domus 27 March 2014 CONTENTS 25

March Volume 03 / Issue 05

2014 R200
Contributors Author Design Title
Suprio Bhattacharjee
Editorial
Kaiwan Mehta 26 Architecture as resource
Photographs
Antonio Trimani Confetti
Carlos Chen Werner Oechslin 28 What practice without theory?
Francesco Castagna
Rajesh Vora Contemporary museum for architecture in India
Randhir Singh
Robert Stephens Suprio Bhattacharjee 32 Toward an architecture of introspection
Tina Nandi
Vaclav Sedy Bill Viola 34 The raft
Sameer Tawde
Madhuvanti Ghose
Authors Shaheen Merali 40 Jitish Kallat Terms of the debate
Madhuvanti Ghose
Art curator Francesco Maggiore 48 Movie-house territory

Shaheen Merali
Sameer Tawde 53 Pockets of longing and desire
Art critic Kaiwan Mehta 56 Seher Shah Drawing allegories
Christopher Charles Benninger Christopher Charles Benninger Shatotto Architecture for Projects
INDIA 027 LA CITTÀ DELL’ UOMO Architect
Kaiwan Mehta 65 Green Living Essences and facts
Kaiwan Mehta 78 RMA Architects Design as changing sensibilities
90 Guido Canali Cathedral Museum, Milan

Rassegna
100 Furnishings
Feedback
Alberto Campo Baeza 107 Alberto Campo Baeza’s Madrid

March Volume 03 / Issue 05

2014 R200

INDIA 027 LA CITTÀ DELL’ UOMO

LA CITTÀ DELL’ UOMO

027 March 2014
Cover: View of the KMC corporate
office building by Mumbai-based RMA
Architects, where the facade doubles
as a performative skin growing a
variety of plant species. KMC employs
approximately 20 gardeners who tend
to the facade and can access it though
a system of catwalks on all five levels of
the structure.

Sketch by Rafiq Azam for the project S A Residence,Gulshan, Dhaka

 domus 27 March 2014 PROJECTS 79

RMA Architects DESIGN AS CHANGING SENSIBILITIES

Redefining the conventional perceptions relating to the
corporate-building typology, Mumbai-based RMA Architects’
design for the KMC corporate building in Hyderabad takes
the built form beyond obvious gestures of green design and
generic material fabrication, also softening the social threshold
otherwise created by class differences
Interview with Rahul Mehrotra by Kaiwan Mehta
Photos Tina Nandi, Rajesh Vora, Robert Stephens, Carlos Chen

Photo Robert Stephens

This spread: the shell or
container of the KMC Kaiwan Mehta As someone who has
building is detached surveyed the contemporary architecture
from the skin or facade, scenario in India, how do you understand
composed of four
standardised panels the typology of ‘corporate buildings’ and the
which are joined to questions on style and materials they raise?
create 16 unique options
Rahul Mehrotra The idea of the corporate
building is something that became more
prevalent on our landscape as a typology
after the liberalisation of our economy in
the 1990s. This comes from the desire, and
more importantly, gestures for our corporate
world to embrace the images that signal
‘globalisation’. Corporate office buildings were
part of the repertoire of buildings and ensuing
Photo Robert Stephens

