Sanjay Puri

A series of linear trapezoidal volumes skirt the southern periphery of a site located in Surat in India forming an open court facing the north.

Housing a development sales office this ground floor building opens all the internal spaces towards the focal landscaped court created between the enclosed volumes.

The office spaces oriented towards the court by their layout echo this focus sectionally too with higher heights fronting the north side and the courtyard becoming lower on the south and the periphery.

Designed in response to the client’s functional needs and the extreme summer climate of its location, the entire office is north oriented to derive indirect light and reduce the heat gain into the building with glass fronting the northern sides and the courtyard while the southern side is solid constituted of galvalume coated sheets with insulation and minimal openings.

The support mullions for the glazing along the courtyard carry the weight of the roof structure making the entire roof appear as a floating cantilevered canopy opening the internal spaces to the landscaped court.

Angular mounds of grass echo the built form creating a shallow reflecting pool along the uninterrupted glazed front of the office spaces.

The circulation spine skirts this open threshold between the exterior and the interior allowing one to traverse along the landscaped space whilst moving within the office.

The building whilst being a single level structure creates a sculptural presence that is designed in response to the climate of its location, creating indoor spaces that integrate with the external landscaped garden.