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www.livemint.comB U S I N E S S O F12 THURSDAY,MARCH6,2008
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L EFTHURSDAY,MARCH6,200813
Exhibition of Kanhai
paintingsAnexhibition-cum-saleofKanhaipaintingsdepictingreligiousdeitieswillbeheldatNewDelhisLe
MeridienHotelfrom7to9 March.
PresentedbyPeopleforAnimals(PFA),artistUmaKilachandscollectionisa
visualdepictionofdeitiesdrapedinfabricandembellishedwithpreciousstones.Kilachandhasbeenpaintingandembroideringsince1971.Herarthasnowextendedtolargerandmoreresplendentimages,withthedeitiesdrapedinvibrantsilksandjamevarsandadornedwithcrystalsandpearls.TheproceedsfromtheexhibitionwouldbedonatedtoPFAtosupportits
animalwelfareworkacrossIndia.STAFFWRITER
OPEN SCHOOLSMany modern closed box schools are a result of
rising real estate values and affluence. They reflect a lack of
awareness about likelyimplications for the childs development.
Ahmedabad-based architect Surya Kakani shows how thoughtful designs
can compensate for theloss of nature and open space in cities. I
read somewhere that the pipal tree symbolizes learning, because the
constant shiver of its leavesexemplifies the spirit of lively
enquiry, he says. The two schools featured here integrate the
experience of open space into the daily life ofchildren, teaching
them more about nature through direct experience.BY HIMANSHU
BURTE
The kindergarten block ofthe CN Vidyalaya Bal-mandir at
Ahmedabad was completed in 1999. Thebuilding is on the large CN
Vi-dyalaya campus and was de-signed in collaboration witharchitect
Neelkanth Chhaya.
A green roofThe brief was to add four class-rooms to the
existing kinder-garten. The easy thing wouldhave been to place them
on aclear patch of land near the oldone. However, Kakani (in
dis-cussion with wife Jaai, a graph-ic designer and organic
farmer,closely involved in the concep-tual brainstorming on
mostdesign issues in the office)chose to deploy the new blockaround
a spread of trees, a lit-tle away from the existing kin-dergarten.
Further, he decidedto spread the four rooms (eachdesigned for 25-30
children)out t o creat e a net work ofcourtyards between them witha
large one at the centre of thearrangement. For the children,the
experience of the kinder-garten is tied inextricably tothat of the
open courts, terrac-es and the trees.
Design elementsA clear-sighted and imagina-tive empathy for the
child in-
forms the design all through.We thought of the kindergar-
LIVING
The Galaxy InternationalSchool near Rajkot, in Gu-jarat, has 400
students andeight units. Each unit has a pairof classrooms arranged
in facingrows flanking a long central
openspace.Thisisaboutametrehigh-er than the small courts
partiallyenclosed by each classroom.
The level difference providesoptimal seclusion to each
class-room while also maintaining asense of connection with
thelarger campus.
Buildings and treesKakanis architecture defers tothe trees and
at the same timequietly assimilates vegetationand landscape into
the basic pal-ette of architecture. He believesthat the design will
only be com-plete when the trees reach fullmaturity; that is, when
the ban-
yan (deliberately planted in theamphitheatre) for instance,
castsa parental net of shade over partof the central open
space.
Reduce and recycleThe engagement with the naturalenvironment
extends beyond the
visual and psychological in Kaka-nis work. The Rajkot school
em-bodies another important sus-tainability principle, that of
recy-cling. Most of the building mate-rials here are recycled waste
andt he ot herssuch as bam-
booare renewable.The walls are made of cementi-
tious(amaterialcapableofsettinglike cement) blocks made
frompost-earthquake rubble thrownoutside the city. The blocks
aremade by incorporating gypsum(waste from the sanitaryware
in-dustry in nearby Than) and lime(waste from the Tatas salt
worksat Mithapur) along with a little bitof cement into the mass of
rubblein each mould.
The trusses for the roof aremade from steel pipes broughtfrom
the ship-breaking works at
Alang,andthe roofingitselfincor-porates renewable matting
ofdate-palm leaves on the under-side and thatch above with a
syn-thetic waterproofing sheet sand-
wiched in between.
Lessons for lifeAs with the temples, mosques andchurches of
olden times that edu-cated people through stories writ-ten on stone
and glass, the schoolperforms an important
education-alfunction.Itembodiesinits phys-
ical fabric the very love of naturethat it enables through the
experi-enceofdwellinginit. Bypractising
whatitpreachesrespectandlovefor natureit also exemplifies
an-other important value:integrity.
