Unity Mall (PM Ekta Mall)

The Unity Mall, or PM Ekta Mall, is part of a national programme to give the crafts of every region a permanent home. In Varanasi, it brings the One District One Product scheme of Uttar Pradesh under one roof, with a shop for each of the 75 districts of the state and for every state and union territory of India. ARCH-EN DESIGN is the Project Management consultant to UP PWD for the MSME Department, Government of Uttar Pradesh, and prepared the concept design, the design basis report and the documents for construction in EPC mode.

A market, a Museum and an office

The building rises to a ground and six floors over three basements of parking. Five floors of shops open off a long, wedge-shaped atrium, so that every shopfront can be seen from the central void. The fifth floor is given to visitors: a digital craft Museum using virtual and augmented reality, hands-on areas for demonstrations and workshops, an Auditorium, a children’s play area, a food court and an open-air restaurant. The sixth floor houses offices of the Nagar Nigam, and the ground floor has a separate lobby for a hotel. The structure allows two more floors to be added later.

A facade from the river

The building is wrapped in a dual facade: structural glazing behind a screen of aluminium louvers and fins, designed parametrically from the curves and flowing waves of Varanasi and the Ganga. Terracotta-coloured bands weave through the screen floor by floor. A large roundel cut into the front, part carved relief and part glass, gives the building its emblem, and a customised terracotta ceiling marks the entrance.

Planned for its site

• Separate entries and routes for shoppers, the office, the hotel and service vehicles, with barrier-free access throughout
• 345 parking spaces in three basements, with stack parking
• About 15% of the plot kept green
• Planned for a GRIHA 3-star rating