Citadel of Learning
Text: Ar. Maria. A
Photography: Ar. Kohi Marri & Arcop Associates
What is today an educational institute if not the symbol of continuous change in the means of communication and imparting knowledge and as a consequence, in the new relationship between human, culture and surroundings. The question can be considered as really stimulating, though it seems like a paradox. As a matter of fact, how can an architectural building necessarily made of concrete and glass and other typically non elastic materials be a witness of such change? It can play such a role just symbolically. The more its meaning is stronger, the more it can be fixed. Forms dry out to become archetypes that collect and enhance the meanings, and therefore becoming increasingly motionless yet shaping our lives
.
Some projects leave an indelible mark in ones memory. Having visited the site many years back I distinctly remember the long journey over pot holes and pitfalls. I remember the road and driving through an undeveloped expanse of desert land. I was on a journey to review a project by the architectural firm Arcop, Karachi. This was not the first time, since having reviewed many of their works; I am in a kind of sync with the architect Yawer Jillani and his team. Known for their sensitive approach and contextual planning with innovative methodology, this design studio is a force to reckon with in the architectural circle of Pakistan. Architect Yawer Jillani somehow didn’t talk much about this project except that it was one of his initial works inter woven with history. Arcop has evolved and have created some great projects in the country and have been duly recognized in many national and international forums, hence going back to their initial works was definitely a glimpse to a beginning.
The school was formed by a Trust, Sindh Madressah Board; which dates back in history and has carefully played their role in the education of society in our part of the world. This relates to the founder of Pakistan Quaid-i-Azam, Mohammed Ali Jinnah and one-third of Jinnahs will went to the school. In 1985, in its centenary celebration; the trust decided to look for land and discovered 200 acres, far flung from the city in Malir, but in a district which had no education facility within the diameter of 500 km. The trust held a design competition, which Arcop won, and Arcop have been working with them since. There were no civic amenities and no roads, though now it’s linked through a link road and the students come from nearby villages. The school is now in its varying phases of expansion but the initial structure stands tall and has set precedence for any future expansions to come. The school today is a co-education facility though initially it was segregated for boys and girls. Situated close to the left bank of river Malir, the surrounding villages are agragarian in their profession but this educational facility some fifteen years later was instrumental in laying the foundation of the very first Education city in Pakistan.
The design for the Quaid-i-Azam Public school sought inspiration from the historic Sindh-Madressa-tul-Islam. The inspiration was then carefully combined with the study of different schools in India, Pakistan, and England to develop an innovative design which responds to the needs of the project. In keeping with the stature of Sindh Madressa-tul-Islam, it was important that the design achieves a sense of continuity as well the rebirth of the institution. The master plan for the 200 acre site elaborates a range of facilities to make the institute self sufficient. Though the first phase was intended to have a primary school later was evolved to include a teachers training and residential center.
Climbing a stairs escarpment, the school overlooks the vast open fields around and it is set in a romantic frame of group of buildings such as reflected in the nearby cluster houses in the village. It seems that the project was put forward to combine and connect, of different epochs, environments with different functions, opposite space categories, past-present, and station educational enclave with high and low density. The old nearby village turns infact as a backdrop to the school building. Just like structures built in different epochs, are united by a long passage stretching from a base of the bank side of the mountain to a tower, the defining, organizing axis culminates in a vast open field like the spilling of an urn full to its brim.
The architecture of the building has been developed in a manner to foster an institutional feeling and a sense of place. The concept of regulation has been used to create order and ceremony in planning. The campus master plan is organized around a central axis which acts as a spine, and is an organizational tool for the spaces. The axis begins at the entrance level of the junior school and traverses its path through the progressive levels of education as well as the physical facilities of the campus. The axis acts as a central passage and as one walks through this passage under the patterned shadows of perforated trellis, one feels the history of the institution expressed through the niches on either side dedicated to the many eminent old boys of the Madressa. The axis culminates into a multi-dimensional open field but is still expressed through openings in between buildings and red roofed bell towers that reappear at intervals throughout the length of the campus. The campus is low lying and spreads out horizontally; this was easy to maintain due to abundance of land and allowed ample room for sports, academia and residential.
The junior school and teachers training center have been designed around courtyards and have breathing facades of intricate jaali network which acts as ventilation and cooling of the areas. In response to the local tradition, the motifs of a ‘chatai’ (local mat) has been selected and used as ornament in various ways throughout the school; in ceilings, flooring and walls details. There is extensive use of chajjas and sloping roofs to keep the interior spaces cool in the hot summers. Materials have been selected from the local character; the building stands out in earthy tones blending with the surrounding desert sans the turrets that stands out from afar. Keeping economy in mind, there has been use of an innovative concrete block known as Envicrete in the local market which has an integral color pigment resulting in a maintenance free façade.
Among the more striking design features are the visible tower turrets of the staircase. They can be viewed from afar and in the vast land of sand stand out as the beacon of light metaphorically and literally, mounted atop the popular student courtyards. The amorphous controlled shape and fiction like lack of scale as compared to the surroundings draw inquisitive eyes to the project. The staircases not only hold the project together dynamically diagonally apart during the day but also radiate at night to indicate that something is happening in this part of the town.
