Bajaj Institute of Technology, Wardha by Master Architect Prof. Christopher Benninger CCBA Designs

Bajaj Institute of Technology, Wardha
2011-Ongoing
Bajaj Institute of Technology is a college which would impart quality Engineering education in the Wardha district of Maharashtra. Set up under the Shiksha Mandal (a hundred year old educational trust set up and managed by the Bajaj family) this college campus is designed as a temple for learning.
Encompassing the core disciplines of engineering, the campus is designed to set the standards not only for the quality of education, but also, for Architectural aesthetics and ambience. The campus is designed on the principles of sustainability and the same is echoed in the facets of design from the planning through to construction.
The campus is designed as a great place to live and learn; the environs of the campus makes people feel close to nature; it will feel like a community and function like a university; it will have gardens, courtyards and promenades where people meet and interact. It will engender intellectual friendship and encourage the search for truth. Like an ancient Greek gymnasium, it will kindle a desire to develop both the mind and the body. Being the best, it will call out the best of the people who study there and make them feel proud that at one time in their life they had this place as their abode.
The long front wall with triangular openings invites people to the campus. People enter the institute through administration block which focuses towards the central iconic Library which is followed by the Workshop. Departments are arranged on both sides of the central promenade. Courtyards in between the class rooms break the silence of darkness and provide shade for passages, cut down the direct heat, glare and provide cross ventilation. One can reach any part of the building within ten minutes in shade. The entire campus is facilitated for Universal Access (i.e. with aid of Elevators and Ramps). Departments are physically divided by feature walls. The building is layered into three floors which have laboratories and small workshops on the ground floor, class rooms on the first floor and ancillary spaces on the second floor for convenient access. Pure geometrical and symmetrical masses, parallel walls, straight flight staircases, equilateral triangle openings, Vertical Fins, RCC vault ceilings, structural and architectural grooves, water spouts and aluminium sliding windows are the language of the campus, which are arranged as the stanza of a poem. One will read a beautiful poem while strolling through the campus. A lake is contemplated at the lower end of the site which will store rainwater. It balances the temperature of the campus by evaporation. Courtyards, Central library, Deepstambh, Water body and Triangular voids are the major landscape and building elements which ties the campus as nodes of an organic structure.
The institute is also well balanced by future student and faculty residences, parking, catering centre, health club and other amenities on both sides.
Location
Wardha, Maharashtra, India
Built Up Area
23,310 Square Meters
Site Area
35.80 Acres
Client
Shiksha Mandal, Wardha
Prime Contractor
Harshal Buildon LLP, Pune
Services
Landscape Design : Ar.Venkatesh, Bangalore
Interior Design : CCBA Designs, Pune
Structural Design : JW Consultants LLP, Pune
Utility Design: S. N. Joshi Consultants Pvt. Ltd.
Photos
Visualizations : Ashish Bhonde, Ramprasad Akkisetti
Design Team
V Noel Jerald, Daraius Choksi, Rahul Sathe, Rahul Deshmukh, Sahil Pherwani, Srujana Paruchuri, Sweta Parab, Kanchan Bhat, Shailesh Pathak, Adwitya Patro and Abhishek Soni