tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293787422024-03-12T18:25:29.969-07:00Musings of a Third World ArchitectRajeev Kulkarnihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15242503443264213435noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29378742.post-88758211978720697162014-03-03T19:23:00.000-08:002014-03-03T19:23:34.443-08:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><b>Emerging Trends
in Architecture</b></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><br />
Recently, Sinhgad College of Architecture hosted a
National Conference on ‘Emerging Trends in Architecture’. It was argued by many
that this is a repetitive theme and a bit too general. Conferences need focus,
the critics said, not a motley of all kinds of topics bundled together. To some
extend this is true, as discussion on current trends happens to be a perpetual theme at any given point of time.
It is now 20 years since the BBC serial ‘Architecture at Crossroads’, but
Architecture has always been at cross-roads since the Industrial Revolution,
and even after 200 years of discussion on all the ‘isms’ and debates, we have
not so far come out with a lasting definition or purpose of architecture which
is universally acceptable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Trends in
architecture reflect the milieu of the society it caters to. In any field of
human endeavor, creativity follows the innovations in all relevant fields to
find solutions for the problems of the day. The Crystal Palace by Joseph
Paxton, Eiffel Tower by Gustav Eiffel and bridges by Robert Maillart epitomized
the capability of concrete and steel for creative form, opening up the scope of
architectural design beyond the classical revivalistic styles. In fact it was
the creativity of these engineers which transpired some soul searching for the
architectural fraternity, leading to the birth of modern architecture.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><br />
Today, we have witnessed all the phases of modern
architecture, from the negation of ornament leading to the abstract,
rectangular glass box architecture all over the world, to the conscious
inclusion of icons and ornamentation to architecture in the name of
contextualizing the form. But this contextualization of architecture by
invoking the historical forms and ornaments had to come to an end when the
supply of historical monuments gave out. De-constructivism was a reaction to
all such attempts of historical revival, and it evolved a grammer of complex
curvilinear and abstract forms, which have no connection with history, culture
or for that matter anything that happened in the name of architecture for all
these years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><br />
Environmental issues were sidelined in the
architectural design all through these modern movements, and though architects
like F. L. Wright did evolve theories like organic architecture, environmental
compatibility was never the priority of any of these ‘isms’. Major clientele of
the Architecture had always been big business and the government, and that is
how the humanistic agenda of the modern movement was hijacked to serve the
monuments of 20<sup>th</sup> century like the World Trade Centre in New York
and the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Most of these
monuments have one thing in common. The blatant and mind-boggling consumption
of energy, making you wonder how the human society survived all these 50,000
years of its existence without electricity. When Sears Tower in Chicago was
built in the 70’s, it was the tallest building at the time, built in the form
of nine square tubes, curtailed stagewise as it rose to its 110 floor height.
It was proudly announced at the time to have had electrical wiring of about
80,000 km. long; enough to wrap around the earth twice.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">All this
extravagance has not gone unnoticed. Contemporary to the rise of de-constructivism,
there is another global movement, which encompasses not only architecture but
all the fields of human endeavor, and that is eco-sensitivity - the awareness
that the human activities have made a mess with the natural resources for the
last 250 years of industrial revolution and that unless we do something about
it now, it will lead to the destruction of the eco-system and eventual
destruction of all life on earth.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><br />
It is this realization that has guided a majority of
green movements all over the world. Much before it became a movement in
architecture, the green movement was a minority movement led by the
environmentalists, and later by social activists. But it was only when the
global warming became a reality and effects of pollution like the acid rain
started literally hitting people on the head, that everybody took notice,
including the politicians, and environment has now become a major political
agenda all the world over.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">The environmental
priorities have surpassed all the other priorities of the world in 21<sup>st</sup>
century. Al Gore talking about the environment may not be surprising, but the
priority of the USA under Obama is also about energy independence by use of all
non-conventional and renewable resources. California has already declared it
would be a zero-carbon state by 2020, and by itself this is a major paradigm
shift in one of the biggest consumerist economies of the world.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">The UN Agenda
for Sustainability, called Agenda 21 is now the agenda for the 21<sup>st</sup>
century. It is not one more philosophy or ‘ism’ of architecture, it is an
agenda for survival of the human race, and architecture has to follow suit if
we consider ourselves as responsible professionals. LEED & GRIHA
certification and compliance to ECBC is not an option now but a mandatory
requirement – and it deals with not only the architectural design but includes
all aspects of impact of the new development on the eco-system – starting from
soil, water supply and drainage & solid waste disposal systems, recycling
of water and so on.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><br />
Any manufactured product and the process of its
manufacturing today needs to confirm to these requirements. As for energy
consumption, use of coal and fossil fuel for generation of electricity has now
