Shared by the architects upon our invitation.
In the summer of 2017, The Design Village (TDV), an interdisciplinary industry-centric institute in Noida, faced a pivotal moment. With a growing student body demanding larger premises, the design school needed to expand beyond its five-year home within Studio Archohm. Rather than abandoning their established ecosystem, the founders looked across the street to an unlikely prospect: an abandoned kattha (catechu) factory that had been silent since December 2014.
What followed was an extraordinary transformation—50,000 square feet of industrial decay converted into an inspiring educational campus in just 50 days, a testament to the power of adaptive reuse and visionary design thinking.
The kattha factory at C-29, established in 1987, once housed a complex production process that employed 150 workers producing 30,000 kilograms of kattha daily. This blood-red paste, derived from boiling Khair (Acacia) tree wood, is an essential ingredient in paan—India’s traditional betel leaf preparation. The factory’s specialized machinery included wood chippers, autoclaves for extraction, boilers, and crystallization chambers, each serving a specific role in the month-and-a-half production cycle.
When pollution concerns forced the factory’s closure, it left behind a industrial landscape of specialized spaces: condensation rooms, cold storage areas, machine corridors, and pump rooms—each bearing the patina of decades of industrial use.
Studio Archohm, led by TDV co-founder Sourabh Gupta, approached the project through the lens of ‘drosscape’—recognizing industrial vestiges as valuable historical legacy. The design intervention was founded on creating permanence from make-shift spaces without losing their essential character, embracing architecture in continuum.
“We identified an opportunity where others saw decay,” explains Gupta. “The factory had the right mix of elements, but in all the wrong physical conditions. Our challenge was to unlock the potential energy embedded in this industrial heritage.”
The philosophy extended beyond mere renovation. As co-founder Navneet Garg notes, “It is a space to enlighten minds, break stereotypes—a place to create yet make mistakes, to learn and unlearn, just like the feeling one gets while experiencing this education space and simultaneously recalling its contrasting multi-layered kattha making past.”
The renovation strategy respected the factory’s original circulation patterns while reimagining each space for educational purposes. The journey through the campus becomes a reverse chronology of the industrial process:
- The Condensation Room transformed into the Founders’ Room, utilizing its double-height volume and natural skylights. The space that once facilitated chemical separation now hosts high-level institutional discussions, maintaining its role as a space for critical processes.
- Cold Storage Areas became the Library and Computer Lab—windowless spaces that once enabled crystallization through controlled environments now house quiet study and digital learning. Steel frames from the original structure created low-height reading nooks, while large circular openings introduced natural light to these formerly dark chambers.
- The Machine Room evolved into the campus datum—a pivotal circulation space that segregates faculty areas from student interaction zones. Original machinery remains as sculptural elements, serving as both historical markers and conversation pieces.
- Machine Corridors were transformed into Faculty Common Areas, providing well-lit galleries for mentors between sessions. Strategic light wells and plantations activated these elongated spaces while maintaining privacy for faculty use.
One of the most critical design challenges was introducing natural light to the internalized factory structure. Rather than adding conventional windows that would expose the harsh industrial context, the architects employed innovative lighting strategies. Acrylic tubes function as scaled fiber optic cables, dragging natural light deep into the volume, while open-to-sky courtyards inject natural elements while maintaining privacy. Skylights, roof slits, and tubular openings create a vibrant interior within a fortress-like exterior. The space operates “inside out,” prioritizing internal narrative over external aesthetics.
The material palette remained deliberately frugal: raw pine wood, glass, cement plaster, and steel. Existing structures were either restored or completely rebuilt where safety demanded. Removed columns and beams found new life elsewhere in the project, embodying the adaptation spirit while controlling costs.
Most remarkably, the grotesque industrial machinery became sculptural installations and spatial markers. These mechanical companions bear testimony to both technological advancement and hand-driven craftsmanship, now serving as ambassadors of industrial aesthetics. Chemical stains, emission imprints, and production residues were preserved and celebrated as “framed paintings of patinas” with their own stories to tell.
The spatial planning deliberately breaks from traditional classroom models, providing neutral spaces of varying scales that adapt to different pedagogical needs. Steps and stairways became fundamental archetypes—creating pause points that foster synergy among campus users. The cafeteria’s stepped levels accommodate both dining and lectures, while library and workshop spaces function beyond their basic obligations. This physical transformation embodies TDV’s pedagogical values: courage, perseverance, compassion, and awareness. The campus serves as a living demonstration that discarded spaces—like disenchanted minds—possess immense potential for renewal and revitalization.
The Design Village’s transformation from bleeding factory to breathing faculty represents more than architectural adaptation—it’s a manifesto for seeing potential where others see decay. In an era of rapid development and demolition, this project demonstrates how industrial heritage can be honored, preserved, and given new life through thoughtful design intervention.
The project proves that design is not decoration but a powerful tool for problem-solving, capable of transforming not just spaces but perspectives on what constitutes valuable architecture in our rapidly changing urban landscapes.
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Cite: “The Design Village Noida / Archohm” 14 July 2025. GLSN. Accessed . https://theglsn.com/the-design-village-noida-archohm/