Krushi Bhawan Case Study: Plan, Brick and Public Ground (Studio Lotus)

Krushi Bhawan is the headquarters of Odisha's Department of Agriculture and Farmers' Empowerment in Bhubaneswar, designed by the New Delhi practice Studio Lotus and opened on 20 September 2018. It is a four-storey office for nearly 600 staff whose ground floor, plaza and roof were planned for the public, wrapped in a brick screen patterned on Odisha's ikat textiles and cooled largely by night ventilation. Below: the brief, site, plan, section, materials, climate strategy, reception and lessons, with MOA diagrams.

What is Krushi Bhawan? The brief and the client

The building houses the state's agriculture department and its directorates. Studio Lotus's own text, republished by ArchDaily, describes a 130,000 sq ft administrative centre "designed as an office for a team of nearly 600 people", with extra space for community engagement and learning. The same text notes that Odisha is the third-largest contributor to India's grain supply, which is why farming runs through the building's art and landscape.

The brief changed during design. According to Studio Lotus's project page, the department first asked for a building for official use only, and the architects proposed adding public programmes so that much of it could serve the city. The client side remembers it the same way. In Architectural Record's review by Apurva Bose Dutta (March 2020), Srinibas Naik of the client team says: "We initially envisioned a typical glass office building." The architects instead proposed a low-rise red brick building.

The timeline is short for a government project. OdishaBytes says Studio Lotus was commissioned in 2013, and Studio Lotus's project text on Architecture Live gives a 2013 start and completion on 20 September 2018. Orissa Post reported the opening that day, with about 400 farmer representatives present, and quoted the Chief Minister calling it "the building of our farmers".

Site and context: a planned capital's office district

Bhubaneswar is a planned capital. Writing for Question of Cities (January 2023), the planner P K Das traces the city to Otto Koenigsberger's plan of 1948, drawn after Jawaharlal Nehru laid the foundation stone on 13 April that year. The plan was built from neighbourhood units of about 150 acres each, and the Capital Complex, with the Secretariat and the Assembly, was placed in Unit V. The Secretariat opened on 12 November 1959.

Krushi Bhawan sits in that government district. The architects' text on ArchDaily places it beside the department's old ministry office and near the Police Commissionerate and the State Guest House. Dezeen (India Block, 23 August 2020) reports that Studio Lotus proposed its public facilities after studying Koenigsberger's original plans for the government offices, which meant them to be a focus of city life.

The climate shaped almost every decision. Dezeen sums it up as hot by day and cooler at night, the difference the night-purge system uses. For the materials ordinary houses in the region are built with, see our guide to building materials in Bhubaneswar and Odisha.

Krushi Bhawan Bhubaneswar case study: concept and design ideas

Three ideas run through the published accounts.

• A government office the public can use. Studio Lotus describes the project as a facility that can "extend itself to celebrate local context, craftsmanship and sustainability" (project page). Dezeen quotes the practice's aim of "truly inclusive architecture".
• Odisha's crafts at building scale. The facade pattern comes from ikat weaving, the courtyard lattices are carved stone, and the plaza walls carry relief in the manner of Pattachitra scroll painting. Studio Lotus calls it local motifs scaled up to architectural size.
• Passive first, machines second. Studio Lotus describes the building as passively cooled by night-purge ventilation and high thermal mass, with air-conditioning kept to part of the floor area.

Krushi Bhawan plan and zoning

The plan works as a gradient from public to secure. The architects' text on Architecture Live and Dezeen's account set out the sequence:

1. Entrance path. A tree-lined path with laterite lattices and stone colonnades leads in from the street. Dezeen says it also serves as a shaded lunch area for staff.
2. Public plaza. A raised plaza, which Studio Lotus calls an extension of the street, holds a garden of native plants, an informal amphitheatre and a pond that cools the forecourt. Azure's AZ Awards entry describes a breezeway inspired by the open-air haat market.
3. Central court. A series of colonnades opens the plaza into the central court, which the public can enter, according to Architectural Record.
4. Public ground floor. Around the court sit a learning centre, gallery, auditorium, library and training rooms.
5. Offices above. The department and directorates occupy the first to third floors. Studio Lotus told Dezeen this "allows the offices to be secured off, making it possible to keep most of the other facilities open", including on holidays.

The diagram shows the order of spaces, not their real positions. Studio Lotus's own ground, typical and terrace floor plans, site plan and sections are published on ArchDaily and listed in the Dezeen feature; MOA has not redrawn them. If you are documenting the building on a site visit, our field checklist for an architecture case study covers what to measure and photograph.

