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.
INFORMATION
’Anupama Kundoo: High-speed housing’ is on view until 18 June. For more information, visit Roca London Gallery’s website
For more information on Anupama Kundoo, visit the architect’s website
ADDRESS
Roca London Gallery
Station Court
Townmead Road
London, SW6 2PY
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
The moments fashion met art at the 60th Venice Biennale
The best fashion moments at the 2024 Venice Biennale, with happenings from Dior, Golden Goose, Balenciaga, Burberry and more
By Jack Moss Published
-
Crispin at Studio Voltaire, in Clapham, is a feast for all the senses
New restaurant Crispin at Studio Voltaire is the latest opening from the brains behind Bistro Freddie and Bar Crispin, with interiors by Jermaine Gallagher
By Billie Brand Published
-
Vivienne Westwood’s personal wardrobe goes up for sale in landmark Christie’s auction
The proceeds of ’Vivienne Westwood: The Personal Collection’, running this June, will go to the charitable causes she championed during her lifetime
By Jack Moss Published
-
Four Mumbai apartments are transformed into an art-filled contemporary home
Designer Rajiv Saini unites four Mumbai apartments in the Indian city’s Colaba district into a single, expansive, art-filled home for a family
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
India’s Hampi Art Labs is a piece of architecture at one with its content and context
The world-class Hampi Art Labs by Indian architect Sameep Padora, near South India’s Hampi Unesco World Heritage Site, mimics the contours of the nearby Tungabhadra River
By Vaishnavi Nayel Talawadekar Published
-
House of Greens in India’s Bengaluru is defined by its cascading foliage
Nestled in Bengaluru’s suburbs, House of Greens by 4site Architects encourages biophilic architecture by creating a pleasantly leafy urban jungle
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Surajkund Craft’s Northeast Pavilion in India is an exemplar in bamboo building
The Northeast Pavilion at the Surajkund Craft Fair 2023, designed by atArchitecture, wins Best Use of Bamboo in the Wallpaper* Design Awards 2024
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
OpenIdeas has designed Link House, an expansive Gujarat family complex
Link House accommodates two households in high modern style in the Indian state of Gujarat, innovatively planned around the requirements of a large extended family
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
This Chandigarh home is a meditative sanctuary for multigenerational living
Residence 91, by Charged Voids is a Chandigarh home built to maintain the tradition of close family ties
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Studio Mumbai exhibition at Fondation Cartier explores craft, architecture and ‘making space’
A Studio Mumbai exhibition at Paris’ Fondation Cartier explores the trailblazing Indian practice’s inspired, hands-on approach
By Amy Serafin Published
-
Debris Block House in India’s Bengaluru nestles into its leafy landscape
Debris Block House by Collective Project intertwines contemporary architecture, flora and roof gardens, as it nestles within its native landscape
By Tianna Williams Published