Residential area

S.W.O.T.
STRENGTH-
• EXISTING STRUCTURE, THE MAHAVIHARA; IT HELPS TO LOOK
AFTER THE SITE MORE DEEPLY. AS THE STRUCTURE IS INFLUENCED
BY THE SITE.

• GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURE- PAWANA RIVER, THE RIVER IS LOCATED

AT THE SOUTH-WEST PART OF THE SITE. IT CIRCULATES COOL
BREEZES AND HELPS TO COOL DOWN THE TEMPEARATURE OF THE
SITE.

• ROAD CONNECTIVITY- THE SITE IS WELL CONNECTED TO THE

VICINITY BY THE OLD-SANVI ROAD. THE ROAD CAN BE
APPROCHED BY TWO WAYS FROM THE HARRIS BRIDGE.

• THE ROAD SEPERATES THE SITE FROM THE IMMEDIATE BUSY

SURROUNDING.
WEAKNESS-
• HALF OF THE SITE IS UNCOVERED BARREN LAND, IT GAINS MORE
HEAT AND AFFECTS THE OVERALL MICROCLIMATE.

• THE BUSY COMMERICAL AND RESIDENTIAL SURROUNDING CAN

BE A LTTLE NOISY.

• THERE ARE NO EXISTING STRUCTURES AROUND THE SITE, THERE

IS NO SCOPE FOR THE MUTUAL SHADOW-SHADING.

• THE SOIL NEAR THE RIVER IS AN ALLUVIAL SOIL(a fine-grained

fertile soil deposited by water flowing over flood
plains or in river beds.), IT IS A LIGHT AND LOOSE SOIL.

• THE BARREN LAND AT THE SOUTHERN SIDE OF THE SITE COULD

CIRCULATE HOT WINDS IN THE MONTH OF MAY.

• NOISY NEIGHBOURHOOD.
OPPORTUNITIES-
• THE SITE LINEAR, IT IS EASY TO WORK WITH, LESS CHANCES OF
NEGATIVE SPACES.

• TOPOGRAPHY- THERE IS A GRADUAL SLOPE FROM ROAD TO THE

RIVER SIDE, THIS COULD BE USED IN DIFFERENT LANDSCAPING
FEATURE.

• THE VISUAL CONNECTION CAN BE ACHIEVED WITH THE

BEAUTIFUL 180° VIEW OF PAWANA RIVER.

• THERE ARE VIEWS EVEYWHERE FROM THE SITE.

• THE ROAD ACCUMULATES HALF SIDE OF THE SITE, THERE COULD

BE N NUMBER OF SITE APPROACHES.
THREATS-
• OVERFLOODING OF PAWANA RIVER DUE TO HEAVY RAINFALL
OR THE CONFLUENCE OF MULA AND PAWANA RIVER COULD
TURNED INTO OVER FLOWING OF WATER.

• THE MAXIMUN SOLAR GAIN BECAUSE THERE IS LESS

AMOUNT OF VEGETATION ON THE SITE.

OVERFLOODING
 CASE STUDY-
BUDDHIST CENTRE, DAPODI
PUNE
 INTRODUCTION
• The Mahavihara, a Buddhist temple, is the
headquarters of a trust, formed by erstwhile
untouchables, inspired by Dr. Ambedkar and his
students Sangharakshita and Dharmachari
Lokamitra to lift themselves from
untouchability and economic depression.

• The trust executes social work amongst poor

communities in areas of health, education and
women’s empowerment.

• An unobtrusive building, suited to its humble

industrial neighborhood was built to promote
these purposes on the banks of river Ramnadi.
 INSPIRATION- CULTURAL BELIEFS
• PUNE REGION IS AN ANCIENT PRECINCT OF BUDDHIST
RETREATS AND MONASTIC CAVES.
• THE KARLA AND BAJA CAVES WERE FORMED BY CARVING
“NEGATIVE VAULTED SPACE” OUT OF STONE CLIFF.
• IT REFLECTED PROTOMORPHIC MAHASANGHARA AND
MEETING HALLS, USED BY SAKYA FOR THE MEETINGS OF BAJA CAVES
THEIR CHIEFTANS.
• THE TRADITION CONTINUED IN THE BUDDHIST SANGH
SYSTEMS.
• ITS VAULTED, SACRED STRUCTURES, REFLECTING A
MONASTIC LIFE.
• THE VAULTS THAT FOCUS ON THE IMAGE OF THE
BUDDHA, ARE ‘POSITIVE’ SPATIAL REFLECTIONS OF THE
BAJA AND KARLA ‘NEGATIVE’ SPACE.
• A LINK BETWEEN SAILY LIFE OF THE BUDDHIST AND HIS
SPIRITUAL ETHOS.
 PLANNING AMPHITHEATRE
• From the entry portal, one’s line of sight connects
down a long vaulted promenade to the
Buddha image.
• On one side of the promenade is a retreat for
personal study; meditation and
community life, while on the other side are office
GALLERY-VIHARA-BUDDHA IMAGE
areas, library, classrooms and meeting facilities.
• Cultural programs and meetings take place in the E
amphitheater steping down to the
river.
• The ground floor is left open for large-scale
cultural activities, offering a view of the river
curving its way around three edges of the campus.
• A large stone bund protects this center of social
work and Buddhist studies from the river in its
seasonal rages.
• The entire functional areas are raised up to the
first and second levels that are covered with
concrete vaults.
• The vaults change the direction in the Vihara
withing towards the image of the Buddha;
indicating a realigned mental shift from the
temporal, real world to the timeless world of
illusion and ideas.

• The fabric of the building is one of concrete

columns supporting concrete vaults, spanning
five meters, and covered with broken China
mosaic tiles on the roof for water proofing and
reflecting the hot sun.

• The vaults, beams and columns build up a

language out of which, a highly directed and
focused statement emerges. The vaults reflect the
stone carved vaulted ceilings of nearby ancient
cave viharas, giving Buddhist significance to the
simple structures.

• The transparent panels let the devotees glimpse

the borrowed landscape- tree covered riverfront
and out of the mountains beyond.
CONCLUSION
• The overall concept relates the sacred with the mundane; an
object of ritual, with the daily functions of life.

• An ancient tradition in a modern langauge of thought, by

applying all the vaults and columns in a disciplined,
modulates manner.

• The result is- a strong sense of ‘presence’ withing an

unobtrusive building suited to its low-income industrial
neighbourhood.

• The vaults, beams and columns build up a language out of

which, a highly structured and focused statement emerges-
‘BUDDHISM, UNLIKE HINDUISM IS AN ORGANISED SYSTEM
OF BELIEF; NOT DISOERESED AND UNMANIFESTED. AS
REFLECTED IN THE FABRIC OF BUILD.