Envisage Takes Sustainable Initiatives For the Design Of White Flower Hall

Founded in 2007, India-based 'Envisage' takes eco-friendly measures in the design and construction of a new wing of the girls' hostel at the Mann School.

Project: White Flower Hall

Location:
Delhi,
India

Architects:
Envisage

Typology:
Student Hall

Built-Up Area: 3000m²

Client: Dipshikha Bangladesh

Images: Suryan and Dang

Designed by Envisage, the Girls Hostel Wing at Mann School, is a beautiful contrast to the regular unimpressive style of accommodation buildings seen elsewhere. Proposed within the complex of the school, as an additional housing option to meet the increasing inflow of students, the idea for the hostel was to create a safe environment for the girls, just like home, with all the necessary functional requirements and a multitude of public spaces. The building intends to foster learning in a welcoming and uplifting environment. The new wing is positioned between the executive block and the senior wing and houses dormitories for grade 1-12, a study hall, and common recreational areas like a games and television room, a computer room, and a salon.

The hostel overlooks a central courtyard, with dormitories facing the corridors to ensure a lively and interactive environment. The architects have incorporated outdoor spaces such as gardens and terraces within the building to promote the well-being of the children. The wide, angular corridors accommodate seating spaces that encourage a sense of community. The building opens out at a different angle on every floor, with inward-looking terraces staggered to help create a sense of visual connection for everyone, regardless of where they are positioned.

The residential facilities for younger kids (grade 1 to 4), have been planned on the ground floor avoiding the need to climb stairs and ensuring safety. The dormitories are designed to ensure optimal ingress of daylight and ventilation with windows along the custom-designed bunk beds, allowing each child with a view to the outside. The dining area, the parent’s lounge, as well as recreational spaces like the indoor play area are also located on the ground floor. The first and second floors, on the other hand, are dedicated to facilities for older students: 4-bedded and 6-bedded dormitories with individual beds and study areas. The infirmary and the salon are also positioned on the first floor to accommodate all the facilities in one place, making the hostel self-sufficient.

Activity areas like the common room, computer lab, and the games room are planned in the basement around the central courtyard and the sunken amphitheater, making it the liveliest zone in the building. The amphitheater has been designed as an extension of the common room, also functioning as a congregation spot where students and staff often come together to celebrate events or special occasions. In order to ensure a nourishing and emotionally supportive environment for the children, safety has been considered as an essential part of the design. The warden’s residence is planned within the building, overlooking the central courtyard, while giving her a complete view of the hostel from her living room while retaining a sense of privacy. The number of building entry and exit points are reduced, windows are fitted with metal grills, and wires are used between the handrails in the corridors and the ceiling as a precaution.

Driven by sustainability, solar panels are installed on the terrace of the building. The central courtyard is precisely aligned in the North West – South East direction, to catch the southwesterly winds during the monsoon, thus ensuring ventilation throughout the building. The South and West walls of the building are made with the rattrap bond (bricks are placed in a vertical position instead of conventional horizontal position, creating a cavity) to provide thermal comfort. Mud phuska (compacted soil with hay) is used for thermal insulation to reduce the ingress of heat by almost 70%. Bricks used on-site have been procured from local kilns to reduce the carbon footprint. Even the finishes and materials used in the building are low maintenance and affordable – paint and tiles, granite, laminates on the door – all keeping in mind that the setting is to be used by young children. All the site-excavated earth from the basement is used to level and create mounds in the garden in front of the girl’s hostel. The debris that came out of the construction material was utilised to make the roads and footpaths of the school. Timber from old trees withering away on site was used to manufacture doors for the building. Additionally, rainwater is harvested from the 650 sqm terrace into two pits through a series of drains and used for horticulture and flushing.

Envisage, founded in 2007, Envisage was formed by two partners – Meena Murthy Kakkar and Vishal Kakkar, creates spaces that make a statement with their aesthetical beauty, as well as functionality. Find out about this and many other projects by the firm on their website.