Reinterpreting an Urban Live-Work Typology
Inspirations
amalgamation of working and living environments; of commercial enterprises, and the privacy of one’s own house all in one existed in the Pols of Ahmedabd, an
place.
Kolkata
The vibrancy and life of this place touched me, and pushed me to think of a way to replicate this model of activity in a completely transformed scenario, that of a mixed use highrise project.
The present pattern, need for reinterpretation: We are faced with many problems today. Limited space is hampering our ability to build small and is forcing us to build tall. Congestions in our cities is making time a resource of undeniable value. Efiicient use of resources and minimising ecological footprint have become important issues. Workplaces are becoming alienated from the city, and this disconnect is permeating into the psyche of the average working individual, often with adverse effects. The situation is in adverse need of intervention, and looking at a way to reinvent this existing work typology is a major concern of Architecture today.
The project aims to accomplish this by creating a balance between the utilization of land, response to immediate context, experience of the user, consumption of energy (operational and embodied), and time as a scarce resource; and to question the existing and create new architectural typologies for such scales of projects.
The Conceived Model: New technological advances has now made it possible to work from home. Live near work as a concept promotes more efficient use of resources, time and energy. It also provides for social interaction opportunities to single individuals coming to work in these offices from some other city. The need for banking, retail, entertainment and reading facilities has been acknowledged. The project is visualized as a self-sustaining model of living and work environment.
The site is situated in the metropolitan city of Kolkata.A large part of the city was originally wetlands, which has been reclaimed to make space for the city to grow. However, the remaining wetlands, known as the ‘East Calcutta Wetlands’, have been designated as wetlands of international importance and are part of a sensitive protected environment.
juncture of these wetlands and high density corporate developments. The east edge of the site The site is located in the IT Sector, at the
opens out directly on the wetlands, and there is a series of palm trees. The access to the site is from the south and the north west corners.
The grain of space as perceived in a city, like jaipur.
Looking at the existing typology of the North Kolkata house, and the changing levels of privacy, as one goes from the entrance towards the depths of the house.
Diagram exploring sequence of open spaceson site
(seeking the lost layers, kamalika bose)
transitions of space in section
A model of live and work spaces were taken up and studied in the old city of Kolkata.The pattern of transitions that emerged was superimposed onto the site,which gave the overall distribution of mass and functions. Superimosition of transitions as derived from the old city on site
Final Massing Model
Massing Exercises
Diagram exploring movement patterns on site
Initial sketch exploring volumes, voids, wind and light
Functional distribution sketch separating the work and live functions in the horizontal plane
The need for a systems based approach to design became clear with these explorations. The form became secondary to the systems and the distribution of the functions. The importance of circulation, services and systems of partitioning space and providing gradients of privacy became evident.
Both the major types of functional distribution were explored, systems of vertical segregation of functions and those of
Functional distribution sketch with vertically segregated functions
horizontal segregation of functions.
Functional Distribution
The site provided a duality in context, a zone of heavy development on one side, and vast unrestrained landscape on the other. In keeping with this duality the programme offered a duality in terms of functions, of living and work spaces.
Functional distribution sketch with horizontally segregated functions
Horizontal segregation in plan meant that this duality manifested itself strongly in the building, with two distinct functional blocks tied together by an intricate string of circulation systems,and by certain key functions.
Systems of circulation were central to the design. These systems were of similar transitions to the old city quality at the ground. The primary streets are the vertical corridors of movement, followed by a closed loop of secondary streets at each level. These branch off into tertiary streets, which terminate into double height courts.
N
Plan at +3.0m Scale 1:500 The plan shows how the circulation ties the building together. There are open spaces of different scales and definitions across the building, and these offer a variety of activities. As one moves from the North west to the South East corner of the site, the open spaces become less formal and more private.
Systems of services is a major design concern. For the living block of the building service cores run through, and units can get plugged onto these cores. Separate services cores run through the workplace block, and a service floor has been introduced before the guest accomodation level to divert and manage services. The Circulation cores are linked together to form a network, acting as fire staircase for each other. Each core has a fire riser to deal with probabilities of fire. The Air-Conditioning system is a Central Water-Air cooling type, with AHU’s on each floor and subsequent systems of transmission above the circulation corridors.
Vizualization of the South Facade The facade was designed as a composition of elements, all based on a repeating grid of 2m,3m. While the workplaces were mostly glass and concrete frames, the living spaces played with juxtaposition of surfaces. The circulation core adds opacity and verticality to the otherwise horizontal nature of the facade. The housing for guests at the top of the workplaces merges the two main masses together. The bridge connects the two blocks and makes the building function as
one.
Location of Services
Vizualization of the South Facade
These courts are jumping in elevation and give character to the building facade.
Section BB
Functions in Section
Open Space
SECTION AA 1:400 longitudinal section through the building
Vertical Circulation Cores
The facade was designed to make sure that sunlight does not penetrate through the fins during from the onset of winter (right).
summer (left) , and it does Sketches
activities
showing the happening at
scales of open spaces through different
the building, in keeping with the inspiration from the old city activity pattern.
Model of the South facade
The West facade is visualized as a blank shear wall, with punctures to accentuate the double volume spaces.The East facade in contrast is a porous facade, allowing for v ventilation and views from each apartment.
West Facade
East Facade
The housing has been conceived of being flexible units around a service core, to create interesting patterns of light, shade and open spaces in the East elevation.
The building from across the lake, showing the
prevails.
edge
it creates. This edge is a statement of a boundary
where the built ends, after which nature
Sketches that show how there is a layer of ‘soft’ against the ‘hard’ of the built, and how the soft works with the built to tone down and create smooth transitions at the entrances.
The south part of the building has a higher mass than the north side, so the building shades itself against the harsh south sun. At this level the guest accomodation comes over the workspaces, creating a continuity across the two building masses,strengthening the connection and creating opportunities for a variety of landscaped spaces.
The South-East pedestraian Entrance
The North-West Vehicular entrance
Endnotes.. spatial transitions in a horizontal format,models of live and work environment in old city cores; and modify it for a high rise mixed use project.
An attempt has been made here to look at
circulation, services and strategies maximizing adaptibility of a space were important concepts, as were concepts of a certain set of elements creating space. Systems of
Yet all this was done to create an activity pattern full of the energy and vibrance of an old city core, where functons begin to lose their distinctions and spaces become one.