Auric Hall, Aurangabad

"Auric Hall is a landmark for the city of Aurangabad, designed as a transcendent, inspirational, timeless office building with its design deep rooted in Aurangabad’s rich tradition."

The Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) is one of India’s most ambitious infrastructure programs. It’s goal is to develop new industrial cities as ‘Smart Cities’ and converge next generation technologies across the infrastructure sector. Aurangabad Industrial City (AURIC) is being developed as part of DMIC as a Smart industrial cities. Auric Hall is the landmark District Administrative Building within the Central Business District of the industrial city. The building is both the monitoring and the administrative nerve centre for the smart city, housing the main command control room to centrally manage all the civic utilities on a real time platform

Auric Hall is also a landmark for the city of Aurangabad, designed as a transcendent, inspirational, timeless office building. It has been conceptualized as a building that creates spaces, that strive to achieve innovation and transcend in expectations. It is a socially responsive building, enhancing engagement with spaces where people and activities thrive. It encompasses spaces that promote interaction of ideas to enable effective solutions.

Although the building is advanced in technology and function, it was important that the building be planned with a character that was sensitive to Aurangabad’s climate, context and rich history. Auric Hall celebrates the historical glory of old Aurangabad by drawing inspiration from these traditional features and elements found in the city’s rich heritage. Ceremonial gateways, the screen design that envelope the building and landscaping adjoining the internal driveway, is inspired by the local architectural styles.

Contrasting to the external symmetry, it hides inside many asymmetric surprises. Every alternate floor has a different layout lead by strategically staggering spaces to avoid repetition and homogeneity. The building is a collage of office-spaces and terraces. The atrium is intended to serve as an exhibition space, with a display of artwork, to show case Aurangabad’s rich history. Commercial and office spaces call for large structural grids to allow for flexibility. As such, post tension beams were used to enable the large spans and the services height clearances required within a proportionate floor to floor height.

The large north facing atrium façade has large glass panels with ceramic fritting. All the offices facing the atrium also have glass walls in line with the open office concept. The glass was carefully chosen again with the required technical specifications making it effective against glare, heat gain and toughened at the same time against wind pressures and other loads.

Inaugurated by the Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi in September 2019, AURIC Hall is not only meaningful in its objective, but also manifests itself as an indigenous, leading edge of people’s highest aspirations, whilst allowing people to thrive in its environs.