Class apart: (clockwise from top)Galaxy International
School,
Rajkot. Lowered courts give privacyto the classroom cottages,
while
providing a connection with the
campus; Kakani and Jaai; theraised pavilion of the
multi-purposeassembly hall on axis with thecentral open space
Photographs by Himanshu Burte
Seasons in thesun: (left) Thekindergarten blockof the
CNVidyalaya
Balmandir inAhmedabadaseries of opencourtyardsleading into
eachother; (below)children at play;(bottom) an openterrace.
ten as a home away from homealong with all the fun, activityand
play, says Kakani, so, forinstance, we decided to attacha toilet to
each classroom rath-er than make a central toiletblock. Now the
children do notneed the teachers permissionto go to the toilet
since she hasno anxiety about sending themout of the class.
The kindergart en is ap-proached from its older build-ing by cl
imbing a shall owmound, which also takes youalmost up to the low
roof of thecorridors. The ease with whichthe ground becomes the
roof,and the casual overhang of thetree branches, all in the
courseof a few fun steps, suggests thedel icious possibil i ty t
hatground and roof are not neces-sarily distinct places.
The classrooms are them-selves like deep verandas, be-ing open
on one side com-pl etel y t o t heir own court .Their windows are
lowjust atthe right height for the chil-drenwith the adults
havingto bend to look out. This fact,incidentally, also makes
thebuilding more child-friendlyfrom outside too, giving thechild
something to look at (andthrough) even from outside ather own
height.
Write to us [email protected]
Thinking big in a small space
Often,asyoupushyourchairfurthertocatchthelastsquarefootofwintersunon
thebalcony,youreyesstraytothepatchbelow.Thesmallspaceislitup
byasinglerose.Acommonredfloribunda,thekindyouwouldfindvirtuallyalloverthecountry.Itmaynotfindaplaceof
honourattheflowershowsthatdotourcalendarthistimeofyear.Butholdingcourtinitsown
littlespace,youresuddenlystruckbyitsbeauty.
Thatswhatsmallspacesbringwiththem:theabilitytoholdupjustonestar
whichmayotherwisebelostina
largergarden.Forallofuswhodespairoverthelackofspacetoconvertintoagarden,thisisreasonenoughtocelebrateourtinybalconiesand
handkerchieflawns.
Ofcourse,lessspacemeansyoucannothaveanexpansivebaroqueoraZengarden.Instead,youneedtobe
carefulwiththeplantsyoupick.So,ifyouare
visitinga nursery,spendafew
minutesbeforeyousetoff,takingstockofwhatyouhaveandwhatyoulack.Asyouonlyhaveasmallareatoworkwith,dontgiveintoimpulsebuying.
Youalsoneedtobecarefulwithyourplan.Topiariesinpotsareinonceagain.Thesearewoodyplantsthathavebeentrainedandtrimmedtoshape,sometimes
fancifulbutoften,simplygeometric.Plantssuchaswisteria,ficusandazalealendthemselveswelltoatopiary.
Althoughsomeenthusiastsdontbelieveinsculptingtheirplants,topiariesaddtothedramaofasmallspace.Theirlongstemsraisetheattentionalittlehigherandgiveyouafocalpointorsimply,height.Theycanbeusedasa
two-tiered
garden,withthegroundlevelofthetubplantedwithtumblersorverylowherbssuchasmint.Topiaries,ofcourse,willnotretaintheshapeforverylong.Learninghowtoprunethemonceamonth,oraskingforprofessionalhelp,maynotbeabadidea.Youcanhavealittleofeverything.Ifyouloveflowers,planforsomethingdifferenteachseason.Acoupleofpotsof
chrysanthemumfor
NovemberandDecembercangivewaytoonerosein
JanuaryandFebruary,andsoon,withsomethingbloomingthroughtheyear.
Planningisessentialifyouwanttoutilizespaceprudently.Onefree-flowingbougainvilleacangivebothheightandfluidityandflowersatleasttwiceayear.Youdontneedtolook
atashadecard,butithelpstobe alittlecarefulwith
colours.Perfumedwhitessuchasjasmineandgardeniainsummersareanexcellent
idea.
Gardenfurniturenowcomesincompactandevencollapsibledesignsthatyoucansimplystashawaywhennotinuse.Itshouldbelight.Or,youcoulduseabroadledge.Permanentplantersinsmallspacescanbebuiltwitha
broadrimthatcanbeusedasseating.Inasmallgarden,investinginthe
bestmaterialand
justwhatyouwantcanbealittleexpensive,butitpaysoffbecauseeverythingisundersuchintenseandconstantscrutiny.Design-wise,itisadvisabletogo
forsimplicity.
BenitaSen writeson gardeningevery alternateThursday.
Sendyour feedbackto [email protected]
PLANTERS CLUBBENITA SEN
CN Vidyalaya Balmandir, AhmedabadGalaxy International School,
Rajkot
