Designing Collectorates matter of pride: Usha Reddy

Hyderabad: Two back-to-back inaugurations of integrated state-of-the-art District Collectorate complexes – one at Jangaon and the other at Bhongir — by Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao brought the seat of district administration into sharp focus. The Chief Minister, while being effusive about contributions from various quarters that resulted in these structures taking shape, had a special word for the efforts of Usha Reddy, the architect who designed the collectorate buildings.

“There were many who said we cannot rule ourselves, we cannot produce enough power and we cannot design or make grand structures. These collectorates are designed by a daughter of Telangana Usha Reddy,” Chandrashekhar Rao said.

Telangana Today spoke with Usha Reddy to find out how she feels and what went into the designing of the District Collectorate complexes.

“As a Telanganite, it is a matter of pride for me to design the seat of district administration. I have seen the State being maligned by many people over many years. But Telangana has always welcomed all people with open arms. These new building complexes are a statement that Telangana can make and build what it needs,” Usha Reddy said.

Usha Reddy”s father CN Reddy, from Chada, was an assistant engineer with the Roads and Buildings Department and got his first posting at Bhongir. “I was born in the R&B quarters. That makes Bhongir my first home,” she says.

“I was an unknown architect. The Chief Minister entrusted the design of these buildings to me in 2016. I am grateful for this opportunity. The design is simple but functional. There is no use of anything that is flashy or exorbitantly priced products,” says Usha Reddy, who during her career has worked on apartments, schools and hospitals in Hyderabad and surrounding areas.

What are the design elements?

“The designs have a look from yesteryears administration buildings. The main areas look like a courtyard. We wanted to ensure that the pension section, Tribal Welfare Department and other departments which see a high traffic are easily accessible to people. There should not be a need for them to ask for directions for these once they are inside the building,” she says about the white buildings dotting each district. The construction of these buildings is being supervised by engineer-in-chief Ganapathy Reddy, who also hails from Telangana.

“All the designs are same. The orientation is decided based on whether it is an east facing or a north facing structure duly incorporating the Vastu tenets. We used stone, granite, polished stone extensively. The walls are also washable to keep them stain-free and the structures will be easy to maintain,” she said.

Pointing out that one will never lose sight of the outside from any corner of the building, she said the entire structure is airy. “There are huge windows and ventilators and there will be no need for artificial lighting or fans in most of the rooms. Due to this, the buildings will be energy efficient and will result in comparatively lower electric bills, which is key factor of green buildings,” says Usha Reddy who employed about 12 people for the collectorate projects. Most of them have now gone for higher studies.

Usha Reddy designed a roof top garden some 22 years ago at her Punjagutta apartment complex. “I used local plants and the idea was to attract some butterflies and birds. It is all natural and organic farming. There is nothing that will get spoilt. I have never changed the soil in these 20 plus years – there was no need as the soil was never depleted,” she says.

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