Author: Drashti Nandu
Site Location: Dharavi, Mumbai
Institute: Aditya College of Art, Architecture & Design
Advisor:Ar. Veena Takale,
Ar. Rita Nayak
Description
In Dharavi, the street is more than a path, it is a place to work, play, gather, trade, celebrate, and
connect. Yet, within an intensely dense urban fabric, these everyday actvites compete for limited
space, open leaving the narrow gullies overcrowded and open spaces scarce. This project asks whether
can a school become more than a school, and can architecture bring the life of the street into a shared
community space?
The proposal reimagines the primary school as a multpurpose community infrastructure, designed to
remain active beyond school hours. Learning spaces transform into workshops, exhibition spaces,
markets, and gathering areas, allowing the building to respond to the changing needs of the
community. Inspired by Dharavi’s interconnected gullies, the project extends the idea of the street
vertically through a continuous green ramp, connecting ground-level actvites to accessible rooftop
spaces for play, recreation, and social interaction.
Rather than replacing the character of Dharavi, the project seeks to translate its existing social and
spatial qualities into architecture, creating a place where education, livelihood, recreation, and culture
coexist, and where community life can continue throughout the day
Drawings
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