AD-7

META ARCHITECTURE

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BGSSAP RAKESH R
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Meta Architecture: The work in question will strongly root for itself. It will search meaning,
solutions, and best practices from principles of regional/vernacular architecture and reincarnate itself
as embodiment of contemporary expression instilled with traditional wisdom. The identity of the
building will be an outcome of the interplay between the older principles and newer materials.
Articulation of the building character through details will remain a primary motive of the studio.
Although drawn from the traditional principles, the nature of the buildings remains current. An
architectural vocabulary could be built by extending the exercise to service design, furniture design
and facade development. The Program will utilize both active and passive energy efficient methods in
its climatic design.

Case study practices:

1. David Adjaye architects:
About: Adjaye Associates was established in June 2000 by founder and principal architect,
Sir David Adjaye OBE. Receiving ever-increasing worldwide attention, the firm has offices in
London, New York and completed work in Europe, North America, the Middle East, Asia, and
Africa. Two of the practice’s largest commissions to date are the design of the Smithsonian
Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture on the National Mall
in Washington D.C. and the Moscow School of Management (SKOLKOVO). Further projects
range in scale from private houses, exhibitions, and temporary pavilions to major arts centres,
civic buildings, and masterplans. Renowned for an eclectic material and colour palette and a
capacity to offer a rich civic experience, the buildings differ in form and style, yet are unified
by their ability to generate new typologies and to reference a wide cultural discourse.

Completed works include: the regenerative Morning Lane Arches retail corridor in Hackney,
London (2016); Sugar Hill museum and housing development in Harlem, New York (2015); the
Aishti Foundation arts and shopping complex in Beirut, Lebanon (2015); Alara Concept Store
in Lagos, Nigeria (2014); Marian Goodman Gallery, London (2014); the Ethelbert Cooper
Gallery of African and African American Art at the Hutchins Centre, Harvard University (2014);
two neighbourhood libraries in Washington DC (2012); the Stephen Lawrence Centre in
London (2007); the Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver (2007); Rivington Place Gallery in
London (2007); The Nobel Peace Centre in Oslo (2005); and the Idea Stores in Tower Hamlets,
London (2004 and 2005) – two pioneering community libraries in London’s Tower Hamlets.

Some current projects include: One Berkeley Street, a £600 million mixed-use residential
redevelopment in London’s prestigious Piccadilly area; a new home for The Studio Museum
in Harlem, New York; offices for the International Financial Corporation in Dakar, Senegal; a
gallery for the Linda Pace Foundation in San Antonio, TX; and a regenerative cultural campus
on the site of Tel Aviv’s disused former central bus station.

Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History:

