Wish Town, Noida

An experience baked in earth

We are designing a remarkable series of learning experiences and creating an ecology of spatial excellence.

Look carefully at this brick. We’re building our schools with it. It also stands for how we think. It is a great teacher.

Each brick—sourced with care—exemplifies order and strength.

It shows children a world built by humans but also incorporates an ancient building material—earth. It is honest: what you see is what it is! Each brick is imperfect—unique, when compared to its neighbour, yet each one is beautiful. The circular cavities within each brick provide insulation, and invite us to see the geometry, craft and labour that went into the making of this edifice.

Each brick will age gracefully.

A material philosophy

The palette of materials used at the new Healthy Planet buildings are like brick: exposed with an organic feel.

The minimal use of paint ensures air free of toxicity. The round skylights and windows introduce a harmony in form.

The terrazzo is as reassuring as brick and concrete—the same honesty and textured charm, with the richness of colour.

“An endeavour that fuses education with technology and material integrity”

These words come to architect Pankaj Vir Gupta’s mind when he thought about our founders’ values. They sum up, he says, “their ethical approach to building.”

Space for integrity indeed; at the site of our new Early Years building in Noida, 800 children would be packed in a typical school. In the Healthy Planet way, it is designed to offer a generous embrace to 240 students.

Brick by brick, the school buildings are being built by the founders themselves. The use of contractors is minimal. This ensures that the integrity of the founding vision remains pure and unsullied.

“We shape our buildings. Then they shape us.”

- Winston Churchill

In aesthetically deprived cities, where shopping malls are our only public spaces, our schools are designed to be havens of serenity and stimulation.

Learners develop their sensory perception, building foundations for exploring the arts and sciences. They learn what it is to breathe clean air, to generate power without insulting the environment, to use natural light.

As adults, they will carry the message of a Healthy Planet to the world.

All round safety…

The classroom shape is all rounded corners; each has its own toilet. They allow for any arrangement of individual children, groups or teachers—there is no ‘teacher’s position’ from which control is exercised.

With their rounded corners, they cocoon little learners in womb-like spaces. Like an embrace offering psychological security, the geometry of the room has a profound impact on learning.

The inside of a classroom with round corners that give the space a coccon like feel.

Staircase lightly illuminated by sunlight coming through the round skylight.

The inside of a classroom with round corners that give the space a coccon like feel.

…around the school

As a result of the classroom design, the outer walls facing the concourse also have rounded corners. They streamline movement and underscore our concern for physical safety as well.

The Early Years building has no closed corridors. Instead, the concourse flows around the classrooms and into stairs. Inside and outside spaces are visibly connected. Movement is fluid, transparent and self-evident, and softly illuminated by light from the sky.

Exploration is nearly guaranteed!

Staircase lightly illuminated by sunlight coming through the round skylight.

The inside of a classroom with round corners that give the space a coccon like feel.

Staircase lightly illuminated by sunlight coming through the round skylight.

Same but different Our schools at Suncity, Ghaziabad and Sec 137, Noida carefully handle the transition from pre-school and creche with 200 students to a K 12 campus.

Security, material and wayfinding The NH 24 campus makes students feel secure in the midst of a community, by connecting smaller and larger spaces around skylit, landscaped courtyards.

Inside-Outside In the Noida building, brick jalis frame the view to the outside. Children are protected, but can look out.

Furniture

The curved edges or wide doors are not a one-off decision, but envisioned as a part of an environment that extends to furniture and play. The material philosophy expressed earlier for other materials carries over to wood. It is warm to the eye and to the touch; it remains approachable, never imposing. It forms an ideal environment for humans of all ages.

Play equipment is specially sourced, and engineered to optimal safety standards. It is designed for children to create their own play, by themselves or in groups. So is the furniture, made with rounded edges, everywhere in a Healthy Planet school.