A modern Indian temple's architecture is tailored to the needs of its community
An Indian temple’s simple, open design puts its users first, as created by architects Abin Design Studio for the city of Bansberia's local community
In the small town of Bansberia in West Bengal, architect Abin Chaudhuri has replaced the 100-year-old Narayantala Thakurdalan temple – much-loved but awkward and unremarkable as a structure – with a modern upgrade. Chaudhuri, founder of Abin Design Studio, grew up in Bansberia. Now based in Kolkata, 55km away, he is well-versed in the local culture that orients around religion and football. He had attended the Narayantala Thakurdalan since childhood, joyfully participating in religious celebrations, yet also seeing how people spilled out into the street causing accidents and traffic jams, due to its location on a busy corner.
He knew he could design a better temple for his community. He also knew that it wasn’t the crumbling brick and plaster construction that made the place special. ‘Thakurdalan’ translates as ‘permanent covered podium’ in Bengali. Religious idols are placed inside the temple twice a year during celebrations, but for the most part, it is visited for daily prayers and meditation.
‘As a child, I saw that even when there was no idol, people left their shoes outside. They treated it as a sacred space, but it was not about the structure, it was about belief,’ says Chaudhuri. So instead of designing the new Narayantala Thakurdalan as a ‘temple’, he was guided purely by context and function. The aim was to protect this sacred space.
His design is a carefully tailored response to the community and their activities. While much smaller than the original temple, at 71 sq m with a capacity of 40 people, it offers much more useful space. The column-free interior and wider glass-and-steel door allows for an easy flow of people in and out, and now during festivities, they spill out into a courtyard with a new concrete bench, instead of onto the street.
The low-maintenance structure was designed and completed within six months. While simple, it is also an expression of tradition and craft, as seen in the chunky lattice-work façade that nods to traditional Indian architecture. The patchwork of rectangular concrete modules was pre-cast at the Adisaptagram Workshop, set up by Abin Design Studio to invest in education and employment for local craftsmen, and ensuring the best craft and skills for his projects.
With Chaudhuri now working on a clubhouse for local footballers and a town hall, the new Narayantala Thakurdalan is part of a string of sensitive architecture projects contributing to place-making in Bansberia.
A version of this article originally appeared in the September 2020 issue of Wallpaper* (W*257). Download the issue here
The above film on Abin Design Studio's Urban Temple project in India, created by Edmund Sumner, features music by Craig Pruess: ‘Om Nama Shivaya' from the album ‘Sacred Chants of Shiva' by Singers of the Art of Living and Craig Pruess c 2000 by Heaven on Earth Music Limited
INFORMATION
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Harriet Thorpe is a writer, journalist and editor covering architecture, design and culture, with particular interest in sustainability, 20th-century architecture and community. After studying History of Art at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and Journalism at City University in London, she developed her interest in architecture working at Wallpaper* magazine and today contributes to Wallpaper*, The World of Interiors and Icon magazine, amongst other titles. She is author of The Sustainable City (2022, Hoxton Mini Press), a book about sustainable architecture in London, and the Modern Cambridge Map (2023, Blue Crow Media), a map of 20th-century architecture in Cambridge, the city where she grew up.
-
First look – Bottega Veneta and Flos release a special edition of the Model 600
Gino Sarfatti’s fan favourite from 1966 is born again with Bottega Veneta’s signature treatments gracing its leather base
By Hugo Macdonald Published
-
We stepped inside the Stedelijk Museum's newest addition in Amsterdam
Amsterdam's Stedelijk Museum has unveiled its latest addition, the brand-new Don Quixote Sculpture Hall by Paul Cournet of Rotterdam creative agency Cloud
By Yoko Choy Published
-
On a sloped Los Angeles site, a cascade of green 'boxes' offers inside outside living
UnStack, a house by FreelandBuck, is a cascading series of bright green volumes, with mountain views
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
A new village chapel in the Czech Republic is rich in material and visual symbolism
Studio RCNKSK has completed a new chapel - the decade-long project of Our Lady of Sorrows in Nesvačilka, South Moravia
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Remembering Christopher Charles Benninger (1942-2024)
Architect Christopher Charles Benninger has died in Pune, India, at the age of 82; we honour and reflect on his passing
By Aastha D Published
-
A new exhibition marks Chandigarh’s modernist legacy
‘Celebrating the Capitol’, an exhibition of photographic work by architect Noor Dasmesh Singh, opens just in time for the famed modernist Indian city’s anniversary
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2024: meet the practices
In the Wallpaper* Architects Directory 2024, our latest guide to exciting, emerging practices from around the world, 20 young studios show off their projects and passion
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Playball Studio's architecture balances the organic and the technical
Playball Studio, a young Indo-Spanish design practice, features in the Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2024
By Pallavi Mehra Published
-
Peek behind the foliage at The Plumeria, a south Indian home by the water
The Plumeria by Silpi Architects is an India home in Kerala, the country's south, blending geometric forms and the region's tropical foliage and waters
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Step inside Le Harlequin, an imaginative redesign of a Mumbai apartment
Le Harlequin by Design Hex is an imaginative redesign of a Mumbai apartment in the bustling Indian city's Lower Parel neighbourhood
By Daven Wu Published
-
A Hyderabad apartment blends soft minimalism and ‘tangible luxury’
A Hyderabad apartment by Studio Design Inc wows with its balanced design that brings together soft minimalism and tangible luxury
By Daven Wu Published