The Disha School is for intellectually and physically disabled children.

It was founded by Disha Foundation,

which is a charitable organisation formed in aid of these special children. The Disha School was carrying out its
operations in a rented building for the last few years. Being a charitable organisation, they didn't have
resources for purchasing large and open land, which forced the development to be in the form of a multi-
storeyed building in a tight urban site. The design for the school was guided primarily by the needs of the
special child, his access, safety and comfort. As an institution of learning and training, the building design
provides a lively environment for two important needs; a sense of community under the shelter of a roof, and
a sense of independence and flexibility for the use of individual activity spaces. The entrance forecourt has
been designed as a play garden and an outdoor gathering space, with the curved facade of the building acting
as a backdrop to the stage. All ground floor rooms have outdoor extensions under the shade of trees, and the
rooms on the upper floors and the library have access to terraces, shaded with pergola. On entering the
building, children arrive into an all-weather Centre Court, which is used for playing and exercising. This court
becomes the integral part of all activities by connecting all floors visually and involving people on upper floors
in the activity on the ground floor. Gently-sloped ramps circum-ambulate around the central court, and the
buiding rises in comfortable stages with places for pause and rest along the way. The activity spaces on each
floor are separated from these ramps by corridors, which act as buffer space. The corridors have display
boards on the outer walls of class rooms, which are formed on the back of cabinets of the class room, thus
cutting off the noise from the central space, completely. All workrooms have glare-free natural light from a
window system designed for even distribution of day-light, thus eliminating the need of artificial lighting during
day. The air-cooling system is interlaced with structural system. The workspaces are air-cooled through vertical
ducts coming down from rooftop coolers. The building envelope is designed to keep the interiors cool in
summers, warm in winters and well-ventilated during the monsoon season. Particular care is taken for fire-
safety, considering the difficulties of movement for the physically challenged. There are numerous fire escape
routes and exits from the building. Additionally, the terrace spaces provide fire-safe zones on each floor.
The building seeks to contribute its share of environment stimuli that the young minds at Disha School
are enjoying. The play of light, colour, texture to touch and feel and fragrance are integrated into the
building fabric. And most importantly, a strong presence is given to trees, creepers, flowering plants; to
reflect the cycle of seasons and to invite butterflies, birds and squirrels to make their homes at Disha.