Location

Alibag, Maharashtra

Year

2012

Project Description

The aim of this project is to attempt to revive the ancient principles of Gurukul and create, in a rural setting, a School for Dance and Music. A Gurukul is a type of school in India, residential in nature, with shishyas living in proximity to the guru. The chosen site is at the foothills of the Kanakeshwar temple complex, a short distance away from the main city of Alibaug. The students were required to come up with innovative techniques in vernacular building as part of this design problem.

Project Background

The project was given as part of the academic studies in my Third Year of Bachelor Architecture Studies. The design was preceded by site-analysis, including a short site-visit, case-studies of other rural schools and an exploartive research into vernacular construction and material.

Design Objective

The design was based on using local techniques, means and materials for construction. Several passive climate control elements were incorporated, which are seen in conventional rural constructions in India. Some materials were experimented with to create a forms suitable for the functions inside.

Plans and Sections

Base Plan

Roof Plan

Isometric Section

Section

Isometric Section

Views

Exterior View of the Staff Accomodation

Interior View of Student Hostel

View from the Entrance

View from the Educational Area Passage

View from the Access Corridor

Aerial View

Details

Exploded Isometric View of the Student Hostel

Detail of Fixing of Teflon Sheets

Construction Detail of Bamboo Geodesic Dome

Joinery Details for Bamboo Geodesic Domes

Palmyra House

Tools

I used Trimble SketchUp (formerly Google SketchUp) for visualizing the forms, with the final presentation being made on paper, rendered manually. V-Ray for SketchUp Rendering Engine was used for the virtual views. AutoCAD was used to prepare certain construction details.