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HOME . STUDIO . LIBRARY
In the quiet bylanes of Krishnappa Garden, Bengaluru, stands a space that defies conventional categorisation.
At once a home, an architecture studio, and a repository of urban India's written history, the Urbs Indis Library embodies a dialogue between personal and public memory.
The Ground Beneath
90% of the 2,400 square foot property is left unbuilt to support a diverse ecology in the heart of the city. A 20-foot-deep, six-foot-diameter open well, hand-dug in 2022 by the skilled Mannu Vaddars community of traditional well diggers, serves as the sole source of water. A second well harvests rainwater and aids in replenishing the shallow aquifer.
Flow State
Greywater and blackwater is treated on site through a reed bed system and bio-septic tank, and reused for irrigation within the property.
The Urbs Indis Library is water-self-sufficient in a city widely known for its hydraulic deficiencies.
The Art of the Monolith
A curved wall inspired by the well is composed of 320 granite blocks and 105 glass blocks. Each 6” x 6” x 10” translucent monolith has been handcrafted by fusing artisanal-cast glass and industrial-float glass, a process with no known material precedent globally.
More with Less
An architectural workspace doubles as a verandah for community activities, a studio transitions into a guest room, and the toilet is also a book-cover exhibition space.
Infrastructure such as pumps, panels, pipes and filters are displayed on the ground floor, a functioning gallery of technology. Every inch of the 1,935-square-foot structure hosts multiple uses to maximize experiences in minimal space.
The centrally-positioned staircase is an old-burma-teak wood structure that places books, ideas and the potential for discovery at the core of day-to-day life.
A Living Archive
The library houses more than 1,000 rare books on urban India, with special focus on Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Mumbai, and growing sets on Delhi, Kolkata, Patna and other cities. The repository is also home to the Patrick Geddes Reading Room, the largest compilation of books by and about the Father of Modern Town Planning, in India.
The collection is publicly-accessible Monday through Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm.
The Contemporary Cave
The upper floor living spaces are nestled within a cave-like lime-plaster shell, devoid of internal walls and doors, with a mirror-clad bathroom being the exception.
Level variations create spatial fluidity, enhancing ventilation and eliminating the need for air-conditioning.
The Tree House
Each volume within the elevated domestic space overlooks adjacent tree canopies.
Eight solar panels on the south-facing sloping-roof fulfill all energy needs.
