In Ahmedabad, architect Bijoy Jain creates a sanctuary for the soul—human and avian—with his signature brand of sustainability.
For someone who has won the Global Award for Sustainable Architecture from L’Institut Français d’Architecture, one of the biggest international recognitions in this particular genre of building, Bijoy Jain doesn’t seem too fussed about the subject. “We have to be sustainable. It’s fundamental,” he says, “What the hell are we doing otherwise?”
It is evening, and dusk falls rapidly into the open courtyard of Jain’s Studio Mumbai. This romantic sanctuary—equal parts his home and workspace—is situated in the heart of south Mumbai’s Byculla, a locality caught, like many others, in the chaotic web of redevelopment. As his cats purr in the vicinity, and the Mumbai local train hurtles somewhere beyond, providing a soundtrack to the somewhat lyrical conversation we are having, I see why Jain shrugs off my question on sustainability.
It’s simple. We live in a time when sustainable design shouldn’t be a choice anymore, but the only option. And if you look at Jain’s oeuvre— the Palmyra House (shortlisted for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2010) and the Copper House in Maharashtra, and the Shakti 360° Leti Resort in Kumaon, Uttarakhand, among others—it’s clear that his architecture speaks louder than any sermon on sustainability ever could.
HOME & HEART
Two weeks before we met at Studio Mumbai, I flew down to Ahmedabad to see, in the flesh, a home by Jain. Meant for a multi-generational family, it is sheltered by wooden sliding gates from the boisterous traffic of the busiest highway of the city.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der March/April 2017-Ausgabe von AD Architectural Digest India.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der March/April 2017-Ausgabe von AD Architectural Digest India.
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