Design Project

Title of the Project: Along the Locus

Location: Kandivali(west), Mumbai

The pandemic led to the unemployment of several people. Some of these came forward to volunteer and start a community service of food distribution at a temple with the help of a trust to provide 2 meals a day to the people like the security guards of the neighboring societies, housemaids, their families and many more. They set up a counter next to the temple which became the distribution point and the interior of the temple became the storage for the food.

During the lockdown, the main door of the temple remained locked but there were two smaller entrances which helped the volunteers with the movement. The main street and a smaller lane joining at the corner became an important part of the site. The interface of the temple blurred on one side and sharpened on the other.

The proposed iteration forms a plinth which continues as a curve to form the walls which blurs the corner of the temple. The different levels provide separate spaces for each activity. The movement of the people is due to the focal points which in this case are the counter for the food distribution and the deity for worship. The food distribution activity requires a queuing space, collection point and storage space, whereas worship requires a radial space around the deity. The placement of the walls are defined by these movement patterns. The walls fences the different activities and provide a specific path for the manoeuvre.

Post covid, these activities could take place simultaneously and the structure will provide for smooth movement through the corner which blurs the margins between the street and the temple.

Granite being used in the plinth which continues as a curve to form the wall forms the idea of a blur of the margin between the temple and the corner of the street. The marble allows the space to remain cool. The glass partition allows the view of the deity from the outside.