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PROJECTS



PROJECTS0 domus 47 January 2016

PLACES FOR PEOPLE

architectureRED

A pair of buildings completed for a University south of Chennai offers adistinctive sense of place and a renewed sense of identity to an old institution.Setting the new buildings within the existing fabric, the design approachdevelops from the notion of a vertical campus – taller blocks that anchor thedisparate aspects through a common ‘new datum’

Text Suprio BhattacharjeePhotos architectureRED

The bell rings. The more or less empty seven-storey high void transforms before my eyes.

Sound levels peak sharply – echoes of voicesand busy chatter as students pour out of their

classrooms. The corridor transforms. Whatseemed like whimsical angled projections along

the inner perimeter of this vast courtyardbecome thriving pockets of student flow eddies.

They sit around the benches that nestlewithin these alcoves. Those seated, wanting

to look at the sky lean back onto the railingand rest their heads for a clear view. Blue

or grey, the sky is never obscured here. Onthe other side from where I stand, across the

courtyard from the staircase foyer where I’vepositioned myself, students find personal space

between bands of vertical fins that envelopone side of the courtyard. There the setting

is more intimate and contained. Like privatebalconies staring into this space. Visible

through a void below along the steel staircase,the inner amphitheatre quickly fills up with

students – a space that offers an opportunityfor film projections and lectures when needed.

Here, from where I stand, the courtyard andthe pockets of openness it expands into is a

vast theatre of activity. And not the theatre ofdecanting that most courtyards end up being –

spaces of transition and passage – but rathera space of activity outside the classrooms.

We’re still inside the building, I remember. The verandas lining the periphery of the courtyard

remain alive with students and facultymembers who find place in those alcoves. They

become attractors, drawing others to them. My

companion and guide for the day’s visit, BijuKuriakose – one half of architectureRED, thepractice that designed this place – has spent



PROJECTS domus 47 Januar y 2016

This spread: Departmentof Life Sciences,BS Abdur RahmanUniversity, Chennai.The new building is a vertical re-imaginationof the existing campus

framework. It retains thepedestrian relationshipon the ground level,while also creating spaces for socialactivities, movement,and interaction thatare considered to be synonymous with campuslife. The staccato rhythmof the window designis both aesthetic andfunctional, definingthe facade as well aspermitting sufficient lightand ventilation into the spaces within

the past few minutes scurrying about with

his iPhone, frantically clicking pictures of thistransforming inner realm. It’ll come in useful

for future presentations, he surmises, proofthat what was conceived on the drawing board

is actually working.Earlier in the day I visit architectureRED’s

offices in Adyar, in a quaint two-storeybungalow set along a tree-lined street with low

buildings. It seems like a fantastic setting topractice Architecture from, within the bustling

city. It’s early in the day, but the staff hasbeen putting in extra hours working towards

a deadline. I can see a model of a new housingproject taking shape, amongst other models

lying around. This is an office that believes inthe work of the hand. “We do lots of models,”

Biju explains, as he takes me around. We leavefor the University where the practice has been

developing a series of new interventions withina previous campus landscape of older disjoined

buildings. Along the route, I’m appraised of

the approach the practice decided to take –not seeing the new buildings as objects butrather as set within the fabric of a campus – as

such the opportunity for doing a set of new

facilities with a higher permissible buildingarea meant that the practice had to resort

to the notion of a ‘vertical campus’ - tallerblocks that anchor the disparate aspects

through a common ‘new datum’. An hour long drive later, we are at the BS

Abdur Rahman University. The campus isorganised along the classical idea of an axial

academic spine that leads to a clock tower.This clock tower becomes a fulcrum, with the

intersection of a perpendicular spinal route.These spines are vehicular now, and their

disposition along with their interface with theadjacent buildings means that there’s really

very little of the ‘campus street’ here. Theseedges are as lifeless as a typical suburban

street – a pity in a campus where buildingsbarely crept over 4 storeys in height.

