The year 2022 was a year of many firsts for us. We participated in two national-level design competitions and won. The fact that these competitions were different in their scope, but closely connected with our ethos of nurturing good living through our built environments was extra special.
The first competition which we participated in at the beginning of the year, was a call to redesign the PWD prototypes for rural public buildings in the Satara district. We submitted our proposal titled ‘Rural Learning Network’ for the educational buildings category. We reframed the brief as an opportunity to design public infrastructure for the entire village, not just educational facilities. This way, we created prototypes that are open and accessible to children and adults alike, flexible and usable for various purposes, and self-sufficient and reliable within the stipulated budget per building type. Our proposal was adjudged the winning entry.
The second competition, ‘Reweave Kozhikode’, was organized in conjunction with the Young Architects Festival (YAF) 2022. YAF was a 3-day national-level convention attended by more than 2000 architects from across the country and organized by the IIA Calicut Centre. The competition was an open call to ideate design possibilities to convert the now-abandoned Comtrust weaving factory and the adjoining open spaces into active urban public centres. Of about 120 teams that registered for the competition, 9 teams were shortlisted to present their respective designs to the primary audience. Our proposal, ‘Urban Bricolage, which sought to eliminate boundaries and convert the area into a ‘public living room’ all the while maintaining the heritage of the site was adjudged, the winner. We await further development regarding the project.
As a firm, we are strongly committed to the quality of public spaces and the nature of our overall built environment. We collaborated with Vijay Architects in transforming a parcel of unkept land in front of the city corporation office into a public park and plaza befitting the main building. To commemorate the opening of the park, a public exhibition on all the self-initiated projects by the Indian Institute of Architects in reimagining the public spaces of the city was organized, which was also well-received by the local citizens.
Architecturally and technically, this was also a year of many learnings. In the middle of the year, we were approached by a client, also a close friend and well-wisher of our practice, with a brief to design a farmhouse for their new venture. With a request to finish the building within 3 months and within a tight budget, it made us relook at assumptions and conventions that we took for granted. The result was the Terracotta House, built within 3 months and within a budget of 20 lakh rupees.
Apart from that, 2022 was the year we finally revamped our website, and made changes to our office and working environment. With many new and exciting projects, still, on the drawing board, we look forward to a very fruitful 2023!
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