'residence NEXT' International Design Workshop in Kerala

Residence Next is an international workshop bring organised in the month of September in Thrissur in Kerala. The 3 day workshop will feature 7 prominent architects from around the world, participating with 14 young architects and 21 students, to evolve a new direction to residential design in Kerala. The timing and the aim of this workshop is relevant as Kerala is going through a particularly directionless phase in its architectural scene, with no noteworthy ideas coming about. Most of the works are mere adaptations of ideas evolved elsewhere, without any true concepts being generated to really suit the local context. After the Laurie Baker phase following the traditional architecture of Kerala, presently Kerala is going through a pseudo-traditional phase, with designs trying to blindly copy from tradition without understanding the logic and soul, and most often trying to match traditional elements with modern vocabulary and materials, in the process arriving at some truly hideous creations.

Thus, the time is ripe to have new ideas on the direction of architecture in Kerala, to evolve a truly regional vocabulary which is contemporary and relevant. In this regard, the workshop is a great way forward, as a harbinger of change. The basic premise of the workshop is that 2 young architects and 3 students, under the guidance of an eminent architect form a group. Each of these seven groups would work as an individual team to come up with solutions for a ‘live site’ in Thrissur. With architects like Kevin Low, Dominic Dube, Rafiq Azam, Bijoy Ramachandran, Madhura Prematilleke, Shilpa Ranade & Rajesh Renganathan, the event is sure to generate a lot of dynamic ideas and concepts.

You can find more details at http://residencenext.wordpress.com/