Swanirvar

‘Swa-nirvar’ or self-reliance is a community based project that worked with the grassroots based organisation Friends of Adharmanik. The group had been carrying out activities related to local development comprising of initiatives such as setting up of self help groups, microfinance systems and various training and workshop programmes. The centre was envisaged as a hub where all these activities could be based out of. Added facilities included a guest house and allied facilities that could house the guest, participants for the multiple workshops.

The approach to the project worked within the existing value systems and activities ongoing in the village. The community was involved from stage one of the process and even manifested into the design for the centre itself. The structure was built with locally available bricks and used labour and craftsmen from the village itself. The building is a mixture of different angles and corners to maximise the visibility. The presence of a lake on site was an added bonus and was turned into a community ghat. During the making process, multiple experiments were done and incorporated into the building (ferrocement, filler slabs, rattrap bonds, brick jaalis and panel walls) for the semi-permeable membranes. The resultant building both has a central court and unfolds on all the sides. The angular and curved spaces create playful juxtapositions of light and shade, passive cooling and ventilation is aplenty, and the frugal finish creates a subtle contrast within the lush green landscape.

Location: Adharmanik Village, West Bengal
Client: Friends of Swanirvar UK
Year: 2000