images that in my view were impulses to

make India, through architecture, look and
feel more competent. Also, with globalisation,
the fluidity with which capital moved across
80 PROJECTS
our landscape was amazing – landing in the
spots of least resistance and the terrains that
were made to appear frictionless by local
politicians. But capital is impatient; its value
largely resides in the fact that it can quickly
accrue gain and profit – in short, realise its
value. This impatience, which is intrinsic to
its being, results in a very particular kind of
architecture, which is informed both by the
need to realise or be built very quickly as well
as disseminate a set of images that appear to
be part of a network of other such results of
(quick) capital investments globally. Of course,
the material and stylistic implications of this
are rather evident. Essentially, these buildings,
for the interest of speed, need to eliminate or
minimise any form of wet construction, which
has a natural curing time, and thus takes
longer. So, curtain walls in reflective glass that
can be assembled rapidly, eliminating a large
involvement of labour, are the popular mode,
and these decisions are often influenced by
the vendor not the architect, as their promise
to the client for collapsing time have massive
financial implications. The results are only
too openly in evidence: a predictability and
detachment of the built form from its ambient
environment, a divorce from place, community,
and an indifference to the imperatives of
tectonic innovation and material resources.
Consequently, design services are most often
out-sourced to western firms that are perceived
to be competent and well-experienced in
configuring global buildings. Firms well-versed
in the use of new materials and technologies
that meet international standards as well as
facilitate the predictable value of the building’s
performance. Thus, this notion of design by
remote and often a detachment to the locale,
not diminishes, but adds value to this form of
architecture of Impatient Capital!
KM Talking of style and materialities
in architecture, there are various
misunderstandings and misrepresentations
of the term ‘local’ or ‘global’ – your design
for KMC works above these petty binaries,
yet seems to understand the contemporary
pressures of cultural economies and economic
Photo Tina Nandi
This page: though visually a façade,
the shell of the KMC building is also
a performative skin growing a variety
of plant species
domus 27 March 2014
Photo Tina Nandi
cultures. Would you address some of these
issues while discussing KMC?
RM The local-global binary, like many other
binaries we have set up in the profession
(such as the formal-informal city, etc.) are, I
believe, totally non-productive for designers!
These binaries force you to reside as well as
lay allegiance to one or the other world – not
dissolve the differences. In the contemporary
world it is crucial for us to understand and
accept the simultaneous validity of differences
of these binaries and work towards dissolving
them. Architecture has a crucial role to play
in the process, as architecture is perhaps the
most powerful tool in actually exacerbating
these binaries. So the challenge in architecture
is how we soften the thresholds between these
binaries, between the disparate worlds that
now exist in our built environments. In India
this takes on an extreme form.
In the KMC building, we spent a lot of time
discussing with the client what identity might
mean and how this is something we have
to construct, based on values that company
is committed to – and not blindly replicate!
We worked with them a lot in the briefing
stages to interrogate the impulse they had to
present their position in the global market
as an infrastructure company, etc. I think
they quickly embraced the idea that global
programmes such as a corporate office need
to be localised to be effective and to signal a
rootedness and investment in a locality – its
people, as well as material climate, social and
economic culture. They agreed, that like their
domus 27 March 2014 PROJECTS 81
Photo Tina Nandi
products, their building should also signal a
‘Made in India’ corporate building message!
KM How did your views above, factor
your design approach to the KMC building
in Hyderabad?
RM Hyderabad was one such zone where
the local government in the early 1990s was
creating new office parks and a repertoire of
infrastructure moves to make it welcoming
for impatient capital. Naturally, we set out
to address precisely this issue – how can we
make capital more patient to leverage a better
environment and to create a more relevant
Photo Tina Nandi
architectural response to a corporate office in
the new office or IT parks of Hyderabad? Could
we be more strategic in terms of how we might
construct the image of a corporate building
This page, top: the
spatially, that allows us to both accommodate climate, as well as aspirations of the users building against the
the intrinsic impatience of capital as well and owners. backdrop of the built
environment of rapidly
as add value to the environment through And lastly, we were very keen to confront a
developing Hyderabad;
good design? critical aspect of the client brief which was above: the principal of
Obviously these questions already had huge to do with conforming to the requirements the facade is inspired by
the idea of a double skin
implications on material choices as well stipulated by the LEED certification. Naturally, that allows a modulation
as protocols and processes that we needed the question here was how we might actually of light and air through
to put into place regarding how we would make the building truly performative without the building
negotiate a balance between more mass- having to reduce the discussion to mechanical
produced components and other labour- and chemical fixes translated in more efficient
intensive operations in the construction within mechanical systems and better sealants for
perhaps a more robustly imagined sense of the windows!
“time” frames. But most importantly, we were
very challenged by the idea that we could KM Finally, can we talk about the making of
potentially go beyond the idea of the corporate this building? An aspect that again changes
building as a foreign implant to make it more the way we otherwise view architecture today,
rooted and responsive to the locality and where buildings are not allowed to shape over
82 PROJECTS domus 27 March 2014 domus 27 March 2014 PROJECTS 83

