project # 6

TITLE: GANDHI LABOUR INSTITUTE
ARCHITECT: B V DOSHI
LOCATION: AHMEDABAD

Gandhi Labour Institute was established by Gujarat Government in 1984 to provide for education, training, study and research in labour and related subjects. The institution has been designed by architect B V Doshi and it reuses many elements from Sangath, his office. The concrete vaults covered in white china mosaic, the faceted terraces, earth mounds, greet plaster on external walls and an amphitheatre; all these elements form a language which was also explored in Sangath. The institution houses a library, an exhibition space, an auditorium, teaching areas, offices and a dormitory block.

approach
internal court
transversal vault


The building is approached at the first floor with a forecourt and wide steps flanked by a pool. One enters under a transversal vault which then feeds laterally into the various departments as well as the hostel block. This transversal vault, to me, is the most powerful space in the entire institution and gives this place, a unique identity. The transversal vault and space underneath have an archaic quality of Buddhist caves. This theme of the cave-like spaces, a sense of space that has been carved out, keeps constantly occurring in Prof. Doshi’s works. The material palette of this institution comprises of greet plaster as external finish, exposed concrete, polished Kota stone for flooring and wood for doors-windows. The terraces and vaults on the top are finished with white china mosaic.