Architect’s erpretationint
Bharat bakery, being made of reused steel shipping containers, was successfully able to achieve the sustainability goals set forth by the client. Such projects increase the useful lives of shipping containers and reduce the overall environmental impact. Re-using is even more environmentally friendly than recycling, as it does not have to undergo further processing.
Rahul Jain, Principal Architect, RJDL
CLIENT BRIEF
Bharat bakery is a European chic-style café with highly contrasting black and yellow exterior and contemporary style interiors that blend perfectly to become an eye-catcher.
The brief was to design a budget-friendly, compact bakery and café with a covered and open seating area. With the caveat of the location being a remote town, it was not possible for the client to get the premium look and feel of a European-style café he envisioned.
VISION
The concept was to create a European chic-style café that would stand out from the crowd The vision was to design a sustainable structure that goes beyond the conventional and pushes the boundaries of design and build form. A recycled shipping container, being a sustainable product, was a perfect fit due to its modularity as well as economic feasibility as compared to the conventional RCC structure. Moreover, the challenge was to construct the entire café in our warehouse and deliver the same on the site.
CHOICE OF MATERIAL
A recycled shipping container, being a sustainable product, was a perfect fit due to its modularity as well as economic feasibility as compared to the conventional RCC structure. Using Steel containers ensures that the structure was easy to prefabricate, transport and install on the remote location of the site.
Advantages of Recycled Shipping Containers:
Eco-friendly: Recycling steel, does not only reduce costs but is also good for the environment.
Cost-effectiveness: Recycled shipping containers are easy to acquire and transport, reducing the overall cost.
High Durability: Since steel has high durability and requires minimal maintenance, it forms one of the best economic choices.
Time-saving – Prefabrication of container units is easier and faster in construction, and these units, being small are easy to transport, can be stacked, and are easy to be assembled, with simple joining details.
Prefabrication of such units makes it easier to reach in remote locations, where labor is not available readily. Low requirement for labor also adds to the reduced construction time.
ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES
Three containers are used in the design – one for the café outlet, one for the kitchen and one for the seating area with two arched openings with European-styled balconies. The balconies compliment European design through their curved balustrades and decorative metal brackets, which provide an elegant touch to exteriors. Placing arches in the front provides a welcoming feel to the place and the awning shades the front and also compliments the European style to give a flattering design to the exterior.
Highly contrasting black and yellow exterior, and contemporary style interiors blend perfectly to become an eye-catcher. The black and yellow color scheme is complementary to each other, making the structure look bolder and more striking, which is bound to draw the attention of the passerby. In contrast, the interior is more soothing and calmer, with grey flooring, and lighter walls. This mute interior color scheme makes the space look seemingly bigger and additional wooden joists give it a more classical, and earthy feel.
STRUCTURAL DETAILS
Three recycled shipping containers are used in the design – one for the café outlet, one kitchen and one seating area with two arched openings with European-styled balconies.
The entrance of Bharat Bakery is tapered and recessed, to give the front a dynamic look. European-style balconies compliment European design through their curved balustrades and decorative metal brackets, which provide an elegant touch to exteriors. Two arches in the front provide a welcoming feel to the place and lead to the first floor. The combination of a wide open-arched entrance and chic balconies break the monotony of straight lines as well as give the front a welcoming feel. The straight lines are used prominently as a design element which adds to the welcoming look of the café.
The corrugated, rough look of the interiors is retained on the roof and on the upper floor, to create a balanced and spacious interior while in contrast, the European-style balconies with curved balustrades, and decorative metal brackets give the structure an organic touch. Additionally, the awning shades the front and also compliments the European style to give a flattering design to the exterior.
SOFTWARE USED
Auto Cad, Sketchup and 3Ds Max were used in the designing process of the bakery.
TIMELINE
The project timeline for the project is 8 months wherein 6 months will be retailed for construction in the warehouse and the remaining 2 months will be used for site installation.
IN CONCLUSION
The overall experience was quite interesting since the architectural vision was to retain the inherent structure of the container without making many changes to the structural elements of the container, as well as add aesthetic elements externally which will ultimately lead to the reduction of overall cost and ease in transportation and installation.
