Project
Ashadeep Vidyasharam School
Category
Best Implemented Project of Public Building or Facility
About the project (provided by the applicant)
Ashadeep is a school of the future, rooted in the ancient soil of Varanasi’s rural edge. Born from rare acts of generosity,Ashadeep is a HAVEN—for underprivileged children in rural Varanasi .It stands as a loadbearing brick structure—made from local Gangetic clay. Grounded yet light, It echoes the spirit of local village homes while reimagining them into something transcendent. The school is placed at the far rear of the site, freeing up a large community ground and spacefor future growth. Its compact footprint conserves resources while enabling abundance.An indoor courtyard, open to sky and rain, becomes its heart and hearth —cooling, gathering, and transforming each day into celebration.
This is not a school of control, but one of trust. Multiple entrances, free-flowing
transitions, and presence of fluid overlooking corridors allow children to move, pause, and play instinctively. Classrooms open into pauses, verandas turn into classrooms, and the school becomes a learning realm.
Location
Narottampur village, Uttar Pradesh, India
Project implementation year
2023
Extra visual materials
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1WoLqeSU0b8_Xs6SPE74y16F-6htxDO3j?usp=sharing
Applicant
Meeta Jain architects
Meeta Jain is an architect of intuition and inquiry—designing spaces that breathe, belong, and become. A gold medalist from CEPT Ahmedabad (Class of 1990), the premier institution founded by Dr. B.V. Doshi, her early formation was shaped by the profound mentorship of Prof. R.J. Vasavada, Prof. Kurula Varkey, and Prof. Neelkanth Chhaya. In 1994, she participated in a student exchange at ETH Zurich, expanding her lens through exposure to global approaches to structure, landscape, and culture.
Author of the project
Meeta Jain
Photo
Meeta Jain
Status of the project
Implemented
