Modern Courtyard Home At a private institute in Butibori near Nagpur, a 1970s L-shaped hostel is extended with a new cafeteria and dorms carefully threaded between mature trees. Bridges link old stair cores to the new block, forming shaded courtyards that temper heat and organize movement safely for students as young as six. Corridors double as thermal buffers carrying evaporative cooling ducts, while brick jaali courts, rat-trap bond masonry, and exposed brick and concrete reduce heat gain and maintenance. A detached study pavilion, a meditation temple with a water body, and modular structure for future vertical growth complete a climate-responsive, campus-scaled addition.
A modest study centre nestled in the trees has been purposefully removed from the main building
to provide isolation and sanctity. A temple for meditation along with a water body is placed
between the old and the new built. Washrooms are planned to face the greenery towards an enclosed
courtyard made of brick jali. The structural system is kept simple and modular to allow seamless
vertical expansion in years to come. Form-finished concrete and exposed brickwork with local bricks
impart an earthy and grounded look to the building. Rattrap bond brick masonry provides thermal
insulation besides saving on bricks, not to mention the saving on the plaster or paint now
and in the future. A private educational institute in Bhutiburi, an industrial area near Nagpur,
has a school campus surrounded by hostels for girls and boys along with closed and open-air
sports facilities. Amongst this was an old hostel which was originally built in the 1970s as
industrial staff housing. It was later modified to house school boys. It was a modest two-floor
structure with an L-shaped plan. Since there were three independent wings with staircases,
the tenements and the rooms weren't linked with corridors like a normal hostel. The brief of the
extension project was to create a cafeteria and additional rooms for the growing needs of the
institution. Students come from the surrounding rural areas and take vocational or skill-based
education at the institution. Since students starting from the age of six stay here,
security and safety remain the principal concern. There were many mature trees on the land for the
proposed expansion which posed a constraint for the footprint but an opportunity for the design.
The new building was planned at a distance from the existing hostel with bridges connecting the
staircases of the old hostel. This placement creates a series of courtyards punctuated by
connecting bridges. The dormitory on the upper floor has a connecting corridor on the courtyard
side while it also has a wide balcony on the tree-lined side for studies, other activities
and drying clothes in a dignified manner. The corridor acts as a buffer in the extreme heat
during summers and provides space for carrying evaporative cooling ducts to the dormitories.
An open staircase is designed in one of the courts.
Natural stones like kota, shabaz and kadapa have been used for flooring and to create desks and
ledges. Dormitory furniture is designed as a single sleeping storage and study module
conserving valuable interactive space in the room.