come under scrutiny for its impact on ecology, and the search is on for renewable
sources of energy on one hand, and reduction in the use of energy on the other
hand.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">The
architectural fraternity needs to respond to this global aspiration by trying
to find ways and means to reduce energy expenditure in buildings, both by using
low-embodied energy building materials, and search for solar-passive
architectural design solutions to use least energy for the building in use,
while making it comfortable for the occupants.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><br />
Incidentally, Climate compatible buildings is not a
new idea. Vernacular architecture all the world over has demonstrated that it
is possible to make a comfortable shelter in any climate with the use of local
materials and appropriate built-form. In fact majority of architects in the
third world countries have taken cue from this, interpreting the tenets of the modern
movement in their own context, making architecture that is compatible not only
to their own climates, but also to their culture, lifestyle & resources. The
works of stalwarts like Hassan Fathy, Geoffrey Bawa, Charles Correa, Laurie
Baker et al, are a testimony to this fact. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><br />
The technological innovations in the building
industry for the past decade or so, have therefore concentrated on these
issues. We have now softwares (developed in the USA, of course!) which can
calculate the heating/cooling load of the buildings on the basis of a BIM model
and climate data, and suggest an appropriate climate responsive built form and
materials. A whole new set of building materials for cladding to manage solar
heat gain have evolved, right from specialized glass to ceramics to composites,
and microprocessor based control of building facades to regulate the solar
light & heat gain. Ken Yeang has demonstrated that vertical landscape not
only makes the building climatically comfortable, but also makes it more humane
in terms of the psychological impact of natural surroundings in an otherwise
concrete jungle of our cities.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">The search for architecture in
harmony with the ecology is thus the emerging trend today</span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">. It was therefore no surprise
that the majority of papers we received for the conference were dealing with
sustainable approaches in the various aspects of building design and construction,
not to mention climate-compatibility and ecological issues related to building
services. Whether or not all this brain-storming leads to some changes in the
architectural education remains to be seen.</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Rajeev Kulkarnihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15242503443264213435noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29378742.post-12747284493059082132013-12-24T01:59:00.002-08:002013-12-24T01:59:37.061-08:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><b>Role of the Architect</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">One
of the favourite myths sustained by the architectural profession is that the
Architect is the leader of the team, and the decision-maker for all. This lofty
status is based on the CIAM manifestos, and we teach this to all generations of
students of architecture as some kind of eternal truth. It is only when a young
architect armed with this knowledge starts his own practice, the process of
de-learning begins with the shattering of this myth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Still,
an architect may be able to use some of his creativity and sensitivity in
designing for an individual client, but when it comes to the urban landscape
and the status of the cities we live in, the influence of architects is
virtually nil. Indian cities are growing chaotically, almost on a free for all
kind of basis, and even the historic cores of most of the cities, which once represented
the architectural heritage and urban character
of the old towns, are getting destroyed and being replaced by a hotchpotch of
styles without any regard to the context. There is very little that the
architectural profession has been able to do about all this in the last sixty
years of independence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I
once attended a Regional Convention of the Indian Institute of Architects at
Nagpur, in which the theme was whether the Architect was the leader of the Team
or just a co-ordinator of all the consultants involved in the execution of the
project. The irony was that Mr. B. G. Shirke was the Key-Note-Speaker. Mr.
Shrike is well known for his views on architects & architecture, and the
least one can say about him is that he is a human being like the rest of us and
may be forgiven for his aberrations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It
was easy to predict the outcome of the deliberations in this scenario, and my
apprehensions were proved correct when a resolution was drafted to the effect
that the Architect should see his role as a co-ordinator in the team of
consultants instead of a leader. I was carried away, and talked aggressively
against the resolution. Everybody was taken in by surprise by this move, and
the resolution was amended.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Looking
back, I now think I acted in haste. In the first place, it was a resolution
drafted in a conference of architects, and stood very little chance of being
implemented anywhere. We do not even remember what resolutions we passed at the
last National Convention, leave alone the question of trying to implement any
one of them. We have acquired the habit of talking all these problems at our
conventions, casually, and forgetting them immediately afterwards. So why
bother?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
question is not whether society takes us seriously, but whether we take our
role seriously enough. When my old friend Ar. Dilip Sarda became the Chairman
of Aurangabad Centre of the Indian Institute of Architects, we were all in
great spirits and decided to host an international convention of architects at
Aurangabad. As Aurangabad boasts of two World Heritage sites of Ajanta &
Ellora, Heritage Conservation was obviously the main agenda of the convention.