This spread: the creepers on the

facade walls create patterns, as well
as bloom at various times of the year,
bringing attention to different parts
of the building facade through the
changing seasons. This page, below:
the growth of the plants was the final
phase of the facade’s development,
which took 12 months to achieve, and
is an on-going process
 84 PROJECTS
domus 27 March 2014
domus 27 March 2014

Photo Tina Nandi

Photo Carlos Chen Photo Tina Nandi Photo Carlos Chen
PROJECTS 85
86 PROJECTS domus 27 March 2014 domus 27 March 2014 PROJECTS 87

time, and changing sensibilities, or slower

Project
processes are neither allowed nor encouraged? KMC
RM We addressed these issues in two ways. Architects
RMA Architects Pvt. Ltd.
Firstly, in our design, we detached the shell or
Design team
container aspect of the building from the skin Rahul Mehrotra, Robert Stephens,
or facade – which we saw both visually as a Cyrus Patel, Amrita Kulkarni, 33
Prashant Saudagar 22
facade, but also a performative skin growing a Location 1
1 44
22 55
variety of plant species. The trellis also has an Cyber City, Hyderabad India 11
integrated misting system in order to passively Structural consultant
Sharad Shah
cool the building, and cleanse the facade of Electrical consultant 44
dust in the hot and windy summer months Krishnakumar 33 22
External Lighting consultant 6
6
in Hyderabad. The principal of the facade
Abhay Wadha and Associates A 66 A
is inspired by the idea of a double-skin that Plumbing & HVAC
allows a modulation of light and air through Arkk Consultants 33
Facade consultant 22 22
the building. The dual function of the facade Axis Façade Consulting (P) Ltd. 2
2 33
is in contrast to the business-as-usual idea of PMC consultant 22 77 88
the ‘green-wall’, which is a simple application Panora Infrastructure
Interiors 99 22 11
on a surface purely serving an aesthetic, not Opolis Architects
a performative function. Ours is a dynamic Civil contractor
facade: one that is an aesthetic device, as well B. Billimoria
Photo Carlos Chen

Facade contractor
as a screen that humidifies the air entering S.P. Fabricators Ltd.
the building – to create evaporative cooling for Interiors contractor
the interiors. The inner skin of the building Patankar Kale Constructions
Pvt. Ltd.
is a reinforced concrete frame with standard Plumbing contractor
aluminium windows. The outer facade is Sanitech
Project area
comprised of a custom-cast aluminium trellis, 9.29 m2
which is integrated with both a misting system Project phase
as well as hydroponic trays and drip irrigation 2007 – 2012 (with facade)
for the plants. So, the water is used very 1 Executive Office
PLAN
efficiently and the water used for cooling is 2 Toilet
3 Storage
different from that used for the plants through 4 Conference Room
the year – which is very carefully calibrated. 5 Reprographics
6 Admin. Staff
Secondly, by detaching the imagination of the 7 Reception
8 Executive Lounge
container from the facade, we could work with 9 Lobby
the container with a very quick schedule and 10 Auditorium
11 Kitchen
made the building occupational and functional 12 Mechanical
in the stipulated 24 months with the interiors 11
11 10
10
and functioning offices. Strategically, this
allowed us to take much more time in 1
developing the facade to incorporate both the
aesthetic and performative aspects, which
11 44 44 11
took time to develop, fabricate and install.
The facade was fabricated independently over
66 11
24 months at a factory in Patnam, a small
village outside of Coimbatore. This allowed the
Photo Tina Nandi

