Shyam Khandekar

Urban Designer, Urban Planner & Architect

Shyam has a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from IIT Roorkee, India, a Master’s degree in
Urban Planning from Technical University of Delft and a Master’s degree in Urban Design from
the University of Manchester, UK. He has over 4 decades of professional experience, most of it
through his multi-disciplinary practice in the Netherlands.
The design of the IIT, Jodhpur campus was conceptualized to establish an international brand and
reinforce IIT’s reputation as a world education leader. The Campus Master Plan sets out to build a
totally self-sufficient, green “oasis” and fountain of knowledge in the middle of Rajasthan’s Thar
Desert. 
The plan is compact, dense and low rise. Buildings shade each other, shade pathways, streets and
courtyards shade themselves with overhangs, louvers and jaalis. Careful attention has been paid to the
principles of shading, orientation and as well as water flow.
“The architects aspired to create a campus that acts as a living laboratory so that the students can learn
various practices of sustainability while walking and being part of the campus.”
The overarching planning concept is a radiating geometry that emanates from the central step-well
amphitheatre at the very heart of the campus. A specific geometry is planned for the network of
radiating streets and ring road. The intersection of this street system establishes five sectors. This aims
at linking the entire campus in a unifying gesture.
The courtyard building typologies for both the academic programme and hostel programme (hostels,
faculty, and staff), each with their own unique architectural requirements in terms of massing,
functionality, planning and elevation are located within the boundaries of the sector.It provides shade
and a semi-private open space for relaxation, play and study.
The buildings essentially draw inspiration from the historic models of Jodhpur. The building mass both
contains and forms the shaded open spaces. The building blocks are a maximum three storey high (15
meters), with the plans and the elevations governed by their use. All of the housing is based on a
shaded “green” courtyard typology with shared open space at the centre. For the hostel programme,
male and female students are located in separate buildings. 
IIT Mandi is the latest of a new generation of Indian Institutes of Technology being promoted by
the Indian government. IIT Mandi's main campus is developing fast as an Eco-friendly and
sustainable infrastructure campus. Construction of state-of-art facilities are under progress. The
total area of IIT Mandi is 538 acres of which about 200 acres is flat land while the rest is
mountainous.  Urbanism studio leader says: "The Institute's new campus will set a benchmark for
developing innovative, contextual and environmentally sensitive building in the Himalayan
region." 
The central concept was the transformation of the area into an IT park benefiting from excellent, direct connections to
the outside world, while at the same time creating a restful enclave, a respite from the hectic city beyond. In the design,
three building zones were situated around a central park zone. The building blocks could be subdivided into 2-5 units.
In this way flexibility was built into the development plan, enabling the developers to react to fluctuating market
demands. The location is exceptionally well connected and is accessible by car, train and air transport

The primary quality of the design was in the central park zone. Because the open public space was
envisioned as a special place which also functions to bind the building zones together, the influence of how
the buildings around it should be visualised, became less important. This central open space works as a
focus of activity and quality, and by creating a ring road beyond the ring of buildings, the central park
becomes car-free. Parking is placed under the buildings and the park creeps onto the roof of the car parking
resulting in interesting design solutions. Pockets between buildings open up to give a view of the park
within. During the development of the site, some of the old buildings have been retained and re-used,
strengthening the historical context and the identity of the place.

Sustainability is not only about using techniques or incorporating technologies but also about putting in
minimum yet logical effort for increasing the life span of a structure . We gained a lot of information upon
how sustainability can be incorporated in urban planning and how we as future architects could create a
difference in our work.