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Khushboo Mankani Architecture

Projects / Workplace

A Workplace for the People

A tech campus in Kharghar designed around a simple question: if a professional spends 90,000 hours of their life at work, what does the building owe them?

  • Thesis
  • 2025
Render of the campus plaza, with planted terraces stepping back from a pedestrian street and people sitting under the canopy
View 01The campus from the pedestrian street: terraces step back to keep the ground shaded

00Project data

KMA / WFP·25

Project
A Workplace for the People (Workplace)
Location
Kharghar, Navi Mumbai
Context
Bachelor of Architecture thesis, semester 10
Institution
Sir J.J. College of Architecture, Mumbai
Year
2025
Authorship
Individual project
Tools
AutoCAD, Rhino, Grasshopper, Lumion, Adobe Photoshop
Programme
Tech campus: workspaces, wellness, amenities, landscape

01Brief

KMA / WFP·25

A workplace is the one building most of us spend a third of our lives inside, and the one we design least for the people in it.

The thesis plans a tech campus from the inside out: from the person at the desk to the block, rather than the other way round.

Every workstation is within reach of outside air and a planted edge. Routes between blocks are walked, under shade, with cars kept to the perimeter. A full-height atrium with trees in it carries daylight to the centre of the plan, and the daylight strategy was tested floor by floor rather than assumed.

02Argument

KMA / WFP·25

The average professional spends over 90,000 hours at work, one third of a life, indoors.

  • 90,000 hours

    Support

    The time a career takes. The thesis treats that number as a design problem, not a statistic.

  • 02

    Soothe

    Mental and emotional stress (deadlines, constant focus, feeling undervalued) answered with quiet rooms, planting and places to retreat.

  • 03

    Adapt

    Physical stress from poor posture, air and lighting, answered with a variety of workstations and a daylight strategy tested floor by floor.

  • 04

    Empower

    Spatial stress (no privacy, noise, monotonous layouts) answered by giving people a choice of where in the campus to work.

03Design development

KMA / WFP·25

Eight moves from an empty plot to a campus, each one tested against the same question of what it does for the people inside.

Isometric diagram of the bare site with its access road
Isometric diagram with coloured blocks laid out across the site
Isometric diagram showing blocks grouped by privacy level
Isometric diagram with programme blocks linked by landscaped routes
Isometric diagram showing blocks rotated to face the sun path
Isometric diagram with the massing articulated into smaller volumes
Isometric diagram of a block with stepped planted terraces
Isometric diagram of a block with planted balconies on each floor

04Drawings

KMA / WFP·25

Site plan of the campus showing buildings, courtyards, sports ground and planting
Drawing 01Site plan: buildings held apart by landscape, with vehicles kept to the edge

05Floors

KMA / WFP·25

Six floors of the same plan, each tuned to its light. Pull them apart to see how the planted core runs the full height of the building.

Stacked isometric drawing of all six floor plates, from ground to fifth floor
Fifth floor
Stacked isometric drawing of all six floor plates, from ground to fifth floor
Fourth floor
Stacked isometric drawing of all six floor plates, from ground to fifth floor
Third floor
Stacked isometric drawing of all six floor plates, from ground to fifth floor
Second floor
Stacked isometric drawing of all six floor plates, from ground to fifth floor
First floor
Stacked isometric drawing of all six floor plates, from ground to fifth floor
Ground floor

06Section

KMA / WFP·25

The long section is the argument in one drawing: a full-height atrium with trees in it, stairs people actually want to use, and daylight reaching the core.

Long section through the building showing a full-height planted atrium, sculptural stairs and people occupying every floor

07Environment

KMA / WFP·25

The environmental strategy was tested, not asserted: a campus-wide water, energy and materials plan, and a daylight study across the floor plate.

  • Annotated isometric of the campus listing sustainability measures including solar generation, water percolation, green cover and low-embodied-energy materials
    Diagram 01Campus strategy: 36% green cover, roof photovoltaics, permeable paving
  • Daylight analysis section through workspace, core and workspace with a false-colour plan and a table of daylight factor results
    Diagram 02Daylight analysis: average daylight factor 10.2%, above the threshold

08Façade

KMA / WFP·25

Detail of the amorphous silicon photovoltaic façade showing the glass build-up and its solar heat gain and power generation properties
Detail 01Amorphous-silicon photovoltaic façade: build-up and performance

09Views

KMA / WFP·25

  • Interior render of a lounge with a large tree, timber ceiling and informal seating
    View 04Break zone: a room built around a tree
  • Render of a shaded external walkway between blocks with planting and a bridge above
    View 05Between the blocks: shaded routes instead of corridors
  • Exterior render of the façade with planted balconies and signage on the lower floors
    View 06Façade: every floor has a planted balcony
  • Evening render of a terrace lounge with warm lighting, planting and people talking
    View 07After hours: the campus stays occupied past six