The State Government has finalised the design for the proposed Integrated Knowledge Park, which will come up on the 16-acre campus of the Directorate of Public Instruction (DPI) in Nungambakkam.
Of the five short-listed designs, the evaluation committee found the proposal submitted by STUP Consultants Private limited — a project delivery consultancy company with offices in Mumbai, Chennai and other cities in the world — most suitable.
The school education department recently presented this design to Chief Minster Jayalalithaa at a review meeting. According to sources with the department, the design, which has four building components and is spread over one lakh square feet, will be built in two phases.
Officials said the recently-approved design retains the existing heritage buildings on the premises and is built around them.
Confirming the development, a senior official with the school education department, said: “The basic design has been finalised. We have to take some decisions on the finer aspects of the design and construction now. The details will be ready next week.”
STUP Consultants, first established in Paris seven decades ago, started its office in India in 1963 and later renamed itself STUP Consultants Private limited.
The company has been involved in some key projects, including the Legislative Assembly Building in Gujarat, Civic Center, Kuala Lumpur, and stadiums in Hyderabad.
In November 2011, the government had announced that it would build a state-of-the-art educational facility in the existing DPI campus, which would house all the directorates of school education department, a state-of-the-art conference hall, and an EDUSAT centre.
The School of Architecture and Planning (SAP), Anna University, co-ordinated a two-stage design competition and an evaluation committee constituted in this regard reviewed the various proposals obtained for the project.
(With inputs from Meera Srinivasan)
