The centrally located ramp is designed to be the most optimum means for reaching the upper floor. The structure is so designed that the central atrium has a skylight that illuminates the central circulation areas such as the corridors and the ramp.

Underneath the ramp is a storage area, and a cubby hole for students to reach the indoor play area. It gives them quick access to spend time there after morning drop off and before the bell for classes is rung.

Drop off is done at either the front entry porch, or by the bus from the southern entry by the school bus, which shares the road with the adjacent city school under easement.

The dining and gardening solarium leads to the vegetable patches, the covered play area, and the sand pits, which are at the rear of the structure. There is also an indoor/outdoor stage in the library that serves the amphitheatre built into the landscape which serves to eliminate noise pollution from vehicular traffic and the adjoining school.

By constructing an Earth Berm with a forest cluster at the rear, and an innovative combination of landscaping and parking at the front, noise from these areas is dealt with efficiently.

Educational Institute Design  |  AD Studio
Fall 2012

Location: Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh
Instructors: Sumitra Singh, Puloma Chaddha

This project is from the 2012 Fall design studio, and involves the design of a consolidated kindergarten on an allotted plot of land in a residential area, which is decreed to have a local kindergarten built. The brief merely mentioned that the design enable creative learning in the students.

This approach includes building a new learning environment that engages a child’s creativity and fosters his/her interests in various activities not limited to the curriculum. Design features such as modular rearrangeable furniture, interactive play areas and the creation of a daily schedule that incorporates these features makes for a spatiality that contributes towards the learning experience.

In addition to the administrative areas, there are traditional classrooms, and labs and a multipurpose hall for gatherings. For extracurricular activities, the campus includes an outdoor amphitheater pool, sandpit, vegetable garden and indoor skating rink, a park for the lower classes, and an indoor kiddie gym.

Orientation
Hot, humid regions require form elongated along the E-W axis to minimize direct solar exposure. On the SW wall, wind hits directly and reaches down in a turbulent wake after a distance of 10-15H, where H is the height of the boundary wall. By placing the wall with windows in this orientation, cooling by wind is achieved.

The structure is two-storeyed. The ground floor houses  most of the communal and gathering areas such as the cafeteria, staff rooms, clinic and the admin dept., as well as the recreational areas such as the library, computer lab, and playroom.
The second floor has all the classrooms and a multipurpose hall. The six classrooms have modular furniture which can be rearranged as per the ongoing activity. The interiors are done up in bright, vibrant colors.

In this manner their interaction with the spaces, objects, furniture, and their correlation with routine activities allows the children to be exposed to shapes, colours, behavioral patterns and ideas that enhance their cognitive growth.