| From the Architect | 

Eastern Sun is shining through the ceramic etched glass fins, standing straight and high like the emergent layers of the tropical forest facing all the odds to protect his habitats. One is seating in the table at his designated territory of the office building enjoying the glorious morning light through the filtered surface, breathing the purified air and mingling with his colleagues around the spaces. Spaces that is more informal towards the eastern wing, creating vertical connectivity through the office floors creating a break among all the formal tasks. A pause between all the rush, a space to think all the thin lines and try to rejuvenises through the conversations. When people are spending more time in the work places rather than the home, then we have to think the spaces in a different way. Ways that makes the user feel more adaptive and healing. Then a space is created, shining in the morning, lighted throughout the day, protect from the evils and stand high in the artificial jungle.

During the past few years, we are discovering how the built environment affects our psychological state and long term health. But few are creating examples for others to follow, to change the way we observe the city, the place we mingled. The demand is changing, so the functions, functions to communicate, to connect. The changes in the functions pushing the surface of the Architecture towards a new horizon, trying hard to set another new brick in the wall.

Approaching from the west end of the road, one can feel the verticality of the structure, the slenderness of the form. The land was the challenge to distribute all the spaces in a poetic manner. Still one can enjoy the entrance through the lobby and the controlled reception area to maintain a secured circulation. Multipurpose hall situated nearest to the ground for easy access. The interactive spaces like the dining, gym and the play rooms are placed in between the main office floors for creating a walking community inside the office. The majority of the work force are concentrated around this common functional spaces.

How about meeting in steps, like an amphitheater, where the light is brighter than the other places and environment is more informal. 12 to 16 people can easily gather around those steps and have their conversations. For a more formal meetings one can enjoy the room beneath those steps. It is like an inter-related furniture which works in a both way, meeting needs for the different users. The roof is double height above the steps, so one can join the meeting from the upper floors too.

The more you move towards west wing to east wing, the office spaces are getting more informal and interactive. We have revisited the visitor’s space and introduced the POD (Informal meeting cubicle) systems through the east surface. So one can have their conversations with the visitors without interrupting others, in a more cozy way.

The function is more clean and simple to provide all the service and utility works in a cost effective and sustainable way. The clients want the building to be a GREEN one and get the PLATINUM certificate from the authorized body. To think the whole building in such a way, many possibilities have been applied, approached and viewed. Here we have proposed LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, the most widely used green building rating system.

We have planned the building considering the site geographical and climatic condition. To reduce the heat gain and use the maximum amount of daylight throughout the day, the surface of the building is designed.

The journey through the design process raised many ideological obstacles from different perspectives. We have tried to dig into the subconscious networks for the answers and build a coherent Architecture for IDCOL. Where all the major factors are noticed and the functions are placed in a harmonious way to create a piece in urban environment.

Design Architects

1. Minhaz Bin Gaffar (Team Leader)
2. Shahla K Kabir
3. Suvro Sovon Chowdhury
4. Saiqa Iqbal
5. Gautam Adhikary

Other Team Members

1. Bhuiyan A R M Riyadh
2. Efroim Tripura
3. Tanzina Binta Harun
4. Tonima Tahsin
5. Sudipta Mondol
6. Mahfuzur Rahman