International Rice Research Institute- Manila, Philipines (IRRI) had decided to set-up their SAARC center in Varanasi. Government of India has invited and offered them 40,000 sq feet space in Varanasi. IRRI appointed us and gave a mammoth task of designing and completing the whole project in 4 months. The scope included various food testing labs, analytical labs, sensory room, chemical storage, archives area, office spaces, cafeteria, training rooms, Director’s cabin- all spread across 2 floors.

The challenge was the old building itself. It had various issues related to stability and leakages. Also, the project timeline was very tight. The MEP & architectural design was completed in 1 month and execution was completed in 3 months. The site was managed by our team of 1 manager, 2 project engineers managing 5 vendors.

Meticulous planning and good vendor support helped us achieve what was thought impossible. The daily average of 100 workers and at the peak, 250 workers were working on site. In spite of local material sourcing constraints and nation-wide 10 days transport strike, the project was completed safely, on time and with quality. PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the labs in 29th December 2018; which was attended by our team as well.