Office space
I felt the architectural space has to be more than a functional space. For the office space I made an attempt to provide an experience of the expanse of the land outside even when a person enters inside. It was a process of enveloping a space within a larger space by organising and moulding by solid elements of mass, making the architecture come into being. The interaction between the forms and space is made possible at different scales. At each level, I feel we should be concerned not only with the form of a building but also its impact on the space around it. No form would stop at the edges of it, it in fluid ways extend to the space around. As you move around this space, you will experience these meanings without your own knowing. As you enter you see only an open space with different levels of floor, almost theatrical, with a central water body open to the sky, sun coming in, blooming water lilies and weeds, also bringing smiles on the visitors. The walls on both sides are cut and joined with terracotta jali and hand moulded grill using the rangoli design of sprouting seeds. The floor is laid with very basic terracotta tiles, a functional taste which we can not find today. The rooms are hidden in four corners of the space, giving sufficient privacy to the staff on their work. The space invites a feel to gather and holds a sense of community spirit. It makes you calm, helps constructive thinking and work.
I feel any space should reflect or inspire to connect to the space within and also the space outside. The space of visthar would make you realise how the form and its space around together form an inseparable reality, making the reality architecture. The symbiotic relationship between the inner space and outer space is its soul. No pretensions and frills added to it. It is just a plain space that invites and makes you feel at home.
It was also the most economical construction. At the time when for an average architectural construction costed about Rs.400/square feet, this was done for less than Rs.200/- .
