The Rajkumari Ratnavati Girl’s School: An innovative,safe and playful study environment.

The Rajkumari Ratnavati Girl’s School is an oval building made of sandstone that stands amid the Thar desert near the city of Jaisalmer, India.

The renowned architect Diana Kellogg and her New York-based studio ensured that they honor the local culture and building traditions, while also introducing modern elements to the school.

In this Slogging thread, our community discussed about how an oval school in the Thar desert empowers young girls.

This Slogging thread is by Valentine Enedah, Janhavi Talhar, Mónica Freitas and Manas Goel occurred in slogging's official #random channel, and has been edited for readability.

This edifice rises from the sand to offer a safe and enjoyable learning environment.

Photo credit: DK Architects

1. The entire building has an oval shape, which universally symbolizes female strength. And it’s designed in such a way that it will filter out sunlight and maximize airflow around the building. A solar canopy supplies the power for the school, and the courtyard is aimed to harvest almost 3.5 lac litre of rainwater. This work of art blends conventional and contemporary architectural features.

2. Ancient rain harvesting techniques ensure the water supply in the building, while electricity is sourced entirely from solar power. The school relies on natural cooling, which Kellogg says has significantly reduced temperatures in the building.

3. The school uniform was created by fashion designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee utilizing the local Ajrak block printing technique.

Photo credit: DK Architects

This is brilliant!
My first thought of its look reminded me of The Amazonian playground in Wonder Woman 1984.
You need to see that movie.
What do you think?

Valentine Enedah Most ancient Indian institutions provided a wide range of disciplines, from law to medicine to astronomy to Buddhist theology, Vedic studies to the Atomic Theory of the World (authors translation) and many others. Since Arab (edit) and Turkic conquerors destroyed Vallabhi, Nalanda, and Viakramasila, knowledge of these institutions is relatively restricted. The Vedas and Upanishads, which teach science, politics, and philosophies during the various historical periods in which they were written, still provide access to the majority of the concepts and theories. Looking at these scriptures and other details, we can see that several modern education concepts (Jyotish, Ayurveda, Tantra, etc.) were taught in a slightly different way here, the architectural beauty is also detailed and well laid out, the political system (Chanakya neeti) was also well established, and there are so many small details that can be studied.I love this! It's so utopic, and modern. It's what society should aspire to turn and, construction wise, it's so smart and ecological. AMAZINGWhat a marvel! Being from India myself, I would definitely visit this school! India being a tropical country experiences extreme weathers! and natural cooling is a very useful facet too! Amazed and Proud!🙌

Janhavi Talhar Indeed!
I feel India has so many historic buildings and on top of that so many great scholars have Indian origins.

Mónica Freitas You have a great point. I doubt urban areas would want something like that. They could call it Archaic.
But if they leverage technology to it's core, I know for sure, this school will one to remember.

Manas Goel That's so amazing. I would love to know about your experience after you have visited. Pictures would help as well😁Valentine Enedah I don't see how people could call this archaic. Granted I live in a country with a lot of old structures, so this would be so fun to witness and experience. I'm sure the structure would have to be adapted to the climate but it'd create more specialised professionals too

Mónica Freitas
I totally agree with your perspective.
It will strive in some places no doubt due to its uniqueness.

Valentine Enedah it'll demand that we change the way we do things, probably take more time to build, and maybe face a bit of resistance from governments or businesses but I'm hoping we can scale it

Mónica Freitas Definitely! I think we need amazing people like you to pioneer or anchor these projects.
'Wonder woman saves the system of education in underrepresented communities.'

Valentine Enedah my dad works in construction. Don't give him any ideas 😂

Mónica Freitas You should tell him.🙂
Female empowerment through education and play stands at the centre of this school. These values inform her work on all levels, from researching and applying the symbolism of the elliptical shape, to the incorporation of jali walls and modesty screens where the girls can play.