educational institutes | educational institutes |

A series of dry creeks and water channels The genesis of the projects Vastu Shilpa Consultants
emanate from the pool, which forms the
IIT Mandi IIT Jodhpur
heart of the core campus. It is where peo-
The design commission for IIT Mandi was through The terms of reference for the competition
ple meet and where the entrances to all of an international, two-stage design competition floated for IIT Jodhpur restricted the scope
the faculties lie. It is a contemplative space floated in May 2010. The scope involved all techni- to Master Planning only which included
sheltered from the potentially harsh desert cal and design disciplines and was won by the New Landscape Design, Transport Networks, Site
Delhi Studio of BDP. The jury consisted of Direc- Infrastructure and Urban Design guidelines
environment. This allows the space to be
tors of various IITs, statutory representation from for Architects to be selected through another
full of activity and university life, forming Government departments and three professionals RFP.
the true central living and learning hub to from the private sector – Arunava Dasgupta, Urban
The competition was won by a consortium
the university. It will be inspirational and Designer and expert in Hill settlements, Priyaleen
led by Studio for Habitat Futures (SHiFt).
Singh, Landscape Architect and Professor at SPA,
uplifting as is appropriate to the status of New Delhi and Dr. Ranjit Daniels, Ecological expert.
Apart from the Government and IIT repre-
the university within which it is situated. sentations, the external members of the jury
The Landscape team at BDP include Freddie Ribeiro, consisted of Kiran Karnik and Aman Nath
Subhagya Atale, Mahfuj Ali, Pournima Thote and among others.
Harish Vangara.
LANDSCAPE TEAM
Both these commissions were won The larger team put together by BDP include Mohan Rao, Freddie Ribeiro, Subhagya
through international competitions and PRIMARY CONSULTANT Atale, Rahul Paul and Vimal Paul
BDP Design Engineering Pvt. Ltd.
were authored by consortiums of appro-
MASTER PLAN
PRIMARY CONSULTANT
I I M | U D A I P U R
priate professionals. In both cases, the Studio for Habitat Futures (SHiFt)
BDP Design Engineering Pvt. Ltd.
exercises were and continue to be a huge MASTER PLAN
source of learning for the vast number of ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN SHiFt and BDP
BDP Design Engineering Pvt. Ltd. and UC Jain Ar-
professionals involved. Post occupancy chitects
ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
data, observations and feedback will prove EDS (Environmental Design Solutions)
ENGINEERING – STRUCTURE AND MEP
to be the true test. The entire team hopes Frischmann Prabhu
TRANSPORT PLANNING
iTrans
to be involved then to document the learn- ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
ing from these rare opportunities. ENGINEERING
EDS (Environmental Design Solutions)

T
Sterling India
he Indian Institutes of Management Competition Brief
(IIMs) were created by the Indian
BELOW | Interpretation of the johad as the signa- All images & drawings courtesy the Author.
Government with the aim of identi- Indian Institute of Management Udaipur
ture and iconic element of the campus fying the brightest intellectual talent avail- (IIMU) envisaged developing its academ-
Landscape architect Freddie Ribeiro can be reached at freddie.ribeiro@bdp.com able in the student community of India and ic campus in about 121 hectares of land
training it in the best management tech- allotted for the purpose at village Balicha
niques available in the world, to ultimately on the Udaipur-Ahmedabad Expressway
create a pool of elite managers to manage on the outskirts of the city of Udaipur. As
and lead the various sections of the Indian a part of the process of selection of the
economy. IIMs play a leadership role in the Consultant, Expressions of Interest were
nations managerial manpower development invited. Request for Proposal for stage-1
and carry out research in emerging areas. was invited from shortlisted EOIs. Four
These Institutes are recognized as premier (4) out of the sixteen applicants were se-
management institutions, comparable to lected for stage-2, jury for which included
the best in the world for teaching, research IIMU Director Janat Shah and architects-
and interaction with industries. planners Ajoy Choudhary, K. B. Jain, Ka-
vas Kapadia and Brinda Sowmaya. Vastu
IIM Udaipur, the youngest IIM, aims to set Shilpa Consultants emerged as the win-
new benchmarks in management education ner of the design competition with high
by delivering high quality education and appreciation for the Campus Master Plan
building and disseminating knowledge. and Architectural Design envisaged.

