemporary India

Vikram Bhatt Preface Sushil Handa Introduction Jayesh Hariyani

Commercial and Corporate

INI Timeline 001

Institutional 105

VIII XVIII XIX XXV Residential 155

Townships and Neighbourhoods 213

Hospitality 265

287

Planning and Urban Design

Civic and Government

Sports

INI at Work

Acknowledgements Epilogue

Peter Healthcare and Research Interiors

Moriarty • John Adams

Indian construction industry is large but it remains labour intensive as evident from this image of infrastructure project underway in Mumbai, however, the industrial transition is occurring quickly.

Building Contemporary India

Building Contemporary India

Since moving to India, in less than a decade, INI Design Studio has distinguished itself with an ambitious portfolio of works, including commercial, institutional, residential, hospitality, planning and urbanism type assignments—a number of them already built and many more in different stages of completion. For important corporate clients the INI team has realized iconic projects; JSW World Headquarters, Mumbai, with gracious sweeping lines is one such office tower. If their schemes were only visually moving, INI would not be satisfied, or successful for that matter. Jayesh Hariyani, Chairman, INI Design Studio, once explained to me how their buildings perform at many levels, and indeed they do. They not only meet clients’ daily needs effectively, but are also enduring and sustainable. Even relatively private projects such as corporate offices like D&I Excelus, or information technology parks, residential or even institutional projects are conceived with civic concerns and contribute positively to the city. This engaging volume, covering comprehensive range and varied scale of projects, is a witness to what this studio has achieved so effectively and efficiently.

INI has faced many odds and challenges of working in India. The building industry is big: it equals 10% of the economy. Although construction remains labour intensive, it is rapidly evolving in its use of modern technologies. To maintain speed and superior quality of work, the team has developed thoughtful designs, logical working methods and close supervision cycles. The team also maintains the supply chain, which, due to comparatively weak infrastructure, could impact the entire production cycle. While the country is operating in the 21st century as the global office backup and IT hub, at the local project level even the basic services such as transport, energy and water supply can pose problems. Despite the difficulties that the Indian systems keep posing, INI is realizing global quality works, and, in the process, actively and positively contributing towards transforming the country.

The important ‘I’s of INI, integration, invention, intention, are well described in the Introduction of this volume, as are the firm’s design philosophy and working method. The INI Timeline provides a quick and concise overview of the organization and its partnership’s evolving history. Correspondingly, to contextualize the emerging works of INI, which has its roots in the United States and Canada, it is appropriate to look back at foreign influences in the subcontinent. Some leading international architects helped modernize India’s construction industry, advanced the profession of architecture, and stylistically shaped architecture, urban design and urbanism.

Looking back to move forward

For centuries, India has integrated many foreign design traditions, from Persian to European, producing long-lasting and forward-looking architecture that was both culturally and contextually responsive. Mughal architecture of 16th to 18th century represents a beautiful amalgam of Islamic and Hindu styles. Dutch, French, Portuguese and British traders’ architecture, adapted in the local vernacular, produced attractive places like Galle (in Sri Lanka), Pondicherry and Goa, DamanDiu, and Fort Saint George (in Chennai) respectively. From the beginning, a debate existed, with detractors and practitioners on both sides, about the style of architecture best suited for India. What was a better fit: imported European or Indian style of buildings? Métissage was all too natural, and mindful architects made special effort marrying new ideas with the local lore.

Sir Swinton Jacob (1841–1917) was an advocate of the IndoSaracenic architecture—the style that combines elements from native Indo-Islamic and Indian architecture with the Gothic revival and Neo-Classical European. He also produced the famous Jeypore portfolio of architectural details (1890–1913).

For Jacob, the portfolio was not archaeological but a practical guide; a means to sustain Indian traditions and building crafts and a compilation of construction details and decorative motives

shaped by craftsmen and builders whose work he valorised in projects such as Albert Hall Museum, now Government Central Museum, Jaipur, and Laxmi Niwas Palace, Bikaner.

This tradition of coalescing diverse designs and architectural traditions was carried further into the 20th century under two world-renowned architects: Sir Edwin Lutyens, who designed New Delhi during the colonial rule;1 and Le Corbusier, who crafted the modernistic city of Chandigarh after India’s independence.2 These masters left their indelible imprint on the architecture, urbanism and concepts of city-making, which are complex processes involving many professionals and individuals. Nevertheless, the credit for such undertakings is generally given to a single individual. INI is challenging this conventional mode of thinking fundamentally. Many of INI’s founding partners returned to India after working overseas for extended periods and brought back with them the North-American corporate culture of architecture: the opposite of star-rated modes of architecture. Their approach is uniquely teamwork based and interdisciplinary. Architects, landscape architects, urban designers, planners, engineers and project management experts together make up the design team. Organized, they quickly explore the site, urban context, financial and market variables, technological options to arrive at a combined design solution while also addressing challenges of rapidly evolving market conditions, maintaining design flexibility and informing, even educating, the clients. We will return to integrated interdisciplinary design towards the end of this essay.

