Internship Experience: Sangath,Vastu Shilpa Consultants,Ahmedabad
Fig(a): Check Dam model of Smritivan Earthquake Memorial,Bhuj,Gujarat.
I, Alen James had interned at the atelier of respected Architect Dr.BV Doshi’s Vastu Shilpa Consultants from June - December 2018.Philosophies of life and that of architecture of the masters, Laurie Baker and BV Doshi has been the guiding light throughout my years as a student architect. The architectural appraisal which I had done on both the legends along with my Portfolio helped me to gain internship at Sangath. Dr. Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshi the proficient architect and the first Pritzker Prize laurate of India recently won the accolade in 2018. BV Doshi had worked with French architect Le Corbusier and contributed in the building of Chandigarh and numerous other projects like the Shodhan house etc. His own contributions to architecture like IIM Bangalore, CEPT University and even his own atelier Sangath are exemplary spaces. Vastu Shilpa Consultants works primarily on an institutional scale, covering housing and residential clusters along with an academic or administrative belt for institutions. The approach that the firm has towards the resolution of such huge expanses is the master planning of the campus, along with experiential and visual aspects. I joined the studio on a warm summer morning. Each and everything, from the architectural language, studio culture, lifestyle of people was a new experience which gave me an opportunity to learn and unlearn several lessons. The studio strength was fifty and had eight trainees from different regions of India and five foreign trainees from AA School,Bauhaus Germany, Politecnico di Milano, Brac University-Dhaka and other. The cultural pool of the studio and its collaboration is the most interesting feature which I felt about BV Doshi’s conception of a studio as a Microcosm. Fig(b): Studio visits of Doshi sir during IIM Vizag Competition. Sangath means moving together through participation and Vastu Shilpa means the design of environments 1
Internship Experience: Sangath,Vastu Shilpa Consultants,Ahmedabad The Vastu Shilpa Consultants has a sister foundation, the Vastu Shilpa Foundation (VSF), that additionally undertakes Environmental research and publication of BV Doshi’s works. Doshi Sir used to visit the Studio thrice in a week, and gave us lectures occasionally. His lectures were mostly about his thoughts that he had during his apprenticeship under Le Corbusier and the art of storytelling in architecture in accordance with the Indian way of thinking. The values I gained was that of being curious about every aspect of life and to get haunted by own thoughts till I achieve them. Fig(c): 1:200 scale model .Smritivan Earhquake Memorial,Bhuj,Gujarat.
Initially, I was assigned to assist the senior site architect of Nalanda University at Rajgir District Nalanda, Bihar. We both worked on the good for construction drawings of a couple of buildings in the academic spine. The studio was well equipped with iMac systems for each person which runs ArchiCAD BIM Software for all architectural purposes. The other project that the studio handled during the same period was of IIM Udaipur. After that, I was asked to work on the exhibition model of Smritivan Earthquake memorial project at Bhuj, Gujarat. Smriti Van is envisaged as nature’s memorial to the victims of the 2001 Gujarat Earthquake. This part was of a gifted opportunity to work with the model makers of Doshi sir who have witnessed and played a momentous part in the design process of his projects all through his career. The model was handcrafted using Softwood for detailed building parts and contours on MDF boards with CNC laser machines. All the architectural models of Doshi sir are kept in sangath for his visitors. Interns are entrusted to take personal tours on sangath for his visitors from diverse professions and fields, which was indeed a unique opportunity to meet new faces every day and to get good contacts with people from all around the world. Fig(d): Chai time break and informal interactive sessions on outside lawn during evenings. Fig(e):Doshi sir’s 91st birthday celebrations at Sangath.
Finally, I was assigned to be part of the design team of Competition project, Indian Insitute of Management, Vizag. The team consists of four architects and two interns including me. This session was like a complete crash course to learn the design process of Sangath. From site analysis to the master planning principles and values of the studio and finally to the design details. The Design was developed by Ar.Rajeev Kathpalia and Dr BV Doshi used to give reviews to the team at various stages of design development. 2
Internship Experience: Sangath,Vastu Shilpa Consultants,Ahmedabad We had a vibrant team of interns and junior architects from all around who were in Sangath and from other reputed firms in Ahmedabad. We ourselves found an Architecture fraternity among us who had a great deal of interest in traveling. During the weekends and holidays, we traversed Ahmedabad, having much to see the masters’ works from le-Corbusier to Louis khan to Charles Correa and BV Doshi. Later we visited the Seven arches and other Unesco sites in Champaner, Jaisalmer Fort, Udaipur the city of lakes and Thar deserts in Rajasthan, which revealed a pristine India of vivid colours. While the visits to Aranya Housing in Indore then to Kutch and Bhuj villages of Gujarat gave yet another insight into the rural India. This exposure to an array of Indi-
Fig(f): Champaner ,Interns of ahmedabad 2018,
an cultures of various decades have helped me to cultivate a good understanding of the diversity among the cultures and places and of how it influences the architectural language. The saga of a master architect which I could refer for myself and a global perspective of life and architectural thinking that he shared with us through a great studio culture, language, and standards will be the essence that I would like to imbibe from Sangath.
Author: Alen Joseph James Semester-VIII Internship: Vastu Shilpa consultants, Ahmedabad Design Workshop, Lonavla
Fig(g): IIM Vizag Team left to right: Kirit Bhai(Carpenter), Anjali(architect), Manojna(architect), Nattu kakka(senior Carpenter), Rasha(architect), Ar.Rajeev Kathpalia(Studio Head), Micky(architect), Alen James(intern).
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