Exhibition: Ahmedabad Travelling Studio
Exhibition Launch
Wednesday 18th November 2009
6.30pm
Wunderlich Gallery
Ground Floor
Architecture building
The exhibition can be viewed
18 November - 26 November
Gallery opening hours:
9:00pm - 5:00pm
Monday to Friday
In September 2009, the students in this travelling studio spent two weeks in Ahmedabad in the northwest of India. Ahmedabad is the capital city of Gujarat State, the textile hub of India and home to some of the architectural professions great works. A particular focus on the work of Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn was adopted; their works in Ahmedabad were visited by the students who used them as grounding their work.
The theoretical position underlying the studio was based on the practice of 'topos', 'typos' and 'tectonics'. Our students studied the local climate and how vernacular Indian architecture responds to it. The semester commenced with an exploration of the 'palazzo' typology. Students designed an Indian residence, as a homage to Le Corbusier then Louis Khan. Following this, students re-designed Le Corbusier's Mill Owner's Association. Their research on vernacular Indian architecture and passive environmental systems influenced each esquisse. They concluded with the development of a small Indian design campus, on the current site of the Mill Owner's Association, which is exhibited here today. The tectonics explored in this studio were masonry (brick) and in-situ concrete.
Studio coordinator Professor Haig Beck