Adopting a “building within a building” concept as a response to the extreme hot semi-arid climate of Dharmapuri in Southern India, the Primary healthcare center is a high-quality outpatient healthcare facility that intends to serve a group of agricultural villages in the vicinity. The project was completed and occupied in September 2011 and is reported by the architects to be functioning well on subsequent visits. 

Winners of the Holcim Awards for sustainable construction projects and visions from Asia Pacific have been announced, bringing the regional phase of the 3rd International Holcim Awards competition to a close. A total of USD 300,000 was presented to twelve groundbreaking projects at a ceremony in Singapore. The winning projects show how sustainable approaches to infrastructure for communities and innovative architecture can improve the built environment and enhance quality of life.

The jury recognizes the strength of the project in its sophisticated detailing. Materials are employed respecting their specific qualities. Altogether this forms a simple and elegant design. This is continued in the natural simplicity of providing gathering spaces that will be utilized for providing health awareness programs to the local community. This small-scale edifice is an outstanding example for comparable building tasks.

This project is located in a rural area, 20km west of the town of Dharmapuri, in the state of Tamil Nadu which forms the southernmost part of the Indian peninsula. With a low budget, the project shall serve to improve healthcare in this hot and semi-arid rural region.