SIDDHARTH BATHLA: A DESIGN ODYSSEY

Architect Siddharth Bathla hopes that his oeuvre will expand the compositional repertoire available to future designers to cope with the increasing complexities of design.

- SEEMA SREEDHARAN

We met architect and designer Siddharth Bathla at the magnificent corridors of the National Museum of Red Fort. Working with spaces that come with a legacy brings with it the burden of expectations. But for Bathla, whose oeuvre includes museums, places with historical value and other public projects, this is not new. His impressive repertoire includes the Museum of Socialism, Subhash Chandra Bose Museum, the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind Museum, among many others. “The contemporary design strategy of the Red Fort Visitor Centre had to live up to the fortress’s multi-layered history while being valid for today’s function,” explains Bathla. The design intervention is subtle; it navigates the building’s legacy with ease. In the process, it enhances the human experience and creates a new legacy for the country to cherish and remember. It’s a challenging narrative to articulate; create something for the present, talk about the past, and stay relevant in the future. Bathla executes this deftly. For someone who is rewriting a little piece of history with every project he takes on, Bathla is rather unpretentious. His work is eloquent enough. We were curious about his creative journey, and he was willing to oblige. Here, we give you an insight into Bathla’s life in design.

THE BIRTH OF AN ARCHITECT