Spotlight on Educational Institutions: The Tetrisception by Renesa Architecture Design Interiors

The Tetris game inspired the design of Maple Bear India, a pre-nursery school created by Renesa Architecture Design Interiors in New Delhi. 

Curated by: Deepa Nair
Photographs: Vibhor Yadav, courtesy Renesa Architecture Design Interiors

The site

The Tetrisception project is a pre-nursery school, Maple Bear India, located in New Delhi. The site was originally an old dilapidated house which was modified to create more space and ventilation for the required classrooms and common areas. The walls were shifted in accordance to the allowable bandwidth of the existing building and was later joined into the external “tetris-ized” layer wall in order to keep the structure strength intact.

The design intent

The studio’s ideology for this pre-nursery school raises an argument to the new style of architecture (A Renaissance of Art) for the learning and growth of the little ones. The studio came up with a design mapping of all the games the kids would play in that age group; finally reaching a stage where the Tetris game could be clubbed with the architecture’s skin. The architects wanted to create a reaction and response from a young one in order to make them learn from the exterior environment.

The design details

The old dilapidated structure needed a layered outlook with the Tetris design elements adding the right colour and volume to the architecture. The strategic and consistent use of colour establishes a stimulating and playful identity for the campus, acting as a visual connective tissue throughout the child’s daily experience. Further, a running gradient of colours on the tetris-ized facade creates a value-addition to the already playful facade. Within this predefined framework, playful architectural interventions occurred (tetris architectural brick volumes) at the children’s scale, creating reading nooks between classrooms, formal/impromptu seating areas and sculpted terrain.
The school also has three decent sized classrooms with a big discovery room (hall) along with a playground and a sand pit arena.

FAct File

Project: The Tetrisception — Architectural Re-branding of Maple Bear India
Location: New Delhi
Area: 4,550 sq ft
Principal architects: Sanjay Arora and Sanchit Arora
Principal designer: Vandana Arora