If global architecture trends are anything to go by, experts are leaning towards fuss-free, community-centric designs. Be it retail spaces that integrate socialising areas, artist residencies with amphitheatres and ‘sculpture plazas’, or public halls in urban and rural settings, architects are putting the focus back on the importance of community. With less experimentation and more ‘safe spaces’ to define architecture in 2024, here are four spaces in India dedicated to foster inclusivity.
Nokha Village Community Centre, Rajasthan
Completion year: 2024
Gross floor area: 13,000 sq.ft.
Cost: ₹9 crore
In a rapidly urbanising world where “people are becoming more reclusive and interacting more with their phones”, there is a need to create spaces that bring people together, believes Sanjay Puri. Sanjay Puri Architects has just wrapped up the Nokha Village Community Centre, located in the arid desert region of Nokha in Rajasthan. He continues, “While museum and exhibitions foster the community spirit, there are no spaces for a large segment of society who cannot afford or do not have access to museums, malls and other congregational areas.”
The Nokha Village Community Centre, he says, addresses these needs by becoming a space for gatherings, events, learning , and play for children from the 144 villages in Nokha district.
The project’s main architectural feature is a sweeping curvilinear volume that elegantly loops around the site, creating a dynamic interplay of space and form. Spanning 9,000 sq.ft., the Centre also houses an inclined rooftop garden with two varying slopes that offer panoramic views of the desert. Below this is a museum dedicated to the local culture and a digital library for children. “Most projects have a specific brief and are designed for a specific segment of people. In this case, the client Shankar Kularia (of interior designing company Padam Group) wished to make a memorial for their father Padmaramji Kularia. We studied the surrounding villages and realised that a community centre was better, and created our own brief based upon the need of a performance space, public garden, and library,” adds Puri.
The building’s southern façade along with most of the eastern and western sides is enveloped in a grass-covered earth berm, a strategic response to the challenging desert climate. While growing grass in the desert is a debated topic given the water requirements and other environmental factors, Puri says the water used for the maintenance of the earth berm is recycled from the owner’s house nearby which is harvested through borewells.“ The grass covered roof substantially reduces the heat gain in response to the hot desert climate, keeping the inner spaces cool even when external temperatures exceed 40 degrees celsius. Due to the high maintenance of grass, there are no public gardens and only a few large private homes have gardens. This is the first public garden in the entire vicinity of multiple villages where residents, especially children, can have access to a grass surface,” he adds.
Addressing the project’s sustainable features, Puri explains that the ovoid library is sheathed in natural sandstone screens with the stone being sourced from the immediate surrounding area. “These reduce heat gain and create different shadow patterns throughout the day. The museum is lit indirectly by scooped recesses within the roof garden berms,” he says, adding that the rooftop gardens, stone screens, the north facing courtyard, and southern grass berm collectively reduce heat gain, rendering the spaces energy efficient.
One Tree Hill Community Hall, Hosur
Completion Year: 2022
Gross built area: 7,200 sq.ft.
Cost: Approx. ₹5 crore
It was in 2015 that Samira Rathod Design Atelier began work on this innovative community centre, in honour of HRS Rao, a patron, who wished to dedicate a building to his land and people. “The entire concept of civilisation is built in the idea of community living. Societies today are fragmented and people suffer from loneliness and depression. A well-designed and interactive community will foster activities that bring back the sense of togetherness and therefore the wellness of a community,” says Rathod of One Tree Community Hall that opened its doors in 2022.
Each project is a response to the context, explains the architect, adding that the context is the site, geographical location, climate, cultural background, its people, the programme itself, budgets etc. “This building is different from the other ones because of its geographical location and the materials that we sourced. We have primarily used granite because it was easily available, and we drew inspiration from temple architecture to create composite walls from brick and granite to reduce load, cost and time of construction. Old discarded eucalyptus tree trunks which were marked by termites were recycled to become pillars,” explains Rathod.
The architect says that while the construction did not pose any issues, the challenge was to get the locals on board. “We had to understand their needs, explain what we were doing. So, the sense of ownership of the building was important. This was a big challenge as we needed a lot of time to negotiate and build bridges so that what we hand over is taken as a responsibility and maintained.”
