TAKING SOMETHING OLD AND MAKING IT SPECIAL

CORTEN STEEL ON THE FAÇADE OF RUG REPUBLIC HEADQUARTERS, OKHLA, DESIGNED BY ARCHITECTURE DISCIPLINE, SUPPLIES A DISTINCT POST-INDUSTRIAL STATEMENT TO THE MODERN AGE, INWARD LOOKING OFFICE BUILDING

- SHRISTI NANGALIA

Situated in the heart of New Delhi, Rug Republic is brand of rugs and accessories that serves globally. Architecture Discipline was responsible for refurbishing of 20,000 sq.ft space to tailor an office building that holds a significant architectonic value, apart from functionality and efficiency.

The brief presented by the client was to make the existing dilapidated building usable again, within a limited budget and with minimal interventions. Hence, a great emphasis has been placed on reclaiming the usable spaces, by undoing ad-hoc alterations in the building’s spatial layout and removing layers of the flooring that was done by its previous occupants.

Instead of hiding under a veil of glass and granite, the design aims to make a post-industrial statement that would intrigue the visitor. The design, a weeping transformer, is a reinterpretation of an expression of warehouses that emerges out of the architect’s understanding of the physical context and the challenges it posed.

By equating Okhla to a war zone, a metal shell has been enveloped around the structure to protect the interiors from the hostile and acrid environment. An inward-looking building, therefore, finds its justification in the site’s industrial skyline that offers nothing of visual interest at eye levels. Furthermore, acrid air quality and ruckus created by the monkeys in the neighbourhood demanded a deviation from the conventional glass architecture and prevented large openings on the facade.