Rane Vidyalaya School

Rane Vidyalaya School
© LINK studio
Rane Vidyalaya School
© LINK studio

Rane Vidyalaya School

Shanmugam Associates

PLUMBING CONSULTANTS
Coimbatore, D&D

LEAD ARCHITECTS
Ar. Shanmugam A, Ar D Rajakrishnan, Ar Santhosh Shanmugam 

MANUFACTURERS
Autodesk, Hindware, Nitco Limited, Saint-gobain, Asian, Bharath Pavers, Kalpataru, Ncl, Nippon, Trimble

LANDSCAPE
Shanmugam Associates, Trichy & Chennai

STRUCTURAL CONSULTANTS
Ramkumar, Rays Consulting Engineers

ELECTRICAL CONSULTANTS
DNR, Trichy

CLIENTS
Rane Foundation, Chennai

DESIGN TEAM
Srinivasan, Sathish Kumar, Balasubramaniam, Mohamed Ismail, Rukmani Thangam, Praveen Kumar

ENGINEERING
Hitec Construction, Trichy

PHOTOGRAPHS
LINK studio

AREA
5000 m²

YEAR
2018

LOCATION
Theerampalayam, India

CATEGORY
Schools

Text description provided by architect.

Rane Vidyalaya CBSE school is an educational campus for K12 and a CSR initiative by Rane Foundation India Pvt. Ltd, a leading industrial conglomerate.

Rane Vidyalaya School
© LINK studio
Rane Vidyalaya School
© LINK studio

Theerampalayam, the rural region where the school is located, has no proper educational institutions that offer quality learning.

The closest city, Tiruchirapalli which is a Tier-II city in the state of Tamil Nadu, India, is 20 kms away. Neighborhood districts are a mix of small rural villages whose occupation is agriculture and unskilled labor.

Rane Vidyalaya School
© LINK studio
Rane Vidyalaya School
© LINK studio

The project was envisioned as a whole but executed in two phases. Presently Phase 1 has been constructed for an area of 50,000 Sq.Ft.

The intent was to create an infrastructure that would have a positive social impact on the local community and also showcase the core values of Rane.

Rane Vidyalaya School
© LINK studio
Rane Vidyalaya School
© LINK studio

Construction techniques from regional context, structured pedagogy of the Indian educational system and construction cost of $20 / Sq.Ft formed the underlying basis for the design development.

Inspiration came in from the 6th century built Thiruvellarai temple's walls and the layered cross sections of 50 year old houses in the region.

Rane Vidyalaya School
© LINK studio
Rane Vidyalaya School

Construction methodology, that was followed consistently in these walls, was layering starting from huge random rubble and stone at bottom, to finer solid brick work, mud and slate on top. Alternating wall layers of red wire cut bricks from local kiln and grey fly ash brick recycled from industrial cement waste were used.

The kindergarten classrooms are designed to have individual gardens that encourage seamless outdoor and indoor integration of space. With every increase in grade, classes become more functional to induce structured learning.

Rane Vidyalaya School
© LINK studio
Rane Vidyalaya School
© LINK studio

The overall design approach was to avoid sharp edges in walls, columns, slab edges and in every detail possible to ensure safety. Located in the tropical belt of interior Tamil Nadu, the intent was to have the space ventilated naturally with sufficient lighting.

All walls are stopped at lintel height and have open-able windows above, to allow hot air to dissipate and increase cross ventilation. Terracotta jalli has been used as secondary shading devices.

Rane Vidyalaya School
© LINK studio
Rane Vidyalaya School
© LINK studio

Major openings along the predominant SE & NW wind direction and minor wind tunnels in east-west direction between classrooms are created to have a comfortable micro-climate.

Taking inspiration from temple mandapams where huge gatherings took place, there is an enclosed central courtyard planned with perforated light wells in the roof. This courtyard would serve as a multi functional place of congregation for lunch breaks, school assembly, exhibition space, co-curricular training and small gatherings.

Rane Vidyalaya School
© LINK studio
Rane Vidyalaya School
© LINK studio

The courtyard is placed in such a way that it is visually connected at all levels. All these architectural features, incorporating use of red solid bricks, baked earth tiles, terracotta jalli and grey fly ash bricks, help address the micro climate, create interesting light & shade experiences through roof perforations, provide safe green courtyards and sufficient ventilation.

At the same time they also speak the design language of the local region, source material from the surrounding area, create a fun educational environment and give a wholesome cost effective solution.

Rane Vidyalaya School
© LINK studio


Rane Vidyalaya School
Ground Floor Plan
Rane Vidyalaya School
First Floor Plan
Rane Vidyalaya School
Second Floor Plan
Rane Vidyalaya School
Site Plan


Rane Vidyalaya School
Development
Rane Vidyalaya School


Rane Vidyalaya School
Section
Rane Vidyalaya School
Context