design for the I.i.m. trichy campus february 2014
submitted by C.KAPILAN
done as a part of architectural design thesis in partial fulfilment of the undergraduate (B.Arch.) program for the School of Architecture and Planning, Anna University, Chennai.
“It is the nature of any organic building to grow from its site, come out of the ground to the light - the ground itself always held as a component basic part of the building itself. A building dignified as a tree in the midst of nature for buildings too are creatures of earth and sun.� - Frank Lloyd Wright
CONTENTS 1. PROLOGUE 2. INSTITUTION AND THE CITY 3. THE SITE 4. LIFE IN AN I.I.M. 5. NATURE OF THE BUILT FORM OF AN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION 6. IN SEARCH OF A MONUMENT AND A SANCTUARY EVOLUTION OF SCHEME 1 7. FINDING THE NEW IN THE OLD AND THE OLD IN THE NEW - EVOLUTION OF SCHEME 2 8. EPILOGUE
PROLOGUE Why should any architecture follow a convention - a fixed typology? Why should there not be poetry arising out of the site? Shouldn’t achieving timelessness be the ulitimate goal of a work of architecture? Then how did the works of architecture from history have in them this eternal quality which even after centuries later continue to affect us? Weren’t they also built by man?
I wonder how they would have conceived them, what would they have aspired and how would they have built those buildings which were relevant to their times and yet affecting us centuries later. In truth, the campus of IIM T was my exercise in search of - monumentality - an appropirate climatic expresion - and the idea of an institution as a community.
INSTITUTION AND THE CITY An ideal institution, like a city must allow different stories / journeys to unfold but all united by common values towards a goal. It must bring together and encourage varieties but at the same time move together.
In many ways I believe that an ideal institution of education must function the way a city where different stories are weaved together with common aspirations. It must be a platform to bring together and encourage varieties and at the same time move together. An ideal educational institution must allow like a river, the freedom to its tributaries to undertake their own journeys but all bound to the same goal united by common values And ideal institution is also where the learning is not just confined to the boundaries of the classrooms but extends to the lifestyle. These educational institutions will then become the true monuments and anchors to the society.
THE SITE Every site and every architectural problem always come with certain clues . Architecture is really the discovering of the built environment that is natural to the site, the context and the need based on these clues.
Any site is always in relation to its environment. Any intervention must proceed from a deeper understanding and consciousness.
panarama towards North
Palatial complex, Fatehpur sikri
IIM Ahmedabad
Site Area - 39.57 HA Total Built up Area - 1,31,000 sq. mts Ground coverage - 41,000sq. mts. Students - 600 Residents - 1140 Faculty - 90
IIM Bangalore
Site Area - 38.1 HA Total Built up Area - 98,000 sq. mts Ground coverage - 59,300 sq. mts. Students - 700 Residents - 1630 Faculty - 100
0 50 100
300
500M
panarama towards North
THE
EXP AN
SE
TOWARDS TRICHY
3
BHARATHIDASAN UNIVERSITY CAMPUS
1 2
1 2
JAN
MAR
MAY
JUL
SEP
NOV
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TH E
UNFAVOURABLE
1
SIDE OF THE SI TE
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The boundary of a site doesn’t isolate the site from the environment it is a part of. This understanding shall directly guide what should ‘grow’ in this site. 1
TOWARDS PUDDUKOTTAI
ANNA UNIVERSITY CAMPUS
TREE COVER (that protects the villages from ‘the greater forces’) 2 SEASONAL WETLAND (from rains) 3 FARMS (that depend on collected rain water) 4 STORM WATER DRAINAGE CHANNEL(that rejuvenates the pond on the site’s North)
It is important to look beyond just the physicality of the site - to ask what else it holds. To see beyond the visual. Here in this unpolluted landscape rules the land and the sky. The site of THE UNENDING LAND AND THE OVERWHELMING SKY. The lone and sturdy palm trees, the clouds on an unending journey, and the night sky clear to the stars. Here is a site that is open directly to the greater forces - the raw forces of nature. These subjective thoughts were what that were constantly haunting me while in the process of discovering an appropirate built character.
