At FOAID 2024, Akshay Heranjal of The Purple Ink Studio presented one of the most insightful and inspiring solo sessions on redefining the typology of academic architecture. With an infectious passion and clarity of vision, he took the audience through the story of a deeply contextual and socially driven project—the Tapmi Center in Manipal, Karnataka.
While modest in scale, the project challenges entrenched architectural conventions and demonstrates how design can genuinely foster openness, inclusivity, and a sense of belonging within an academic setting.
Reimagining Educational Spaces Through Movement and Community
The presentation opened with the idea of questioning how academic buildings function beyond class hours. Akshay described the campus of Manipal—a university town where over 60% of the population is made up of students—as a space where social life should be thriving. However, most institutional buildings in the region remain rigid, introverted, and disconnected from the city’s pulse.
The Tapmi Center project emerged as a response to this gap. By aligning the building along the site’s perimeter and strategically scooping out the center, the design enabled open flow, creating a porous passage that encourages people to walk through the building, not just around it. This decision alone redefined the center not merely as a facility, but as a social spine—blurring the line between circulation and interaction.
From Rooftops to Rootedness: Building Amphitheaters, Not Boundaries
Instead of relying on traditional, enclosed spatial formats, Akshay and his team designed an amphitheater that acts as both a roof and a community gathering space. Knowing that weather in Manipal can be extremely unforgiving—with heavy monsoons and intense summers—they innovated beyond form, drawing inspiration from India’s vernacular wisdom.
Inspired by the vibrant parasols and canopies of Varanasi’s ghats, they designed a series of large bamboo parasols—each spanning 6 to 9 meters. These forms weren’t just aesthetic statements; they represented a return to human-scaled architecture, responsive to local climate and cultural context. The parasols became symbolic trees, seamlessly merging with the forested surroundings and turning architecture into a living canopy.
Craftsmanship, Collaboration, and Cultural Continuity
A powerful part of Akshay’s presentation was how it honored the hands that built the project. From bamboo artisans to local masons, the Tapmi Center was the result of deep collaboration. Rather than importing materials or prefabricated parts, the team relied on natural materials like bamboo, laterite, and exposed finishes that allowed the raw beauty of each element to speak for itself.
Akshay emphasized their approach of keeping structure and materials visible—not just as an aesthetic choice, but as a pedagogical one. It encourages users to understand and appreciate the process of building. The studio also worked closely with craftspeople unfamiliar with working at this scale, empowering them to explore new techniques and transform their own sense of capability through architecture.
Design for Dialogue: Openness, Accessibility, and Ownership
At its core, the Tapmi Center is about inclusivity—not just metaphorically, but spatially. There are no singular grand entrances or rigid pathways. Instead, the design allows people—students, staff, and even stray dogs—to flow in and out freely.
Spaces like sunken seating areas, green pockets, and semi-open corridors invite informal gatherings and personal ownership. The project also integrates small productive ecosystems—such as edible gardens and green zones—making it part of a larger urban fabric and ecological cycle. The goal is not just to build one good building, but to seed a design philosophy across Manipal that future buildings can learn from, connect to, and collectively redefine.
Key Takeaways:
- Academic architecture can and should transcend its programmatic boundaries to foster community engagement.
- Simple materials like bamboo and laterite, when thoughtfully used, can become powerful architectural expressions.
- Designing for openness—both physically and socially—creates spaces that people claim, use, and transform organically.
- Craftsmanship and local collaboration aren’t just nostalgic gestures—they are essential to meaningful, rooted design.
- A building, no matter how small, can catalyze systemic change when it connects ecology, learning, and public life.
Spaces that Breathe, Connect, and Inspire
Akshay Heranjal’s talk was a timely reminder that great architecture doesn’t need to shout—it simply needs to listen. Through the Tapmi Center, he illustrated how architecture can embody empathy, flexibility, and inclusivity while still being grounded in structure and form. This is not just a story of a building; it’s a manifesto for a new kind of learning environment—one where movement, light, culture, and community all play a central role.
Curious to experience the full conversation? Watch the complete session here:
