Press Release
Red Fort Center Visitor Orientation by Siddharth Bathla Wins the Platinum A' Design Award in Cultural Heritage and Culture Industry Design
Siddharth Bathla acknowledged for cultural heritage and culture industry design by the international grand jury of the 2023 - 2024 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 24, 2024 /DesignNewswire/ Red Fort Center Visitor Orientation by Siddharth Bathla, designed for Dalmia Bharat Limited monument mitra with implementation partner Sabhyata Foundation, has been granted the Platinum A' Design Award in the Cultural Heritage and Culture Industry Design category, A' Design Award & Competition has announced. The recognition forms part of the 2023 - 2024 A' Design Award & Competition and was determined through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who evaluated anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
The Platinum A' Design Award Explained
The Platinum A' Design Award is recognized for honoring designs that stand at the forefront of creativity and innovation. It is the highest accolade bestowed by the A' Design Awards, acknowledging works that blend remarkable innovation with impactful societal contributions. These designs not only showcase exceptional artistic and technical proficiency but also highlight their creators' commitment to advancing the boundaries of art, science, design, and technology. Recipients of this award are celebrated for their role in shaping the aesthetics and trends of our time, contributing significantly to the enhancement of quality of life and promoting sustainable development.
Regarding Red Fort Center Visitor Orientation
Red Fort Center is a visitor center located within the Red Fort in Delhi, a World Heritage Site. The project is an adaptive reuse of colonial barracks that had remained unused for many years. Conservation work relied on local materials, including lime, brick dust, jute and Badarpur sand, with custom bricks matching the original dimensions. Red sandstone from the mines that supplied the fort covers the floors. Spread across 20,000 square feet on two levels, the center provides ticketing, public amenities and curated galleries that present the history of the fort.
About Siddharth Bathla
I am architect and an industrial designer by education. My keep interest lies in story telling and problem solving through design. I don’t get along to a silo as a designer, this is very fundamental to the kind of designing I do. The hunger to make a difference. Also to lead a time of passionate and creative people is a high in itself. My design philosophy is not to work in a silo but to be creative through the multidisciplinary approach. To work on public projects which brings narrative to the society. I design spaces where you experience a story, like you have films showcasing you a story, we do storytelling in space. Such spaces / museums are new to India comparatively.
Award Record
Siddharth Bathla is a winner of 2 A' Design Awards, including this recognition. The awards span the editions from 2022 - 2023 to 2023 - 2024 of the A' Design Award & Competition.
About the A' Cultural Heritage and Culture Industry Design Award
The A' Cultural Heritage Design Award is an international design competition recognizing good designs that preserve, protect, and promote cultural heritage. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to cultural heritage designers, culture industry professionals, cultural heritage specialists and museum designers from all countries. Entries typically include cultural heritage projects, cultural conversation, preservation and restoration and protection projects. Awarded cultural heritage designs are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/cultural-heritage
About A' Design Award & Competition
A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade organized annually since 2008. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The A' Design Award has a philanthropic mission to advance society through good design by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Entries are peer reviewed and anonymously evaluated by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. The A' Design Prize granted to eligible laureates includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, the upload of a work and the preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. Further information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://dezigners.org/160602
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/160602
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!160602
- Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/339801
- Further Information from the Laureate: http://designfactoryindia.org/
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Red Fort Center Visitor Orientation
- Function
- Visitor Orientation
- Category
- Cultural Heritage and Culture Industry Design
- Discipline
- Communication Design
- Industry
- Arts and Social Impact
- Colors
- Sky Blue, Rosy Brown, Black, Dim Gray and Gray
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Dalmia Bharat Limited monument mitra with implementation partner Sabhyata Foundation
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Siddharth Bathla
- Country
- India
- Recognition
- Platinum A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2023 - 2024
- Design ID
- #160602
Credits
- Team
- Prashasti Chandra, Suryanath Sunny and Prashul Sharma
- Image Credits
- Photographer Andre J. Fanthome, Red Fort Center, 2021 Optional; Photographer Andre J. Fanthome, Red Fort Center, 2021 Video Credits: Cinematographer Sohaib Ilyas, Red Fort Center, 2021 Sound Credits: Adobe Stock, Red Fort Center, 2021
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- Located within the Red Fort, an iconic unesco Site, the Visitor Centre serves as a gateway for visitors to experience the fortress's heritage-built fabric. Through adaptive reuse, these long-term defunct colonial barracks come back to life. The design strategy pursues conservation efforts to replicate the materiality deciphered from the fort itself. While celebrating the stories of life and culture of the fort, the contemporary interventions live up to the fortress's multi-layered history.
- Inspiration
- The continuing significance of Red Fort and the barracks themselves being an artefact to the story of India’s independence movement gave impetus to the design approach of the Visitor Centre. The center was originally built from the debris of the demolished Mughal structures which expose and celebrate the intricately carved pieces embedded within the walls of the colonial barracks. The organic textures, non intrusive punctuators and contemporary scenography and all surrender to their notable surroundings.
- Research
- As a historic colonial structure set out in a Mughal precinct, the conservation approach dealt with studies on material philosophy, best local practices and structural understanding to restore and celebrate the inherent value of the heritage. A detailed understanding of the history, culture and continuous evolution of the Red fort rendered the engaging storytelling experiences. Several miniature paintings were studied to create a coherent visual language and scenography of the visitor centre.
- Challenge
- The responsibility of positioning the monumental artefact and its harmonious integration with the heritage surrounding steered the whole design process. Persistent efforts to restore the barracks with authentic processes, lead to creating a standard for other barracks in the fort. Carefully planned minimal interventions accentuate the character of the heritage. With a footfall of about 975 visitors daily the barracks have transformed into a living cultural space for the Red Fort visitors.
- Realization and Technology
- The conservation was rooted in using local knowledge of materials and processes, with lime, brick dust, stalls of jute, bail water and Badarpur sand. In keeping with the heritage palette, the bricks were custom-crafted to match the existing dimension used in the barrack. Red Sandstone procured from the mines that provided stone for Red Fort adorns the flooring. The refurbishment included replacing existing M.S. Girders and replenishing initially used wood with new seasoned Teak and Sagwan wood.
- Operation and Interaction
- Through naturally-lit corridors, the visitors immerse in the scenery of the fort outside while uncovering the stories of the Red fort inside. A wide passage connecting the two corridors allow the visitors to meander through the building to engage with various interactives and installations. Ushers and actors punctuate the journey of the visitors. The ground floor offers stand-alone experiences and services, while the Red fort story comes alive as a complete curated experience on the first floor.
- Project Duration and Location
- Falling right after the entry into the Red Fort, these barracks serving as a an optimum location for visitor orientation. The project commenced in January 2019 with the primary objective of conserving and restoring the barracks. The onset of the pandemic necessitated and the site temporary closed. The work resumed in December 2020 and the project culminated in the creation of the Red Fort Visitor Centre in January 2022.
- Specifications
- The Visitor Centre is spread across 20,000 sq.ft. of engaging, historic and immersive gallery spaces housed within the two-storeyed heritage structure. The experience is designed across both the floors; ground floor offering a complete introduction through ticketing, immersive technologies like AR and public amenities like cafe and souvenir shop. Second floor provides a curated museum experience, ensuring equal engagement for all visitors through guided tours facilitated by ushers and live actors.
- Keywords
- adaptive reuse, storytelling, conservation, exhibition design, experiential design, narrative design, information center, Red Fort, Immersive experience, Heritage upliftment, lighting, Augmented Reality