New Delhi and Chandigarh are influential projects worth bearing in mind for other reasons: amazing results were achieved with relatively simple technologies and modest resources. The circumstances surrounding the creation of these seats of political power were particular as two governments instigated these. Now, in general, the decision makers, the leaders of corporate India and the growing middle class, make up majority of INI’s clients. In their own way, they too are continuing that progressive march forward with private ambitions and diverse goals. In dealing with these commissions INI responds in a

culturally attuned and environmentally sound manner. With amazing awareness of the present context, they succeed in making audacious projects lasting symbols of civilizations. India is emerging as an assertive player in the rapidly globalizing marketplace, its traditional power structure—social, economic and political—is rapidly evolving. Thus, in moving forward a relative look back at these two cities serves as a compass.

The urban design and the integrity of New Delhi’s character are protected by its Arts Commission, established under the 1974 Act of Parliament for “preserving, developing and maintaining the aesthetic quality of urban and environmental design within Delhi and to provide advice and guidance to any local body in respect of any project…which affects or is likely to affect… the aesthetic quality of the surroundings or any public amenity provided therein.”3 Unfortunately, most other urban centres of India are not so well organized or guided in their design matters or urban affairs. Often a laissez faire situation prevails, creating a free-for-all situation that INI faces across cities large and small. In cities, ever larger projects are jostling to gain attention and drawing away urban resources. Within this environment, INI has walked a fine line.

In fact, INI’s large urban undertakings respond positively to their site and surroundings, and carefully integrate with the natural and environmental features and/or the existing urban fabric. Their Kakinada Beachfront Development proposal, with a central approach leading up to an amphitheatre ending at the magnificent River Godavari, illustrates this convincingly. Furthermore, the convention centre, a hotel and recreational facilities are integrated in this design to attract tourists as well as locals to this area, thus, animating as well as benefiting from this expansive riverfront. INI has made a more audacious proposal around an artificial lake for the Samruddhi Sarovar at Gandhinagar that will house Gujarat International Financial Tech-City. The multi-level hub for Transit Oriented Zone, proposal for the Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority and Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation more pragmatically valorises the local Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS), known world

over as a model of relatively low-cost mass transit system. Within the existing urban fabric BRTS stops are judiciously placed on a separate level, each BRTS station will be given its own identity. Plazas and social urban activities in interstitial spaces welcome, facilitate and provide easy access thus attracting more users to the public transit system. What’s

more, the surrounding transport network is rationalized and harmonized with the BRT system.

The same approach also informs INI’s corporate and civic building projects. For example, the first two floors of the JSW Headquarters, Mumbai, are very public. Use of impressive

View of the Lodhi Garden—a tranquil oasis that is open to all—at the heart of New Delhi. The urban design and integrity of New Delhi’s character remain protected thanks to its Urban Arts Commission.

civic gestures, which include a canopied protected drop-off, landscaped plaza and a grand stair with planting on either side leading up to the piano nobile, anchor this building attractively. While many public projects in the same prestigious BandraKurla district of Mumbai have turned their back to the city, INI’s corporate project undeniably inspires. Moreover, working in small towns INI team has skilfully maintained this spirit and community-building attitude. For example, even a modest office complex like D&I Excelus in Bhavnagar, with its colonnaded ground floor, creates a very gracious shopping experience; a prototype which INI has reused commendably in other projects.

Yet, in some progressive cities, the INI team is engaged to produce master plans or development proposals, and has risen up to the challenges. For Fort Kochi, a layered city with Portuguese, Dutch and British heritage, INI formulated a tourism development plan to guide the Department of Tourism of Kerala for the next 30 years. The place has all the required elements to create a world-class destination. The proposal protects and integrates the fine heritage architecture and military installations, engages sensitively with its remarkable waterfront, and at the same time, preserves the rich tropical vegetation. This balanced approach ensures that tourism development plan would remain sustainable for years to come.

India’s first fifty years after Independence

Eventually the sun came down on the empire on which it never set. Only 15 years after the completion of New Delhi, expressly built to protect the precious jewel of the colonial crown, India won its independence in 1947. The country was unfortunately divided into Pakistan and India, causing religious and political violence and forcing millions of refugees to relocate. The state of Punjab was also split; its capital Lahore ended up on the side of Pakistan, requiring for the Indian side a new administrative seat. Instead of overcrowding already crowded towns, it was decided to establish a new capital city—Chandigarh, for Punjab. Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, was a strong supporter of the Chandigarh project, for which New Delhi, which continued to serve as the capital of India, could have

been a good precedent. Though for Nehru, Chandigarh was “a new town, symbolic of the freedom of India, unfettered by the traditions of the past…an expression of the nation’s faith in the future.” Le Corbusier, a Swiss-born French architect, renowned for his polemic urban theories and revolutionary modern architecture, who was ultimately assigned the job of designing Chandigarh was thus ideally suited for the task.

