The space is designed to replenish one’s mind with tranquil spiritual significance. As one enters the atmosphere, directions tend to guide one towards cultural aesthetics taking shape interesting the viewer to it’s consolidated essence. For a child, the layout seems like a place open to discover the new in every corner, a sense of encouragement towards self interrogation and celebrating religious ideas. An adult the space introduces assertive energy, provoking a thought free mind, away from the fancies of the world. From outside, the facade looks no special, a classic plot that serves more as an exploring place discipline than a single focal point directing towards the interiors of the main matt. The boundary walls resemble a kind of an arcade that maintains the very own privacy of the matt, at the same time making it stand out amidst its context of resembling structures. The setting for an individual inside the complex disconnects them from the world and engages the mind only in the slight grandeur of the space. The main entrance gives a fair glance of all individual interacting entries within. Alongside the ‘mori’, where the user leaves all its thoughts and steps forward fresh within with a modest anxiety.
From a visitor’s point of view, who enters the space for the first time, the space opens with delicate carvings, unquestioned and perhaps undisrupted ,ending at a steep dark in an amphitheater-like setting. The space serves him/her with a linear vision towards the visitor orientation place at an end making sure the individual keeps in mind all admiring at the back of its mind as it moves towards that place for further counseling.
One inherits feelings of non-materiality and striking warm lights, nowhere out of their comfort zone, but an undiscovered unrealised lament of it to transpire. The Visitor Orientation space marks itself with a very warm and welcoming gesture with a grand opening in the open space, filled with sunshine during the day and bright lamps competing with the sparkle of the moon near the twilight.
The visitor orientation space, inside is like a gallery, an aesthetical testimonial for one to start developing the spark to know further. Sets of lancet windows circle the facade as light openings parallel with the entries maintaining the very cultural and theme of the site. It is like an expediential walkway imbibed in an auditorium like space for one to spend some time and retain a mindset for correlating the visuals. One of its openings connects directly to an isolated arrangement in the library/book keeping and reading spaceman place filled with the aroma of old books. The reading space is in collaboration with a museum kind of attraction. This is due to a central opening light in the middle of the spacious space devoting a very own aura of the space. The central space stands inviting to explore but is physically inaccessible for the visitor due to the contours of the lengthening floor along with the manipulated roof against the human height.
The arrangements in the rest of the space is guided by the flooring patterns that borders to separate the shelves at the corners of the room and isolated or long reading benches adjoining the opposite walls with tilted telescopic windows that directly throw light focusing the tables like flashlight in a circular fashion. Overall, the symmetrical interior creates a sense of a closed yet semi open arena with the large windows inducing beautiful sights of nature reflecting exactly on the shining white floor.
The entire place is ensured free from acoustic disturbances. The space intents for an individual to develop passion towards self analysis, a self-reliant atmosphere. Connecting to this space is a narrow path floored directly into the main matt making the central library accessible to the authorities due to the lower level of the floor. This place is stationed maintaining appropriate efficiency for both the authorities and the visitants to ingress and respond to the scheme.
In its proximity is a semi open space for discourse with a roof specially designed for light to fall within a restricted angle with the front most opening in the assumed hall is the biggest. The mat-textured white stone enchants the bare feet with a lovely calm. This division of light falling inside forms a grid pattern for the seating for students in the gurukool hours. One experiences a sense of distinguishing hierarchy due to the amount of light falling and level differences created. The person addressing shall develop an authority in the limelight, meant to address the audience with confidence and experience responsibility. The swank fan vaults plated with mirrors at the top creates a semi kaleidoscopic view near the great hypaethral creating movements of nature through the space via reflections. Further down the vaults expands its base inviting a seating at its level. The audience space creates an atmosphere of listening and devote a gullible and careful listening to the one addressing.
In case of an open general discussion, the levels may serve as a seating with a backrest against the wall for the old/differently abled people.
There is a wall or jali like surface towards the visitor orientation space that is made up of staggered entities placed tilted in order to restrict outside vision for maintaining privacy during a discourse along with the very own sense of opening towards nature, a traditional teachings and ‘under a tree’ type discussions to take place.These staggered entities resemble those that show up at its entrance formed by a louvered arcade opening many entries tilted at an angle and the back side of which serves to embank necessary books and other material/a storage space. Light passing through these gaps form an amazing floor reflection along with a glass window with inscriptions written by etching in glass. These inscriptions fall on the paths, again restricting stepping and crossing along with an immediate sense of sharing basic knowledge to all. The atmosphere assures a dual experience of nature as well as tradition of learning or sharing power and opinion (in case of an open discussion between the elders).
The texture of the infrastructure is purely stone like, kind of a rough muddy feeling retaining the aroma of wet soil and fresh dew drops of the greenery overall the matt complex. Originating from the floor the space aligns from coarse stone to dilapted textures of the peripteral columns till the sparkling mirrors opening close to where the vast sky peeps in.
In the evening times, the space is lit with stark yellow and blue lamps balancing each other aligned collinear bordering half the perimeter of the discourse area and joining the rings of a water fountain that is the only element of grandeur in the sample space.
Evenings highlight the grandeur elements of the space when the green nature is in the transient diminishing and acoustics rhythms faints. The positioning of the discourse area is such to keep out audile disruptions from the main street proximity and within the boundaries, coetaneous functioning with the ‘Pravachan’ in the main Jain Matt.
In the very proximity of the visitor orientation place and equally distant from all other programmes in the Jain Matt is the lavatory. The facade stands low in height as compared to the others, hindered by the reading area from it to face the Garbhagriha in the main Jain Matt. The toilets stand as divided triangular shaped facades in plan. Both seperated toilets are divided by a line of wash-basins in opposite directions, facing back to back at opposite ends creating non-collinear entries for the male and female block, ensuring the privacy of the place. The interior brings a combination of stone and timber running along with an opening in the ceiling shaded by trees and the floor brings the entire space together by spreading over its docile but intricate design standing out vibrant in the natural shades of browns,whites and greens. The borders are filled with the fragrance of fresh wood and the bare skin touching pebbles. With two toilets and one bathing space across the mirrors of the washbowls and some storage at the back end completes the space. The entire expanse brings in the temperature and adoration of the woods.
Largely the space allows versatile interactions with light, restrictions, virtual guidance and duality of spaces within a proximity embracing the very essence of spiritual analysis, themes and humble learning.