IIM AHMEDABAD

PROJECT BACKGROUND

Date of Establishment

Old Campus – 1962

New Campus - 2006

Location - Ahmedabad ,Gujrat

A rising center of education, information technology and industries,

Ahmedabad remains the cultural and commercial center of Gujrat and
much of western India. Courses of study offered at IIMA – The focus
is upon business administration, finance and economics and few other
specialized curriculum of business management

Description of the campus – The old campus consist of an academic

block (contains 6 classroom and 3 seminar room, 4 faculty blocks),
library(Vikram Sarabhai Library), auditorium, management
development center, 18 hostel blocks(accommodating 500 students)
and faculty housing.

The 39 Acre new campus consist of houses an International

Management Centre and accommodates additional hostels for an
expanded postgraduate program in management.

The new extension campus provides teaching & residential facilities

for the Institute’s postgraduate programme, an International
Management Centre, Centre for Innovation & Incubation and sports
facilities. Other facilities include 9 dormitories for 340 students; an
academic block with 5 classrooms and Seminar rooms; administrative
facilities; IMDC Hostels; 20 blocks for married students; 6 VIP suites;
a sports complex; kitchen & dining facilities; a CIIE Block and 100
guestrooms.
The old campus was designed by Louis Kahn, who was an exponent of
exposed-brick architecture.

The most distinctive features of the main structure are the numerous
arches and square brick structures with circles carved out in the
facade. The student dormitories are connected to the main complex
by a series of arched corridors and landscaped courts. An extension to
the old campus built across the 132 feet (40 m) ring road was
commissioned in 2003 with student dorms and classrooms built in a
contemporary concrete design which strives to retain some elements
of the old campus' architecture such as the arches and exposed brick
facades, while offering some contrast.

The two campuses are connected with an underpass (tunnel-

walkway).

ARCHITECTS APPROACH TO DESIGN

LOUIS KAHN’S PHILOSOPY

For Louis kahn, an institution was a ‛center’ for activities of man and a
realm within which talents of people may be developed and exercised.

“I want to create an atmosphere in which the student will not feel that
leaving and learning are Separate”.(Kumar, Meet)

Kahn had in mind –“a relam of spaces which may be connected by

ways of protected walking which you consider as a high spaces
together with low spaces and various spaces where people can sort to
find the place they can do what they want to do.”(Trivedi Ojas 109)

SITE ANALYSIS
The land allocated for IIM-A was situated on the west side of the river
which was a developing part of Ahmedabad in 1962. The site was
situated near the village of Vastrapur and was adjoining to developing
academic institute of Ahmedabad.

About 66 Acre of flat pasture land which belonged to Kasturbhai

Lalabhai was allocated for the construction the building of IIM-A (The
Academic blocks + the faculty housing). Today it is surrounded by
Gujrat University Campus, the Ahmedabad Textile and Industrial
Research Association (ATIRA).

The Physical Research Laboratories (PRL) and smaller residences and

commercial centers. Also, the Indian Research Organization (ISRO)
and the Nehru Foundati0n campuses are located in to gradual context.
The site is located on the outskirts of University area of Ahmedabad.
The site edges are bound by roads on three sides and a large median
on north-west edge.

CLIMATE: The climate of Ahmedabad is very harsh: Summers are long

and extremely hot while the winter are very cold though short. It has
a moderate rainfall and prevailing wind direction is generally south-
west.

HIERARCHY OF SPACES

The academic block was placed in the central part of the site – towards
the north west edge. The housing areas take up the rear portion of the
site and are also approached from minor roads and lanes The
organization of the complex is governed by the nature of activities.

The more public activities like administration, faculty offices and to

some extent library have been placed towards the outer side with
direct public approaches, while the classroom being private form the
inner wing and behind the classroom come hostels for the students.
It built at the edge of the educational complex so as to maintain
connection with outside.

Kahn talked about the school building as a “building within a building

– one oen to the sun and other to the sun”. He also used the terms
“shade, closeness, buildings hugging buildings” for the institute. “So
the system is fundamental to that of porches. The exterior is given to
the sun, and the interior is where you live, work and study”.( Ronner,
Heinz and Jhaveri Sharad 222) The above concept have influenced the
basic location of the activities on the site.

FUNCTIONAL ZONING AND SITE PLANNING

While designing for the institute Kahn referred to the example of

royal fort and palace at Lahore, the red fort at Delhi and palaces of
Fatehpur Sikri in which court was used for ventilation.

The school block, dormitories and faculty residences were grouped to

take advantage of available wind, to provide as much as
uninterrupted breeze through the building as possible . Separate
access is provided for the institutional complex and the residential
areas. The main complex is rectangular with the teaching wing on the
southern side, faculty cabin and faculty administration office to the
north, and the library to the east. In the heart of the Complex is the
open plaza. The main complex Is an organization of the courts, lights
wells and services related to main function.

The student hostels are located very close to the main complex. The
campus has been planned according to the above requirement in
mind. The three buildings – the administration block and the faculty,
the classroom block and the library define the edges of the vast plaza.

BUILT AND OPEN SPACES

 There is linear arrangement of classrooms and administration units
with the library parallel to both and the hostels are arranged
diagonally. A strong sense of geometry in individual units and its
connection is found in the built vs. open plan.

MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION DETAILS

The architect used exposed brick and concrete as construction

materials. This theme of brick technology in its load bearing walls and
brick arches spanning spaces from wall above, gave the campus a
certain rhythm. The circular opening in the was a result of an
understanding of the order the construction.