At Chandigarh, Le Corbusier’s use of concrete for his Capitol Complex buildings—High Court, Secretariat and State Legislature, and concrete and exposed brick for the Museum was a clear break with the past. He preferred concrete, because it was plastic, mouldable in any shape and form, able to be cast and formed in two- and three-dimensional curves when wet, it was both strong and supple, and supported his design principles. Stylistically also, “it offered Indian architect the model for a futuristic imagery that was ennobled by its responsiveness to the primitive circumstances in which it was conceived…a heroic strain of architecture for a developing world”.4 Although strange and alien it was equally liberating for architects like Achyut Kanvinde, Balkrishna Doshi and Charles Correa (2009), who wrote: “With Chandigarh, India was suddenly centerstage…Paul Rudolph in America, Kenzo Tange in Japan, the New Brutalists in Britain, all wanted to use a [this] construction technology that was extremely esoteric and expensive in the United States and Europe, and yet for us here in India was a perfectly legitimate and economical way to build…we got the extraordinary opportunity to be at the cutting edge of all that was happening.”

In this new century, a number of INI’s projects, Dishman Pharmaceutical Corporate Headquarters, Ahmedabad, for example, with a dynamic form and fluid lines, which is built on giant bold piloti structure with civic space surrounding it, continue to daringly build in Corbusier’s béton brut aesthetics. As innovators INI has improved on Corbusier’s concrete frame construction tradition. In a number of their small- and mediumsize office projects INI has managed to combine the handmade poured-in-place traditions with more polished industrialized

skin and cladding creating an interesting visual contrast and tension. Exploiting the new material choices, INI’s Kingston and Kalpvan housing at Rajkot and other mid-rise projects, expand this convention. However, in most of their residential and commercial projects INI employs concrete frame, brick-or-block infill and plaster finishes.

Even so, limitations of site and client briefs have restricted many of INI’s townships from reaching their desired completion.

They remain more or less sectoral. The idea of self-contained sectoral plan for relatively large housing estates, however, has made major inroads in many cities including Bengaluru, New Delhi, Rajkot, and so on. The Kingsville, Rajkot, proposal by INI for a gated housing complex takes this concept a step further by creating an exclusive enclave of idyllic lifestyle in a resortlike setting. JSW Township proposal at Salbani is a 500-acre development for 5,500 residential units. Although small, it is a coherent and poised scheme. With a well-defined town centre and water body, radially arranged movement system of roads and open green public spaces, this community will grow into a thriving town. Like Chandigarh, it has a potential to emerge as model of the new Indian town. Equally, INI’s urban design master plans also follow the principles of new urbanism, the urban design movement popularized in North America by Andrés Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk team, focusing on walkability, small block sizes, shaded streets, neighbourhood parks within walking distances.

The buildings of the Punjab and Haryana High Court (above) and the legislative assemblies (left). Corbusier exploited the plasticity of poured in place concrete in these buildings beautifully.

The present-day notion of green infrastructure can also find useful precedent at Chandigarh as the entire city was framed around this concept. Since the completion of Chandigarh, such large urban undertakings are few and far between. Fortunately, the notion of green infrastructure has found greater traction in smaller institutional projects. Nalanda University campus design, the winning entry by Balkrishna Doshi in a design competition, is one such green infrastructure. Likewise, in a series of institutional campuses, INI has made an exceeding effort to achieve the goal of creating green and sustainable campuses. The International University, Pune, situated on a dramatic site in the Western Ghats is organized around a series of water bodies and will be built using local materials in order to blend with the existing terrain. Furthermore, the buildings will integrate with the landscape as vines for natural thermal control will cover trellised structures. INI’s master plan for Shiv Nadar University, Greater Noida, is a much larger project than the one at Pune. Its organization is somewhat grounded in the Western university campus tradition with a distinctive centre comprising library and administrative complex and separate academic, students and faculty quadrants with surrounding green spaces.

Indian architects such as B.V. Doshi and A.D. Raje applied the contemporary mantras of mobility and connectivity—integral to the Chandigarh design, in their designs of campuses such as IIM, Bangalore, and Forestry Research Institute, Bhopal, respectively. These concepts are being carried further by the INI team in their large institutional campuses as well as urban design projects. As a result, urban India may be ahead of the curve compared to other developing countries.

India Today

In 1990, Peter Scriver and I had produced After the Masters: Contemporary Indian Architecture—the first critical overview of the state-of-the-art of architecture. Then, the general fixation was with India’s poverty, over-population and social backwardness. Even though traditional vernacular was recognized, the appreciation of the constructive processes like modern architecture and urbanism were missing. A government

with ‘socialist’ mind-set controlled the economy, and only reluctantly gave “licenses or permits” to businesses, local or otherwise to compete freely. Overseas design firms could hardly provide services as the rupee was not convertible.

Less than a year after the publication of After the Masters, the Government of India embarked upon sweeping economic reforms to “lift the Indian economy from the slumbers of protection and confinement into the global environment of freedom and competition”.5 The liberalization, followed by globalization, had a dramatic impact.

The architectural discourse and practices too have grown. In his 2011 work Architecture in India Since 1990, Rahul Mehrotra emphasized the Indian hybridity, pluralism and fusion in the contemporary works. In India: Modern Architectures in History (2015), Peter Scriver and Amit Srivastava expanded the discourse on Indian Modernity. In Rooms You May Have Missed (2015), a catalogue of an exhibition curated by Mirco Zardini at the Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montreal, he presented the works of two very different architects: Umberto Riva, an Italian modernist and Bijoy Jain, of Studio Mumbai.

