Given the green credentials of the client, there was a mandate to preserve every tree on site and to create the space to plant 2,000 more. Effective water management was also key, as the site was the location of a lake. Decades ago, the site still flooded once in a while. Instead of trying to divert the water away, causing flooding in other areas, the client was keen to find ways of storing on site and replenishing the ground water aquifers in a sustainable fashion. It was the client’s ambition for this to be a platinum rated green building as designated by the Indian Green Building Council.

Secure Meters is an Indian multinational with factories in India, UK and Italy. It had outgrown it’s Indian manufacturing sites and needed to add a third site there. Each of Secure’s manufacturing bases has been designed and built to be state of the art in terms of the way they manufacture their products. They wanted to bring this excellence to the architecture as well. Since 2008, they have consistently pushed the boundaries of architecture of manufacturing facilities. Introducing natural light, dust free, air-conditioned yet well-ventilated buildings, prioritising comfort over operational or constructional efficiency.

It was natural that they would expect to develop a new way of being in the new factory at Sanand. The brief was to create an expandable building that could be built in phases, allowing production to commence in record time. The spaces and overall site plan must elevate the mindset of the users to build with higher quality, improve productivity and encourage everyone to mingle and learn from each other. It was clear that the building should be designed to reduce silos and the feeling of strong hierarchies.

From an environmental perspective the building had to be designed to perform better than any other electronics manufacturing business. The client allowed us to investigate the present way of working and workshopped new methods of managing the workflow. Thus material flow and people flow were kept separate through the site. As the site and location were new, and would keep growing for the next few decades, it was important to create a separate area to train and grow the staff. Further visitor rooms and meeting rooms were needed away from the main factory floor to allow non-disruptive visits.

Design character • Large open span for the main manufacturing wings – to enable additional lines and a high degree of flexibility – creating an enduring and resilient structure • Saw tooth façade, harking back to the industrial prototypes, bringing in natural light, creating a rhythm and providing a space for solar panels. This language also came down the east and west façade. Protecting the building from the blisteringly hot sun, while providing more natural light • Building seasonal lake that expands from 1 acre to 3 acres in the monsoons, this allows storm water to collect on site.

It is surrounded by ground water recharge wells that slowly filter water back to the parched underground resevres • Create a clear journey that allows people to switch to the rhythms of the workplace and back to the rhythms of home. This journey involves two bridges and a pathway under a canopy of flying wings and surrounded 600 trees • The reception building is covered by an open canopy that tilts to welcome visitors and nudges people to where they need to go. • The masterplan creates a separation between visitors, formal working and relaxation.

Creating a space for a canteen and recreation building that is architecturally more playful than the discipline of the utilitarian buildings • The architecture of the canteen was specifically created to celebrate the people who work, to create an ambience of rest and to slow the pace right down • The canteen building allows for the creation of a heat stack and the wide cantilevers protect the building from the scorching sun. Air is cooled by water source cooling from the pond and circulated around the building.