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The very heart of Durgapur City Centre

THE TAB ( Tera Art Box), west bengal by Ar. Prashant Sutaria, PSA.
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Q. Can you tell us little bit about your project? What was the inspiration?

This is a multiple award winning mixed use building, set in the very heart of DURGAPUR CITY CENTRE, West Bengal . The project is Public Private PARTNERSHIP between the Asansol Durgapur Development Authority ( ADDA ) and private developer. The project started in September 2014 in Durgapur, and completed in September 2018. It has public parking along with other usable mixed use spaces.

The vision was to draw inspiration from the historical and culturally rich region and transcend it into architectural expressions of modernism. This in a way is symbolic of the development and progress this industrial city is making. The architectural solution was to create THE BOX , representing a modernist and progressive approach suitable for the purpose & “fill it with art and terracotta works.” The use of Terracotta on the facade and the Gitanjali verses on the lower part of the eastern face result from this concept.

Q. Can you describe the background research study undertaken before project commencement.

The research started by conducting a study tour of the Bishnupur temples, campus of Shantiniketan and the tribal area of Purulia. Bishnupur inspired the artwork, form of the building & use of Terracotta. Artists from Shantiniketan were used to create the stainless steel sculpture, bronze statue & some other artworks in glass. Shantiniketan also inspired the use of verses of Nobel prize winning poem ‘ Gitanjali’ on the lower facade.

Q. What are the unique properties that best describe this project?

THE TAB is inspired by traditional art and architecture of its culturally rich surroundings namely temples of Bishnupur and Shantiniketan. It has obtained IGBC Platinum Rating (core & shell category). It is located in the city centre of Durgapur, an industrial and mining town in east India . It is developed in Public Private Partnership model with the government of West Bengal.

Q. Describe the operations and circulation / interaction flow of the different user groups that the building caters to?

There were multiple end users namely – occupants of 5 star hotel namely ITC FORTUNE PARK PUSHPANJALI, office goers at lower floors, retailers & their customers on ground floor & visitors to the city centre who use the public parking in the basement. All these occupants were segregated with the help of various entry / exit points. Besides this, there is also a service entry hidden from the general visitor. Each of them have been carefully planned to give a unique user experience keeping the functionality in mind.

Q. What is the Structural and facade strategy used in the building?

We have used conventional RCC frame structure with raft foundation due to the unique soil condition. Part of the structure is MS and attached with the RCC structure. A second skin of fibre cement board is used on the shorter facades. Coreten steel is used on the lower facade of the hotel to add an element of timelessness for the verses of the poems. A high performance glass is used to optimize daylight and cut down on solar/heat gain.

Q. Describe the building specifications and technical properties?

The building has double basements and close neighboring buildings with shallow foundations. The use of sheet piles was avoided due to time and budgetary constraints. This led to phase wise execution of the basement. The length of the building (84m) required an expansion joint considering the weather conditions. The box rim fabricated with MS and fibre cement board was added towards the end of the project, and became the most challenging task due to scaffolding requirement.

Q. Describe the challenges encountered and the solutions developed.

A balance between the diversified requirements, like a five star hotel, office premises, retail outlets and public parking were to be achieved. An attempt is made to go beyond this and enhance the streetscape in its vicinity. Re accommodating overhead city power transmission lines going along the length of plot on both sides underground. The width to depth ratio was 1:3.5. The stringent building bye laws along with a maximum permissible height of 50 meters with high Far at 4.5. After accommodating transmission lines underground there was practically no place for water tank, STP , earthing pits. Even the back up generators , transformers , gas bank etc had to be adjusted in an innovative way.

Q. How would you describe your experience doing this project ?

Any good project happens only with a good team work. I am thankfull to the entire team, from consultants to contractors, for their contribution. The biggest satisfaction comes from the fact that The End users and clients are happy. We are also happy to share that the design of this project has won 3 International Awards. They being THE BERG from Singapore, International Awards in Dubai and recently A”Design Awards in Italy.
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