Sketching a Stepwell-Inspired Temple Redesign

John Hill | 26. March 2025

Photo: Screenshot from “Witness Sanjay Puri’s Epic Redesign of an Ancient Temple | Nokha Temple” by The Dialogues Design Directory

In a short film from The Dialogues Design Directory, architect Sanjay Puri explains—in words and drawings—his stepwell-inspired redesign of a 200-year-old Shiva temple in Nokha, Rajasthan, India.

World-Architects learned about Sanjay Puri Architects' project to revive the centuries-old temple about a month ago, when we spoke with Puri after his firm's Nokha Village Community Centre was voted 2024 Building of the Year. The temple is in the same area as the community center: a desert landscape with around 12-dozen small villages. In our interview, Puri mentioned how the 200-year-old temple didn't have any facilities so his firm was asked to develop it into a community facility. His excitement was palpable, and so is ours in coming across this 6-½ minute film recently uploaded to YouTube by The Dialogues Design Directory, in which Puri sketches the plan and elevation of the project for the camera: