The air is heavy with the scent of mango blossoms. It rained the night before, and the grounds have stray puddles that reflect the brick red of the school buildings and the stone grey of its corridors. Children walk cobbled paths, their sandal-clad feet on dry ground, their minds playfully dragging their mid-morning thoughts through the slush. Some sit on a low henge that rims what was once a well, and watch others paint walls. It’s just another day at The School KFI, but one that’s settling into a new home.
Founded in 1973, based on the philosophy of J Krishnamurti, The School was situated at Damodar Gardens, Adyar, a wooded world with tiled roofs and turrets. When the lease to the grounds that belong to The Theosophical Society ended, the school relocated to Old Mahabalipuram Road.
Jayashree Nambiar, principal and akka to her students, says, “We moved from a 15-acre campus to a 2.75-acre one, from a place of old trees to younger trees. Our dining area is in three sections because we wanted to preserve some of the trees. It’s very important that we co-exist in a campus that nurtures students, teachers, parents and creatures of the earth.”
“The alumni were hit the hardest,” says Jayashree, who worked in a publishing firm before she was drawn to The School to teach History and English. “The old campus is the location of their memories. They found it hard to separate the campus from the pedagogy. There was also worry that the school may not happen — land is not easy, money is not easy. A lot of them came to say bye to the old campus; visited the new one. The dining hall, assembly hall, library and some classrooms are supported by them.”
The school functions on a 1:10 teacher-student ratio. “We have seen the brutalities of standardisation over the years. Learning cannot be born out of coercion. Children have a wide variety of interests and this is the place that should encourage them.”
It is this democratic voice that has shaped the school from scratch, and resonated with both Anupama Mohanram, co-founder and head-architecture, and Jaideep Vivekanand, co-founder and head-green tech at Green Evolution. As parents of students at The School, the couple was perhaps best suited to design the campus. Anupama, who holds a Masters from Kansas State University, is a LEED-accredited professional who brought her decade-long work in environmental sustainability to this project, while Jaideep, engineer and management professional from Kellogg, has a keen interest in green techniques.
The duo leads me on a walk around campus, a place of buildings with exposed bricks and nooks and crannies that children can explore.Jaalis cast latticed shadows on semi-circled corridors, leaves nod listlessly in the breeze and a bamboo wood chime swings happily, a gift from a neighbouring school welcoming them to Thazhambur.
“A tree survey was conducted by the students,” says Anupama, who had only a calendar year for the project, “and we’ve built the school around them. Classrooms were structured around activity patterns, with long corridors for children togaze at life outside.” Jaideep draws attention to energy-efficient electrical appliances, taps with nozzles that use less water, rainwater harvesting and bio-treated water.
At the heart of the school stands an open multi-purpose hall, hemmed in by artwork by children and a library with an arresting wooden staircase that is a climb to both the skylight and imagination. Says Jaideep, “The design hopes to keep alive the philosophy of The School, so that architecture aids education.”
