A commission to design an education campus in the lower hills of Himachal Pradesh near Simla is a dream project for any ardent architect. However as one sets down to visualize the project on the virgin land in the midst of a lovely serene environment with breathtaking views, the challenge becomes apparent.

Scarcity of land and excessive cost of land development in hills leads to a brief that demands a very high density of development.

Arcop’s first role should be to create a Site Plan that would lead to minimum disturbance of the natural Hill topography for as long as possible. The phasing has to be construed accurately to understand the requirements for both the functional and service spaces required in different phases.

Once the site plan is established the architect is confronted with the most arduous task of begetting an expression for the buildings that would draw inspiration from the past and would have the strength to inspire the future architecture.

As a concept of site planning it was quintessential to design sleek building blocks on the downhill with regular visual breaks offering views of the valley from the road. The blocks down the hill should protrude up from the road as little as possible and if at all it does, then the road should be treated like an introverted interior plaza.

The building on the top of the Hill would be the mother of all buildings, with an imposing monumental form.