When they were approached with thecommission, the practice wasn’t asked to

redefine the campus. That has been an

incidental outcome. An initial contract todesign one of the buildings slowly led to others,and the practice saw themselves faced with




the enviable task of having to restructurethe future campus (even though they were

not explicitly asked to). Three new academicbuildings (one each for Aeronautics, the Life

Sciences and Architecture), a Student ActivityCentre (Canteen, Shared Campus Facilities)

as well as a set of buildings for new facultyhousing and student dorms – this was an

enviable task to add a new layer that, whilstdefining the renewed sense of an old and

respected campus, also needed to work withthe constraints of what the old matrix had

to offer. As such, the possibility of an initialmasterplan was replaced by a method where

the practice was “building the masterplan”along the way as newer commissions kept

adding up. The opportunity to create distinctplaces thus became the cornerstone of the

project’s conception.From the clock tower, the white glazed face

of the Department of Aeronautics becomes visible, raised loftily on what appears to be

a set of beefed up chevron columns over amound. The large vitrine of the glazed end was

meant to focus the internal spaces onto an oldBanyan tree (now barely a shade of its former

grand self) remarks Biju, which ironically wastrimmed by the University administration -

because their spanking new building wasn’t visible from the street! It is a poignant moment

in an otherwise joyous atmosphere that thebuilding engenders. Stepped green terraces

cascade upward to the raised public plinth – anemphatic artificial landform on an otherwise

featureless ground surface. The street is drawnin vehemently, while the building hovering

above embraces this piece of the city thathas stationed itself on this southern edge of

the campus.The view from the street into the raised public

plinth offers a glimpse into the seven-storey void mentioned earlier. The beefy chevron

columns offer a create a sandwich of open,freely-accessible public space, above which are

This spread: Departmentof Life Sciences, BS Abdur Rahman University,Chennai. Above andopposite page top left andbelow left: the stairs windabout the buildings cornerperimeter in a series ofelongated landings and switchbacks that add spatial drama and intrigueto the experience of thebuilding. Below: insidethe building, stairs fulfiltheir basic ‘utilitarian’ roleallowing for quick access




the classrooms, lecture rooms and instructionspaces, while below this, a light-well offers

a glimpse into the double-height workshopspaces that form the base of the building,

sheathed by its landform-like exterior. Thepractice, I am informed, believes in constantly

negotiating between the figure and the ground.This is apparent here, as the ground is formed

into a terrain that invades the building’s heartand makes it its own. Standing inside, I am

overwhelmed as I look back onto the terracedforecourt and the campus streets beyond.

Students have already made this into a placeof exchange, as they occupy this bowl shaped

landscape for leisure and learning. The raisedplinth offers a vantage view of the campus, not

unlike the experience of viewing the greatestcities or the greatest of gardens from a mid-

level after climbing up a grand flight of steps.The tripartite arrangement of the section

(workshops-public realm-classrooms) carriesitself into the volumetric disposition of the

building. This is clear from the street and theaforementioned forecourt – with the northern

glazed block raised off the mound as mentionedearlier, a taller and more solid southern volume

with narrower windows clad in what appearsfrom a distance as a featureless skin of brick,

with a lower block with banded floor revealssandwiched in between. A mock-up for the

window brise-soleil sits strategically on thissandwiched block – Biju hopes for this part

of the work to be completed soon, so that thewest facing classrooms won’t get the harsh

afternoon sun. The northern block has a denserepetitive vertical banding that envelopes

all sides of the building – reading much “likethe diagram” as Biju explains – as such it

becomes apparent that the practice conceivesof its buildings as constructed programmatic,

spatial and volumetric diagrams that areembedded within a larger setting – and as

such are meant to read less than standaloneobjects. This attempt is obvious in the way in

This page: the baseof the Life Sciencesbuilding is raiseda few steps off the street, accessedthrough a subtlegroundscape definedby paths and ramps




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This page: processdrawings showingdesign development ofthe Department of LifeSciences building

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which the Aeronautics building melds with thegroundscape (the nature of its section arises

out of the need for double height workshopspaces directly accessible from the ground for

heavy equipment – flying machines for one –while at the same time negating the otherwise

impenetrable nature of what this would becomeas the base of a building), and the staggered

roofline that minimises the appearance of asingular mass. Both the nature of the Figure

and the Ground it sits upon are called in to

question. The Building itself is a porous figure– there is never a moment where one is notconnected to the sky or the breeze – and the

view of the treetops. Traversing the building isa rewarding enmeshed experience.

