"Anupama’s practice is holistic; combining research, building and teaching to create architecture outside of the mainstream of the commercial, developer-driven world.
Her practice has a strong theoretical and ideological conviction that drives material research, collaborates with local builders, and experiments with sustainable working methods."
Her practice has a strong theoretical and ideological conviction that drives material research, collaborates with local builders, and experiments with sustainable working methods."
RIBA's award statement
Trained in Mumbai, Anupama Kundoo's focus on housing initiatives, material research, sustainability, and community-driven project has positioned her as an advocate for socially responsible architecture. From 1990 to 2005, she worked in an experimental town in Puducherry that focused on developing long-term research in sustainable and building technologies with an experimental approach to material reuse and sustainable construction methods.
"I am grateful to the Jencks Foundation, RIBA and the Charles Jencks Award Jury for recognizing that the resulting body of work is no less a theory than a theory expressed in words."
She has taken this research into design units and workshops in universities around the world including at Parsons The New School for Design in New York, as a senior lecturer in the University of Queensland, Davenport Visiting Professor at Yale University and she is currently Professor at the FH Potsdam. Her work and design process was recently on show in a exhibition at the Louisiana Museum in Denmark, with a monograph called Anupama Kundoo: Taking Time: The Architects Studio.
Anupama Kundoo expressed her gratitude and shared how she hopes her work can inspire others:
“Our built environment is the physical stage on which all human stories are lived out. This physical stage is the historical and ongoing manifestation of human imagination operating within real (or, imaginary!) constraints. I have tried to advance the idea that architectural imagination must transcend design and enter the realms of materials science and economics where some of the bigger questions reside.
The thrust of my inquiries has been to find practical ways to fulfil the universal human aspiration for refuge, purpose, and social engagement. I am grateful to the Jencks Foundation, RIBA and the Charles Jencks Award Jury for recognizing that the resulting body of work is no less a theory than a theory expressed in words. My hope is that this work inspires others to ask yet more questions so that together we can build an environmentally and economically responsible stage on which more uplifting human stories can be told.”
Kundoo will be presented with the award on Tuesday 2 November at 6.30pm (BST) after which she will deliver a lecture and be interviewed by a critic in collaboration with the New Architecture Writers program, with questions from an online audience.
