%0 Artwork
%D 1976
%T Agricultural Produce Wholesale Market Complex New Bombay
%A Anant Raje
%I Anant Raje Foundation
%<
- Trading cells: All trading cells are accommodated within a standard dimension of 18.29 m, divisible by numbers from 1 to 6. The dimensions chosen here are 18.29 m, 9.14 m, 4.57 m and 3.65 m. Each cell comprises three distinct spaces: (i) the office or ‘pedhi’, (ii) a godown, and (iii) sleeping space for overnight stay.
- Auction hall: Each bay of the auction hall is 18.29 m long and 9.14 m wide. It is covered by an inclined concrete roof with gullies for the disposal of rainwater. This roof divides the auction hall into two bays, distinguishing the incoming and outgoing areas of auctioning material. A raised loading platform helps carry the spillover goods and materials from the covered auction hall.
- The wholesale market: This market within a market consists of rows of raised platforms for selling activities with circulation aisles on the ground floor, and smaller offices on the first floor. Each small office has a platform for discussions at the window side. Four such 18.30 m x 13.10 m units make a cluster, and are connected by two pairs of staircases and an upper-level deck in a 4.57 m wide inner street that crosses the central hall. These can be extended in the future along the principal axis of the central halls.
- Banks: Three branch banks are accommodated within the same structural bay that makes the trading cells. A central banking space is flanked by ancillary spaces on either side. The thin shell roof over the central five bays is cambered on the principal axis of the shell such that the space underneath becomes one vaulted space.
- Structure: Each unit of the shell spans on its longer axis two reinforced concrete trusses. Each truss carries two units of shell on a concrete column grid of 9.14 m x 13.1 m. The presence of marine clay makes it necessary to have concentrated point loading for effective and economical foundations. The plinth beams carry the internal partition loads and the long spans permit flexibility in the arrangement of these partitions. The concrete work is exposed, while the rest of the construction is plastered and painted.