NIFT | Mumbai

National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) is a leading institute in the arena of fashion design and technology. The development spread over 20,000 sq m site, islocated in Navi Mumbai. The academy already had an existing facility but needed major extensions. The overall layout of the campus is planned around a courtyard. The new campus is linked to the existing building with an enclosed corridor. The various elements of the new development have been designed as independent building blocks and have been laid out around the existing structure.The entry to the main campus is through an ambient corridor which forms the foreground to the different academic buildings like the Textile design department block, Management block, Technology block, Fashion and Apparel block andthe Resource centre. The ambient space on the ground floor is designed as a semi open area lined with green patches and metal staircases, large enough to hold informal events.

The central courtyard also has an open-air amphitheatre to accommodate large gatherings.The central influence that steered the architect was to establish spaces for creative exchange. Therefore, the physical environment in the campus is woven around the sensitivity that a lot of interactions occur in a spontaneous manner and as a result creating activity spaces around the formal study areas was a priority. At the outset, this idea is manifested in the form of an ambient corridor that forms the spine of the campus. This corridor while linking the departments physically provides ample space for casual activities and informal fashion shows. The rhythm of the contrasting spaces in this corridor - from narrow to wide, short to tall, enclosedconcrete to exposed steel, institutes an interesting sense of aesthetic. The entry to the campus is through a grandentrance plaza with a large metal roof porch. A multi-purpose hall with 700 seats has been placed near the entrance plaza to facilitate entry and exit of guests without actually having to enter the campus. The car park area has 80 car parking facility. The buildings have been designed as 1 and 2-storey structures for easy vertical circulation and are connected together horizontally through wide corridors at all levels.