Apollo Tyres Corporate Office

At a glance

Project by: Morphogenesis
Location: Gurgaon, Delhi, India

Preview image

Apollo Tyres Corporate Office (Morphogenesis)

© Morphogenesis

Project images

	Exterior shot © Morphogenesis View project image
	Courtyard © Morphogenesis View project image
	Foyer © Morphogenesis View project image
	Daylighting in circulation areas © Morphogenesis View project image
	Apollo Tyres Corporate Office © Morphogenesis View project image
	Landscape spine © Morphogenesis View project image
	Reception and circulation spine © Morphogenesis View project image
	Folded fire escape staircase © Morphogenesis View project image

Architect's statement

The corporate headquarters of the Apollo Tyres Group is an instrument to address issues that are central to the rapidly evolving Indian workplace. The approach was to ensure that the project sits within the conceptual, functional and aesthetic framework of a Contemporary Corporate Design Agenda. The site is a vast expanse of an empty field in the middle of nowhere. Flat and lacking any topographical character, it was extremely difficult to contextualize an iconic corporate office building that the design brief specified. This helped to generate a morphology that goes against the typical corporate office as a building type in India; that of a sealed box, within which the office environment is predictably placed.

The notion of a mini-urban centre was conceived conceptually, which would have a texture and fabric similar to that of the older cities such as Jaipur or Shajahanabad. Devoid of any context, a fragmented morphology was hence developed, which helped to generate the conceptual intent of the office campus being a ‘micro city’. The strategy that was evolved was that of Striations and Layering vis-à-vis the traditional point centric planning. Spatial and programmatic Striations are manipulated to create overlaps between the built/ open spaces and the programmatic requirements. 9 meter wide parallel linear strips running SE-NW are grafted across the site. Courtyards and terraces are provided right up to the second floor level with various linkages in the form of steel bridges in order to bridge the resultant diverse fragments. A movement spine traversing the programmatic striations stimulates the activity zones and restructures the office space.

This morphology further helps to articulate the Thermal banking and Day lighting strategy. Internal and External courtyards abut the striations and terraces are provided to bring in maximum daylight. The intention was to create a virtually blinds-free environment. The terrace gardens also provide a high level of thermal insulation. An integrated building management system is employed to link all services to human occupancy. This is done to monitor Entry/Exits through three main access points in order to sense where each occupant is in the building and thereby, activating all services such as Air Conditioning, Electrical systems and Lighting based on occupancy. Hoteling further adds to the flexibility of this system and permits dynamic requisitioning of the work spaces.

The architecture is a consequence of an ‘arts and crafts approach’. Varied and tectonic use of material extends through out and infests itself dramatically in the in the sculptural external fire escape staircase in rippling stainless steel. The building façade itself is fragmented, a series of broken angular planes in glass and aluminum. The entrance is a curved reflective glass wall forming an entrance court dominated by a stainless steel screen wall and the dramatic porch jutting out from the building. The building has no formal entrance and the distinction between the interior and exterior space is lost in the morphology of the building. The design of the Apollo Tyres Corporate Office takes into consideration the importance and relevance of energy conscious design within the modern work culture.

Awards

Green Good Design™ Award- The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies and The Chicago Athenaeum, 2009
A+D Spectrum Award for ‘Young Enthused Architect’, 2004
Stainless Innovation Awards for the “Innovation in Application of Stainless Steel Building Architecture”, 2004
Jindal Stainless Award for “Design & Innovation Excellence in Stainless Steel”, 2002
Indian Institute of Architects Award for Excellence in Architecture, 2001
A+D Spectrum Award for Office Architecture, 2001