The Sharanam Centre for Rural Development is a project by architect Jateen Lad. Located in Pondicherry in south-eastern India, the centre is constructed from manually pressed earth blocks made from the site’s red soil. It was built by local people who learned on the job and provides a much needed multipurpose and spirited facility for rural communities.
(Main building axonometric: 1. Palmyra avenue; 2. Green amphitheater; 3. Entrance ponds; 4. Reception area; 5. Vestibule; 6. Multipurpose hall; 7. Granite thinnai + stage; 8. Vault pond; 9. Circular hall; 10. North verandas + terraces; 11. South verandas + courtyard; 12. Director’s office + roof garden; 13. Meeting room; 14. Newspaper studio + gallery; 15. Store + roof garden; 16. Research office + roof garden; 17. Rainwater sump; 18. Excavation pit/reservoir.)
Jateen Lad is based in Manchester, UK, and relocated to Pondicherry to deliver the Sharanam Centre project from its inception to completion. The architect established his practice in the wake of the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and is committed to working on projects that emphasize community development, social empowerment, and environmental sustainability. The Sharanam Centre for Rural Development is located at the edge of a ravaged rural landscape, where land has been illegally appropriated and quarried — the centre’s presence provides people with a dignified outlook.
Learning on the job
The Sharanam Centre for Rural Development enables SARVAM (Sri Aurobindo Rural and Village Action and Movement), a local non-profit organization, to host underdeveloped communities in progressive education, health, and poverty alleviation programs. For Jateen Lad, fulfilling the ambitious brief meant designing “a place of dignity and well-being for the poorest of the rural poor.”
The project’s materiality, construction techniques, and delivery addressed unemployment and skills shortages as well as ecology and improving the local environment. There was intentionally no contractor and the entire centre was built using rudimentary tools: under Lad’s guidance, the project employed and trained local people on the job. Mentoring and supervision was provided across a range of skills and practices, including block-making, building rammed earth foundations, masonry, precasting, carpentry, and metalwork. Lad’s team procured all materials and ensured quality, financial accountability, and the transparent payment of workers.
Building a refuge
The word sharanam means “refuge” and aptly describes the new centre. The Sharanam Centre is based on the careful study of traditional buildings, enduring historical traditions, and both space and occupancy patterns. The centre houses a multipurpose hall, meeting spaces, offices, a newspaper studio, community radio station, kitchen, and a shaded amphitheater that merges with nature.
The centre’s total built-up area is 2,572 square meters (27,685 square feet). It sits on a 5-acre (2-hectare) plot — the once barren site has been transformed through extensive planting and landscaping into an inclusive and welcoming place: “It is accessible to all local communities, irrespective of religion, caste, gender, and dress,” says Lad.
(Site plan: 1. Main entrance; 2. Palmyra Avenue; 3. Lotus pond; 4. Amphitheater; 5. Main building; 6. Excavation pit/reservoir; 7. Rainwater sump; 8. Toilet block; 9. Kitchen; 10. Future dining space; 11. Existing open well. The community radio station is located to the north of the site.)
A model of local construction
The Sharanam Centre is a model of truly local construction — it has been built using more than 200,000 manually pressed red blocks made from the site’s own red soil. The soil was sieved and stabilized with 5 percent cement — the unfired blocks were then wet-cured under the hot sun. “When compared to market bricks, tests demonstrated that these precise blocks were three times the compressive strength, a third of the price, and contained a tenth of the embodied energy,” says Lad. The use of rammed earth foundations further reduced the project’s embodied carbon emissions.
Construction of the 520-square-meter (5,597-square-feet) superstructure employed self-supporting techniques, without formwork, to build six thin vaults that span 9.5 meters (31 feet) and have a total length of 42 meters (138 feet). The vaults taper from 24 centimeters in thickness at the springer to just 9 centimeters in thickness at the keystone.
The main hall is defined by a massive granite “thinnai”, made with local black granite, that has been scaled for conversations, meetings, workshops, and performances. A thinnai is a significant part of Tamil culture and tradition, a space where stories are shared and community is strengthened.
(Main building ground floor plan: 1. Steps to car park; 2. Palmyra avenue; 3. Lotus pond; 4. Green amphitheater; 5. Entrance ponds; 6. Reception area; 7. Vestibule; 8. Main hall; 9. Granite thinnai + stage; 10. Vault pond; 11. Circular hall; 12. North verandas + terraces; 13. South verandas + courtyard; 14. Director's office; 15. Meeting room; 16. Newspaper studio; 17. Store; 18. Research office; 19. Rainwater sump.)
Sustainability
“In response to the hot and humid climate, open piers funnel coastal breezes into the building ensuring thermal comfort without the need for air-conditioning or fans,” says Lad. “Radiant underfloor cooling naturally extracts heat from the surface of the stone floor and granite thinnai.” Interiors are also cooled via ventilated cavity walls and green roof gardens. In addition to the Sharanam Centre’s environmentally friendly construction, other sustainable initiatives include the use of ecological sanitation, renewable energy, water conservation, and rainwater harvesting.
An important social development project
Jateen Lad considers the creation of the Sharanam Centre for Rural Development to be an important social development project. Involving more than 300 local people, at least 50 percent of the construction costs were directly invested in workers and villages; moreover, the range of newly learned skills have helped to improve people’s livelihoods. “Through this approach, Sharanam successfully demonstrates how architecture, when driven by human issues and ethical practices, can genuinely contribute to social and economic development,” says Lad.
The Sharanam Centre for Rural Development by Jateen Lad was part of the “RIBA International Awards for Excellence 2024”.
