MUSEUMS
Dandiyapura
Vadek
Sanctioned by the government of Gujarat are two small museums in the remote villages of Dandiyapura and Vadek. The museums are built to commemorate freedom fighters native to these villages.
The location and context of the sites earmarked for these museums required one to design the buildings for functions beyond those mentioned in the brief. Both the museums are proposed within the school compounds of these villages. It therefore became evident that the museum had to function as a space for the children at most times considering a low visitor footprint in the museums.
The open plan with a simple grid structure measuring 9M by 6M and an additional mezzanine floor taking up ⅓rd of the total length is informed by this requirement to allow multiple and free use of the space. On the ground floor, brick walls act as infill enclosures between the steel grid structure. These walls become surfaces for the museums’ exhibits. Above, a lighter infill in the form of mud panels prepared by local craftsmen is used. Given the remote context and the factor of repeatability, a robust system of materials was adopted for ease of construction.
A double column structural system is employed in the structural system to reduce the size of metal columns and help accommodate a window system for natural light and ventilation within the column gap.
