Star, located at Chandigarh University in Mohali, caters to the multipurpose needs of 7000 students within 94,000 square feet. Housed within the 23-acre campus of the University Institute of Management Studies, the project is built to optimise land and resources in an institutional setting.
Beyond requirements…
The university approached Charged Voids with requirements for a cafeteria, a library, and a guest house. However, to economise on the site area and capital expenditure, the design solution combines these functional requirements under a single roof.
The addition of this block within the university sets a distinctive precedent for the designing of mixed-use structures in the educational design typology aiming to reduce resource usage and navigation time.
Geometrical gestures
Star’s strong geometrical form defines dynamic front and rear elevations. By way of its sharp angles, the building seemingly directs one towards the amphitheatre plaza of the existing academic blocks on campus. Moreover, the design responds to its context with a focus on creating an environment that constantly interacts with nature, ensuring a holistic experience for the students.
Requisite functions
The building’s unified form follows the requisite functions – and adds more, delivering beyond the university’s immediate needs. It also incorporates a dining area for 500 students and provisions for shopping daily utilities. The different functions are grouped together and vertically stacked, with the final form arising from rotated triangular prisms that create green pockets and serve as outdoor recreation spaces for the students.
Voluminous Built
The built form is wrapped around a courtyard that stands at the centre of an amorphous ground floor. A lack of walls characterises this space, allowing a free flow of movement across all sides of the building. This encourages the creation of incidental interaction spaces essential for a place of learning.
The multiple entrances on all sides ensure the segregation of circulation for the different functions, creating operational efficiency on the campus. While the lowermost floors contain the dining and shopping facilities, a number of semi-covered, sunken gathering spaces also punctuate the space.
The second and third floors comprise the library, with its main entrance from a grand set of staircases rising from the ground level. The upper floors consist of the guest house, which can be accessed through a reception area on the ground level. The central courtyard allows for both light and ventilation to penetrate indoors.
Green practices
The project lays an emphasis on regional construction practices, with the external walls made of exposed brick laid in a Flemish bond.
Brick jaalis enable diffused light and ventilation within the interiors. The flooring is all red sandstone, while the main public areas are finished in exposed red concrete to help create an overall atmosphere of unity.