Client: British Council Division, British High Commission

Status: Built

Size: 72,000 sq ft | 1 acreThe British Council located in the heart of New Delhi, is a long-standing structure, which is a collaboration in design of two masters, Howard Hodgkin and Charles Correa. Morphogenesis chose to see this as an adaptive reuse project where conservation of the original design story that carries the large Indian Tree mural by Howard Hodgkin on the exterior was important. The British Council is the first point of contact for those who seek British higher studies and for the dissemination of the English language. It is also a place that hosts art and cultural programmes, whether British, Indian or global. It is the demand of such a space and creating this ethos was the brief that Morphogenesis deciphered as the need of the redesign. Breaking away from the general assumption of break and redo, Morphogenesis created a flexible, multitasking setting that intertwines culture, education and work. With this interior retrofit project for the iconic British Council building, Morphogenesis honours the site’s past, while supporting the present and innovating for the future. Sensitivity to the building’s past, with a conscious usage of material and consumption has led to the British Council being awarded a LEED Platinum rating under the Commercial Interiors category by US Green Building Council, making it the first British Council worldwide, to be certified as USGBC LEED Platinum