In most places in India, cattle are kept in cow sheds that do not provide adequate shelter, particularly in extreme weather. Other ills include overcrowding, poorly designed water troughs, a lack of segregation by age, and drainage systems that lead to infection. The design brief was for sheltering 60 cows from an existing facility that was poorly designed (+25 in the future) while constructing a milk product processing unit, an administrative office and a room for the caretaker. The most important aspect was to create a healthy shelter for the cows in the hot and dry climatic conditions. The well-designed cattle shelter that resulted was sensitive to the cattle and incorporated efficient space management and circulation, as well as drainage and ventilation systems. The cattle were segregated according to age, sex, etc. To make the space more natural for the cows, bamboo was used instead of steel.

Source: Aga Khan Trust for Culture