architecture brio: a NGO campus, mumbai, india

a mumbai based NGO staff dormitory by architecture brio image courtesy architecture brio

indian based studio architecture brio have created a design for a staff dormitory for a mumbai based NGO. the dormitory for staff would be located at the tip of the land, on the sloped site surrounded by paddy fields and small villages on top of a plateau.

site where the building will be located image courtesy architecture brio

by utilizing the steep slope an intimate low façade will face the entrance court on the forest side. a more prominent vertical façade will face the paddy fields. a staircase cutting through the building, frames the exterior beyond, creating interplay between inside and outside. this staircase leads you down to a large double height recreational space. suspending the two-storey structure over the ridge creates this space below. the top floor is surrounded on all sides by a verandah. at the end of a colonnaded passage a large shaded deck overlooks a most spectacular view over the trees, towards the matheran mountain range in the distance.

drawing of a mumbai based NGO staff dormitory image courtesy architecture brio

a series of bamboo columns wrap around the building. public circulation and verandahs occupy the interstitial spaces between the external bamboo columns and the internal mass. the large covered verandahs and the relatively narrow width of the building envelope allow for comfortably ventilated and shaded semi-indoor spaces.

verandah of a mumbai based NGO staff dormitory image courtesy architecture brio

a reduced material palette using bamboo for columns and walls, natural stone and polished concrete for floors, neutralized by the whitewashed interiors gives the calm rational architectural language a sensual physical presence. the series of bamboo posts at 1.5-meter intervals form a permeable skin around the building as well as support the entire building. bamboo, being the fastest growing grass in the world, is a high yielding renewable material resource. the high strength and low weight factor of bamboo makes it remarkably earthquake and cyclone resistant.

side elevation of a mumbai based NGO staff dormitory image courtesy architecture brio

the columns consist of two bamboo poles, with a diameter of 90mm, joined together by steel strips. dowels inserted in between the two bamboo poles avoid shear movements. trusses made of pre-cast concrete and steel tension cables span between the columns. the floors are made of half cut bamboo, on which a layer of 50 mm PCC is laid, finished with a layer of natural stone. walls are infill panels made of split bamboo covered with reinforced plastered on the inside.

model of a mumbai based NGO dormitory image courtesy architecture brio

a steel plate, which is embedded in the pre-cast concrete beam, connects to both the lower and upper bamboo twin-column as well as the bamboo tie beams. while this steel plate cuts through the bamboo column to make use of reverse bending, the continuity of the bamboo columns is maintained accentuating the verticality of the structure. combining natural and local materials with state of the art technologies and materials such as wood, concrete and steel this building will portray a new construction idiom – an expression of contemporary sustainable low-tech architecture.

detailed structure plan of a mumbai based NGO dormitory image courtesy architecture brio