Section and structure

Architectural Record describes "a four-story, 140,000-square-foot concrete structure" planned on "a grid of approximately 15 feet by 15 feet". The published accounts agree on the stack: a ground floor raised on what Studio Lotus calls a stilt level and given to the public, three office floors, and a roof for urban farming demonstrations and solar panels. Dezeen also lists a basement plan among the drawings.

Two moves in section matter for comfort. First, the masses along the central court are staggered, which Studio Lotus says gives self-shading and cuts direct glare. Second, the windows are deeply recessed behind a brick screen, so the glass sits in shade most of the day.

Materials and construction: brick, laterite and khondalite

The ikat brick screen

The upper floors are wrapped in what Studio Lotus calls a brick-louvred screen that sits "like a second skin". Its pattern comes from Odisha ikat, which Dezeen calls a traditional dyeing technique, and it is laid in bricks of three clay colours. The architects say the colours stand for the region's geographical diversity. Behind the screen, external windows use double-glazed units with louvres and sill projections (Architecture Live).

Sources disagree on where the bricks came from. Dezeen says the three clays were sourced locally. Architectural Record reports that "the bricks, however, were sourced elsewhere", quoting the architects: "We got them from northern India, where we could find them in the corresponding colors." Sidhartha Talwar adds that they wanted bricks "of a certain standard and stability". We could not settle this from a third source, so both accounts stand.

For how fired brick compares with blocks as a wall material in general, see our red brick, AAC, fly ash and concrete block comparison.

Local stone and the crafts

The base of the building and its North Wing use laterite and khondalite, which Dezeen says came from nearby mines. The craft work, as Studio Lotus and Dezeen describe it:

• Khondalite lattices. Hand-carved stone jaalis enclose the central court. Our jaali design guide covers the same idea at house scale.
• Crop calendar. A stone inlay on the floor of the central court shows the harvest cycles of major Odia crops.
• Laterite bas-relief. Walls along the plaza show ripe paddy in the Pattachitra style. Our laterite construction guide covers the stone itself.
• Dhokra metalwork. Cast-metal light fixtures wrap the ground-floor columns, and metal screens line the corridors.

The number of artisans varies by source. Studio Lotus's text on Architecture Live says over 100 skilled artisans took part, while its headline says 150; Azure says more than 100; Architectural Record says 150 local artisans. ArchDaily credits Collective Craft for the crafted jaalis and folk art.

Light, climate and services

The cooling strategy, as published by Studio Lotus and Dezeen, has four parts:

• Shade. The brick screen, deeply recessed windows, balconies, a low window-to-wall ratio and the staggered masses keep sun off the glass.
• Air movement. The courtyard layout, the stilt level and cross-ventilation move air through the ground floor, and the pond cools the forecourt.
• Night purge. When temperatures drop at night, cool air enters through the northern facade by what Studio Lotus calls a custom "low-tech" damper system. Architectural Record says 40 rooftop ventilators pull hot air out and draw cooler night air in through ceiling and floor vents, calling it "a first in an office building in Odisha". The high thermal mass then stores the coolness for the day.
• Mechanical backup. Studio Lotus's Dezeen Awards entry and the Architectural Record review both say mechanical air-conditioning serves only about 20 percent of the built spaces.

Services listed by the architects include solar panels on the roof, rainwater harvesting, on-site wastewater treatment and an anaerobic digester that turns waste into compost and fertigation water for the landscape.

Measured or claimed? Studio Lotus also states that the facade gives "100% daylit internal spaces" and that the double skin "reduces heat gain to 40%"; Orissa Post wrote that the building exceeds most green building rating parameters. These are design claims. We found no published monitoring of temperatures or energy use, and none of the sources we read names a green building rating. Architectural Record adds one caution: the third-floor offices "become extremely uncomfortable for a brief period each year".

Reception: awards and criticism

The building has been widely published and has a dated awards record:

• World Architecture Festival 2019: Highly Commended in the Office category, completed buildings (ArchDaily, 4 December 2019).
• Surface Design Awards 2020, London: Supreme Winner and winner of the Public Building Interior and Exterior categories (Hotel Designs, 13 February 2020). The judge Paul Priestman said: "This building characterises part of the world."
• AZ Awards 2020: jury winner and People's Choice in Social Good (Azure). The juror Mia Lehrer called it "the definition of meaningful social impact design".
• Dezeen Awards 2020: longlisted for Civic building (Dezeen Awards).

The fullest critical review is Architectural Record's. It is broadly favourable, and the client's Srinibas Naik says "People are enjoying the ambience here." But it names two problems: "Where the design falls short is in the interior modular furniture", which it says is no match for the crafted exterior, and "Lack of proper maintenance may also prevent the building from remaining as timeless as it now appears." We found no later dated report on alterations or maintenance.

