NID, AHMEDABAD •

Materials:
The campus is located in the hot and dry climate of Ahmedabad.
ARCHITECT AND CONSULTANTS • Sliding panels have been installed in workshops to allow natural light
Sarabhai, Gautam, Ahmedabad Sarabhai, Gira, which runs from floor to floor and allows visual connect.
Ahmedabad • The external cladding is prefabricated and consists of heat resisting
LOCATION glass in metal frames in workshops and studios. Provides sound isolation.
West bank of Sabarmati river, Ahmedabad • Winds from the river side are captured in the studios due to adjustable
DATE OF CONSTRUCTION glazing.
1962 • Features like water bodies with jalis filter the cooled air flowing over it
SITE AREA and passed in interiors
2.64 ha • Pockets of vegetation blend with the structure on the exterior as well as
Fields provided: interior. Large trees protect the building from surface glazing
Product design, Textile design, Visual • And courtyards from excessive heating
1 General view of NID
communication, Architecture Section through
2 A view of the shell
Requirements: 3 A view of the workshop
Main complex comprising Studios, Workshops, opening from first
Laboratories, Seminar and Lecture Rooms, floor
Library and Offices. Residential accommodation 4 Entrance to the
for staff and students. Site development. workshops
NEED OF NID:
The year was 1962, and not only were there no Conti. Circulation
designers in the country, the profession of
around studios
design, for Indians, simply did not exist.
Big Idea: 9 by 9 grid
starting with the core concept of “learning-by- Cut-outs from
doing”, similar to the Bauhaus and the Ulm the grid
School of Design. NID students would have 4 Built spaces
continual contact with the industrial world
outside, including the crafts industry, and that
they’d participate in designing objects,
messages, and spaces of everyday use. 3

DESIGN STRATEGIES: • The site has been zoned from the main access in a hierarchy of
Interaction>Educational>Recreational>Residential. First floor plan
• The site is sloping towards the Sabarmati river.
• Emphasis has been given on pedestrianizing the site. N Design street
• The ground level is 2.51metres below the high flood level Mezzanine second
recorded in 1875. Hence the entire building is on stilts, 3.24 meters above Studios
floor plan
the ground level. Thus 9570 sq.mt of floor space is available on the ground Longitudinal section
floor, which is used as public area, common-rooms for staff members and
students, canteens, and for the storage of raw materials.
Grid planning (UNIT:6.15m*6.15m c/c): Columns:
Colonnade type facing the green spaces inner corridor / semi open
Raised platform step back of built space
Emphasis on horizontality over primary view
Free plan for informal sessions between make the buildings less heavy
students and teachers. Slabs:
Waffle slab
Vertical circulation: Triple height staircase marked with
RCC shells and reinforced brick
platforms at different levels and formalizes the entry to
slabs to carry machine loads.
auditorium on the second floor.
Spiral staircase provided to connect workshop to Courtyards: Pockets of voids separating studios
studios place in a semi opened space is used as an activity allow the inflow of light into the
area workshops and studios.

built & unbuilt visual connections

_ balance between built and unbuilt space _ not a lot visual connections design street
_ a big open and green space is important _ interior ways of the buildings are _ primary corridor / lifeline
_ only few places for entertainment unclear _ no focus point at the end
 THE MAHINDRA UNITED WORLD COLLEGE Materials:
• The buildings are all made of local stone and exposed concrete, with gently
ARCHITECT
Christopher Benninger sloping masonry surfaces, terracotta tiles roofs and square cut-outs in the
LOCATION walls for windows.
located in the Sahayadri Mountains • Use of stone to support, to enclose, to shelter and to define spaces, which
hundred feet above the Mula river basin adds unique color, texture and depth to the composition.
40kms west of Pune • Stone bearing walls and concrete slabs, insulated and waterproofed with tiles,
DESIGNED were formed in a plastic manner to provide a variety of interior rooms and
1997 also to merge with the landscape.
COMPLETED • Silhouettes of the stone walls were inspired by the angles of the surrounding
2000 mountains.
TECHNICAL DATA • Glass is used as an "enclosing element.“
Site Area: 150 acres • Sliding glass panels and pivoted doors provide transparency between the
Built-up Area: 113,000 sft. interior and exterior spaces. Floor to ceiling panels of fixed glass create atria
Requirements: in the Library and Administration Building which bring light and greenery into
Student centre, studio for graphics and music studio, the center of the masonry spaces. Large structural glass walls are restricted to
studio for dance and drama, library, dining hall, the north, northeast and northwest facing studios in the Art Centre.
hostels, swimming pool, landscaped mall. • The fabric of the buildings is also low maintenance and climate friendly, giving
BIG IDEA: insulation from extreme heat and shade from the sun.
To juxtapose the built with the context Residential:
To maintain continuity and homogeneity.
To maintain interconnectivity with each block.
the campus is a self-sufficient residential community.

