Terracotta-coloured render made from local soil covers the curving, concrete structure of Hampi Art Labs, an arts centre in Karnataka by architecture studio Sameep Padora & Associates.
Hampi Art Labs is designed by Sameep Padora & Associates to appear as though it was "born from its surroundings" near the village of Hampi, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in India known for its historic Hindu temples.
To achieve this, the studio took cues from the area's topography and history, as well as its modern condition as a more industrialised area.
Hampi Art Labs' undulating form references the nearby Tungabhadra River, while its distinctive colour was achieved using iron oxide sourced from the nearby JSW Vijayangar Works – one of the largest steel and cement-producing facilities in India. Earth excavated from this facility was also used as concrete formwork.
"The incredible riverine landscape of the Tungabhadra river and her gentle sculpting of the surrounding hills was the inspiration for Hampi Art Labs," studio founder Sameep Padora told Dezeen.
"With the JSW industry plant nearby, we had access to steel and cement for the building, and we used the excavated earth from the site itself to make formwork for the casting of the building’s fluid forms," he added.
Hampi Art Labs was commissioned by the JSW Foundation – the social arm of Indian conglomerate JSW Group – for both the production and display of artwork.
It provides workshops for printmaking and sculpting in stone and metal alongside galleries and educational spaces for schools and the local community.
Smooth white-plastered walls inside the centre mirror the curving form of the exterior, while full-height glazing overlooks small courtyard gardens created by the snaking shape of the building's plan.
"The form of the building is an abstract 'space of flows' through which people move," said Padora.
"The gallery spaces are atypical, punctuated by courtyards bringing natural light into the interiors of what would have been otherwise standard linear black box spaces," added Padora.
Hampi Art Labs opened to the public on 6 February 2024 with Right Foot First, an exhibition of work from the Sangita Jindal Collection, and its first cycle of artist residencies.
Padora established his Mumbai-based practice in 2007.
Previous projects by the studio include a stepped Hindu temple complex in Andhra Pradesh and a school library in Kopargaon that is topped by an undulating brick roof.
The photography is courtesy of JSW Foundation.