Recognising the narrative and glory of Sun Temple Modhera

The Sun Temple of Modhera is a shrine to the Hindu god Surya that is situated in the Gujarati hamlet of Modhera in the Mehsana district. It was constructed following 1026–1027 CE during the Chalukya era and is located on the Pushpavati River's bank.

"It is important to understand the value of the monument, acknowledge the context and understand the story to the core which in turn guides you to consciously take a call to create maximum impact while justifying the budget of the project," said Siddharth Bathla, Creative Director and Co-founder of Design Factory India.

Design factory India took the end-to-end responsibility to design and supervise the execution of the project from concept design to testing and prototyping at the site. As it is a unique site, ready-made solutions were not applicable. A lot of customized solutions were designed, and prototypes were tested on-site to arrive at the best solutions. Sun temple Modhera being a UNESCO heritage site holds an important value to the nation, the project is being accepted and appreciated by the audience and received a huge footfall.

The overall project aims to establish a link between the past and the current. Working at the Modhera Sun Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was a unique experience. It is crucial to respect the temple's history and aesthetic appeal and to be aware of the decisions being made for the undertaking. Design modifications were made to keep the projector systems away from the shrine grounds and to place them in simple structures and housing. Multiple design iterations and prototyping were carried out to find a workable method for lighting the Kund area.

Custom-Made Changes: End-to-end responsibility to design and supervise the execution of the project from concept design to testing and prototyping at the site. Custom-made stone channels were made of local stone to house the cables and light fixtures. While designing the lighting scheme for the pathway, minimal bollards were used to avoid any light pollution, at the same time provide aesthetic and functional lighting to guide the visitors to the temple.

Challenges Faced During Execution, the depth and three-dimensional surface of the monument was a rare opportunity. Although three-dimensional surfaces are exciting to work with, it becomes challenging to maintain the legibility and clarity of content when projected on a 3D surface. In order to counter this challenge, the visual language was sensitively designed and the surfaces were picked with a great understanding of the structural details. The content was designed in accordance with the structural elements, such as the dome, the pillars, and the intricate steps in the kund. A holistic storyline was built, keeping the context in mind weaving together on macro and micro levels. The visual design language is also inspired by the context derived from the craft of the region bringing an essence of Gujarat to the show.

The poles are positioned far from the historical site so that tourists can still see the stunning temple in the morning. Given that the location is historically significant, careful consideration was given to designing a minimal, modern answer. To produce the desired result, a variety of bespoke solutions were implemented along with the use of heritage-sensitive materials, experimentation, and prototyping.

It is crucial to honor the past and recognize that the process is guided by the narrative at the unique Sun Temple Modhera.