Three young architects from Belagavi are documenting the marvellous heritage structures of the town and educating people about them
Nestled between Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Dharwad and Hubli, the town of Belagavi (Belgaum) has always piqued the curiosity of the people. The border dispute between Karnataka and Maharashtra, with the latter claiming Belagavi on linguistic grounds, had a tornado effect; Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s inclusion of this picturesque town in the first phase of the ‘Smart City’ project left a promising note. This year, a project of three young architecture graduates from Belagavi’s KLS Gogte Institute of Technology has brought people’s attention to the aesthetically designed houses of this town.
Growing up in Belagavi, Suyash Khanolkar, 25, Mohit Yalgi, 24, and Tanvi Dhond, 24, the founders of holistic design firm Cicada noticed that more and more of the town’s old constructions were being demolished for newer ones. As architects and being attached to Belagavi, the trio decided to document the town’s rich heritage before it becomes a memory. Though they have other commercial projects, the three work on tracing the architecture and educating the residents on marvellous heritage structures tucked away in the corners of the town.
“We realised it was crucial to celebrate these houses before they fade away. The idea came to our minds when we were trekking in the Himalayas after our graduation in 2014,” they say. This is how the ‘Houses of Belgao’ project began.
“In the earlier days, when these homes were in their heyday, the town used to be called Belgao,” says Yalgi.
The town can be divided into three distinct regions—old city area (Shahpur), camp or cantonment and Tilakwadi. “These areas were developed during different periods and hence we chose the houses located there,” says Dhond. “We’ve documented 12 houses. It is difficult to put an exact number, but there are more than 100 such buildings.” The documentation speaks about the materials used in construction, aesthetics and brings in some history, landscape and cultural influences in each home.
The project, which started off as a personal documentation, evolved into an exhibition earlier this year in Belgaum. It features houses such as Ginde House built around the 19th century in Shahpur; Anand Bhuvan built in 1914, and Nathpai House in Tilakwadi, which is set amidst a variety of trees.
“We know little about the precise time of construction of Nathpai House. It seems to have been built around 1930 under the ownership of a family called the Angadis from Chikodi,” says Dhond.
Anand Bhuvan, which they documented last year, lost its beautiful front yard to road widening recently. “It’s a quaint bungalow amidst towering apartments, an oasis in a small patch of large trees on the Khanapur Road,” says Yalgi. Though the team admits that it is difficult to monitor these changes as the houses are under personal ownership, they are keeping a watchful eye on the town.
“We didn’t just want to do a technical architectural documentation, but to capture the essence of the space as well. We want to create awareness among the people of the town about the value of these structures and initiate conversations on how we could preserve, conserve, restore and reclaim these houses,” says Khanolkar. The process is tedious and includes several house visits, measured drawings, brainstorming and conversations over tea with the residents to complete a documentation. “If all goes as planned, it takes about a week to gather all the data required to document one house,” he adds.
Belagavi’s residents have been very supportive and they opened their doors to them. The only challenge they faced was in representation.
“We believe that there are many ways to document homes, depending on what features one would want to highlight. As architects and designers, we highlighted the built environment and the intangibles attached to it by artistic mediums. It is not the only form of documentation. A poem, narrative, essay, painting etc. are all forms of documentation that can be used to highlight different facets of the home,” says Yalgi.
The three want to involve more interested people in the process and encourage unique ways of celebrating these houses through literature, film, art and heritage.