PURPLE INK STUDIO COMPOSES MSAP ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN SCHOOL
The MSAP Architecture & Design School, designed by The Purple Ink Studio, spans 1,45,000 sqft and is situated on a contoured 3.9-acre site in Manipal, Karnataka. The campus is designed to accommodate 1200 students across the fields of Architecture, Design, and Fashion, seamlessly integrating with the vibrant academic atmosphere of Manipal Academy of Higher Education.The design approach focuses on creating interwoven and fluid spaces, respecting the natural topography with a significant slope of 18 meters towards the southeast. The building layout follows a 10×10 meter grid, stepping down the contours to provide unobstructed valley views.
The campus is organized into four distinct blocks centered around a central open space, which serves as an informal stepped forum for faculty-student interaction and provides a visual connection between all blocks.The orientation of the blocks considers wind direction, enhancing natural ventilation. The central court features monochromatic granite flooring, derived from local stone, with patterns inspired by the shadows cast by the buildings. Meandering staircases connect terraces at various levels, offering panoramic views and fostering dynamic interactions.MSAP Architecture & Design School by The Purple Ink Studio stands in Manipal | all images by Suryan // Dang
OPEN TERRACES CLAD IN TERRACOTTA OFFER EXPANSIVE VALLEY VIEWS
Design studios on the topmost level extend into an open-to-sky stepped court/terrace, creating interactive outdoor pockets. These terraces, clad in terracotta, serve as informal areas for contemplation and offer expansive valley views. The corridors are designed with exaggerated widths and punctured volumes to promote interaction at multiple levels and display student work, encouraging collaboration. An array of carefully placed apertures connects the interior with the outdoors encouraging interdisciplinary exchange.
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The entrance to the campus is conceived as a fluidic form and spatial continuum, serving both as a characteristic gateway and a set of undulating steps leading to the auditorium and administrative spaces. Purple Ink Studio‘s design draws from the Udupi Shri Krishna Matha, reflecting local cultural and architectural elements. The complex structure combines RCC and ferrocement to achieve its twisted form, revealing entry points with flowing brick waves that define the campus’s identity.The material palette prioritizes durability and maintenance, with exposed concrete ceilings speckled with colors derived from the regional cultural landscape. The design philosophy emphasizes discovery, experimentation, and the integration of built forms with nature, creating an environment that fosters innovation and dialogue.
The design focuses on creating interwoven, fluid spaces, respecting the site’s natural 18-meter slope the fluidic entrance form shapes undulating steps leading to the auditorium and administrative spaces the complex twisted structure reveals entry points with flowing brick waves the terraces, clad in terracotta, serve as interactive pockets and offer expansive valley views the central open space serves as an informal stepped forum, visually connecting all blocks the building layout follows a 10×10 meter grid, stepping down the contours to provide unobstructed views the material palette prioritizes durability, with exposed concrete ceilings meandering staircases connect terraces at various levels, offering views and fostering dynamic interactionscarefully placed apertures connect the interior with the outdoors, encouraging interdisciplinary exchange
