St Martha Bethany Vidyalaya- Phase 1 | Kamat & Rozario Architecture

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St Martha Bethany Vidyalaya- Phase 1 | Kamat & Rozario Architecture

Information

  • Project Name: St Martha Bethany Vidyalaya- Phase 1
  • Practice: Kamat & Rozario Architecture
  • Products: Jaquar , Philips , Trimble , AGL , Greenply , Merinolam , ZW cad
  • Completion year: 2022
  • Gross Built up Area: 20000 sqft
  • Project Location: Ludhiana
  • Country: India
  • Design Team: Sahana Samanta, Gokul A N, Raj Kachalia
  • Structural Consultants: Strutlogix
  • Contractors: Own Contractors, [email protected]
  • Photo Credits: Purnesh Dev Nikhanj
  • Others: Project Architect: Mrigank Roy Chaudhury, Interior Contractor: D P Sharma
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Excerpt: St Martha Bethany Vidyalaya- Phase 1, designed by Kamat & Rozario Architecture, is an educational institution located in Ludhiana, Punjab. The fortress-like blank walls aim to deflect the gusty winds and channel them through the open pockets of the built mass in a gentler avatar. The taupe color of the blank walls is to match that of the surrounding soil so that the weathering they endure gets camouflaged.

Project Description

[Text as submitted by architect] The weather & topography of Punjab was unlike anything we had experienced before. Weather-wise, it’s a land of extremes. Summers soar almost up to 50 degrees, and winters drop to zero degrees.

St Martha Bethany Vidyalaya- Phase 1 | Kamat & Rozario Architecture
© Purnesh Dev Nikhanj

The topography of the countryside is quite interesting. The settlements here are akin to a galaxy of dense clusters created to stay clear of the cultivable land that is fertile and highly irrigated. This is one of the highest grain-yielding regions in the country. Miles and miles of uninterrupted flat land, with the absence of obstruction by any mountains, produce high-speed hostile winds that also bring in considerable dust.

St Martha Bethany Vidyalaya- Phase 1 | Kamat & Rozario Architecture
© Purnesh Dev Nikhanj
St Martha Bethany Vidyalaya- Phase 1 | Kamat & Rozario Architecture
© Purnesh Dev Nikhanj

The school was situated on the outskirts of one of these clusters in between the fields, giving us scenic views and cool winds in the summer months due to the standing rice crop. But there would be frequent dust storms at the end of each harvest cycle. There was also the problem of stubble burning, which brought in considerable ash with the winds.

St Martha Bethany Vidyalaya- Phase 1 | Kamat & Rozario Architecture
© Purnesh Dev Nikhanj
St Martha Bethany Vidyalaya- Phase 1 | Kamat & Rozario Architecture
© Purnesh Dev Nikhanj

This led to the evolution of the arc-shaped form of the school building. The fortress-like blank walls aim to deflect the gusty winds and channel them through the open pockets of the built mass in a gentler avatar. The taupe color of the blank walls is to match that of the surrounding soil so that the weathering they endure gets camouflaged. 

St Martha Bethany Vidyalaya- Phase 1 | Kamat & Rozario Architecture
© Purnesh Dev Nikhanj
St Martha Bethany Vidyalaya- Phase 1 | Kamat & Rozario Architecture
© Purnesh Dev Nikhanj

Breaks in the wall are articulated by brightly colored bridge elements. Most openings are oriented toward small courts that are created by the finger-like massing of the built form. Very few openings are in the direction of the incident winds. The courts are mutually shaded through the day. The size and scale of the courts has been kept intimate as they also play spaces for the younger children – these may perhaps double up as winter classrooms as well!

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