SITE

• STATE: MAHARASHTRA, INDIA.

• district: pune
• City : Pimpri-Chinchwad
• Address: 2/5, Old Sangvi Bopodi Rd, Budh Vihar,
Aba Kate Nagar, Dapodi, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Maharashtra 411012.

PUNE
Connectivity
• Pimpri-Chinchwad is a satellite city of Pune, India.
• Geographically, it is located at an altitude of 590 m above sea level, at a distance of about
15 km northwest of Pune.
• As of the 2011 Census of India Pimpri-Chinchwad was the 18th most populous city in India
with an population of 1.7 million.
• Pimpri Chinchwad being adjacent to the Pune enjoys the excellent connectivity. The
city is well connected by road, rail and air to almost all important cities in India.
• It is situated on the confluence of NH-4 (Mumbai-Bangalore Highway) and NH-50
(Pune-Nasik Highway).
• The city is connected to the Mumbai through Mumbai Pune Express way.

Near by

• bus stand: sangavi bust stand-

1.3km away from the site.

• Train station: dapodi train station-

1km away from the site.

• Airport: pune airport-

12km away from the site.
CLIMATE ANALYSIS
• Pune has a moderate climate.
• In winter, there is much less rainfall in Pune than in summer.
• The average annual temperature in Pune is 24.3 °C | 75.7 °F.
• During the year, the average temperatures vary by 7.0 °C | 12.6 °F.
• The warmest month of the year is April, with an average temperature of 28.6 °C | 83.5 °F.
• January has the lowest average temperature of the year. It is 21.7 °C | 71.0 °F.

• The difference in precipitation between

• The driest month is January, with 1 mm | 0.0 inch of rainfall.
• the most precipitation falls in July With an average of 340 mm | 13.4 inch
• The annual rainfall is 1200 mm | 47.2 inch.
• Values of relative Humidity
during southwest monsoon are
about 77% to 86% in the
morning and 66% to 79% in the
afternoon.
• the monsoon creates steady
strong winds from December to
April, and
• calm winds from June to
October.
• Prevailing wind direction is west.
Buddhist Centre Dapodi, Pune
• Pune region is an ancient precinct of Buddhist retreats and monastic
caves.
• The Karla and Baja caves were formed by carving “negative vaulted
space” out of stone cliffs, reflecting protomorphic mahasanghara and
meeting halls, woven out of reeds, used by the Sakya for the meetings of
their chieftains.
• The tradition continued in the Buddhist Sangh system; its vaulted, sacred
structures, reflecting a secluded monastic life.
• This Buddhist centre is the headquarters of a trust's cultural and social
activities. Inspired by Dr Ambedkar and his student Sangharakshita, the
group executes social work amongst the poor of all communities in the
state; health, education and women’s programs, the priority areas.
• Unlike the secluded monasteries the movement shares philosophical roots
with, this centre at Dapodi is an open, public space of ‘being’.
• The vaults that focus on the image of the Buddha, are ‘positive’ spatial
reflections of the Baja and Karla ‘negative’ spaces; a visual link between
the daily life of the Buddhist and his spiritual ethos.
• The main gallery connects the entrance visually with the Buddha image.
• On one side, is a retreat for personal study, meditation and community life; on the
other, areas for study programs, the trust office, and a library.
• Cultural programs and meetings take place in the Amphitheatre.
• The ground floor is left open for largescale cultural activities, offering a view of the river
curving its way along three hems of the campus.
• Not only does a large stone bund protect the center from the river in its seasonal rages,
the entire functional area is lifted up to the first and second levels.

\
• The vaults change direction in the Vihara, or meditation hall, realigning those seated within towards the
image of the Buddha; indicating a realigned mental shift from the temporal, real world to the timeless
world of illusion and ideas.
• Transparent panels let the devotees glimpse the borrowed landscape — right to the tree-covered
riverfront and out to the mountains beyond.
• The overall concept relates the sacred with the mundane; an object of ritual, with the daily functions of
life; an ancient tradition in a modern language of thought.
• And all, by applying the vaults and columns in a disciplined, modulated manner. The result is — a strong
sense of ‘presence’ within an unobtrusive building, suited to its low-income industrial neighborhood.
• fabric of the building is a fabric of concrete columns supporting concrete vaults spanning 15ft and
covered with broken China mosaic tiles.
• The vaults, beams and columns build up a language out of which, a highly structured and focused
statement emerges — of how, “Buddhism, unlike Hinduism, is an organized system of belief’; not
dispersed and unmanifested. As reflected in the fabric of build.”
 Meditation hall
• This hall has a central vault at its higher level on
the main axis of approach, and cross vaults at its
lower level.
• A Vierendeel truss, the top chord, supporting
the central vault and the bottom chord
supporting the edge beams of the lower vaults,
was designed to give a column free hall, with
two roof height levels and configurations.
• A still lower, vault-level high roof was provided
at the outside verandah to accommodate
skylights through the vaults at its ends.
• The entire plot of the hall is under the high
flood level (HFL) of the nearby river.
• A High masonry wall embankment is, thus,
erected around the plot, the plot, filled above
the HFL, and an RCC slab provided over this fill,
at ground level.
 MAHAVIHARA

Stone wall Glass

Concrete Broken China Mosaic tiles

• The fabric of the building is one of concrete columns supporting concrete

vaults, spanning five meters, and covered with broken China mosaic tiles on the
roof for water proofing and reflecting the hot sun.
• The vaults, beams and columns build up a language out of which, a highly
directed and focused statement emerges.
• The vaults reflect the stone carved vaulted ceilings of nearby ancient cave
viharas, giving Buddhist significance to the simple structures.
• The design goal is to create an architectural language which combine
the existing structure’s architectural language with the new
structures that has to be introduced.
• The concept is triratna (three jewels/ triple gem) of buddhism.
• The Triratna symbol is composed of:

• A lotus flower within a circle.

• A diamond rod, or vajra.
• An ananda-chakra.
• A trident, or trisula, with three branches, representing the threefold jewels of
Buddhism: Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha.

Symbol of the Three Jewels

triratna
• the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha, they're referred to as the Triratna, or the
Triple Gem of Buddhism.
• To proclaim devotion to these three things is to be a Buddhist.

1. The Buddha
(the jewel)

• The first jewel of the Triratna is the Buddha.

• this first jewel signify the founder of the Buddhist
faith.
• Since Buddha is believed to have been the first man to
truly understand wisdom and the way to enlightenment,
this jewel also signifies the fulfillment of
enlightenment.
• In other words, to be enlightened is to be truly safe and
secure.
• 2. The dharma (the blue jewel)
• The second jewel of the Triratna is the Dharma.
• Stated very simply, these are the teachings of Buddha.
• To Buddhists, these are the ways to truth. To follow
them is to be on the path to enlightenment.
• Being based on the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism, or
the four core beliefs on which Buddhism is based, the
Dharma is symbolized by the Buddhist wheel.
• the Dharma teaches that following the Four Noble
Truths will release a person from fear and ignorance
when, and only when, they follow them in their daily
lives.

• the Four Noble Truths

• Life is has inevitable suffering.

• Desire causes suffering.
• There is an end to suffering.
• The truth of the path to the ending of suffering
through the Eightfold Path (Magga).
3. The Sangha
(the red jewel)

• third jewel of the Triratna, the Sangha.

• In the original teachings of Buddhism, the
Sangha was a very exclusive term used to
denote monks, nuns, and teachers of
Buddhism.
• However, as the faith aged, the term
broadened to include any group that joins
together to practice or meditate on the
teachings of Buddhism.
Vaulted ceilings convey an image of shelter, as an epigraphy of Buddhist cave theme.

CORRIDOR/LOBBY/PATHWAYS VIHARA

INTERPRETATION CENTRE
INTERPRETATION CENTRE