GOODEARTH WALK ON THE CLOUDS
Location : Trivandrum
Category : Institution
Completed year : 2018
The environment we learn is the catapult to our thoughts, it needs to be the inspiration for dreams to fly. The Architecture School is a part of an existing campus that houses engineering and other disciplines. The site is abutted by the external road of the campus on the approach end and on the far end of the site is the Parvathy Puthanar River. Two inverted C shaped plans became the logical option for separation of the activities of administration and academic block. The materiality and textures are of clay blocks – a combination of perforated blocks, cavity blocks and solid blocks. Different layers of the building studios in the academic block are linked with the bridges on the upper level and courts in the lower level. Lights pours in from varied sources, skylights, open edged bridges, windows and clay block perforations, creating a rhythm and drama on the surfaces as it illuminates the interiors. Learning from the existing environment in terms of spaces, technology and materials is not just experiential but has an impact on the mind’s eye.