Excerpt: NSB by HabitArt Architecture Studio is a project that serves as a unique landmark with its innovative design, sustainable features, and programmatic compliance. The layout consists of two wings, academic and faculty, with an outdoor central spine that serves as a spill-out area, minimizing built circulation. All spaces are designed to capture indirect daylight and ventilation, avoiding artificial lighting and air-conditioning.
Project Description
[Text as submitted by architect] The National School of Business is a highly esteemed higher education institution offering graduate and post-graduate business management courses. The institution recently underwent a rapid growth phase, and as a result, a new center of academia adjacent to its existing campus was conceived. The architects were tasked with developing a vision for this new block that would exemplify the institution’s community-centric ethos while fulfilling the programmatic requirements. Despite several key challenges, they were successful in delivering a unique, landmark form that refreshed the institution’s identity.
The first challenge was tight deadlines. The architects had to design and construct the new block within an academic year, and the design phase was limited to just 10 days. This would result in a design and build process that would need to be achieved in a timeline of just six months. Nevertheless, they aimed for a simple yet flexible layout that could be transformed and augmented throughout the project.
The second challenge was the restricted buildable area. The new center of academia was situated next to a railway line, and the basic peripheral 6m setback and mandated 30m setback from the railway line had to be adhered to, limiting the buildable area on the 33,500 sqft site. Moreover, the limited FAR allowance necessitated a creative take on the layout, which they achieved by splitting the layout into two wings, academic and faculty, and running an outdoor spine down the middle.
The central spine served as a spill-out area for the two wings and minimized the need for built circulation and thus its FAR consumption. To address the programmatic requirements posed by the education board, the architects designed the academic block with raked, lecture halls on either end, smaller tutorial rooms, and a circulation core that filled the center. The upper-floor classrooms were designed with flat floors that allowed the rooms to be adapted to different functions and furniture configurations.
The faculty block housed independent staff rooms over two floors to accommodate their research and focused work. All spaces were designed to capture maximum, indirect daylight, and ventilation, avoiding artificial lighting and air-conditioning during most of the day. Both blocks were also wrapped in wire-cut brick sourced from the nearby region of Malur, creating a play in shadow through the day and adding dimension to the otherwise simple elevation.
In conclusion, despite the challenges, the architects’ design concept resulted in a new center of academia that captured the essence of the National School of Business. The innovative design, sustainable features, and adherence to programmatic requirements make it a landmark structure in Bangalore’s business school landscape.
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