This is our first big commercial building project in Mumbai for a builder; and is the saleable component of a slum redevelopment scheme. Therefore it was expected that we design it in the ‘market aesthetics’ of glass and stainless steel, with a striking façade and an impressive entrance. 

So, in this extremely restricted site, our design interestingly combines the rectangular rear part of the area with the circular front through a central void or atrium. We open this space up further by making it a literal walkthrough – from the entrance in front, past the central void with the lift lobbies and out from the rear. 

The ground and basement floors are for parking, the first floor accommodates the facilities like the restaurants, cafeteria and fast food corners for the people working on the upper floors which are all offices. 

It is a stylized structural form where we interplay the solids and voids to create an interestingly ‘massed’ and proportioned building.

Client: Housing Development & Infrastructure Ltd. (HDIL)
Area: 62000 Sqmt, Coat: Rs. 12500 Lac
Contractor: In-house (Civil Work) Alumayer India (Facade)
Consultants: Sura Associates, Vilshom Engineers, S S Gangan, X-teria Facade Consultants, Chandar Ramchandani
Period of Construction: 2007-2009
Supporting Architects: Mohammed Ali Momin (Associate) Yogesh Karekar, Nilima Gaikwad, Damanpreet Kaur Jolly