Technicality with a touch of elegance: Substation Development Design at Gujarat, India
An active collaboration between Reliance Industries, a well-established Indian multinational company, and a dynamic Mumbai-based architectural firm, Atelier ARBO led to the mindful design of a substation development, covering an area of around 17,975 sq. ft, for an expansive residential township spread across 750 acres of land. The substation development comprises of five individual structures, a specific road for entrance, and a compound wall to keep trespassers away and enhance the security of the facility.
Reaching the end of their operational life cycle, the existing substations expressed a need to be replaced. Five individual structures have been designed with a concrete frame and double-skin facades, out of which four of them have a height lower than the surrounding trees to ensure minimal disturbance to the natural landscape. The outer façade, inspired by the triangular steel profiles of the new power line towers, is the symmetrical repetition of a motif pattern created by long hand-made bricks laid in a zigzag manner. Prefabricated concrete members, cut by a continuous strip of clerestory windows, form the inner façade layer of the structures.
Aligning with the requirements of the client, one of the five structures is a tall tower with vertical cross-arms, other two are low pylons with a horizontal arrangement of cross-arms, and the remaining two substations are primarily terminals that connect underground cables with overhead lines. Once inside, the raw materiality and detailing of exposed concrete is portrayed through the prefabricated members of the structure, with the windows becoming the source of natural daylight and creating a visual connection with the outdoor environment. The repetitive yet logical positioning of prefabricated steel triangular sections is one of the key characteristic of these substations.
The design revolved around producing structures that had technical integrity, a strong structural stability, and enhanced functionality, all with a simple touch of innovation and elegance. Taking into consideration the natural aspects of the existing structures and context, the planning process focused on explorative iterations of these factors and led to a systematically-arranged, unified design solution. Stumbling upon a new design language, significantly derived from the vicinal context, the design evolved into an abstract form of the region.
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