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This Rajasthan school in Thar desert stays cool without air conditioning

Aug 09, 2023 09:07 PM IST

Rajkumari Ratnavati Girls’ School in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer remains cool due to its unique architecture using local sandstone.

A school in Thar desert in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer remains 20-30 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than outdoors. Designed by New York-based architect Diana Kellogg, the Rajkumari Ratnavati Girls’ School has a unique architecture. Made from local sandstone, the educational institution for empowering girls has won several accolades for its unique design promoting sustainability and innovation including the Building of the Year by Architectural Digest India in 2020.

High ceilings and windows release rising heat in classrooms, while a solar panel canopy provides shade and energy.(@vinay_panjwani/dkarchitects.com)
High ceilings and windows release rising heat in classrooms, while a solar panel canopy provides shade and energy.(@vinay_panjwani/dkarchitects.com)

Kellogg on her website noted that the “oval forms were employed to reflect the curvilinear shapes of the local forts and also universal symbols of female strength.”

The project was commissioned by CITTA, a US non-profit organisation that provides economic and educational support to women in remote and marginalised communities. According to CNN, the school is the first step in a three-part architectural project that will also include a women’s cooperative center and an exhibition space.

Motivated by Rajasthan trip in 2014

The architect, who usually designs high-end residential projects, told CNN that during her 2014 trip to Jaisalmer, she was motivated to build a structure that symbolises the hope and resilience of the desert by merging aspects of traditional architecture with a modern design.

“There are methods to cool spaces that have been used for centuries. What I did is I put them together in a combination that worked,” she told the outlet.

How does the building keep itself cool?

Talking to Architizer, Kellogg said that the local yellow sandstone was used for almost everything. Items that may have been metal or glass like the grates and window transoms were all stone. She explained that the stone keeps the heat out and also keeps the coolness out at night.

Other traditional techniques employed for the construction involved lining the inner walls with lime plaster, a porous and natural cooling material that helps release any trapped moisture resulting from humidity. She also installed a jali wall- a sandstone grid that enables the wind to accelerate in a phenomenon called the venturi effect, cooling the courtyard space while also providing shade from the sun, reported CNN. High ceilings and windows release rising heat in classrooms, while a solar panel canopy provides shade and energy.

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