DESIGN STRATEGIES:
• The buildings are, from one point of view,
a reflection of the mountains surrounding the
campus with the jagged contours. But they are Main path
also like a village. Origin of the path
• Hierarchy of space played important role in design. Transverse path Wada arrangement of
• Used sequence of open, semi enclosed and closed Closed spaces cottages creating a village
spaces to create learning environments. environment
Semi open
• Low covered walkways in teaching areas provide
Termination of the path Open spaces
spaces for informal gatherings.

Benninger centered the plans of this around a

quadrangle with passages radiating out from it. In
other words, the plan is conceived as path driven.
It offers points of encounter along the way, as
well as views towards the valleys in the distance
and a series of interconnected, flowing spaces.
Movement within the entire campus is totally
pedestrian.

Science centre:
The academic quadrangle is connected to the Designed around a square
North facing windows of
other structures via walls, generating an geometry preparation rooms
studios provide light and
architectural fabric.. servicing 2 labs on each side of
views in the Art centre.
Each classroom connected to its own garden or
 
courtyard.
covered internal walkways.

The blocks are scattered on the entire
site by equally balancing built and
unbuit.
Orientation of the blocks allows
the free movement of air coming
from the Mula river nearby
Library:
• Triangular composition on two levels
focussed in on a glass atrium.
• The lower floor of the reading room uses
the natural gradient, thus it is a generous
space.
• The corners of the triangle form the
reading room, computer centre and stacks.
Design strategy used in most of the blocks • It twists a light atrium into centre of the
with a open courtyard in the middle and structure.
the workspaces around it.
Q1. What should architecture and space making envisage for the users Q2. How does the cultural back ground and craftsmanship influence
architecture? from this particular cultural setting?
The first purpose of architecture is to create habitat and to fulfill the
Architecture as a matter of human life reflects the culture in every
needs of society or individuals for places to work and live. Buildings, society interacting closely with structural, historical, political,
essentially social and cultural products, are influenced by the ideas, economic and social features of society.
values, beliefs, activities, relationships and forms of the social Culture of each community defines the identity of the community and
organizations that they sustain. Society produces buildings, and the architecture as a social phenomenon was originated from the culture
buildings, although not producing society, help to maintain many and its effects. Redefining the heritage of craftsmanship and to find
out how and where it can exist alongside mass-production within our
of its social forms. Their size, appearance, location, and form are
industrialized and digitalized society. The design intervention should
governed not simply by physical factors but by a society's ideas, it's inject an urban/architectural program, with interactive public and
forms of economic and social organizations, it's distribution of resources craftsmen/designers’ spaces, within an urban hiatus.  Reviving
and authority, its activities, and the beliefs and values, which prevail at craftsmanship through the paradigm of individuation through
any one period of time. As changes in the society occur, so too does consumption where craftsmanship becomes not only a means of
change in its build environment.  expressing individuality, but also a communal experience based on
The craftsmen of Mysore have built their own working space according technology and digital expertise, and on the role of the designer.
to their needs and beliefs. The way in which they organize their places is Space making and culture is a very simultaneous process. A person’s
related to their beliefs and their aspirations. As worldviews vary, so does workstation has been built over a period of time and architecture
should encourage for future changes too. Getting the craftsmen of
architecture, at the personal level, at the social level and cultural level,
Mysore who stayed in a village to the center of the city is itself a major
and between different subcultures within a society. The proximities of the change.
Craftsmen as though which machinery is used at what time also helps I
n space making.
The design which we propose for them should emphasize their art work
and open new opportunities for them by giving the spaces they need
and not making them feel isolated. It should also invite others in and far