Furthermore, a network of inspired architects has emerged. To name a few, the group of designers working at Auroville; Vasant and Revathi Kamath, the husband-and-wife team from New Delhi; Chitra Vishwanath at Bengaluru; and Abhikram team lead by Nimish Patel and Parul Zaveri, Ahmedabad, are innovators and practitioners of environmentally conscious tradition and locally inspired work. In an open economy, the design practice and critical discourse is thriving.

Significance of INI Design Studio

Much of the building or construction activity still addresses the basic infrastructure and developmental needs of India that have only grown exponentially. India lacks new and/or modernized airports, metro and mass transit systems, state-of-the-art office spaces, improved plants and services for industries, and housing for the burgeoning middle and working classes.

Creative use of local materials and environmentally responsive design are the hallmark of new generation of architects. Here is an example of one such residential project by architect Poppo Pingel at Auroville.

To meet the growing developmental needs of the nation, one needs well-trained staff and offices to carry out sophisticated, large and complex projects. Such commissions need mature level of design practices, and offices with comprehensive design, engineering and project management expertise and experience. The INI group is bringing forth this set of expertise. Furthermore, it has structured a partnership in which shareholders—associates and partners—share all aspects of design, engineering and project management as a team. More importantly, INI is committed to expanding the design awareness among the new-generation professionals and ordinary public through their outreach programs. They bring together all stakeholders including promoters and builders, design professionals and decision makers in their public seminars, videos and publications. Following the steps of the predecessors, INI advances environmental thinking and sustainable design on several fronts.

A number of large Indian firms are following the international collaborative route; joining hands with foreign partners. For example, C.P. Kukreja Associates, a long-established firm based in New Delhi, collaborated with several international firms for the Delhi Metro system. Airports as well have attracted leading international firms to India. HOK designed Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi; when completed the 2.7 million-square-foot Terminal 3 was India and Southeast Asia’s largest aviation hub and country’s first LEED Gold certified airport.6 SOM designed Chhatrapati Shivaji Mumbai International Airport is even bigger. The list goes on.

In view of the expanding Indian market, the 2007 Burt Hill move to India, and later its acquisition by Stantec in 2010, could not have been better timed. Global economies were in the doldrums, and are still reeling, however, at that time India continued to grow. Soon it would emerge as one of the economic motors of the world. Instead of only traditional stylistic and image concerns of architecture, the firm focuses on energy, environment, ecology and sustainability issues. The selection of Jayesh Hariyani to lead this international expansion

of a global brand into India was masterful. A graduate of CEPT University, Ahmedabad, with extensive experience at home, and now abroad, he returned to Ahmedabad to expand Burt Hill’s international footprint. It was like 32-year-old Ed Howard returning to Butler, Pennsylvania, to start Burt Hill; however, he had moved there in 1932 at the peak of the Great Depression. Graduate of Cornell, his “roots were deep,” and perusing his philosophy of diversity, quality and hiring only the best people he built…an international design office and a brand.7

After working at Burt Hill (1998–2007), Jayesh Hariyani brought and maintained the same pioneering spirit of the founder to India. The firm has continued to grow, diversify and evolve into INI. Hariyani and his team know and understand India, where they are building up a home-grown international brand. India’s large corporate clients’ mind set can still be traditional. Public corporate companies are often family-driven enterprises. Within such an environment, INI partnership is stitching together a design practice in which young and talented professionals are pushed up the practice chain and are free to take decisions to move projects forward. Indian projects impress; commissions larger than 10,000 square metres, considered very big in North American context, are common here. In addition to traditional design firms or high-end boutiques, which India has a plenty, the country needs integrated design practices, which INI hopes to build up.

The wide-ranging mix of building technologies, which is a ground reality of working in India, creates special design opportunities particularly when creating high-performance sustainable buildings. Generally, to achieve superior environmental and thermal performance LEED projects, hightech building envelops and skins are employed. Modern curtain walls are a great option. However, in the tropical climate they also overheat and overburden thermal systems. To overcome this dilemma, particularly in case of JSW Headquarters, Mumbai INI developed a specially engineered double-curtain wall, which was also ventilated and inclined inwards, allowing natural light in the building while keeping out the solar energy gains. In

their subsequent projects, such as ITC Mixed-use Development, Kolkata and ITC Tower, Bengaluru both the geometry and the building skins are thought out in a creative manner. At Kolkata, buildings are organized to create shaded areas throughout the day. Striking facades and skins including green walls are conceived so that they let natural light in while keeping out heat and cooling buildings. At Bengaluru, natural ventilation is enhanced by using the building height. Appropriately vegetation is used as an additional protective skin for the building and for evaporative cooling and thus, creating a restful and welcoming ensemble.

