Madras
1987-92

Madras is a low-rise city, with a quiet and relaxed life style. These new headquarters for MRF, the leading tyre manufacturer in India, gently follows the curve of the road to create a series of terraced gardens, recalling the waves on the seashore of the Marina along the waterfront in Madras

Rejecting the notion of a high-rise tower to convey the commercial pre-eminence of the client, this design generates monumentality though a single free-standing column rising to support the large pergola that floats above the terraces, protecting them from the sun. Within the building, the various levels of the offices open out onto a central atrium, linked through a casual pattern of connecting stairs, creating a focus for the building and a wonderfully casual way to walk from one department to another, or and to exit and go home at the end of the working day. At the roof terrace level, one emerges on to a large garden, with the trees and buildings of Madras all around.