Indian Institute of Technology, Palakkad

Indian Institute of Technology, Palakkad (Competition Entry)

Associated with N. M. Salim & Associates as Lead Designer.
Site Area: 530 Acres | Built-up Area: 3 Million Sq. Ft.
2018

"One cannot help but visualize even a corridor as spaces where it is good to learn. By allowing classroom time to these spaces instead of passage time from class to class, it would become a meeting connection and not merely a corridor, which means a place of possibilities in self-learning. It becomes the classroom belonging to the students. Why must we begrudge the ten minutes that it takes to go from class to class? Is not coming out of class also learning? And must the cafeteria be in the basement, even though its use in time is little? Is not the relaxing moment of the meal also a part of learning?”

— Louis I. Kahn

The proposed campus for the Indian Institute of Technology, Palakkad, occupies a 530-acre site at the edge of Kerala's Walayar forest range. Characterized by diverse ecological conditions, seasonal water scarcity, and significant topographical variation, the site presented an opportunity to explore how an institutional campus could emerge from the landscape itself rather than being imposed upon it.

The master plan was shaped by the site's existing streams, wetlands, forests, rocky outcrops, and natural drainage patterns. Existing watercourses were rejuvenated and linked through a network of water bodies inspired by traditional water-harvesting systems, strengthening groundwater recharge and improving long-term water resilience. A continuous blue-green corridor, following the site's natural hydrology, formed the organizing structure of the campus, connecting academic precincts, ecological habitats, and public spaces.

The academic precincts were informed by the incremental logic of historic Indian palace complexes, where buildings, courtyards, and passages evolved over time into coherent yet adaptable ensembles. Individual disciplines were organized around a network of courts and shaded pedestrian connections, establishing a framework capable of accommodating future growth. Responding to Palakkad's climate through mutual shading and comfortable intermediate spaces, the resulting ensemble extended learning beyond the formal classroom and strengthened the relationship between architecture, landscape, and academic life.

1. Aerial view of the campus revealing the continuity of the blue-green corridor and the integration between the built ensemble and the surrounding landscape.

2. The Site Context

3. The site visit laid the foundation for the major master plan decisions, which emerged from a close reading of the landscape.

4. Master Plan Development Sketches

5. Development sketch exploring the spatial organization and incremental growth of the main academic complex.

6. The Master Plan

7. Physical model of the main academic complex, illustrating the proportions and character of the in-between spaces.

8. The entrance driveway follows the contours of a south-western hillock, looping around it to reach a natural high point. From here, the campus is first revealed in its entirety, with the Western Ghats as backdrop, establishing an immediate reading of the built ensemble and the larger landscape.

9. The main academic complex as seen from the festive lawns.

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