Our next stop is the new building for the Schoolof Life Sciences. This is a smaller building,

a rectangular footprint that is extruded toaccommodate the maximum permissible

building volume. The plinth dimensions, I’minformed by Biju, continues the staggered

nature of the adjacent building volumes thisforms an extension of – as such the Figure-

Ground relationship of this block is maintained,although the vertical dimension has changed.But this is no ordinary matchbox of course.

I am excited by the distinctive perimeter ofsolids and voids, the staccato rhythm of the

windows, and the staircase that wraps aroundportions of the building. This building is as

clear a manifestation of a diagram as one canget – raw and unforgiving in its stoic nature.

This is not an object of prettiness – but ithints at a pragmatic pared down simplicity

that I’m eager to explore. In that sense, the Aeronautics building seemed to be consciously

crafted and choreographed – materially andspatially. There are those conscious tectonic

and drama-inducing moments – an industrialsteel staircase, an exposed concrete lift shaft,

white rendered walls, colours used strategically,window openings that perform unique

functions, stone flooring laid in consciouslyinteresting patterns, banded stone and grass

in the forecourt, the featureless brick volumebulging precariously above – all adding up to

an overlapping experience of vistas.The base of the Life Sciences building is raised

a few steps off the street, accessed througha subtle groundscape defined by paths and

ramps. The adjacent canteen block adds life towhat is the ‘front’ of the building – although

this will change once the new Student ActivityCentre is built on the other side of the building.

One enters into a spacious foyer – where thenarrow dimension of the building becomes

apparent. From here one makes a choice – thelift, an internal stair, or the exterior stair

– with a more-or-less standard floor-platearrangement of spaces in enfilade. An outcome

of the necessity of two staircases as per fireregulations, this becomes the architecture’s

master stroke – with one performing a‘utilitarian’ role allowing for quick access, while

the other performs the more poetic role of the‘promenade de architecturale’ – winding about

the buildings corner perimeter in a series ofelongated landings and switchbacks that adds

spatial drama and intrigue to the experience ofthe building. The two stairs also offer access to

the adjacent building’s terrace – the practicehopes that in the future the roof terrace

becomes a hub of student activity – with greenspaces and recreation activities, extending the

‘campus ground’ up into the new building and

out onto the roofscape of the previous staggered volumes. While this may not be realisedimmediately, what this has done is given the




This spread: Departmentof Aeronautics, BS AbdurRahman University,Chennai. By capitalisingon the existing lushgreen campus and thefragmented existingbuilt environment, thedesign reflects the needto define the space forinteraction in relation toits immediate context

by which a seamlesstransition within thecampus celebrates ahomogeneous spatialculture through engagingevery built structure to a vibrant public space

building its distinct sectional profile - theupper building volume shifting subtly as a

nod to the roof level of the adjacent block. And what it has also done is to create this

dramatic corner on the building’s South Eastaspect where the innards open up to the

distant landscape.Even though the practice was not really

aiming for the poetic or the deeply immersive,the experience of climbing that semi-exterior

staircase where one is constantly thrown inand out of the built envelope is a rewarding

experience that brings to the fore the binaryof the inside and the outside starkly by

providing a pared down middle ground thatbecomes a space for pause and quiet. The

breeze whips us constantly on this Aprilmorning, and the views across the forest the

University sits along are breath-taking tosay the least. The hills in the distance are

visible over the datum of the tree-tops fromthis strategic aerie, and the building’s stance

puts forth the eternal opposition of nature vs

artifice back into focus – though here, thereseems to have been no conflict.




