School for Autism 03

The aim of this project was to provide an Autism specific school which cater to the needs of the autism prevalent children in the given area, using architectural interventions for an optimal design. This project is located in Nashik, India. This was my Final year Thesis project during my bachelor of architecture. During this project I also completed a research paper named ‘Built Environment for Autistic Children’. The site was located right next to the Godavari River. And there was 8m difference in contour on the south side of the site. The real challenge about the project was the user group. Due to the high level of user friendly design, in my research paper I had to make a list of do’s and don’ts for designing.

The land can only be excavated up to 15 m deep after which there are rocks. Closer to the south the water level of the soil increases. There is currently no water supply to the site as its currently being developed. In a few years municipality will be providing the area with water supply. The site soil is red, brown Utisols. The Site has an area of about 22,771 metre square

In Nashik city there are about 1774 children (2-9 years olds) who suffer from autism. Nashik City currently inhabits about 5 autism related facilities who house about 40-50 children in each. There is a clear lack of autism related facilities as compared to the other major cities such as Mumbai, Pune, Thane and Nagpur.

A general classroom layout

To create an Autism Facility the main focus should be in creating simple and easy on the eyes type of environment. A lot of consideration is given to the user base especially since it deals with autistic children. Having simple façade, form, planning, materials and sensitive environment creates a big difference in the overall development for these children.

Professional Work 04

I had the oppourtunity to work with CannonDesign and Deepak Mehta Architect as an architectural intern. Due to the confidentiality of projects from CannonDesign, I have only shown images from my work at Deepak Mehta Architect. My role was to design, plan, create good for construction documents, and helped in the process of getting a building LEED rated.

All images used are owned by Deepak Mehta Architect

All images used are owned by Deepak Mehta Architect