Shanti Sadan is a place for worship and service. The spatial planning of this facility, the materials used in construction and the simple form that defines this building are all a reflection of the austere life of the nuns of this community.
The Ground with the living, dining, and the kitchen come with the associated rooms and a traditional courtyard segregates the guest and the private areas. An elaborate Pooja room sits in the north eastern quadrant and is sized to accommodate four members for the daily rituals.
The place was christened as The Village before it was designed. The promoters wanted to showcase the romanticised goodness of the rural settlements to sell it to city dwellers and travellers. Albeit the name it was to contain all that it was an urban need and to provide for the comfort and luxuries of a city. This contradiction provided the basic theme to the architecture.
Given that the monument sits in a rural setting, its immediate surroundings are not particularly welcoming. In response, we have enclosed the site with a Gabion wall that provides privacy and guides visitors along a “discovery path” leading to the Memory Monument and the photo gallery all situated within a park-like setting. Crafted entirely out of fine metal, the Memory Monument is in the shape of a “kada” (famously worn as lucky charm by Dr. Vishnuvardhan) stands at a daunting height of 10 metres above the level of lower ground.
The whole building maintains a very human scale with the heights varying from single storey to ground plus two storeys. This place also exudes a certain warmth because of the use of natural materials/elements in its architectural vocabulary.
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