MARKET
COMMITTEE OFFICE, AHMEDGARH, PUNJAB
Architect:
Sarbjit Singh Bahga, Chandigarh
This is
perhaps the smallest yet elegant office building designed by the architect. It
is located on a small plot measuring 32 feet by 80 feet falling in a row of
haphazardly constructed grain shops.
The three-storied
modern building has been placed at a set back of about three metres from the
front boundary. It helps in bringing out the structure in a pleasant contrast
to a chaotic street picture. A simple and modernist façade in
machine-made-brick-tile cladding and concrete louvers finished with madrasi-dana,
enhances its visual appeal.
The
fenestrations are well protected from the vagaries of weather by roof overhangs
together with a combination of horizontal and vertical concrete louvers in the
form of trellis work. Adequate light and ventilation has been provided to the
central service core through duct, stairwell, and skylight. The building-form
with its bold, minimalist, and unified external expression, looks gigantic and
monumental in spite of its small scale.