Indore University Turns 1,100-Year-Old Stepwells Into Campus

Picture a rooftop with 463 stepped platforms where 9,000 students can gather, talk, and share moments between classes. That's what architect Sanjay Puri just built for Prestige University in Indore, drawing from one of India's oldest architectural traditions.

The design reimagines stepwells, the layered water structures Indians built 1,100 years ago as places to pause, cool down, and connect. Those ancient baolis weren't just functional. They shaped how communities gathered and conversations flowed.

Puri took that same spatial logic and applied it to a modern university campus. Instead of a typical glass tower, the building steps upward diagonally across 30,843 square meters. The roof becomes a landscape of its own, with terraces creating rhythm and openness.

From above, the geometry mirrors those historic stepwells, but this version houses administration offices, an auditorium, seminar halls, a library, and a cafeteria. The massive open-air terrace accommodates the entire student body at once.

The design also tackles Indore's climate challenge head-on. The city stays hot most of the year, so the stepped form reduces heat absorption while creating shaded areas throughout the structure.

Ventilated screens, shaded courtyards, and filtered natural light work together to cut dependence on air conditioning. These aren't new ideas. They're climate solutions traditional Indian architecture used for centuries, now brought back to life.

The Ripple Effect

This building proves that looking backward can move us forward. Traditional stepwells worked as social infrastructure for hundreds of years, creating spaces where people naturally wanted to be. By applying that ancient wisdom to a modern campus, the design shows how India's architectural heritage can solve today's challenges around community connection and climate response.

Other universities watching this project might start asking similar questions about their own spaces. What if more campuses prioritized gathering over isolation? What if climate-smart design became the standard instead of the exception?

The terraced campus stands as proof that good design creates more than beautiful buildings—it shapes how people experience their days, who they meet, and how communities form.