prov incial rural market town .

Throughou t its history, aside from being an admin istrative and

market centre, minor lords establ ished their presence in the city in the form of man sions or
wadas. N umerou s wadas were bu ilt in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. These
traditional houses had a large courtyard that was entered through a massive gate, just within
wh ich was a generous raised pl atform or otta for carrying out small-scale transactions. On the
first floor was a darbar ha ll where the lord wou ld meet his subjects, receive emissaries or
settle d isputes. More powerful and wealthier families bu ilt wadas that included two courts,
the more seclu ded being restricted to domestic activities. These enclosed courts were paved
with local stone and were adjoined by porches raised several feet high . The windows and
balconies of u pper floors faced into the courtyard. The wada form gave a pattern to Pune's
n eighbourhoods and aspects of this historical local typology were adopted by the arch itect in
his design concepts and detai l ing of the Mah indra Un ited World College.

c. Climatic conditions

There are definite seasons in the area: a monsoon period lasting from mid-June to late
Septem ber; a dry pleasant period from October to March, with a daily maximum temperatu re
of 32°C and min imum of l 2°C; and a very hot, dry summer, with a daily maximum
temperature of 42°C and min imum of 26°C lasts from April to Jun e.

d. Site context and topography

The bu ilding site is on a high plateau located in the picturesque Sahyadar i Mou ntain s in
Mu lsh i near Pune. Its elevation is 90 metres above the Mu lla River basin and at an overall
altitude of some 800 metres above sea level. It is surrounded by mountains, which are part of
the Ind ian Western Gh ats range . This is a rugged landscape, h istorically known for its h i l ltop
forts and stone houses.

III. Programme

Objectives and fu nctional requirements

Its l ate co-founder Harish Mah indra inspired the visi on of the college. The program me
fon11u lation arose fron1the academi c requirements of the Internati onal Baccalaureate and the
stan dards of the Un ited Worl d Colleges. The specific programme of the college was
developed between Harish Mah indra, Christopher Benninger, the proje ct architect, and Dr
David W i lk inson, the headmaster of the school. The architect spent hou rs with them
discussin g the basic 'd i agram ' of each bu ilding. This was followed by further discussion after
the diagrams had been turned into prel im inary arch itectural sketches. At the time, the faculty
staff was also being recru ited so the architect could d iscuss the science centre with the
science facu lty and the art centre with the art staff. Both the architect and the h eadmaster also
worked closely with the kitchen consu ltant and catering contractors to pl an the kitchen
layout, select equ ipment, and plan the dish-wash ing, storage and other service areas.

To develop the programme further, questionnaires were also sent to all the Un ited Wor ld
Col leges that had erected their own campuses to determ ine how much space they gave to
Mahindra United World College, Pune, India