In what ways is space made more comfortable? Thoughtful design, centred on the idea of ‘comfort’ within the built environment, is often mandated by technical standards and ergonomic considerations that tend to disregard non-standard ways of being. Instead of thinking of accessible design as a ‘technical’ problem for architecture and urban design to solve, what models can we conceive that start from disability? In a country with a rapidly growing population, inclusive access to space continues to be a primary concern and becomes especially relevant when we think of access to educational spaces, given that education is supposed to be free and compulsory for all children aged 6–14 in India, according to the Right to Education (RTE) Act 2009. As a 2016 UNICEF report notes, "Various types of barriers continue to impede their participation in education. Inaccessible transportation to school, as well as inaccessible facilities in schools such as drinking water units, midday meal areas and toilets, inappropriate classroom furniture, slippery flooring and inadequate illumination and ventilation, can pose barriers to the education of children with disabilities." To add to this, 2016 reports from the Indian government indicate that less than 10 per cent of disabled people enrolled to complete their secondary education, 45 per cent are illiterate and 62.9 per cent could not attend regular schools.

In 2021, in a bid to better access to public spaces, the government updated the stipulations for Universal Accessibility, stating, “India's future demographic projections show an increasing trend towards ageing, disabilities, health limitations and new demands of societal transformations. The question is how to prepare our built environments for the diverse needs of people with disabilities, children, elderly, women and humans with other limitations amidst fast-changing times?” Peripherally, in what ways can considerate design, especially taking the broad outlines from the government-issued report as a starting point, facilitate more comfortable spaces for non-standard bodies?

Expanding on these ideas, STIR presents two distinct and equally vital case studies that look at accessible educational architecture beyond mere technical aspects to incorporate strategies that are sensitive to their users rather than being an afterthought. While tailored to different subsets of users, the inclusion of both here is a way to practically explore technical guidelines.

Making space for comfort

Bengaluru-based Biome Environmental Solutions is renowned for an architectural approach that keenly considers ecological impact. The practice prioritises climate responsiveness in architecture through design interventions that look to local materials and techniques, conceiving buildings that work with their contexts. A recent project, Sai Kirupa Special School in Tirupur, Tamil Nadu, takes this trademark approach, tempered by a user-oriented process to create comfortable spaces for children and young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and other learning disabilities. The specialised education and vocational training centre is "focused on the holistic development of students, fostering independence and self-reliance," as they state in their official release. Addressing the diverse needs of its users, the school is planned in distinct functional zones for various uses while ensuring easy orientation for its inhabitants.

Completed in phased stages of construction as per funding and need, the ground floor includes classrooms, administrative offices and communal spaces such as therapy rooms, while the first floor houses residential dormitories and classrooms for students with fewer dependency needs. The school’s morphology is defined by an easily intelligible rectangular plan with two wings. A central corridor divides the space between these, carving out two courtyards on site. Further, a courtyard towards the building’s rear becomes an outdoor playing area as well as a therapy space for the students.

This instinctiveness in planning seems to echo the principle for better accessibility that suggests any environment ought to be simple and intuitive to function in, keeping in mind people with disabilities. Moreover, a concern for climatic control is satisfied through the building’s orientation, with no harsh natural light entering the interior spaces. This further ensures the interiors are not overstimulating for students. The courtyard architecture allows children to interact and play freely in a contained environment and aids in natural ventilation and illumination.

The effectiveness of courtyards for planning inclusive schools is also evident in Ahmedabad-based SEALAB’s design for the School for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Gandhinagar. The school design provides an expansion for an institute that addresses a deficit of schools catering to these specific needs, as principal architect Anand Sonecha mentions while introducing the project. Here, too, 10 classrooms in five distinct layouts are arranged around a large open courtyard. As the architects note, "This simple building typology allows the students to create a mental map of the spaces." Each classroom is designed as per its use, with differentiations of forms, volumes and light qualities for music rooms, meeting spaces and workshops. Each regular classroom also opens to a private courtyard to encourage outdoor learning. Further, the corridor surrounding the courtyard space is designed with different widths on each side, considering the volume change, effectively allowing students to navigate the spaces through sound.

A UNICEF report from 2016 suggests that due to a shortage of spaces that can meet the needs of disabled children and the dearth of schools that cater to them (specialised or otherwise), children with disabilities may suffer from noise pollution due to being in overcrowded classrooms. While guidelines for accessibility address this concern, it becomes admittedly challenging in practice, especially in cases of retrofit. In the school in Tirupur, intermediate spaces within the circulation become key components to create a calm atmosphere.

These arcaded passageways, courtyards and niches allow a sense of transition between different spaces. Including benches and alcoves along the corridors create further breaks while allowing students to indirectly participate in outdoor activities. Toilets with adjoining spaces for changing and cleaning are provided with each classroom, making each unit self-sufficient, according to the architects. To create calm learning environments that are sensory-friendly, the design team discreetly used a rough texture for the facade, coupled with an undulating jack arch ceiling.

