THE FOREST

As part of a competition to design a new school in Pune, India, NUDES has revealed its winning entry, titled The Forest. The first prize scheme is based on five principles: grow, learn, reuse, plant and play. The resulting project aims to introduce a vibrant, green building into the heart of a dense urban environment, which has seen major development in the past decade.

NUDES has designed the mass of the building as two green cylindrical volumes that are connected by a rooftop infinity cycle track. Each cylindrical volume represents a stage of phased construction with planned programmatic activities. The entire built-up construction of the school is approximately 11,613 metres squared and houses learning environments from early childhood education to 12^th grade.

The curved elevations are defined by a series of uniform protrusions and the lush vegetation that occupies them. This element of the project is intended to form a ‘live skin’ that will improve air quality and overall student health.

The round form of the plan also harnesses the idea of facilitating student-centric interaction and learning. On the ground level, a central atrium draws in light and provides a social gathering space, in addition to cross-ventilation through classroom corridors. The scheme will also feature a swimming pool, tennis court and art spaces.

Designed for a site of approximately 2.5 acres, the school building occupies the front end of the rectangular linear plot to create an open space for play and sport towards the rear.

The space occupied by the footprint on the ground is reflected by the ‘8’ loop on the rooftop. The loop is imagined as a bicycle track for a city starved of pedestrian walkways and cycling tracks. In addition, the loop can also be used for non-programmatic activities, workshops, student exhibitions, student-led markets and recreation.

Via designboom | All images courtesy of NUDES