CENTRE OF HOPE

How does one address the challenge of building a 30,000sft. orphanage and community facility at a cost of Rs.500/sft. and still produce something aesthetically appealing, addressing the harsh climate in Trichy, and with generous accommodation for the various uses? We found that all these requirements had a common solution - the humble brick vault. In choosing to use this we were able to considerably reduce the amount of steel used, the vaults had a distinct aesthetic impact, the brick (with the broken ceramic tile mosaic over the vaults) helped reduce the heat gain within the building, and the vaults gave us a good dimension to accommodate the classrooms and bedrooms for the children.