But the conservation scenario in those days (1996) did not involve any
architects, nor was anybody aware of the architect’s role in conservation of
heritage. So we put that up as one of the issues when we drafted the document
for publication about the convention.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When
we were discussing this, a local architect remarked that after having practised
at Aurangabad for about 10 years, he had never thought of any contextual
relevance in his work, nor has seen any other architect consciously referring
to the local historical context in his work. When we are oblivious to so strong
an influence of history, living day in and day out in a historic city, we may
as well absolve all others who are indifferent to this background.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What
I would like to relate here is my experience in the establishing the role of
architect in conservation in Aurangabad. It is known (I have purposely not used
the term well-known) that Aurangabad has a very old water supply pipeline
developed by Malik Amber. The pipes are made out of burnt clay & the system
worked on the principle of siphon. Called Nahre-Ambari, the system works well
even today, i.e. after 300 years. It is now being exploited for agriculture,
wherever it passes through a field, there is no caretaker. The INTACH Centre of
Aurangabad had been after the authorities for quite some time to declare it as
a national monument. As sensitive professionals we sided with INTACH and tried
to make an issue about it. But when we discussed this problem with the
authorities, they were surprised at our concern for this and could not
understand where do we, the architects, come in.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This
is not an isolated case. Aurangabad has many areas of historical significance,
and the historical character of these areas is worth conserving. Once, after
enough persuasion by INTACH, the IIA Aurangabad Centre decided that we should
do something about the historical past of Aurangabad. We framed a proposal on
the lines of the Heritage Precincts formed by Mumbai Municipal Corporation, and
sought a meeting with AMC officials for implementation. In the meeting, it came
out that everybody was concerned about history, but nobody wanted to add on to
the existing bye-laws.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Moreover,
the officials failed to understand why we were asking for more bye-laws, when
the usual complaint of architects was against all the existing bye-laws. So we
had to explain that as Architects, we too are concerned about the future of the
City & preservation of its past. This was news to them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Not
that there are no other problems. The Municipal Corporation talks all the time
about making the city beautiful without thinking of how this is going to be
achieved. And for whom we are making it beautiful, anyway? If we are talking
about the tourist, we should think of the obvious. The first things a tourist
notices about a city are the status and quality of its roads & buildings
(the streetscape), public spaces & conveniences, transportation and so on. The
beautification of traffic islands is something the tourist may appreciate if it
is really worth looking at, but it can never be on his main agenda.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
design of Roads at Aurangabad leaves a lot to be desired. There are no footpaths,
no provision for the pedestrians at the traffic signals, which means everybody
has to walk on the road. The roads are not fully developed, which creates
bottlenecks all over the major roads, and instead of streamlining the traffic,
the traffic signals act as traffic jams. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Then
of course there are the traffic islands.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Once
we (Architects Association of Aurangabad) were asked to design some of the
traffic islands, but very few architects came forward to design them as the
project cost was small and so the fees. Some of the designs that came up were
rejected by the Corporation, and those that were accepted, were not paid for. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Then
in a sudden inspiration, the Corporation decided to hand over the job in a
turn-key fashion to all those who came forward, first with sponsorships and
later at the cost the Corporation. We raised objections but unfortunately, we
had no hold in the Corporation when to came to any decision making. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">All
this resulted in utter chaos. The traffic islands have now become eyesores in
the city. Not only that, most are against the norms for traffic islands. This
sad state of affairs is now sought be corrected by the Corporation, by breaking
up the old construction, and renovating all at additional cost to the public.
This is a public issue, one that we should be taking up, but the recognition of
our role here will depend entirely on how much noise we can make.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There
are many more issues about the city, its tourist potential and the contribution
we can make as professionals. But unless we act as a pressure-group, and make
our presence felt, we will be leading nowhere. The leadership of the movement
and of the city is not gifted to any profession. We will have to work hard to
get it. It is only thus we can establish our role as the lead professionals. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Rajeev Kulkarnihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15242503443264213435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29378742.post-39690899949946278832011-10-21T08:27:00.000-07:002011-10-31T05:37:22.194-07:00Italy Trip Part 2What struck me as I moved the narrow streets of Florence & Pisa that the towns looked exactly the way they were built a few hundred years ago. I recollect the comment by P. G. Wodehouse describing 'Market Blandings', a fictional village. "Sometime in the early 16th century", Wodehouse writes, "the master mason took down his tools, and said to his mates-'this is Market Blandings', and no one has touched it since." I was wondering whether this was a true state of affairs anywhere, as I have never been to England, and know for a fact that this can not happen in India, but Pisa & Florence have lived up the comment literally.<br /><br />What is most heartening is that the planners in Italy have not tried to remodel these places on the lines of some hypothetical development norms, the way we try to do in India. When I was a part of the Planning Committee at Aurangabad, the planners told me that the exercise would involve planning amenities for the old city too, based on the population, and also a traffic & transportation planning based on current requirements. The exercise therefore involved earmarking places for schools, hospitals & so on in the already crowded city, and widening of streets in the old city to allow more traffic. The resultant plan paved the way for destruction of the old city - both in form & spirit.