Winning the competition to design the National Museum of African American History and
Culture has consolidated the practice’s US portfolio with arguably the nation’s most
prestigious new building. Located on Constitution Avenue, adjacent to the National Museum
of American History and the Washington Monument, the museum houses exhibit galleries,
administrative spaces, theatre space and collections storage space for the NMAAHC. As Lead
Designer for the Freelon Adjaye Bond/SmithGroup (FAB)* team, Sir David Adjaye’s approach
has been to establish both a meaningful relationship to this unique site as well as a strong
conceptual resonance with America’s deep and longstanding African heritage. The design
rests on three cornerstones: the “corona” shape of the building; the extension of the building
out into the landscape – the porch; and the bronze filigree envelope. Situated on the
Washington Monument grounds the museum maintains a subtle profile in the landscape –
more than half is below ground – with five storeys above. The corona is based on elements of
the Washington Monument, closely matching the 17-degree angle of the capstone and the
panel size and pattern has been developed using the Monument stones as a reference. The
entire building is wrapped in an ornamental bronze lattice that is a historical reference to
African American craftsmanship. The density of the pattern can be modulated to control the
amount of sunlight and transparency into the interior. The south entry is composed of the
Porch and a central water feature. An extension of the building out into the landscape, the
porch creates an outdoor room that bridges the gap between the interior and exterior. At 50m
(49’-2”) deep, the setback is similar to other buildings on the north side of the Mall. The
underside of the porch roof is tilted upward allowing reflection of the moving water below.
This covered area creates a microclimate where breezes combine with the cooling waters to
generate a place of refuge from the hot summer sun. There is also an outdoor patio on the
porch rooftop that is accessed from a mezzanine level within the building. Inside the building,
visitors are guided on a historical and emotional journey, characterised by vast, column free
spaces, a dramatic infusion of natural light and a diverse material palette comprising pre-cast
concrete, timber and a glazed skin that sits within the bronze lattice. Below ground, the
ambience is contemplative and monumental, achieved by the triple height history gallery and
symbolised by the memorial space – the “oculus” – that brings light diffused by a cascade of
water into the contemplative space from the Monument grounds. Moving upwards, the views
become pivotal, as one circulates along the corona with unrivalled panoramas of the Mall,
Federal Triangle buildings and Monument Grounds. *Adjaye Associates was the Lead Designer
of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. As such, the firm was
responsible for developing the design concept, both interior and exterior, and for designing
all major components of the building. Freelon Group served as architect of record while
DavisBrodyBond and SmithGroupJRR were members of the architectural team, providing
detailing support for the below grade and façade elements, respectively.
The Latvian Museum:
The centerpiece of New Hanza City at the edge of Riga’s Art Nouveau district, the Latvian
Museum for Contemporary Art will offer an experience of contemporary art that synthesises
art practice and art perception. Speaking to a wide spectrum of artwork, the building comprises a
group of flexible spaces for a multi-nodal display sequence – offering smaller, chapel-like spaces
for intimate works through to more expansive environments to facilitate larger installations. The
form resonates with traditional domestic Baltic architecture, like a simple wooden house, elevated
to an institutional architecture. This suggests the idea of the museum as a home for the collection,
inviting a wide audience to participate in the cultural and civic exchange it will offer. The civic
experience begins outside the building with a sloped plaza that leads down to sliding doors, which
draw visitors inside the auditorium and large atrium. The fluidity between the exterior and interior
provides a welcoming entry sequence that can also be used as a performance area for special
events. Inside, the grand concourse sits beneath a cast concrete waffle structure, which creates a
very specific acoustic effect and refers to traditional Latvian decorative patterns. A spiral staircase,
comprising a concrete base with a floating solid timber guardrail to match the exterior wood
cladding, leads up to the galleries. The galleries are wrapped in a skin of red stained vertical fins,
made from locally sourced Scots Pine timber, resonating with the red of the Latvian flag. The roof
structure refers to a distinctive architectural trope of the region, where steeply pitched roofs
function to receive heavy snowfall. Each tilt is a highly specific geometry, with northfacing glazing
that captures the daylight. The arrangement of pitched gables has been generated by a series of
roof studies of the optimal daylight required to create the gallery spaces, so that the pure northern
light is sculpted into intimate or larger gallery environments. These multiple daylighting
opportunities define the interior organization and flexibility of the museum
The Moscow School of Management (SKOLKOVO).
This teaching and research institution was founded in 2005 to educate a new type of executive
capable of leading Russian business through the 21st century. The founders were of the view that
a campus-type development would best represent their aspirations and, with this in mind,
acquired an open site in an area that is scheduled to become an advanced technology park, just
beyond Moscow’s outer motorway ring. Situated in a wooded valley, the site has the idyllic
qualities associated with those of a traditional campus but the severe demands of a six-month
winter were a barrier to pursuing an arrangement of this kind. Rather than being in separate
buildings, the main elements of the brief are therefore housed in clearly identifiable volumes that
nevertheless form part of a single development. As a result of this strategy, the external
appearance of the Moscow School of Management Skolkovo changes dramatically depending on
the direction from which it is seen, but practical and visual continuity is provided by the 150metre-
wide disc that floats above the site. Despite its size, the disc minimises the footprint of the
development on the site, and softens the visual impact of the lower stories of the development,
as only a small part of it can be seen at any one time. The disc itself is two stories high and the
main teaching departments are distributed around its outer edge, with the larger spaces on the
lower floor. Between departments, a series of wedge-shaped spaces connection the centre of the
disc, where the restaurant area is located, and the perimeter. With directional rooflights above,
these informal gathering spaces bring light and views deep into the interior. The disc also includes
a conference centre with its own auditorium, and the roof of the disc is a landscaped open space.
This replaces the area of the site occupied by the building, where a protected car park and service
area are located at ground level. The group of buildings that stand above the disc give the
development its characteristic profile when seen from different directions. Of these, the
Wellbeing Centre occupies a pivotal position in anchoring the disc to the sloping ground on this
side of the Setun River. Standing close to the edge of the site, its stacked recreational spaces still
enjoy views of the river due to the splayed positions of the two residential buildings: student
accommodation in the longer one to the north, and a five-star hotel that is linked to the
conference centre below. The Wellbeing Centre is supported by the same structural grid as that
of the disc, whilst the residential buildings are designed as bridge structures. Each of them is
supported on two towers that cause minimum disruption as they pass through the disc to the
ground; the consequences of this arrangement are visible in the long cantilevers at the ends of
both buildings. A similar principle is employed in the structure of the administration tower,
although the design of its facade is similar to that of the Wellbeing Centre. The gold colouring of
the Wellbeing Centre reflects its importance in this powerful composition, an effect that is given
further emphasis by a blue tinge to the facades of the resident.

