Where art meets architecture

Combining the architecture and design elements of historical monuments and cities is Vidur Bharadwaj, (VB) in his debut solo show ‘Soul in Structure’. The Delhi-based architect has created 15 mixed-media works that are a reminder of how necessary sustainable architecture is.

These works are an extension of his persona as his has designed several green buildings in Delhi and NCR. “In today’s era of glass buildings, we are losing the basic essence that made all earlier buildings sustainable in themselves. It has always been my conscious effort to make my projects socially, economically and environmentally-responsible buildings,” he says.

For instance, inspired by Jag Mandir in Udaipur, the painting titled ‘Patni Campus, Noida’ showcases the concept followed in the two buildings of Patni campus. The software block on top focuses on natural sunlight and techniques used to design sun shades in the building. The BPO block at bottom highlights the concept of flowing water to cool the interior courtyard.

According to VB his inspiration for these works has been ‘lack of inspiration’. “There is such a dearth of good, green buildings around us that the only inspiration I had was to create sustainable environment around us for our future generations,” he tells Metrolife.
Courtyards, terraces, verandas along with water bodies, wind and sunlight are recurring motifs in his works, and VB says the aim of the exhibition is to “to bring the history of Indian architecture into modern new buildings so that we could live on with the tradition”.
The exhibition took two years in making, but VB had been dwelling on this concept for close to a decade after his close friend, a businessman, exhibited his photographs that he had taken during his travels. “It was while chatting with him over dinner, I was motivated to do a show that would highlight my creative side,” he recollects.
Soul in Structure can be viewed at Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre, from September 16 to 22.