These two unbuilt architecture projects won for their conceptual design, and we look forward to seeing them executed…
Winner – Lijo John, Cochin Creative Collective
Project – 1868 House, Kottayam, Kerala
1868 House is an attempt to keep the heritage values of traditional houses intact while simultaneously adapting to modern needs. The architecture of this house is an exploration of harmonious dimensional relationships/ proportions between the old house and the new modern block.
The architectural elements such as the wall and tower, geometry and layers – all comprise the design vocabulary that the practice engages so often in various conservation projects following the 1868 House.
The process involved digital illustration; a graphical style categorised as post digital. Inspired by Chirico and Aldo Rossi, a 5sq-ft canvas painting was made which depicts the lost project in a melancholic landscape.
The definition of the design problem was to simultaneously establish the validity of the past, the present and the micro context. The architects decided that the approach to the extension should be made as a separate block, which matched the proportions of the old. This approach meant applying a principle that the practice follows – viz, adding a layer of new memory to the fragments of the old. Even in terms of material, there would be a conscious juxtaposition of old and new materials such as the wood of the old supported by new steel. The ‘naalukettu’ and its new extension were then encapsulated within a wall, possessing punctures which frame the tropics around.
Winner – Sidhartha Talwar, Studio Lotus
Project – Mehrangarh Fort Visitor Centre & Knowledge Centre, Jodhpur
With an approach of frugal innovation, flexibility and modularity, the design team’s proposal for the new Knowledge Centre & Visitor Centre at the 15th-century Mehrangarh Fort precinct seeks to create a new architectural system in tune with the rich context of the site. The design takes the brief forward through a highly functional and responsive approach towards the existing context, focusing on a deeply sustainable approach which reduces the volume of stone used and demonstrates a high degree of localisation, re-configuration and modularity with evolving needs of the programme.
Providing a highly sustainable and sensitive alternative to the inflexibility that conventional construction of the 20th century entails, the adaptive reuse interventions proposed by Studio Lotus make the most of modern construction technology, yet stand deferential to the historic site’s timeless magnificence. The lightness and the adaptable nature of the stones and steel structures seem to float on the landscape.
The proposal for the extension attempts to create an architectural system that is contextual to the region and its history, as also to be ambitious and responsive to the 21st century.
