Gerard da Cunha is a renowned Indian architect known for his unique projects across India utilizing natural stone. He received several national awards for his eco-friendly and site-specific designs. His Goa-based firm specializes in this type of architecture. Da Cunha is particularly renowned for preserving Goa's architectural heritage and designed the unique "Houses of Goa" museum, shaped like a ship, to showcase traditional Goan housing styles. Da Cunha's work is influenced by the unique culture that emerged from the encounter of Eastern and Western influences in Goa.

1. VISIONARY REFORMER
S.C.O.A
NAME :BHAVEN SHAH
ROLL NO :29

2. • GERARD DA CUNHA is a well known name in
modern Indian architecture.
• He prefers working with natural stone and his
unique projects are seen all over the country.
• He received the Commendation Award in Rural
Architecture, Designer of the Year Award and
the Prime Minister’s National Award for
Excellence in Urban Planning and Design. Da
Cunha’s Goa based architectural firm Architects
Autonomous specializes in eco-friendly , site
specific architecture.

3. • The quintessential architect was conducting
exhibitions on the houses of Goa as his
contribution towards the renaissance.
• In a short time span, it reached such a zenith
that he took it even worldwide
• At that level of saturation, he needed to put
the entire work under a single roof.
• The architect conceives that the Goans were
looking for a new identity and so embarked on
the experiment in architecture to produce
something new and unseen anywhere in the
world. And this saw the birth of the ‘Museum –
Houses of Goa’.

4. Gerard da Cunha maintains his
practice from the old Portuguese
colony of Goa, which he considers
has a novel history in that it was the
site of the ‘first sustained encounter
between the East and the West’.
This encounter has engendered a
unique culture and architecture
that is evident in da Cunha's lively
and rather Gaudíesque work.

5. • IF YOU’RE ever in Goa, drive to a place called
Torda.
• Here you will come across a strange, bending
brick building shaped like a ship.
• It’s the way to discover the heart and soul of
Goa and also the creator of this ship-like
structure — Gerard da Cunha.
• The building is a museum called ‘Houses of Goa’
that pays homage to the way Goa is built.
• The three storeys of old doors and pillars is this
architect-conservator’s way of telling vital
stories of how heritage informs identity and why
it’s important to keep that alive.

6. • Even if da Cunha, 57, is now identified more with preserving
Goa’s heritage, he’s been renowned equally for being one of
India’s first few green architects, one who believes in utilising
locally available material in harmony with its ecosystem.
• His design for the Odissi gurukul Nrityagram in Bengaluru, the
initiative of dancer Protima Gauri Bedi, is iconic.
• Built in stark stone found in the area, it is very different from
traditional Goan architecture that is his mainstay.
• This adaptability got da Cunha an award for rural architecture.
• As did his design for a Jindal steel township in Karnataka called
Vidyanagar that won the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence
in Urban Planning and Design.
• Five years ago, da Cunha was hired to restore Goa’s oldest fort
— the Reis Magos.

7. • Nisha’s Play School of Goa
• Nrityagram of Bangalore
• Main building
• Library of Hampi’s Kannada University
• Kutiram Tourist Resort of Bangalore
• JVSL Township in Torangallu
• Day Care Center
• House of goa

8. • "Houses of Goa", a unique
museum by reputed architect
Gerard da Cunha, encapsulates
for posterity the phenomenal
outcome of the amalgamation
of eastern and western
architectural styles.
• The museum itself is designed
to look like a ship, with traffic
flowing on all sides of the
building.
• Strangely enough it is in the
shape of a triangle and
resembles a ship. Viewed from
the outside it is a mystery , but
as you begin your visit , it slowly
unfolds its charms.

10. PLAN SECTION

11. • Shiksha Niketan stands out with its ideal
campus for a primary school in Goa. It’s
like a whole new world meant only for
kids.
• Some classrooms have tiny entrance
openings where adults would have to
stoop to enter.
• Also, there are no closed areas in the
school so as to enable easy accessibility to
each child.
• The school is constructed in fine brick
architecture.