7.30 - 8.30 am
8.30 - 1.10 am
1.10 - 2.30 pm
2.30 - 4.30 pm
4.30 - 6.00 pm
wake up and breakfast the classes await.
3 x 75 min. classes with 15 min. breaks in between each. Intense case discussions, cold callings, presentations.
Lunch, surprise quizzes are announced. Scheduling the group work at night with members of the group. + prepare for surprise quiz if any
surprise quizzes and more classes
prepare for the long evening ahead. - gym, play, sleep, committee/club meetings
LIFE IN AN
I I M
3.00 am - 4.00 am
2.00 am - 3.00 am
9.00 pm - 1 or 2.00 am
6.00 - 8.00 pm
sleep
parties, personal work / hobbies.
group work amongst various groups, committe meetings, parties etc.
personal study, project presentations and dinner.
compiled after reading many blogs of students from various IIM s
A typical day in an IIM
MARRIED STUDENTS
+
FAMILIES
groups, parties, student clubs, cultural etc.
STUDENT DORM
STUDENT DORM
+ FAMILIES
IIM - social structure
rare students + staff families get - togethers
PROFESSORS + TEACHING ASSISTANTS
social meetings
classes, events, discussions, committees, institution clubs etc.
compiled after reading many blogs of students from various IIM s
N AT U R E O F T H E B U I LT F O R M O F A N E D U C AT I O N A L I N S T I T U T I O N The built form of any educational institution though consisting of several forms must function as a harmonious whole. They shall be like the different organs in the same body. The in between spaces that connect the different buildings becomes the spaces where life unfolds.
What must the form of an ideal institution of education be? The built fabric of an ideal educational institution must be conceived as an integrated and a harmonious organism not as scattered buildings. There shall be harmony not only amongst the built structures, but also with the spaces (where the life unfolds) that these strucThe central courtyard unites the different souls that inhibit this campus tures enclose both with and without. while the individual cells(above) are individual sanctuaries.
The different worlds(the individual prayer halls and cells) of the Ajanta caves linked by the Great Gallery.
These institutions are also a monument to the society - a kind of an anchor. But they are also a sanctuary within a sanctuary for learning. All buildings even though physically and functionally seperate, must be a part of an whole and function in harmony like organs to a body. These sanctuaries shall “enclose worlds within worlds� but are united by a common thread like the Great gallery in the Ajanta caves and the central courtyard of Convent de La Tourette.
IN SEARCH OF A MONUMENT AND A SANCTUARY E VOLUTION OF SCHEME 1 In this site of the endless land and the overwhelming sky, there needs the place as a refuge in this unending expanse. In a site of such cosmic prportions, the act of meeting under shade within a defined space becomes sacred.
In this site of the endless land and the overwhelming sky, there needs the place as a refuge in this unending expanse. This place of refuge shall be the sanctuary within and a monument from without - as an anchor to the surrounding region. This sanctuary will be the sanctuary of learning. The institution then becomes both the monument and sanctuary. In a site of such cosmic prportions, the act of meeting under shade within a defined space becomes sacred. It is only appropirate that the institute which is both the monument and sanctuary be placed in closeness to the expanse.
The idea was to evolve a masterplan like how a city or a town around an institution shall evolve. Then at the macro level, the central plaza becomes ‘The Heart of the campus’ and the residential spreads like a village. Why must the institution influence the residential, or the residential be just treated as a by-product of the institutional program?
1
1 The Institute(on the most sacred part of the site) 2 Central plaza (which is like a city centre where all inhabitants of the campus gather) 3 Residential village
3
2
3
1 Portal to the expanse Library+plaza 2 Academic Sanctuary 3 Faculty blocks 4 Residential Sanctuary 5 The Great hall - Mess 6 Kitchen 7 Individual sanctuaries hostel rooms 8 Entrance plaza Administration block 9 Future expansion
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3
1
classroom, model
3 4 hostel cluster, model
5
9
6
2
hostel block, model
The positive defines the negative rather the negative connects the positive like in music where a pause between two notes unites them which otherwise would be just two different sounds.
