Maya Somaiya Library
Sameep Padora & Associates
Maharashtra, India
The Mumbai firm Sameep Padora & Associates has built a library for the Shri Sharda English Medium School, in the Indian town of Kopargaon, designed with the idea that it be seen as an extension of its surroundings

The idea was for the library to be an attraction not only for the students, but also for the people of the town at large, after school hours, so it was designed in such a way that the interior would be a quiet place for study and concentration, while children could play, explore, or simply rest on top of the building.
 
The architects were delighted from their very first visit to the place, discovering geodesic structures amid nature that they used as inspiration when deciding what type of construction the library should be. After several studies with forms and materials, they were captivated by the construction technique behind Catalan vaults of the 16th century and by the work of Eladio Dieste, and proceeded to apply the system through the RhinoVAULT plug-in developed by the Block Research Group at ETH. In this way, the project became a gathering of universal nuggets of knowledge that yielded a transitable, 44-meter-long, undulating brick roof in the middle of the daily routine of the students.

Image number 32 of the current section of Maya Somaiya Library in Cosentino UK
© Edmund Sumner
Image number 33 of the current section of Maya Somaiya Library in Cosentino UK
© Edmund Sumner
Image number 34 of the current section of Maya Somaiya Library in Cosentino UK
© Edmund Sumner
Image number 35 of the current section of Maya Somaiya Library in Cosentino UK
© Edmund Sumner
Image number 36 of the current section of Maya Somaiya Library in Cosentino UK
© Edmund Sumner
Image number 37 of the current section of Maya Somaiya Library in Cosentino UK
© Edmund Sumner
Image number 38 of the current section of Maya Somaiya Library in Cosentino UK
Image number 39 of the current section of Maya Somaiya Library in Cosentino UK
Image number 40 of the current section of Maya Somaiya Library in Cosentino UK
Image number 41 of the current section of Maya Somaiya Library in Cosentino UK
© Edmund Sumner

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