Time Capsule, the latest project proposal by Mekano Studio based in Alexandria, Egypt, recently won 1st Runner-up prize in the international competition The Black Taj. The studio stated with their design, “The present is the outcome of our past, eventually both the past and the present together form our future”. 

This statement is modeled in their design featuring a pixelated box made of glass, which reflects the state of preservation and restoration in India’s Mughal architecture. The pixelated effect serves as a reminder that historical building will exist only through images if not properly preserved. The project proposes different colored panels indicating the current status of Mughal buildings:

Green = safe or in need of minor restoration

Yellow = in danger

Orange = only ruins left

Red = disappeared completely

The colored acrylic panels would make up the inner shell creating an updatable status of Mughal architecture’s preservation and restoration. The team’s goal would be to have a green Taj reflected back to the real Taj Mahal signifying the preservation of this architecture history.

Project Facts:

Location:  Agra, India

Program: monument

Architecture firm/ Architects: Mekano Studio

Type: competition