MES Auditorium, Mandvi
Architect: Neogenesis+studi0261+The Company of Design, CAN Architecture
Citation Note:
The MES Auditorium in a small town of Mandvi in Gujarat sits on a constricted urban site. A public auditorium, the design of the space comprehensively accommodates the programmatic demands of the building, all the while, creating an interesting sequence and circulation that responds to its public-ness. Designed on a well-resolved plan, the building represents the simplicity and conviction of contemporary architecture to represent quality infrastructure.
A bold, clear form, the roof of the space curves into the wall that almost hovers over the ground. The building is well-detailed with complementary materials and sensitive resolution of joinery. Placed naturally on the site, the structure is angled to create a plaza in the front – a place for congregation.
There is a certain boldness and clarity in the formal and spatial resolution of the design. The building enhances the potential of the site and responds eloquently to the challenges of its urban context. By using the plan as the generator of space, the built form deftly negotiates its use.
In suburban areas and towns across India, the quality and design ambition of public buildings is dictated by limited budgets and mediocre resolution of detail. The MES Auditorium creates a discerning project that uses conventional construction materials to create interesting form and a civic space.
Designed as a collaboration between Neogenesis, studio261 and The Company of Design, CAN Architecture, the project competently creates a quality place where the rigour of design resolution translates into spatial eloquence and therefore, MES Auditorium in Mandvi is a citation project in The Merit List.
Photographs by The Fishy Project, Ishita Sitwala