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30
50M
These sanctuaries within sanctuaries find a collective portal to the expanse through the library. The expanse again opens as individual sanctuaries into the hostel rooms. Between this collective and these individual search lies the residential and the academic sanctuaries.
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2
8
1
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secction through the academic world
9
2 1 Portal to the expanse Library+plaza 2 Academic Sanctuary 3 Faculty blocks 4 Residential Sanctuary 5 The Great hall - Mess 6 Kitchen 7 Individual sanctuaries hostel rooms
10
3
3 1
8 Entrance plaza Administration block 9 Future expansion 10 Hostel common rooms
2
7
4 cross section through the different worlds
0
10
15
25 M
FINDING THE OLD IN THE NEW AND THE NEW IN THE OLD E VOLUTION OF SCHEME 2 Can a building be imagined to grown out of nature, grown by the same force that makes the trees grow, the seasons change-the natural force ? Can we conceive a building that is closely related to the site and context such that once coming into existence it makes the site or the context incomplete without it ?
WHAT IF a building is grown out of nature, grown by the same force that makes the trees grow, the seasons change - the natural force? WHAT IF the building grows out of the site like a tree does - to grow naturally? Wouldn’t then the building be a part of the site itself? WHAT IF some of these clouds on an endless voyage decided to rest in this site , wouldn’t they be connected to both the sky and the earth? Can’t then the building be in this spirirt? Can we not conceive of a building that is closely related to the site and context such that once coming into existence it makes the site or the context incomplete without it. Can we not find “THE OLD IN THE NEW AND THE NEW IN THE OLD” like the way they did in Ellora? I was all the time looking at these lone palm trees to guide me to find an appropriate physical and climatic expression. Here the endless land and the overwhelming sky are the true monuments. The building itself shall then be what a ship is to an ocean.
The institution and the residential are two distinct worlds. Why not give each their own character rather than the residential being just a by-product. Thus the residential shall grow as an intimate community protected from the ‘forces from the expanse’ with surrounding woodlands like how they protect the villages in this region. Whereas the institution is open to the ‘forces of the expanse’. These two worlds meet at ‘THE HEART’ of the campus - the ‘central plaza’ where there is the commercial centre and civic amenities.
5
1 Central plaza (Heart of the campus) 2 Wetland (Residential centre) 3 Residential 4 Married students 5 The Institute 6 Grassland
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The entire campus is split into the residential village and the institute as two different worlds. The residential village as an intimate wooded community with a wetland and a park as its centre and the institute being opened to greater forces with the library as its focus. The central plaza that connects these two worlds becomes the heart of the campus The common parking and a looped road network in the residential village ensures that land is not wasted on roads in this hot region making way for larger gardens and a stage for rich community life.
housing cluster, model
1 Central plaza heart of the campus 2 Wetland + park residential centre 3 Common parking 4 Library Academic centre 5 Wetland grey water recycling
All service lines (especially water and sanitation ) and the road networks shall follow the natural slope of the site. The grey water from the campus shall be recycled through wetlands at the northern part of the site. These wetlands in spite of cooling the environment also becomes like an oasis that’ll attract biodiversity in a site as barren as this.
institution building, model
1
EVOLUTION OF THE INSTITUTION
The expression for the institution evolved with the need not to ‘pollute’ the horizon of the unending land and to open the spaces to the overwhelming sky. Then the act of designing building itself becomes like the act of discovering it from the landscape of the site. The hostel region and the academic region meet at ‘THE GREAT HALL’ which is the mess. The idea of concieving the com4 plex as an organic whole as explored in scheme 1 is furthur refined to suit the context of the site. The complex really is a product of the site.
