TEAM : Saarthak Gulhani, Charu Garg
KEYWORDS : hybrid, public, connect, pixelation, eco-zones
Sitting at the middle of the golf course road, this project caters to various aspects of its immediate context. Imaginalia is a hybrid typology building, which has various functions, namely Hotel, service apartment, retail, office and an X-Factor (Multimedia library) inculcated in it. The building is designed in such a way, that the various functions are connected to each other, and to the Metro station which sits right at the golf course road, making the entire site a highly interactive T.O.D Zone, and encouraging pedestrian movement in and across the site.
At the ground level the building has the most public function, the retail blocks which make the access to the building, highly public. Along with that all the other functions are also connected directly through the ground for easier access and emergency exits.
The 2 ‘sides’ of the site are connected via a public plaza, which sits on top of the metro station level. Plaza is a semi open space which has various functions sitting on top of it, along with providing an open-to-sky connection. That defines the main concept of the project, connecting multiple functions via another function, rather than a mere physical connect. The metro station is directly connected to the retail blocks, which can further lead the public to hotel and office blocks.
Pixels of the size of a hotel room have been used to derive the form of the building. The pixels create a lot of pockets, and ins and outs for terraces and balconies where green walls are incorporated. Even the very top of the tower is surrendered to the public, so there is not only a public square at the ground, but human activity rises along the pixelated Void to the top floors of the building. Numerous cutaway balconies are designed to encourage a connection between the interiors and the city
Considering the location of our site in the urban context of Gurgaon and the age of advancement in all fields, the X-Factor for the project was chosen to be a Multimedia library. It serves the purpose of being an essential utility providing digitally accessible data to its users.
Golf course road connects multiple universities, colleges, schools, and residential areas, which ensures students and professionals in the vicinity who would be utilizing the library.
The X-factor plays an important role in the built design, as it runs along the spine of the function which is highest by volume in the area program, the hotel. The sub-function of the X-factor are distributed and placed on either side of and along the central void in the building. This forms a connect between private function (hotel) and public function (ECO-zones) via the X-factor it multiple levels.
Apart from that, the project also has various site elements, which act as place-making elements across various levels.
These placemaking elements include an exhibition space, sunken Amphitheatre, Shaded seating space in landscaped areas, eco zones, and the plaza.