"Bansberia (बांसबेरिया) West Bengal India designed by Abin Chaudhuri" by Edmund Sumner, ,

I was working on a series of commissions in the architect’s home village which was charming with some of the friendliest people you could meet, a mix of traditional and contemporary architecture

The woman the priest’s wife and custodian of the centre who I asked to be in a ‘architectural portrait’

The centre was designed and built on a pro bono basis the playful brick work the result of a collaboration with an artist

What I like about this image is the look of pride and happiness its formal yet intimate, serious yet playful which somehow ‘mirrors’ the building itself.

For me, in a sense the juxtaposition reflects the changing face of India a nation showing respect to the past but playful excitement for the future. Architectural photography can never replace the experience of visiting a building but if an image communicates the spirit of a space it’s effective .