Bombay Arts Society | Sanjay Puri Architects

The clients for this project required two distinctly separate series of spaces. The primary objective was to create art galleries and allied spaces to promote arts.   In order to minimize the cost of the art spaces to emerging artists, the clients required office spaces with a separate entrance that would be leased out to generate income. All of this was required to be created in a small 1300sqm plot.

After leaving the required setbacks from each side, the resultant plinth area is only 450sqm. Within this limited plinth, separate circulation cores for the arts spaces and the offices are provided. The resultant usable space therefore is very limited. This necessitated the distribution of the art facilities across the 3 lower levels above which the office spaces are located, also in 3 levels.

To allow the internal spaces to be perceived as larger, curvilinear walls fluidly define spaces at each level in plan and across the 3 levels in section within the art gallery spaces. This language is perceptible externally too with undulating curved walls across both, the horizontal as well as the vertical planes.

Minimally punctuated sculptural curves enclose the art spaces below and a small 3 level punctuated volume housing the offices emerges at the upper levels.