The project is rooted in a contextual and environmentally responsive design philosophy. Instead of treating architecture as an exercise in form-making, the building is shaped by a series of responses to climate, site conditions, and the evolving urban fabric of Ahmedabad.
The Responsive Design Of This Building Is A Result Of The Climate & Site | Fifth Column Design Studio
It challenges the convention of the sealed glass office box by proposing a workplace that adapts over time, uses resources carefully, and maintains a balance between spatial quality and ecological responsibility.
Every responsive design decision, from orientation to material layering, emerges from environmental logic. The site faces harsh western sun, so the building consolidates services along that edge to form a thick thermal buffer.
Daylight and ventilation can be used optimally in the working spaces that open to the north, south, and east. The adjacent existing building features multiple projecting balconies; instead of replicating them, the new structure subtly reinterprets this language.
The design gently twists its mass to create self-shading balconies that both function and align visually with the older block. A porous environmental skin on the east softens glare, cuts heat gain, and creates a dynamic play of light and shadow.
At its core, the project embodies the principles of CARE – Contextual, Adaptable, Resourceful, Efficient.
The balconies are among the project’s most distinctive environmental and spatial features. Unlike the existing building’s ornamental projections, the design team shapes these new balconies through a calibrated twist of the mass, making them self-shaded and truly usable. They act as microclimatic buffers, breakout spaces for employees, and transitional edges where the interior meets the climate. The eastern environmental skin adds another special layer – an animated façade where shifting shadows and filtered light create a tactile, ever-changing experience both inside and outside the workspace.
Fact File
Designed by: Fifth Column Design Studio
Project Type: Office Architecture Design
Project Name: Twisted Thoughts
Location: Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
Year Built: 2025
Duration of the project: 2 Years
Plot Area: 19,000 Sq.ft
Built-up Area: 1,10,000 Sq.ft
Principal Architect: Ar. Abhay Panchasara
Team Design Credits: Ar. Bhaumik Panchal & Ar. Nisha Sarsecha
Photograph Courtesy: Yash Parekh
Products / Materials / Vendors: Wallcovering / Cladding – Exposed Concrete Render / Construction Materials – RCC with aerated concrete blocks / Lighting – Rayna Industries / Doors and Partitions – Alcom System / Sanitaryware – Jaquar / Facade Systems – Alcom / Windows – Alcom / Furniture – Metlin Furniture / Flooring – Kota Stone (Natural) , Bharat Flooring and Nexion / Paint – Asian / Hardware – Ozone Consultants for the Project: Interior Designers – Fifth Column Design Studio / Landscape Architects – Fifth Column Design Studio / HVAC Consultants – Mr. Anjaria, Anjariay Associates / Structure Engineers – Mr. Bhairav Patel, Strucart Engineers / Plumbing Consultant – Mr. Jayesh Shah, Vraj Sanitation Contractors – Earth Group / Project Managers – Mr. Parin Chowksi / Quantity Surveyors – Mr. Bhaskar Raval
Firm’s Website Link: Fifth Column Design Studio
Firm’s Instagram Link: Fifth Column Design Studio
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