The structure was built in 1920′ as a boarding school for Maratha Vidya Prasarak, one of the oldest and largest private education institutes of Maharashtra.
Time had taken its toll on the structure & it was lying in ruins since a decade.
The institute wanted to start a kindergarten , instead of demolishing the structure we decided to preserve & nurture it.
Originally, two individual c shaped buildings existed on site divided by a road leading to the workshop area beyond.so there was a lot of thoroughfare and the buildings were fragmented. By providing an alternative road to the workshop we managed to cordon of the entire area between two structures by introducing walls on the North and South faces. A huge pedestrian plaza is thus created, highlighted by a amphitheater in the center and garden areas on the sides. Thus a nice public space is created.
The basalt stone walls have started breathing again. we have splashed some bright colours to allure to the young minds. The class rooms are simple , airy n well lit. The long cozy verandahs have become informal classrooms. All the existing trees have been protected and some of them have in fact been given a new lease of life.
Along with the restoration work, the pedestrian plaza with outdoor amphitheatre, garden areas with large shady trees, long verandahs contribute to the city’s much starved public spaces. It also enhances the existing structure while making a meaningful intervention in the approach to history and heritage .
W O R K I N P R O G R E S S :
Since there were no toilet blocks in the existing unit , they were added to the East, West & South wings. The pallette of Materials include local basalt stone, terracota jali, cement tiles, nevasa stone, shahabad stone, wood, mangalore tiles etc that easily blend with the character of the heritage building.
The existing flooring had given away in most of the areas. When the flooring tiles were removed, it was found out that there was no soling done earlier. So the entire area had to be dug out 380mm and freshly done. Plain & patterned bharat mosaic tiles that blends with the old yet gives a very contemporary feel were preferred for the entire flooring & dado.
The old wooden windows, ventilators & doors were repaired & freshly painted in bright primary colors. This dash of color gives relief from the otherwise grey monotones, making it lively for the young minds.
The existing roofing wooden trusses, rafters & purlins were badly damaged due to the water seepages. The trusses specially were strengthened with metal fasteners. New mangalore tiles were installed along with additional decorative ceiling tiles from below. The air gap between the two tiles provides good insulation.
The wall was cleaned thoroughly by spraying water from high pressure jet and acid. Later diluted acid was applied, washed and finally two finishing coats of walker silicon adding new life into these heritage walls.
Rainwater catchpits were provided all along the inner periphery of the buildings. This 3 M wide pathway with proper slope helps in collecting the rainwater to the harvesting pits.
Drawings:
Project Facts
Project Name – UDAJEE EARLY YEARS., NASHIK.
Name of firm – Dhananjay Shinde Design Studio.
Client Name – Maratha Vidya Prasarak
Project Area – 22000 SQ.FT.
Site Area – 15,600 SQ.M.
Year of commencement – 2016
Design Team – Dhananjay Shinde, Payal Prabhudesai, Priya Samnotra.
Materials –
Newasa Stone
Teak Wood
Cement Mosaic Tiles
Mangalore Tiles
Local Basalt Stone
Bharat Heritage Tiles
Photos – Hemant Patil.