2. ke're' Architecture:
Diébédo Francis Kéré was born in 1965 in Gando, Burkina Faso and studied at the Technical
University of Berlin. Parallel to his studies, he established the Kéré Foundation, a charitable
organization that is dedicated to helping sustainably improve the lives of people in Gando, Burkina
Faso. In 2005 he founded Kéré Architecture.

His architectural practice has been recognized nationally and internationally with awards including
the Aga Khan Award for Architecture (2004) for his first building, a primary school in Gando,
Burkina Faso, and the Global Holcim Award 2012 Gold. Kéré has undertaken projects in varied
countries including Burkina Faso, Mali, Germany, and Switzerland. In 2017 the Serpentine
Galleries commissioned him to design the Serpentine Pavilion in London. He has held
professorships at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and the Swiss Accademia di Architettura
di Mendrisio. In 2017 he accepted the professorship for "Architectural Design and Participation"
at TU München (Germany).

Kéré continues to reinvest knowledge back into Burkina Faso and other sites across four different
continents. He has developed innovative construction strategies that combine traditional building
techniques and materials with modern engineering methods.

Kéré’s work has recently been the subject of solo exhibitions at the Museo ICO in Madrid (2018),
the Architekturmuseum in Munich and the Philadelphia Museum of Art (both in 2016). His work
has been selected for group exhibitions such as: Small Scale, Big Change: New Architectures of
Social Engagement, at the Museum of Modern Art, New York (2010) and Sensing Spaces, at the
Royal Academy, London (2014).

Primary school in Gando:

Two years after the completion of the Gando Primary School, there was still a high demand from
children in the region. It quickly became apparent that an extension was badly needed to service
the educational needs of these students. With overwhelming support from surrounding villages,
the School Extension was built in close conjunction with community members that Francis Kéré
had personally trained in modern construction techniques.

As the Primary School was built in close conjunction with Gando community members, the
building became an important identifying landmark in the region. Since the material quality and
architectural expression of the building became such a strong symbol for the Gando community
itself, the new extension was designed with the same principles and methods. Similarly to the
Primary School, the School Extension was also built with hand-made compressed stabilized earth
blocks. The ventilation strategy of pulling the hot tin roof away from the inner perforated ceiling
was also used. Unlike the Primary School, however, the ceiling of the Extension was designed as a
singular vault. Rather than leaving reveals between the ceiling surface and beam elements, the
monumental vault was constructed with gaps within the weave of the brick pattern of the ceiling.
This ‘breathing’ surface draws cool air from the windows into the interior space and allows hot air
to escape through the ventilations, all while remaining shaded and protected from damaging rains
by the overhanging roof.

