Bringing together a combination of models, photographs, drawings, visualisations and film, Craft, Community and Connection explores the work of Anglo-Indian architecture practice Studio Saar.
Craft relates to the tangible aspects of architecture; community reflects spaces coming alive through an active exchange of ideas with the community who make and/or inhabit them; and connection represents physical routes and cultural practices that bind contemporary buildings to their context.
Arranging projects from across India and the United Kingdom under three central themes helps to explore the role of architecture in enhancing existing places, inviting collaborations with craftspeople and the wider community, and reimagining how we live – both in cities and towns, and in remote and rural locations.
CRAFT
Craft relates to everything from architecture’s experiential qualities to the care and skill invested by architects, builders and artisans in the making of a building. A commitment to craft underpins Studio Saar’s work from its early design thinking through to its approach to construction and generating ongoing social value. At the same time as celebrating the potential of new technologies, its projects honour vernacular heritage, regional materiality and traditional workmanship.
COMMUNITY
Studio Saar’s endeavours to generate a sense of collective ownership and togetherness - reflecting a belief that spaces only truly come alive through an active exchange of ideas with the people who inhabit them, and the communities they foster. Consulting with occupants and neighbourhoods, imagining new kinds of spaces that nurture, engage and teach the future generations are all fundamental to the practice’s community-based approach.
CONNECTION
Strengthening connections maximises the potential in every project, whether that is embedding new routes and spaces to unite people or ensuring that contemporary buildings bond with their physical, social, and historical contexts. Studio Saar’s goal is to weave together the priorities of clients, city or regional authorities, and building users – connecting people through design and providing that catalyst for positive social change.
