Kiran Village – Administration Building

Project Overview

The Kiran Village is a centre that enables children with mental and physical disabilities to discover their full potential and lead full and rewarding lives. Kiran means ray of light in Hindi and Kiran’s mission is to shine hope and love into the lives of everyone they work with.

This building is situated inside the entrance to the Kiran Village and it works as a reception, an exhibition space and the administration office for the centre. The building is designed to welcome everyone who comes to Kiran and the arms of the building open to greet visitors.
Because of the local climate the building is designed to maintain a cool comfortable temperature throughout the year. In front of the entrance door there is a solar powered fountain which cools and humidifies the air entering the building from the south. The corridors have open brick screens which shade and protect the offices from the southern sun. To the north high-level windows in the shade provide constant through ventilation which constantly cools the building. These can be closed in the winter to keep the heat in. The roof is a concrete waffle slab with roof tiles forming voids to maintain the thermal mass but to minimise the overall weight.

The entrance space to the building has a high level window which allows a ray of light pass across the room during the day. This light shines on a ceramic mural on the wall opposite the entrance depicting a tree bearing fruits that shine light. This space has an exhibition of information on the history and activities in Kiran and also sells products made in the centre.