Property Plus
Coimbatore
A government building stands tall
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The new office complex and residential quarters of the Zoological Survey of India, all on one premises, in Kozhikode have set a model.
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— Photo: S. Ramesh Kurup
Towering edifice: The new building of the Zoological Survey of India in Kozhikode.
The new buildings of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) in the heart of Kozhikode city are unique in several aspects. One is an imposing seven-storey office complex and the other, residential quarters. They are in a 56-cent compound in Jaffer Khan Colony.
The building is a model for government and private institutions to follow in minimising cost of construction and adhering to the provisions of the National Building Codes of India.
The construction was started in November 2005. The ZSI, which, at present, has its office on Annie Hall Road, will move into the complex in May.
Mohammood Kalamullathil, Assistant Executive Engineer, Civil Construction Unit, Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, who supervised the construction, says it is the first time that a government office and residential complex are constructed on a single premises in the city.
The cost of construction is Rs. 5.5 crore. The office complex, with each floor 12 metre high, is one of the tallest buildings in the city.
The complex has an area of 2,000 sq.m. It houses a museum, laboratories and offices in one block. The service lift and staircases open into the lobby, facilitating easy movement.
The museum is located on the ground, first and second floors; the offices are on the central floor; and the laboratories on the third, fourth and fifth floors. The sixth floor has a guest house.
The portico has been planned in such a manner that the focus is on the cantilevered projections, which define the entrance. There are terraces at various levels, Mr. Kalamullathil says.
C. Radhakrishnan, Assistant Director, ZSI, says that the ground, first and second floors that house the museum will be open to the public.
The ground floor accommodates a canteen for the employees.
The offices of the officer in-charge and the staff, visitors’ room, conference room and seminar hall will be located on the second floor.
The laboratory-cum-offices of scientists, rooms for technical staff and scientific assistants and computer laboratory will be on the third floor.
The fourth floor houses a bioresearch laboratory, faunal depository I (dry collection), faunal depository 2 (wet collection) and fumigation room, while the fifth floor will have a library giving access to students and researchers.
It will have a store for chemicals, a photography and reprography room, a recreation centre and rooms for women. The sixth floor is for accommodating visiting scientists.
Field station
The Kozhikode office is the Western Ghats field station of the ZSI.
The station is engaged in the investigation of the fauna in the region, its characteristic diversities, ecology and behaviour.
The 16 residential quarters are in a four-storey structure in two blocks, for officers and the staff. Parking space has been provided on the ground floor.
Mr. Kalamullathil says that the buildings had been designed as four blocks. The external facade of the blocks has cantilevered and recessed masses.
Except Type V quarters, which is designed as a duplex unit, the rest of the quarters are constructed as single-level units. The design of the complex is an attempt to build an integral community settlement where each resident feels secure and has a definite sense of belongingness.
Office and residential quarters blocks are provided with separate fire escape staircases, Mr. Kalamullathil says.
BIJU GOVIND
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