The partitions have been cracked. The ground – damp and crumbling. Contained in the dim lecture rooms of Saraswati Vidyalaya in Kelthan village, Mumbai, Maharashtra, 120 kids sat hunched over their books, attempting to focus as monsoon winds howled exterior and the roof above them leaked. There was no correct lighting, no air flow, and barely any house that felt secure.
But, every single day, they got here again. Why? as a result of this was the one faculty that they had.
Then got here the floods.
In 2019, rising waters from the close by Tansa river swept by means of the college, soaking lecture rooms and washing away books, computer systems, and lab gear. Water stains marked the excessive tide of the catastrophe, a everlasting reminder of what little was left behind. The school rooms have been not secure, however the kids got here anyway.
It was this harsh actuality that moved architects Gauri Satam and Tejesh Patil, co-founders of unTAG Structure and Interiors, to take motion. What began as a private calling quickly grew to become a community-led mission to rebuild the college not solely stronger, however smarter, greener, and deeply rooted within the tradition and local weather of its environment.
A faculty began out of necessity
The story of Saraswati Vidyalaya begins lengthy earlier than the floods. It was born out of a deep perception that each baby, regardless of how distant their village or modest their background, deserves entry to high quality training.
“In 2001, we didn’t actually have a constructing,” shared Principal Vijay Ramesh Patil, who helped set up the college below the Devgarh Vibhag Shikshan Prasarak Belief. “We began with a single room given to us by a social employee within the village. Only one room, a handful of scholars, and two academics.”
Finally, the belief secured land close to the Tansa River, and a modest construction was constructed to accommodate Courses 8 to 10. However the faculty’s proximity to the river got here at a value. Yearly, monsoons introduced with them the identical story: rising waters, destroyed lecture rooms, and gear broken past restore.
“5 to 6 toes of water would enter the rooms,” Patil remembers. “Dad and mom have been apprehensive. Cracks started to appear within the partitions. It grew to become too harmful, and we have been left helpless.”
Studying Area Basis: A ray of hope
In 2020, in determined want of an answer, the college approached Studying Area Basis, a distinguished NGO within the locality. That connection led them to Tejesh Patil and Gauri Satam of unTAG Structure and Interiors — each of whom had sturdy rural roots and a ardour for socially aware design.
“They didn’t cost us something,” says Patil. “They handled this as social work. They listened, understood the college’s wants, and started planning a rebuild.” What adopted was a collaborative, community-driven course of to reimagine the college, not simply as a safer construction, however as a mannequin of sustainable, inclusive structure.
The design advanced in the course of the pandemic and was rolled out in two phases. Section one centered on constructing core requirements: three well-ventilated, sunlit lecture rooms, a workers room, and bogs on the primary flooring, with a kitchen and gathering house beneath. All of it was made with regionally sourced supplies and constructed with methods that decreased price and environmental affect.
‘A design rooted in context, tradition, and local weather’
From the start, unTAG’s imaginative and prescient for Saraswati Vidyalaya was grounded in sensitivity to each the place and its folks. The workforce didn’t arrive with grand blueprints or off-the-shelf options. As an alternative, they immersed themselves within the native aesthetics, traditions, and local weather to create a design that resonated with the tribal kids.
“We don’t imagine in creating monumental designs in rural settings,” says Tejesh. “We imagine in aware structure — one which respects the area’s local weather, price range, and tradition. That’s what drove each resolution on this venture.”
The primary main step was to reimagine how the college interacted with its flood-prone web site. By elevating the whole constructed construction onto stilts, the design provided a twin profit: lecture rooms have been now secure from flooding, and the open house beneath grew to become a versatile neighborhood space. This floor flooring now hosts faculty actions, medical camps, and neighborhood gatherings, providing an area that’s each protected and productive.
Each materials tells a narrative
The workforce’s materials palette was formed not in faraway showrooms, however by the assets and craftsmanship accessible inside a 25-kilometre radius. Domestically baked pink bricks grew to become the star materials, not simply used historically, however innovatively.
“We used a method referred to as rat-trap bond,” Gauri explains. “It includes laying bricks with a vertical hole, which reduces the variety of bricks used and provides thermal insulation. It’s cost-effective and ideal for our local weather.”
The identical bricks have been additionally used to create brick jaalis — perforated screens that permit gentle and breeze to filter by means of, including texture, rhythm, and pure air flow with out further price. “It additionally provides privateness on the bottom flooring,” shares Gauri.
A filler slab approach was employed within the ceiling, embedding handcrafted earthen discs made by native artisans. This wasn’t only a nod to the area’s pottery traditions; it additionally decreased the quantity of concrete used, decreasing each carbon footprint and building price. “It provides vernacular magnificence whereas being functionally environment friendly,” says Gauri.