This page: processdrawings showing theincremental developmentof the Departmentof Aeronautics’design. Oppositepage: Department of Aeronautics, BS AbdurRahman University,Chennai. View from withthe central plaza.The design capitalisesa strong figure-groundrelationship by orienting

balconies with distinctedges that overlook thedramatic response tothe plaza




FROM THE ARCHITECT’S PROJECT

DESCRIPTION

Department of Life Sciences, BS AbdurRahman University, Chennai, India

This building, completed in 2014, is among the

first few additions in the rapidly expanding BS Abdur Rahman University Campus initially

established in 1984 and spread across 61 acresat Vandalur, in Chennai.With its growing needs compelling a vertical

re-imagination of the existing framework ofthe campus, retaining its strong pedestrian

relationship when moving from the ground-up by creating spaces of interest and activity

in between, was critical to the approach to

planning, right from the beginning. Every

building on the campus with its clear set ofunderlying goals and governing principles,

contributes to the vision for the campus, in anincremental way: seeking to diffuse the strong

thresholds and forge an active relationshipbetween the buildings, spaces and streets, over

a period of time.While creating major public zones, the

buildings subtly transform their groundplanes to anchor campus activities, thereby

establishing links with the streets that feedthem – creating nodes, re-defining vital

axes and emphasising points of focus. The

architecture strives to allow this character toflow vertically into the buildings for spaces ofengagement to thrive.

The Department of Life Sciences, at the

campus level, was planned to be an extensionof the four existing buildings it neighbours and

lead into the outdoor canteen abutting it.It plugs into the corner site as a tall tower, in

contrast to the low-lying blocks adjacent, tocreate a bold anchor point at the end of

the axis.The previously unused rooftops of the

neighbouring blocks are activated through thisbuilding, by zoning public spaces at that level,

spatially linking them through programme,and physically through a bridge that

continues as a green roof, inviting informal

public activity. At the ground plane, the space around isarticulated to serve both as an entryway as




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PROJECTSdomus 47 Januar y 2016

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ELEVATION 2

Department of Aeronautics,

BS Abdur Rahman

University

Project TypeInstitutional

Location Vandalur, Chennai, India

ClientBS Abdur Rahman

University

Project StatusCompleted, 2015

Built-up Area1,50,000 sqft

Client Team V N A Jalal, M S Jagan,

Shuja Ahmed, Jamal J

Structural EngineersSomadev Nagesh

ConsultantsMEP Consultants

Sumanam Engineering

PhotographsRajan Gero, Ram

Annamalai, Ramanathan R

Project Design TeamBiju Kuriakose, Kishore Panikkar, Apoorva

Madhusudan, Kani Pandian,

Sowmya Sudarsanam,Kiruthika Balasubramanian,

Yasir Azami, Vigneshwar VS

1 Plaza2 Landscape Court3 Toilet

4 Elevator Shaft5 Faculty Room6 Avionics Lab7 Simulation Lab8 Lecture Hall




well as an extension of activity, which stretchesacross the courtyards in the middle as a

thoroughfare for movement.This spatial acknowledgement of movement

and interaction, both synonymous with campuslife, at the ground plane as well as an elevated

level, is what defined the course for formdevelopment of the building.

Given the constraints of the site, and theintentions for the space, the building wasenvisioned as a pure extrusion of a rectangle,

with the spaces free to express themselves onthe form.

The structural system is true to its visualappearance: an internal ‘grey’ volume held

together by the structural grid, wrapped by acantilevering envelope that forms the facade.

