The community center in Tatiba Baraibura, in the Indian state of Jharkhand, is comprised of a residential school for 400 students, vocational training program and medical center for 14 villages in the West Singhbhum district. The project is financed by a mining company as part of its social responsibility program.

Local rough laterite stone is used as the main building material of the four parallel walls that comprise the building’s load bearing structure. A light roof with substantial overhang made of industrialized steel ensures shading and natural ventilation. The low cost structure combines local materials and traditional craftsmanship with modern technology.

Read project feature in 4th Holcim Awards 2014/2015 (flip-book)

The foundations have now been completed on the community medical center and school in Tatiba Baraibura, Jharkhand, India that combines local materials, traditional craftsmanship and modern technology. The project is being hand-built by a group of local volunteers (trainees) and stakeholders, together with a team of professionals from architecture, mining and management.

“Between Walls: Community medical center and school” in Tatiba Baraibura, Jharkhand, India won an Acknowledgement prize for its low cost structure that combines local materials and traditional craftsmanship with modern technology. Madhusudhan Rao Chalasani of MADE views the strength of his project in utilizing locally-available resources in a coherent way. 

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The winning projects of the Holcim Awards 2014 Asia Pacific show how building with sustainable construction in mind can enhance the region’s human, natural and economic performance. A bird sanctuary in Thailand, a locally-adapted orphanage in Nepal, and a community library in Sri Lanka received the top prizes.

The jury was highly impressed by the elegance of the proposed structure – a building of unassuming poetic expression. Straightforward means are put to work to form a highly adaptable system of walls, openings, access routes, open courts and indoor as well as outdoor spaces. These elements are all assembled according to the rules of time-honored architectural principles – a building both traditional in the way it is made and modern in its appearance. Notwithstanding the design’s aesthetic quality, the project adheres to most criteria elucidated in the “target issues” for sustainable construction, merging economic, social, contextual, and environmental aspects into a simple yet sophisticated building.

The community center in Tatiba Baraibura is comprised of a residential school for 400 students, vocational training program and medical center for 14 villages in the West Singhbhum district. The project is financed by a mining company as part of its social responsibility program. Local rough laterite stone is used as the main building material of the four parallel walls that comprise the building’s load bearing structure. A light roof with substantial overhang made of industrialized steel ensures shading and natural ventilation. The low cost structure combines local materials and traditional craftsmanship with modern technology.