Engaging the collective

The Indian architect Vinu Daniel talks about the nomadic working practice of the Wallmakers team. His works are created in a process-orientated way as a direct reaction to the respective local contexts, in particular the local climatic conditions and the resources available on site. Wallmaker's work is based on Mahatma Gandhi's approach that the materials to be used for a building should be found within a radius of 5 miles. Unusual recycled materials that are considered waste elsewhere are also used. This applied and craft-orientated architectural research leads to complex spatial configurations and astonishing spatial experiences. 

In this lecture, Vinu Daniel from Wallmakers will share his experience of gaining a new perspective through earthen architecture. By adopting a more hands-on approach to architecture, it becomes essential to engage directly with sites, materials and workers: The importance of this process leads to a better understanding of the design process and helps to bridge the gap between theoretical design and actual implementation. It emphasizes the importance and benefits of studying the natural contours and ecology of the site, following the natural characteristics of the site rather than altering the site to fit needs. In addition, the Wallmakers' core ideology is to use materials found within a 5-mile radius of the site, or techniques for incorporating construction debris, discarded items, etc., which has helped them reduce dependence on new resources.

The influence of the local context and climate ultimately influences the design, form, and overall efficiency of buildings. It is important to follow the natural environment of the project, the importance of the forms that shape the spatial experience of the building, and the integration of both.

Vinu Daniel completed his B. Arch in 2005 from The College of Engineering,Trivandrum, following which he worked with Auroville Earth Institute for the UNDP(United Nations Development Programme) Post-Tsunami construction. On returning from Pondicherry in 2007 he started 'Wallmakers' which was christened thus by others, as the first project was just a compound wall. Many eye-openers in the course of his practice prompted him to devote his energies towards the cause of sustainable and cost-effective architecture. With a practice, spanning over more than a decade, Wallmakers has won many international accolades including being selected by ArchDaily as the only Indian practice in the list of 20 Young Practices of 2020, being nominated for the Brick Award 2022 and winning The Royal Academy Dorfman Award 2022 conducted by the Royal Academy of Arts, London to name a few. Vinu Daniel is also the youngest Indian Architect invited to be a speaker at the TED Talks ( TED 2023: POSSIBILITY, Vancouver ) and one of the three Indians selected to in the TIME 100 NEXT 2023 list. 

The event is part of the FORM SPACE ENVIRONMENT – Towards New Correalisms Lecture Series at the Institute for Art and Architecture (IKA) in Winter 2024-25, curated by Hannes Stiefel

We build. And we will need to build. And: it can be a responsible pleasure to build – building for desirable futures. We need to find ways to build differently, to accommodate new lifestyles that anticipate and adapt to radically changed conditions, and vice versa, to provoke them. New and other Correalisms are to be developed: constructions and aesthetics that are rooted in the dynamics of continuous interactions between humans and their natural and technological environments. The positions presented in this lecture series test different aspects of such New Correalisms in relation to various building practices.

Further lectures include:

Wolfgang Tschapeller
 16 December 2024

Barbara Buser / baubüro in situ
20 January 2025 (tbc)