Spatially, the building draws strength from simplicity. The plinth acts as an active threshold for play and gathering. Inside, walls and ceilings merge in shallow brick domes where light moves gently across curved surfaces. Built-in wall niches, or aala, provide storage and recall traditional interiors. The architecture feels at once rooted and new: a familiar form with renewed lightness and care.

Materials were salvaged from the destroyed school – bricks, stones and concrete fragments reused wherever possible. Construction combined the traditional danga wall system with brick masonry at the base and a lightweight steel frame above. These choices ensured resilience, economy and continuity. The texture of reused materials carries memory; the exposed vaults lend quiet beauty. Structure and ornament become one.

Collaboration between local masons, teachers and architects shaped every decision. Using simple augmented-reality tools, the design was visualized at full scale on site, allowing villagers to discuss proportions and openings before construction began. The process was democratic, transparent and joyful. The masons were not only builders but co-designers, adapting traditional knowledge through shared experimentation. Children watched their drawings come to life, brick by brick, deepening their connection to the building.

The school’s impact extends beyond construction. Workshops and internships taught local youth construction skills, fostering leadership and appreciation for traditional crafts. Teachers observed that students felt pride in their new school and curiosity about how it was made. The process renewed interest in vernacular building methods, proving that ancestral knowledge remains vital to contemporary resilience.

Since its completion, the Rural Primary School has become a regional reference point. Visitors from nearby villages come to study its design and learn from its participatory process. The building stands not only as a safe place for learning but also as a symbol of cooperation and recovery. Its materials speak of continuity; its open courtyards and playful plinth express confidence in the future.

In Mandi, architecture has become a shared act of learning. The Rural Primary School demonstrates that even after loss, design can generate hope and agency. Modest in scale yet rich in meaning, it turns rebuilding into collective imagination. Its beauty lies not in spectacle but in care – in the way a wall holds memory, a plinth invites play and a classroom opens towards the landscape. Here, architecture is not an object but a relationship: between people, place and the futures they build together.

Dhammada Collective, founded in 2021 by architect, designer, and photojournalist Nipun Prabhakar, is a Bhopal-based interdisciplinary practice of architects, designers and researchers that views collaboration as central to its work. The collective understands architecture as a social and ecological act – grounded in care, participation and responsibility. Its name, Dhammada, meaning ‘performing one’s duty towards society’, encapsulates its belief that design should empower rather than impose. Through participatory processes, the group works on documenting traditional architecture, natural building, and sustainable construction, creating spaces that are functional, inclusive and environmentally conscious. By prioritizing the reuse, repair and reinterpretation of existing materials over replacement, Dhammada seeks to achieve circularity in construction and foster local self-reliance. Their work embodies a commitment to building not only durable and responsible environments but also communities strengthened through collaboration and shared knowledge.

The prize money will fund the next phase: completing the school as a fully realized community hub. The plan includes a design-and-build workshop with local youth and carpenters to craft classroom furniture from salvaged wood, the enclosure of the semi-open classroom into a permanent teaching space and an on-site exhibition documenting the process. These steps will strengthen local ownership while enhancing the school’s long-term adaptability.

- Information for the project text was provided by Dhammada Collective -