from the city to take this opportunity to learn these artwork and continue
in their own style in their respective places rather than only passing on to
craftsmen children.
 • What are the learnings from Architectural History of the place?
The city previously being an empire had all its important buildings
grandeur in scale and continued the style based on the religion. The
Style responded to the culture and the function. The British influence
created a new style of mixing their culture and our Culture
(Indo-sarcenic) by maintaining the scale and the status as it was.
The Mysore university was started around the same period, so
One could see the influence in the buildings. As new materials and new
technologies were discovered and also the demand of an educational
institute increased, they tried to incorporate all of this as fast as they
could and did not concentrate on ornamenting the building or
Emphasizing it. It also lacked the functionality or the purpose of the
building while trying to incorporate the style.
Style influenced by religion Style influenced by status
Style needed to be influenced by function Style influenced by a movement
How to progress from historical styles into contemporary architectural
language?
As information technology develops and cultures mix up and new
forms become popular worldwide it will always will be strongly
attached to some internal, and historical built, meaning or
understanding. Every traditional architecture has its own form
language. It has evolved from many different influences of lifestyle,
traditions, and practical concerns acting together to define the
geometry that structures take as the most natural visual expressions of
a particular culture. A form language is a set of evolved geometries on
many different scales (i.e., ornamental, building, urban) that people of
a particular culture identify with, and are comfortable with. It is highly
dependent on traditional and local materials.
Fusion of new technology with the local materials available.
Historical styles are influenced by the culture of the people or who
built it, its function and the environmental context.
Along the time, the culture of the people, the needs have also
changed. So the contemporary language should respond the current
people staying there rather than taking the elements of the previous
style and yet maintaining its purpose and suiting the environment
What are the inter-relationships that exists on site [Within and beyond]? What are the negative impacts of the proposed building on the
environment?
Because the site is situated on the banks of the lake, the ground
water table is 2 to 3mts below ground level, which might be a
problem for creating underground substructures and the soil strength
might be weak.
The building which allows more of human intervention to the site will
affect the biodiversity of the site.
The vegetation in and around might reduce affecting the biodiversity.
Not orienting the building correctly might lead to insufficient natural
light and air.

Interrelationships within:
The site is sloping towards the lake and has plantations along the
Contours. These contours could help in flow of the breeze in the site
Itself and also provide view points. Hierarchy among spaces can also
Be established easily. The plantations could be integrated as part of
the design. The cooling trees present helps in the circulation of cool
breeze around the site. The present water tank situated in the site
can be used as the source of water. The biodiversity inside the site is
very delicate and should not be disturbed. Biodiversity getting affected 4 times the size of site
Interrelationships beyond:
The site is bounded by a main road on one edge allowing the public Orientation:
Intervention to the site and lake on the opposite edge providing scenic
Views, humid breeze to the site.
The site being near a recreational space for students allows more public.
Culture of the place helps in designing the campus/ the program and does
not isolate from the context.

Allows breeze and Blocks breeze but allows glare sunlight

Filtered light
• How do we contribute positively to the ecology of the place through built-environment?

Extending
the
biodiversity
built
site lake built
site lake
biodiversity

By limiting the extents of the built, or
grouping the built into one so that the
major part of the site retains the ecology.
By scattering the built but placing them on
a axis or only a portion of the site by
allowing the interconnection between the
built and the ecology and also providing
spaces where the biodiversity could
further spread without the built.
lake
By creating vertical extents,
raising the built on stilts without
disturbing the biodiversity and
not making it accessible.