Indian World Architecture Festival 2022 shortlists on eco-designs for the future

When architect Puran Kumar got started on renovating his firm, Studio PKA’s studio space, he realised the need for a critical response to the inherited space, and the “idea of unearthing and discovering, rather than a set mandatory approach”. Shortlisted under the Future Projects - Civic category, she explains how the concept drew from the teachings of the Bahá’u’lláh, and “as we understand it, the teachings call for a space of worship both rooted and transcendent.” Adding how this finds expression in form, materiality and visual motifs for the House of Worship in Bihar Sharif, she says, “The essential form is a dome, and the relief work on it draws from fractals – patterns ubiquitous in nature – and Bihar’s Madhubani folk art.” Now in its 15th year, this particular edition of WAF will be interesting to track, as design experts will present their case studies to a live jury and audience. Studio Saar Project: Secure Sanand Location: Gujarat Category: Completed Buildings Cost: ₹1.25 billion The brief for the firm’s first greenfield industrial facility — Secure Sanand — was simple: to create a sustainable, adaptable and employee-friendly factory for Indian multinational electronics manufacturer Secure Meters. Senthil Kumar Doss, the project’s Principal Architect, says this project – winner at the World Architecture Community 40th Cycle Awards – is a culmination of five years of research “on the idea of catenary based structures, that are based on geometry of a cob web freely suspended from two points. Spaces Architects@KA Projects: Oval - The Stepwell; The Urban Nest Category: Future Project - Culture; Future Project - Residential Location: Rajasthan; Noida Cost: ₹45 crore; ₹30 crore In an attempt to revitalise India’s lost heritage, the firm’s two shortlisted projects in the Future category comprise The Oval – a modern reinterpretation of one of the oldest stepwell around the world, the Chand Baori Stepwell, in present-day Abhaneri Village, Rajasthan, and The Urban Nest – an alternative to the hostel typology.