This school is envisioned as a responsive, evolving environment that fosters learning through direct interaction with space, climate, and material. Rooted in the principles of modularity and adaptability, the built form offers flexibility in use and expansion— growing organically with the needs of its users while maintaining spatial coherence and environmental sensitivity.
Local materials— earth blocks, stone, bamboo, and reclaimed wood— are used not only for their sustainability but to ground the school in its regional context.
These materials shape a rich sensory experience, making the architecture tactile, intuitive, and connected to place.
The design responds to climate through passive strategies: careful orientation, shaded courtyards, porous building edges, and transitional spaces that encourage natural ventilation and daylighting. Spatial organization follows a clear gradient— from public to private, open to closed— crafting a journey through varying levels of interaction, comfort, and quietude. This transition is designed as a fluid sequence, where open gathering spaces lead into semi-open classrooms and then into enclosed, focused learning environments.
Children’s play areas emerge from the landscape itself— earth is shaped into mounds, hollows, and textures, creating informal, sensory-rich play elements. Here, the ground becomes a teacher; the land, a playground.
Rather than imposing a fixed structure, the school is conceived as a living framework— one that grows, adapts, and invites participation in its making and everyday life.
It is a place where architecture, environment, and memory coalesce into a meaningful space for learning.
Gallery:
Project Details:
Project Name: Mud, Module, and Memory: A School That Grows
Architecture Firm: Studio Mryn
Location: Ahmedabad, Gujarat
Typology: Educational
Category: Competition – Beyond the Classroom: Now Now Competitions
Year: 2025
Lead Architects: Nishita Koralkar, Eklavya Koralkar
Renderings credits: Courtesy of Studio Mryn, Renders enhanced in AI