30 landscape no. 38 | 2013 landscape no. 38 | 2012 31

educational institutes |

20
16
1
Site & Campus Planning: Its potentials and limitations 2

23 21 13
23 15
Udaipur is known as the City of Lakes Taking lessons from the historic devel- 3
7 4
5 9 22
mainly because of its picturesque loca- opment of the city of Udaipur, water 18 4 14
23
19 6 8
tion of the palaces and havelis along the and its catchment and storage in lakes 17 22
9
shore of lake Pichola. However the lakes were the focus of this proposal for IIM 10 11
don’t only add to the beauty of the city; Udaipur campus. The need for water 12
the area being arid, they are essential for to sustain life on site is recognized and
25
its survival. For hundreds of years these provided for with check-dams placed at
man-made lakes have been the lifelines strategic locations, based on the aver-
of Udaipur. The city’s founders were age annual rainfall and on the analysis

24

0 50 100 300 m

MASTER PLAN – IIM, Udaipur

aware of the importance of water and the of the natural watersheds of the con- ABOVE | View of the central valley of the site
Master Plan
necessity of collecting it during the mon- tours, to hold a maximum amount of LEGEND
1. Site Entry
soons and storing it to sustain the city rainfall. The treatment and recycling 2. Security Check The Master Plan proposes to utilize the The eastern part of the site is kept as is
during dry seasons. Thus water security of sewage has also been considered to 3. Entrance Foyer
4. Academic + Administration Block
western part for the first phase of the to form a buffer and the Master Plan
became a major focus of the develop- make the campus a self-sufficient and 5. Grand Plaza campus. A series of dams in the heart proposes to use it as a resource for the
ment of the city. water sustainable campus. Moreover 6. Library
of the land’s western part is forming campus. Over the next few years this
7. Auditorium
the lakes benefit climatically in cooling 8. M.D.C cascading lakes, which become the fo- fertile land; lacking water and currently
The architectural design of the island pal- the buildings as well. 9. Amenities cus point of the campus. All academic barren, will be transformed into usable
10. Dining
aces maximizes on the climatic advantage and administrative buildings are built land with rich biodiversity. Planted
11. Amphitheatre
bestowed by the lake; the courtyards, The IIM-Udaipur campus site is situ- 12. Students Housing around these big water bodies. The stu- with dense groves of orchards and
terraces, verandas, pavilions and chattris ated 8 kilometers on the outskirts from 13. Faculty Housing
14. Director’s Bungalow dent housing and the faculty residences fields it can help to achieve food secu-
are the built forms ideally suited to opti- Udaipur on the eastern side of NH8. 15. Club House are clustered around it. The total land rity, making life on the campus truly
mize the cool breeze. These built forms The land is highly contoured and has 16. Indoor Sports
17. Elevated Water Tank
area being 299 acres, the footprint of self-sustaining.
have become the organizing principles virtually no flat areas. It can be divided 18. Garden + Nursery the entire built form amounts to only
for architectural design in the region be- into two parts due to a valley of more 19. Cricket field
15.5 acres which is 5.3 % of the total
20. Football + Athletic field
cause of the way they have responded to than 50 meter deep running across, 21. Water Reservoir land area.
the environment and the socio-cultural which forms a natural barrier between 22. Check Dam
23. Parking
living patterns. eastern and western campus site.
24. Reserved Green (Orchards)
25. Secondary Entry

32 landscape no. 38 | 2013 landscape no. 38 | 2012 33

 Academics educational institutes |
Students Housing
Faculty Housing
Dining
Amenities
M.D.C.

