Guru Tritha is a journey - a yatra in the memory of one of the greatest teachers., Swami Dayananda Saraswathi. It is a journey where one experiences the transformation of his dwelling into a place of worship. The design rationale was to provide serenity to this place of worship and a contemplative quality to the experience.
The private residence of Swami Dayananda Saraswati , was turned into a memorial, maintaining the same aura of the space and inducing a sense of divinity to the space. The design intent was to experience the space from outside, looking into the spaces through enlarged windows preserving the familiarity of the space without disrupting the earlier lifestyle of the inhabitants.
Just as one visiting a temple goes through various prakaras and dwaras to reach the garba griha, here too one walks through different vistas. Tall walls and the available trees and landscape modulate the vistas. Granite, being a timeless material is the main building material.
Site
Resting atop the contoured slopes of Anaikatti, Coimbatore emitting a sense of tranquility with its peaceful and serene surroundings, is the residence of the late Swami Dayananda Saraswati.
Design Development
The initial brief set by the Swamijis of the Ashram was to have the visiting disciples walk through the house and see Swami Dayananda Saraswati’s living quarters. This way, an ambulatory route would run through the house. We felt this would be cumbersome and difficult to manage.
An alternate suggestion was the introduction of an external peripheral walkway, with the visitors viewing the room through large openings on the external wall. This way, any number of visitors can visually experience the space, and the sanctity and control of the internal spaces are maintained better.
Design elements
Existing conditions
The pre-existing site is a visual treat with its lush landscape, variety of vegetation, and heavy contours. The design intervention draws attention to the various parameters of the site by creating a connection with the existing building.
Plinth
Sloping from North to South, the contoured site drops down by 1.8m to 2.1m. The journey through the ashram aims to elevate the experiences of the visitor and kindle moments of reflection. By raising the plinth at the southern side of the existing structure, one begins the journey from a lower level and proceeds to a higher level, thus creating an extended pedestrian experience in the midst of the forest landscape.
Walls
The stone walls hold together and guide the experience along the walkways. The walls retain the filled-up earth and the rising landscape while creating a precinct to give a sense of place for the memorial. The granite stones used for the walls bring a sense of solidity while also creating an earthy texture that belongs to the landscape. The external walls are 0.6m thick and can withstand a sideways glance from the large bodies of wandering elephants.
Pathways
The pathways are integral to the entire ‘Guru Thirtha’ experience. Granite is used as aggregate in the previous concrete walkways. Anaikatti receives a high amount of rainfall; pervious concrete is used for the walkways as it facilitate the immediate absorption and dispersal of incident rainfall. Starting from the southeast corner, the pathway rises along with the modulating landscape and, framed between stone walls, leads up to three pause points along the way, culminating in the meditation hall in the northeast. Thereafter, the pathway leads back to the starting point of the journey, reinforcing the concept of the ‘cycle of life’.
Openings
Since the design strategy was to have a peripheral walk with the views, it was imperative to enhance the viewing experience. The existing windows were opened up, retaining their width; the walls below the sills were broken down; and the openings were made larger with a single pane of glass. To improve visibility inside, the internal lighting levels were increased, and the glare from the sun was reduced using sun-shading pergolas.
Pergolas
It was imperative to shade the large opening from the sun. The pause points face North, South, and West, and accordingly, the sun’s path & position had to be analyzed to prevent the direct sun’s glare from falling on the glass.
Material Palette
Stone is timeless, and granite belongs to the region. The idea was to use a single material throughout the project, but each time the manifestation was different. The walls are made of coursed stone masonry. The pergolas of the pause points are supported on solid stone pillars, and the pergola itself is made of steel for ease of detailing. The benches are made of granite slabs, as are the footwear ledges.
The pathways are made of stone-aggregated pervious concrete. The areas between walkways and walls are filled with granite stone and pebbles. The main arrival landing in the memorial hall of Guru Tirtha is leather-finished black granite. Granite stone is synonymous with religious buildings in India, so it was a logical choice of material at Guru Tirtha.
Gabion walls were the original proposal for the peripheral walls. They are granite aggregates of varying grades enveloped in a steel mesh cuboid stacked above one another without the need for any skilled stone masonry. The bond of friction combined with cumulative load lends stability to the wall. The concern of corrosion of steel meshes over time led to abandoning the idea.
