Nature Retreat for Underprivileged Children

Site Plan. Children's Retreat, New Delhi, India. 1996.

Project Architect:
Aditi Raychoudhury (1994-1996) for Gautam Bhatia Navin Gupta Architects (formerly The Architecture Alliance), New Delhi, India.

Client:
The Indian Council of Child Welfare.

Published:
‘10×10′, Phaidon Press, 2000, and ‘10×10_2′, Phaidon Press, 2005.

The project was to develop a retreat on the outskirts of New Delhi, India for underprivileged children. The purpose of the retreat was to encourage informal learning and recreation in a natural setting.

Overview. Children's Retreat, New Delhi, India. 1996.

The project was envisioned primarily as a natural sanctuary where the architecture was ancillary to, and blended in with the landscape.

Overview. Children's Retreat, New Delhi, India. 1996.

Natural clearings and gentle slopes in this densely wooded and undulating site were chosen to locate small clusters of dormitories and mini-amphitheaters that used the slopes to form a lecture-hall style informal, outdoor classroom. The orientation of these clusters was determined by the lake for views and cool local breezes.

Dormitory Cluster. Children's Retreat, New Delhi, India. 1996.

Dormitory Cluster. Children's Retreat, New Delhi, India. 1996.

Covered Patio of Dormitory Cluster. Children's Retreat, New Delhi, India. 1996.

In addition, a dining hall and the administrative building mark the entrance to the retreat and enclose a terraced plaza, that formalized the natural landscape into a series of terraces and steps to form a stimulating environment for games and learning.

Children's Retreat, New Delhi, India. 1996.

A large Greek-style amphitheater was set in a natural bowl for performances.

Detail. Children's Retreat, New Delhi, India. 1996.

A combination of local bricks and random rubble masonry was used as the building material.

Hauz Khas Cafe And Gallery

Location: New Delhi, India.

Aditi Raychoudhury. SITE PLAN. Cafe And Gallery, Hauz Khas, New Delhi. 1991.

Allauddin Khilji built a gigantic tank for the residents of Delhi in 1269 AD. A century later the reservoir was restored by Firoz Shah Tughlaq, who added a small complex of tombs and a traditional Islamic school along an eastern embankment. The traditional urban village surrounding the monuments, has undergone rapid transformation to accommodate designer stores. Orienting itself to the numerous staircases, the café and art gallery complex is inspired by the garden like walled setting of the surrounding architecture.

Aditi Raychoudhury. PLAN. Cafe And Gallery, Hauz Khas, New Delhi. 1991.

The building is contained within a square, a springing point for monumental Islamic architecture, and broken up into enclosed, formal outdoor and indoor spaces, contained within the unified geometrical space.

Aditi Raychoudhury. MODEL. Cafe And Gallery, Hauz Khas, New Delhi. 1991.

Aditi Raychoudhury. Cafe and Gallery at Hauz Khas, New Delhi. 1991.

The walls are constructed out of local quartzite, random rubble masonary, which provide thermal mass to stabilize the extremes of temperature, and reinforces the building’s connection to its surroundings. Enclosed courtyards become outdoor eating, and exhibit areas, which the plantation of native trees and shrubs provide color, living sculpture, a cool microclimate, and cross ventilation.