<br /><br />In contrast, the Italian historic cities have tried to accommodate the present day requirements without compromising on the historic character. The streets in Florence are not wide, hence they have devised a network of one-way streets, instead of widening the existing roads. The towns now attract a large amount of tourist traffic, and the earlier houses are converted into hotels. I actually lived in such re-modelled houses in both Pisa & Florence. The conversion was done tastefully, modern amenities like electrification & plumbing was added, all without disturbing the original fabric of the building. If ever there was a demonstration of how you treat your heritage buildings, this was it.<br /><br />We keep on saying that India has the greatest living heritage, but in practice, hardly any of that sentiment is visible. We need to imbibe some of the spirit of the Italains to do justice to our own heritage at home.Rajeev Kulkarnihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15242503443264213435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29378742.post-81251624791974862972011-06-08T21:22:00.000-07:002011-06-14T20:54:15.732-07:00Italy TripIt was only when I stood in the Piazza of St. Peters that I was reminded of the fact that I was a third world architect, experiencing for the first time the huge scale of architecture of the western civilisation.<br /><br />Indian architecture, in contrast, tries to bring down the scale, by subdividing the large spaces in small chunks, and detailing them on a still smaller scale. The huge forecourt of Tajmahal, just to quote an example, is sub-divided into four quarters, and then again with the small strip of water running through, with a hard edge and flower beds alonside, it brings down the space to a humane level. So the overall effect is a series of small spaces joined together in a large space, but the hugeness of the larger space is broken by multiple visual elements.<br /><br />The detailing of the building follows the same pattern. The entire edifice is subdivided in multiple frames, and each frame is again divided by the intricate carved patterns.<br /><br />In contrast, the scale of St. Peters is intimidating, and unbroken save the huge obelisk in the middle and the two fountains on the side, all of which does not break the space, but enhances the feeling of hugeness of the piazza.<br /><br />In the structure too, the columns rise to a great height, without any treatment (not even the volutes) and enhance the feeling of hugeness. The decorative motifs are reserved for the base and the capital only, and here again, the base has only the plain mouldings, which is the only treatment at human level, while the capitals are treated with intricate carving, but they are far too distant from the eye level, and even if they reduce the impact of hugeness, and make the assembly seem lightweight, already the distance has its impact, enchancing the feeling of scale.<br /><br />Standing in the forcourt of St. Peters, I could understand the impact it had on Le Corbusier, and its re-incarnation as the fourecourt of the Chandigad Capital Complex. No wonder then, that there have been umpteen attempts by the Indian architectural fraternity to give it a meaning by subdividing the scale of this court to bring it to a humane level, on the lines of indian monuments - while the monumental scale of such spaces has fascinated western architects and it re-surfaces in its various avtars - be it the Salk Institute or IIM Ahmedabad.Rajeev Kulkarnihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15242503443264213435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29378742.post-8377574310943930162010-05-09T04:11:00.000-07:002010-05-09T05:17:19.624-07:00Teaching Design<span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:100%;" >When Ms. Rashmi Baluja, one of my students from <a href="http://www.mit.asia/">MIT, Aurangabad</a>, and now a design teacher, posted a topic on her facebook page titled "What is the importance of Design in Teaching architecture" I could not resist the urge to reply that Architectural education is all about design. I have very high regards for Rashmi - she was one of my brightest students once, and I could not understand why somebody like her in her right mind should put so obvious a question as a topic for discussion.<br /><br />I then realised that what is obvious to me may not be so in other peoples' eyes. In fact I have not seen teachers in schools of architecture taking any great effort to relate their subjects to design in any way. So if Design is the core subject in architecture, it is probably only the people who made the syllabus (and, of course, the <a href="http://www.coa.gov.in/">COA</a>) who know this.<br /><br />And then there are problem with the teaching of design itself. The problem is that we are trying to convert the process of design exclusively into some kind of craft - by taking up basic design, trying to analyse shapes & forms and so on. I have seen many good teachers engrossed in this, sincerely hoping that they are creating the proper foundation for architectural design. I have seen them later frustated by the fact that none of these exercises translate into architectual design in the third & fourth year.<br /><br />Why should this happen? Is not architecture about for interesting forms & spaces? We all seem to presume that the students have an innate desire to create beautiful spaces, and our job is only to streamline that. But on an everyday basis, I have seen that the students seem to be totally confused as to what is expected of them in the design studio.<br /><br />The issue is much deeper than the simplistic thinking done presently. Some of the visiting teachers come to the design studio with an idea that their job is only to comment on what is wrong in the design - as if that would somehow make the student better in design. There are others who discuss only the functional issues and building bye-laws and so on, so much so that in a design studio, all the design solutions eventually develop like variations of a singular theme. And then these same teachers complain that the students do not have any originality.<br /><br />The third approach, giving space to students and relying on their initiative (an experiment I did in the first few years at MIT) has not worked for me, as most of the students (with many activities outside the college) just loiter around, doing nothing, and then try to finish the job hastily in the last few weeks of the term.<br /><br />How does one go about solving this issue?<br /><br />I think we can take a cue from other creative disciplines like art. In an art school, you have to teach the students how to hold a brush, the colour wheel and the history of art and so on - but when it comes to a fresh new subject for a painting, the student will respond by creating exactly what he understands about the world around him.<br /><br />I was going through a <a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/thelma_golden_how_art_gives_shape_to_cultural_change.html">lecture on TED by Thelma Golden</a>, an african-american curator of a museum wherein she described how art expanded her vision of the world - in fact that is the ultimate purpose of art in my opinion.<br /><br />A creative artist is not somebody who knows how to paint, but also what to paint and to do that he has to interpret the world - and create his version of the world as he understands it. He must know his context and must be able to analyse it and put forward his impressions. This can not happen if the artist lives by himself in a ghetto of his making.