Gerard da Cunha

Gerard da Cunha is an Indian architect based in Goa. He is an alumnus of the prestigious School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi. He is known for utilizing locally available materials and traditional construction techniques in harmony with its ecosystem.^[1]

Biography

Gerard runs his architecture firm 'Architecture Autonomous' in Goa, India. His projects are spread across the country that include resorts, townships, institutions and even private residences.^[2] He maintains his practice from the old Portuguese colony of Goa, which he considers has a novel history in that it was the site of the ‘first sustained encounter between the East and the West’. This encounter has engendered a unique culture and architecture that is evident in da Cunha's lively and rather Gaudíesque work.^[3][4][5]

Early Life

Born in 1955 in the city of Godhra, Gujarat, Gerard travelled across the country since childhood as his father worked with the State Bank of India and had a transferable job. He did most of his schooling at St. Mary’s in Mazgaon, Maharashtra.^[6] Later, he studied at the prestigious School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi, which is regarded as the best institution for architecture education in India. There he met his first wife, Arundhati Roy, now a famous Indian author, who was also a fellow student at SPA, Delhi. They married in 1977, only to be divorced 4 years later. During his 3rd year at SPA, Gerard took a one year break from the school and travelled to Kerala to work closely with the world- renowned architect Laurie Baker, whom he greatly admired.^[7] After his course in architecture from School of Planning and Architecture (SPA), Da Cunha joined DDA in 1979, but he found the experience of working there extremely monotonous. Bored with his job, he went to Goa (his home state) hoping for some exciting element in his life.^[8][9][10]

Works

Gerard has been part of several projects which find places all across India. These include Nrityagram of Bangalore, Hampi’s Kannada University’s main building and its library, Bangalore’s Kutiram Tourist Resort, JVSL Township in Torangallu, Tourist village in Kerala and Jimi Gazhdhar’s lavish mansion on the banks of Goan river, to name a few. Gerard’s projects mostly portray the use of natural material. ^[11]

One of the most impressive and unusual works of this architect has been the township which he has built for the JSW Steel Plant, about 30 km from Hampi called Vidyanagar. The entire project was built at a cost of Rs 150 crore. This township is spread across 300 acres and the project involved creating housing to settle 10,000 people! With not even a single tree on the site, creating an entire housing project seemed to be an arduous task. To begin with, Gerard studied quite a few townships that included HMT in Bangalore and IPCL in Gujarat. So, starting from scratch, Gerard and his team put together everything from sewerage lines, transformers, treatment plants and telephone systems. He used granite for most part of the project and utilized pre-fabricated systems, and Cuddappah stone. The township also has a movie theatre, school, airstrip, parks, and botanical garden. It also houses a club, temples, shopping centre and restaurants, thus making it a complete city town. This unusual project of creating an entire township got Gerard, the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Urban Planning and Design offered by the Ministry of Urban Development in 1998-99.^[12]

Another project that gave him wide recognition is Nrityagram dance village at Bengaluru, designed for famous Odissi dancer Protima Bedi. This center for the study of dance was built using traditional building forms and techniques, with stone and thatch being the primary materials. The whole concept of the 'village' presents a mosaic of texture and colours, earth, bricks, tiles and thatch. Nrityagram received the award for best rural architecture from the Vice- President of India in 1991.^[13][14]

He was hired to restore the oldest fort of Goa- Reis Magos Fort, which was lying in ruins for a long time. It has now become a successful tourist destination showcasing the history of Goa to the visitors.^[15]

Gerard has also designed the Goa State Central Library located at Panaji (Panjim), which has six floors and houses more than 1,80,000 books.^[16]

He has also won wide acclaims for the unusual and vernacular designs of two schools in Goa, Nisha's Play School and Shiksha Niketan. Set in a lush green valley in Goa, its design aims to create a playful, safe and stimulating learning environment for the students aged 3-10. On the steep slope of the site, the architect has created different levels of spatial experiences connected vertically by a chute for children and stairs. The building design and form evolved from the need to optimize daylighting and enhance natural ventilation. Skylights, light-shelves, windows and smaller openings in the brickwork provide plentiful light for daytime activities on all storeys of the building. Courtyards with trees are not merely means of ventilation but also serve as indoor play spaces for the children. Around the courtyards are the activity spaces – classrooms, a Doll Room, a Socially Useful Productive Workroom and rooms for music and dance. Brick arches, sometimes set so low that adults have to stoop to enter, become the doorless entryways. Furniture is designed specially for the age group using the space. The classrooms open into small gardens and outdoor seating. Building elements in different shapes and colors become teaching aids to convey ideas of form and color. Recycled metal bars come together to create the functional yet aesthetic grills for windows and balconies. The toilets are covered in delightful marine-life inspired mosaics made from broken tiles. The highlight of the outdoor amphitheater is the walls made from recycled beer bottles arranged in artistic patterns.^[17]

Just next to the school, Gerard has built a triangular ship- like building made of laterite stones, which is an architectural oddity in itself. It is called 'Houses of Goa' museum, designed and curated by Gerard himself. The museum traces Goan architectural traditions, building materials and styles in an indepth manner.^[18]

Awards and Achievements

He won the prestigious Prime Minister’s National Award for Excellence in Urban Planning and Design in 1998-99 for the project Jindal Vijaynagar Steel Limited (JVSL - Now JSW Township as "Vidhya Nagar"), Toranagallu, Bellary (Karnataka, India).^[19] He is also credited with winning the 'Commendation Award-1990' for rural architecture for his project 'Nrityagram' at Bengaluru, Karnataka. The design of Nrityagram can be termed as 'Natural Architecture.'^[20]

Gerard also made it into a shortlist of eight architects, being the only Indian architect in the list, invited by the Government of Japan's Furushima Prefecture region to draw up design proposals for a new capital city of Japan.^[21]

References