Diya Benny

AR3011

Benaras Hindu University was envisioned as a place where students would learn to be self-sufficient and well-rounded individuals, but this holistic development goal isn’t evident in the decision-making processes. Despite the presence of a student union, the final authority rests with the college administration, indicating a disconnect between the governing body and the student populace. The Student Centre at BHU becomes a symbol that upholds the spirit of the citizens. A building ambiguous in nature, the Student Centre hosts the binaries - the college administration as well as the students, the body which makes the rules and the body for which the rules are made for. In an attempt to maneuver transparency in decision making, the boundaries are blurred between them. 
The student center sits on the edge of the site, with the depression on one side and the road on the other. There’s a kind of intimacy in the way it emerges from the pond, taking in the fluid ground and growing from it. The low plinth forms an open free ground collecting and convening people from all directions. A large expanse characterized by multiple columns arranged in a linear grid forms the structure to carry the singular roof. Within this enveloping structure lies an indefinite, nebulous volume, shrouded in ambiguity, holding boundless potential to become whatever it desires.
Ambiguity is tried to achieve through different layers of thresholds. While the function itself becomes a layer at times, like the exhibition area, vacillations between the built and nature becomes another one. Every point is further stretched by the liminal spaces and made to bleed into each other. Within these transitional spaces, conversations and debates are sparked, drawing individuals of varying perspectives. These spaces magnetize people, convening them irrespective of consensus, simply by their presence therein.