当clients-veteran edupreneurs两existing schools—approached Tushar Kothawade and Chiranjivi Lunkad of Studio Infinity to build their new pre-primary school in Pune, they only had one request—the structure should be one-of-a-kind. “The site was part of a commercial building and the clients were clear that the school's design, meant to accommodate 80-100 students, should be a cut above the other pre-primary schools in the vicinity. We were tasked with maximising the space available and creating a safe and child-friendly environment,” says Kothawade.
Inside Outside
At the conceptualisation stage, Kothawade and Lunkad encountered two major challenges—a footprint of 3,000-square-feet fragmented across three levels, and a covered area of only 50 per cent. “During our initial discussions with the client, we learned about new-age, inclusive teaching methods, which rely heavily on activity-based learning. We also visited other schools to observe the behavioural patterns of kids at the pre-primary level. From these interactions, we realised that we needed to think beyond the four walls of the classroom and blur the boundaries between the indoors and outdoors. This was our starting point,” shares Lunkad.
Rustic Yet Lively
For the school's material palette, Lunkad and Kothawade looked to the earth for cues. Bamboo furniture, kavdi flooring, cement boards and agro wood weave a tapestry of earthy elements, while customised graphics, minute detailing and pops of colour provide a contemporary counterbalance to the traditional material scheme.
