Architectural Journalism Competition, India: Series 2, was themed to "Discuss the relevance of Concept & Context with respect to any Architectural Masterpiece in India or Abroad."

Concept brief was described in the competition as: An architectural journalism piece caters to five features of any building: its feasibility, uniqueness, equity, accessibility and its vitality. Also, the concept and the context of the building are important as they go hand in hand. The concept could be anything that we get inspired by something available in nature, or an already-being-used mechanism, or some bio-mimicry, which is further modified in terms of a building. It could be based upon the simple functions that the building is deemed to perform, or just inspired from a leaf or the petals of some flower, or even from the Fibonacci series of numbers which could inspire a mathematical model of tiling to construct a facade. There are enormous possibilities for conceiving a concept in terms of architecture.

The organization has announced the winning stories and the winners with their abstracts are as under:

Professional Category Winner: ‘Fragrance Of Agony- Jewish Museum Berlin’ by Prof. Mondira Ganguly  & Sreerupa Deb, BMS School of Architecture, Bangalore.

Abstract- Fragrance Of Agony- Jewish Museum Berlin’: The Jewish Museum Berlin was designed by the renowned architect Daniel Libeskind. The Architect implemented a radical design expressive of the Jewish lifestyle. The purpose is to illustrate the contributions of the Jews in the growth of Berlin. He called his project “Between the Lines”. The building has a fearless form, sharp angles and wounded zigzag body. There are three axes that diverge out – Axis of continuity, Axis of Exile and the Axis of Holocaust. The architect has created several voids which run vertically in the building. The external façade is a thin layer of Zinc-Titanium coat. The slit windows are designed to suggest scratches, wounds, and scars the Jews have experienced. It is an architecture which narrates a story of dreams, distress, and desire. This museum is not a place to exhibit but to experience the spaces and agony that the Jews went through during the Holocaust.

'Special Mention’ for Professional Category: An Open Enclosure by Ar. Samruddhi Prashant  Chitnis, working under Harmony Architects.

Abstract- An Open Enclosure: "You imagine what you desire, You frame what you imagine, At last, you create what you wish" An English writer once decided that he would tell the whole story of architecture in a book but soon he gave up. He realized that it would take at least 100 books & 20,000 pictures to tell the whole story. Goddess of Justice is blindfolded as a symbol of fairness to both sides. The same way we require two sides of goodness from any building to be just and fair; to be practically well and to be pleasing to the eye. What does architecture have to do with justice? The same thought came to my mind when I took up this project with a stride. To do justice to my project and to make it more challenging I thought of taking an unexplored building be it small or large be it famous or not but something that inspired.

'Special Mention’ for Student Category: Conceptualizing the Contextual Constituent by Arun Shankar, 5th Year; Karpagam School of Architecture, Coimbatore.

Abstract- Conceptualizing the Contextual Constituent: It is a notion of affirmative manifestation that, “Appearances, most of the times are deceptive, rather than being receptive.” Having said this, it may be understood that the importance or the significance of a building being notable amongst, should not just be for the decoration and fabrication it could possess, but for the vivid and the extensive functional ability of the building, serving the ultimate purpose of it. Several mutations have happened over the decades and so has the conceptual approach towards a building been differently perceived by the public tribunal.  Here, an institution has been put on the line to be visualized and contemplated, in the square one of the evolutionary process with respect to its conceptual and contextual relationships. 

Jurors for this series were:

Prof Krishna Rao Jaisim: Principal Architect Jaisim-Fountainhead

Ar. Pappal Suneja: Freelance Architectural Journalist, India

Renu Raja Ram: Editor, Window and Facade Magazine, New Delhi

Ar. Sarbjit Bahga: Chief Architect Bahga Design Studio, Chandigarh

Ar. Surinder Bahga, Chairperson B&C IIA Punjab and Principal Architect, Saakar Foundation

Ar.Sangeet Sharma, Practicing Architect & Author Chandigarh

Top Image © Pappal Suneja

> via Architectural Journalism Competition Series