Healthcare Centre

Dharmapuri, India

Photo © Manoj Sudhakaran

Architects: Flying Elephant Studio

Location: Dharmapuri, India
Year: 2011
Client: Mahalir Aran Trust, Mercy Abraham Imondi, Janet Rogers
Architects: Neha Gupta, Kiran Chandra, Iype Chacko, Rajesh Renganathan
Structure: Manjunath & Co
Contractors: J Kumar Constructions, Achu P Enterprises
Awards: International Architecture Award, Chicago Athaneum Museum of Architecture and Design, 2014 Nomination, Aga Khan Award for Archit

The architectural commission was for design of a primary healthcare center, serving a group of villages located in agricultural lands of rural Tamil Nadu. The key challenge posed by client brief was to build a high quality, comfortable, and easy to maintain facility at an extremely low cost.

A 'building within building' concept creates a shaded climatic buffer around the core clinic space. This combined with excellent cross ventilation through the single banked structure, keeps the interior cool during severe summers.

The outer roof with prominent central gutter leading to rainwater collection pond gives visual expression to water as a life giving element; also recalling folklore pertaining to the place - Devara Outhu Pallam, meaning 'God's spring-village’.