Archinect - News

andblack design studio creates a modular, prefabricated black box theater with multifunctional use

2023-06-22T17:37:00-04:00

Kanika and Jwalant Mahadevwala, architects and founding partners of andblack design studio, have created a multifunctional black box theater design that uses parametric models to "allow customization of several variables to achieve the specified volume." Their design prototype, Darwin Bucky, is a prefabricated kit of parts made of wood, aluminum, steel, and glass.

Designed for Abhay Mangaldas, founder of India-based startup Darwin, the lightweight modular panel design is a flat-pack system that emphasizes versatile on-site assembly.

Darwin Bucky assembly. Image © Vinay Panjwani.

According to the architects, Darwin Bucky is a "black box that can be used as an exhibition gallery, a town hall, an expo center, a performance arena, or even serve as a bar or a nightclub. It is designed to be placed in public gardens, exhibition grounds, or even in a city center."

Aerial view of Darwin Bucky site. Image © Vinay Panjwani.

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Louis Kahn buildings in Ahmedabad saved from demolition

2021-01-04T12:50:00-05:00

The board of governors (BoG) for Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad has decided to withdraw an expression of interest (EOI) that was put out by the management last month inviting architects and designers to propose plans for demolishing dormitories in the campus built by American architect Louis Kahn and replacing them with new structures.

The school reversed its decision to demolish and replace 14 of the 18 dormitories built by Louis Kahn between 1962 until his death in 1974 following international outrage over the proposal.

A change.org petition to save Kahn’s aging IIM Ahmedabad structures has already attracted more than 15,000 signatures.

Related on Archinect: Louis Kahn's floating music barge is saved, finds home in Philadelphia. Point Counterpoint II. Image via American Wind Symphony Orchestra.

Pritzker Prize winner Balkrishna Doshi: Education without doors

2018-03-26T13:55:00-04:00

The Pritzker is a great award. Unimaginable. It’s the first time in India—that’s another story. But it is also the recognition of saying that these kinds of buildings are really wonderful, they are globally recognizable buildings. The philosophy of creating something for the have-nots, I think is one of the unique things that can happen.

CityLab reporter Ashish Malhotra sits down with recent Pritzker Prize laureate Balkrishna Doshi to chat about winning the Pritzker, Ahmedabad, Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn as mentors, and open access to architectural education: "So I always wrote, in the [CEPT] campus, my whole idea was that an educational campus should be without doors. No boundaries. And that philosophy I continue."

Works by Le Corbu and Louis Kahn in Ahmedabad left off historic conservation list

2015-06-16T15:38:00-04:00

The father of modern architecture Le Corbusier and the most influential architects of the 20th century Louis Kahn will not find place in the latest heritage conservation list of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC). Ahmedabad happens to be the only place in the world where Le Corbusier had designed four different buildings. Louis Kahn's IIM-A building too does not figure in the list of heritage buildings.

"The list, which consists of 2,247 buildings and havelis in the walled city and 382 buildings outside the walled city area, will be notified in a day or two. Inclusion in the list will mean that the new conservation building bye laws would now be applicable."