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2
3
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4
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11
11
12
12 10
10 CL 60
+0.75
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+0.75
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+0.75
UP DN
UP
7
DN UP DN
+0.75
12
UP
UP
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12
5
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UP
CL100
11
11
CL100 +0.75
5 4
4 UP
-2.75 UP
B
A
1 Entrance plaza 2 Admin. block 3 Faculty block 4 Classroom 50 seater(below) 5 Classroom 100 seater 6 Entrance courtyard 7 Library 8 Central Spine 9 “Courtyard of Communion” 10 Classrooms - 70 seater 11 Sub terranean courtyards 12 Sky terraces
3
CL100
2 0.0
0
10
25
1
UP
UP
0.0
50M
INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT
TRICHY
PLAN
LVL +0.75M
ACA
Two great forces operated in shaping the built fabric of the institution. Firstly the site itself in the form of the unending land and the overwhelming sky and then the climate. Life in this building is actually a life open to the sky and the cosmos. But the deep corridors in shadow and the conservative spread of the building in the landscape protect the spaces from the harsh climate like how the palm trees over there do !
0
5
15
25M
1
4
2
The general arrangement of the insitute was to make it as seemless as possible. All the important regions such as the library, the main classrooms, the mess are on the same level (as denoted by the red line).
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7 5 10
13
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9
The section of the institute evolved as a response to the site the climate and the resources available - the greatest resource in abundance, natural light. The section evolved both as a refuge from this light ( as in the central spine) and also to modify and use it as diffused light (as in the light shelves of the classrooms).
9
11 12
13
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
10
Entrance courtyard Library Library - Reading area “Courtyard of Communion� Central Spine Classrooms - 70 seaters Classrooms - 30 seaters 0
8 Sky terraces 9 Sunken courtyards 10 Classrooms - 50 seaters 11 Common rooms 12 Hostel courtyards 13 Private sanctuaries - hostel rooms 5
15
25M
Material to a building is like the bones, flesh and skin of our body. Form, function, structure, are inseperable. Any aesthetic must be true to the nature of the material and must derive directly from the nature of the material which makes the building. There can be no masks.
- The RCC work shall be exposed. - The concrete shall have a yellowish hue to match the colour of the soil in the site - The concrete shall be cast with shuttering from the planks of palm trees such that they imbibe in them the imprints of the pal tree - the natives of the site. - The granite that shall be used shall be from the surrounding regions which were used to build the temples around that region. This granite with aging of time will also match the colour of the soil. - All internal spaces shall be plastered thus differentiating the interior and the exterior. The exterior belongs to the landscape and the interiors are different ‘worlds’. - All services-electrical, air-conditioning etc. to be accomodated within the cavity in the wall.
RCC beam Internal brick wall Internal brick wall
Granite dry cladding Granite dry cladding (in elevation)
Exposed RCC parapet
Internal RCC columns Granite dry cladding Air cavity
RCC Floor slab flooring - granite
0
.5
1
2
Acoustic panel lining on the interior
3.5M
0
1
2
3.5M
NO 250x155
HOUSING (79300 approx)
2x1100
NO
NO
faculty housing
men women married mess kitchen TOTAL
HOSTELS (77000 approx)
program chair offices pgp fpm pgpdm director's office chairman's office meeting room board room dean's office admission chains placement & external relations for circulation & services TOTAL
ADMINISTRATION (950 approx)
2x150
38750
AREA
42350 18900 11375 2200 2200 77025
AREA
85 42.5 85 50 50 40 60 12 40 225 150 839.5
AREA
1200 300 60 400 2000 22930
640
10830
12x150 4x220 24x110 8x30 8x50
7500
250x12 50x12
faculty offices secretary class rooms 70 seater 100 seater 50 seater seminar rooms 20 seater 30 seater auditorium 1000 seater computer centre research centre rooms for research assistants library TOTAL
AREA
NO
ACADEMIC (23000 approx)
NOTE: every area unit is in square.metres
TOTAL BUILT AREA (approx.) - 1,80,000 sq.m.
SITE AREA (approx.) - 198 acres 8,01,000 sq.m.
EPILOGUE
I see many great works of architecture from our history and wonder why we no longer even imagine if only try to buildings that will surpass the limits of time to become timeless as those. Architecture in the past has been a vehicle for cultural growth ad progression. Why should it be any different now? Why should it follow only the given brief ? Why must it be consumed by mass consumption and commercialisation? This excercise for the IIM Trichy campus was indeed my search for an architecture that is true to the site, to its use, to the material, to the climate still seeking to find a place in a larger role with respect to the region and to the ‘greater forces’. Architecture is then truly an act of discovering.