Gyanodaya Birla Training Centre | Mumbai

Gyanodaya is a management-learning centre committed to teaching the core values and visions of the A.V. Birla group to its newly imbibed workforce. Sited in Navi Mumbai, the building is marked by strong rectilinear lines. The variant colours of white and yellow accentuate the indents and projections of the facade. The two colours also achieve the objective of defining the two distinct functions that the architectural programme entails – work and play. The white residential section floats on the yellow training and research centre. The 6-storey building is squeezed into a relatively small plot. The ground, 1st and 2nd floors are devoted to training and research. The ground floor has a reception lounge, a multi-purpose hall that accommodates 100 people, two product display areas and an administrative office. An auditorium, conference rooms and a few lecture rooms are located on the 1st floor.

The design has eight casual breakout areas that can accommodate 6 to 12 people to facilitate smaller informal discussion groups. The 2nd floor houses a wood-panelled library and faculty rooms. On the 3rd floor, terraces lined with potted plants surround a glass-vaulted dining room with a seating capacity of 70. The kitchen and storerooms are situated adjacent to the dining area. The 4th floor functions as a service floor separating the training facilities from the residential section on the 5th and 6th floors. The residential floors encompass 34 rooms and offer an ambiance of a 5-star hotel complete with a waiting lounge, table tennis facilities, gym, shower, sauna and locker facilities. The open-air terrace on top of the building serves as a good venue for large gatherings of up to 300 guests. A series of internal voids, double height volumes that create visual connection between levels contribute to the interactive quality of the spaces.

Some of the most interesting aspects of the design are in the details – the wing like canopy elements in the entrance, fashioned with teflon and steel, is nothing short of an intriguing, fanciful creation. The broken black column that culminates with steel in the facade has a symbolic connotation, signifying how the imparting of knowledge shapes the raw talent that comes to the institute into polished managers symbolised by the smooth and complete column at the other end.