2020 has been a year of major ups and downs. Marked by a global pandemic and the subsequent lockdown, the year could easily be termed as ‘volatile.’ The architecture and design world was also not exception and had its fair share of ups and downs around the globe and back home. SURFACES REPORTER (SR) has picked 11 stories that created a significant mark in the architecture and design world and kept us on our toes during the last year.

1. Construction of Ayodhya Ram Temple Commences

One of the key news of this year is the commencement of the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. The architect of the famed temple is Ar CB Sompura, who has actually created the design way back in 1988 and had used his feet to measure the temple premises. The temple will be built on the raised platform in the ‘Nagara’ style. While the Red stone from Mirzapur is likely to be used in the construction, a new issue is raised recently that has halted the construction again after lockdown. The temple trust has sought the help of IITs to modify the foundation model of the temple since the site not only falls in the seismic zone, but also has abundance of loose sand and an underground flow of Saryu River underneath the inner sanctum of the proposed temple structure that will weaken the stability of the entire structure.

Read more: The Architect behind Ram Temple

2. Central Vista Development commences amidst controversy

The most ambitious project of the current NDA government, the Rs 13,450 Cr Central Vista Redevelopment Project has garnered mixed reviews from various sections of the society. While government is busy citing the benefits of the project, there are many strong voices echoing in the central corridor condemning the govt’s move without putting the project under public scrutiny. The project has received severe backlash from various circles of the society particularly due to the wastage of the resources and it being detrimental to the environment of one of the world's most polluted metro city. Now making the matter sub-judice, the Supreme Court has put the construction on hold. While there is no actual stay in place, condemning the central govt’s move of laying the foundation stone, the apex court has asked the govt to stop all kinds of construction activities under said project till the matter is resolved.

Read more: Work Begins on New Parliament Building

3. Work from Home - Homes & Offices merge for good

The onset of a worldwide pandemic marked a drastic change in our work ethics; the home became the workplace with table turned into office desk with zoom meetings to save the world. From bureaucrats, ministers to corporate, everyone followed the WFH tradition with heart. The architecture and design world too reacted to this trend positively and started mandating home offices in the designs which were earlier a mere choice by a few selected groups of people. And in the New Year, the labour ministry has now formalised for the first time the ‘work from home’ option in establishments, as part of its draft model standing order for the service sector which means that the WFH phenomenon is here to stay and so is the design and architecture changes spelling the same.

Read more: WFH Concept is Changing People’s Home Buying Decisions

4. Fastest Construction of Hospitals 

Other important aspect that came out this year was how unequipped and utterly short our healthcare facilities were in order to fight with a pandemic of this scale. With necessasity come invention. In Wuhan, China, the epicentre of the pandemic, a hospital of 1000 beds was constructed in just 10 days which is a record in itself. Even the construction updates were LIVE streamed by the Chinese govt to an audience of 40 million people. Later, similar pace was picked in India and other countries as the pandemic began to spread its wings and we saw hospitals and healthcare facilities being created in trains’ coaches, shipping containers etc.

Read more: Mumbai Creates Jumbo Medical Centres for Covid-19 Patients

5. Modular Building Demands High

With its numerous benefits, including lower environment impact and savings in terms of time and other costing, modular construction is rapidly gaining popularity. If market reports are to be believed, than the global modular construction market size is projected to grow from USD 82.3 billion in 2020 to USD 108.8 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of 5.75% from 2020 to 2025. Increase in population and rapid urbanization (translating to a large number of new construction projects) offer opportunities for the growth of the modular construction market.

Also read: This Tiny Prefab Home, Made From Cross-Laminated Timber, Unfolds in 3 Hours | Brette Haus

6. Trains, Stadiums, Public Spaces being converted to isolation centres

Even the Indian Railways took a first-of-its-kind step in the world to transform old train coaches into COVID-19 care centers. They decided to use non-AC coaches for the isolation purpose as health offices were of the view that AC environments might increase the spread of the virus. 5,000 rail coaches have been transformed into COVID-19 isolation centres across India under the supervision of Indian Railways' medical professionals. Apart from this, several stadiums were also being converted into COVID-19 quarantine centres. The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium was one of the first to be converted into a quarantine facility.

7. Masks & Shields - New Designer Styles

From designer and sequined masks to match with your wedding dress to face shield that also acts as bubble maker to break the monotony, 2020 saw a huge surge in the designer and experimental masks and faceshield, an otherwise mundane concept used chiefly by medical professionals earlier. The latest masks are ‘intelligent’ to identify and keep all sorts of pathogens at bay while ensuring cleaner air to breathe for you. And surely 2021 will see more inventions being done in the field of masks and shields.

Also Read: 3D Printed Face Shields to Help Medicos Fight COVID-19

8. IIM Ahmedabad and Demolition Plan of Louis Kahns' Buildings

One of most famous college campuses and designed by legendary architect Louis Kahn, the demolition of buildings that form a part of IIM- Ahmedabad Campus caught everyone’s eye in the final weeks of December 2020. According to the reports, the administration was looking for partial demolition of 18 dormitories due to ‘unsafe living conditions’. However, a significant uproar in the architecture community around the world where thousands of people have already signed the petition against the move has prompted the authorities to take back their decision and look for other ways of restoration.

9. Social Distancing - New Element in All Designs

The elements of Architecture and design keep evolving with changing times. One element that was interoduced specifically in the pandemic time is Social Distancing, i.e., every new design or construction is now being done keeping the ‘six feet distance’ or  social distancing in mind. Even most public places like restaurants, bars, etc are now being designed so that people will be ensured of minimum external contact. Such design and architecture theme is going to stay for at least some time to come.

Read more: Eating out in Quarantined Greenhouse!

10. Ayodhya Mosque Design Revealed

After the unveiling of the design of Ram Temple, we saw the design for Ayodhya Mosque, (as ruled by the Apex Court) being unveiled amidst a lot of uproar. Designed by Prof Ar S M Akhtar, the design of Mosque will be egg-shaped without a dome. Equiped with Solar Power and other state-of-the-art facilities, the mosque will be able to accommodate around 2,000 people at a time. Along with the mosque, the Five acre complex will also house a hospital, a community kitchen and a modern library.

Read more: First Pictures of Ayodhya Mosque and Hospital Design Unveiled | Surfaces Reporter

11. New Education Policy - 3 year degree and multiple entry exit options

In a major move to realign the architecture education as per the National Education Policy 2020, the Council of Architecture (COA) has introduced a voluntary exit from the otherwise 5-year Architecture degree programme after completing three years. The students who would opt out after three years will be awarded Bachelors of Building Science or Building Architecture yet to be decided by the respective universities. Also, currently the council is planning to conduct an exit examination, which would be a professional qualification test for architects. The move has gathered diverse reviews from all quarters with many architects criticizing the move calling the architectural education ‘classic and something not to be meddled with.’

Read more: Now get Architecture degree in 3 Years - COA issues New Structure

Want us to add more....tell us in comments:

Don't Miss: 10 Pandemic driven design trends that are likely to stay | SURFACES REPORTER Exclusive

Keep reading SURFACES REPORTER for more news on furniture, architecture and design.

Join us in SOCIAL MEDIA to stay updated

SR FACEBOOK | SR LINKEDIN | SR INSTAGRAM | SR YOUTUBE

Further, Subscribe to our magazine | Sign Up for the FREE Surfaces Reporter Magazine Newsletter

You may also like to read:

Best 25 Architectural Colleges of India for you

7 Popular 3D Modelling Software in Architecture | Surfaces Reporter

First 3D-Printed Building in India, Made Using Local Building Materials

and more...