Apart from the earthy aesthetic characterised by the use of adobe blocks for the school, experiential design elements such as coloured tile inserts serve as visual cues, encouraging students to move, thus enabling motor skill development. These cues, as the design team elaborates, “prompt students to hop and skip, enhancing both physical and cognitive growth”. The embedded tiles also signal pause points, with inverted arch benches acting as landmarks for the students to navigate between different classes while enhancing the openness of the design. These sensory techniques and landscape elements extend to the rear courtyard, encouraging play.

Adhering to the suggested principles for making information, and specifically the built world, perceptible through design; colour and natural light are similarly vital factors in the school designed by SEALAB. They address this through the design interventions that address the four senses of touch, smell, sight and sound. The opening out of the facade, through skylights and generous openings, lets in natural light, illuminating the textured white spaces of the school. The sparing use of bright yellow for railings, doors and frames also aids students with poor vision in making out shapes through the contrast of light and shadow or contrasting colours and surfaces. Considerations such as these are inclusive and at the same time, display a bent towards a distinct architectural language. Particularly, the geometry and framing of the openings within the facade and spaces feel distinctly like Alvaro Siza’s own grammar, with whom Sonecha has worked previously. While light fills the interiors, the designers were careful to allow only indirect, filtered light from the private courtyards and skylights into the classrooms so as not to hurt the eyes of students with low vision.

To account for sound, different heights and widths for corridors and classrooms were devised. As the team elaborates, “The entrance corridor has a high ceiling height (3.66 metres), and it gradually reduces in height (2.26 metres) and width, giving an identifiable sound quality to each space.” This attention to the elements is also evident in the landscape design, which the team notes plays a significant role in the experience of the spaces. Small open courtyards, connected to the classrooms, have specific plants and trees that further allow for orientation in space. The school further engages students’ touch with different textures and materials used in different areas to help them navigate without the need for sight.

For both projects, the Indian architects employed a user-oriented approach to design. Both schools were implemented in a phased manner that enabled feedback from users, allowing the design to be fine-tuned based on real-life experience. To bring people into the conversation about the school’s design, the team at SEALAB even created special cardboard models to start a conversation with students and teachers. When these did not prove as effective as envisioned, they adopted 3D printed models, making tactile drawings and models that the students could touch to visualise spaces.

Holding space for care

While considerations towards special needs formed the mandate for both projects, each also regards sustainability as a key aspect during conceptualisation. For Sai Kirupa, the team selected materials that responded to the local context. Stones taken from the site were used for the foundation and handmade adobe blocks were crafted for the exposed facade. The muted, earthy palette of the school offers a soothing visual experience to its users and is climate-responsive, keeping the interiors cool during the harsh summer.

In contrast, SEALAB's design, through its thorough consideration of its users, already responds to concerns of context and climate. The courtyard and openings ensure natural ventilation, and the geometry of the units efficiently responds to the climate. The landscaping strategy, with over 1000 shrubs, plants and trees of 37 species planted on campus, facilitates a cooler microclimate, inviting butterflies and birds to the site. The architects also carefully constructed a percolation well that can absorb 45,000 to 60,000 litres of water in one hour on-site to collect the rainwater and recharge groundwater.

On the one hand, the minute attention to detail in SEALAB’s design indicates their thorough understanding of the needs of the school’s users. On the other hand, Sai Kirupa’s efficient planning and overall design brings into focus the need for a holistic understanding of design. These interventions, while geared towards a specific set of users, are a universal consideration to enhance ‘comfort’ within the built.

Project Details 1

Name: Sai Kirupa Special School, Tiruppur
Location: Tamil Nadu, India
Design Team: Chitra Vishwanath, Anurag Tamhankar & Vidushi Gupta (lead architects); Hamna H., Visalakshi R., Maitri Shah; Varisha Chauhan, Aanchal Bansal (interns)
Collaborators: Mesha Structural Consultants, HMN Techconsultants, Swamy & Thomas (Contractors)
Area: 16,400 sq ft
Year of Completion: 2023

Project Details 2

Name: School for the Blind and Visually Impaired
Location: Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India
Design Team: Ayush Gajjar, Karan Verma, Aakash Dave, Aneesh Devi, Mariana Paisana, Anand Sonecha
Collaborators:
Construction Team: Rajubhai, Mani, Bhavna, Ramesh, Kailash, Pravin, Geeta, Mohanbhai, Vipul, Prakash, Kamlesh, Dhirsingh, Gulabbhai, Vijay, Alpesh, Arvind, Jayanti, Jagruti, Kalsingh, and Praful.
Plaster Team: Kavita, Kalidas, Anil, Komal, Mittal, Jaswan, Mitesh, Pashchu, Reva, Setudiya, and Jaswant.
On Site Management: Mitul Prajapati
Structural Consultants: Bhailalbhai Gajjar
Project Management: Kshitij Gajjar
Electrical and Plumbing Consultant: Rakesh Modi, Kamleshbhai
Contractor: Vasant Prajapati
Landscape Architect: Lokendra Balasaria