The small details like the scaffolding pattern derived from ‘chatai’, to pyramidical roofs which actually act as wind catchers are all issues which give an identity to the project. The scale changes in various levels of spaces are dramatic and respective to the end user. The framed portal which can be seen from afar are reflected in the openings that abound the project as framed views and vistas connecting the interior to the exterior but also in the celebration of the openness of fields through the built spaces.
Vegetation and greenery have been extensively used creating an oasis-like environment resulting in a healthy peaceful space essential for nurturing impressionable minds. The landscape creates tree-lined streets and walkways providing shelter to provide shade and reinforce the pattern of organization of the campus. The rows of trees are interspersed with agricultural and football fields to create a vast expanse of open and green spaces. The character of the campus allows for an environment totally conducive to learning and growth. Backed by the strong tradition and dedicated spirit of Sindh Madressa-tul-Islam the school is a citadel of learning and have aptly proved to herald a city of education in its surrounding areas.
The openness of the facility creates sunshine, vitality and energy which gives birth to an alive imagination in the susceptible minds of the students, preparing them and strengthening them psychologically for the future.
The project QPS earned an honorable mention in the Kenneth. F Brown awards in 2007. The Kenneth F. Brown Architecture Award honors contemporary architecture in Asia and the Pacific Region that successfully balance the spiritual and material aspects in designing an environment that is in harmony with its natural and cultural setting. It aims to promote the development of humane environments in this vast and multi-cultural region and to develop an archive of contemporary Asia-Pacific architecture for educational and research purposes.
Juror’s statement: “The Quaid-i-Azam Public School in Karachi, Sindh (Pakistan) by Arcop (Pvt) Limited is in a harsh natural environment where the plan offers shade and shadow, protection from the elements, a sense of order, and a type of city making for its young inhabitants. Using simple materials on a tiny budget, the school offers dignity and importance to a type that can become formulaic.”
It was a moth to a light strategy, ‘Ability to learn and go forth to serve.’ literally speaking; inviting children to the education facility in this barren land. Stripped and essential, molded by the light and by the squared volumes of the courtyards, the educational facility is faithfully aligned to the program, that expresses the spirit with absolute precision in a language free from ‘pastiche’ and unwelcome solutions of compromise. But at the same time it introduces a new and distinctive vocabulary to the style panorama, interested in a contemporary key by the architect’s sensitivity.
Photography: Ar. Kohi Marri & Arcop Associates
What is today an educational institute if not the symbol of continuous change in the means of communication and imparting knowledge and as a consequence, in the new relationship between human, culture and surroundings. The question can be considered as really stimulating, though it seems like a paradox. As a matter of fact, how can an architectural building necessarily made of concrete and glass and other typically non elastic materials be a witness of such change? It can play such a role just symbolically. The more its meaning is stronger, the more it can be fixed. Forms dry out to become archetypes that collect and enhance the meanings, and therefore becoming increasingly motionless yet shaping our lives
.
Some projects leave an indelible mark in ones memory. Having visited the site many years back I distinctly remember the long journey over pot holes and pitfalls. I remember the road and driving through an undeveloped expanse of desert land. I was on a journey to review a project by the architectural firm Arcop, Karachi. This was not the first time, since having reviewed many of their works; I am in a kind of sync with the architect Yawer Jillani and his team. Known for their sensitive approach and contextual planning with innovative methodology, this design studio is a force to reckon with in the architectural circle of Pakistan. Architect Yawer Jillani somehow didn’t talk much about this project except that it was one of his initial works inter woven with history. Arcop has evolved and have created some great projects in the country and have been duly recognized in many national and international forums, hence going back to their initial works was definitely a glimpse to a beginning.
The school was formed by a Trust, Sindh Madressah Board; which dates back in history and has carefully played their role in the education of society in our part of the world. This relates to the founder of Pakistan Quaid-i-Azam, Mohammed Ali Jinnah and one-third of Jinnahs will went to the school. In 1985, in its centenary celebration; the trust decided to look for land and discovered 200 acres, far flung from the city in Malir, but in a district which had no education facility within the diameter of 500 km. The trust held a design competition, which Arcop won, and Arcop have been working with them since. There were no civic amenities and no roads, though now it’s linked through a link road and the students come from nearby villages. The school is now in its varying phases of expansion but the initial structure stands tall and has set precedence for any future expansions to come. The school today is a co-education facility though initially it was segregated for boys and girls. Situated close to the left bank of river Malir, the surrounding villages are agragarian in their profession but this educational facility some fifteen years later was instrumental in laying the foundation of the very first Education city in Pakistan.
