Tarun Tahiliani Design Headquarters / S.P.A Design
Tarun Tahiliani Design Headquarters / S.P.A Design
Background
Tarun Tahiliani Design Pvt Ltd is one of the leading fashion design companies in India. The new building for the Tahiliani Design headquarters is a three storied structure in exposed rcc and brick. It houses space for apparel production, administration, studios for designers, and a showroom. Gurgaon sector 37 is an industrial area characterized by dense plotted developments, and lack of outdoor/recreation spaces. Because of the general banality of its context, the building is almost forced to behave as an introverted box.
Description
The project aims at creating inward looking spaces around a garden, like a traditional cloister, a calm environment ideal for long hours of work. The studios and offices are suspended above the buzz of production located on the lower floors, getting zenithal light adapted for precision work. The construction is rectangular in shape with numerous skylights giving subdued light to the working spaces, adapted to the harsh climate of Delhi. Assembly production and embroidery are located in the basement and on the ground floor. The first floor is assigned to the design studios and the sampling. The trial rooms, showroom, personal design studio and offices for the executives are located on the top floor. The production area on the ground floor is the heart of the building with its vaulted skylight and magnificent double height.
The building is an exposed reinforced cement concrete structure supported on large mushroom columns and flat slabs, allowing beam free office spaces with generous height. The central grid of mushroom columns in the production hall transforms the flat ceiling into a vault with skylight in between. The vault forms the planters for the upper floors. The main design studio areas get a double height space with one side of the hall looking from below, at the hanging gardens on the either side of the courtyard. On the upper floor, there is a terrace garden above the skylight - a garden enclosed in a noisy and dusty area of the industries. The Main atelier of the fashion designer is placed in another vaulted space on the second floor looking on to the garden.
The project has used exposed ordinary bricks for external facade giving the precinct a warm character. The arched shape of the structure is inspired by the Islamic monuments of Delhi, reinterpreted into a contemporary design. The entrance is an entre-deux created out of a vault open in the center between the 2 T shaped pillars, the logo of Tarun Tahiliani design firm. The entrance faces East, and it is almost surreal when people enter the factory in the morning with the morning sun beaming through the building in foreground.
Interior
The criteria
The Tarun Tahiliani Design Headquarters is a landmark project in India for its use of exposed RCC mushroom columns and brick vaults in a commercial building.
Design philosophy
The use of exposed RCC and brick arches as a visible structure
The design decision to use RCC with bricks and display the structure was taken at an early stage of design to achieve a sense of craft in a commercial building. The client, being a fashion designer , had a deep requirement that history of Delhi’s architecture as well as craft used in his garment should be reflected in the making of his headquarters.
Moving away from mundane skin deep appearance of corporate buildings, the project aims at an Indian contemporary aesthetic, blending traditional material like brick with a highly skilled exposed concrete structural frame work.
Materials speak for themselves when left bare, and also add to the character of the place. During construction, the craft of the skilled carpenters, masons was exploited and along with today’s technology we got the mushroom structure and the brick arches in place.
The rigid frame of the structure allows flexibility in the work spaces of different activities. The cores on East and West facades provides strong earthquake resistance in lateral loads and ensure the vertical life line of the building with fire staircases, lifts, services and fire fighting system.
The structural system consists of a regular 5MX 5M frame of RCC mushrooms columns. The thickness varies from 70 CM at the column to 15 CM at the key.
The entire RCC structure is 2 Hours fire rated.
Material Matters
The building is designed for 100 years of life time. To achieve this parameter the reinforcement steel, cement, aluminum and glass provenance was from well established companies who follow strictly BIS certifications.
Steel Matters
The project made use of reinforcement steel in a very responsible manner by optimizing the as much as possible. Meanwhile the flowing specifications were strictly followed:
Reinforcement steel is of grade Fe 500TMT bars conforming to IS:1786-2008
Earth Matters
The project also tries to explore the possibilities within the typology of an industrial building. In this case, we have tried to treat the building as an institution where people and skilled tailors learn and enhance their skills. All the different classes of people from different professional backgrounds work together. Production process becomes the pivotal aspect of the building and it is not hidden. The building is designed with cavity walls, air cooled coolers, high ceilings to keep away the heat and reduce the cooling load.
The Tarun Tahiliani Design Headquarters is an attempt to demonstrate that a responsibly designed industrial building can break the stereotypes of mundane architecture and become a crafted structure binding together tradition and modernity, in that sense can become sustainable ecologically, historically and sociologically. Here are the points that need to be considered:
The structure allows for cavity walls with 50 mm insulation, heavy duty planted terrace garden and RCC chajjas that protect all the exposed facades glazing. The glazing is high efficiency double glazing. The central vault and courtyard allows sufficient and controlled natural light to work without artificial light during the day.
Form Follows Function
The Tarun Tahiliani design headquarters, a nominated project for the aga khan architectural awards is today recognized as an alternative way of designing industrial buildings in india. It is opening a path of integrating history of Indian archetypes, craft, as well as construction material such as brick and concrete in the process of making an energy efficient building. In that sense Tahliani Headquarter achieve the real meaning of sustainability.
Details
Models
Drawings
Extra info
Client:
Tahiliani Design
Design Team:
Stephane Paumier (Design Head), Shaily Gupta (Project Architect), Krishnachandra Balakrishnan, Abhishek Shishir Sinha
Structure:
Mahendra Raj Consultants, New Delhi
MEP:
ESCON consultants, New Delhi
Contractor:
Paragon Pvt. Ltd.
Late S.K.Dar (Construction Head), P.K.Kulkarni (Project Engineer)
Project Built-up Area:
4000 square meters
Project Cost:
70 Million INR (7 Crores INR)
Construction Year:
November 2005 – January 2008