<br /><br />This is exactly what is happening to the students of architecture today. Architectural education has become very costly, not everybody can afford it. Those who do, most probably were sepearted from their fellow beings at the stage of kindergarten, going through a very elite schooling till they came to architecture, and their worldview is limited to what can be seen on the TV & the internet.<br /><br />I am not blaming anybody here, I am just stating a fact. What we need to do is to give exposure of the real world to all these students - India in fact is a great place when it comes to originality in design. But we need to understand our world and try to interpret it - that is how design originates.<br /></span><h6 style="font-weight: normal;font-family:trebuchet ms;" class="uiStreamMessage"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:100%;">So the stress in the design studio must be on the understanding of the issue by the students and his interpretation in text form - a medium we seem to have forgotten in architecture. But about this I think I should delve in in the next blog.</span><br /></span></h6>Rajeev Kulkarnihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15242503443264213435noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29378742.post-40381282170827996862009-08-03T14:46:00.000-07:002010-05-09T05:11:51.602-07:00Guggenheim NYI was in <a href="http://www.sirjjarchitecture.org/v2/">J. J.</a> as a student in the seventies and like most other colleges of architecture at the time, '<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fountainhead">Fountainhead</a>' was much talked about novel of the day. Howard <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">Roark</span> is a typical <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayn_Rand">Ayn Rand </a>hero, but the philosophy he talks about is all borrowed from <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FL_Wright">Frank Lloyd Wright</a>.</span> (FLW)How many students of architecture saw <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">FLW</span> as a hero is a moot point-we were all zapped by the character build-up of the hero by Ayn Rand.<br /><br />The problem with Ayn Rand or for that matter anybody who wrote about <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">FLW</span> is a problem of <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">straight</span>-<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error">jacketing</span>. <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-error">FLW</span> was a genius, bracketing him into an 'ism' is meaningless. I have seen him listed as a part of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arts_and_Crafts_Movement">'Art & crafts' </a>because he fits very well in the chronology, and his <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prairie_School">prairie</a> houses praised as a return to the craft tradition. I have also seen him described as the father of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_architecture">modern movement</a>-celebrating the machine age. For those who are aware that 'Arts & crafts' was a movement based on nostalgia and was opposed to the changes brought in by <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">industrialisation</span> would see the contradiction here. There has been-to the best of my knowledge-very little attempt by historians to clarify this confusion.<br /><br />When I visited <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solomon_R._Guggenheim_Museum">Guggenheim</a> Museum in New York, all this came back to me, when I tried to explain my son <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" class="blsp-spelling-error">Pranav</span> (who is an IT Consultant & not an architect), the importance of this particular building in the history of architecture. We had just been to Buffalo, where we visited the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwin_D._Martin_House">'Martin House' </a>by <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" class="blsp-spelling-error">FLW</span>, and the contrast in the actual form of the two buildings by <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_10" class="blsp-spelling-error">FLW</span> could not be greater.<br /><br />It is very difficult to perceive that the Guggenheim Museum is designed by the same person who did the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_11" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">prairie</span> houses, but this is true of most of the work of <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_12" class="blsp-spelling-error">FLW</span>. If we compare this with his <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_13" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">contemporaries</span> & even the great architects of the later period, most of them are known to be fond of certain configurations of built form/detailing/colour/texture & so on, which they have repeated from one project to another. What somebody would call a 'signature tune'. <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_14" class="blsp-spelling-error">FLW</span> seems to be content without any such thing.<br /><br />What struck me however, was the universal character of the form of Guggenheim. Here (rarely for <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_15" class="blsp-spelling-error">FLW</span>) was a building conceived purely as an art form-<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_16" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">independent</span> of the context. It looks now completely in contrast with its surroundings. If you discount the great central park (which you can not see for the compound wall anyway), all the buildings in the layout are strictly rectangular, the layout itself is the typical grid-iron of all <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_17" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">American</span> cities, and even the terrain is reasonably level, so there is no change of scene. It would seem that <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_18" class="blsp-spelling-error">FLW</span> was consciously seeking a contrast but knowing that he tried with the octagon first, his curves must have come in as design development and not as a basic idea of contrasting form of curved shell.<br /><br /><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_19" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">Incidentally</span>, when I visited Guggenheim, they were celebrating 50<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_20" class="blsp-spelling-error">th</span> anniversary of the building (It was built in 1959), and had put up the exhibition of <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_21" class="blsp-spelling-error">FLW's</span> work in the Museum. It contained drawings, photographs & models and many small sketches & perspectives done by <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_22" class="blsp-spelling-error">FLW</span>. They had also on display many working drawings done in <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_23" class="blsp-spelling-error">FLW's</span> office.