Abin Design Studio

The Ganga Leheri Temple, in the village of Raichak in the State of West Bengal, is a spiritual haven honoring the waters of the Ganges and its rich traditions. Designed by the Kolkata-based firm led by Abin Chaudhuri, the temple features bricks sourced from local kilns. The journey toward the divine unfolds along a pathway conceived to encourage meditation, leading through a service block equipped with areas for shoe storage and foot washing, then crossing a bridge to reach the mandapa, the transitional space between the temple’s exterior, and the garbhagriha, the sanctum sanctorum. The heart of the temple, this central space is illuminated by natural light streaming through a perimeter skylight, crowned by an exposed brick shikhara. As part of a cohesive architectural narrative, the tower’s form is, on a smaller scale, echoed by the columns of the mandapa.

The Sanctuary Pavilion, a showroom space serving The Sanctuary residential complex currently under construction in Kolkata, showcases a lighter steel and glass structure. Also by Abin Design Studio, this temporary structure was conceived to recreate the spiritual ambiance of a temple, engaging in an interplay of natural elements like light, water, and vegetation. The plants, and indeed the materials used to construct the pavilion, will ultimately be transferred to the residential building. Stone flooring will, for instance, be repurposed as fill for the playground mound at The Sanctuary; the metal railings will be reused on the future panoramic terrace. The glass panels and metal dry stone walling gabions will also be integrated into the housing development to which the Sanctuary Pavilion is contributing not just symbolically, by fostering a sense of community, but in a concrete and tangible manner.

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