"First Day at The Rajkumari Ratnavati Girl’s School" by Diana Kellogg, Diana Kellogg - Architect,
Vinay Panjwani - Photographer

This captures the magnetic energy the girls had when they entered The Rajkumari Ratnavati Girl’s School for the first time, a fantastical oval structure that sits atop empty acres in the heart of the mystic Thar Desert in Rajasthan, India. It will serve more than 400 girls, kindergarten - class 10, that live below the poverty line where female literacy barely touches 36%. Standing as a beacon in its desert kingdom of Jaisalmer, the building’s solar canopies and jallis keep the heat and sand out so the girls can learn and play comfortably. A living, breathing symbol of empowerment, it was designed to improve the lives of the community. Local craftsmen - often the fathers of the girls - built the school using local sandstone and soon, two more structures will be erected: an exhibition space and a women’s cooperative where artisans will teach mothers and other women traditional skills.