Common Engineering Facility Centre, Surat

This project is based in the city of Bardoli (near Surat), Gujrat, India. The purpose of this building was to provide common facilities to nearby university students and Industries, and hence we named this project “Udyog Sarthi”.  This project was located in an area which experiences extremely harsh climatic conditions, where temperatures in summer would range from 45’-48’ Celsius.

This condition became the central factor around which the architectural language of this building was developed. The design of the south and west facades of the building exhibited deep over hangs and a secondary skin used as a method for passive cooling. The terrace of the building was also envisioned to have part solar panels to harvest the harsh sunlight and part roof garden so as to keep the upper levels of the building naturally cool.

Various other features such as planting additional trees on site, centrally located courtyards, state of the art sewage systems etc, were also envisioned to achieve a “platinum rating” for the building.

The building boasts a beautiful interplay of function to facilitate cross learning and fortuitous interaction. In the reminiscence of the existing clock tower at Bardoli, a new clock tower was also incorporated in design so as to become a new modern identity for Bardoli. The planning of the building also facilitates horizontal and vertical future expansion. Four different yet cohesive color schemes were envisioned to evoke a range of emotions from the building and the users.