Ba Ni Oshari by Essteam Design Services Llp

Memories from childhood are priceless things! The client’s childhood days, coming from a small village in Saurashtra, had distinct memories of spending time on the verandah- which was also a popular spot for hosting the ‘Dayra' cultural program back then. So the project was about reliving this experience of conducting events and family get-togethers like those days. As a process, the project is constructed out of assembling architectural elements accumulated out of houses that were brought down in various parts of Gujarat.

‘Ba niOshari’- Verandah in a Mother’s house is a C- shaped otta where the cultural program- ‘Dayra’  is held in the centre and is a part of a building. Thereby we decided to create a C- shaped otta depicting a building creating the doors and windows that opened out to the otta. ‘Dayra’ is an interesting cultural event related to literature where the Oshari becomes the stage and they enjoyed the program sitting in front of it.

The original master plan that was redesigned to incorporate the Oshari and the Gaushala to increase the farmland catering the client’s requirements and moving the mango trees away instead of taking them down due to the client’s environment conscious and a sustainable approach. The experience that was needed to be created was towards the traditional style of architecture that the existing site was missing. In order to make the Oshari and Gaushala included with the neighborhood structures, the entire site area was utilized to form a beautiful vicinity to celebrate various cultural events.

The Oshari was designed in a vernacular style of architecture, easy to maintain, climatically sensitive, and with a flexible layout. The proposed site plan had another fascinating story about the Gazebo that was built right opposite the Oshari. Architecturally, the geometry of the Gazebo was irrelevant, therefore with the help of a crane, we lifted the entire structure with its foundation and tilted it in the correct geometry which created an interesting courtyard between the Gazebo and Oshari- defined perfectly and increased its grandness. The way this C- shaped building comes together to hold the court and facilitate the anticipated events, gives unparallel joy to the user and the designer alike!