building to be occupied while the facade was 66 66

added incrementally. The facade is composed
12
12 33
of four standardised panels which are joined
to create 16 unique options. These four
simple components can be produced through SECTION AA

unskilled labour, but create complex variations

through their arrangement on the facades. In
1 Executive Office
total there are 675 individually crafted and
2 Toilet
numbered panels. The construction of the 3 Storage
panels required die-making, casting, notching, 4 Conference Room
welding, sanding, shot-blasting, and anodising. 5 Reprographics
6 Admin. Staff
7 Reception
8 Executive Lounge
9 Lobby
10 Auditorium
11 Kitchen
12 Mechanical

Previous spread: the that need to be corrected

company employs 20 in our society – through
gardeners to tend to the architecture. This page:
plants on the facade; the dynamic facade ELEVATION
the presence of two is an aesthetic device
disparate groups in close as well as a screen
Photo Tina Nandi

10 2 0 6m
proximity, in unexpected that humidifies the air 6M
physical situations, is entering the building,
important in making creating evaporative
evident the inequities cooling for the interiors
88 PROJECTS domus 27 March 2014 domus 27 March 2014
Opposite page, top: After this work, the panels were brought to
the building during
the construction the site and assembled. The panels were never
phase; below, left: the larger or heavier than what it would take two
anodising bath for the
people to carry, hoist and install.
facade panels; below,
right: fabrication of the The growth of the plants was the final phase of
aluminium trellis. the facade’s development, which took another
This page: below, the
anodosing plant for
12 months to achieve and is on-going and will
the facade panels; always be! So while the plants on the screen
bottom, right: drawing also function aesthetically as a dynamic facade
of the compost tray and
catwalk section where assorted species of climbing plants
are organised to create patterns, as well as
bloom at various times of the year, they bring
attention to different parts of the building
facade through the changing seasons. But
most importantly, the building demonstrates
the relevance of traditional cooling systems of
humidified surfaces used through time in the
hot and dry climates of South Asia.
So in short, I think, what we perhaps achieved
in this building was both responding to the
need for capital and the corporation to get
going efficiently but also for us to propose an
Photo Rajesh Vora
Photo Robert Stephens
Photo Robert Stephens
Photo Robert Stephens
PROJECTS 89
alternate imagery or visual representation
which is about being handcrafted and invested
in the local economy, resources and skill sets of
the region.
KM The building you developed for KMC
richly treats architecture as a crucible for
human life, while it also addresses concerns
such as expectations of ‘corporate work
environment’, matters of service staff and
maintenance of buildings – could you share
your thoughts on this?
RM This was a hard question to address,
although we made it central and challenged
ourselves in terms of the social dimension –
that is, how people would use the building,
but more importantly, people of all economic
groups that participate in the building. So
while the facade, which is made of a screen
with plants, is a clear visual statement, it also
is an important crucible for life it supports.
The company employs approximately 20
gardeners who tend to the facade and can
access it through a system of catwalks on all
five levels. Furthermore the penetration of
the building visually by two very disparate
groups – both socially and economically – also
softens the social threshold created by class
differences, which are inevitable in corporate
organisations in India. While this could be
read just as a gesture, I think in reality it
does more than that. The eye contact or even
the presence of two disparate groups in close
proximity, in unexpected physical situations,
is important in making evident the inequities
that we need to correct in our society –
through architecture.
On the other hand, architect Sanjay Prakash
described the building in terms of “green
jobs”. He suggested to me that in the KMC
building the fact that the facade and its well-
being is dependent on a continuous basis,
on human beings who are employed to do
this, demonstrated for him a good example
of “green jobs”. This, for us, was an added
dimension which we had honestly not thought
about – where the building can go beyond the
obvious gestures of green design, local material
fabrication etc. and touch the economy in this
embedded way.