Ekarth Studio's Bamboo Music Centre at IIT Madras Challenges Institutional Architecture Norms
Located on the expansive 250-hectare IIT Madras campus in Chennai, the Maestro Ilaiyaraaja Centre for Music Learning and Research was completed in just 11 months by Ekarth Studio. This innovative facility, primarily constructed from bamboo, caters to student musicians, engineers, and mathematicians, and includes an 80-seat auditorium, classrooms, a music recording studio, and offices. The design draws inspiration from the Bel Patra leaf and emphasizes sustainability by reducing concrete usage. Various bamboo forms were crafted by skilled artisans, while structural engineering facilitated long spans. Dedicated to composer Shri Ilaiyaraaja, the centre aspires to promote bamboo as a viable construction material, highlighting its strength and geometry. Photography credits go to Ekarth Studio.
Key facts
- The Maestro Ilaiyaraaja Centre for Music Learning and Research was completed in 11 months by Ekarth Studio.
- It is located on the 250-hectare IIT Madras university campus in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
- The centre uses bamboo as its primary structural system, with minimal concrete.
- It includes an 80-seat auditorium with nine-metre-high arches and a 15-metre column-free span.
- Additional spaces include two 20-seat classrooms, a 50-seat classroom, a music recording studio, offices and toilets.
- Pavilion forms are modelled on the Bel Patra, a three-lobed leaf from the bael tree sacred in Hinduism.
- The centre is dedicated to composer Shri Ilaiyaraaja and serves musicians, engineers and mathematicians.
- Ekarth Studio hopes the project will move bamboo from the fringes into the mainstream of the building industry.
Entities
Artists
- Shri Ilaiyaraaja
- Chris Matthews
Institutions
- Ekarth Studio
- IIT Madras
- Dezeen
- Atelier One
- The Purple Ink Studio
- Studio Saar
- London Design Festival
Locations
- Chennai
- India
- Tamil Nadu
- London
- United Kingdom
- Kerala
Sources
- Dezeen —