The brief: Enjoying a cool climate in the foothills of the Himalayas high above the Ganges plain, Mussoorie has become home to many Tibetan monks and nuns who take exile in India. Their activities are not only religious, but also social. For instance, they help the disadvantaged, raise orphaned children and run schools. In February 2019, I went to visit them and came up with this concept for a grade school complex situated on a hill above the monastery. Following recent trends in Buddhist thought, this school would accept both boys and girls, teach equality, and aims to give the children a full modern education.

The solution: As a boarding boarding school, the academy has buildings where students and teachers live. There’s a large dining hall, kitchens and other facilities necessary for the complex to be fairly self-sufficient. Since it’s also a Tibetan Buddhist institution, a temple tower, prayer wheels, and guest rooms for visiting monks and nuns are also provided. Spacious classrooms and a large library are provided, as well as an administrative office. The buildings are divided into an upper, more monastic area, a middle educational area, and a lower residential one.

The structures are clustered around two courtyards, common areas where students and staff socialise and spend much of their leisure time. They have elements from traditional Tibetan architecture, but are otherwise fairly minimalistic and use modern construction methods. Sloped, extended roofs allow for run-off in an area of heavy rainfalls, and the walls are isolated for both summer and winter conditions. Acknowledging the stunning scenery around the site, the buildings have been placed to allow views in all directions. 

Hand-painted doors and window frames in bold colors are an essential element of Tibetan architecture, and the colors used have religious significance. I wished to integrate this tradition into a design that’s otherwise fairly strictly minimalist. The painted wooden shutters on the temple tower serve to differentiate it from the other buildings, and are opened on important days to display statues and relics otherwise hidden from the public eye.