19

FACING PAGE
CENTRE | Site Plan
BOTTOM | Section through plaza

1
THIS PAGE
RIGHT | View of the Academic Plaza
BOTTOM | Section through Academic Block

20 Academic Block
10
We believe that learning isn’t neces- and administrative spaces will benefit
9 5 2
21 sarily confined to classrooms or the climatically, allowing the breeze, which
3 programmed curriculum. It has been has been cooled by the water, to flow
17 observed that as much, if not more, through.
6
4 12 10 20 learning occurs in impromptu encoun-
7 18
ters with peers and faculty. The pro- Two buildings of the Academic Block
11
13 LEGEND
posed Master Plan recognizes this, giv- form bridges, providing comfortable
8 1. Site Entrance ing ample opportunities to meet others connections across the valley to the
2. Entrance Foyer
3. Waiting + Reception
by chance while moving through the various parts of the campus. Being
10 4. Administration campus and provides for room to settle main nodal points for the movement
12 5. Dean’s + Director’s Suite down for a discussion. through the campus, the heads of the
6. Grand Plaza
7. Academics bridges are anticipated to be active
15
8. Computer Lab In the main focus point of the Academ- hubs of the campus. The main common
14
9. Auditorium
10. Water Reservoir ic Block are the central lakes. All aca- facilities and the library are located over
16 11. Café demic and administration buildings are here. On side of the students’ housing
12. Amenities
13. M.D.C.
clustered around them, with their cir- the bridge connects to a large chowk,
14. Amphitheatre culation and common areas stretched which is surrounded by the dining hall,
15. Dining
N 16. Students Housing
along the cascading pools of water. shops and the large amphitheater, step-
17. Faculty Housing And it is more than a mere visual con- ping down to the water.
18. Director’s Residence nection. All class rooms, faculty rooms
19. Athletic F ield
0 10 25 50 75 m 20. Parking

344 llandscape
landscape
dscape
p no.
o 388 | 201
20133 landscape no. 38 | 2012 35
educational institutes | educational institutes |

Treated SW (160.07 ML)

Treated DW (4.85 ML)
OVERHEAD Treated WW (86.5 ML)
WATER TANKS
Recharge from
SW DW WW Borewell
annual rainfall Recharge from

)
ML
storage storage storage supply

.27
annual rainfall

L)
78
(20.66 ML)

)
4M

La 6.5
ML
)
g(

ML
(138.55 ML)

nd
in

85
38

.4

sc
sh

(8
4.
Flu ng (

43

ap )
Wa

g(
g(

ing
ni

kin
in

ML
tio

sh

in
di

Dr
on
r-c
Ai
Waste water (86.5 ML) WW
Treatment
Protective Plant
Chemical Layer Roof water (20.43 ML) Roof water (4.85 ML) DW Woodland
Treatment Evaporation
Road Plant loss from all Irrigation
Roof water (15.58 ML) SW Available SW reservoirs
MAIN LAKE SW from paved Treatment (31.35 ML) First 3
Plant (123.83 ML) years only
Capacity areas (38.5 ML)
(75 ML) Recharge of main reservoir when required
SW–Storm Water OTHER RESERVOIRS Check
Capacity (230.54 ML) dam
DW–Drinking Water Post monsoon
Borewell Precolation loss Pre monsoon
WW–Waste Water from all reservoirs (38.05 ML)
(21.87 ML)
Water table
THIS PAGE | Students’ Hostel Courts
Saturated Aquifer
FACING PAGE |
Water balance diagram

