Shri Swami Vivekanand Vidhya Vihar, Nadiad, Gujarat / Abhikram
Low fees, high comfort: Shri Swami Vivekanand Vidhya Vihar in Nadiad uses PDEC passive cooling to cut costs. A sustainable blueprint for school owners.
Shared by the architects upon our invitation.
Attempts
Phase I and III : Design using simplified technologies and passive cooling, to build an extension to their existing school.
Process and Work
Phase I : Designed as a four class room extension, executed as a seven class room projects. Initial one hour of design input and one day of construction drawings was the inputs from Abhikram. Each space was enclosed with a low wall one meter high on three sides, with a continuous wooden jaali. Generous overhangs of the lean-to-roof helped prevent sun and rain penetration into the classrooms. Local bricks for walls and Eucalyptus ballies with clay tiles were used for the roof.
The Lessons
In the rural-urban situations, the inputs required from the Architects/ Engineers can be restricted to basic decisions only, requiring drastic change in their design approach, by imbibing local technologies, and simplifying the thinking process, to be able to deliver appropriate built forms.
Attempts
Phase II: This Gujarati medium School, on a 6 acre plot, had high aspirations and standards for imparting holistic education to its students. The design was required to provide opportunities for education outside the classroom spaces. The design was to defy the notion that air- conditioned classrooms were essential for the provision of better education. Passive Cooling of the classrooms, using PDEC was a step in the appropriate direction.
Process & Work
Phase II: Wet cooling pads on top of the air inlet shafts supply cool air in the classrooms. Hot air in the classroom rises and exhausts through the exhaust shafts on the outer periphery of the building.
The nursery classroom in the courtyard was modeled on Bal Prasoon School so that children are not confined to the four walls of the classroom. The PKS floor was patterned using china mosaic.
Outcome
This project has been very successful and a part of the TERI film “Buildings that Breathe” shown on Air India flights for the past decade. The building requires low maintenance for comfort, thus keeping the fees for students at minimum level.
Stays cool and comfortable during summers, without the need to use fans in the classrooms. We are able to keep fees low, due to no investment in air- conditioning and savings in electricity. There is ample daylight in classrooms, children breathe fresh air at all times, and thus the spread of infection from one child to another is rare.” – Shri Anupbhai Desai
Project Gallery:
Cite: “Shri Swami Vivekanand Vidhya Vihar, Nadiad, Gujarat / Abhikram 28 July 2026. GLSN. Accessed . https://theglsn.com/shri-swami-vivekanand-vidhya-vihar-nadiad-gujarat-abhikram/