CASE STUDY- Gandhi Smarak Sanghralay

LOCATION

NON NPROGRAMMATIC SPACES: PROGRAMMATIC SPACES

Even after coming outside the building, :Although the exhibition is spread throughout
there is a constant interaction with it due to the circulation spaces too, yet there are three
visual transparency. The building is read as a designated programmatic spaces. These spaces
This memorial museum is located in the ashram where the Mahatma lived . rhythmic staggering of the square modules are also in affinity with the passages as the
from 1917 to 1930. Housing his books, letters and photographs, this modest amidst the landscape from the outside. inside and the outside merges efficiently
and humanly scaled memorial uses brick piers, stone floors and tiled roofs to In the Smarak Sangrahalaya, the modular pavilion unit is designed for easy extension and
find a contemporary expression for the spirit of swadeshi. emphasizes the accumulation of a single element to make a whole.
• The entrance to the premises is
The commission was Charles Correa’s first important work in private SPACES quite humble through winding low
practice. In order to reflect the simplicity of Gandhi’s life and the incremental The site on the Sabarmati River bank is part of the larger ashram complex and is integrated into height walls. These walls become
nature of a living institution, the architect used modular units 6 meters x 6 its gardens. Five interior rooms contain the collection of the museum. The rooms are enclosed the datum guiding the movement.
meters of reinforced cement concrete connecting spaces, both open and by brick walls and wooden louvered screens. All five rooms are part of the 6m square module. The minimal gesture of the wall
covered, allowing for eventual expansion. Correa’s subtle changes of the enclosure allow for variety in the module’s lighting, temperature, gives the entrance a sequential
and visual permeability. A square, uncovered shallow pool is located between the five rooms. unfolding. The beginning of the
steps serves as a pause point
CONSTRUCTION
The museum uses a simple but delicately detailed post and beam structure. Load bearing brick
columns support concrete channels, which are both support the wooden roof and direct • As we progress ahead, the first
rainwater. Boards are nailed underneath the joists and tiles are placed atop the joints. The glimpse of the building through
foundation is concrete and is raised about a foot from the ground the linear stretch of greenery
becomes a pause point. As parts
Wooden doors, stone floors, ceramic tile roofs, and brick columns are the palette of the building of the building are revealed, there
is a strong anticipation for the
next frame.
Design philosophy • Slowly, the building reveals itself
“I don’t want my house to as we move for The building
seems floating as it is elevated
be walled on four sides from the ground
and my windows to be
stuffed. I want cultures of • One is connected towards nature
all the land to be blown on all the side at the entrance
about my houses as freely foyer, giving the visitors the
pause points or the points to
as possible but I refuse to
contemplate about what they are
be blown off my feet by ANALYSIS seeing while subconsciously
any of them”- Mahatma MOVEMENT PATTERN:GRID- FORMATION: seeing nature
gandhi The path of moving is linear until the water court from where it bifurcates in two • Three module is protruded
directions. The building planned in a grid iron patter, the movement through the building outside the geometry to have
also follows that pattern. Although the movement pattern may be rigid, yet due to the entrance foyer which gice
interplay of the open to sky courtyards and the passages, one tends to meander through the glimpse of the water court inside.
The Ashram gives a contemporary expression of the spirit of swadeshi. It building
combines Hindu Architectural and the cosmological idea of isotropy (which
can be found in a variety of Hindu temples) with Modernist functional
• The circulation is spread laterally as
planning
the pathway bifurcates into two
parts. The water body is physically
and visually entry in this part of the
building and thereby it governs the
movement to an extent. Thereare
extended vistas from either side of
the water body

Santnagri – Interpretation Centre 04- Sagar Gheewala