Summary
All hostels on the IIT Madras campus are named after Indian rivers
With a 4-star rating from GRIHA, the hotel can harvest rainwater, is powered by solar energy and is PwD friendly
Indian Institute of Technology Madras has inaugurated its largest student hostel called ‘Mandakini’. Constructed after an older hostel building was demolished, the new building can accommodate as many as 1,200 students.
It was constructed at a total cost of Rs 146.75 crore and was inaugurated on February 22. All hostels on the IIT Madras campus are named after Indian rivers.
A state-of-the-art building with ten storeys and a built-up area of 32,180 sqm, the hostel is designed with a 4-star rating from GRIHA, a national rating system for green buildings, with various green building measures adopted in the design and construction stage. Solar Power panels and a solar hot water system have been adopted to reduce the energy consumption of the building.
Deepak Kumar Sanghi, an IIT Madras alumnus of the 1994 batch and managing director, Ecare India Private Limited, said, “Rainwater recharge pits have also been provided inside the building. Existing trees were retained and transplanted. Mechanical ventilation is provided for the toilets. Low energy and recycling materials were used for the building construction.”
Addressing the gathering, V Kamakoti, director, IIT Madras, said, “We (the institute) take pride in providing top quality accommodation for our students within our campus.”
Reduction in water consumption is achieved by the usage of treated wastewater for flushing and landscaping. Both the surface and roof rainwater is treated and reused for Potable water consumption.
Highlighting some of the unique aspects of this building, S.A Sannasiraj, chairman, Engineering Unit, IIT Madras, said, “The hostel was built without much delay in spite of the pandemic in the last two years and it caters to all the home and relaxation needs of the students.”
The building is designed in such a way that sufficient light enters each corridor and each room. The interaction area with transparent light roofing at the terrace level is provided for casual relaxation of students.
The central courtyard opens to the sky and has a natural ambient space for relaxation in addition to sports facilities such as a basketball court, volleyball court and cricket practice pitch with net, among others.
The structure is PwD (Persons with Disabilities)-friendly with 10 exclusive accommodations for them. The staircase, ramp and lifts in the entire structure are designed to be PwD friendly. The special rooms also have attached toilets.
A video of the new hostel building can be viewed here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TA7U74oJx8fFT9BO2isv74LoJKgeN2At/view
Last updated on 23 Feb 2022
