Maru Cultural Archive & Pavilion

The Maru Cultural Pavilion investigates how civic architecture can honor the centuries-old climate strategies of western Rajasthan while addressing 21st-century public accessibility. Designed as an extension of the rugged sandstone terrain of Mandore, the project nests reading halls and document archives beneath shaded courtyards, creating a passive microclimate that shields delicate historical documents and visitors from 46°C desert peaks.

Located on an alluvial edge 9 km north of Jodhpur, the site sits between weathered rhyolite hillocks and historic seasonal runoff channels. The design responds to brutal west-southwest solar radiation and desiccating winds through heavy stone thermal buffers on exposed orientations, while funneling predominant night breezes across terraced water basins.

Reinterpreting the traditional Step-well (Baori) and Haveli courtyard as thermal regulators. The project descends three levels into the bedrock, using earth-coupling to stabilize interior temperatures at 24–27°C year-round with zero active refrigeration during peak daytime.

Over 40 physical study models in basswood and cast gypsum were constructed to gauge daylight penetration through micro-perforated stone jalis. Parametric aperture studies ensured reading rooms receive diffuse northern illumination without glare on reflective archive reading tables.

Structural rhythm of 6.0m × 6.0m module utilizing locally quarried Jodhpur pink and golden sandstone load-bearing piers combined with post-tensioned low-carbon concrete floor slabs. Double-skin ventilated cavity walls decouple extreme radiant gains from inner gallery enclosures.

A multi-tiered promenade stepping down into water courts. Slender stone fins act as sun-breakers, creating sharp calligraphic shadow play across textured lime plaster surfaces that change through every hour of the desert daylight cycle.

This studio crystallized the understanding that vernacular wisdom is not merely decorative quotation; it is empirical thermodynamic engineering refined across centuries. True contemporary architecture in Rajasthan must begin with the sun, the wind, and the stone quarry.