Pavilion for Scotland, Kolkata, India
Winner, International Competition, 2008
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Timber construction has exercised a profound influence upon the traditional architecture of India. For over five hundred years wood was the de facto material of choice for new buildings, leading to the development of a tectonic language that was later translated to, and imitated in, the more durable stone construction that gradually became prevalent.
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Following in this tradition we propose an approach for the design of a pavilion for the Scotland and Kolkata Connections programme which combines the development of a tectonic language from contemporary timber construction methods, with the exploration of using textiles made from jute – a material important to the industrialisation of Kolkata and parts of Scotland alike – as a means of defining internal spaces. In doing so we aim to produce a pavilion whose character responds to the local traditions of construction and manufacturing in a meaningful contemporary way.