The design for the Quaid-i-Azam Public school sought inspiration from the historic Sindh-Madressa-tul-Islam. The inspiration was then carefully combined with the study of different schools in India, Pakistan, and England to develop an innovative design which responds to the needs of the project. In keeping with the stature of Sindh Madressa-tul-Islam, it was important that the design achieves a sense of continuity as well the rebirth of the institution. The master plan for the 200 acre site elaborates a range of facilities to make the institute self sufficient. Though the first phase was intended to have a primary school later was evolved to include a teachers training and residential center.
Climbing a stairs escarpment, the school overlooks the vast open fields around and it is set in a romantic frame of group of buildings such as reflected in the nearby cluster houses in the village. It seems that the project was put forward to combine and connect, of different epochs, environments with different functions, opposite space categories, past-present, and station educational enclave with high and low density. The old nearby village turns infact as a backdrop to the school building. Just like structures built in different epochs, are united by a long passage stretching from a base of the bank side of the mountain to a tower, the defining, organizing axis culminates in a vast open field like the spilling of an urn full to its brim.
The architecture of the building has been developed in a manner to foster an institutional feeling and a sense of place. The concept of regulation has been used to create order and ceremony in planning. The campus master plan is organized around a central axis which acts as a spine, and is an organizational tool for the spaces. The axis begins at the entrance level of the junior school and traverses its path through the progressive levels of education as well as the physical facilities of the campus. The axis acts as a central passage and as one walks through this passage under the patterned shadows of perforated trellis, one feels the history of the institution expressed through the niches on either side dedicated to the many eminent old boys of the Madressa. The axis culminates into a multi-dimensional open field but is still expressed through openings in between buildings and red roofed bell towers that reappear at intervals throughout the length of the campus. The campus is low lying and spreads out horizontally; this was easy to maintain due to abundance of land and allowed ample room for sports, academia and residential.
The junior school and teachers training center have been designed around courtyards and have breathing facades of intricate jaali network which acts as ventilation and cooling of the areas. In response to the local tradition, the motifs of a ‘chatai’ (local mat) has been selected and used as ornament in various ways throughout the school; in ceilings, flooring and walls details. There is extensive use of chajjas and sloping roofs to keep the interior spaces cool in the hot summers. Materials have been selected from the local character; the building stands out in earthy tones blending with the surrounding desert sans the turrets that stands out from afar. Keeping economy in mind, there has been use of an innovative concrete block known as Envicrete in the local market which has an integral color pigment resulting in a maintenance free façade.
Among the more striking design features are the visible tower turrets of the staircase. They can be viewed from afar and in the vast land of sand stand out as the beacon of light metaphorically and literally, mounted atop the popular student courtyards. The amorphous controlled shape and fiction like lack of scale as compared to the surroundings draw inquisitive eyes to the project. The staircases not only hold the project together dynamically diagonally apart during the day but also radiate at night to indicate that something is happening in this part of the town.
The small details like the scaffolding pattern derived from ‘chatai’, to pyramidical roofs which actually act as wind catchers are all issues which give an identity to the project. The scale changes in various levels of spaces are dramatic and respective to the end user. The framed portal which can be seen from afar are reflected in the openings that abound the project as framed views and vistas connecting the interior to the exterior but also in the celebration of the openness of fields through the built spaces.
Vegetation and greenery have been extensively used creating an oasis-like environment resulting in a healthy peaceful space essential for nurturing impressionable minds. The landscape creates tree-lined streets and walkways providing shelter to provide shade and reinforce the pattern of organization of the campus. The rows of trees are interspersed with agricultural and football fields to create a vast expanse of open and green spaces. The character of the campus allows for an environment totally conducive to learning and growth. Backed by the strong tradition and dedicated spirit of Sindh Madressa-tul-Islam the school is a citadel of learning and have aptly proved to herald a city of education in its surrounding areas.
The openness of the facility creates sunshine, vitality and energy which gives birth to an alive imagination in the susceptible minds of the students, preparing them and strengthening them psychologically for the future.
The project QPS earned an honorable mention in the Kenneth. F Brown awards in 2007. The Kenneth F. Brown Architecture Award honors contemporary architecture in Asia and the Pacific Region that successfully balance the spiritual and material aspects in designing an environment that is in harmony with its natural and cultural setting. It aims to promote the development of humane environments in this vast and multi-cultural region and to develop an archive of contemporary Asia-Pacific architecture for educational and research purposes.
Juror’s statement: “The Quaid-i-Azam Public School in Karachi, Sindh (Pakistan) by Arcop (Pvt) Limited is in a harsh natural environment where the plan offers shade and shadow, protection from the elements, a sense of order, and a type of city making for its young inhabitants. Using simple materials on a tiny budget, the school offers dignity and importance to a type that can become formulaic.”
It was a moth to a light strategy, ‘Ability to learn and go forth to serve.’ literally speaking; inviting children to the education facility in this barren land. Stripped and essential, molded by the light and by the squared volumes of the courtyards, the educational facility is faithfully aligned to the program, that expresses the spirit with absolute precision in a language free from ‘pastiche’ and unwelcome solutions of compromise. But at the same time it introduces a new and distinctive vocabulary to the style panorama, interested in a contemporary key by the architect’s sensitivity.
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