SR University
Educational Architecture I Warangal, Telangana
Client SR Educational Trust
Area 5.11 Lakh Sq. ft
Status Completed
Photographer Rajesh Vora
Team Shimul Javeri Kadri, Vaishali Mangalvedhekar, Sarika Shetty, Anushri Nivin, Harshini Yohee, Nisha Saraf
We have worked with sun and wind orientations to create buildings with courtyards and plazas that provide adequate shade, to channelize the winds and have been proportioned for human comfort encouraging student interaction.
The SR University started in 2001 as an engineering college campus on the outskirts of Warangal on a 28-acre plot of land and has developed gradually, one building at a time, based on a master plan that totals to around 5.11 lakh sqft.
The ethos of the masterplan as also of the architectural design of all buildings on campus is two-fold – (1) establish a strong sense of character and a unique identity for the campus, and (2) provide a multitude of spaces for the students that allow for informal discussions and growth outside of the classrooms.
The masterplan is largely pedestrian with vehicles being restricted to a peripheral ring road and students can freely walk from one part to the other. Upon arrival, one walks down a central tree-lined avenue flanked by buildings on both sides, that leads to a central pivotal quadrangle – a large collective space for the students.
Masterplanning
The academic buildings on the campus are largely G+2 and the newer residential hostels are G+5, all designed for modest to medium budgets by keeping planning efficient and finishes simple and robust (plastered walls and Kota flooring). Despite this, each building - Block 1, Block 2, Library, Student Union Block, Hostels, Workshops etc, has a distinct identity of its own.
Distinct identity of individual blocks
Solar orientation and wind channeling
The built form relies mostly on solar orientation and wind channeling to create buildings with courtyards and plazas that provide adequate shade and human comfort, encouraging student interaction and outdoor use despite the intense Warangal heat. The classrooms are flooded with gentle north daylight – in fact, we discovered that the buildings were not provided with any lights for the first few years and functioned well without them!