Located along a street, the perforations on this

façade coupled with the exposed circulation pathsthat boldly swathe it, help break the massive

volume down to a more human scale.The random play of the strip-like windows allows

the built envelope to continue to be perceived asan opaque mass, while permitting sufficient light

and ventilation to the spaces within. A blank wall looks onto the street imparting

a sculptural quality to the building, and astrong edge to the street axis, while also

being a compelling visual anchor. All in all, the form of the building is a

culmination of both: the decisions atbuilding level, based on the opportunities

and constraints available, and the major

vision for the campus: with each decision atbuilding level representing the parts thatreinforce the whole.




Department of Aeronautics, BS Abdur

Rahman University, Chennai, India

BSA University in Chennai imparts character

and enhances programmatic distribution to thediverse designs.

Department of Aeronautics is emplaced withinan endowed context of a university campus,

intended to achieve balance between thebuilding and space. By capitalising on the

existing lush green campus and the fragmented

existing built environment, the design reflectsthe need to define the space for interactionin relation to its immediate context by which

a seamless transition within the campuscelebrates a homogeneous spatial culture

through engaging every built structure to a vibrant public space.

The constant dialogue between the solid andthe void enhances the journey through the

campus and embraces the spatial integrity.The design focuses on active campus nodes

that pivot interaction spaces. The buildingsalong the cardinal axis and the campus

street embrace a direct physical and a visualrelationship with the streets which in turn

becomes an extension of this homogeneous

spacial culture to create an interactive vertical network.The street abutting the site for the

aeronautical campus behaves as a physicallink between residential zones and lacks this

quality of engagement prevalent along theintersecting axes and has the potential to be

activated. The site terminates the existing

campus spine, which calls for the creation of anactive space and an interactive form to create

a rich visual landmark that accentuates thestreet, programmatically.

By responding to the need to create syncbetween the street edge and the building front,

the character of the spine is extended into andbeyond the aeronautical block. This requisite is

envisioned by gradually raising the land forminto a plaza by invigorating flexible interaction

spaces within and by visually anchoringthe foreground to the building masses. The

informality of the entrance plaza allows theusers to engage with the highly active axis of

the campus and incepts the strong image ofthe building in totality. The built mass oriented

along the central axis is floating above theextend spine to evocate the potential to create

a destination for the active campus network,and also edge the destination of the existing

street with a strong visual anchor. On the otherend of the site a vertical exposed brick mass

is deeply rooted to the ground plane to ensureits physical presence to be perceived from the

ground plane. Adding a central mass bridgingthe either edges of the building counter balance

the verticality and dilutes the massiveness ofthe exquisite form.The transition from the plaza toward a

horizontally spread entrance court imposingthe lightness of the space by allowing the

filtered light to wash the court, and ensuresa seamless entry toward the building. The

role of architecture to play with hierarchy

of spaces narrated in a rhythmic mannerensures to create an aura by exploding into a

monumental courtyard, capsuled between thebuilding masses. The courtyard weaves the

entire transition within the built mass across varies levels and establishes its integrity by

retaining the central focus and enhances the visual connectivity throughout the structure

to revolve around it. The design capitalises astrong figure-ground relationship by orienting

balconies with distinct edges that overlookthe dramatic response to the plaza and to the

abutting street.Defining the orientation of the building edge

is dictated by the necessitating orientationsfused with material contrasts create dynamic

spatial demarcations along the exteriors. Thediverse layers of materiality hold the masses

together and engage several planes within theheterogeneous section that are comprised in

the design framework.While the form express order and discipline

by defining its edges and framing the spaces,the sequential carved out informal spaces at

various levels trigger interaction and ensureflexibility and diversity in and around the

campus. The building as a node dilutes theboundaries between the building and the

space to create an engaging vertical networkand radically transforms the figure ground to

achieve balance within the campus.

This spread: Departmentof Aeronautics, BS AbdurRahman University,Chennai. Opposite pagetop and below left: the vertical exposed brick structure is deeply rootedto the ground planeto ensure its physicalpresence to be perceivedfrom the ground level.Opposite page belowright: filtered light entersthe interior spaces of thebuilding in abundance.This page: the designfocuses on activecampus nodes that pivotinteraction spaces

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