Ramya Ramesh

Ramya Ramesh is a young architect and urban designer with a keen interest in the participatory process of spatial design. She received her Master’s degree in Building and Urban Design in Development from the Bartlett Development Planning Unit, University College of London (2017) and her Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from CEPT University, Ahmedabad (2014). She is currently a Teaching Associate at the Faculty of Architecture at CEPT University, Ahmedabad.

For this fellowship, Ramya will move temporarily to Bangalore to work at the RRI. The library building in RRI where the archive will be housed was designed in 1976 by Venkatramanan Associates (VA), one of the pioneers of modernist architecture in Bangalore. VA describes the design of the building as ‘reflecting the dominant architectural design ethos of the late 70s marked by straight clean lines, simple exterior finishes and a classic framework.’ Respecting this aesthetic, Ramya proposes to design the archival space so that it blends with the rest of the building with minimal intervention in terms of material and décor. She describes her plans for design for the space as ‘minimal, yet robust’.

Ramya proposes to divide the 20ft x 25ft archival space into two parts – one that will contain the archival material like photographs, letters, etc; and the other that will showcase the current research that is underway at the Institute. This section of the space will be kept flexible and can be updated when necessary. Thus the archival space will be designed and curated in such a way so that it reflects both the past and the present of the institute’s work.

The outcomes of the fellowship will be this permanent display. The Fellow’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will be process images, images of the exhibition, texts and publication, if any.

This fellowship is made possible with support from Tata Trusts.