The architectural consultation practice A. Mridul, Architect was set up three decades back in 1985 by its principal A. Mridul, an alumnus of Chandigarh College of Architecture, India.
Exponents of Green Architecture: it was for us a praxis much before it became a movement. We believe that we already have a rich repertoire of traditional construction and design practices that can be innovated upon and applied to contemporary designs to achieve eco-friendly sustainable architectural creations that do not guzzle on energy. We are committed to conservation and judicious use of resources.
Majority of our projects, especially the ones in hot-arid regions are passively cooled, courtyard-centric, many are earth-sheltered and some have a high-performance cavity-wall envelope. Our practice is an interesting mix of various types: institutional, public, housing, religious, etc. in materials from mud, lime, stone and mainly non-synthetic ones that generate very low carbon footprint. Known for lending earthy identity to buildings, the practice has done pioneering work, in function and form, in sandstone and other natural materials which have won us numerous national awards and international projects.
Our projects are an extension of our heritage and contemporize traditional practices to make them timeless, thus modern and futuristic. This is best exemplified by, among others, a recently built massive subterranean step-well, built out of site-quarried sandstone for harvesting 17.5 million litres of rain-water in a water strapped region of India’s arid zone. It is a low-carbon footprint, near-negligible, energy-dependent project in construction, operation & performance. A recently completed Mahatma Gandhi museum in Jalgaon, Maharashtra which has won a 5-Stars GRIHA rating and the LEED Platinum. Our design of a 20th-century elevator congruously fitting into a 15th-century fort that has received a citation from UNESCO.
It is also our belief that projects of such nature, even if completed architecturally, do not serve their full purpose if not shared with people and for a capable of provoking thought and deliberation for meaningful design. We do and strive to participate, on-stage and off-stage, in seminars and presentations as part of a continuing program in dissemination and awareness building.