Restored through a continuous effort spanning over a decade, Sree Vadakkunnathan Temple Conservation Project was carried out under the supervision of Thrissur-based Vinod Kumar MM of dd Architects. The process focuses on the authentic, with an idea of reviving traditional workmanship through an amalgamation of interdisciplinary interventions.
Located in the heart of Thrissur – the cultural capital of Kerala, Sree Vadakkunnathan Temple (incrementally built around twelfth century) has played a significant role in the evolution of the temple town. The orthogonally planned temple complex sits on a hillock with four entrances at the cardinal access points of the main axis, following the traditional scheme of the Kerala temples.
After centuries of exposure to tropical monsoons and no recorded holistic repair and restoration works, a structural assessment conducted in the 1990s flagged up concern for a considerable part of the complex that was left in a state of disrepair and distress. The Vadakkunnathan being a repository of heritage and culture, an integrated approach for restoring this intangible landscape was essential. A living entity, the temple complex is a continuing link to the viscera of the history of Thrissur. Enveloped by a changing urban fabric and yet effectively located amidst a conservative community, the residents were the prime drivers of efforts behind the conservation of Vadakkunnathan.
The temple conservation process itself is incomplete without the elaborate traditions and rituals which are performed with the same respect and vigour as they were hundreds of years ago.
Vinod Kumar MM, dd Architects
SPATIAL EXPERIENCE
Positioned in a unique cultural realm, the commanding multifaceted temple precinct embodies dynamic systems and sub-systems with physical and metaphysical hierarchies. Being a sacred and religious site, many customs dictate the access routes and controls for the spaces within the precinct. The main shrine, positioned in the centre of the complex, is surrounded by multiple verandas and courtyards. At the Vadakkunnathan, the innermost sanctum is wrapped in complete darkness and the progression into this space is a ritualistic movement where one undergoes dynamic experiences through the hierarchies of transition spaces filtering light in various qualities before reaching the sanctum. Light is an endemic element to the planning and design of the temples of South India. There is an inherent building diagram that follows the solar and the lunar calendar in response to metaphysical and mythical layers.
MATERIAL HERITAGE – CONSTRUCTION CULTURES
The authenticity in place is reinforced by its cultural milieu. Being closely involved with the process for years, the project has been restrained to a minimum intervention in an attempt to retain the ethos of the existing structures. The Vadakkunnathan Temple Conservation Project is an example of an intervention in living heritage – a case for many historic spaces across India. The learnings from the process has also informed Vinod’s contemporary practice. While contemporary conservation attitudes either swing towards more stylistic restorations to outright insensitivity, this project addresses the critical aspects of heritage – its ancient atmosphere and its ritualistic significance remains unchanged.
Every sacred space has its relationship with the cosmic energies and renews itself at intervals. It is highly important to understand these energy fields as well, the use of organic materials compatible to them while attempting any conservation interventions. The significant materials used for the temple construction were timber, lime, stone and copper. A traditional herbal mixture in oil called Ashtakuttu (a mixture of eight ingredients) was applied on to the wooden members used in the temple construction for protecting it from termites and other weathering issues.
Vinod Kumar MM, dd Architects
In replacing the copper roof shingles, the architect limits the work to the places where it is absolutely necessary and by treating only the damaged parts of the timber, makes this project an important precedent. History and contemporary practice have found a place in a building which has been restored over a certain period of time, and while it does not reject the notion of transformation, it deals with it with a degree of reverence, choosing to expose the magnificence of the old in proximity to the new and the restored.
The architect references collective knowledge. In India, the patterns of building trade occupations have traditionally followed a conservative caste system, and recognising and working with this reality was intrinsic to the conservation process. Around five hundred artisans and craftsmen were associated with the restoration process over a time span of fifteen years. The idea of the community engaging with the project helped resurrect the crafts and the sentimentality towards some processes. These craftsmen engage with local contemporary practices today – thus safeguarding the practices as custodians of this intangible heritage of making.
THE PUBLICNESS OF THE LIVING HERITAGE
Sree Vadakkunnathan Temple precinct sits in a contested, yet a democratic realm and the consequences of this conservation process is accessible to all. The engagement and the participation of the community is not limited to the ritualistic use, but it extends to the changing urban landscape of the temple. The process of design and the restoration effort takes into account the space surrounding the temple complex – its immediate context. Being an ASI protected monument site, the immediate radius remains porous to the urban community engaging with the space. The temple precinct remains adaptable and behaves as a nodal entity for the town. The conscious interventions do not extend to materiality solely but also to these larger ideas including blurring the thresholds, thus allowing flexibility while reinforcing present urban connections. There are not many known, similar examples of living heritage within our urban centres that can afford the rich open space Vadakkunnathan possesses and to deal sensitively with this space is central to the new interventions. In this process, there is an underlying idea of preservation of an ancient public space.
GOING BEYOND
Communicating the significance of a heritage site is equally important as conserving it. All efforts including expert workshops, exhibitions, seminars and publications – have been taken to communicate the essence of works done to protect this living monument with all its authenticity and integrity.
Vinod Kumar MM, dd Architects
The Vadakkunnathan Temple Conservation Project was honoured with the UNESCO Asia Pacific Award of Excellence for Cultural Heritage Conservation in 2015. It presents a compelling vision which potentially allows us to understand better, the changing roles of heritage spaces trapped within aggressively growing urban centres. The discourse initiated here is celebrating the idea of preserving and continuing the rich heritage of material craft along with a consciousness of the experiential heritage – the real and the mythical – a philosophy deeply embedded in our culture. A celebration of collaboration and a commendable effort, the values embodied over the components of the built environment – its identity, analysis and preservation processes and its historic significance – is a step further for community efforts in preserving the fragile thread of continuity that connects our collective past to our collective future⊗
dd Architects started as the individual architectural practice of Vinod Kumar MM. During his architectural training at Ahmedabad, Vinod was introduced to Kerala’s rich architectural traditions. Soon after his graduation in Bengaluru, Vinod left to work in a French-Malaysian architectural company at Kuala Lumpur. There he worked on modern high rises. A sudden turn of events brought Vinod back to his home-town in Kerala and he started travelling around the state exploring its indigenous architecture, people and art forms. In 2002, Vinod Kumar MM started design dreams with his first formal public project – Sakthan Tampuran heritage gardens at Thrissur. In the next one decade, design dreams undertook a variety of projects – architecture, conservation, landscape, interiors and urban revitalisation. In 2013, design dreams evolved to a full-fledged studio – dd Architects.
