The evolving school of thought

To understand institutional buildings and their evolving architecture better, Commercial Design looks at how site conditions, complex programmes, budget limitations, climatic conditions and a host of other factors influence design in this domain.

- CAROL FERRAO

Over the last few years, there has been a rise in architectural competitions that invite practices to design premier institutional projects in the country. From IITs and IIMs to other large scale educational and public projects, this growing demand for international campuses reveals a promising future for the architecture fraternity. It’s an opportunity unlike any other, where one can explore new design languages in master planning, spatial design and built forms while navigating the evolving needs of these modern campuses.

Often these projects are assigned a nondescript land far away from metros. In fact, many institutes and campuses emerge in the outskirts of tier 1 and 2 cities. While these sites may not have the global character of a metropolis, the expansive availability of land is a significant plus in developing an enriching environment that caters to both primary needs like education and accommodations as well as social and community needs. Being separated from the buzz of city life also ensures that the design enjoys the best of both worlds — a global campus with a local, contextual flair. Hence, institutional projects usually employ locally sourced materials, crafts and labour in its build.

One of the most promising trends in this sphere is contextual and sensible architecture. A quick glance at some of the recently unveiled institutional projects showcases the rise in brick and exposed cement facades. For instance, for the Skill Centre building for Symbiosis in Lavale, Pune, the clients asked IMK Architects for “a natural, original, and permanent finish on the building”. So, partner and principal architect Rahul Kadri decided to create a textured building using bricks for the facade. Instead of ordinary brick walls, the team created a brick artform tilted on the inside as well as on the outside — a design that went through trial and errors before it could be perfectly executed.