This Indian University's Roof Fits 9,000 People - and the Idea Came From a 1,000-Year-Old Stepwell - Yanko Design

"The roof is composed of 463 individual stepped platforms that rise diagonally from the building's northern point, with landscaped courtyards breaking up the geometry at intervals to allow natural light into the floors below. The formal reference is India's historic stepwells, subterranean water storage structures built between the 7th and 19th centuries across western India."

"Stepwells like Rajasthan's Chand Baori were never purely utilitarian; they doubled as gathering spaces for social and religious life. Sanjay Puri's interpretation lifts that same dual-purpose logic above ground, and the campus has already used the roofscape for lectures, games, and a flag hoisting on India's Independence Day."

"The stepped form itself reduces the vertical circulation load needed to cool the building. A continuous diagonal indoor street running the length of the ground floor drives natural ventilation through internal spaces, while perforated glass fiber reinforced concrete screens wrap the eastern, western, and southern elevations to limit heat gain."

At Prestige University in Indore, a five-story building serves as infrastructure for an innovative rooftop landscape composed of 463 stepped platforms rising diagonally from the northern point. The design draws inspiration from India's historic stepwells, which functioned as both utilitarian water storage and social gathering spaces. The roofscape now hosts lectures, games, and cultural events. The stepped form reduces cooling loads while a diagonal indoor street enables natural ventilation. Perforated screens on eastern, western, and southern elevations minimize heat gain, and a shallow pool provides passive cooling. These layered climate strategies address Indore's extreme temperatures ranging from 86°F to 104°F throughout the year.

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