Banjaiga Architectural Magazine

With 2 towers rising up to the height of 80 feet in city skyline the project itself is a unique and one of its kind in high-rise residential classification. Working with the finest design and engineering consultants with an experience of over decades, The Nishat Group was able to incorporate state of the art smart and luxury facilities into the project. These facilities include strategically designed apartment typologies ranging from 2 bed to 4-bed penthouse outfitting for every form of family living. Regardless of the covered area constraint or the number bedrooms available in a typology, all apartments have been equipped with premium materials finishes, laminated floors, exquisite tiles-bath fixtures, firefighting equipment, smoke detectors & automatic sprinkler system.

For this project, Metropolitan studio of Architecture (MSA) collaborated with WARDA, a clothing brand, on designing their new stores, which are planned in various cities of Pakistan. 'Re-tale' is the second flagship store in this series. Rawalpindi, a city known for its rich cultural heritage, was historically part of Great Gandhara civilization. The aesthetic for this store is greatly inspired by the Gandhara civilization and is a genre of art. The material pallet of the flagship itself is adapted from Gandhara art. It includes stone, metal and gold leafing on selected items. The facade of the store is designed in continuing rustic metal on the imagery of a lotus pond, where the corners of the carefully selected laser cut metal geometric pattern are curved upward to give an image of a lotus flower. The overall look of the facade is a depiction of a pond with floating lotuses in it. The continuing rustic metal sheet gives the facade a living character.

This building was created as a temporary housing facility for faculty at the IBA who are not residents of Karachi. The facility houses 12 luxury bedrooms and 3 suites with allied facilities like gym, play area and dining hall. All the spaces are opening into the landscaped areas with a westerly breeze blowing towards the bedrooms. The Project features naturally ventilated rooms with good daylight and views of the surrounding green spaces and water bodies from each room. The hostel building consists of a central, double-height communal area and two courtyards, creating ideal spaces for social interaction. Two blocks of rooms and suites are connected through a central mass containing the main communal space and common services. The accommodation includes 11 bedrooms and three suites, all with attached toilets, and a pantry, central lounge, dining room and kitchen, business centre, gym and staff quarters.

Having a farmhouse for a site in a place of historical significance such as Gharo is not only interesting but challenging also. To start with designing a resort inside a huge farmhouse development in Gharo, we started thinking with the reference of history and the geographical conditions in mind. Associating our project with the names important to the history of the region had us researching on the tales of Alexander the Great, Mohammed bin Qasim and the folklore of Sussi and Punno. All took place within a few miles of our site. Having historically enlightening researches and discussions with the client however led us to the conclusion that this project should be a peep into the future of Gharo, where possibilities of design should cut away from the shackles of history and Barbaricon, the name present in some historical documents of Gharo. Thus we began analyzing our approach towards designing a resort compound with transmorphing structures exploring the possibility of having the same design with different media for construction, and in the process being portable/mobile as well.

This residential design is a continuation of ideas first developed in 1984-85. It represents stage of transition from modernity to tradition. This transition has been portrayed through numerous architectural elements including unfolding series of gardens connected through various building blocks serving as Drawing, Dining and Bedrooms. The sense of place is further enhanced through patios and courtyards having walled gardens. Transitional spaces are linked with buffer areas acting as welcoming elements introducing green areas.

The firm was started by Mr. Jahangir Khan in 1989 upon, his return from the USA as an Architectural and City & Regional Planning Consultancy after receiving his professional degrees in Architecture and later a professional Masters degree in City & Regional Planning at the Illinois Institute of Technology at Chicago, in the Modernist Tradition of the Work) Masters Mies Van der Rohe and Hilbersiemer. Experience prior to setting-up the firm includes work on award winning projects in Chicago (USA), the last one of which was the Multi-Million dollar budget American Airlines Terminal Interior at Chicago OHare USA for Ellerbe Becket USA In 1988-89, where he was one of the two person design team that designed the extension and renovations plus Interior project comprehensively. Other works included Business, Industrial, Commercial, and Software Parks for various developers throughout the USA while at Wilson & Jenkins, Itasca Illinois. The firm has evolved into a full service Architectural, Town Planning, Corporate & Commercial Interiors Consultancy with its Head Office in Islamabad and associate offices in Lahore, Peshawar and Karachi. In 2000 the Karachi associate office was upgraded to a full service branch office. In mid 1999 Mr. Ali Umar Alvie an architectural graduate from the Arizona state University joined the firm as Partner in Islamabad, bringing to the firm architectural experience while at Whyat Rhodes & associates at Phoenix, Arizona and later in various firms in Islamabad Pakistan.

The firm was started by Mr. Jahangir Khan in 1989 upon, his return from the USA as an Architectural and City & Regional Planning Consultancy after receiving his professional degrees in Architecture and later a professional Masters degree in City & Regional Planning at the Illinois Institute of Technology at Chicago, in the Modernist Tradition of the Work) Masters Mies Van der Rohe and Hilbersiemer. Experience prior to setting-up the firm includes work on award winning projects in Chicago (USA), the last one of which was the Multi-Million dollar budget American Airlines Terminal Interior at Chicago OHare USA for Ellerbe Becket USA In 1988-89, where he was one of the two person design team that designed the extension and renovations plus Interior project comprehensively. Other works included Business, Industrial, Commercial, and Software Parks for various developers throughout the USA while at Wilson & Jenkins, Itasca Illinois. The firm has evolved into a full service Architectural, Town Planning, Corporate & Commercial Interiors Consultancy with its Head Office in Islamabad and associate offices in Lahore, Peshawar and Karachi. In 2000 the Karachi associate office was upgraded to a full service branch office. In mid 1999 Mr. Ali Umar Alvie an architectural graduate from the Arizona state University joined the firm as Partner in Islamabad, bringing to the firm architectural experience while at Whyat Rhodes & associates at Phoenix, Arizona and later in various firms in Islamabad Pakistan.

For us architecture means teamwork, discussion and a collaboration of ideas based on the clients requirements and as to what we perceive as designers. Our aim is to plan for people, to create spaces for people to live in, and to make sparing use of resources while maintaining a high level of design quality and environment compatibility. our work ranges from new buildings to interventions within old buildings, which is an art itself, by carrying the character of the building and fusing the design with the old. For us architecture means teamwork, discussion and a collaboration of ideas based on the clients requirements and as to what we perceive as designers. Our aim is to plan for people, to create spaces for people to live in, and to make sparing use of resources while maintaining a high level of design quality and environment compatibility. our work ranges from new buildings to interventions within old buildings, which is an art itself, by carrying the character of the building and fusing the design with the old. EXPERTISE ARA Designs offers the full range of Architectural, Interior design services employing exacting standards in every phase of every project. With a diverse client base, we specialize in: 1. Commercial buildings; 2. Health care; 3. Community, 4. Educational, 5. Hospitality, 6. Retail, and 7. Mixed-use developments. And The Services we offer includes Master Planning, Architecture & Interior Design