Important ambitious projects in a rapidly changing economic environment need critical advanced planning, responsive market dynamics integrated with enlightened design that is

evolving, and due diligence in realizing. Traditional architectural practices lack the required bandwidth of expertise and service network to provide this range of professional input. INI team with four offices across India and two overseas locations (one in London, UK, and the other in Atlanta, USA, with plans to grow further) and 22 partners conversant with Indian conditions are committed to building a seamless service structure that is home grown and appropriate for modern India. Most of the INI projects are currently works in progress, and this volume — Designing for Modern India: INI Design Studio, as the Jeypore Portfolio by Swinton Jacob, functions like a live document. As more of INI’s projects are realized, this engaging text would serve as a stimulating guide to future urban India.

Vikram Bhatt Montreal

1. The site selection for the project and the master plan for New Delhi was the work of John Brodie, Edwin Lutyens and George Swinton who also served as the Committee Chair. Soon after, Herbert Baker joined the team and the Delhi Town Planning Committee comprised Baker, Lutyens and Swinton. There were younger architects including Walter Sykes George, Arthur Gordon Shoosmith and Henry Medd who joined the team and stayed on to practice in India after the project was completed in 1932.

2. Chandigarh design team was made up of Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Maxwell Fry and Jeanne Drew who were supported in their work by P.N. Thapar, Chief Administrator; P.L. Verma, Chief Engineer; and aided by a team of young Indian professionals. M.S. Randhawa, another civil servant, was very instrumental in the shaping of Chandigarh, particularly its landscape as an important urban feature, but he is seldom mentioned in discussions about the city.

3. http://duac.org/home.aspx?Id=home&language=ENGLISH.

4. Bhatt and Scriver, 1990

5. Wadhva, 1994

6. http://www.hok.com/about/news/2014/06/18/indira-gandhi-international-airport-is-worlds-second-best-airport-for-service-quality/.

7. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1129&dat=19870.

Preface

Early in 2007, I had the pleasure to select Burt Hill for our company’s new Pharmaceutical and Research Center campus near Ahmedabad. That experience was rewarding for me in many ways the interaction with a fine group of design professionals, a superb collaboration that has served us well and a lasting friendship with the firm’s leadership. Today, I am happy to help “launch” the transition of Burt Hill-Stantec to INI, after receiving the good news of the creation of this self-owned company from Jayesh Hariyani, architect, urban planner, friend, formerly the leader of Burt Hill-Stantec and now Chairman of INI.

In my various experiences with the professionals who now constitute INI, I have sensed that INI believes that the design of any project requires integration of information from multiple sources into one elegant, useful, and holistic solution. INI’s integrated design process includes the active and continuing participation of in-house design experts, users and community members, experts and consultants from many specialized fields.

“The best built environments result from continual, organized and well managed collaboration among all players throughout the project’s life cycle,” says Adi Mistri, architect and Design Director–Board member, INI.

INI gives much emphasis into defining the project brief and rewrites the brief for an accurate and better understanding. The INI team defines planning and programming for any project at the beginning. This includes the project vision, design drivers, and project goals including tangible and soft goals. Initial discovery sessions are the key to kick start any new work at INI. The INI team and client’s team participate in these sessions where they reconfirm project needs on the basis of quantifiable

requirements for space and budgetary capacity to meet them, and more importantly, for a commitment to the design vision and sustainability goals. Equally, subjective issues are discovered and documented and cross-checked, so that nothing of importance is excluded.

It is encouraging to witness INI’s approach towards projects in harmonization with the best projects in history that have stood the test of time, and are the result of a high degree of consistency at all levels of their realization. For example, the simplicity in massing of the Seagram Building by Mies Van der Rohe, is supported by the building’s subtle and spare details at every level. Meticulous attention is applied equally to the massing and the drinking fountains, the site plan and the cabinet hinges. INI always stresses upon the importance of the right team format at the right time and believes that full involvement of team members is critical, as individual insights can prevent costly changes down the road. INI’s continual collaboration with stakeholders not only delivers integrated ideas successfully but also helps prevent expensive mistakes.

I am certain that INI will bring to the world of design, architecture and engineering a splash of freshness and energy which is what is required by any form to communicate effectively and intimately with its creators, stakeholders and audiences.

Sushil Handa Founder

Introduction

INI Design Studio is an effective and interesting blend of people with diverse backgrounds, varied expertise and a rich experience of working at different scales and different regions across the globe. Many of us moved back to India, with a desire to participate in and contribute to the development story of the country. With us we brought an understanding of global practices that we imbibed while working across the countries and we were keen to implement this knowledge in the realm of Indian design. Having experienced the cultures of developed countries and being aware of the prevalent conditions in the developing countries, we see design as a bridge that could bring the two worlds closer and bind people together, helping them move forward with the changing times. The journey has been interesting and also challenging. In our almost decadelong existence in India, we have made significant inroads and fostered long-term collaborations.

n Contemporary Design Practice and Dynamics of a Developing Economy

Practising in developing countries like India and producing enduring work of high quality is extremely challenging and rewarding at the same time. Our projects try to be the best representations of their own reality. We seek to channel all the conditions, constraints, functional issues and resources at hand into a resolute yet thoroughly collaborative participation. More than ideas, we feel that it is our collective inner sensibility that contributes to the consistency and quality of our work. Dynamics in developing economies including India are constantly changing. These are driven by the expectations of the users and the markets, changing processes, advances in technology and changing inter-disciplinary boundaries. Tremendous growth in the economy and consequent escalation in development of new infrastructure in developing countries offers a remarkable opportunity to deliver global design solutions within local parameters. The changing economy and globalization has brought about a transformation in the

market expectations. The market trends in developing countries now look for high-quality design, quick results, and low costs. Competition has made the processes more efficient, and it has raised the standards of delivery, both in quality and time.

