Vedica Scholar's Programme

The office space for Vedica Scholar’s Program for women, situated in the lush campus of Sri Aurobindo Center for Arts and Communications, New Delhi was conceived as an intervention to re-imagine the existing structure with a contemporary character. The project spreads over an expanse of 10,800 sqft area, including both interior and exterior spaces. The 1600 sft, interior built up area is programmed to accommodate 30 workstations, 1 quiet room, 1 enclosed office space, 1 conference area and a small pantry. These open up into exterior informal work and congregation spaces.
 
The preservation angle necessitated that the existing roof system be kept the same and minimal structural intervention, while still creating a more open design frame. The existing building was a linear shed with a pitched roof made of corrugated sheets, supported with trusses and girders. 
 
The core design concept revolves around the play between retention of the roof system and opening up the load bearing wall. This format creates an open design connecting the built and the natural site context the building sits upon. The layout of the structure is envisaged keeping in mind the rhythmic vistas and fauna offered by the existing site. The connectivity of the outdoors with indoors allows daylight ingress naturally lighting up the interiors, eliminating the need for artificial lighting for a substantial part of the day. 
 
The layout of the cubic form, rotated at a certain angle, allows a visual connect yet creating a spatial barrier. The quiet rooms, that are the rotated cubes, marks the built space not only in volume, but also in simplicity with which it sits beside and marking the front entry, in a manner such that it doesn’t affect the façade and roof system. The rear part of the building is extended, to overcome the lack of connectivity and establish a linkage between the spaces. Taking in the verandah into the enclosed office space, the resultant creates a blend between the exterior and the open plan office spaces.  
 
Considering the minimal intervention format, the material palette was kept simple, a warm earthen colour complimenting the green-scape. Devised with minimal colours and furniture to create a sense of ease, the interiors retain a raw yet contemporary ambience, offering the staff a laidback workspace. The usage of new materials in finishes has been kept to the minimal, retaining the brick texture of the existing walls to create a design materiality and tactility. The interplay of textures is introduced so as to define the interior spaces, which creates a vibrant and energized work environment. In practice of reusing the left building materials, the brick which was removed to open up the structural walls was used for landscaping purpose in the backyard. 
 
The resultant design retains 75% of the original building structure with approximately two-third of the floor layout still the same. By instrumenting minimal material usage and retention of existing structural skeleton, the office space for Vedica Scholar’s Program advances a perfect balance between inventiveness and preservation. Enduring a progressive and timeless design, the office transforms from a dull indoor space into an inclusive, bright and almost an avant-garde workspace.