Designed for the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, the Lal Bahadur Shastri Boys’ Hostel is the largest student hostel on campus, with a capacity to accommodate 2,000 residents. The project responds to the critical need for large-scale student housing while recognising the profound influence hostel environments have on shaping the academic, social, and personal lives of students.
The design reimagines the hostel not simply as accommodation, but as an urban neighbourhood—one capable of fostering interaction, collaboration, and a strong sense of community among some of the country’s brightest young minds.
The planning strategy is based on a hierarchy of interaction spaces, inspired by familiar socio-spatial typologies: from the individual room to the roak, then the gali, the chowk, and finally the dining hall as the largest collective gathering space.
A linear block arrangement maximises spatial efficiency while supporting environmental responsiveness. Criss-crossing corridors enhance visual transparency, improve natural daylight penetration, and facilitate effective cross-ventilation throughout the building.
This configuration also creates eight internal courtyards, which function as valuable community spaces for informal interaction, recreation, and outdoor activity.
The strategic separation of circulation corridors from residential rooms generates multiple vertical ventilation shafts, significantly improving passive airflow. To further strengthen cross-ventilation, the central wing is elevated on stilts, allowing uninterrupted air movement through the structure.
Internal landscaped greens contribute to passive cooling, while three orientation-specific façade systems are designed to minimise heat gain and glare without compromising natural light access.
The project integrates sustainability, cost efficiency, and liveability through a series of thoughtful passive design interventions, demonstrating how large-scale institutional housing can support both environmental performance and meaningful student life.
- Property/Project Name: Lal Bahadur Shastri Boys’ Hostel
- Location: IIT Kharagpur
- Category: Homes
- Client: Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur
- Year: 2008
- Project Status: Completed
