Global Indian International School in Singapore redefines 21st Century International Education standards. With state-of-the-art resources and facilities, the schools nudge students towards an innovative tomorrow.

Design Inspiration

The school authorities tasked the EDI with the design for the new campus of the school. The design innovatively draws inspiration from a bird’s nest – a protective outer shell, and nurturing interior. The iconic curved shape of the buildings form a central outdoor play, performance, and social space, protected from car traffic and noise and sheltered from rain and dust by a translucent fabric roof.

This urban oasis, complete with a waterfall, rainwater garden, stage, and fashion runway, will be the space students remember as they take the flight to new places and new careers. The curved shape also recalls the open space in the ‘G’ of the Global Indian International School’s logo, a visual pattern that is reinforced throughout the interior and exterior design.

The exterior facades of the curved buildings are designed to recall the complex textures and patterns of the twigs that form a bird’s nest. Terracotta tiles project to create solar shading for key areas of glazing and create a rich pattern of shadows on the façade. Three different colors of tiles are used in the body of the façade to further the sense of depth and pattern.

EDI’s design team developed a computer algorithm to generate over 100 different patterns of projections, and color changes in the terracotta tiles before developing the final pattern. Beyond the symbolic and aesthetic inspiration, the nest also celebrates and supports the migration path of many local birds, some even endangered, directly over the school site. The trees and greenery on multiple levels within the nest create an opportunity for birds to perch, providing students with an opportunity to see up close the amazing habitat that surrounds them. Therefore, the nest serves both as a metaphorical nest protecting students from the noise, traffic, and dust of Singapore, and a literal nest with local plantings supporting the health of the birds.

Learning in Community

The campus is organized to make large schools feel small. The scale of both the elementary and secondary school is broken down into a series of Small Learning Communities (SLCs) of 160 students. Each SLC has a suite of space including classrooms; flexible open space for small group collaboration, student presentations, and individual research. It also has a professional space for teachers to plan innovative learning experiences for students collaboratively.

The SLC suites are located either adjacent to stairs or specialized spaces such as art studios and music spaces to minimize both horizontal and vertical travel times for students. When more vertical travel is necessary, the glass-enclosed elevators at the eight-storeyed secondary school provide an unparalleled view of the bird’s nest.

The larger communities of the elementary school and secondary school are linked together by a bridge that provides an inspiring view of the nest and makes a signature statement at the main entrance.