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Essays on Unbuilt Architecture

Unbuilt - Cinema. Mukta, the Odia version. Source - Orissa Post, 2019 (2)

In the Shadow Light of Unbuilt – and Lost – Cinema

Godavar, in his essay about the unfinished and lost films, focusses on how these incomplete works offer glimpses into unrealised creative visions and possibilities. While digital restoration and AI present new opportunities, he presents the beauty and the ability of unfinished cinema to inspire imagination and alternative storytelling.

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un-built project - Domestic water cycle. © Sanjay Prakash

An Un-built Project Is Reborn In The Desert

Sanjay Prakash, Managing Principal of SHiFt, writes about his unbuilt project that shaped SHiFt’s design philosophy, serving as prototype that informed future work. Decades later, IIT Jodhpur embodied these evolved ideas, highlighting unbuilt designs’ enduring role in architectural innovation.

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National War Memorial. © Sudipto Ghosh, Riyaz Tayyibji

Meditations on the Unbuilt as Refuge

Architects Anupama Kundoo and Shimul Javeri Kadri, in conversation with Khushru Irani, converse about how visionary architectural projects often remain unbuilt due to resistance and constraints, yet these “unbuilt” works serve as vital repositories of future possibility, requiring architects to practice patience and maintain transformative vision across generations.

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Dune (unreleased film) H. R. Giger - [the strange power of unseen films]. Source Wikifandom

The Strange Power of Unseen Films

With the relevancy of unbuilt expanding to other arts forms, Saachi D’Souza ventures into “Unseen Films” that have either been banned, lost, or unfinished, and yet continue to profoundly influence cinema through and in their absence, define cultural boundaries more powerfully than many released films.

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Unbuilt Works

The Plug-In City by Archigram4

The Plug-In City by Archigram

In the 1960s, Archigram imagined Plug-In City — a city where homes could be added, removed, and changed as people’s lives evolved. Never built, the idea remains a fascinating vision of a city designed to grow and adapt with its people.

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Inhabit the staircase, Barcelona, Spain, by Laura Bravo & Silvia Prujà 11

Inhabit the staircase, Barcelona, Spain, by Laura Bravo & Silvia Prujà

Set in Barcelona, this housing proposal uses the ladder as the main idea behind everyday living. A series of interconnected homes are linked by cascading staircases that act not only as paths between spaces, but also as places to meet, relax, and connect. By turning changes in level into shared experiences and blending indoor and outdoor life, the project offers a more social and human approach to co-living.

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Nested Walls, Spain, by Anama Studio 27

Nested Walls, Spain, by Anama Studio

Designed by Anama Studio, the Brickwall Refuge rethinks shelter across Spain’s diverse landscapes. Inspired by termite mounds, it uses thick ceramic walls and carefully placed openings to naturally regulate temperature, creating a refuge that feels both protective and closely connected to its surroundings.

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Anubhav Stambh by Samvad Design Studio 1

Anubhav Stambh by Samvad Design Studio

Anubhav Stambh Complex, designed by Samvad Studio, commemorates 75 years of independent India through a 30-metre rammed earth tower that brings together the nation’s diverse soils, cultures, and histories. Conceived as a sustainable public space and cultural complex, the project combines layered pathways, exhibition spaces, galleries, and an amphitheatre to create a monumental yet inclusive landmark rooted in India’s architectural heritage.

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Student Centre and Housing, NLS, Bangalore, India, by Samvad Design Studio 1 (2)

Student Centre and Housing, NLS, Bangalore, India, by Samvad Design Studio

Designed by Samvad Design Studio, the Student Centre and Housing at NLS, Bangalore, reimagines campus life through flexible, climate-responsive spaces that encourage interaction and community. Inspired by the layered nature of Indian cities, the project combines shaded verandahs, adaptable public plazas, and modular design to create an inclusive, ecologically sensitive hub for learning, gathering, and everyday student life.

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Call for Submissions

Rupali Gupte

Rupali Gupte is an architect and urbanist based in Mumbai, Professor at the School of Environment and Architecture (SEA) and a partner at BARDStudio. Her work often crosses disciplinary boundaries and takes different forms – writings, drawings, mixed-media works, story telling, teaching, curation, walks and spatial interventions.

Her works include extensive research on contemporary Indian urbanism with a focus on architecture and built environment; tactical practices; housing; and urban form. In 2013, she co-founded the School of Environment and Architecture (sea.edu.in). SEA is envisaged as an experimental academic space for research and education in architecture and urbanism. She has a wide range of publications, has delivered lectures and been on juries across the world. Her works in collaboration with her partner Prasad Shetty, have been shown in several exhibitions including the 56th Venice Biennale, X Sao Paolo Architecture Biennale, Seoul Biennale of Art and Architecture, at Manifesta 7 in Bolzano, at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Barcelona and at galleries such as Project 88, Devi Art Foundation and the Mumbai Art Room. She has recently curated an exhibition involving artists and architects titled ‘When is Space? Conversations in Contemporary Architecture’ at the Jawahar Kala Kendra.

Rupali Gupte
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