Bhopal
1980-1992

This large complex of public sector offices in Bhopal, was designed for the Madhya Pradesh State Corporation. Developed from some of the architectural concepts initiated in the ECIL offices in Hyderabad, this complex is for a similar hot-dry climate.

It is designed to accommodate twelve independent State Government Corporation in four separate buildings which architecturally form a single mass, focussing round a courtyard, with a fountain at its centre. This courtyard is covered by a pergola at roof level, which not only protects the internal facades from the sun, but also ties the complex together visually.

Much of the lighting of the office spaces is from windows overlooking this central space; the external surfaces are either blank masonry, or double-walls with deep-set windows. The six-storey high blocks each have their own vertical circulation. At various points on the upper levels, they are interconnected by bridges. The driveway swings into the complex, passing under the overhead bridges – a classic pattern found in historic sectors of Bhopal city.