Places Worth Working At
Program: Commercial
Area: 9 Acres
Client: Google
Status: Completed
Location: Hyderabad, South India
The Central Plaza is the key element to binding together the individual office blocks and outdoor spaces to create a pedestrian zone where office goers can lunch, meet, relax or be active. The highlight of the space is the centrally located oval cut-out and water feature below at the basement 1 level. This is complemented horizontally by a very long pergola and vertically by a tall beacon exaggerating the passenger lift structure.
The Basement 1 Space is designed to take office goers from the Road Level to the Podium Level, where the entrances to all office buildings are located. Highlight of the space is the centrally located oval reflective pool and planting beneath the large oval cut-out above. It is flanked by a suspended curved staircase. The pool is intended to be flush with the surrounding paving to allow for the space to be used otherwise when the pool is emptied out.
The entrance portals comprise a centrally located security block that serves both the entry and exit gates aligned on both sides of the cabin with a large tensile roof above. The gateway is a grand structure that is 7m high from the ground and introduces the motto of the oval shape to the site. Granite bands and cobble paving highlight the arrival experience
Seating and lighting are integrated into the planters and other landscape elements to reduce clutter within the space. The landscape design intends to encourage users to step out during their break time or outside office hours and socialise or relax outdoors within an urban high quality, user-centric open space.
The frontage elevation to the North plays with iterations of the oval form. The B1 level entrance is highlighted through two extruded ovals materialised by tall corten steel members. At the same time this creates a focal point at this junction visible from some distance.
