ARCHiNK by Manali Bapat

ARCHiNK Buildings. Places. People.

Issue 1 | Jan 2019

EDITORIAL

Editor: Manali Bapat All Articles: Manali Bapat

E-mail: manali.mb97@gmail.com

Stepping forward with the first edition of Archink, I would like to share the works done during Architectural Journalism elective - Final Year B. Arch. Archink touches many realms of Architecture like Buildings, Places, Cities and Architects. From the first RCC construction and climate responsive building in India-Golconde to Taj Mahal, Archink states their architectural significance. Painitng picture-frame for one of the many engaging places, Archink elaborates on Pune, Pondicherry and Menavli. This issue of Archink also has insights on transit spacesKyoto Train Station and Ved Transcube Plaza. Having included various genres, Archink portrays architectural elements as space creators. It has the summary of interviews of architects, one of them being Zaha Hadid. Archink reviews two articles on Post-modern architecture in India and eminent architect Charles Corea. Keeping up with the current affairs, Archink covers some of the events from Pune Smart Week held in February 2019.

ÂŠ Manali Bapat 2019

Manali Bapat Editor

Cover Design: Manali Bapat Layout Design: Manali Bapat Photographer: Manali Bapat Address: Parijat, 432, Shaniwar Peth, Pune-411030

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â&#x20AC;&#x153; I am a human being, which allows me to have both white and black shades- to create a grey shade of my own. I refuse to be judged by surface qualities. I believe in freedom and responsiblities that come with it. I value humanity over and above everything- everything that divides humans- gender, cast, creed and race. I consider life as a story, every experience enriching. I have no regrets in life, only lessons learnt; because regrets weigh you down when you should move ahead. The thing I never get bored of is Travelling because I believe getting settled at a place makes your life stagnant. I like everything flowing- love, life, people, emotions. I am possesive about the things I earn and create- be it people, love or memories. Honesty is what I value the most and Trust is what I seek the most.â&#x20AC;?

ME.

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CONTENTS

BUILDINGS 06 Golconde- Architectural Significance... Why and How ? 07 Waah Taj! 08 Ved Transcube Plaza... What did an ‘airport-like’ terminal do ?

PLACES 10 Kyoto Train Station... Transit Collage 12 Menavli Ghat... Painting Picture frame with words 13 Waari Book Cafe... Offline Socialisation

CITIES 15 I, Pune 16 Heritage Town Pondicherry... Burg with concinnity and contrast

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ELEMENT 18 Kaleidoscopic Staircase 18 Light Focus 19 Skylight... Luminous Connection

EVENT 22 Pune Smart Week... sm’ART’ Pune

INTERVIEWS 24 Ar. Shalaka Shingate... Architecturally Significant Building

25 Interview of Zaha Hadid by Charlie Rose

ARTICLE REVIEW 26 Indianizing Indian Architecture... a postmodern tradition by Ritu Bhatt

27 Charles Correa’s poetry in Concrete by Ajanta Sen Poovaiah

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Golconde Dormitory

ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE : Why and How? On the shores of Bay of Bengal, in the modest town of Pondicherry, sits a block of high, obscure concrete walls. That simple, straight line of concrete formwork have proved to be radical and is one of the earliest works of sustainable modern architecture, as said by architect Charles Correa. Idealized by the Mother of Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry, Tokyo-based Czech architect Antonin Raymond, in his own words, ‘has laid foundation of a new kind of architecture’ while designing the dormitory for members of Sri Aurobindo Ashramthe Golconde. It is the first RCC construction in India with Environmental sensitivity, Technology and Philosophy as a foundation for the design process.

Site and Climate sensitive features like apt building orientation, Louvered walls and lush landscaping create a highly sustainable, ecologically minded building, even by today’s standards. Being the most comfortable building in Pondicherry without mechanical ventilation, it is also a vehicle for spiritual awakening. It is quiet, meditative space keeping with the spiritual mission of its inhabitants. Despite its concrete construction with custom-made joinery and details, it achieves lightness. Site and Climate sensitive features like apt building orientation, Louvered walls and lush landscaping create a highly sustainable, ecologically minded building, even by today’s standards.Such response to the local climate and being true to function make Golconde as timely today as it was completed.

Golconde | 06

Waah Taj !

