Interior view of the octagonal shape
auditorium showing the seating, balcony,
radial beams of the roof shells and the
compression ring in the center.
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Chaitanya Jyothi...
Redefining the design
and construction experience
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The magnificent Chaitanya Jyothi with its
rapturous design and outstanding construction
features.
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This building was constructed to
commemorate the 75
th
Birthday of
Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, and
houses an exhibition on His Life and
Mission. The location was selected
keeping in view the ambience and
grandeur of the structure. A level
site of 65m frontage and 60m depth
and 4m above road level had to be
created out of a sloping hillside.
This entailed 3 to 4m of filling to an
extant of one third portion and about
5000 cu.m of rock removal on the
remaining portion. The building is
23m high, with a covered area of
about 6000 sq.m. The apex of the
roof is 27m high from the road level.
The architect, Mr. Goh Say Tong of
Malaysia, designed a unique structure
with a fusion of many cultures and
architectural styles. A roof similar to
a Chinese Emperor’s Palace, flanked
by two Moorish domes made of
titanium, crowning semicircular ends
adorned with Gothic arches, are the
main features. The two lift shafts
have Japanese style roofs and there
is K0I fish pool in front, designed by a
specialist from Singapore. The stone
balustrades and the stupa in front
came from China. Incidentally, this
is the biggest Chinese roof outside
mainland China.
The fusion of Chinese
architectural style lends
grandeur to the beautiful
Chaitanya Jyothi.
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The excavation which started
on 16
th
November, 1999 was
completed in April 2000, because
this involved hard rock profiles. In
order to accelerate the progress,
a rock breaker was employed. It
was withdrawn a month later
being unable to break the hard
granite strata underlying the top
layer. Permission was then given
for controlled blasting, which
commenced on 3
rd
February 2000
and went upto 20
th
April 2000.
Because of stringent time schedules,
the structural construction did not
proceed in the normal way but
commenced wherever site clearance
was made available. Thus on the
right hand side the columns and
slabs were raised up to the roof
level, leaving dowels. All levels
were tackled simultaneously and
the whole building was constructed
proceeding sideways from right to
left. This radical departure from
normal construction sequence was
adopted, in order to meet stringent
time frames and to make the building
functional.
Right:
The intricate and
colourful filigree work
on the ceilings and stone
ballustrades.
Extreme Right:
Sloping roof
with Chinese architectural
elements and decorative
features.
I was involved with construction Sri Sai Srinivasa
Guest House, Prashanthi Nilayam and Sri Sathya
Sai Super Specialty Hospitals both in Puttaparthi
& Whitefield including Sri Sathya Sai Convention
Centre at Whitefield.
In my opinion, L&T is competent to take up and
complete major works to the entire satisfaction of
the clients. The Sri Sathya Sai Convention Centre
– Whitefield is a unique structure which involved
advanced technical excellence both in structural and
civil engineering.
Mr. D.K.Audikesavulu, Former Member of Parliament
and Chairman, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam.
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Yet another innovation includes
anchoring the reinforcement bars
of columns directly into the hard
granite rock wherever such rock
was encountered. M-30 grade
concrete was used for all structural
members. For intermediate slabs
and heavily reinforced beams,
w/c ratio of 0.38 was adopted
using FOSROC Conplast SP 337
superplasticiser. For all slabs open
to sky and the Chinese roof slab,
w/c ratio of 0.36 with maximum
superplasticiser dosing was
adopted. Joints in slabs were kept
to a bare minimum and wherever
joints had to be provided, epoxy
based bonding chemical was
used to ensure the best possible
bonding.
Colourful ‘arty facts’ –
spectrum of light with fine art
images, heritage paintings
and statues that imparts a
stunning visual treat to the
eyes.
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Chinese roof with gothic
arches and titanium domes on
either side.
Right:
Aesthetically designed
arch windows and facades.
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