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Here's what inspired this Charles Correa Gold Medal winner to reimagine Lalbaug
Updated On: 02 October, 2021 11:56 AM IST | Mumbai | Sukanya Datta
Can architecture help heal cultural trauma? This year’s winner of the Charles Correa Gold Medal looks at how mindful design intervention can save the Lalbaug precinct’s unique spatial character
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An integral part of Lalbaug’s spatial character is its gullies; (right) the precinct is surrounded by daunting redeveloped, luxury high-rises that are visible reminders of the trauma of urban violence. Pics courtesy/Prachi Kadam
As a history buff, Prachi Kadam, who graduated from LS Raheja School of Architecture earlier this year, made a study trip to Germany in her second year. While reading up about the Holocaust survivors’ stories, she was introduced to the term cultural trauma. “It wasn’t just the Jewish community that was affected, but also their architecture as synagogues and houses were burned down. I noticed that there was a transposition of the trauma from the people to their architecture, which damaged their culture,” shares the Thane resident. She noted that one way in which the Jewish community healed was by rebuilding the ruins of the past: “It stayed with me. I started thinking about the terms architecture, culture and trauma.”
So, for her final-year thesis, the 23-year-old student proposed that cultural trauma is not just the wounding of people, but of places and spaces, too. She questioned if an application of trauma studies in architecture can help heal cultural trauma. And last month, her thesis, titled Decoding Cultural Trauma: Case of Girangaon, Mumbai, ensured she walked away with the prestigious Charles Correa Gold Medal. “This is the first time the competition was opened to all students across India, so it’s even more special. It was a complete surprise,” Kadam gushes.
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