Third Place Winner
A Concrete Belief
Design by
Harika Gandi & Sarmada Madhulika
Harika Gandi & Sarmada Madhulika
Harika Gandi
My name is Harika, I am an Architect, Artist and Professor with over 5 years of experience working closely with Architects, Artists, International experts, policy makers & students across the country. I graduated in Bachelor of Architecture from Andhra University and earned my Masters’ degree in Psychology from Andhra University. Being a continuous learner, I am currently pursuing my Masters in Environmental Design from JNAFAU, Hyderabad.
Besides being the co-founder of the firm Sargah Architects, my true passion for working with young learners, sharing knowledge, and interacting with them has motivated me to pursue my career in teaching where I work as Assistant Professor at Sri Venkateswara College of Architecture, Hyderabad and Visiting Faculty at Sri Venkateswara College of Fine Arts, Hyderabad. My teaching philosophy is to create a community of learners who are design thinkers, who create sustainable solutions and are rooted to Human and Environmental centric designs, making this world a better place to live in.
SarmadaMadhulika Kone–
An architect and urbanist whose work is inclined towards developing socially responsible design solutions. She worked on multiple residential towers in Navi-Mumbai, 2015-16. She is now the Founder and Principal Architect at Saṛgaḥ Architects, Hyderabad, India. She received her Master of Planning in Urban Development from Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology, India in 2017 and a Bachelors of Architecture from the School of Planning and Architecture, Vijayawada, India in 2014. As an urbanist, her research interests are in People-centric Cities and ICT interventions in Participatory Planning. Her latest publication is “Smart Public Participation: An inquiry into the role of process and technology” in the book ICT Solutions for Improving Smart Communities in Asia, 2021.
Celebrating Creativity & Vision
Winner’s Spotlight: An Exclusive Interview
Discover the story behind the victory — from concept to creation.
What is your design philosophy?
Harika Gandi
My design philosophy is to design and create sustainable solutions that are deeply rooted to Human and Environmental centric designs, making this world a better place to live in.
Sarmada Madhulika
The way we design spaces and the performance of an activity in spaces, we indirectly are influencing man’s lifestyle and his socio-cultural patterns. Thus, I believe Architects are seriously accountable for the social responsibility of their design. Our design philosophy is to develop concepts that are socially responsible and inclusive. At Saṛgaḥ Architects, Hyderabad, we are focused to build better communities. Deconstructing our social objectives in reference to a spatial configuration, we develop designs that are centered around positive interaction spaces in residential communities. As an architect, I feel a great sense of responsibility upon my shoulders to direct our communities towards a better tomorrow.
What was your feeling when the winners were announced?
Harika Gandi
I was extremely elated to hear that we bagged Third prize in the "Concrete in Architecture" competition. The entire process has been an enriching learning experience.
Sarmada Madhulika
I was very happy when I received the mail from ARCHIOL.
Can you briefly explain your understanding of the topic and the source of ideas?
Harika Gandi
Concrete, a versatile building material, is the second most used material on the Earth after water and its high strength, durability, and affordability made the material most preferable in all periods. Evolution in the usage of Concrete in the built forms from past to present is phenomenal. All the great civilizations of the world had concrete in their structures. It is certainly crucial to identify how to use concrete and how not to use concrete in the construction industry along with its green material innovations toward a sustainable tomorrow.
Our major source of ideas is drawn from deriving the answers for curious questions like when, how and where concrete was used, is being used and scope of its use in future, across the globe.
Sarmada Madhulika
The central thesis, the essay was written was to showcase that, since historical times the compositions of limestone aggregates have evolved with time, innovations in science and engineering. Concrete will surely evolve in near future in response to the emerging global issues today.
What does architecture mean to you?
Harika Gandi
Architecture is designing spaces that shape experiences which influences lifestyles.
Sarmada Madhulika
Architecture to us is nothing but, ‘The Spatial Configuration’. The design of activity performance and at the same time, the design of the building envelope that configures the spatial dimension of activity. The dichotomy of ‘form follows function and ‘function follows form’ are both true depending on the aspect of the design problem we decode at different stages of design. So, architecture is the science of understanding the aesthetic experience of an activity.
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