Students Housing Landscape Strategies

With an emphasis at mitigating the pre- Temples of learning – Stewardship of natural resources
15 student houses form a main cluster,
dominantly hot climate of Rajasthan, which is linked to a shared open space
students are housed in clusters of low- with provisions for canteen facilities. The site is hilly with a large part of the will allow the campus to sustain and surplus water from established land-
rise courtyard houses. They are of a Recreational facilities, outdoor sports- site having steep slopes of the order of develop itself. The next step is to ex- scapes to human needs as the campus
rather small grain and follow the ter- fields and a large Amphitheatre are wo- 45 degrees and above, creating several amine the status of biodiversity in the is populated. Balance reverses and rain-
rain, much like villages are clustered be- ven into the fabric of the hostel clusters. local ridges and depressions. Existing region, and allow IIMU to steward the water are diverted for human consump-
low and around the palaces and forts of Despite the low-rise arrangement used, landscape consists of exposed laminar development of a climatically suitable tion while treated wastewater is sup-
Rajasthan. They form a strong contrast the density achieved can compete with rock covered by straggly scrub, which climax forest in the long run, which will plied to landscape. Storage of rainwater
to the academic buildings and are made that of standard hostel typologies. denotes advanced stages of forest degra- increase biomass, provide adequate is a critical factor since no natural water
out of local materials using local skills. dation due to grazing and other human renewable resources and enhance the body exists on-site while the aquifer
Faculty Residences impacts. High runoffs generated from regional ecosystem. The final step looks cannot facilitate such large quantities
One housing unit accommodates 20 barren steep slopes in the site drain into at integration of society within the of annual injection and withdrawal. An
to 28 students in single rooms, clus- In a similar manner the Faculty Resi- a seasonal stream that dissects the site landscape envelope, not just by creat- uncommon direction is being explored
tering in two to three stories around dences are envisioned as a series of from North to South forming a 50 me- ing physical resources for consump- by excavation of lakes in valley beds
small courts and verandahs. Besides low-rise developments. They consist a ter deep central valley and dividing the tion, but also generating a landscape in lieu of check dams, and balancing it
creating a cooler microclimate and in- mix of single storey and duplex units, site into two distinct parts. imagery that integrates the campus in- with the earthwork filling required for
creasing the comfort level for the stu- clustering around private courts and trinsically with the region. construction on the hilly site.
dents, these shaded spaces are meant larger shared public squares. The em- Landscape Planning
to accommodate various recreational phasis is to provide a variety of human Water Systems – Keystone of Lake development for each macro
areas with table tennis tables, common scale of spaces, the experience of walk- In a region having low rainfall and no development catchment will be supported by critical
rooms and lounges with televisions and ing through it akin to what we feel in current surplus water reserves, water erosion control measures like contour
such The height of 9 to 12 meters al- our heritage precincts. Each cluster is becomes the primary constraint for any The campus water budget allows man- trenches, contour bunds, pitching and
lows the housing to remain within the designed to have 30-36 families of units development including landscape up agement of water resources for initiat- vegetative barriers to prevent silting of
ambit of the trees, a quality that helps varying from 100 to 225 square meters. gradation. Hence, the first step aims to ing landscape up gradation processes these reservoirs. Another line of de-
in controlling the severe climate. 10- develop a resilient water balance that immediately, followed by diversion of fence against silting shall be creation of

