Images by Vinay Panjwani

The Rajkumari Ratnavati Girl’s School in Jaisalmer, India, is an architectural marvel designed by Diana Kellogg of Diana Kellogg Architects. The project was commissioned by Citta India, a non-profit organisation that supports development in some of the most economically challenged, geographically remote or marginalised communities in the world. 

The school, a cradle

Kellogg hopes that it will set a precedent for other regions to commit to the importance of giving girls the education they deserve. For her, architecture is a craft, her interest and the lens through which she sees the world. She wanted to use this in a way that would be a positive factor for the girls to go to school and the need for them to feel safe and nurtured, so that they will be able to feel free to learn.

The ellipse form kept showing up as she was looking for something symbolising female strength and femininity. The building is like a big hug, a womb, an egg and a cradle, essentially holding the girls.

The School

The school will serve more than 400 girls, from kindergarten to class 10, from below the poverty line residing in the mystic Thar Desert region of Jaisalmer in Rajasthan, India. The Rajkumari Ratnavati Girl’s School will address the need to educate girls and empower women from the neighbouring villages in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan.

The school is the first in a complex of what will be three buildings known as the GYAAN Centre, which will also consist of The Medha – a performance and art exhibition space with a library and museum, and The Women’s Cooperative, where local artisans will teach mothers and other women weaving and embroidery techniques from the region and sell their own goods. 

Centre to empower women to economic independence

The GYAAN Centre will empower and educate women, helping them to establish economic independence for themselves, their families and their communities. Since the GYAAN Centre is designed by a woman for women, Kellogg looked at feminine symbols across cultures when starting the design process – specifically symbols of strength, landing on a structure of three ovals to represent the power of femininity and infinity, as well as replicate the planes of the sand dunes in the region of Jaisalmer.

Designed and built by Diana Kellogg Architects

The Rajkumari Ratnavati Girl’s School is made entirely out of local hand-carved Jaisalmer sandstone by local craftsmen. It was vital for Kellogg to include the community in a building made for the community. Using local material to create infrastructure helped to reduce carbon emissions, and Kellogg chose to build a solar panel canopy on the roof as a cooling system, where temperatures peak close to 120°C. The canopy and jalis keep the heat out, and the elliptical shape of the structure also helps to bring aspects of sustainability, creating a cooling panel of airflow.

The oval forms were employed to reflect the curvilinear shapes of the local forts and universal symbols of female strength. Architectural Digest India had featured Rajkumari Ratnavati Girl’s School in its December 2020 issue and at the same time, they announced it as the Building of the Year! 

To hear Diana talk about the school and how passionate she is about his project, click the link below.

For more information, contact Diana Kellogg Architects:
Email: info@dkarchitects.com
Website: www.dkarchitects.com/

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