<br /><br />The building is a continuous curved ramp making up a total of five levels, with a huge skylight on top-and what I wanted to check is whether the continuous ramp makes viewing of objects difficult. It does. Though the diameter is very large, there is a sensation of a slope which is not convenient at all when you are trying to view an object of art-or for that matter any exhibit.<br />This of-course is not the only problem with the building. The floor slopes up to make way for a skylight below-making approach to the exhibits awkward-but this may have been a good thing too-preventing public access to the exhibits.<br /><br />But the curved wall does pose a problem for exhibits like paintings which are flat and anchoring them to the wall is an issue. I was told by a gentle curator that for each exhibition they drill holes in the curved wall anew, and after the exhibition make it up by cement plaster. Which means that a part of wall is destroyed & touched up again for each new exhibition & this has been going on for the last fifty years. It is a wonder that the building shell has survived all this for so long. And it is not only a question of physical damage to the building-it is criminal to treat so sacred a building in such a cruel fashion.<br /><br />I put this to the curator, and he accepted the fact but shrugged his shoulders in the typical American fashion and said that you must deal with the situation in the best practical fashion. i was wondering why they could not fit in permanent nails so that the walls need not be drilled for every new exhibition, but the idea seemed foreign to him. (It was-I talked to the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_24" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">Asian</span> guard there, who concurred with me-it is only <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_25" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">Asians</span>, who seem to see the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_26" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">presence</span> of God in the inanimate!)<br /><br />The skylight in the centre was too big, and I was wondering the effect of heat built-up. The museum is now <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_27" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">air conditioned</span> and they have solved the problem of heat built up by covering the sky-light from top. Not only that, they have also covered the strip of skylight all along the external wall (which gives a distinct shape to the building) and have placed artificial lighting below for the exhibits. This makes the original design redundant, but then skylight is not a good thing for any museum exhibit. The quality of light changes throughout the day, and you can not direct the light to the painting anyway. It could only serve as a general purpose lighting. Even this general purpose lighting, if done in excess, defeats the purpose of the museum-in many museums of this kind you can not see the exhibits properly.<br /><br />On the other side, the parapet wall is a bit low considering the height-it feels unsafe near the edge. Moreover, the parapet curves outward to confirm with the overall design pattern of each upper floor coming in a bit, which enhances the feeling.<br /><br />How can the building be a monument to the modern architecture with all these defects? Or is it? Is it a metaphor for all the 20th century buildings obsessed with the form and not the function? And this too, in building designed by FLW? Are we reading the signs right?<br /><br />I know the building is criticised for these and many such flaws and still stands a testimony to the philosophy of <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_28" class="blsp-spelling-error">FLW</span>. Like the Chandigarh Assembly building-it paved the way for a new aesthetics for modern architecture. The question is-if it does all this-what do you read in the building now as a student of architecture? I think we need a more detailed discussion on the meaning of Guggenheim Museum in the present context.Rajeev Kulkarnihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15242503443264213435noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29378742.post-34216108593261731812009-07-25T09:38:00.000-07:002010-05-09T05:13:19.116-07:00In the footsteps of the masterWhile planning my trip in USA, I had thought of visiting at least one house designed by F. L. Wright, but most of the houses designed by FLW are not part of the routine tours. However, the opportunity came my way quite by co-incidence when we were in Niagara. (If you are an Indian visiting the USA, you must see Niagara-not to visit is almost a sacrilege!) We were discussing plans for the next day and I found a brouchure showcasing an FLW house under renovation with a list of conducted tours of the place. That was great. I had found this system in all the hotels I visited here-in the hotel lobby all the visitor literature is displayed prominently and you can take your pick-It features all the local sight-seeing places, and also all the local happenings in which the visitor can participate alongwith maps, bus/railway-schedules & so on. This is something we can follow at our tourist places too. (Is somebody listening?)<br /><br /><br />Anyway, the place was near the Hotel, and we decided to give it a try. When we approached the area, I could identify the house easily. It was executed in the distinct prairie style of FLW in an otherwise calm & serene neighbourhood of Buffalo. But I was in for a disappointment when I was told that all the tickets for the conducted tour were sold out for the day. Having come all the way, I would be denied the opportunity of a lifetime.<br /><br /><br />It was Amruta (my daughter-in-law) who suggested that I declare myself as a tourist from India, and a professor in architecture at that and request the organisers to accommodate me as a special favour. I was skeptical of the result but it worked and I was admitted as a special gesture for the next tour.<br /><br /><br />This was the Martin House, FLW's early works, published in the Wasmuth Volume. Built in 1903-5, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_house_complex">Martin House </a>is considered one of the most important projects by FLW's prairie school era, and is now taken over by the University of Buffalo for renovation. The Buffalo University has now built a pavillion on the side of the existing house, which works as a reception area, and includes a museum. They have preserved all the original drawings of FLW, including his correspondence with Mr. Martin.<br /><br /><br />The tour started with a small film on FLW & his work, and also the bio-graphy of Mr. Martin, and his interaction with FLW as a young architect. An umble clerk in the Larkin Soap Co., Mr. Martin had risen to a senior partner and had became a millionaire. The story was interesting and here I could see a pattern in all the early clients of FLW-all the practical down-to-earth people who had started quite low & made it to the top by intellect & hard work. Only these kind of people would appreciate the functional quality of the work of the young architect like FLW and would not bother about the style of the house.