Sanjay Puri Architects’ building at Prestige University - Photo by Vinay Panjwani, courtesy of of the architects.

Sanjay Puri Architects’ building at Prestige University – All photos are by Vinay Panjwani, courtesy of the architects.

Architecture. There is something quietly theatrical about the newest landmark at Prestige University. Designed by Sanjay Puri Architects, the five-storey, 28-metre-tall, brick-clad building sits across a generous 13-acre campus, rising on a natural slope. 463 terraced platforms – some accessible by wheelchairs – spill across a 9,000 sq. m. rooftop. The striking architecture never announces itself — it simply unfolds, terrace by terrace, until the whole thing reads as one enormous open-air stage.

Sanjay Puri Architects’ building at Prestige University - Photo by Vinay Panjwani, courtesy of of the architects.

“Stepped up diagonally from the northern point, the entire roof of the building is accessible to the students and faculty of the university, transforming it into an open auditorium, seating up to 9,000 students at a time,” explain Sanjay Puri Architects.

Sanjay Puri Architects’ building at Prestige University - Photo by Vinay Panjwani, courtesy of of the architects.

The reference point here is deeply rooted in local history. “India’s ancient stepwells — built more than a millennium ago — were never just about water storage. They were places to linger, to gather, to belong.”

Sanjay Puri Architects’ building at Prestige University - Photo by Vinay Panjwani, courtesy of of the architects.

What ties it all together is light — specifically, the way the architects have coaxed it in from every angle through a series of landscaped interior courtyards. It is a trick borrowed from traditional Indian architecture, and it works beautifully, keeping the building cool and bright with minimal reliance on artificial systems. A shallow reflecting pool at the base does its part too, passively tempering the heat of a city that spends the better part of eight months nudging 40°C.

Sanjay Puri Architects’ building at Prestige University - Photo by Vinay Panjwani, courtesy of of the architects.

Inside, the building is organised with pleasing clarity. Ground floor life revolves around the food court, auditorium, and administration. A bridge on the first floor connects the library’s various components across a diagonal indoor street.

Sanjay Puri Architects’ building at Prestige University - Photo by Vinay Panjwani, courtesy of of the architects.

Above that, classrooms on the second floor borrow light from open courts that moonlight as impromptu recreational spots; the third floor steps up into tiered lecture spaces; and the fourth pulls faculty and administration together at the summit.

Sanjay Puri Architects’ building at Prestige University - Photo by Vinay Panjwani, courtesy of of the architects.

Considered, climate-conscious, and genuinely communal — the new building at Prestige University is architecture that earns its place.

Sanjay Puri Architects’ building at Prestige University - Photo by Vinay Panjwani, courtesy of of the architects.

All photos are by Vinay Panjwani, courtesy of Sanjay Puri Architects.

Sanjay Puri Architects’ building at Prestige University - Photo by Vinay Panjwani, courtesy of of the architects.