Automotive Research and Development (R&D) Technical Center

SSOE suggested incorporating high efficiency lighting saving the client approximately $300,000 annually in operation costs. SSOE also suggested using PVC roofing membrane and sandwich panel siding to minimize the installation time.

In order to provide R&D capabilities in India and to better supplement their existing fabrication plant, an automotive client set about to build a new technical center and office complex. Having completed several successful projects for the client’s U.S. facilities, as well as projects for other U.S.-based companies in Asia, SSOE was selected to provide full architecture and engineering for the project.

The center includes performance, structural, environmental, oil flow and lubrication, and metallurgical testing, as well as noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) testing capabilities. SSOE worked closely with an Indian design firm to ensure the center met Indian regulations, while still providing the client with the international appeal that they were trying to achieve.

Comprised of two filled-in quarries with irregular soil makeup, the site posed a unique challenge. Special considerations had to be made in the facility’s structural design, specifically in the areas that house dynamometers and other large equipment. The site also lacked connections to public utilities, so city water storage tanks had to be designed.

The facility is state-of-the-art and places a high priority on features that maximize occupant safety, health, and comfort. As a result, air conditioning and fire protection systems were included in the center’s design, going above and beyond government requirements for R&D facilities.