Studio CollectiveProject renovates Talaricheruvu Rural School in Andhra with fretted Bamboo Canopy
Located in a far flung arid region of Andhra Pradesh, the dilapidated building of rural school has been morphed into a bright and bamboo shaded leaning space designed specifically for children of local cement factory workers.
Collective Project has renovated a fifteen-year-old building of a rural school with light and flamboyant bamboo canopy covering a wide piece of barren land.
Given the site which was largely in disrepair, CollectiveProject retained its original structure and adapted the interior arrangement to create brighter classrooms and cooler outdoor spaces.
As per design team which includes Cyrus Patell, Eliza Higgins, Saniya Jejani, proposal reenvisions an existing “L” shaped school building for the children of cement plant workers into a vibrant, empowering and positive place for learning.
Colour plays an essential role in activating the existing facade, and the addition of jalis allows for ample natural ventilation in all of the classrooms.
A lightweight bamboo canopy joining indoors and outdoors makes it spacious providing students with shade from the intense sun. The sinuous walls of the Talaricheruvu Rural School were finished in a simple cement plaster sourced from the adjacent.
The multipurpose outdoor space can be used by the community Intended to provide learning spaces for the children of local cement factory workers, the project was designed as a prototype to create further schools linked to cement factories across the region.
The existing oversized classrooms were reworked to increase the school capacity from 400 students to 600,” as the Co-Founder Cyrus Patell told Dezeen.
Before renovation the school was divided into sixteen windowless, oversized classrooms, two labs and a library, with a lack of shaded outdoor spaces.
The studio adapted the existing portion of the school to create twenty-four classrooms, three labs, two libraries and two staff rooms.
Independent pavilions were added across the site to hold additional spaces, including a kitchen, dining hall, art room and bathrooms, as well as classrooms for younger students.
The new classrooms are smaller yet brighter, lit by large windows and playful perforations that feature across the building’s new facade. This is formed of a series of jaalis, or perforated lattice screens.
A subtle but strategic use of colour and pattern through the jaalis helped to give each classroom an identity.The black limestone floors were made from waste material produced in a neighbouring village.
The cement came directly from the factory next door – so it was a simple and cost-effective solution for the facade and could be executed by local labour.
The structure used 12,000 locally sourced bamboo poles, supported by a lightweight metal structure.
The project supported by the Penna Foundation acts as prototype design that could be implemented at other regional cement factories, using well-designed spaces and extracurricular programs to engage more teachers into remote areas.
Photographs by Benjamin Hosking | Image source: collective-project.com
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