Made in Mud
A small tribute to Revathi Kamath, the lady who has achieved a synergy and holisticness in architecture bringing the rural and the urban together
Capturing the complexity and compassion of rural ground plans, where the chula (mud stove) and the chowki (low wooden stool) would be situated, whether the mother-in-law would like the daughter-in-law to build a structure above her head in a joint family dwelling and where should the toilet be located in relation to the kitchen, architect Revathi Sekhar Kamath, was an environmentally sensitive architect from New Delhi who studied and brought together the knowledge of rural living and urban dwelling in her architectural projects. She worked primarily with ‘Mud Architecture’ giving it a newer dimension in a contemporary era.
As this seems to be our year of loss, Kamath passed away on July 21, 2020, at the age of 65, of natural causes. She has been praised as one of the most successful architects that India has produced in the contemporary era, who is credited with not just several aesthetically stunning mud structures but she has also designed the tallest stainless steel structure (a 33-meter high gateway) in India for the super thermal power plant at Raigarh, Chhattisgarh. Her other projects include the Gnostic Centre, New Delhi, Lakshman Sagar Resort, Raipur, Tal Chhapar Sanctuary, Rajasthan, their own home the Kamath house, Anangpur Village and Nalin Tomar House to name a few.
“Most of the architecture is to establish power, to impose yourself on the environment; to control it, and symbolize control over the forces of nature…and somehow I don’t find my repose in that kind of creativity, ” said Kamath in Dhara, the 1999 documentary made on her work by Doordarshan Channel India. She went on to tell her viewers that the creative aspect of the persons working on the project is not touched upon. The project hardly ever evokes their sense of completeness, they are just following the architect in an isolated and soulless manner. Her projects have always endeavored to engage people at all levels, taking the worker’s creative inputs along the way, rather than treating them as mere machines engaged to ‘execute’ the project.
Kamath was born in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, in 1955. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Architecture in 1977 and a post-graduate program in Urban and Regional Planning in 1981 both from the School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi. After that, she worked with Joseph Allen Stein, B. V Doshi, and Dr. J.R Bhalla (SDB Consultants) for a year and later with Rassik International, Architects, and furniture designers in New Delhi.
Then in 1981 She had set up the firm of ‘Revathi and Vasant Kamath’, Architects, Delhi, with her husband Vasant. The firm has subsequently become ‘Kamath Design Studio’, (2005 onwards) with their son Ayodh joining the firm. She also worked for the National Institute of Urban Affairs in 1981. She was visiting Faculty from 1984 to 1987 and Assistant Professor from 1987 to 1991 at the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi.
Kamath leaves behind her legacy that will be carried forth by her studio, her husband, son, and her students.
Text by Georgina Maddox
Image courtesy: Wiki Images and Kamath Design Studio
Know more about the Artist and Gallery:
https://www.wef.org.in/revathi-sekhar-kamath/
