Anupama Kundoo investigates affordable housing solutions at Roca London

If you’ve been counting down the days towards the much-anticipated, official opening of the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale at the end of May, a new show at the Roca London Gallery is here to offer a teaser that might help with the wait.

The new show, opening today at the West London gallery, focuses on the work of inspiring Indian architect Anupama Kundoo, and acts as a companion piece to her scheduled installation at the Venetian Arsenal.

Now based in Madrid, Kundoo is known for her work in sustainable and affordable production, working with case studies in her home country, but also abroad. Aiming to provide real solutions to India’s housing problem, the architect develops her experimental designs by collaborating with a range of makers, from the most technologically advanced engineers, to Indian craftspeople working with traditional methods.

Collaborating with local communities in a range of settings, from countryside locations to dense urban centres, the architect researches and designs affordable housing and sanitation solutions. Samples of her ’Full Fill Home’ prototype, ’Light Matters Housing’ and ’Easy WC’ schemes will be on display at Roca during the exhibition, accompanied by photographs and films, showing their construction in progress.

Kundoo’s designs, which have been praised by Venice Biennale director Alejandro Aravena, can be made swiftly and easily, using skills that are readily available in the respective communities and that local craftspeople can pass on to each other. At the same time, they cover all the necessary structural and sanitary requirements needed to improve the living conditions of hundreds of people.

A panel debate discussing the role of architects in disaster reconstruction situations will follow the official opening tonight, offering further food for thought to this stimulating exhibit.