Nokha, Rajasthan, India
Designed by Sanjay Puri Architects, the Nokha Village Community Center is a sweeping curvilinear complex spanning 9,000 square feet featuring an inclined garden with two varying slopes, making it ideal for recreation and gatherings while its rooftop offers panoramic views of the surrounding desert landscape.
The Nokha Village Community Center is created to cater for the nearby Nokha district villages for people of all age groups.
At the lower eastern side, there is a small museum with a children’s digital library on the higher western side.
The southern side is enveloped in a grass covered earth berm to mitigate heat gain in response to the desert climate, where temperatures of 35 to 40°C are common for 8 months annually.
The building forms an open courtyard with an amphitheateρ to provide a space for music performances, talks, and social interaction.
The ovoid library is sheathed in natural sandstone screens derived from traditional architecture in Rajasthan, with the stone being sourced from the immediate surrounding area.
These screens reduce the heat gain and create different shadow patterns throughout the day.
The library serves all the village schools in the region, most of which do not have libraries of their own.
The museum is lit indirectly by scooped recesses within the roof garden berms.
To facilitate the servicing of large gatherings, a linear amenity block housing, cafeteria, toilets, stores, and parking flanks the entrance at the northern side.
The rooftop gardens, the stone screens, the north facing courtyard, and southern grass berm collectively reduce the heat gain, rendering the spaces energy efficient.
Rainwater harvesting and water recycling make the building and its construction sustainable, using local craftsmen and contract labor with materials available in the region.
A building with a built up area of only 9,000sqft (810 sqm) generates a 9,000sqft rooftop garden and a 27,000sqft open auditorium and, in addition to the enclosed spaces, generates usable space that is four times more than the built space.
Project: Nokha Village Community Center
Architects: Sanjay Puri Architects Pvt. Ltd.
Lead Architect: Sanjay Puri
Structure Consultants: Vijaytech Consultants Pvt. Ltd.
Associate Architects: Omkar Rane and Madhavi Belsare
Client: Padam Interiors
Photographers: Vinay Panjwani
