Talaricheruvu Rural School

Project Name: Talaricheruvu Rural School
Authors: CollectiveProject

CITATION

Old school buildings are repositories of memories and nostalgia for the communities that have an association with them. Designed as a rejuvenation project through CSR funding, the architects employ one powerful idea to cohesively bind the space and extend the interiors of the school into a wonderfully articulate outdoors.

Playing with the hardness of steel and the tactility of bamboo, a singular meandering canopy creates a carpet of shadows on the ground plane. This device works climatically and architecturally towards extending the threshold of the interior space, mitigating the harsh climate and the sharp sun in this context. This extension of the boundary of the building helps build cohesion between the old blocks. The detail is frugal and eloquent.

An enclosure thus created combines the canopy, the fenestrations and the compound wall into a singular whole. One can imagine the changing nature of the canopy as vegetation may eventually attach and take over as the connecting tissue becomes the vessel for activity, play and rest.

Old public and institutional buildings, although architecturally insignificant, have an intrinsic connection to the many people who have used them and continue to use them within communities. The act of adaptive reuse must therefore not be a compromise. This project demonstrates that design, through simple, well-thought-out interventions, can infuse a new life and relevance for numerous ordinary structures, thereby conserving resources and retaining old relationships, all the while layering fresh, exciting newness in the process of rejuvenation and therefore, Talaricheruvu Rural School by CollectiveProject is awarded a Citation in The Merit List.