Auditorium for Agastya international foundation

If rural education is the inclusive awakening of the India of our dreams, then Agastya’s story is the lead narrative- sparking creativity being its first principle.

The auditorium structure becoming the latest offering to the campus, tying in with a sustainable credo of context, culture, region, place, and people. Place based learning became the glue that set the design into its surrounding.

The idea was eventually to merge the structure with the existing profile of the earth- “The earth pod with the steel pod over it”

The large span, roof profile, construction timing and overall economy determined the necessity to propose and adopt a structural steel system and roofing.

The skin of the structure was built from locally available brick and stone which served as a good insulation for heat and sound. The shale rock available in the terrain is used in combination with random rubble masonry, which in-turn adds character to the exterior.

The acoustical performance was achieved by this judicious use of local bricks along a curvilinear profile without any use of costly materials. Inherent properties of bricks became the material that satisfied our purpose.

Due to the location of the site in a rural setting, construction methodologies were customized to suit the context and available labor. Natural stone boulders were integrated with the structure and in landscape elements.

The fact that the steel that supports the pod also came out of the same earth, lent a larger meaning to our architectural statement. We felt a certain connection that gave strength to our belief that however cold that this material is made out to be, its sensitive handling can create a feeling of warmth to the people inhabiting it.

Awards:

JK Architect of the year award, 2015-Commendation award for the public building.

1^st Runner up for INSDAG National award for structural steel design and construction: 2013-14