Formed in 1956 in Patiala, a city in the Indian state of Punjab, Thapar University commissioned the Dublin practice of Valerie Mulvin and Niall McCullough to unify its disparate campus by devising a masterplan and raising a series of buildings for housing, laboratories, and a sport center. Drawn up with the local firm DesignPlus Associates, the new scheme for the university grounds takes inspiration from the region’s traditional architecture and is conditioned by its monsoonal climate.

Clad in red sandstone and lattices, the sculptural complex of the learning laboratory is formed by three volumes – with wide ramps in between – that include a library, lecture theaters, and a computer science building. Atriums traversed by stairs are linked to a large podium that acts as a connector and a climate modifier, with fountains that help to bring down temperatures during the year’s hottest periods.