VIR.MUELLER ARCHITECTS' DESIGN FOR THE HEALTHY PLANET SCHOOL IN NOIDA IS A LIGHT-FILLED, GRACEFUL HAVEN FOR LEARNING AND PLAYING.
A school by any other name is still a school built around an institutional grid of long corridors, classrooms at right angles, sharp staircases, with libraries and common rooms slathered in artificial lighting. Yet New Delhi-based architect Pankaj Vir Gupta, of the award-winning firm of Vir.Mueller Architects, finds a way to bend the norm. His path-breaking design for the Healthy Planet school-30,000 square feet spread over three storeys on a half-acre plot-is a place of sinuous red brick curves, graceful concrete overhangs and flowing indoor spaces. Softly illuminated by oculus-like portholes and skylights in a tented roof, it's an invitation to learn and play in an unconventional way.
The words "Learning Centre" and a graphic of playing blocks on the façade may give outsiders a hint: Healthy Planet is a pre-school for children in the age group of nine months to six years among the densely packed tower blocks and cookie-cutter townhouses of Noida near Delhi.
Its founders, Arunabh and Sonal Singh, professional educators already involved in a family-run high school enterprise, harboured a "dream project" of a preschool that would, in part, act as a community hub. "Apart from standards of safety and hygiene, there was a need for co-working space for mothers in an area with a high demographic of working parents," says Sonal. Hence, one of Healthy Planet's two standout features, conceived by Vir Gupta, is a calm oasis for working moms next to a cafe that beats any coffee shop. The other is a vast children's library-"the most important and largest room", says Gupta-that welcomes any child, not just Healthy Planet students, from the neighbourhood.
Denne historien er fra May - June 2024-utgaven av AD Architectural Digest India.
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Denne historien er fra May - June 2024-utgaven av AD Architectural Digest India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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IT TAKES A VILLAGE
IN A TRADITIONAL, OPEN-TO-SKY COURTYARD HOME IN ANEGUNDI, NEAR HAMPI, HERITAGE CONSERVATIONIST, PAINTER AND FOUNDER OF THE KISHKINDA TRUST, SHAMA PAWAR LIVES AND REVITALIZES CRAFT TRADITIONS BORN FROM THE LAND'S RICH PAST.
MATKAS OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL FORM, RESIST-DYED SACRED CLOTHS HUNG AS TAPESTRIES, MUD PLASTER OR "LIPAI" WALLS, AND A JOURNEY IN COLOURS AND PODDAR AND EESHAAN PIGMENTS ANUPAM KASHYAP 'S DELHI HOME IS A PURSUIT OF A LAYERED, TACTILE BEAUTY.
Anupam Poddar and Eeshaan Kashyap's generous first-floor apartment in the shadow of Humayun's Tomb harks to a leisurely way of living.
CLASSIC BEIRUT HERITAGE AND GLAMOUR
A COLLECTOR AND ANTIQUE S DEALER, THE LATE HOME, BEIT CHABEB I N BEIRUT, IS A COMING JOE TOHMES GREATEST PASSION PROJECT, HIS TOGETHER OF THE RUSTIC AND THE REFINED.
LAL KOTHI
TEXTILE LOVERS PETER AND CECILE D'ASCOLI TRANSFORM THEIR DELHI FARMHOUSE INTO A KALEIDOSCOPIC FEAT OF COLOUR AND PATTERN.
ATELIERS DE FRANCE
More than 15 million spectators are expected to descend on Paris for the Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer, and they won't be there to see only the sporting events.
ON THE EARTH
On a bright, breezy afternoon at La Pelota in the heart of Milan-where Hermès holds its annual presentation every springBenoit Pierre Emery, the creative director of tableware, laid out a tray with pieces from the dinner service Tressages Équestres.
JAIN HANDICRAFTS OPENS A STORE IN AHMEDABAD, DESIGNED BY SAMIR WADEKAR, WITH A CURATED COLLECTION DRAWN FROM THEIR SEA OF ANTIQUES.
When Jain Handicrafts, a multigenerational family business dealing in period furniture and objets d'art, showcased their collection at the annual AD Design Show last year, they were amazed by the positive response they received from visitors.
MASTER WEAVER SHAMJI VANKAR TAKES A SLICE OF HIS CULTURE TO XTANT, A HERITAGE TEXTILE FESTIVAL HELD IN MALLORCA THIS SUMMER.
Art is made by a single individual for the enjoyment of another.
RITU KUMAR HOME'S LATEST TABLEWARE COLLECTION DRAWS FROM IKAT AND CHINTZ.
Ritu Kumar's home collections have always reflected her love for handlooms and Indian art forms. Be it intricate Mughal art or elaborate Kashmiri booti, the table linen, serveware and even glassware borrow from traditional motifs.
SIX DECADES SINCE ITS ORIGIN, BAREFOOT IN COLOMBO REMAINS DEDICATED TO LATE FOUNDER BARBARA SANSONI'S LOVE OF HANDLOOM.
Amid a kaleidoscope of colours in the upholstery section of Barefoot's store in Colombo, the rolls of material stand out for their vibrant variations of green.