Subterranean Ruins, Bengaluru
Completion Year: December 2022
Gross built area: 1,766 sq.ft.
Cost: ₹85 lakh
Kaggalipura, a small village 40 km from Bengaluru city, received a makeover of sorts during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Two philanthropists, Bhaskar and Kiran Mai, wanted to design a multifunctional place on their three-acre farmland that could be used by both private and public individuals.
Keeping this brief in mind, Avinash Ankalge and Harshith Nayak, principal architects and founder-partners at Bengaluru-based A Threshold, kickstarted the project during a tough time when workers were scarce. “The challenging times of the pandemic gave us a unique opportunity to maximise the use of locally available materials, and employ villagers who had just lost their jobs ,” he says of the “win-win situation” for both clients and villagers.
The building features multifunctional caves tucked within the earth to blend with the existing terrain, like unfinished ruins, planned in and around existing trees. Ankalge says it has been sensitively designed to conform to the existing landform. “The structure integrates with the natural terrain, taking advantage of a steep four-metre drop followed by flat land. By utilising the existing topography, the structure harmoniously blends into the surrounding landscape without the need for land modification,” he says, adding that this design approach ensured that the building becomes an intrinsic part of nature.
The setting of this project made the design rooted to its context, and the site demanded the use of locally available materials, labourers, and technology. “The remote location, tree cover and terrain gave the team clues as to how the building should sit on the ground and merge with its natural slope,” he says. Which is why we see the use of natural materials like local brick kiln walls, black granite from a nearby stone quarry, boulders and stone pebbles sieved from excavated soil. Now that the project is two years old, Ankalge says additional trees have been planted so the structure looks more seamless with the natural environment. “The landscape is taking over and the building is ageing very well.”
The project gave the team the opportunity to interact with various artisans, potters, and sculptors, which led to a sense of belonging. “We started organising workshops here for school kids on painting, pottery, sculpting, gardening, yoga, etc., and also invited expertise in other allied fields to educate locals,” says Ankalge of the centre that they have imagined as a knowledge hub, and hope to open up for artist residencies in the future. “The activities were planned thoughtfully to get villagers together and create a sense of belonging between communities. It’s important to create these centres across the country, especially in the smaller villages and towns where there’s a scarcity of education and facilities,” he concludes.
The Red Oasis, Pune
Completion Year: 2020
Gross built area: 2,690 sq.ft.
Cost: ₹79 lakh
With our cities being concretised at an alarming rate, the need for open, community-driven spaces arises all the more. As a solution to this, Pune-based firm PMA Madhushala has crafted an ‘oasis’ in brick amid a slew of residential buildings. “In the suburban context where growth is rapid with an unrealistic trend in development, an appropriate space with functionality for socialising and recreation becomes a basic necessity. As the users are migrants, it is important for them to connect to the people and the environment around them,” says the firm’s founder, Prasanna Morey.
Built over a period of three years, the site comprises a multifunctional community hall, playground, library, seating areas, walking pathways, an open-air amphitheatre and a temple. Morey explains that the social context surrounding The Red Oasis “shows a distinct difference from our previous projects”.
“Located within a community primarily composed of middle and lower-income residents, the notion of recreational open spaces was considered a luxury. In response, a masterplan was designed giving more prominence to open space. Working with budgetary restrictions we explored the ways in which a single material can be used in an innovative way,” Morey says of the structure crafted in local bricks with low-tech construction techniques. As for the roof, doors and furniture, metal scraps of construction waste were used.
As the structure was built on a load bearing system it demanded a thicker wall, and to minimise the required brick quantity the team incorporated a curvilinear parametric geometrical system, which further crafted the facade. “To make the project climate responsive we conceptualised the nature of the building as a pavilion, which eventually helped to achieve light and ventilation,” says Morey, adding that the built-in drains direct the rain water from across the space into a storage tank underneath.
This article is the third in a series on inclusive buildings in the country. Reach out to us at propertyplus@thehindu.co.in with more recommendations for this space.
