STATUS: Pre-Construction
NEXT MILESTONE: Receive construction permits from the Directorate of Town and City Planning, Chennai.
PROGRAM
The CSI School project is part of a bigger development project in south east India that is being funded by Ford Motor Company Fund. Being one of the leading automobile manufacturers in the country, Ford India is looking to expand its CSR initiatives by taking part in developmental activities in 7 villages around the Ford factory in Chengalpet, Kancheepuram district (close to Chennai). One of these villages is Melrosapuram.
The Ford Motor Fund seeks to provide support on the following focus areas in Melrosapuram community.
• Driving Safety & Skills: Provide driving skills and safety programs to community, including women drivers
• Education & Learning: Focus on learning outcomes, curriculum development, and educational support
• Environment & Sanitation: Provide school or community toilets, drinking water and/or safe disposal of water
• Health & Empowerment: Promote economic or health development through programs offering tailoring skills, SHG, hygiene & nutrition counsel
This specific project is focusing on the Education & Learning: part of the development program and is currently being developed by Architecture for Humanity.
CONTEXT
CSI school is located in a village called Melrosapuram (after Melrose, a British national who engaged in philanthropic activities pre-independence) in the Chengalpet district of Tamil Nadu. Located 40 kms from central Chennai, this district has multiple automobile factories including the Ford Plant. The Ford India Foundation has community programs in 7 villages in this area.
The CSI has been operational for about 60 years and provides both primary and secondary education. Partially subsidized by the state government the school caters to 800 students and charges very nominal fees compared to other schools in the area. Very well known for the quality of education (relatively to what is available in the neighborhood), the school also receives funding support from other agencies including the Ford India Foundation.
LOCATION CHENGALPET - INDIA
 |
View CSI Highschool Project in a larger map |
PROJECT
It has been evaluated that students in the neighborhood drop out of school after 10th grade as the nearest educational institution providing higher secondary education is about 6 kilometers away. And the public bus runs only once every 3 hours. The primary program is to provide design and construction services for the construction of 2 classrooms and one science laboratory to start 11th and 12th grade education at this school.
The new project consists of:
- Design and construction of two classrooms.
- Design and construction of a science laboratory.
- Upgrades to existing buildings.
- Provision of high quality outdoor spaces for flexible learning and play.
ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
| Sponsoring partner | Project Management |  
|
| CSI Highschool, Melrosapuram 
|
ARCHITECTURE FOR HUMANITY
The role of Architecture for Humanity is essential throughout all the project development stages. The first step is to analyze the feasibility of the project in order to design an appropriate building that relates to the existing context and the community can take full ownership of the project. Architecture for Humanity is managing the design, construction and construction administration of the school, making sure that the project represents the community’s objectives and the project is developed within schedule and budget. The role of Architecture for Humanity also consists in post-occupancy services in order to build a quality infrastructure that will be sustainable and used by the community for many years to come.
KEY DOCUMENTS
Tender Documents- 7 March 2013
Schematic Design Presentation- 23 December 2012
Community Engagement Workshop- 30 November 2012
Design Brief- 18 December 2012