The emergent technology too has a role to play. Technology is breaking boundaries across regions and is bringing the world closer. This has changed the format of the design and construction industry as well. The virtual outputs have become visually enhanced and augmented, determining to a large extent how buildings are designed. Decision-making in current times has become more informed and quicker with technology providing intuitive, real-time answers to complicated questions. Today, designers can provide solutions from long distances. Sample this, Nathan Miller and Andrew Heumann designed and fabricated the Hangzhou Stadium from their laptops sitting miles away.1 Technological advances are directing the market demands for higher-quality visuals, better communications and speedy outputs. However, as the governance systems in developing countries are still evolving to adapt to the process of globalization, they are sometimes conflicting with the market demands. Delivering a design solution of international standards in such a scenario often becomes a challenge.

Further, the process of design is ever-evolving and changing, requiring constant re-evaluation according to the shifts in cultural, social, political, economic, technological, and environmental paradigms. As opposed to the earlier approach to design that was sequential, the processes now meander between steps from design to delivery. Designers traverse between steps, coming back to the previous one, stepping aside and re-thinking, and spreading across disciplines. The traditional approach to design and architecture, which saw distinct margins between disciplines, has changed. Transitioning through this disconnect into the dynamic design process, the current paradigm sees overlapping and transcending boundaries between disciplines. Experts from multiple disciplines work together to arrive at a

INI Footprint

New YorkPittsburgh Houston

Maghreb

BenghaziTripoli

Baku, Azerbaijan

Abu Dhabi

Jeddah Muscat, Oman

Dubai Gujarat Maharashtra Karnataka

Uganda

Moshi, Tanzania

Lubumbahi, Congo

Mozambique

Jammu & Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Chandigarh Rajasthan Nepal

Uttarakhand

Uttar Pradesh Tamilnadu Kerala

XXVII Kabul Haryana Delhi Bhutan Assam West Bengal Odisha Colombo

Telangana Andhra Pradesh

JSW Headquarters, Mumbai Jindal Center, Gurgaon D&I Excelus, Bhavnagar

Shivalik High Street, Ahmedabad

ITC Mixed-use Development, Kolkata

Ornate Spaces, Mumbai Dishman Pharmaceutical Corporate Headquarters, Ahmedabad Shivalik Abaise, Ahmedabad Om Espier, Anand JSW Tower, Kolkata

LIC Mixed-use Development, Kolkata Shivalik Shilp, Ahmedabad

ITC Tower, Bengaluru

The Gateway Towers, Dubai

Limitless—The Galleries, Dubai

Aga Hall Estate redevelopment plan, Mumbai

HCL Technologies IT Park, Greater Noida

AUDA Habitat, Ahmedabad

Port Operation Building, Mundra

Commercial and Corporate

Commercial and Corporate Design

Commercial buildings in design and architecture are a metaphor of the market in general, hence also reflective of the competitiveness and the dynamism that characterize the modern-day markets. Most big office spaces and corporate houses become an identity statement for the ones that will occupy them or the ones who build them. The central design idea is motivated by the need to stand out from the crowd and build a structure that reflects the stature and the work culture of the offices or the corporate in it.

Contemporary office spaces are more than just places of work. These are spaces where professionals interact and function in a team together. The changing work cultures have led to a transition in the design of work spaces from monotonous buildings with limited functions to dynamic spaces that offer mixed-use utilities. The commercial and mixed-use spaces are now characterized by interactive spaces, transparency in design and structure, and a healthy ambience that promotes the worklive-play culture of the present-day corporate.

Efficiency, convenience and ergonomics guide the design of commercial spaces in the modern times. The commercial spaces, be it office buildings or big corporate houses, are created to attract employees to a work space that offers more than just work under one roof. From its proposed location, to what the building will house, everything is driven by the idea of enhancing the convenience of the workforce. Thus, factors such as location near efficient transit routes, urban and municipal services nearby or in-house, and a building design that can accommodate multiple functions are the founding stones for the commercial buildings design.

Design in the commercial sector is often put to test by the developer’s vision of having mixed-use structures that have divided yet connected spaces like offices, restaurants and eateries, fitness and wellness centres. Further, open spaces, interactive plazas, interconnecting galleries or stairs, informal spaces are the highlights of the contemporary commercial design and architecture.

Technology has brought another paradigm shift in the way commercial and mixed-use buildings are conceived and designed. The offices today have distinct technological requirements with spanning communication lines, office-use machinery and audio-visual setups. The spaces need to be designed appropriately for the specific technology needs, with an element of flexibility that enhances the future ability of the space to accommodate technological upgradations.

Commercial complexes are high density structures that require a different level of expertise in building engineering, Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing Service (MEP), and emergency services such as Fire Safety. The high density also calls for efficiency in maintenance and operations. Sustainable and low-cost features such as LED lightings, efficient HVAC systems, open facades that let the natural light in, and climate- friendly structures are critical for these establishments.

