KOCHI: Buildings constructed in the traditional style are fast disappearing from Kerala. Instead, they are being taken over by modern architectural monstrosities. However, in what can be a good news for lovers of traditional architecture, director and managing partner of Asian School of Architecture and Design Innovation (ASADI) B R Ajit has reassembled an entire koothambalam at Silver Sand Island on the Vyttila-Tripunithura route.
According to Ajit, the entire structure was transported from Aranmula in Pathanamthitta district. “The 180-year-old structure was about to be demolished by a contractor. The person was planning to sell the wood as firewood and to furniture makers. Its architecture fascinated me and I decided to buy it from the contractor,” he said. Ajit bought the entire structure for around Rs 25 lakh.“However, the entire process of disassembling the structure and transporting it, besides setting it up again at Silver Sand Island cost me approximately `1.5 crore,” he added.
The entire process required a lot of planning. Each piece of panelling, wooden beams and other structures that make up the koothambalam had to be numbered and marked. “Even a slight miscalculation would have completely sent the entire assembly process on a tail-spin. Every slot, notch and wedge had to be taken care of,” he said.
Once the process of reassembling was set in motion, the careful numbering and sequencing helped in setting up the structure at a fast pace. According to film director Adoor Gopalakrishnan, who is also on the board of ASADI, the entire structure reminds him of the days gone by. “The structure represents the architectural expertise of the past. The high roofs, the wooden slats along the walls of the koothamabalam and the wooden panelling helps in keeping the inside of the structure cool even in the harshest of summers. We didn’t need fans in the good old days,” he said.
Adoor stressed upon the need to preserve and conserve such buildings. “They are our heritage and we need to trace our steps back to find where we have gone wrong. It is best to mend our ways and find means to live in harmony with nature,” he added.