‘Yogashala’ is designed to facilitate the convening of yoga practitioners by offering a clear, fluid, free and uninterrupted spatial container of around 78 feet span.
As the practice of Hatha yoga employs minimum force in attaining a posture, thereby instilling a sense of lightness in the body, the architecture too uses spaced bamboo in a system which exemplifies its lightness, while still spanning significantly.
The form of the building derives from a synchronization of the rising nature of the tension member and the falling nature of the compression member of the same material. A physical-spatial interpretation of the Yogic concept of Prana (the life-force in the breath) is expressed through this alternation. As the opposites – Purak (inhalation) and Rechak (exhalation), are harmonized in the Kumbhaka (retention), similarly the alternating upward and downward curves of the spanning system, harmonize in structural equilibrium. It is further intended to catalyze the use of bamboo in this region, as a material of the future.
This project’s team of bamboo artisans come from the tribal regions of South Gujarat. The artisans involved have previously been working with bamboo sourced from the forests of the region. The bamboo (Dandrocalamus Stocksii) used in construction was treated and sourced from KONBAC (Kudal).
Client: MEEF Trust
Climate: Hot & Dry
Site Area: 280 Sq. M.
Span: 23.7 m (78 feet)
Status: Completed; Dec 2021
