Chinmaya Vibhooti located at Kolwan, Pune, India is a center for vision, inspiration and practice. It is dedicated to Swami Chinmayanand and is part of Chinmaya Mission’s endeavour.
DESIGN PHILOSOPHY
Swanubhooti Vatika was to be designed to nourish the mind, body as well as the soul. The landscape planning for the park was to connect humans to nature and ones consciousness.
This site is endowed with a beautiful natural setting, which was apt for a contemplative garden and connects oneself to nature.
The creation of the Vatika involved the path to search ones consciousness and find ones answers and solutions to the questions that arise.
The different areas in the garden like, Prashnapath signify ones journey in which innumerable questions that arise, Gurusthali the guidance of a Guru/Teacher, Kathangan the inspiring stories that guide us, Manasodyan the broadening of our mind, and Sankalpakshetra the decisions that we take in our walk of life.
The concept of landscape involved the creation of the different forests (van), which have a cultural and religious significance in Hindu mythology and Indian culture.
Spatial experiences have been woven together seamlessly from bound walls to openness of nature. The journey along the movement path is rendered with pause points, sculptures & focal points.
Each of the landscaped areas have native planting to provide shade and which adapt to the climate of this region, which has a collection of medicinal plants, fruit bearing plants to attract birds, flowering shrubs to attract butterflies, scented flowering plants near contemplative seating pockets. Visual colour pattern along pathway, is achieved through different layers of planting. Native grasses are used which adapt to the ecology of the site. A wide canopy tree such as Banyan with a cultural significance is used as a focal element in a larger meditation pocket.
The juxtaposition of the yoga deck is such that it overlooks the pond, which collects the water from the surrounding watershed area through bioswales.
The spiral concentric pattern is used at the centre of the park, where all the vistas of the park open out. The door frame sculpture, signifies the opening of the mind doors. Open text museum is designed with the hexagon as a base module which is extruded as pillars for the display of quotes of different philosophers.
The designed landscape acted as the connecting thread between the spiritual context and the response to the site parameters.
Swanubhooti Vatika, Chinmaya Vibhooti, Pune, India
Location: Kolwan, Pune, India.
Client: Chinmaya Vibhooti, Chinmaya Mission, India
Landscape Architect: Kshitija Kolhatkar
Architect: Vivek Dhamanaskar
Project Management: Vaichal Constructions
Landscape Contractor: Renu Landscapes (Dhairyasheel Lad)
Concept Developer: Shyam Banerjee Ruma Dasgupta
Project In Charge Chinmaya Vibhooti Team
Irrigation Consultant: Bharati Enviro Agro.
Sculptures: Indranil Garai Associates Venkat Arts
Graphic Designer- Namrata Dhamanaskar
Photo Credits: Sudhanva Kolhatkar
