“To let the outside (nature) come within the school building in Jammu”
A small school, situated on a triangular plot, on a road junction and flanked by water canal on the front side, makes the whole ambience quite environment friendly. With classrooms, meeting rooms and teacher’s facilities, reception and activity rooms, the idea was to let the outside (nature) come within the building. Hence, the concept is derived from the mountains situated in Jammu and Kashmir, considering not disturbing the natural skyline of the town.
The school blocks are separated from each other by creating an open and green area so that students can co-relate to the natural environment, while being inside the building.
The materials used for exterior in the building are wood and glass. Wood is locally available in the city and glass helps to percolate sunlight inside, as the city experiences cold climate almost throughout the year. Internal flooring is done in specially designed tiles from red sand which is locally available in Jammu.
AR. Nimish Shah
Principal Architect, Mumbai
About ZEEL Architects and Interior Designers The studio believes in constantly exploring the different aspects of design and blurring the boundaries between the seen and the unseen. The studio is constantly working on experiments, which strives to generate locally everything that is necessary for our living.
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A Blend of Traditional Jaalis and Geometrical Shapes
Situated on a small plot of 16.0 x 30.20 mt. and having an, even more, smaller usable floor plate of about 13.20 x 21.60 mt., this small building stands out from the neighborhood, due to the geometric envelope holding jalis in it.
Located in the city of Nagpur, which has a tropical and dry climate with average temperatures ranging from 40 degree and above, the heat needed to be restricted from entering into the habitable spaces. The service core has been located at the rear South-East corner, effectively reducing the heat intake from that side.
The building houses small office spaces in the 4 levels; hence it was necessary to have internal spaces naturally cooler, for which the screens act as a perfect sheath. The screens help in giving an envelope around the building, thus, reducing the heat gain. The jalis have been an integral part of our rich cultural heritage which can be still seen in the wadas and palaces in the city. The blend of these traditional screens (jalis) and geometric shapes, give the whole building a look of modernism with the traditional elements imbibed in it.