Studio Saar’s latest completion, Third Space in Udaipur, India, is an unusual commission. A project for local not-for-profit organisation Dharohar, this is a building that combines many uses and purposes, conceived to offer several affordable resources to the Rajasthan city in one fell swoop.
Third Space is a place for learning, working with makers to create extra-curricular activities for the area supporting the preservation of crafts; it is a leisure centre offering a range of diverse, hands-on activities, such as a maker's space and Tinkering Lab; it hosts a performing arts and exhibition programme; it creates flexible space for people to gather, relax and spend time in its several cool, open-air courtyards; and it provides the community with a variety of areas for social wellbeing, retail and co-working to boot.
Take a tour of Third Space by Studio Saar
To define the brief, the Anglo-Indian studio, headed by Ananya Singhal and Jonny Buckland, worked closely with Dharohar – a philanthropic institution funded and managed by the Singhal family, owners of Secure Meters, an Indian multinational smart metering and energy management business, of which Singhal is joint managing director.
As a result, the design draws on the non-profit’s key principles of ‘openness, accessibility, and inclusivity’. Additionally, Singhal explains, ‘we wanted the building to be of its place, and fitting to the Indian vernacular’. The project’s intricate detail throughout, and features such as the inverted stepwell that connects the underground parking levels and the public plaza above, speak to that.
The centre is composed of a series of open and enclosed spaces held within a permeable volume wrapped in a perforated façade made of marble and steel –offcuts of the former material were used in the floor, and offcuts of the latter, in screen partitions inside.
More environmentally friendly gestures in the construction include the use of waste marble-rubble and lime mortar from nearby mines (Udaipur is known for its marble quarries) in the masonry walls and flooring; marble dust replacing 10 per cent of the cement, and 20 per cent of the sand/aggregate in the concrete mix; passive cooling systems throughout; and native trees and other plants at multiple levels, which help users connect to the outdoors while also contributing to the restoration of local wildlife and flora.
‘We want it to be a place where people are not afraid to come in and are curious to try things,’ says Singhal. ‘We want to inspire collaboration and introduce people with the same interests to each other.’
An exhibition by Studio Saar titled ‘Craft, Community, Connection’ will be on show at the Crafts Council Gallery in London, 7 – 15 June as part of the London Festival of Architecture 2024
A version of this article appears in the July 2024 issue of Wallpaper*,$ available in print, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today
-
The David Collins Foundation celebrates creativity in all its forms at London Design FestivalThe David Collins Foundation presents ‘Convergence’ at the Lavery during London Design Festival 2025 (on view until 19 September), featuring works from the Arts Foundation’s annual Futures Awards
-
Rolex and Wallpaper* present the first authorised history of the Datejust watchRolex and Wallpaper* partner again to publish ‘Oyster Perpetual Datejust – A Watch that Made History’, written by Nicholas Foulkes, available now
-
Will the revamped Park Hyatt Tokyo keep its cinematic soul?As Park Hyatt Tokyo prepares to reopen after an extensive transformation, film fans wonder: will it still evoke Sofia Coppola’s dreamscape?
-
A brutalist mosque explores light and spirituality in tropical KeralaThis brutalist mosque by studio Common Ground explores concrete forms and top light as a symbol of spirituality in tropical, southern India
-
For Indian landscape architect Varna Shashidhar, nature taught her ‘more than any lecture ever could’Varna Shashidhar of Bangalore studio VSLA tells us of her journey to becoming a landscape architect, guided by observation, intuition, and a profound respect for place
-
We spent the night at Indian modernists the Kanade brothers' home in NagajIndian modernists the Kanade brothers' home in Nagaj exemplifies their approach to architecture; architect and writer Nipun Prabhakar spends the night and tells the story
-
Malabar Hill’s elevated micro-forest trail brings nature to Mumbai’s urban experienceAn elevated trail in the Malabar Hill neighbourhood is where nature meets design in the ‘urban jungle’ of Mumbai
-
A street-like Pune clubhouse celebrates the ‘joy of shared, unhurried experiences’A brick clubhouse in Pune by Studio VDGA reflects the fluidity and openness of the Indian way of life with a series of welcoming plazas, courtyards and lanes
-
Behind a carefully composed geometric brick façade, a New Delhi residence rises highAKDA’s design for this New Delhi residence explores new geometries and high densities
-
This Hyderabad live/work space is rooted in its leafy context, centred around an old neem treeIn Hyderabad, India, Soil & Soul Studio by Iki Builds is a blueprint for a conscious way of building, working and living
-
A night at Pierre Jeanneret’s house, Chandigarh’s best-kept secretPierre Jeanneret’s house in Chandigarh is a modernist monument, an important museum of architectural history, and a gem hidden in plain sight; architect, photographer and writer Nipun Prabhakar spent the night and reported back
