The first time someone told Hafeez Contractor he was going be an architect, he did not even know the meaning of the word. Contractor was then in Standard III and the teacher who made this prophesy was not exactly complimenting him. Says the man, "When my friends in school would be engrossed in books, I would draw structures of forts, bikes, guns etc. It became such an obsession that once my teacher, out of sheer frustration and in a rather disgusted tone, told me 'you will grow up to be only an architect'. I did not know what it meant then.”
Cut to Today, Contractor is one of the most famous faces of architecture in India. He commenced his career in 1968 with T. Khareghat as an Apprentice Architect. In 1977 he became the associate partner in the same firm. It was in 1982 that he began with his own private practice and from that moment onwards there has been no looking back. Contractor works everywhere, constantly creating designs. My only passion is building attractive and unique structures and I hope to give Indian cities and towns my very best," he says.
Architect Hafeez Contractor designed Infosys software development block (SDB ) in Mysore using innovative materials like glass with designs, which are futuristic as well as pioneering. The brilliant use of glass not only reflects its surrounding but also reflects the architect's vision captured in its frame.
Infosys SDB, Mysore
Asymmetrical facades and fragments form the dramatic structure of the software development block situated at the existing Infosys campus in Mysore. Hafeez Contractor, the architect of the project says that the design inspiration came from the rugged profile of the landscape. The architect on his first visit to the site decided on instituting a concept that would echo the spirit of the site. The building stands on a tremendously contoured site and its architecture is in a perfect symphony with its surroundings. The architecture also draws the tenets of origami, the Japanese art of folding paper.
The architect made generous use of glass, which adds to the exquisiteness of the structure. Glass is surely the material of the future and its intelligent use in the buildings by the architect enhances its utility factor. The façade was designed with Saint-Gobain's Cool-lite ST Titanium Blue laminated with SGG Planilux (Clear Glass) for a low solar factor and better acoustic comfort. SGG Titanium Blue was also laminated in various parts of the facade with ceramic fritted SGG Planilux to bring out vibrant designs. The ceramic frit on the glass acts as a shading device without interrupting the view from inside. The frit pattern looks dynamic and appears to vary in designs when seen from far or from close quarters.
Originally, the building had an almost rectilinear form with a few jagged edges in the vertical plane. Later it progressed into its present form, which has the signs of distorted contours in all the three dimensions. These protruding uneven planes form abstract compositions with fractured geometry. The facade, in essence, moves in and out in various angles and inclines to give rise to the distorted form.
The base of the building moves along indistinct lines, which enhances the distorted nature of the structure. The five-storey structure houses 2,500 professionals. The typical open interior layout has rectilinear profiles, whilst featuring curved atrium pockets in several edges. The atrium creates an array of experiences by following the changing form of the outer skin.
Not only in the use of glass, but the magic of the design lies in the rhythmical fashion, in which the architect's vision has been perfectly transformed with the use of glass.
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