jain upashray

In Jainism, an Upashraya (Upashraya) is a dwelling place or a retreat primarily for Jain monks and nuns (sadhu and sadhvi). The monks depend on the local community of devout Jains for their daily food received as a pious gesture and other support.

In Jainism, an Upashraya (Upashraya) is a dwelling place or a retreat primarily for Jain monks and nuns (sadhu and sadhvi). The monks depend on the local community of devout Jains for their daily food received as a pious gesture and other support.

Traditionally, an Upashraya within Jain neighbourhoods in Ahmedabad is an important pivotal institution that reinforces the identity of a people and defines a community space as an extension of an adjacent Derasar or temple.  This also ensures a synergistic connect between the monks who preach and commune at regular times with the devotees and daily worship. This community in Sabarmati Ahmedabad and the monks from their monks follow a very orthodox order of practice that is steeped in extreme austerity that pervades all aspects of life.

client:

JR Trust, sabarmati

location:

sabarmati, ahmedabad

design team:

uday andhare, mausami andhare

consultants:

structural consultant: ami engineers

site area:

6800sqft.

building area:

12740sqft.

status:

design proposal
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The site provided for this upashrayas was part of a gated community of devout Jain business families. An open plot of land embedded within the built fabric of bungalows and the presence of an important Jain temple just outside its precincd efined the context.

The program includes a space for monks to live at the lower level, organised around a central court that is covered and ventilated from above.

The upper level leads to a central space for congregation and sermons. The terrace level is accessible to maintain the roof and the wind shafts and keep the space clean in monsoons to harvest rainwater.

The two levels below ground are accessible water harvesting structures connected to a draw well in the courtyard in the NE corner.

Austerity & Making: The mandate for the construction of this Upashraya laid down a simple material palette.

Lime construction using stone masonry, sun-dried bricks, and timber. Adopting Vastu planning principles as mentioned in the ancient Jain texts was an important dictate on the project.

Proposed as a load bearing masonry water centric structure, the building rests on foundations of a massive water tank build out of brick masonry and hydraulic lime ortar in two levels. This is also the foundation for a very geometrically stable plan at the ground level rising two floors above. The corners are held by rectangular shafts that not only anchor the structure but also act as passive wind down draft draft elements.

Masonry walls with structural timber framing, fenestrations in timber, confining
systems both in plan as well as the façade define the language.

Lime mortar using slaked lime, surkhi (crushed brickbat) Methi molasses and resin admixture make for a very stable and resilient mix. The finish coat uses dolomitic plasters with naturally occurring oxide pigments.

A massive water harvesting tank in two layers becomes the foundation on which one defines t was imagined which was self-sustaining in its management of water. This structure would use metals such as copper and brass completely avoiding mild steel or any industrialised or pre-manufactured material.

An adjacent empty plot of land becomes the enclosed screened courtyard for the eco-friendly soak pits for human sanitary and soil waste processing and sanitary utilities. The monks do not use conventional toilets.

Two versions of this project were prepared during the proposal stage that are shared here.

The site provided for this upashrayas was part of a gated community of devout Jain business families. An open plot of land embedded within the built fabric of bungalows and the presence of an important Jain temple just outside its precincd efined the context.

The program includes a space for monks to live at the lower level, organised around a central court that is covered and ventilated from above.

The upper level leads to a central space for congregation and sermons. The terrace level is accessible to maintain . . .
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