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ST. Mary's Group of Institutions - C.B.S.E. School, Madurai

Typology

Mary's Group of Institutions

Client

Commercial and Institutional Hub; Phase 1 – School campus Location: Madurai

Built-up Area

2,80,545 Sq. ft. (1,67,057Sq.ftHSB&1,13,488 Sq.ftNB)

Location

Madurai

The master planning of the hub broadly classifies the program into zones of public activity, academic and recreational zone and the housing zone.The South Eastern portion of the site, separated off from the central activities by the arterial driveway, is well-suited for the school zone enjoying privacy, while accessible from the highway through the internal semi-ring road.

Akin to the divine mother, the climate-responsive nursery building is an Architecture in paradox. Structured within a radial axis bound in concentric halos of layered spaces, she is an embodiment of introversion within it’s anti-thesis. Blocks of exposed brick masonry look inward toward the nourishing, central, green court, while the membrane of the internal lush sac seemingly tends to break out of the engulfing mass along a pattern of radial dispersion. The amalgamated globule of the built and unbuilt, takes a dip at the crown, where a concavity in the massing opens towards the main plaza. This causes the architectonics of her form to symbolically turn into a warm open embrace. The conceptualization is rooted in the ideology of the motherly cradling of the young ones within herself, shielding them from the outside, while providing them with the essential nurturing inside, to grow strong and healthy.Rounded shapes, walls and corners are softer and foster more creativity in younger children while making them comfortable due to the inherent flexibility and informality,as opposed to the rigid formality of sharp turns.

The higher secondary wing takes on a more formal structured layout of classrooms, stacked up in 3 levels along an enclosed rectangular layout. More rigid and serious, it reflects the more serious and stricter approach to adolescent education. Learning happens ‘Between the bricks’ – the pure white teaching areas are sandwiched between tall exposed brick fins repeating all along the building perimeter. As a simple, non-distractive façade, the identical slender fins add a sense of respect to the imagery of the massing, while highlighting the entry in an unassuming manner.