Charged Voids’ latest endeavour is a sculptural habitus thriving in a dense industrial zone near Corbusier’s City Beautiful.

Sited within industrial Panchkula in Haryana, Project 347 emerges tall amidst various low and mid-rise construction. Following the change in Haryana’s building bylaws, the project is the first in the area to rise above 15 metres. Charged Voids was tasked with creating a commercially viable development, where the lower floors would be let out for retail purposes, and the upper floors would be occupied by a pharmaceutical company’s workspaces.

The sculptural make of the mixed-use commercial building is derived from a desire to create a breathable structure. The cut-out corners lend a visual lightness and offer much-needed terrace space-stepping away from the boxy structures standing about and enabling a seamless continuity of form on the brick-finished exterior. The resultant facades on all sides are composed in the shape of a plus sign, directly associating the building with its occupants. The black stone plinth is raised to eye level to provide direct access and ventilation to the basement while acting as a pedestal for the building’s sculptural form.

The building’s free corners allow a visitor to avoid being overwhelmed by a tall monolithic structure, creating a more pleasant vista on the narrow approach road. The structural system is done in mild steel, providing a lightweight skeleton to support the long-span cantilevers. This skeleton is clad in layers of brick. Details in brick are carefully worked out to assist the illusion of sections of the building being chiselled out.

With landscaping interjected at every level in the design, Project 347 sets a precedent for the locality’s changing architectural vocabulary, affected by policy changes and owners’ aspirations alike.

PROJECT DETAILS

PROJECT NAME: Commercial 347 / Plus Building

PROJECT LOCATION: Haryana, India

CLIENT: Jagdambey Surgical Corporation

ARCHITECT: Charged Voids

PRINCIPAL ARCHITECT: Ar. Aman Aggarwal

SITE AREA: 1,050 square metres

BUILT-UP AREA: 2,775 square metres

START DATE: January 2020

COMPLETION DATE: Yet to complete

RENDERINGS: Charged Voids