The community center in Tatiba Baraibura is comprised of a residential school for 400 students, vocational training program and medical center for 14 villages in the West Singhbhum district. The project is financed by a mining company as part of its social responsibility program. Local rough laterite stone is used as the main building material of the four parallel walls that comprise the building’s load bearing structure. A light roof with substantial overhang made of industrialized steel ensures shading and natural ventilation. The low cost structure combines local materials and traditional craftsmanship with modern technology.

Four thick parallel walls, built using locally-sourced laterite stone give the space the building form. Aligned along the slope of the terrain, these walls define the structure and shape of the complex. The footprint is limited to 45 x 135 meters, leaving most of the site in its natural condition.

The building is oriented along the north-south axis and the roof has a substantial overhang in order to reduce the amount of sunlight received by the walls. The laterite walls also serve as the primary structure for defining the movement routes, open courts, and access to the complex.

The linear volumes between the parallel walls house various programmatic requirements like classrooms, student dormitories and general facilities. The light roofs float above the parallel walls, allowing cool air to flow freely between the roof and the ceiling, leaving walls with apertures as a possible façade. Controlled views of the landscape through staggered apertures are a feature of the plan. The interior quality of the complex is shaded, cool and airy, creating a shadowed oasis from the climate outside. The proposal deploys low-cost construction making the most of local materials and skills, using the potential of the local community while adapting technology from the industrialized world in a simple way.

Laterite stone, which is abundant in this region, is chosen as the main building material along with a restricted palette of compressed earth bricks, structural steel truss, locally sourced wood and corrugated metal roof extrusions. Rough and untreated surfaces impart the character of the landscape into the building form. The idea is that this center will serve as a standard and sustainable model that can be copied within the community and raise awareness about the merits of local materials and skills.