The accent is on connecting to the roots, designing to the context rather than trying to be unique and iconic. The objective is to infuse what is common, prevailing, dominant or a typical style of the location than be distinctive.
In a presentation hosted by the Indian Institute of Architects, Karnataka Chapter, architect Kapil Gupta of Serie Architects spoke on infusing into the structures a design that reflects the style and sentiments of the location where the dominant feature of the area is reflected in the architecture, connecting architecture to the city where the prevailing elements feature in it as a work of art.
A dialogueBe it the Victorian trusses or the ubiquitous sunshades, the overhangs that have prevailed over time, the architecture would need to enter into a dialogue with the cultural, historical, social fabric of the city, contended Gupta.
His project, The Tote, reflects amply these sentiments. Offered with a series of disused buildings existing from Mumbai’s colonial past and requiring the same to be converted to host restaurants and bars, Gupta set about reusing existing elements and adapting them to current usage needs.
The site was home to an incredible canopy of rain trees. Gupta borrowed the concept, fusing it with the colonial frame, addressing the conservation stipulations of the existing building roof structure while connecting the design to an existing fabric.
The emerging design was an arresting structural element of tree branches made of steel trusses, reflecting a canopy of trees in colonial trusses.
Shared terracesHis project, the Singapore State Courts, involved renovation of the existing Octagon Courts building besides adding two new towers. Incidentally the site was small and additions to the existing building were a challenge.
While the new towers were linked by a series of foot bridges, the courtroom tower was given an open frame without an external façade, supporting a series of shared terraces.
“The open frame design is representative of the open impartial judicial process”, said Gupta. “The outdoor terraces with high-rise gardens and open views across the city reinforce the civic role of the building”, he added. To bring in the existing local flavour, the courtrooms are clad in ribbed terracotta reflecting the colours of the tiled roofs in the adjacent historical Chinatown shop-houses.
The ashram challengeThe Jain Ashram in Gujarat, coming up on a 220-acre site, was on a barren terrain, having been deforested while surrounded by lush greens. It invited a design concept that reflected the sacred elements interpreted in a modern frame, while the inspiration was drawn from history and renewed with cultural and social relevance. “The idea was to move away from any specific religious representation and come up with a modern response to a spiritual setting”, said Gupta.
The steep slopes of the terrain, with a deep gorge in between, prompted many designs before the final one was frozen. What emerged finally was a design that was not pretentious, catering to the requirement of the building needing to last a century. Thick concrete walls of 40 cm mark the entire building complete with meditation hall and congregation spaces.
Commenting on their design inclinations, Gupta added, “What we believe in and are trying to do is draw on the deep structure of history, the ideology and adapt it into the design such as the steel trusses opening out as a tree in The Tote, picking the familiarity of the trusses in the Victoria Terminus while connecting to the character of the site. This is in variance to coming up with a Zaha Hadid type of design that would be totally out of context in the given location.”
