Sirasu Master Plan
ANDThe Masterplan consists of designing the layout of a retreat and meditation centre on a two-hectare site located in the town of Sirasu in northern India. This town borders the Ganges River to the north and is characterised by being a region of contemplative pilgrimage and meditation with a large influx of tourists throughout the year.
The programme is made up of 10 single units, 10 double or family units, 4 units with 10 beds, service areas consisting of a dining room, kitchens, a spa, changing rooms, accommodation for service personnel, reception and welcome areas, business areas, a meditation temple and a temple for the spiritual director. In total, it has 7,500 m2 of built area.
Customer:
PrivateYear:
2018Project Type:
Town planningArchitects:
Play Architecture
Concept
The plot has a large slope from north to south towards the river, with a cumulative slope of about 20 metres and has a large presence of tropical tree species native to the area. The development project is based on a detailed study of the pre-existing topography, hydrology, forestry, existing paths and local architecture in order to propose the greatest possible landscape and environmental integration.
As the local architecture of the area is mainly made up of small cabins of between 50 m2 and 100 m2, the creation of a minimum building unit is proposed, whose repetition and grouping will allow it to contain all the pieces of the program. The minimum unit is the individual one. These small units are distributed throughout the site, located mainly in the clearings of the tropical forest to avoid the felling of trees, with the most residential areas located in the northwest end, the service areas in the center of the site, the reception and business areas at the east end and the temple and spiritual direction to the south at the highest point of the site.
All building units will be built under the Passivhaus standard, so an initial energy modelling of each unit is carried out, determining the orientation and size of the openings. Due to the complexity of the climate, which is mainly hot and cold at times during some winter months, it is necessary to guarantee a certain amount of solar gain and a very well insulated envelope, as well as great solar protection, dissipation capacity, ventilation and free cooling. The main strategy to avoid overheating is to use highly reflective white exterior colours for the entire building, as well as chimney-shaped roofs to force night ventilation.
