The In-between
Examining Institutions of Faith2018
KRVIA
Individual Project
Oblique Strategy
“Shut the door and Listen from the Outside”
The studio is an interrogation of the architecture of Institutions. The institutions to be examined in this semester are those related to religious practices and their relationship with the communities that they serve. The study of the Dargah(Sufi shrine) in Ajmer used ‘biography’ as the method of understanding this relationship. Interviews conducted with actors in and around the Dargah examined the nature of the relationship of the visitors and inhabitants of the old city of Ajmer with the institutional systems in the city.
Process
By decentralizing Qawali, as an art form, detached from its traditional and devotional values, one tries to achieve a level playing field for all artists, be it the qawals or modern day artists. It creates opportunities for fusion and exchange of culture and art between troupes from around the world.
The Intervention is a public interface between the dargah and the street. The terraces cascade from the street into the dargah complex. This shuts off the door to the building from within the dargah, opening it up only to the street; creating pockets where one can hear the musical activities within the building without actually making the listener a part of it.
Long sections
Short sections