ARABHATI- Revitalization of Lalitgiri

Project idea

The main idea behind the project is to make Lalitgiri craft village which will have a contemporary idiom but still showcasing its tradition & heritage. Lalitgiri is one of the oldest settlements of stone sculptors in Odisha located at the foothills of Lalitgiri hills. The settlers of this village believe to have with the construction of monasteries.

Project description

The ultimate goal of the project is to introduce the people to the rural reality, especially to the rural habitat, its status and multiple challenges of survival, character retention, and development in the modern-day context of changes in the structure of the economy and urbanization trends. The design presents the various elements of the social production process through which over generations the rural habitat has been created and using them creatively in a design process to give the rural settlements a modern idiom and form while retaining its people/community context. Therefore, a section of the Lalitgiri village which includes an integrated community of stone sculptors is chosen. The design interprets the informal community social processes that shape the rural settlement and engage in a design process that imparts new modernity while retaining its “people/community in the centre” context.

Technical information

the programme formulation of the proposed design are Central Courtyard Planning, Changing in the workspace, Stones used for construction, high plinth-Pindi, space in between two houses.