Located in Ghatakpukur, just outside Kolkata, Premasree is a free residential home for visually impaired children—an institution dedicated to care, inclusion, and opportunity. Home to nearly 30 children, the centre reached a critical stage of growth, requiring enhanced infrastructure to support expansion through visiting experts, practitioners, social welfare initiatives, and alternative revenue-generating models.
Supported through limited CSR funding from Federal Bank, the project was conceived as a strategic intervention to strengthen and extend Premasree’s existing facilities.
The intervention, titled Ankur—meaning seeds of germination for a better tomorrow—takes the form of a clustered living, working, and interaction space designed to help the institution scale its activities and broaden its impact. Responding to financial constraints, the design adopted an adaptive reuse approach, leveraging existing infrastructure to maximise value and efficiency.
The two-unit cluster comprises self-contained living and working spaces constructed over existing foundations. Locally sourced materials such as brick and bamboo were innovatively employed, while material waste was minimised through careful planning and execution. Traditional construction techniques, including tiled roofing, were combined with the expertise of local master craftsmen, making the building process collaborative and deeply rooted in context.
The resulting architecture is an elegant assemblage of contrasting yet harmonious elements—simple, efficient, low-cost, and environmentally responsive. The interiors further embrace local handicrafts and artefacts, creating a rustic and contextually grounded environment that reflects the project’s ethos of integrated and mindful living.
Premasree stands as an exercise in innovation, adaptability, and purpose-driven design, demonstrating how thoughtful architectural intervention can amplify social impact.
- Location: Ghatakpukur
- Category: Public
- Client: Premasree Foundation
- Year: 2020
