Operating within two distinct frameworks but catering to a public at large, the GKD Crematorium and the Railway Station in Coimbatore designed by Chennai-based Mancini Enterprises Pvt Ltd explores the possibilities in the many constraints and contradictions of privately-funded public projects, where the resulting architecture is an informed alternative that is both applied and strategic.
Architecture in post-independence India played a critical role in the task of nation-building, a project supported by the State and a significant number of goodwill citizens. Since the wave of a largely ‘privatised’ global economy, the profession like many other service sectors, is inevitably sustained by an industrial commerce. However, this notion has witnessed a change of perception in the recent years with several professionals collaborating with not-for-profit organisations and other institutions operating in the public-private interface, as a means to initiate a design dialogue that holds significant value for a society.
The fundamental difference between public and private projects is not just defined by the agencies involved but also the amount of trust that is bestowed on the collective vision of the private donors and the architects, by the authorities representing the public. Once this trust is established, the process of design is not really compromised as opposed to the general perception.
Niels Schoenfelder, Principal Architect.
The GKD Crematorium, Coimbatore
The rituals associated with death are as diverse in India as its many cultures. The environment in which they are originally performed are intrinsically linked to the geography and landscape of a place. While catering to the inevitable pace of urbanisation, the design of GKD Crematorium seeks to uphold the traditionally sentimental values associated with this typology.
Funded by a charity, the exposed structures of the crematorium attempt at a bold reform that is not only respectful of the cultural construct, but also the nitty-gritties related to construction on government-owned land. Entrusted with complete oversight of the execution of architecture and engineering in the project, Niels Schoenfelder, Principal Architect, stresses on the importance of the client in the, “Excellent handling of the public-private interface, and the continued association with the operations of the building post-construction.” This framework within which the design was enabled offers a critical learning in the role of the architect as a mediator of ambition and expectation, rendering an informed alternative that has more to offer than meets the eye.
The Railway Station, Periyanaickenpalyam
In another public setting, a modest 146-year old railway station situated in the midst of a suburban industrial neighbourhood of Coimbatore, was redesigned to accommodate a potential increase in the number of commuters in the near future. As a public-utility building, the project encompassed potential to grow beyond hierarchies of decision-making, and strategise through empowerment of the local bodies by way of participation. Although privately-funded, the design was not constricted but informed by an established framework within which the representative public body operates.
Apart from lending their expertise, The Railway Users’ Association of Coimbatore also involved the local community representatives via a regular review process to ensure that the immediate neighbourhood is satisfied with the overall design of the station.
The new building was conceived as a simple 2000 square feet layout across a 1,00,000 square feet site-area, with clearly defined service cores flanking the two ends. Although the renewed railway station facility seemingly appeals to a ‘modern’ sensibility in the manner of its materiality and logic of structure, at its core the overall architecture of the station attempts to merely “sharpen the vernacular” with an industrial appropriation that is especially visible in the fine resolution of the roof.
With a recent shift in the patterns of patronage and new-found modes of finance including ‘crowd-funded initiatives’ and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives among others; it is more important now than ever to recognise the appropriate role of the architect in the execution of a ‘progressive design’ idea with respect to the operational framework of a project. The course of design then follows a duly informed approach where the architect is not only conscious of the limitations but also the implicit potential they present in themselves. Evident in the architectural language of the Crematorium and the Railway Station is an inspired individuality that is more about a new spirit than style of public architecture as an integral contributor to societal needs manoeuvring convention and wishful thinking ⊗
Founded in 2004 MANCINI ENTERPRISES offers comprehensive design services in the fields of urban planning, architecture, interiors, landscape and product design. With base in Chennai, South India, their team of 26 professionals headed by J.T. Arima (B.Arch) and Niels Schoenfelder (Dipl. Ing. Architecture the German equivalent to M. Arch) – both registered with the Council of Architects India – currently designs urban master-plans, hotels, resorts, schools, residential developments, residences, gardens, interiors, furniture and lighting for an international clientele. The approach is based on dialogue with our clients and analysis of constraints thus establishing the project “reality”. Subsequently our entire design process from ideas to finished products inclusive of costing and engineering refers to this reality
