Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba declared open three out
of five dormitory blocks completed by L&T at Prasanthi
Nilayam on 11
th
September, 2010 and dedicated them
to Sai devotees on the auspicious occasion of Vinayaka
Chathurthi. Consisting of ground plus two stories, each
of these dormitory block has an area of 40950 sq.ft . The
walls of the buildings are made of solid block masonry
while the floors and roof including the stairways are made
of precast elements. Each of this dormitory is designed to
accommodate 864 devotees.
Sai Bhaktha Nivas is a dwelling place for the devotees
thronging Prasanthi Nilayam from
all over the world to have
a darshan of Baghwan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. In order to
meet the growing accommodation needs of overflowing
devotees at Prasanthi Nilayam, Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai
Baba decided to build these five new dormitories. Unlike
the earlier built dormitory sheds with sheet roof, the new
dormitory dons a modern look and they are provided with
complete amenities for the devotees
to have a comfortable
stay.
Surrendering the fruit of
action to the Lord
is real sacrifice.
Top left:
Interior view of the dormitory. Inset:
A. Ramakrishna briefing Swami about the
facilities.
Bottom left:
An illuminated view of
the building.
Above:
Between two wings of
the dormitory, there is an intermediary open
space for ventilation and lighting.
144
Each of these new dormitories is provided with two
blocks – a spacious hall of size 12m x 30 m area in the
front with a 9 m x 32 m toilet block in the backyard.
Divided into two wings,
each dormitory block has
two staircases in the centre of the building to provide
access to the upper floors. Overlooking downwards
between the two wings, is an open intermediary space
for better ventilation and lighting.
160 precast rib slabs, each of size 5.8 m x 1.61 m
form the floor of the first and second floors and each
of these rib slab weighs 2 tons. The second floor
roof is made of precast shell elements, each having
a dimension of 13.9 m length x 2.65 m width and a
weight of 9.5 tons. 42 parabolic shell roof elements
adorn each dormitory complex. The curved edges
of the precast roof shells placed side by side and
projected outward along the sides of the building with
its wavy form design, presents the structure a beautiful
look. There are two precast stair ways providing
access – one in the front and the other at the backyard
of the dormitory. Each of these stairways are made of
12 precast segments each weighing 5 tons.
There are two entrance doors for each wing and
sufficient space is provided for the walkways.
Accommodation inside the hall is provided in the
form of a double deck steel cot with berths (cushion
beds). The two wings in each floor provides 8 rows
of 8 double berths (lower and upper berths) which
can totally accommodate 288 persons per floor and
altogether 864 persons in three floors of one dormitory
block. Adequate number of
ceiling fans and lights are
fitted for good ventilation and lighting. In the backyard,
the toilet block is provided with bath rooms, wash
basins, closets and taps with good water connectivity
and lighting.
A casting yard at a strategic location with negative
moulds yielded the required precast rib slabs, staircase
segments and roof shells. After casting, they were
demoulded, transported and erected in place with
heavy lift cranes for speedier operations.
The operations which began on February 2010 was
completed in a record time of eight months by
30
th
September, 2010.
Major items of work
Precast elements
• Floor rib slabs
-
800 Nos
• Roof Shell elements
-
206 Nos
•
Staircase segments
-
60 Nos
Structural
• Concrete
-
3380 cu.m
• Shuttering
-
23190 sq.m
• Reinforcement
-
600 tons
Architectural
•
Solid Block masonry
-
16980 sq.m
• Plastering
-
35420 sq.m
• Flooring & dado
-
39230 sq.m
• Painting
-
58800 sq.m
Top right:
Exterior view of Sai Bhaktha
Nivas.
Right:
Mr. K. Chakravarthi, Mr. Satish Nayak
and Architect Rama Nayak explaining
details of a new project to Swami.