Eugene Pandala is an Indian architect, known for building with values of

environmental sustainability Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livi ...

Education and career

Pandala completed his Bachelor's in Architecture from

College of Engineering Trivandrum The College of Engineering Trivandrum, commonly known as CET, is the first engineering college in Kerala, situated in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala. It was founded in 1939 during the reign of the Travancore King, Chithira Thiru ...

. Pandala studied for a Masters in Urban Design at the

School of Planning and Architecture The Schools of Planning and Architecture (SPAs) are a group of autonomous public institutes of higher education under Ministry of Education, Government of India. They were established with the objectives of providing quality Architecture and p ...

, New Delhi. He had his Fellowship in Heritage Conservation at

University of York , mottoeng = On the threshold of wisdom , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £8.0 million , budget = £403.6 million , chancellor = Heather Melville , vice_chancellor = Charlie Jeffery , students ...

and at

Fort Brockhurst Fort Brockhurst is one of the Palmerston Forts, in Gosport, England, and a Scheduled Ancient Monument. It is now an English Heritage property. History Construction, 1858–1862 Fort Brockhurst was designed by William Crossman in the 19th cen ...

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

Training Centre in the U.K. He was the founding head of the second school of Architecture in Kerala (1985) located at Kollam where he spent time educating and researching on traditional building technologies of India. Pandala while studying at Delhi

met the legendary architect Hassan Fathy, and was inspired to build with mud. As a nature lover, and cultural heritage conservation activist, he designs buildings with natural materials, landscapes with biodiversity conservation, and native vegetation, preferring interesting organic forms. Pandala built his first mud house in

Kollam Kollam (), also known by its former name Quilon , is an ancient seaport and city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The ci ...

in 1996, comprising 2,500 sq. ft. of building, bringing him to the public's attention. His unique Architecture style paved way to many awards, and recognition. In 2011,

Lalit Kala Academy The Lalit Kala Akademi or National Academy of Art (LKA) is India's national academy of fine arts. It is an autonomous organisation, established in New Delhi in 1954 by Government of India to promote and propagate understanding of Indian art, in ...

awarded him the first Laurie Baker award (The Hindu The Sunday, 30 January 2011). The Designer of the year Award given by ''Inside Outside'' design magazine in 2007 (Kerala artist retreat bags best eco-friendly design award Business Standard Sunday, 25 March 2012) was for eco friendly design. His heritage Conservation project in East Fort Trivandrum was chosen for a commendation award by ''Inside Outside'' magazine in 2004. In 1999 for one of his residential building built with mud "Bodhi", Pandala was given, a Commendation award, by J.K. Foundations, Architect of the year award.

Fort Cochin Fort Kochi, Fort Cochin in English, Cochim de Baixo ("Lower Kochi") in Cochin Portuguese creole, is a neighbourhood of Cochin (Kochi) city in Kerala, India. Fort Kochi takes its name from the Fort Manuel of Cochin, the first European fort o ...

Heritage conservation project, Trivandrum East Fort Conservation projects, is often cited as good examples of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South C ...

heritage conservation initiatives. This was led by Eugene Pandala's conservation team enabling the State Government to win the PATA award.

Sustainable architecture Sustainable architecture is architecture that seeks to minimize the negative environmental impact of buildings through improved efficiency and moderation in the use of materials, energy, development space and the ecosystem at large. Sustainable ...

Green buildings Green building (also known as green construction or sustainable building) refers to both a structure and the application of processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle: from plannin ...

is a field where Pandala has excelled. His

Tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater exp ...

rehabilitation project for

Malayala Manorama ''Malayala Manorama'' is a morning newspaper in Malayalam published from Kottayam, Kerala, India by the Malayala Manorama Company Limited. Currently headed by Mammen Mathew; it was first published as a weekly on 22 March 1888, and currently has ...

and buildings for hospitality industries receives wide acclaim due to its interwoven complicity with nature. He was a keynote speaker at the 361 degree conference 2016 held at Nehru centre in Mumbai. In March 2016, British council hosted Pandala for their Great Talk Series in Mumbai and at Pune. The need for Affordable Sustainable housing for the masses were debated in Shashwat - a publication of the green certification wing of Government of India. 'Griha'

Notable projects

Earth resort, Banasura Hill Resort,

Wayanad Wayanad () is a district in the north-east of Indian state Kerala with administrative headquarters at the municipality of Kalpetta. It is the only plateau in Kerala. The Wayanad Plateau forms a continuation of the Mysore Plateau, the sout ...

- 20,000 sq ft, 31 room resort. File:BR001.jpg, File:BR002.jpg, File:BR003.jpg, File:Banaura LogHut.jpg, The Raviz,

- 94 room resort. File:RAVZ.jpg, File:RK001.jpg, File:RK003.jpg, File:RK004.jpg, File:RK005.jpg, Revathy Kala Mandir,

Trivandrum Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

- A Film Academy. File:RKFA 003.jpg, File:RKFA 002.jpg, File:RKFA 004.jpg, File:RKFA 006.jpg, File:RKFA 008.jpg, BODHI was built in 1996. This mud house is an example of sustainable architecture using natural materials and was extremely comfortable and environment friendly. File:BODHI001.jpg, File:BODHI002.jpg, File:BODHI003.jpg, File:BODHI004.jpg, File:BODHI005.jpg, OWIYUM - A work and living space for Indian & German artist at Marayoor, Keeping the built foot print as small as possible and not effecting the ecosystem strictly. File:OWIYAM-02.jpg, File:Owiyam 05.jpg, Pazasi Raja's Tomb – a tribute to the great king of the bygone era of Kerala. File:PR001.jpg, File:PR002.jpg, File:PR003.jpg, File:PR004.jpg, Sarai at Toria, Madhya Pradesh. A uniquely designed accommodation is situated on a riverside site, near Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh, India. File:Sarai at Toria, Madhya Pradesh, India, ST001.jpg, File:Sarai at Toria, Madhya Pradesh, India, ST002.jpg, File:Sarai at Toria, Madhya Pradesh, India, ST003.jpg, File:ST004.jpg,

Education and career

Notable projects

References

External links