Owners of a known jewellery brand approached us to design their workshop in one of Rajkot’s oldest industrial neighbourhoods. The plot size was 40 x 9 metres, with three sides facing the streets, and the remaining longer side abutting another industrial establishment.
The program was very simple – all functions related to processing the raw material will take place on the ground floor, while the assembly work by hand will take place on the first floor.
Security and access control were important requirements, as the staff work with gold and other expensive materials. Hence, the exterior shell is designed as a fortress with no access, but at the same time, sufficient light and ventilation penetrates all areas. The modules for this shell are designed in tandem with the services network, so that it can be easily modified as and when required.
The main access to the facility is from one end of the floor plan, while the end has the common toilets for the work force. The shop floor has to be easily modifiable with the advancement of the rapidly developing jewellery making machines. Thus, this central portion is kept free of any structural elements at both floors. Right from the overall services to the functionality of the shop floors, the general design strategy has been to provide a robust framework which can be modified with minimum impact to the daily operations.
Location
Rajkot
Client
JP Jewellers
Structural Consultant
Varun Suchak
Year
2019 – 2020
Principal Architect
Ronak Gangdev
Design Team
Karan Solanki
Vishnu Teja
Status
Completed
Project Management Consultant
Stemcon
Photographs
Ronak Gangdev
