Authors:

Jahanvi A Sinha

Abstract:

Heritage campuses form a strong foundation in the Indian education legacy, with many institutional buildings being more than fifty years old. However, their architectural and intangible values often make repair and energy retrofitting very challenging as the need to fit modern infrastructure should be balanced with the limitation on intrusive interventions.

This paper examines the D. N. Hall, Department of Architecture, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, as a case study to show how material properties are not just construction details but actively shape design comfort and spatial experiences by influencing thermal comfort, light and ventilation, and the way users perceive and occupy the structure. The study interprets D. N. Hall not just as heritage structure with traditional building components, but as an integrated environmental ecosystem in which brick-lime masonry, sandstone openings and arches, timber roof members, railing and staircase, the Mangalore clay tiles and the central courtyard collectively shape the buildings spatial, thermal and lived experiences.

A secondary evidence synthesis is combined with case-study documentation and indicative material-property calculations to compare D. N. Hall’s traditional material palette with the common modern day materials such as RCC, glass, steel and, aluminium. The findings indicate that the traditional building materials reduces heat stress primarily through wall thickness, thermal mass, delayed heat transfer, moisture buffering, shaded openings, low-conductivity timber surfaces and courtyard-assisted microclimatic moderations.

The paper argues that conservation-led energy improvement should begin by understanding these existing material properties and their capacities before adding new retrofits into the building. The proposed framework can guide future in-situ U-value testing, thermography, indoor temperature monitoring and calibrated simulation for heritage campus buildings in hot climatic contexts like Baroda.

Keywords:

heritage campus; D. N. Hall; MSU Baroda; material properties; thermal mass; thermal conductivity; lime masonry; sandstone arches; timber roof; thermal comfort; adaptive reuse.

Vol & Issue:

VOL.18, ISSUE No.1, March 2026