Even the flooring instructed a narrative. The bottom flooring was laid utilizing upcycled Indian stone — offcuts and scraps from native distributors, collected freed from price and sorted by the scholars themselves. These stones have been organized in a flowing sample impressed by the close by Tansa River, turning discarded fragments right into a vibrant visible metaphor.
Inexperienced at coronary heart, in each sense
Sustainability didn’t finish with construction. unTAG built-in photo voltaic panels to make the college self-reliant in power, added planters alongside the façades that college students now take care of, and left the college floor unpaved to permit rainwater to percolate naturally. Parts of the land have been additionally transformed into vegetable beds, rising seasonal produce used within the faculty’s mid-day meals.
“That is referred to as biophilic structure,” says Gauri. “We needed kids to really feel linked to nature, to see themselves as a part of an ecosystem. After they take care of a plant or harvest greens they’ve grown, it adjustments the way in which they relate to the house.”
Cross-ventilation, north-facing skylights, and sloped roofs additional ensured that the college remained thermally snug and naturally lit year-round. These passive design methods eradicated the necessity for synthetic cooling or lighting in the course of the day.
Constructed sensible and reasonably priced
Probably the most astonishing side of the Saraswati Vidyalaya rebuild was its cost-efficiency. “We managed to maintain the associated fee at simply Rs 1,200 per sq. foot,” says Tejesh. We achieved this by means of sensible materials selections, native labour, and reusing what others may discard.”
As an alternative of hiring costly city contractors unfamiliar with various methods, unTAG educated native builders immediately on-site. “We created mock-ups, taught them lay bricks, observe the flooring sample,” Tejesh explains. “It was difficult, nevertheless it saved cash and it left the neighborhood with new abilities.”
This hands-on strategy not solely decreased price but in addition instilled a way of possession among the many locals. Even the scholars contributed by means of shramdaan (voluntary work), which added to the spirit of collective constructing.
Taking satisfaction in the place they be taught
By the top of 2023, Section 1 of Saraswati Vidyalaya’s transformation was full. What now stands on the banks of the Tansa River shouldn’t be solely a structurally resilient faculty, it’s a house that radiates dignity, objective, and pleasure.
“The distinction is seen within the kids’s eyes,” says Patil. “Earlier, they studied in an area that seemed like a cowshed. Now, they stroll into these shiny, breezy lecture rooms with satisfaction. The surroundings itself conjures up studying.”
The college has already seen a rise in scholar enrollment. From simply 120 college students, the quantity has grown to almost 200, and continues to rise. “Dad and mom who as soon as hesitated to ship their kids now really feel assured,” says Patil. “The stigma round rural authorities faculties is fading. This constructing gave us that credibility.”
This transformation has additionally been formally recognised. Saraswati Vidyalaya not too long ago obtained third prize in a statewide competitors organised below the Chief Minister’s faculty excellence initiative, successful Rs 1 lakh and incomes approval for each its academic and architectural advantage.
The venture’s success was made attainable by a community of beneficiant donors and empathetic establishments. Studying Area Basis performed a pivotal function in mobilising assist and linking the college with organisations like Common Basic Insurance coverage Firm, which contributed Rs 9 lakh to kickstart building.
Later, Jamnabai Narsee College in Mumbai stepped in with funding, furnishings, and by fostering stunning change of concepts and values. Their college students raised funds and visited Kelthan to grasp rural training realities higher, bridging a hardly ever crossed hole between city and rural worlds.
“It was like a barter system,” says Gauri. “Metropolis college students gave their time and assets, and in return, they obtained a grounded, eye-opening expertise. It was about connecting the dots — and it labored.”
Section 2 and past
The work, nevertheless, isn’t over. unTAG has already accomplished the design for Section two, which incorporates increasing the college to accommodate skill-based training for Courses 11 and 12, according to the Nationwide Schooling Coverage. The workforce is now actively looking for donors and companions to assist realise this subsequent section.
“This isn’t nearly one faculty,” says Tejesh. “Our purpose is to create a replicable mannequin — an ecosystem of rural faculties which might be sustainable, stunning, and deeply rooted of their context.”
For Gauri and Tejesh, who each have rural connections, the venture is private. It’s a fusion of ardour and occupation, a perception that good design ought to be accessible, that structure could be an agent of social change.
“We imagine each constructing ought to resonate with its surroundings,” Gauri says. “And each baby deserves to be taught in an area that respects their identification, tradition, and future.”
In Saraswati Vidyalaya, that imaginative and prescient has taken root — brick by brick, with care, consciousness, and neighborhood at its core.
Edited by Vidya Gowri Venkatesh. All photos credit score unTAG.