Chennai's Parametric Temple To Reinterpret India's Vernacular Design

India has had a rich tradition of architecture spanning almost four millennia. The basic foundation for the development of Indian architecture was laid dur­ing the ancient period, the genius of which is fairly instantiated by the country’s temple architecture. Indian temple architecture still evinces the dexterity of architectural genius, more so now with modernisation and extension across spaces, styles, technologies, and techniques.

Located on the outskirts of Chennai, the Shirdi Sai Baba temple is unique in being designed with an algorithmic process which allows for the modelling of highly complex geometries that are difficult to implement using manual design tools.

This temple is to be built on an 11-acre site at the epicentre of a 338-acre masterplan. The project is being contemplated by rat (LAB) Studio and Shilpa Architects to reinterpret India’s vernacular through parametric design.

Parametric design is a paradigm in design wherein the relationship between elements is used to manipulate and inform the design of complex geometries and structures. Using algorithms as the medium to explore and develop architectural design ideas, it is possible to achieve more complex and flexible design solutions. Using a pure programming-based representation of the intended design not only speeds up the handling of changes that always occur as the design evolves, but also allows for a much larger solution space derived from the formalised representation.

Built in Koppur, Tamil Nadu, the temple features an 11-sided polygon articulated as a three-dimensional polyhedron. The new temple has been created through an algorithmic process using spatial and structural constraints as its parameters.

Embracing the ‘Land of Temples, Tamil Nadu, the project has been planned as per numerology and Vastu Shastra. Its three-dimensional spaces evaluate environmental aspects such as daylight, solar heat gain, and shadows.

The masterplan was developed by Shilpa Architects and was inspired by the Gode Neem Tree of Shirdi, Maharashtra. The Shirdi Sai Baba Temple is currently scheduled for completion in 2021-22.

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