NURPU HANDLOOM SCHOOL

Chennimalai, India

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Other Projects by Aagaram architects

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Sudhakar's Mud House

NURPU HANDLOOM SCHOOL

Chennimalai, India

Firm

Aagaram architects

Type

Cultural › Gallery
Educational › Other

STATUS

Built

YEAR

2024

SIZE

1000 sqft - 3000 sqft

The Nurpu Handloom School is a grassroots architectural intervention designed for a community of
traditional weavers in Chennimalai, Tamil Nadu. Rooted in the principle of “conserve and develop”, the
project seeks to preserve existing structures and materials while shaping a new educational and cultural
node for future generations.
This space is envisioned not only as a school, but as a weaving campus, where making and learning
coexist seamlessly, empowering local youth with both ancestral skills and modern perspectives.

Located within a semi-urban weaving cluster, the project takes advantage of the existing site layout and
topography. Key planning considerations included:
● Adaptive reuse of existing ground-floor structures wherever structurally viable.
● Creating a multi-use central hall that functions as a weaving workshop, classroom, and gathering
space.
● Maximizing usable outdoor zones for warping, dyeing, community training, and casual
interaction.
● Ensuring a layout that encourages natural airflow, shared use, and informal pedagogy in
open-to-sky areas.
By maintaining fluid spatial movement and visual porosity, the design reflects both the rhythm of
weaving and the spirit of the local community.

The project showcases a layered and sustainable construction strategy, built around the core principles
of:
● Low-cost construction
● Maximum space efficiency
● Quick build time
● Thermal comfort
● Visual and material integration with the surrounding context

● Retrofitting of load-bearing brick walls from the original buildings, reducing structural cost and
waste.
● New first-floor slabs built using mild steel trusses and Kadappa stone slabs, ensuring
lightweight structural loads and quick assembly.
● Filler slab construction using coconut shells and stone pieces reduced cement use, added
texture, and improved thermal insulation.
● Roofing done with corrugated GI sheets insulated with aluminum foil below to deflect heat and
create thermal buffer zones.
● Louvered high-level openings and north-facing skylights introduced to draw in indirect light and
hot air escape routes.
● Deep overhangs and shading devices to reduce direct solar gain on walls.

All techniques ensured minimal environmental footprint, and maximum comfort without dependence
on artificial cooling

Material selection was guided by local availability, durability, and reuse potential:
● Unplastered concrete block walls externally and gypsum-plastered internal walls, balancing
cost and performance.
● Flooring finished in terracotta tiles, natural stone, and red oxide – all locally sourced and laid
using traditional methods.
● Extensive use of reclaimed materials—including timber for doors and windows, stone slabs for
thresholds, and steel rods from dismantled portions.
The resulting aesthetic is both raw and rooted, celebrating imperfection and texture as an architectural
language.

A major part of the project success lies in its reuse of salvaged materials from existing structures:
● Doors, windows, rafters, old bricks, and even floor slabs were carefully dismantled, catalogued,
and reincorporated.
● This not only reduced the material budget but also kept the memory of the original structures
alive, allowing the school to “grow out” of its site.
The process also contributed to rapid construction turnaround, reducing new procurement delays and
supporting circular construction logic.

The school accommodates a diverse range of spaces:
● Classrooms cum weaving studios
● Common work areas for dyeing and warping
● Shared accommodation units for students and volunteers
● Outdoor work courtyards
● Storage and service spaces, designed efficiently within leftover site pockets
Each of these is interconnected through shaded corridors and spill-out zones, enabling fluid transitions
between activities.

Thermal comfort was a non-negotiable design priority, addressed through:
● Passive ventilation strategies: stack effect, cross-breezes, shaded courtyards.
● Material massing: stone slabs and thick walls act as thermal buffers.
● Insulated roofing and ventilated roof cavities to cut down heat transfer.
● Minimal mechanical intervention, thereby keeping energy consumption near zero.
These measures ensure that the school remains comfortable and functional year-round, even in Tamil
Nadu’s hot summer months.

The boundary wall, like the building, is a palimpsest of reused materials—an assemblage of bricks,
slabs, and stone rubble salvaged on-site. It is porous and non-intimidating, reinforcing the idea that
learning is not confined but connected to its surroundings.Landscape features are modest and
ecologically responsive, featuring native flora, soil retention patches, and unpaved courtyards for
percolation and usability.

Construction was not a top-down process. It was incremental, participatory, and locally resourced:
● Built over multiple phases aligned with budget availability and labor schedules.
Local masons and craftsmen were engaged throughout, many of whom were part of the same
weaving families.
● On-site decisions were made collectively, enabling flexibility and contextual problem-solving.
This gave rise to a school that feels handmade, lived-in, and deeply loved by its users.

The Nurpu Handloom School is more than a building—it is a demonstration of how architecture can
nurture community, climate, craft, and continuity. Through thoughtful reuse, economical techniques,
and intimate engagement with place, the project creates a humble, high-impact space that merges
tradition with transformation.

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NURPU HANDLOOM SCHOOL

Chennimalai, India

Other Projects by Aagaram architects

Sudhakar's Mud House

NURPU HANDLOOM SCHOOL

Chennimalai, India

Product Spec Sheet

Collaborating Firms

Team