“I made these large opening because there are earthquake condition

, and actually the arch below is just as important as arch above, you
have a gravity force, but you have{ seismic force the opposite way,
requiring} the reversed arch. the exterior masonry wall are in fact the
sun screen which cut the glare that come through these circular
opening. The main building of the campus are arranged around a large
rectangular plaza.

Repetitive forms are placed on either side of the long axis of the plaza
and the library is placed at the termination of these axis he made a
strict distinction between community space and private space. The
size of the opening and corridors that surround the plaza are chosen
to express the size of the institution. Thus kahn’s initial response to
the India was climate and it was this that led him to the use of large
voids in solid masonry construction.

SPATIAL ORGANISATION

Old Campus: The academic block is placed in the central part of the
site – towards the north west edge contains 6 classroom and 3
seminar room, 4 faculty blocks), library(Vikram Sarabhai Library It has
rectangular shape with the teaching wing on the southern side, faculty
cabin and faculty administration office to the north, and the library to
the east. In the heart of the complex is the open plaza.

The more public activities like administration, faculty offices and to

some extent library have been placed towards the outer side with
direct public approaches, while the classroom being private form the
inner wing. The complex Is an organization of the courts, lights wells
and services related to main function.

CLASSROOM (OLD CAMPUS)

Nature of requirement: The idea of ‘seminar classroom’ comes from

the Harvard Business school. The emphasis on learning through
participation and discussion demanded a classroom that that created
the suitable environment.

The classroom are designed for “case” method of learning that is the
student are given a particular situation and are required to explain
others how they would solve the problem. Therefore classroom need
more space for discussion. Louis Kahn created and made it as a series
of semicircular steps – orienting student towards each other as well
as the teacher. This created a sense of group participating together,
instead of standard lecture room.

The method of instruction were developed aiming at an all round

development of student and to actively involve him in academic
processes, so that learning becomes a thinking apparatus of the
student.

The classroom block consist six units held together by a single double
height corridor. The corridor to the classroom act as a place of
informal discussion between student and faculty, student and
student. This also became the entry exit lobby to the classroom.

Within the classroom itself, the space is broken into sub-spaces by

creating alcove like spaces near the entrance point and a distinct place
for a teacher. Light was taken indirectly by triangular light well on
either side of the room, so there is no direct visual connection to the
outside – creating an extremely strong sense of an ‘inside’- an inner
center. Towards the plaza, the classroom are concealed by the
continuous façade of the corridor – in order to maintain the
institutional scale of the plaza. Each classroom is expressed as a
separate mass, linked by the semi open balcony like spaces.

LIBRARY

The library consist of two separate block – each housing separate

activities linked by stairwell(). The front block is a public area housing
a general reading area. The rear block is taken up by stacks areas an
reading room. The stair well is an important element in the block and
act as a both linkage element and a separator between the two
constituent block of the library. This library can be perceived as a layer
of spaces – creating a gradual transition from the open plaza to the
inner most part of the library.

The first layer consist of the terrace overlooking the plaza. From here
one reaches the entrance of library flanked on two side by light wells.
The next area consist of large reading area – a double height volume.
Next comes the stairwell and finally comes the stacks area and reading
room. This layering of activities represent a hierarchy of public to
private spaces – creating a gradual transition between inside and
outside.

STUDENT HOSTEL (OLD CAMPUS)

 Concept: The main concept of the campus began with the planning of
the hostel blocks which were to house 300 students. “the group of 15
hostel blocks was connected like a string of beads placed one behind
another”.(Le Corbusier and Kahn Louis)

The hostel became the extension of work spaces. The living area are
disposed into two levels one closer to academic block on a raised
platform and other at the edge, large and outward oriented. The
hostel rooms at ground floor consist of club house. The upper rooms
have street running throughout them.

Te plan of each hostel consist of rectangular room opening into a

triangular porch facing a square and that square function as a service
block. The room open out into a garden court by the means of balcony
which also act as shade during the day time. They provide option of
complete closer or opening as relevant for day and night, summer and
winter. The entrance stairway is in the triangular porch.

The porch of each hostel became a transitional space where leaving

and learning meet.

The single hostel block consist of 30 students. Each floor of a single

unit block accommodates a community of ten student. The common
room is also served by pantry and other service spaces.() The
orientation of each room and hostel blocks is in the direction of
prevailing breezes. The gap between the structure renders the block
porous for passage of breeze. These aspect have been of
consideration in the designing of the hostel blocks.

The hostel are the most masterly designed pure geometrical form.
Each hostel is a cubical block, three story and has two wings of
individual room set at right angle, seprated by vertical slot, forming an
L shape on west and sought that create shadowed informal space for
meeting. The upper level houses the cells and ground floor opens to
the opportunities of the porches or covered walkways, single or
double height(). The tower like service block is placed on north east
corner of each hostel, is corner opened with narrow slot, so that it
façade appear to stand free of each other. A diagonal wall pierced by
large circular openings and joined at its midpoint to the service tower,
form the outer edge of the triangular common room, with semi
circular staircase at its center lit by sun light from opening in roof.

The three floors of bedroom are placed over an open ground floor,
formed by massive semicircular arches and battered buttresses
supporting the bedroom wall above. The planar wall is buttressed in
one direction, and braced by concrete floor in other walls. Lateral
formation of these is the basis of formation of the hostel blocks. He
room unit generate the base dimension of the block.

The walls are made of solid brick masonry and floors of concrete.

Two Different types of hostel plan