This studio space in Vadodara sanctions work and play

The office of architectural firm, AR13, employs basic materials to create an open plan which allows its users the freedom to manipulate the space according to their needs.

Curated by: Deepa Nair
Photographs: Vinay Panjwani; courtesy AR13

The design intent

The office of Vadodara-based studio AR13 — headed by architects Himalay Goraniya, Hiren Patel and Shivani Chauhan — personifies the various interests (discounting architecture and interior design) of its principals. Their studio is designed as an open space which can be used to work, play and congregate in an organised urban patch.

The site

Located on an internal road of a finely defined urban grid of Vadodara, the architectural studio is built on an east facing rectangular plot measuring 2,600 sq ft. It shares common wall with open plots on the west and south direction, while the northern end is abutted with a residential building.

The architectural intervention

The building constitutes two linear blocks covering the major footprint of green space, and is set back to avoid the direct southern sunlight. The juxtaposition of the building blocks gives the liberty to have maximum usable plot area when opened. As an initial phase the ground floor is designed considering the possibility of future extension.

The front elevation is divided into two parts; a pedestal entrance gate and a parking garage gate. The pedestal entrance in the north-eastern side is through concrete casted steps on a water body with fishes and foliage — the setting calms the senses while entering the creative space from busy roads. The adjacent parking garage is a multipurpose area with a 30’ wide horizontal bi-fold gate that allows partial privacy when closed, and a thoroughfare from the street when opened up. It is designed to serve as a parking and workshop space, stage or a back room for an event.

From the pedestal entrance, the studio space is a linear building spatially divided as waiting, discussion area and working space; with the pantry, material library and washroom as the peripheral ends. The enclosed area comprises of a wall on the north and west side, while the two sides are large wooden openable doors connecting the green spaces. The space stays dramatic with a dramatic play of light and shadow all day long.

The building comprises of three slabs which are constructed in distinct structures and finishes. The garage slab is an inverted beam slab casted with conventional steel shuttering and kept unfinished to maintain the raw appeal. The studio slab spanning 32’ x 16’ with 7” of thickness is casted on a shuttering of handpicked fine pine wood planks to facilitate natural wooden figures imprinted in the ceiling. This slab contains a niche housing the curtain and sliding door. The third, a small slab at the pantry area is casted in plywood shuttering with wooden batten grids featuring a finished slab with V grooves. The studio is still a growing space with blooming plants in the backdrop of Agra red stone lines, rusting rain chains, art pieces and explorations.

The design and material details

The building is a journal of experiments the architects wanted to document in materials, structure, openings and finishes. The material palette of wood, concrete, steel and natural stones gives the interior a raw and edgy look. The furniture in the studio is designed to facilitate ease of work and plays with a combination of materials to achieve the desired aesthetic. The workstations are designed as a connecting module with a common leg stand and storage. The extendable surfaces of the workstations can open large drawing sheets, whilst keeping the desk top intact, allowing to flaunt the individuality of each desk. The lush green views outside is set against the backdrop of Agra red stone and concrete finished compound wall.

The highlights

All the openings are treated differently considering its context and nature, thus all the systems vary from each other in nature and material but eventually makes the whole space as one. The 32’ wide opening between the workspace and deck use bespoke glass progressive sliding shutters with a frame of composite material system, wood and steel. The 32’ wide opening has large wooden sliding folding doors that act as vertical fins to serve as sun screen in the south side to maintain light and temperature in the workspace. The parking garage gate is a 30’ wide steel gate, and a visual barrier which folds up to create a canopy.