Meandering alleyways encourage "spontaneous interactions" at Pune clubhouse by Studio VDGA

The Street community clubhouse in India by Studio VDGA

Perforated brick walls, courtyards and arcades are intended to imitate the bylanes of an Indian city at The Street, a community clubhouse in Pune, India, designed by local practice Studio VDGA.

The Street was created to provide facilities and communal gathering spaces for a new community on the outskirts of Pune in Maharashtra, which comprises 240 self-build plots.

Across a 15,000-square-metre site, The Street provides a gym, kitchen, multipurpose hall, restaurant and pool for this community, all connected by a series of winding streets, courtyards and arcades designed by Studio VDGA to foster "spontaneous interactions".

"The core concept for the design of The Street was to create a facility that acts as a central hub for a plotted community, moving away from the stereotypical clubhouses built merely as marketing tools," the studio told Dezeen.

"This traditional influence continues in the layout, which mimics the feeling of vibrant Indian by-lanes," added Studio VDGA.

"The design nurtures a natural, open, and connected lifestyle, emphasising shared experiences, traditional values, and a sense of belonging, with a meandering street-like layout to encourage spontaneous interactions and shared stories."

Two entrances at both the north and south of the site lead to brick paths into the heart of The Street, where the main facilities are organised around open, stone-paved plazas.

To the east, a gymnasium and bathrooms sit alongside a large swimming pool. This is overlooked by an area of outdoor seating and a variety of sheltered spaces, including a steel-framed canopy and a concrete arcade.

Community clubhouse in India by Studio VDGA — Brick walls line a series of walkways and courtyards

To the west, both the sheltered multipurpose events space and an external area of amphitheatre-style seating look towards a plaza planted with a tree, while a tower-like form to the south contains the centre's utilities and a store.

Brick walls enclose the routes around the site, as well as an elevated seating area beneath a barrel-vaulted ceiling and with perforated walls.

Small changes in level around the site are intended to evoke the feeling of moving through a cityscape.

Perforated brick building by Studio VDGA — The Street contains an events space, a gym and a pool

"Red brick was selected to evoke a sense of nostalgia and to root the structure in the landscape, a nod to traditional Indian architecture," the studio said.

"This is complemented by the use of raw concrete finishes, which provide a modern contrast while maintaining the building's authentic, unrefined character," it added.

Based in Pune, Studio VDGA was founded by principal architect Deepak Gugarii in 2003. Previous projects by the studio include a home in Dubai, also organised around a series of open courtyards, and an office in India with curving walls of honeycomb cardboard.

The photography is by Edmund Sumner.

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