<br /><br />In the group on the tour, there was only one other architect besides myself, and we got acquainted easily. He was from Mexico, and had chanced upon the place just like me. The guide, though not an architect himself, was well versed with the process of design & execution, and gave us an insight into its making.<br /><br /><br />As it happens, the layout of the neighbourhood was done by a landscape architect, who chose a deviation from the strict grid iron plan and provided curved streets all over the place resulting in varied shapes of plots. In the first letter written by FLW to the Owner, he mentions the fact that the house can be aligned to any one of the sides only, and it was Wright's intention to align it to the neighbouring house. FLW goes on to provide a sketch plan of the site in the letter, clarifying this, which must have been approved, as the final outcome matches the sketch plan done by FLW.<br /><br /><br /><br />The house has a chequered history. The house was built by Martin when he became a partner in the Larkins, and contains 4/5 independant buildings joined together. One is a house for his sister on the edge of the plot, Martin's own House in front consisting of two separate parts joined together by a covered walkway, a stable and a caretaker's house. It was some kind of a challenge for FLW, as he was asked to design & build the house of the sister first, based on which he was to be given further job. The rest his history-FLW was given not only the remaining part of the house to design but also the Larkin Office Building in Chicago.<br /><br />Unfortunately, Mr. Martin lost all his money in the stock market crash of 1929, and had to sell of the rear portion of the plot to a developer. The developer built apartments in the rear portion, demolishing part of the house. The front portion was saved as some FLW enthusiast bought it & lived in it himself. It was however declared later as a national monument, and both these portions were purchased by the University of Buffalo, for renovation. Thus the front portion of the house is now the only original portion of the house, but the University has rebuilt the rear portion based on the original drawings-a thing strict conservationists may not like but FLW is a national celebrity in USA and this may be pardonable in a nation which has not much history to start with.<br /><br /><br />Going through the house, following the detailing of FLW, and seeing for the first time a house which I had only seen in photographs and sketches in the Wasmuth volume, was a unique experience for me. It was almost like a pilgrimage for me. I could imagine FLW with his flamboyant style of functioning moving through the place, giving instructions, supervising the work, and there I was, catapulted into history from a distance of roughly 20,000 miles to witness the result in person.<br /><br /><br />The discussion in the tour, however, centred on simple everyday matters, like the cross-shaped (pin-wheel) plan giving light & ventilation for most rooms from as many as three sides, the special study room that Martin wanted as an extension to the Living room, the placement of library at the edge with its windows on all three sides to help the nearsighted Mrs. martin, the partially hidden staircase signifying the seperation of the living room from the rest of the house, the connection to conservatory with its mechanical equipment to open & close windows which were inaccessible, and hiding of the services in the cluster of brick pillars. At one level, the house was all about functional utility, at other, it talked about the personality of FLW and the insistence of continuity of space with no intervening walls between spaces, and ceilings dramatically lowered in places to indicate division of space. The house flowed into the exterior as easily without a break in detailing and the continuity of finishes made it all the more subtle.<br /><br /><p>And then there was the masterful organisation of the form and the detailing-the specially chosen roman bricks with horizontal inset mortar joints to accentuate the horizontal lines, the sweeping roof projecting out and joining the entire composition, the full length windows replacing walls as a complete element of design, the urns & many other small detailing reminding one of a chinese house with strict rectangular/square patterns.<br /></p><p>The house stands apart in the neighbourhood of borrowed-style duplex bungalows all over, and I could not help wondering why there were no followers. But then, FLW is a difficult man to follow. It was heartening to find out that the University of Buffalo is using sustainable systems (earth-tunnels) to air-condition the house now-which fits in exactly with the philosophy of organic architecture by FLW. I had once remarked that FLW was not understood in the land of plenty when he talked of organic architecture-but things seem to have come a full circle-what with Al Gore (of all the people) making a movie on global warming (The Inconvenient Truth) and the Buffalo University actually installing a sustainable system in an FLW house. If it can happen here-sustainable architecture has a future.</p>Rajeev Kulkarnihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15242503443264213435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29378742.post-17781674113056814852009-07-20T14:40:00.000-07:002010-05-09T05:14:10.399-07:00New YorkFor the uninitiated New York is where the World Trade Centre once stood. The great news is that in spite of the terrorist attacks belief of American people in their greatness has not wavered, and like the proverbial phoenix, the World Trade Centre will rise again from the same place.<br /><br />Being in New York for the first time in my life, I was, however, searching for the Seagram Building (by Mies van De Rohe). It is ironic that this building, designed by Mies in its rectilinear steel columns & beams was faithfully copied by many, as the new icon of capitalistic America, forgetting that it is not the building but its public plaza in the centre of Manhattan was the single-most important contribution of Mies to the city of New York.<br /><br />Walking through the wall street earlier, it was difficult to see the sky for the tallest buildings of the world concentrated on that one square mile of Manhattan. The city awed the spectators, but did not give them space to relax. Earlier, when I had only seen these buildings in photographs, it was easy to picture yourself tilting back to see the top, what I was not prepared for was the pain in the neck in doing so.<br /><br />Mies' building was a study in contrast. The plaza with its two water bodies and the fountains, was just about 18" from road level, giving a comfortable edge to sit on. And obviously I was not the only one who found out that it was so - I could see people sitting around the edges, though not exactly in the fashion of the India Habitat Centre, but enough to justify the creation of the space in the middle of the sky-scrapers.<br /><br />Lately, this realisation that a city at this scale needs to cater to the pedestrians, has brought out a big change in the centre of Manhattan. The New York Municipal Corporation has decided to pedestrianise Broadway near the Times square, where thousands gather in the evenings. When we went there in the evening, half of the road was closed for the vehicles, and chairs were placed on the street. (A sign-board announced that this was a temporary measure and in another month or so, permanent furniture would be place there) Not only that, a huge staircase was constructed on the street, which would look towards the Times square and people enjoyed sitting on the steps. The view, of course was cluttered with the electronic boards of all varieties-but that is what people would like to see in a place like New York anyway. The important thing was to create a space for people in the city given over entirely to vehicles earlier.