Shilim Institute, Maharashtra, India

Located adjacent to the Shillim resort, the Shillim Institute is an independent foundation dedicated to the intersection of traditional and contemporary arts.  The program includes spaces for pottery, dance, and cookery, as well as a pavilion for conferences.    

The site is in the plain of the Shillim valley in a landscape of paddy fields.  The loose rectangular geometry of the Institute plan reflects the subtle offsets of the berm walls that divide the fields.  The profiles of the buildings are deliberately low slung to sit quietly in an ancient landscape.

Covered walkways double as spaces for outdoor gatherings, and allow the Institute to function throughout the summer heat and the monsoon season.  An austere modern idiom is combined with vernacular techniques such as thatch and stacked stone.

Photographs: Edmund Sumner
Project Team: Vrinda Khanna, Robert Schultz, William Agostinho
Architecture and Furniture Design: Khanna Schultz
Lighting Design: Lighting Planners Associates, Inc.
Landscape Design: Margie Ruddick Landscape