Legendary Ar B V Doshi's firm Vastushilpa Consultants Sangth won recognition at the notable Global Architecture Design Award (GADA) 2023 securing both Platinum and Gold honours. A report by SURFACES REPORTER.
Smritivan- A memorial for the victims of the 2001 Bhuj earthquake
Designed by Ar Rajiv Kathpalia, Partner, Vastu Shilpa Consultants, Smritivan echos the design principal of Pritzker Prize laureate, Ar B V Doshi. Spread across the volatile Kutchi terrain of Gujarat, the memorial takes the inspiration from the original precise brief of "planting a tree for each victim".
With this in mind, the architect and his team created a forest of memories and remembrances atop Bhujiyo Dungar, a hilltop outside Bhuj. It is a bio-diverse self-sustaining ecosystem with over 13,000 trees composing the forest, symbolising the diversity of the people. It is place for meditation, contemplation, and being one with the natural formations of the land; a place symbolising rebirth, regeneration, renewal, and above all, hope.
A total of 81 reservoirs have been envisaged along the site’s variable terrain to collect the runoff of the Bhujiyo Dungar wherein water is intercepted on its way and stored, and the names of the victims are enshrined.
The path of the reservoirs is the pilgrimage, and the spine along which the forest would develop, snaking along the slopes of the dungar, with the reservoirs themselves forming spaces for rest, vantage, and contemplation, along with symbolising renewal and replenishment.
GADA Awards
The Global Architecture Design Awards is a world-class competition for design professionals and project developers in the fields of architecture, interior, landscape, lighting, etc. It acts as a platform to promote design to actively intervene in our life and create a better society, contributing to a more sustainable future.
Architects, landscape architects, designers, design companies and developers from across the world can participate in the prestigious awards wherein projects conceptualized or built in the last five years can be submitted. These projects can be entered into one or more category however, the winners are chosen based on a single project – not for a body of work.
All entries are judged by a grand jury panel made up of international experts-architects, landscape architects, designers, developers and press members at the forefront of their professions. The current jury members include Pablo Vidiella, CEO, HenaLab, Spain, Dr. Steffen Lehmann, Professor of Architecture & Urbanism, Director of the Urban Futures Lab, the USA, Australia, Dave Pigram, Director/ Senior Lecture, University of Technology Sydney, Australia, Sabrina Panizza, Co-Founder and Creative Director, PL Studio, the UK and Irina and Olga Sundukovy, Founders and Art Directors, Sundukovy Sisters Studio, UAE.