The School Extension was completed in 2008 and now supports an additional 120 students. The
Gando School Library is currently under construction and is sited directly adjacent to the School
Extension.

Gando School Library:

After the great success of the Gando Primary School, the construction of the School Extension and
School Library was initiated in Gando to help support the growing number of students coming
from surrounding villages. The library building forms a physical connection between the Primary
School and its extension, sheltering the school yard from dusty eastern winds. Keeping with the
same material palette as the surrounding buildings, the walls of the library are built with
compressed earth blocks made with local clay. The geometry of the library is formally distinct from
the others however, taking on more of an organic elliptical shape reminiscent of the traditional
vernacular housing in the region. the space is meant to unite traditional teaching methods
between elders and children with the schools’ standardized learning environment. In addition to
supporting the educational needs of the children of Gando, the Library is also intended as a
resource centre for the village as a whole. The Library provides a substantially improved
environment for the transfer of knowledge.

The School Library ceiling uses a widely-recognized handicraft: locally produced earthenware pots.
Traditionally hand-built by the women of the village, the clay pots were sawed in half and then
cast into the ceiling. These circular openings create a playful pattern and introduce natural light
and passive ventilation inside the Library. An overhanging corrugated iron roof sits above this
ceiling, protecting the interior and surrounding spaces from sun and rain. The stack effect created
by the hot metal surface draws cooler air in from the windows and out through the perforations
in the ceiling. This provides a passive cooling strategy without the use of electricity.

The study area surrounding the library is shaded and protected by a transparent screen of
eucalyptus columns. Eucalyptus is generally thought of as a weed because it provides very little
shade and absorbs moisture from the soil. This fast growing, hardy plant is an appropriate building
material for a country such as Burkina Faso, which suffers from desertification due to
deforestation. The eucalyptus façade elements are also used to form alcoves for sitting and
relaxing in the shade.

Burkina Faso National Assembly & Memorial Park

After 31 years of dictatorial rule, the people of Burkina Faso rose up and ousted their former
president following a violent revolt in 2014. In protest of the old regime, the former National
Assembly was attacked and destroyed by the citizens. The conflict is significant because it poses
an opportunity to not only reflect on the turbulent historic events that have led the nation to this
crossroads, it also begs the question of its citizens: How do we move forward?

When Francis Kéré was asked to propose a design for a new parliament building, it was crucial for
him to implement a design that not only addresses the core democratic values of transparency,
openness and equality, but could also become a catalyst for growth and development for the
capital city of Ouagadougou as a whole.

As opposed to the common practice of replicating models imported from the west with no
consideration for local needs, resources and climate, Kéré looked to tradition for the design of the
127-seat assembly hall. In rural areas, the elders of a village gather to discuss important matters
under the shade of a great tree. Kéré reinstated this Arbre à palabres, or tree of discussion, in a
private garden directly adjacent to the formal assembly hall where members of parliament can
convene more directly.

In a village setting, the process of decision-making is not a private matter occurring behind closed
doors; community-members are free to sit near the gathering and observe the proceedings. In
this true spirit of transparency and openness, the outer facade of the parliamentary structure is
designed to be inhabited by the public. The stepped pyramidal structure becomes a monument
that citizens can climb and experience an elevated view of Ouagadougou. In an area where the
highest altitude does not exceed more than 400 meters, this unexpected but accessible height in
the middle of the flat urban fabric offers a new perspective both literally and metaphorically.

An overwhelming majority of Burkinabè are subsistence farmers. With 90%* of the labor force
dedicated to agriculture, farming is crucial to the survival and prosperity of Burkina Faso. For this
reason, the facade acts not only as solar shading that allows air to freely circulate the interior, it
also hosts several green terraces that will pioneer new methods of agriculture. These plots will be
accessible to the public and will serve as an educational tool to encourage urban farming.

