Atmos & Aura

Residential · Housing · Masterplan

2018 - 2020 · architectureRED

With Naveen Thiraviam, Nivedita Elango, Shivraj, and Elizabeth

Atmos & Aura is a housing project in Bangalore built on one idea, a neighbourhood that does not stop at the ground. A green belt runs through the site from one end to the other, and the same weave climbs the buildings, so the landscape carries on into every block. On each floor, street-like corridors lined with plants and seating lead off the lift lobby and branch into bridges to the front doors, giving every level the shared ground of a neighbourhood street.

On the plan, the housing is laid out along the green belt, with Block A by the main entry, the five B blocks with courtyards between them, and Block C at the far end around a community space of its own. The two clubs sit where the belt crosses the road, linking the housing to the recreational space.

Left column first, then right. 01 Site footprint The proposed roads and power line cutting at an angle across the site create inefficient land parcels for development. 02 Sequencing open spaces The irregular parcels are defined by open spaces, stitched together by a wide, linear green axis. 03 Weaving green spaces The open spaces are defined and articulated by the building edges, creating introverted community spaces that are engaging and induce interaction. 04 Creating strong linkages The building corridors extend the external green space, connecting the built and the unbuilt. 05 Roof top green spaces Extending the green linkages to the rooftops ties the skyline together through stepped terraces and community spaces. 06 Massing The built form is a backdrop to the public open spaces, its cascading terraces a strong visual anchor to the north-south spine.

The green belt runs from one end of the site to the other, and the same weave climbs the buildings. The four steps show it in one block. A slab is split in two, the gap opened to the landscape at the ground, then laced with planted corridors and bridges on every floor. Along the way, gathering spaces of different sizes give it pauses, from the quiet landscape around the recreational space to busier shared spaces and a more inward-looking community space at the end.

Read across, then down. 01 Connecting corridor Street-like corridors run along the axis of the building on all floors, extending in opposite directions from the lift lobby. 02 Creating spaces The corridor diverges into small bridges, lined with plants and urban seating for a shaded, street-like walk. 03 Connecting bridges The bridges intercept the axial corridor and lead to the units on either side, each to two individual units. 04 Community living Where the corridor and the bridges meet, they form ground for neighbourhood-like interactions and communal living.

Block C faces away from the rest of the site, around a more inward-looking community space of its own. The green layer runs through the block, across each floor and up the central opening. Paths around the building separate shared spaces from vehicle access, and its planning follows Block B, with a mix of unit types on every floor, as a traditional neighbourhood has.

At ground level, the building edges enclose the open spaces as courtyards for each cluster, with paths, seating, and planting running between them.

The sequence builds the housing up from one unit. A row of units along a planted corridor is stacked into a slab, and the slabs are linked by green at ground level, then set on the podium with paths between them.

Each bridge is a front path, planted on both sides, with a house number and street name at the door.

Access to the amenities runs from the podiums of the housing out into the landscape of the recreational space. Where it crosses the public access, it forms a shared space linking the recreational space and the clubhouse, for residents and the public alike. The paths lead through open spaces from semi-private to public, and the green steps down to the open-air theatre and on through the housing.

The landscape beyond the site carries on into the recreational space, which winds through the planting and its own structure, with activities to match. The diagrams build it on its triangular plot around a courtyard, with the pool alongside. The section runs from the pool through the yoga studio, with the gym and its terrace above, to the courtyard, the spa and sauna rooms, and the salon, setting private rooms and shared ones in one sequence.

I worked on Atmos & Aura for two years, in a team of five working with the studio's chief architect. I designed Blocks A and C and the overall massing, and in the later stage produced the tender drawings. All the renders shown are mine; the sections and drawings were made by the team.

Drawings and views

• Overall view of the residential blocks and surrounding landscape
• Site strategy in six steps, from the site footprint to the massing
• A courtyard between the blocks, and a path past one of the towers
• Two sections from the clubhouse, across the CDP road, to the recreational block
• The recreational club raised over its pool, and the amphitheatre by the clubhouse
• The recreational club raised over its pool, and the amphitheatre by the clubhouse
• The recreational club raised over its pool, and the amphitheatre by the clubhouse
• Site plan with blocks, unit mix, amenities, roads, and the high-tension line
• Connecting the site, with a block opened up to the green and a section through the blocks and podium
• The corridor on a typical floor, in four steps
• Section through Block C, with planted corridors on every floor, the central opening, and a bridge to the next block
• A courtyard between the blocks, and a path past one of the towers
• From a single unit to the blocks on their podium
• A planted bridge to a front door, and the corridors across the gap
• A planted bridge to a front door, and the corridors across the gap
• Typical floor plan, with twelve 2 and 3 BHK units off the central corridor
• Recreational club built up on its triangular plot, and a section from the pool to the salon