Biome designed a sustainable learning centre in Bangalore

Located in a chaotic neighborhood with constant construction activity and a large warehouse in its vicinity, the building doesn’t pursuit the notion of everlasting architecture. It embraces instead permeability, renovation, material recovery and recycling. The structure might be even reconstructed somewhere else. Various building techniques make the design economical and recoverable to the maximum, while rainwater is collected and filtered from the roof. The space design encourages exploratory learning based on the Reggio-Emilia education approach.

The building consists of four classrooms, a studio and a childhood stimulation centre around a central piazza. Filter spaces allow transition between the rooms and the piazza. The toilets are designed with consideration to the young age group, with cubicles scaled appropriately for children as well as their need to be supervised. Walls of varying heights enclose curvilinear classrooms and common spaces under a skylight-dotted roof. The roof is supported by eight columns, each in the form of a branching tree. This tree form, while being a structural element, allows the roof to be perceived from a height that children can relate to. It is also a reinterpretation of learning under a tree. Light durable furniture made of honeycomb boards and paper tubes further encourages kids to explore and play with the environment. The versatility of the material permits a variety of configurations.

Chappadi granite stone slab foundation, paver block flooring, paper tube partition walls, and bolted steel supports create a structure that can be easily transposed elsewhere. The external fabricated facade is a tack-welded mild steel frame with panels of perforated metal sheet, pinewood, reflective glass, operable louvres and sliding windows, planned with regard to light and ventilation. Bricks made of soil from different sites in the locality create patterns that harmonize with the floor colours. Galvanized Iron sheet is used on the roof, with a false ceiling of handmade bamboo mat plywood for thermal and sound insulation. Rainwater is harvested from the entire roof area, filtered and collected in the sump tank which overflows into a groundwater recharge well, effecting water security. Solid waste from the school is disposed of in twin leach pits which are effective in returning nutrient to the soil.