serie architects’ satsang hall is an assemblage of perforated white volumes – Designboom

serie architects reveals the design for satsang hall, a 5,000-seat auditorium for the shrimad rajchandra ashram in dharampur, india. currently under construction, the 15,500 square meter building is scheduled for completion in 2021. the auditorium will serve as the primary discourse hall, or satsang hall, for devotees, and is the landmark building in the larger masterplan which will house over 10,000 lived-in devotee on site. the building is placed at the middle of a crescent-shaped ridge, overlooking a valley to the west.

all images courtesy of serie architects

principal of serie architects christopher lee describes the design as being informed by the concept of the samavasaran in jainism, which describes a mythical building which represents the aggregation of knowledge through discourse and learning as building blocks, to bring devotees ever closer to enlightenment. this concept is seen in all jain temples, where the aggregation of self-similar elements creates lofty shikaras curved, pyramid-like forms that cap the sanctum sanctorum at the heart of the temple and appear to reach for the sky. the building consists of 13 stacked rooms, rotated 45-degrees on top of each other. this rotational stacking gives rise to an interlocking wall structure made up thin, gently curved concrete shear walls, perforated to let in natural light.

the largest room of satsang hall the main auditorium is organized as a circular drum. this column-free space, measuring 56 meters in diameter, is located at the center of the building. the drum rises four storeys and is visible from all levels, making navigation and orientation around the building clear and intuitive. the structural load of upper floors is transferred away from the central space of the drum through four intersecting arched walls. the main stage is slotted into the arches on one side of the drum and clad with perforated timber panels acting as acoustic baffles. there is no fixed seating as devotees normally sit crossed legged on the floor.

principal of serie architects mumbai kapil gupta comments: the exterior faade of the building will be clad with hand-chipped, 75 millimeter wide, marble strips of varying lengths. the strips are sourced from the marble waste of the famous makrana mines in rajasthan. these are the same mines where traditional artisans have sourced a special white marble known for its environmental resilience to construct jain temples all over india. some of these temples are hundreds of years old, like the dilwara temples of mt. abu.

the main foyer is accessible from all eight corners of the building. facing a valley the main entrance is formed by two angled vestibules, allowing devotees to deposit their shoes before entering the foyer. on the upper floors, various rooms contain a library, classrooms, exhibition spaces, multi-purpose halls and meditation rooms. the last and highest room is an elongated lantern-like volume serving as a large meditation hall.

project info:

project title:satsang hall

architecture:serie architects

location: dharampur, india

status: under construction

expected completion: 2021

program:religious gathering

civil and structural engineering: LERA, NYC

mechanical and electrical engineering: ARKK consulting

quantity surveying: gleeds consulting

faade consultant: BES consultants

acoustics: munro acoustics LLP

lighting: T2 consulting

project management: panora infrastructure

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serie architects' satsang hall is an assemblage of perforated white volumes - Designboom

Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero