The Government of Assam has a number of directorate offices, vary from 10,000sq ft to 50,000sq ft and currently are located in various parts of the state capital Guwahati, in public and private buildings.
With this challenge in mind, the Assam Government came up with the idea of allocating a consolidated piece of land to house all directorates under one campus, the ‘Directorate Complex, Guwahati’ was therefore conceptualised.
The site, approximately 11.5 acres for 1.3 million sq ft of construction , is just off NH-37, connecting Guwahati with the entire North-East region of India, in close proximity to the Interstate Bus Terminus, a very visionary selection since people come from all over the state to access the directorate offices.
The design challenges were straightforward, accommodating highly diverse portfolios with varied public interface in one campus, allowing for massive pedestrian and vehicular movement, both private, government and VIP, security and screening keeping the regional situation in mind. The opportunities were therefore immense too:
Welcoming: The government offices are generally very intimidating and overbearing; there was an opportunity to create a built form which was more human in scale, growing as receding instead of imposing like a wall. The buildings, therefore, start small towards the front and grow in height towards the rear, blocks rising ground plus two to ground plus four, seven and finally eight floors arranged front to back.
Modularity: Common to all directorates, the occupied area is in multiples of 1000sq m or approx 10,000sq ft, therefore, design catered for a floor plate of approximately 20,000sq ft, able to accommodate even the two of the smallest directorates on one floor. All offices therefore could have their own dedicated floors allowing for exclusivity and privacy.
Form: The inspirations were many, a tea leaf, a crown on Maa Durga’s head, the loved name of ‘Seven Sisters’ that the region is known for, all contributed to planning with seven blocks of office buildings, centred with a spinal green, congregation and performance space.
The building blocks are ellipsoids with a central spine forming the circulation line, connecting the vertical transportation and toilet cores at one end to an atrium at the other end. The roof is a doubly curved shell allowing for bigger spans and structural efficiency.
Security and Circulation: The plan allows for screening at all entries and critical points; the traffic flow is planned to cater for different loops for private vehicles, government vehicles and VIPs and most importantly buses for mass transport. High level of transparency and visibility in the public areas contributes greatly to sense of user safety.
Sustainability: It is the key design criterion. The complex is designed for Griha 5 Star rating, the most stringent of all. It has been facilitated more by design intervention than by systems and equipments. High levels of day lighting in the work spaces and basements, green roofs over office blocks with water channels to capture rainwater for harvesting, and natural ventilation in the corridors by virtue of their being open from sides. Source by Design Forum International.
Location: Guwahati, Assam, India
Architects: Design Forum International
Principal Architect: Anand Sharma
Project Team: Ashish, Vikas Sharma, Navdeep, Nishant
Structural: NNC Design International
Mechanical: V.S. Kukreja & Associates
Electrical: V.S. Kukreja & Associates
Landscape: Studio DP and Sustainable Design
HVAC: V.S. Kukreja & Associates
Plumbing: V.S. Kukreja & Associates
PMC: Chief Engineer B&R, PWD, Assam
Client: Government of Assam
Site Area (sq ft & sq m): 11.42 Acres
Built-Up Area (sq ft & sq m): 14.93 lac sq ft
Start Date: 2016
Completion Date: 2019
Images: Courtesy of Design Forum International