The new parliament building is part of a larger masterplan for the original site of the revolts that
destroyed the previous building. In Kéré's plan, the ruin of the old assembly is transformed into a
shaded depression in the earth where rain water is collected and used for on-site irrigation. The
space is intended as a memorial where visitors can relax in the shade and reflect upon those who
lost their lives in the revolts. The reflection pool also serves as a passive cooling system for the
interior. Surrounding the memorial is a plaza where a grove of local trees will provide shaded areas
for seating and gathering. New commercial storefronts and exhibition spaces with shaded bicycle
and car parking are also included.

3. Morphogenesis:
About: Established by Sonali and Manit Rastogi in 1996, Morphogenesis is globally recognized for
its diverse work that encompasses a range of specialised practice areas – Master Planning,
Residential, Commercial, Workplace, Institutional, Hospitality and Houses, through in-house
integrated project delivery in Sustainability, Interiors, Landscape, Digital Technologies and Design
Management. The practice operates in India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, South Africa,
Afghanistan and the UAE.

Surat Diamond Bourse:

Client: Surat Diamond Bourse

Status: Under Construction

Size: 65,00,000 sq ft | 35 acres

The Surat Diamond Bourse, with a built-up area of 70 lakh sq. ft. is set to be the World’s Single
Largest Office Building. The Surat Diamond Bourse aims to be an exemplar for integrating high-
density commercial architecture along with efficient climate-responsive design. This Office
building will be equipped with the state-of-the-art facilities that include safe deposit vaults,
customs clearance house, convention centre, exhibition centers, training centers, entertainment
areas, restaurants and a club, pushing Surat to becoming the world’s largest diamond trading hub.
With an eye on providing a facilitating business environment to complement the diamond industry
of the region, the Surat Diamond Bourse will be spread across 35.5 acres of land, with a total built
up area of 620,000 square metres. The bourse is designed for 4,500 offices varying in sizes thereby
resulting in affordable and modular spaces for all. Planned along a central axis aligned with the
prevalent wind direction, the North-South oriented towers provide glare-free daylit offices
accommodating functions of trading and selling of diamonds. The central spine is used for
interconnection between towers on every level. The building form aims at maximising the
potential of self-shading, thereby reducing dependency on other forms of cooling. The design
enhances users’ spatial and transitional experience across the building without highlighting the
expanse of the structure. The central axis connecting all the offices is designed as an interactive
hub comprising of break-out spaces, green atriums and a host of visual experiences. These spaces
have been designed to foster social cohesion and community engagement.

Dignity Buildcon

Client: Dignity Buildcon

Status: Built

Size: 18,00,000 sq ft I 10.5 acres

An office complex comprising of three high-rise towers in Gurugram-the millennium city, and a
hub of emergent urbanism in the country. The project looks at redefining the high-rise typology
in the Indian context, which has traditionally been low-rise. The morphology is an outcome of a
stack of cuboidal volumes and a series of attached open spaces, translated as a series of cascading
voids - forming sky gardens. The cascading sky gardens form celebration spaces and encourage
socio-cultural interactions. In the parched and dry belt of Gurugram, this site faced a peculiar
situation of an underground water stream, with an upthrust pressure that posed a construction
challenge. Standard structural solutions would be resource intensive and prone to failure when
and if the water levels receded. An innovative ground water harvesting strategy was planned in
detail right from the early stages of construction. As per the design, the under slab drain system
is spread across 25000 sq. m. and the net water harvested from the underground sumps amounts
to 600 litres per day per person of raw water supply, providing a sustainable potable water
solution. The project won the GRIHA Exemplary Practice Recognition, Passive Architectural
Features India. Prius Vision Towers focuses on creating a high-rise morphology that addresses the
socio-cultural need for proximity to open spaces, and perhaps still retaining a ‘soul space’
approach to this typology.