<br /><br />Coming in from Bombay, where each & every square inch of the side-walks in the main city is converted into an imprompteau street market, I was glad to observe that something similar was also happening here. Here & there, I could see an entire street lined with vendors of every description. Near wall street, on the street leading to Battery park, I could see singers on the street corners, with a makeshift sound system, trying to lure people in buying their albums and the overall effect was that of D. N. Road in Fort. In the battery park itself, there were impromptu shows, asking for contribution after the show ('I do not want charity' the leader said-only dollars) and the scene was complete. After all, what is a city without people?Rajeev Kulkarnihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15242503443264213435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29378742.post-7684499422764398722009-07-07T13:27:00.000-07:002010-05-09T05:14:55.517-07:00Planned citiesMoving about in any American city is an interesting exercise, particularly for a student of architecture. Most of the cities have the typical grid iron plan, oriented along cardinal directions. The arrangement is uniform all over the place, and the nomenclature is standardised: roads running east-west are called streets & those which run north-south are called avenues.<br /><br />The development along the roads, however, varies depending on whether you are in the downtown or in the outskirts of the city. However, the detailing & the extent of planning in both cases is remarkable. A lot of attention is given to matters like watering of plants, retention of the border of pathways and prevention of dust. In my entire trip I did not see a single square inch left unattended, either in the downtown or on the outskirts.<br /><br />In the downtown area, buildings directly abut the streets without any margins. The roadside footpaths are paved, but a part of the area between the roads & the buildings is left entirely for lawns & trees and all this is taken care of systematically. A large area around each tree is covered with a metal grid to allow rainwater to seep through in addition to the water sprinklers. The footpaths are planned for the pedestrians & the wheelchair, so that at each junction, the footpath has a section of ramp leading to the pedestrian crossing. The crossings are demarketed on the road, and the motorists are kind enough to allow you to cross the road. Coming from Pune, where every person walking on the street is the enemy of people who drive and who are determined not to allow the pedestrains any space on the road, I felt the contrast overwhelming.<br />The street signage is also uniform: name of the street is posted at each crossing, and if you can read, there is no question of getting lost. Except for some very large cities like New York, there are no vendors on the streets, and you see very few people walking about. For a person like me accustomed to the chaos of the hoardings and street shops and the crowds of the Indian cities, the streets looks virtually empty.<br /><br />The street scape is continuous, and most of the buildings are multi-storied, sometimes disproportionately tall with reference to the street width, so much so that you keep wondering whether they have any FSI regulations at all. I have heard that in places like Manhattan, New York City, the FSI 40.00 No wonder they go for 100 storied buildings without any setbacks at the ground. As if this covering of the ground is not enough, the buildings also span across the streets in many places. We were once travelling in Washington, where one of the main street ran for quite a distance under a huge building. This combination of the street and the buildings is unthinkable in India, with our orthodox ideas about setbacks in a city.<br /><br />The picture changes dramatically once you come out of the downtown. It is all open countryside, dominated by nature. The buildings are mostly single storied, set well away from the road, so much so that if are moving about in a car, all you see is a continuous strip of well planned landscape with trees and hedges dominating the view, with just a glimpse of buildings behind. It is all picturesque. It is only when you get out of the car, and start walking, then you see the problem - there are very few people about, and the distances are overwhelming: a set-up that virtually prohibits any casual social contact. The picture is good, being part of the scenery may be frustrating at times!Rajeev Kulkarnihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15242503443264213435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29378742.post-12232786468768397042009-07-03T17:51:00.000-07:002010-05-09T05:15:31.703-07:00The Great NationLike every Indian worth his salt, I too had a fascination for America. Technically a foreign trip from India could as well be made to Dhakka, but apart from the Parliament Building designed by Louis Kahn, Dhakka has little else to stir your imagination. And then the title 'Dhakka returned' would have as great significance here as when you remarked in Pune that once you did a project in Vadgaon Budruk.<br /><br />But when I really made the great leap forward (without tripping on my feet), what I encountered was an anti-climax. My son lives in Florida, where the climate is similar to Kerala-very hot & humid. But the houses all over the place remind you of England, except that the walls (instead of brick) are in closed wood planks, there is no provision for ventilation, no sun-shades and all the houses have steep sloping roofs with dormers to boot (is it one more example of a mixed metaphor?) For an architect & teacher accustomed to grilling generations of students to take care of the climate in the design you just can not digest anything which so blatantly disregards the climate of the place.<br /><br />The thing that worries me is nobody thinks that there is anything amiss in all this. I talked to some of the people who live in here, and the response was pretty casual as if nothing mattered. If you find that the house is too hot, there is always airconditioning. In a place where the electricity is considered as coming from God (as free as the air, water & thunderstorms), it is a bit awkward to introduce the motif of saving energy if you wish to retain the attention of the audience.<br /><br />Not that people are unaware of ecology. But it seems so distant from everyday life that when you talk about ecology, people presume you are talking of the wild africa, or the tropical rain forests. That architecture has anything to do with it would seem a far fetched idea. And this is a land where F. L. Wright lived & worked. No wonder he was labled as eccentric, when he started talking about organic architecture.Rajeev Kulkarnihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15242503443264213435noreply@blogger.com1