fbpx DAN | Daily Architecture News Gallery House in West Bengal by Abin Design Studio - DAN | Daily Architecture News
Gallery House in West Bengal by Abin Design Studio

Gallery House in West Bengal by Abin Design Studio

News
Residential Design
27-01-2021
WATCH: Highlights from the world of architecture and design.

Beyond its sinuous facade comprising an ornate veil clad with terracotta bricks and glazed ceramic blocks, Gallery House in Bansberia – a peri-urban locale in India’s West Bengal – proudly serves the community in more ways than one. By day, the two-level concrete-framed building acts as a gallery, gathering space and multi-purpose centre, offering local residents the opportunity to partake in activities ranging from education sessions to yoga classes. “At night, this space functions as a dormitory for resident staff,” says principal designer Abin Chaudhuri of Abin Design Studio (ADS), whose client “enjoys a sense of pride and joy of ownership seeing the space put to good use.”

But the small parcel of land wasn’t always intended to be charged with such noble pursuits. The designers were originally briefed to devise a car parking structure, with staff quarters above, directly across the road from the home they created for the same client. “Given its simple program, ADS convinced the client to use this opportunity for doing a lot more and to think of how it could give back to the community,” says Abin. Inspired by the potential of the plot, the owner decided to let go of the garage component of the initial brief and embraced the designer’s suggestion of presenting the ground floor as a community-focussed facility. The program of the building’s upper floor was expanded to house a multi-purpose room, sitting area, bathrooms and a small kitchen.

Through its reinterpretation of Bengal’s decorative terracotta temples, such as the 200-year-old temple of Ananta Basudeva, the facade of Gallery House introduces a new sense of architectural expression to the local landscape. The designers sourced the terracotta bricks of varying shapes and sizes “from a riverside brick field located nearby,” Abin says, while the inlaid ceramic blocks were salvaged from the seconds piles of nearby manufacturers. “These two [materials] were combined using the locally prevalent finesse of building with masonry,” he adds. The bricks and blocks were brought together in a mesmerising patchwork created in collaboration with ceramic artist Partha Dasgupta.

Every year, as part of a cultural celebration, the neighbourhood that surrounds Gallery House holds a colourful procession that weaves its way through the narrow lanes of Bansberia. In response to this much-anticipated occasion, the building steps down towards the street forming a concrete amphitheatre-like arrangement where onlookers can sit, socialise and view the event. At other times, the concrete stairs spilling from the ground-floor gallery form a gathering spot that further contributes to the building’s new-found mission to support the neighbourhood: “a humane gesture of giving back to the local community,” Abin says.

abindesignstudio.com

Catch up on more residential designs and the latest architecture highlights, plus subscribe to the Daily Architecture News e-letter to receive weekly updates direct to your inbox.

The client enjoys a sense of pride and joy of ownership seeing the space put to good use.

Abin Chauduri Abin Design Studio

Related stories

Advertisement
Login to join the conversation

Subscriber comments are moderated first. Respect others. Criticise ideas, not people. No offensive language View commenting guidelines

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Further Reading
View all in News
Cubitts eyewear store in Belgravia by Child Studio
The recently completed store occupies the ground floor and the basement level of the terraced building in the swish Belgravia neighbourhood of West London. This part of the city was developed in the 1830s by architect and builder Thomas Cubitt, whose legacy inspired the Cubitts eyewear name. Child Studio applied a subtle approach to the […]
News
08-07-2222
‘Made from the mud’: New Volumes Collection 02 
Thomas Coward, creative director at Artedomus, is the man behind both chapters of the New Volumes series, which started in 2018 by focussing on the possibilities of crisp Elba marble. He highlights the purity and timelessness of terracotta as the reason for selecting it as the singular material for this new collection. “As a designer, […]
News
08-07-2222
Cole Hair Studio in Double Bay by Nickolas Gurtler Office
Finding resonance with Nickolas’ razor-sharp design style, Mariah commissioned NGO to transform her commercial site on New South Head Road into a thrumming hair hub, where edginess and “adventurousness,” Nickolas says, could share the spotlight with a fair share of socialites. But first, the designer and his team needed to overcome the ghosts of hair-salons […]
News
07-07-2222
Blasón warehouse conversion in Madrid by Burr Studio 
Blasón warehouse conversion in Madrid by Burr Studio  In an effort to salvage and – perhaps most importantly – preserve remnants of Madrid’s industrial past, Burr Studio has established Elements for Industrial Recovery, a project series that the architects hope will influence how others approach changes to the city’s built environment. “Our proposals aim to become […]
News
04-07-2222
'Pure gold': Au79 cafe at Chadstone by Mim Design 
In addition to this, the client’s brief included the desire to create “a moment of pure gold,” Miriam reveals, prompting her team at Mim Design to craft a textural, gilded oasis within the confines of Chadstone. The dramatic, vaulted glass ceiling above the pill-shaped site inspired the designers to explore ideas of replicating a greenhouse […]
News
28-06-2222
Sabine Marcelis sorts Vitra archive by colour at the Schaudepot in Germany
Curated by New Zealand born, Rotterdam-based designer Sabine Marcelis, the exhibition categorises 400 iconic historical and contemporary objects and furniture pieces from the archives of the Vitra Design Museum by colour group. When assembled together, the nuances of tone become more evident and the display intensifies how hues contrast and intensities shift depending on material […]
News
19-06-2222

Back to Top