Gerard da Cunha
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Gerard da Cunha (born 1955) is an Indian architect based in Goa. He is the founder and principal architect of the architecture firm Architecture Autonomous. An alumnus of the
School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi (SPA New Delhi) is a higher education federal institute located in New Delhi, India specializing in education and research, and serving as the national center of excellence, in the fields of plan ...
, he is known for utilizing locally available materials and traditional construction techniques in harmony with its ecosystem.


Biography

Da Cunha runs his architecture firm 'Architecture Autonomous' in Goa, India. His projects are spread across the country, including resorts, townships, institutions, and even private residences. He maintains his practice in the old Portuguese colony of Goa, which he considers has a novel history in that it was the site of the 'first sustained encounter between the East and the West'. This encounter has engendered a unique culture and architecture that is evident in da Cunha's lively and rather Gaudíesque work.


Early life

Born on 10 February 1955 in the city of
Godhra Godhra is a municipality in Panchmahal district in Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Panchmahal district. Originally the name came from ''gou'' which means "cow" and ''dhara''- which have two meanings dependi ...
,
Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
, da Cunha travelled across the country since childhood as his father worked with the State Bank of India and had a transferable job. He did most of his schooling at St. Mary's in
Mazgaon Mazagaon, also spelled Mazgaon and Mazagon (Portuguese rule Mazagão), and pronounced by the Catholics as 'Mazgon' or 'Maz-a-gon' and the Marathi-speakers as Mazhgav, is one of the seven islands of Mumbai. References ;Notes {{reflist ;Sou ...
,
Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...
. Later, he studied at the prestigious
School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi (SPA New Delhi) is a higher education federal institute located in New Delhi, India specializing in education and research, and serving as the national center of excellence, in the fields of plan ...
, which is regarded as the best institution in the country for architecture. During his 3rd year at SPA, da Cunha took a one-year break from the school and travelled to Kerala to work closely with the world- renowned architect
Laurie Baker Lawrence Wilfred "Laurie" Baker (2 March 1917 – 1 April 2007) was a British-born Indian architect, renowned for his initiatives in cost-effective energy-efficient architecture and designs that maximized space, ventilation and light and mainta ...
, whom he greatly admired. After his course in architecture from School of Planning and Architecture (SPA), da Cunha joined DDA in 1979, but he found the experience of working there extremely monotonous. Bored with his job, he went to Goa (his home state) hoping for some exciting element in his life. Da Cunha was briefly married (1978-1982) to Indian writer and author
Arundhati Roy Suzanna Arundhati Roy (born 24 November 1961) is an Indian author best known for her novel ''The God of Small Things'' (1997), which won the Booker Prize for Fiction in 1997 and became the best-selling book by a non-expatriate Indian author. S ...
while they lived together in Delhi. They subsequently separated and divorced in 1982.


Works

Da Cunha has been the architect of several projects which find places all across India. These include Nrityagram of Bangalore, Hampi's Kannada University's main building and its library, Bangalore's Taj Kutiram Tourist Resort, the Central Library in Panjim, JVSL Township in Torangallu, a house for Mr.
Sajjan Jindal Sajjan Jindal (born 5 December 1959) is an Indian billionaire industrialist. He is the chairman and managing director of JSW Group of companies; diversified in steel, mining, energy, sports, infrastructure and, software business. For 2021-202 ...
at Torangallu, a tourist village in Kerala, and Jimi Gazhdhar's lavish mansion on the banks of the Goan river, to name a few. Da Cunha's projects mostly portray the use of natural material. One of the most impressive and unusual works of da Cunha's has been the township which he has built for the JSW Steel Plant, about 30 km from Hampi called Vidyanagar. The entire project was built at a cost of Rs 150 crore. This township is spread across 300 acres and the project involved creating housing to settle 10,000 people. With not even a single tree on the site, creating an entire township seemed to be an arduous task. The township also has a movie theatre, school, airstrip, parks, and botanical garden. It also houses a club, temples, shopping centre and restaurants, thus making it a complete city town. This unusual project of creating an entire township from scratch got da Cunha the Prime Minister's Award for Excellence in Urban Planning and Design offered by the Ministry of Urban Development in 1998–99. Another project that gave da Cunha wide recognition is Nrityagram dance village at Bengaluru, designed for famous Odissi dancer
Protima Bedi Protima Gauri Bedi (12 October 1948 – 18 August 1998) was an Indian model turned Odissi exponent. In 1990, she established Nrityagram, a dance school in hesarghatta Bangalore. Early life Protima was born in Delhi,''Time Pass: The Me ...
. This center for the study of dance was built using traditional building forms and techniques, with stone and thatch being the primary materials. The whole concept of the 'village' presents a mosaic of texture and colours, earth, bricks, tiles and thatch. Nrityagram received the award for best rural architecture from the Vice- President of India in 1991. Da Cunha was hired to restore the oldest fort in Goa,
Reis Magos Reis Magos is a village located on the northern bank of the Mandovi River in Bardez, Goa, opposite to the capital city of Panjim. The village is famous for two of Goa’s famous structures; the Reis Magos Fort, and the Reis Magos Church – the ...
Fort, which lay in ruins for a long time. It has now become a successful tourist destination showcasing the history of Goa to the visitors. Da Cunha also designed the
Goa State Central Library Goa State Central Library is the main library in the State of Goa, India. It is located in Panjim (Panaji) and its website claims that it is the first public library to be set up across India, in the early 1830s. Oldest in India According to i ...
located at
Panaji Panaji (; also known as Panjim) is the capital of the Indian state of Goa and the headquarters of North Goa district. Previously, it was the territorial capital of the former Portuguese India. It lies on the banks of the Mandovi river estuary ...
(Panjim), which has six floors and houses more than 1,800,000 books. Goa State Central Library#Location Da Cunha has also won wide acclaims for the unusual and vernacular designs of two schools in Goa, Nisha's Play School and Shiksha Niketan. Set in a lush green valley with a steep slope, the architect has created different levels of spatial experiences connected vertically by a chute for children and stairs. Brick arches, sometimes set so low that adults have to stoop to enter, become the doorless entryways. The highlight of the outdoor amphitheater is the walls made from recycled beer bottles arranged in artistic patterns. Just next to the school, da Cunha built a triangular ship-like building made of laterite stones, which is an architectural oddity in itself. It is called the 'Houses of Goa' museum, designed and curated by da Cunha himself. The museum traces Goan architectural traditions, building materials, and styles in an in-depth manner. Some other selected works by da Cunha include Town Plaza at Aamby Valley City.


Awards and achievements

Da Cunha won the prestigious Prime Minister's National Award for Excellence in Urban Planning and Design in 1998–99 for the project Jindal Vijaynagar Steel Limited (JVSL - Now JSW Township as "Vidhya Nagar"), Toranagallu, Bellary (Karnataka, India). He is also credited with winning the 'Commendation Award-1990' for rural architecture for his project 'Nrityagram' at Bengaluru, Karnataka. The design of Nrityagram can be termed as 'Natural Architecture.' Da Cunha also made it into a shortlist of eight architects, being the only Indian architect in the list, invited by the Government of Japan's Furushima Prefecture region to draw up design proposals for a new capital city of Japan.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cunha, Gerard da Living people 20th-century Indian architects People from Panchmahal district Artists from Gujarat Businesspeople from Goa School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi alumni Goan Catholics 1955 births