36 landscape no. 38 | 2013 landscape no. 38 | 2012 37

 educational institutes | educational institutes |

HILL EROSION Loose rocks on

slopes pose a
potential threat of
Locals cut trees & plants YEAR
INE landslides.
for fuelwood & other smaller gabion-bund based check dams in each 2013
N DL products. In most cases
OU micro-catchment, which will filter silt, spread
GR they remove the vegeta-
tion completely. soil moisture in micro-catchments and allow –Botheriochloa –Argemone sp –Lantana –Sporobolus
Hills erode over time, ischaemum –Argemone –Stylosanthes camara
and erode matter is de- seepage of rainwater to macro-catchment lakes –Opuntia –Veticeria
–Leucas
posited along with living –Euphorbia –Tridax
organisms in the valleys.
over a period of few months. The final part of
–Cassia tora
Deposited matter slowly SILT DEPOSITION this scheme links all reservoirs to central lake
transforms into soil Grazing herbs eat OVER TIME
containing nutrients, over plants along with roots, by means of a solar pumping system. Resilience
period of centuries. leaving the area barren has been achieved in water balance by using
& unable to recover on Debris & rock brought by
its own. water silts the valleys, and only 36% of last 50 years’ average annual rainfall
their water retention & even on steep slopes, and augmenting capacity
transfer capacity reduces.
through slow runoff from silt barriers and mi-
Soil from valley spread
DL
INE
evenly over slopes. cro-catchment reservoirs. YEAR
N
OU
GR 2016
Seed collection form local Creation of check
Flora – Ecosystem up gradation
plans, drying & storing dams from collected –Saccharum –Zizyphus –Saccharum –Jatropha –Agave –Aloe
them for future use. stones & debris. spontaneum spontaneum harvardiana
Once lakes are activated, each catchment will –Dectylocatenium –Sterculea urens –Calotropis
Clearing slopes of –Dandrocalamus –Acacia Farnesiana –Capparis
debris and loose be further strengthened by establishment of
stones.
Creation of nurseries, pioneer vegetation, contour bunds and trenches
saplings are developed
from collected seeds. that will reduce the runoff velocity and prevent
Transferring soil from valleys
to hills, 2 issues are solved: surface erosion. A strong maintenance cycle
increasing depth of valleys
for faster water transfer & supported by employing local people will en-
more water retention, as well sure vegetation establishment in a decade or so.
Seeding of grasses, water- as spreading nutrient rich
ing & maintaining them. soil on eroded slopes. Outreach areas shall be dedicated to growth of
fruit and minor forest produce bearing plants as YEAR
Local grass planting well as fodder grasses that sustain the local com- 2020
on steep slopes.
INE munity. The site was mapped for slope gradi-
NDL
OU Check dam reservoirs –Croton
GR Contour bunds on aid in ground water
ents, aspect, areas exposed as well as protected bonplandianumz –Aloe-vera –Anona –Pheonix –Cordia dichotoma
Grasses, contour bunds moderate slopes for recharge as well as from wind and sun during each season. A plant- –Butea –Cassia auriculata
Contour –Acacia Senegal
and contour trenches soil stabilization. improvement in soil
aid in increasing soil trenches ing palette is being developed for each of the –Aegle –Bombax
on gentle moisture.
moisture through pre-
colation of rainwater. slopes. mapping parameters order of natural succes-
sion for each ecosystem. Ecological resilience
Spreading of
soil moisture. is also being factored in by including drought
Chloris Echinochloa Heteropogon Vetiveria Heteropogon Echinochloa Chloris Bothriochloa Euphorbia Saccharum Chloris Heteropogon
hardy plants and those having minimal eva- gayana colomum contortus zizanioides contortus colomum gayana ischaemum spontaneum gayana contortus
Ground water potranspiration losses, wind-breaks, fire-breaks,
recharge. S T E E P S LO P E M O D E R AT E S LO P E G E N T L E S LO P E
plants capable of growing on rocky-gravelly ar-
eas along with a rich mix of plants with varying THIS PAGE | Planting Succession
speeds of growth and life-cycles to enable self-
healing in times of stress or natural aberrations. IIM UDAIPUR
ECOSYSTEM DEVELOPMENT PRINCIPAL ARCHITECT All images & drawings courtesy Vastu Shilpa Consultants.
Eventually, the measures CLIENT Rajeev Kathpalia, Vastu Shilpa Consultants, Ahmedabad
will lead to ecosystem up
Overall, the proposed Master Plan strategies Indian Institute of Management, Udaipur Vastu Shilpa Consultants can be reached at
gradation and development will allow users to balance their life inside and DESIGN TEAM vsc@sangath.org
with better biodiversity,
outside buildings, experience and appreciate SITE AREA Vijay Patel, Anand Sonecha, Kanishka Suthar, Pratik Devi,
increased water retention
capacity, and improvement 121 Hectares Nishant Mittal, Juichi Iida, B.N.Panchal
in soil conditions.
Surrounding community, which has aided in the idea of sustainable natural neighbourhoods,
site development shall reap benefits in terms
of flora produce, year round grass supply for Increased water and very importantly – imbibe values of part- TOTAL BUILT UP AREA LANDSCAPE CONSULTANT
cattle and employment in maintenance. storage capacity. nership with nature for future development. 1,12,000 sqmts Sandip Patil, Earthscapes Consultancy Pvt. Ltd., Ahmedabad

THIS PAGE | Landscape Upgradation

38 landscape no. 38 | 2013 landscape no. 38 | 2012 39