By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR: Odisha Chief Miniser Naveen Patnaik expressed his happiness after leading Architecture Magazine ‘Dezeen’ features Odisha’s Krushi Bhawan located in State Capital of Bhubaneswar. “#Krushibhawan has been featured by world acclaimed architecture magazine Dezeen, first building from #Odisha to feature in the prestigious architecture magazine. The inclusive design, emulating #SambalpuriIkat weave, chronicles #Odisha’s rich agricultural heritage and farmer empowerment,” tweeted CM Patnaik.
Krushi Bhawan is a Government building in Bhubaneswar designed by architecture practice Studio Lotus and featuring an elaborate brick facade. New Delhi-based Studio Lotus built the facility for the state government of Odisha in the city of Bhubaneshwar.
The complex houses administrative offices for the Department of Agriculture & Farmers’ Empowerment around courtyards filled with ponds and trees.The brickwork elements that wrap the upper floor create a pattern designed to emulate Odisha Ikat, a traditional dyeing technique from the eponymous Indian state.Studio Lotus recreated the patterns with bricks using three different colours of clay sourced from the surrounding area. The perforations in the facade help to naturally cool the building.
Regional materials and techniques feature all over Krushi Bhawan. Its pedestal and part of the north wing are made from laterite and khondalite stone from nearby mines.The khondalite was carved by hand to create lattices around the central courtyard, which has a stone inlay floor that displays a yearly calendar according to the crops. Odisha is the third-largest supplier of grain in India.
Bas reliefs carved into the laterite on the complex’s public plaza illustrate rice paddies in the style of Odisha Pattachitra scroll paintings, a traditional, cloth-based scroll painting.Dhokra, a type of metalwork perfected in India over 4,000 years, appears on screens along the building’s corridors and the light fixtures on columns.
