TEAM : Udhbhav Srivastava and Vidushi Sharma
Keywords : Breathing hybrid, Reinterpreting mixed use, Interactive hotspot structure
Respire creates an environment around its users to allow them to breathe in fresh air and provides them with a platform with informal spaces to interact with people. The use of photo catalytic cement in the corridors and kinetic openings provide the user with air, free of pollutants. Retail, office, hotel and banquet function harmoniously in respire. Users can walk through intermingling spaces to go from one space to another, walking through this hybrid interpretation. The kinetic façade system provides the hotel with the cleansed air from the surrounding, thus allowing the user to respire freely.
A building outlives its makers. Thus planning for a future scenario in 2050, we realised that the major concern is the poor air quality and the increasing pollution which is becoming a major health concern. Thus, 2 solutions are proposed. One, is the use of photo catalytic cement in the facade of corridors as it reacts with the pollutants such as Nitrogen oxide particles, which reacts with UV light of the sun and the residue remains on the surface which washes off with the rain. It is an effective way and is used in various structures around the world.
And the second proposed solution is to allow only the purified air inside the building. This solution works in where a double skin proposed opens and allows the air to pass inside. The air which passes inside, filters through a mesh, which purifies the air. Hence the impurities are left out and clean air enters the building. These opening are kinetic and close when not in use.
The development of the program begins taking in account the site ; the plan for the future and its needs.
We wanted to reinterpret the Mixed Use building which has a regular stacking of retail at the bottom, office in the interim and Hotel at the top. We also wanted the driving force of the project to be Social interaction spaces. We moved forward by segregating our functions into private and public spaces. The program further develops on the reins of Social Spaces as interaction hotspots. Thus the social functions are also segregated into public, private and semi private. Thus an ideagram shows the evolution of the mixed use becoming a more porous structure. The social hotspots are divided into 3 main categories: social corridor, Social intersections, and Social box .
The social corridor in retail acts as series of shops and the corridor in itself acts as a social space, thus spaces like common sit outs affect the interaction. In an office space, a common balcony acts as a social corridor. The extended lobby in the Hotel Room corridor can also act as a social corridor.
Second, are the social intersection spaces. The Social intersection spaces are those spaces where a common area which is at an intersection acts as a social space. In retail, an amphitheatre and a common atrium space can act as a social intersection space. In offices, a common dining area can act as a social intersection while in the hotel, sit out spaces in the room corridor can act as social intersections. Social Box are the spaces which act as a social space in themselves. Common terraces or link- bridges can act as social boxes in themselves.