The design process for corporate and commercial and mixeduse buildings hence needs to take multiple elements into consideration the vision for the building or the complex, the brand it reflects, density proposed and intended usage. The challenge is to address these factors while maintaining the functionality and aesthetics of the building.

Retail commercial buildings often look for a unique identity which comes through an exclusive design solution. Sometimes, there are pre-conceived ideas that a developer has about the ‘look’ of the structure, often derived from the international realm. The challenge it brings upon the designers is to blend the developer’s vision most thoughtfully with the local climatic and functional considerations. It becomes a daunting task as most new commercial complexes are intended to have similar use and occupancy, and density.

Thus, while they house similar features, they strive for a distinct character. The designer’s ability to entwine functionality with aesthetics, while giving due consideration to the local culture and environment is critical in such structures. Our works in Shivalik Abaise and Shivalik Shilp in Ahmedabad, and Ornate Spaces, Mumbai showcase our skill and aptitude to weave creativity with local and global understanding. While the Shivalik projects called for a design that made the structures stand out amidst other buildings in the central commercial spaces of the city, Ornate Spaces posed the challenge of matching the structure with city’s grandeur and heritage amidst the geographical and spatial limitations.

Designing corporate structures, in contrast, requires understanding the client profile, their work culture and also their overall business vision. With our collaborative design process at INI that involves the client at every stage, we initiate intense communication sessions with the client to understand their ideology, ethos and also their businesses. We understand that corporate headquarters mirror the persona of the corporate visionaries and the personnel. The design for JSW Headquarters in Mumbai harped heavily on the client profile and their specific

needs. The commercial headquarter of the steel magnate of the country reflects the character and the standing of the firm in the international sector.

The design process in this case was an outcome of continuous evolution of ideas, identification of specific requirements, research across the global markets and an in-depth understanding of the vision of the clients. The corporate headquarters were meant to be the hub of all activities and demanded both formal and informal spaces. While functionality and aesthetics were at the base, the influence of corporate identity that reflects in it grandeur and opulence is a distinct element in this structure. The Dishman Pharmaceuticals Corporate Headquarters in Ahmedabad, designed by INI, in contrast focused on enhancing interactions and openness through its open gardens and interactive spaces.

The broad base of our work in commercial and mixed-use developments has enriched our understanding of corporate functioning, market vision for the building structures and the users’ demands from them. Our works in retail, corporate and mixed-use building structures celebrate the ideology of collaboration and communication that we as a design studio imbibe and pursue.

While advocating openness, interactions and transparency, we also respect the client’s understanding and their ideology of business functioning. Interactions with our clients in this sector help us reflect upon our own working ethos and strategies. Every project brings to us new learnings that we continue to absorb and build upon to grow better as a collaborative architecture and design practice.

1.1 JSW Headquarters, Mumbai

Client Jindal Steel Limited

Location Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Area 5,50,000 sq. ft

Cost INR 8,00,00,00,000

Service Master Planning, Architecture, Interior Design, Landscape, Structural, MEP Engineering, Sustainable Design, LEED Certification

Accolade .LEED Platinum

.Best Steel Design & Construction Award

The headquarters of Jindal Steel Limited stands as a symbol for the company in the posh Bandra-Kurla Complex of suburban Mumbai. This building is a manifestation of the highly collaborative design process followed at INI Design Studio. Intensive discovery sessions between the design team and the clients led to the formulation of the core principles and design indicators that would lead the whole design, and define the program. When the client is one of the biggest steel barons globally, it is natural that steel would be used as the core component of the building design to demonstrate its strength and structural capacity.

The elliptical form with its glazed exterior facade culminates precisely in razor-sharp corners that shade the two entrance porches, providing clarity of entry. A carefully conceived design of high-performance ventilated glazed double skin allows daylight in while cutting out the heat, making it a very energy-efficient building. A 30-metre high post for the majestic Indian flag completes the desired visual impact of a major corporate player in the mainstream of India’s ascendancy in the marketplace.

à à à à

Exhausted Air

Velocity Chart

Section Through Atrium

8 Temperature Chart

Composite Alum Insulated Panel

1

Fresh Air

Double Glazed Facade Design and Detailing

1. Atrium

Stair Well

The central eye-shaped atrium brings in natural light while becoming the anchor point of the building, buzzing with activity and energy with all the public functions of that level spilling into it and the upper office areas overlooking into it.

1.2 Jindal Center, Gurgaon

Client Jindal Saw Works

Location Gurgaon, Haryana, India

Area 2,47,000 sq. ft

Cost INR 90,00,00,000

Service Master Planning, Architecture, Interior Design, Landscape, Structural, MEP Engineering, Sustainable Design, LEED Certification

Accolade LEED Gold

Respecting the solidarity of the family, this building is designed to accommodate the three main companies of the Jindal Group. Jindal Centre is a synthesis of three blocks of workspaces seamlessly bound together through common areas and atriums as well a trellis shading a public promenade on the ground floor.

