KOMOREBI CANOPY

- (Chinese) stattered light that filters through when sunlight shines through trees.

It is a customary practice in the indian culture to gather under the shade of a tree for assemblies like panchayats and protests. In this scenario, the tree acts like more than a source of shelter, and transcends into behaving like a communal symbol and a spatial entity. The -- pavillion aims to encapsulate this experience of gathering under a tree for a common objective, whilst paying homage to the Banappa park- where many protests at the time of India’s freedom struggle sprouted from.

The pavillion attempts to carry forward the same spirit and history of the place, and maintain a similar use of the space- which is to provide a free space for people to gather communally- while also adding a layer of playfulness and dynamism to the space. Thus, the space not only aims at capturing the quality of static activities (such as gatherings and protests) that take place under a tree, but also yearns to propagate the dynamic activities (play) that usually take place under and around a tree.

The experience of a tree in terms of a spatial quality is thus abstracted by the canopies that imitate the quality of filtered light that a tree provides, while also being inorganic and free in form and material. The underground plinths behaves as a static plane, while the undulating roof serves as a dynamic membrane.

“Abstracting the experience of the tree (as a spatial entity)”

*The Canopy of a tree as a pause point/place of rest (in contrast to Bangalore’s commotion)

*The memory of Play- the tree being a playful element- making the space dynamic and active

*The shade of a tree to gather (in small and large groups)- making a space more multiplepurpose in nature, promoting transient quality of program

*abstracting the elemental quality of resting under a tree in terms of the- quality of light, threshold/barrier from the commotion, climatically cooler (underground)

“TO BEHAVE OR NOT TO BEHAVE”

A transient Venn diagram of territorial negotiations

The sudden bang of a dhol startles me awake, when I hear the clamour of an Indian wed-ding baraat passing by my street. Standing on my balcony I see uncles dancing and lights flashing everywhere while the pack unapologetically occupies the road- as if “baap ka road hai”. The crowd congests the traffic, agitating the autowala- “uda ke leke jayein kya chacha?” he grumbles- complaining to Dada who was sitting by the road, basking in his Sunday newspaper. Chotu and Radha’s intense cricket match had two overs left when it was interrupted by this baraat, having them resort to the side of the street, waiting for this huddle to move along. Overlooking from his balcony, Venki also partakes in this chaos by talking over the trumpets, immersed in his phone call.

The confines of “where” to behave publicly has been a foggy affair for India. The inquiry of “what’s public” often tends to begin as well as dissolve outside the threshold of our homes- creating a fluid overlay of a neutral, transient publicness. Sure, these shared spaces are not devoid of biases, but this freedom of definition- or rather, the undefined- affirms that India’s public spaces cannot be dealt with like the polished, demarcated western plaza. In-stead, its virtue lies amidst its chaos, unpredictability and unanimous comfort in coexisting- “apna hi road hai, yaar”. Thus, our piece inquires the origin of this character- India’s own rendition of publicness- and further posits a sensitive, tacit approach aiming toward com-plementing these idiosyncrasies.

Lycee Schorge Secondary School consists of modules arranged around a central court. Thus, the court becomes an important centre for interaction among students and the teachers and also between the people in the city.

Centralized Organisation

The Lycee Schorge Secondary School , consisting of 9 modules accommodate a series of classrooms and administration rooms showcases locally sourced building material in a innovative way. The radial layout of classroom modules which create a sort of autonomous ‘village’ condition wrap around a central public courtyard thus creating privacy from the main public domain, it also shelters and protects the inner courtyard from wind and dust. The centralised organisation creates an amphitheatre like condition at the centre of the courtyard which accommodates informal gatherings as well as formal assemblies and celebration for the school and community as a whole.

Lycee Schorge Secondary School

Burkina Faso 2016

Kere Architecture

The Timayui kinder garden school has several modules which are all connected with a linear organization. These modules, hosting different activities also form a central space which becomes a part of the linear organization.

Timayui kinder garden is a project in Colombia which consists of a serries of modules each linked by a linear system. These also create centralized spaces which become a gathering space. The modules are characterized as a flexible and neutral space that allows the development of multiple activities within it. It relates to the nearest external surrounding as well allowing a close relationship among all students and teachers. These modules are spread out across the site and the corridors and modules come together to connect the modules from one end to the other. These modules can be constructed if there is a requirement for more space.

Timayui Kindergarden Colombia, 2011

Linear organization