The Shraman Shramani Nilayam is located in Badnapur, Maharashtra. Contextually situated against the backdrop of the sacred monolithic Ellora caves, it seeks to embrace the spiritual energy that has accumulated here over centuries.

The Nilayam was created with the intention of allowing Jain monks to experience this timeless energy while seeking a higher purpose of spiritual awakening. Its inspiration is drawn from the sacred qualities of a tree. The hand-sketched sectional design resembles and functions as a living tree organism. It exists in its fragmented form as a protective layer of individual cells, or viharas, composed around an open courtyard.

This transition through multilayered porous spaces lets filtered light in, creating a harmonious balance of light, air and space, ensuring an atmosphere conducive to the hot and dry climate.

The pencil-rendered graphics represent an interconnected series of double-height volumes that create a breathing of light and dark inside and interactive pauses outside. The movement naturally flows and connects into the central open-to-sky courtyard, like a collecting bowl of cosmic energies.

Drawing Medium:
Graphite and pencil on paper, with digital post-production, typography and composition.

Rendered primarily in graphite and pencil, the drawing uses tonal gradations, shadow and hand-drawn textures to communicate the spatial experience of the architecture.