Malakpur Akhara EARTHMADE GYMNASIUM PROJECT DETAILS AUTHOR CATEGORY CITY - MALAKPUR, UTTAR PRADESH SITE AREA - 7182.03 sq m ANAGRAM ARCHITECTS cleanEARTH COUNTRY - INDIA FOOTPRINT AREA - 5513.48 sq m COORDINATES - 29.11° N , 77.22° E BUILDING HEIGHT - 6 m 01 THE JOURNEY OF A PEHELWAN THE INTENT 1. Rekindling the ritualised connection with the land and soil through participatory construction. 2. Rejuvenating the traditional gymnasium (akhara) with modern infrastructure to allow the young athletes to transition from soil to mat wrestling at home. 3. Facilitate women to enter and participate in the wrestling arena, traditionally a male bastion, and build their international sports career. 4. Inculcate the ability to self-build among the wrestlers (pehelwans) by introducing a simple and robust earth building technology. The journey to becoming a pehalwan begins form. At the local village akhara (academy), includes wrestling mats and an equipped pow- the perils of big city life. The reluctance of at an early age of around 8 years. Young boys the athletes learn time-honoured rituals and er gym. This sends the boys to the academies many to return home to the ignominy of failure, and girls hone their physical agility and strate- traditions that build physique, character and of Delhi while the girls tend to be forced into makes them stay and join the urban underbelly’s gic thinking by practicing kabaddi, a team sport reverence. The akhara today faces crises due early marriage. Away from the socially-adjusted demand for muscle. This disrupts the cultural of tag-and-tackle. As they enter adolescence, to the lack of infrastructure to support modern familiarity of home, the young pehalwan is thrust continuities that the rural communities wish to they graduate to kushti, an indian folk wrestling competitive versions of the two sports which into the pressure of extreme competition and preserve. 02 SITE & CONTEXT Malakpur is a village in populous North India, approximately Recent haphazard urbanisation and access to global sports Village - Malakpur Avg. temp. (Summer) - 45 °C 55 km from its capital and largest urban agglomeration, New media has increased youth aspirations rendering traditional District - Baghpat Avg. temp. (Winter) - 24 °C 120 Delhi. The region’s productive agricultural economy supports akhara format redundant. To prevent social youth erosion, the Region - North India, UP Average Rainfall - 980-1000 mm Professional athletes in the village people with strong socio-cultural and rural identity linkages to community seeks a modern akhara for wrestling and kabaddi Climate - Humid Sub-Tropical Geology - Indo-Gangetic Plains their land. The village is also a folk wrestling hub and home to on mats, while hosting tournaments and drawings sponsor- Soil - Alluvium Land type - Agricultural Land champions who have progressed from dangals (local tourna- ships and attention from professional leagues. Seasons - Summer, Monsoon, Primary Crop - Sugarcane ments) to national & international acclaim. Winter, Spring 8-20 years Age group of the athletes training in the village 6:1 Male to female ratio of the athletes 1% Athletes actually make it to international platforms 1 Training ground present in the village currently 10% Athletes migrate to cities for better training facilities. SITE 03 EARTHMADE GYMNASIUM : RENEWING CONNECTIONS OF SOIL AND PEOPLE This agrarian community’s connection to the soil and mixing milk & butter into it to achieve bamboo reinforced concrete, and ceramic earth is as deeply rooted in the traditional a soft ground for bouts at the akhara. By mosaics directly to the pehalwans, the project practice of folk wrestling (kushti) and team deploying appropriate building technologies, hopes to allow for the replications of akharas tackle (kabaddi) as in the agricultural practices. the Earthmade Gymnasium seeks to modernise across the peri-urban areas of the region while This is most evident in the ritualised preparation the facility while exploring the possibilities of also keeping the institution of the akhara alive of ground in both the sports. The daily exercises renewing the connections of soil and peo- and relevant to both tradition and modernity. involve the athletes (pehalwans), under the guid- ple. By using and transferring the skill sets ance of their guru, breaking any hard packed and knowledge of rammed earth construction, THE MAT ARENA KEY 1. Entrance Plaza 7. Green Room 13. Lobby 2. Ticketing Counters 8. Players Entrance 14. Female Toilets and Changing Room 3. Public Entry 9. Mat Arena 15. Male Toilets and Changing Room 4. Players Entry Court 10. Entrance Lobby 16. Mat Practice Area 5. Coach Quarters 11. Deity 17. Gym 6. Office 12. Haut SITE PLAN THE HAUD MAT PRACTISE AREA 04 EARTHMADE GYMNASIUM : RENEWING CONNECTIONS OF SOIL AND PEOPLE DETAIL A : slit window section White Ceramic Tile Bamboo Reinforced Concrete Roof Slab 1 Slit Windows in Rammed Earth Wall Concrete Flooring PCC Slab Floor Compacted Earth Bamboo Reinforced Concrete Foundation 2 PCC Bedding Slab DETAIL B : terracotta screen section White Ceramic Tile Bamboo Reinforced Concrete Roof Slab Terracotta Jaali 3 Bamboo Reinforced Concrete Cill Concrete Flooring PCC Slab Floor Compacted Earth Bamboo Reinforced Concrete Foundation PCC Bedding Slab DETAIL C : embedded ceramic tile section 4 DETAIL A White Ceramic Tile Bamboo Reinforced Concrete Roof Slab DETAIL B Embedded Ceramic Pipe DETAIL C Rammed Earth Wall KEY 1. Thatch and Polycarbonate Roof Concrete Flooring 2. Mild Steel and Bamboo Truss structure anchored to the Tie PCC Slab Floor Beam Compacted Earth 3. Bamboo Reinforced Concrete Bamboo Reinforced Concrete Foundation Roof Slab PCC Bedding Slab 4. Rammed Earth Walls 05 THE GYMNASIUM AS A VIBRANT SOCIAL HUB The Earthmade Gymnasium, an international wrestling and kabaddi arena, amidst the earthy and agricultural landscape of Malakpur aims to take forward the village’s long standing association with folk wrestling into a more contemporary and relevant social hub. Kushti & Kabaddi Practise Dangal Tournament Village Council Sessions Regional Festivities DIVERSE USAGE OF THE MAT ARENA Gym Mat Practise Area Haud Mat Arena Entrance 06.