Architect Mohan Rao –
Mohan Rao is an environmental design
and landscape architecture professional,
and a partner at Integrated Design
(INDÉ), a multidisciplinary consultancy
practice in regional planning,
environmental design and landscape
architecture. He is actively involved in the
master planning of existing and new
settlements; ecological
restoration/conservation; impact
assessment of natural disasters,
management and reconstruction;
resource assessment and management;
as well as conservation and site
interpretation of world heritage sites.
Through his many projects, he has tried to
elucidate that landscape architecture
should not only look good in plans but
should also achieve an ecological
function. Rao is currently involved in
master planning, regional planning and
sustainable development projects across
the Indian subcontinent, Morocco, Libya,
France and China. He is an active
partner with several French agencies
involved in research projects that focuses
on sustainable development issues on
behalf of the French Environment and
Energy Management Agency (ADEME).
Mohan Rao wants to begin looking at
landscapes as ecological service
providers by looking into our past and
preparing for our future.
BRAJ GOPIKA DHAM (Ashram)
Khurda District, ORISSA
Institutions that espouse radically different ways of living,
thing and being pose tremendous challenges to traditional
design thinking. The quality and articulation demanded of
a space is determined not so much by the physical
dimensions but need to express and inhabit sacred and
philosophical dimensions, reflective of the ethos of the
institution. Founded on the principles of devotion immersed
in the classical tradition of love, service and meditation,
Braj Gopika Dham inhabits a remote and rural landscape.
With a highly dedicated and disciplined user group, the institution engages with several critical issues – both sacred
and profane. The master planning process integrates all the critical elements from existing patterns and allows for an
organic growth over a 20-year time frame. The user needs demand that spaces be at once personal and public,
ecological and spiritual, efficient and traditional. The design interventions are a series of processes rather than fixed
spaces, carefully re-interpreting the guiding philosophy and scriptural knowledge; folklore and classical traditional
together inform conceptualization of experiences and hence the attendant spaces. Derived from extensive
immersion with the practitioners, experiences are also tailored to address the many levels of learners – from initiates to
the masters. The classical traditions guide use of all physical materials to articulate both built and unbuilt spaces. The
entire vegetation palette is drawn from a large body of traditional knowledge systems for both their physical and
philosophical attributes. The underlying layers of sustainability, livelihood and efficiency imparts a clarity and simplicity
to the campus development vision, very much in tandem with the institution’s philosophy.
Mapping accounts for
spiritual meanings
according to vegetation
Zoning layers respond to
functional and spiritual
attributes of spaces
Ecological Processes
guide the physical
occupation of land
Dense buffer around gondolas to
prevent cows
Organic Farmlands with rows of
evergreen or fruiting trees Temple forms spaces for interaction
planted within. Seasonal crops
and vegetable plantations are to
be placed in order to maintain
the nutrition balance of the site
Thematic landscaped gardens that
reflect the philosophy and mythology of
Radha Krishna
Orchard of flowering plants Buffer vegetation between
and fruiting trees are to be cottages and heath plex
planted around the Radha
Kund
The health plex and eduplex both
spill out into a tree court
A court which acts as a Buffer vegetation separates
central node in the eduplex and workplace
complex connecting the
various congregation
spaces and residences
Earth berms around the Staggered
residences promote plantation of trees
cooling and prevents provided for
solar radiation parking ways
The lake profile ensures
that all existing trees are
maintained
A system of swales and wetlands
manage the water on the site
Pathway leading from the
residence to the lake
Lake Edge Seating 2
Decks along the lake edges provides for a
seating space
Lake Bed Lake Edge Seating 2
Dense planting providing privacy Slopes on the lake edge provides for a quiet
meditating space
Dense planting providing privacy
Dense planting providing privacy
The lake will be situated on the south western corner of the site among the existing grove of
mango and kaju trees. The profile of the lake will be made to accommodate the existing trees. Retreat huts for Deviji and Swamiji will be provided surrounded by water. The huts will
Rainwater throughout the site will be collected through a system of wetlands and will be allowed be built on stilts and will provide for quite meditative spaces for them among the
to percolate into the ground. serenity of the lake environment
The temple axis is one of the most important aspects of the master plan. The axis is designed
to accommodate all the trees along the pathway. Throughout the axis, core hos been taken
to ensure that the visual connection with the temple is maintained and emphasized.
Extending and maintaining the visual connectivity along the axis
Gardens – Reinterpretation of Folklore and Spiritual Knowledge
Gardens – Spaces reflect the paths and the events of the seeker
Physical articulation of spaces based on traditional patterns
Spaces respond to climate, ecology and the guiding philosophy
