Shri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara College of Engineering and Technology

Photograph courtesy of Shirish Beri & Associates.

The amenities block near the entrance serves the students, staff as well as the outside public. Similarly the canteen at the southeast and minimizes its disturbance to the academic activities and comes nearer to the hostels and workshops.

The landscaping around and inside the building (in the courtyards) takes either a sloping or a stepped character thus bringing about a certain dynamism to the spaces. The different level terraces of the building seen from different places creates a good potential for landscaping. The spaces between the stone pillars house shrubs that can be viewed above the window sill from inside. The connecting passage was soon covered with creepers as was the canteen extension sit out.

Photograph courtesy of Shirish Beri & Associates.

The basic structural system is composite i.e. partially load bearing stone and brick masonry walls and partially a frame structure with R.C. columns and beams. The entire building is planned on a 2.5 x 2.5 m grid. This enables standardization of windows and use of standardized thin prefab R.C. bands to act as chajjas, hand rails etc. between this module everywhere.

The auditorium structure, with beams spanning 20 m, has been designed in such a way that the heavy 5 m cantilevers on both sides help in reducing the bending moment in the beams and thus the beam depth.

Photograph courtesy of Shirish Beri & Associates.

Special attention is paid to lighting in the classrooms (to minimize glare on the blackboards) and in the library (through the north light) and derived light from the central foyer. The windows in the labs, classrooms etc. not only bring in light and ventilation, but also frame the beautiful views of the rolling hills and trees outside.

The building with its new interactive and informal character helps in improving the environment by making it more conducive to learning.

Photograph courtesy of Shirish Beri & Associates.

Photograph courtesy of Shirish Beri & Associates.

Credits

• Text and Photographs, courtesy of Shirish Beri & Associates

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