SAMRAKSHAN INDIA

Architect Ajith Andagere often quotes Mexican poet Octavio Paz: "To be truly modern, we must first reconcile ourselves with our traditions."That central thought is the crux of Andagere's mission. In 2017, he set up Samrakshan India-a not-for-profit focused on documenting India's vernacular architecture, considering the inherent wisdom in vernacular typologies and making them relevant to our modern lives. "Documentation, conservation, adaptive reuse, and education"-that's the role that this architect has taken on. AD visits Andagere's studio on the outskirts of Bengaluru as well Shurpali HouseSamrakshan India's first restoration project-a 150-year-old ancestral home close to the Krishna River, in the Bagalkot district of Karnataka, a nine-hour drive from his studio. Andagere took it on, along with his team of architects and craftsmen, and today what we see, post-restoration, is someone's ancestral family home given a new life.

- Divya Mishra

For the founder of Andagere Architects, the word “building” extends far beyond a noun or a verb; it is both a set of activities and a movement with far-reaching consequences. In Andagere’s eyes, to be an architect is to, in essence, be an orchestrator—of the intents, individuals, methods and materials that make it possible to “touch the earth lightly”.

Since its founding in 2002, Andagere Architects’ efforts have been focused on redefining architecture in a way that builds and nourishes an entire ecosystem. To that end, there is almost no aspect of building a home that Andagere and his firm haven’t turned their hands to. From doors and windows, to cabinets, tiles, bricks, household metalware and lighting—if there is a commonly used household fitting that can be redesigned to be more contextual, Andagere Architects and its roster of indigenous craftspeople are on it.

“Architects play a role in promoting crafts, in protecting artisans,” Andagere says, adding, “And protection is nothing but encouraging them by giving them work and involving them in their projects, right?”

Housed in a 127-year-old structure on the outskirts of Bengaluru, the firm’s building projects range from private homes and boutique hotels to public institutions. But step behind the scenes and you begin to get a sense of the sheer scale of what Andagere Architects hopes to achieve. A short distance from the bucolic office where butterflies flit lazily between vivid tropical flowers, the firm has a space that houses a large carpentry workshop and a bamboo treatment plant, both buzzing with activity.