Critical Viewpoint

For my Architectural design studio, the site is located in Carstreet, one of the oldest places of Mangalore city. The site has an existing school and PU college called B.E.M. school and college. The site has very rich history dating back to the year 1838. The building is built with locally available material like laterite and also have openings and huge ceiling heights which provide good ventilation and sunlight.

BEM High School, Carstreet, Mangalore

In Architectural Design Studio, we were asked to design a Performing Arts school. My aim for the design was to create an environment friendly design that also maintains the heritage of the building and the site. It must connect with the roots of the culture of Mangalore.

My design focused on critical regionalism. Critical regionalists insisted that the building must reflect the culture and tradition of its region through its design and materials. And that is the idea behind my process. It incorporates the climate and the heritage of the existing elements on the site. My materials would be Laterite stone and Mangalore tile roofing and other locally available material.

It's about seeing your design as part of a bigger picture - a holistic environment or an urban fabric- instead of just a stand alone building. My performing arts school will most likely have a course on the following:

1. Classic music

2. Hindustani music

3. Bharatanatyam

4. Yakshagana

Hope you liked the reading. Stay tuned for more!