What designers in India can take from Krushi Bhawan

These are our reading of the published material, not the architects' claims.

1. Draw the security line by floor, not at the gate. Putting the controlled offices above a public ground floor let a government client open a plaza, library and auditorium without opening the department. Many civic and institutional briefs in India could use the same section.
2. Make the screen do the cooling and the identity. The brick louvres shade the windows and carry the ikat pattern at once. A screen that only decorates is a cost; one that replaces blinds and cuts the cooling load earns its place.
3. Write crafts into the team, not the snag list. The credits name a craft partner alongside the structural and MEP consultants. Treat artisans as a package with drawings, samples and time in the programme.
4. Specify the hidden parts too. The two criticisms on record, stock furniture and maintenance, are about what happens after the facade is finished. Budget for interiors and a maintenance plan from day one, and ask for monitoring if you want to prove passive performance.

If you are choosing a thesis or studio topic around civic buildings, our B.Arch thesis topics by typology has related ideas.

Location of Krushi Bhawan Bhubaneswar and visiting

The department's official contact page gives the address as Krushi Bhavan, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, PIN 751001; Orissa Post places the building on Gopabandhu Marg. The department's site does not publish visiting hours or a visitor policy. The architects describe the ground floor, plaza and roof as meant for the public, but it remains a working government office: ask at the reception or contact the department before planning a study visit, and seek permission before photographing inside.

Want a building that works this hard for its climate? Find an architect on MOA.

FAQ

Who designed Krushi Bhawan in Bhubaneswar?

Studio Lotus, a New Delhi practice founded in 2002 by Ambrish Arora, Ankur Choksi and Sidhartha Talwar. The design team named by ArchDaily and Dezeen was Ambrish Arora, Sidhartha Talwar, Sachin Dabas and Raman Vig, with Collective Craft on the crafts and NNC Design International on the structure.

When was Krushi Bhawan built?

Studio Lotus was commissioned in 2013, and the building was opened by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on 20 September 2018 (Orissa Post, OdishaBytes).

What is Krushi Bhawan used for?

It is the headquarters of Odisha's Department of Agriculture and Farmers' Empowerment, with offices for nearly 600 staff on the upper floors and a public learning centre, gallery, auditorium, library, training rooms, plaza and demonstration roof.

How big is Krushi Bhawan?

Studio Lotus gives a built-up area of 130,000 sq ft (1.3 lakh sq ft) on a 2-acre site; Architectural Record gives 140,000 sq ft. It has a ground floor and three office floors over a basement.

Where can I see the Krushi Bhawan plan and section?

Studio Lotus's floor plans, site plan, sections and climate diagrams are published with the project on ArchDaily and listed in Dezeen's feature. The diagrams in this post are MOA's own schematics, not the architects' drawings.

Sources

• Studio Lotus: Krushi Bhawan, project page (accessed 4 Nov 2026)
• ArchDaily, Hana Abdel: Krushi Bhawan / Studio Lotus, 17 June 2020 (accessed 4 Nov 2026)
• Architecture Live, Studio Lotus: Krushi Bhawan, Bhubaneswar, 4 August 2021 (accessed 4 Nov 2026)
• Dezeen, India Block: Studio Lotus creates intricate brickwork facade for government building in India, 23 August 2020 (accessed 4 Nov 2026)
• Architectural Record, Apurva Bose Dutta: Krushi Bhawan by Studio Lotus, March 2020 (accessed 4 Nov 2026)
• Orissa Post: Krushi Bhawan thrown open to public, 20 September 2018 (accessed 4 Nov 2026)
• OdishaBytes: What's special about Odisha's Krushi Bhawan shortlisted for global architecture award, 29 September 2019 (accessed 4 Nov 2026)
• Question of Cities, P K Das: How Bhubaneswar's master plan was overtaken by unsustainable development, 27 January 2023 (accessed 4 Nov 2026)
• ArchDaily: WAF 2019: Day 1 Winners Announced, 4 December 2019 (accessed 4 Nov 2026)
• Hotel Designs, Hamish Kilburn: Surface Design Awards 2020: Winners announced, 13 February 2020 (accessed 4 Nov 2026)
• Azure: AZ Awards 2020 Winner: Krushi Bhawan, 2020 (accessed 4 Nov 2026)
• Dezeen Awards: Krushi Bhawan, 2020 longlist (accessed 4 Nov 2026)
• Department of Agriculture and Farmers' Empowerment, Government of Odisha: Contact us (accessed 4 Nov 2026)