Nestled in fertile Terai region of Uttarakhand lies the city of Rudrapur which harbours the site for the proposed Delhi Public School. The rectangular site admeasuring 220m by 161m is flanked by a 60m wide approach road on its West and 4.5m wide service road on the south.
Third Award | DAF 2016 Awards
Category: Institutional (Unbuilt)
Participant Name: Vivek Kishore
Team Members: Toral Bakshi, Imran Momin, Harshad Munj
Country: India
Design approach accommodates the class requirements in two composite building blocks, the Pre-primary block and the Main building. The two buildings are evolved about a green central axis which also is a visual axis to the playing fields beyond. The drop off point for the children is in this green buffer zone that has been articulated with focal sculpture. The two buildings are connected by a connector bridge which also serves as a covered form for the walkway between the two buildings at the ground.
The Buildings are oriented with longer facades facing north-south and the main impressive facade with double height entrance lobby facing the west or the road side. Care has been taken to ensure that no teaching/learning areas face the road side. A30 m wide green frontage to the school also help create enough buffer area to the teaching areas.
The design of the Senior building is a composite block with intervening courtyards that help create interesting transition spaces besides serving as a visual green passive spaces to the classroom areas. The verticle transition is also interesting as the staircases overlook these green courtyards. Care has been taken to isolate the flour mill sound on the south by creating a dead wall articulated with a colonnade and avoiding any classrooms in the south wing. All classrooms ensure cross ventilation with no direct south light to the room. Students face either the north or the east, the same being a Vaastu requirement. The tank tower placed on the S-W zone also takes care of one of the earlier mentioned client’s brief besides giving an interesting feature to the front facade.
The Pre-primary block is located such that most of the classrooms face the northern, quieter and the greener surroundings. All classrooms have ample light and cross ventilation and a outdoor play area flanking its side. The upper level classrooms have also been given an outdoor play area by providing wider balconies to each of the rooms. The transition through the school is interesting as most corridoors as well as the staircase overlooks a green court. A secured play court is designed as a nucleus of the Pre-primary block. The entrance to the Pre-primary block is flanked by a Saraswati courtyard with a serene ambience to ensure a pleasing start to the toddler’s day at the school.
The building facades are an interested interplay with natural brick cladded areas with bold white facades articulated with coloured colonnade, all put together create a contemporary yet a grounded look to the buildings, a theme that reflects the very essence of the school … as has been said in the past
There Are Two Lasting Bequests We Can Give Our Children: Roots and Wings
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