The masterplan is a harmonious composition of the building and the landscape, finely balanced with public plazas and private workspaces. The three towers are also connected through bridges on the upper floors that house meeting and conference spaces. The self-shading facade through its sloping incline cuts out a lot of harsh sunlight while the deeper atriums with the glazed surfaces bring in ample natural light to the internal shared spaces. The building abides by the company’s key design indicators and requirements, making it a sustainable, highlyefficient, people-centric building with state-of-the-art innovative technologies and design features.

à à à à

Concept 1 Concept 2

Concept 3 Concept 4

1.3 D&I Excelus, Bhavnagar

Client Arya Hariyani Design & Infrastructure Pvt Ltd

Location Bhavnagar, Gujarat, India

Area 44,320 sq. ft

Cost INR 9,00,00,000

Service Architecture, Interior Design, Landscape, Structural, MEP Engineering, Sustainable Design, LEED Certification

Accolade LEED Silver

This project is a symbol for the city’s upcoming and thriving work community—a one-of-a-kind project in Bhavnagar, conceived and developed on the principles of international design ideologies, robust infrastructure and ultra-luxurious amenities.

The building is intentionally calm and elegant in contrast to a varying Bhavnagar streetscape, with linear and symmetric opening treatment of glass louvers. These are recessed as long slits within the solid mass of the cubic building. The efficient layout, with varied sizes of retail spaces and offices, was designed with the intention of catering to and providing for the elite corporations, banks, multinational companies, and international retail brands. A plush foyer, elegant and tasteful, greets the executives on their way to their workspaces, and tranquil terrace gardens offer the perfect respite from demanding business responsibilities. An ease of movement and access, elevated volumes and an overall sense of productive hum to the space offers a perfect setting for inspired business and work.

Front Elevation

Back Elevation

1.4

Shivalik High Street, Ahmedabad

Client Shivalik Projects

Location Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India

Area 80,000 sq. ft

Cost INR 12,00,00,000

Service Architecture, MEP Engineering, Interior Design, Landscape

Accolade Realty Plus Award - Commercial Sector

Shivalik High Street is a landmark project, nestled in the prominent IIM-Ahmedabad district surrounded by low-rise institutional buildings.

With lavish and exclusive retail spaces on the ground floor and varied sizes of office spaces on the floors above, this elevenstoried business hub represents the core principles of efficiency and cutting-edge technology through its architecture.

The grand drop-off zone leads to an impressive double height foyer, which is both imposing and welcoming at the same time. The floor layouts are clean and unobtrusive. The individual offices are laid out such that each gets ample light and spectacular views that infuse more energy and vibrancy into the work environment. The penthouse offices are luxurious. With lush terrace gardens and a view that pans the whole city, they are designed to meet the expectations of the crème de la crème of business owners of the city.

à à à à

Eighth

It stands like an icon—bold vertical streaks of concrete slashing through the skies, suggestive of the upward professional growth of its occupants

Shivalik High Street

1.5 ITC Mixed-use Development, Kolkata

Client ITC

Location Kolkata, West Bengal, India

Area 16,20,000 sq. ft

Cost Confidential

Service Master Planning, Architecture, Landscape, MEP Engineering, Sustainable Design

This 16-acre area of linear plot incorporates the programmatic requirements of a hotel, a corporate office building for ITC Limited, offices for IT/ITES, knowledge hub, dining, and recreation. The masterplan incorporates a thoroughfare through the site that connects all the major buildings. This spine is characteristically defined with linear lush swatches of green and organically connected open spaces. The placement of the buildings along this street is such that it remains shaded all through the day. The orientation of all the buildings is north–south, where the north facade opens up to receive uniform indirect sunlight while the south side is blocked by the services placed along that face of the buildings.

Additional skin and facade details are added to the west side. Green walls and solar panels adorn the south facade. The floor plate is designed such that natural light penetrates to each of the work spaces. In spite of the varied functions and occupants of all the buildings, a certain sense of semblance is achieved through the cohesive masterplan and similar facade design.

à à à à

Energy Saving Strategies

Solar Shading

Landscape & Roof Gardens

Metal Screens with Low-e Glass

Rainwater Re-use

Water Efficient Plumbing Fixtures

Operable Windows

Daylight Sensors

Water Storage Tank

Rain Water Harvesting

Efficient Central Cooling Condensation of Water

Sustainability Features

Summer Sun

Winter Sun

The connecting axis is a public realm dotted with water features and breakout spaces.

The linear central promenade opens up to create a grand central plaza

ITC Mixed-use

Shape Surface Form Space

ARCHITECTURE

Designing for Modern India

INI

Bhatt

978-93-85360-16-9

978-1-935677-73-4

INI Design Studio is a leading, multidisciplinary design brand with a diverse practice. Their focus is on implement ing sustainable concepts that integrate technology and urban planning by incorporating energy efficiency and sustainability into the design of all of their projects.

Vikram Bhatt is a Professor of Architecture, McGill University, where he teaches courses in urban design and housing. Bhatt and his team have received numerous awards, and he has been involved in a several pioneering research areas. He is also the author of several books, as well as research papers and academic articles.

Integrated Ideas