Architecture Asia Special Issue - ARCASIA Awards for Architecture 2020

Krushi Bhawan was originally planned as an exclusively administrative
building. Its designers took a cue from Königsberger‘s
original vision for Bhubaneswar in which he saw the
Capitol Complex, with a host of government offices, becoming
“a lively point of public life.” Their proposal to incorporate
public functions and community spaces within a building that
would add to the city’s social infrastructure was embraced by
the clients. Congruent with the project’s objective, the ground
floor comprises a learning center, gallery, auditorium, library,
and training rooms for farmers attending from all over the
state. Similarly, the rooftop has been designed to house urban
farming exhibits and demonstrate the best agricultural practices.
The offices for the state department and directorates—
which necessitate restricted access—are located on the first,
second, and third floors.
The objective of including the building within the public
domain has been achieved by elevating the offices above the
ground and designing the ground floor as a free-flowing public
space that opens out onto a plaza, which is an extension of the
street. The offices are housed on the upper floors, enabling them
to remain secure while keeping most of the other facilities open
to the public, even on holidays. Krushi Bhawan derives its visual
identity from local materials and vernacular narratives, manifesting
the idea of decentralized state power. The design integrates
passive, low-tech climate control mechanisms, achieving high
thermal comfort for users, while restricting mechanical air-conditioning
to only twenty percent of the built space, thereby reducing
the building’s carbon footprint.
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