It isn’t a tomb, It isn’t a makbara, It isn’t a mausoleum. I believe, that when you encounter with a piece of art, it steals a part of your mind and you take away something that stays with you forever. It is that piece of art, That stirs your emotions every moment you see it. It is that piece of art, That unfolds a different story, as you go closer. It isn’t only about its marble, the motifs and the minarets. It isn’t only about Shahjahan, Mumtaaj and the workers. Its fruition lies in resurrection of senses! Waah Taj! Waah Taj! | 07

VED TRANSCUBE PLAZA Bus Terminal cum Commercial Complex,Vadodara, Gujarat

What did an ‘Airport-like’ Terminal do ?

Ved Transcube Plaza | 08

“Though the statement ‘airport-like bus terminal’ does not appear much logical, new Central Bus Terminal at Vadodara does what is needed.” Infrastructure creates the form of a city and enables life to go on in a city, in a certain way. - Paul Goldberger Advent of Transport was out of human needto explore new regions, to meet new people, to trade. Human race and Transportation has grown together since. Transportation systems have undergone many changes since their inception, making mobility an important feature of human life. Transport is a basic need of everybody in everyday life. Everybody travels-be it work, play, shop or do business. Transportation systems have an increased importance in an urban setting, due to more population, more activities and faster pace of life. People use different transport systems to go to various places. Transport occupies a vital position in today’s urban fabric. In order to fill this vital gap, the then Chief Minister of Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi envisioned to facelift the bus terminals in Gujarat by ‘providing facilities that are available at International Airports’. Though the statement ‘airport-like bus terminal’ does not appear much logical, new Central Bus Terminal at Vadodara does what is needed. Touted to be country’s first international standard bus terminal - the central bus depot of Vadodara - designed on the theme of banyan tree gives a new identity to the city.

Providing air-conditioned waiting rooms, sanitized toilets, luggage trolleys, wheelchairs, cloak rooms, two-storey parking lot, a commercial mall, eateries, a budget hotel, pick-up and drop-off points with facilities like digital display boards, path-finder signages is in line with the promises of providing ‘airport-like’ facilities; but are these not the facilities every transit space requires? By locating the new Intercity Bus Terminal near City Bus stand and Railway Station and providing lot commercial potential draws more influx but the clean and swanky busstation looks are what people are more attracted towards. With Indian ‘Janta’ being used to mundane and under-serving, insufficient, not-so-clean facilities at Bus Stations (also due to the belief that those people who cannot afford air-travel use buses), new Vadodara Central Bus Station brings revolutionary change about what people think of bus stations.

“Vadodara Central Bus Station brings revolutionary change about what people think of bus stations.”

Ved Transcube Plaza | 09

A structure exhibiting many characteristics of futurism, a glass plated grey monolith stands as an identifiable metropolitan symbol for traditional capital of Japan-Kyoto of which the skyline once had tiled-roofs of temples and shrines and for which, the architect of Kyoto Train Station- Hiroshi Hara has a convincing explanation. ‘Cities grow with time and so the population. Thus, for the betterment of city life, we should be reconstructing the areas that have already been built up’ states Hiroshi Hara. His design attempts to convey historical Kyoto through a modern aesthetic. Opened in 1997, major railway station and transit hub in Japan, Kyoto station stands in perfect contrast to the traditional image of Kyoto by virtue of its giant futuristic glass structure; yet the design is governed by the concept similar to Traditional Kyoto home- Visual interest focussed inward and simpler face directed to the world. The building form comprises of a huge rectangular box, a façade consisting of a variety of simple triangular and rectangular window shapes, a glass roof which reflects the sky and makes the building seem lighter in weight and wide central glass entrance. Along with a train station, the fifteenstoreyed structure consists of a shopping mall, hotel movie theatre, departmental store and some local government facilities-with spaces of different qualities existing simultaneously. Inner spaces are a collage of many elements-grand staircase, promenade, square, atrium and public spaces providing rich spatial sensory experience.The ceiling pattern in steel seldom reflects Kyoto’s grid-like street layout, as said but suggests motion, speed and complexity, aptly representing a transportation hub.It is an interesting destination in its own right, with fluidity of space and intriguing discontinuities of scale, worth to be looked at from all sides.

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Kyoto Train Station... Transit Collage

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Menavli Ghat... Painting Picture Frame with Words मेणवली….नाना फडणवीस यांची…..पेशवाई वाड्यांची….कृ ष्णामाईच्या सप्तघाटांनी सजलेली….काय झालं ? ओळखीचं वाटत नाहीये? पेशव्याच्या इतिहासापासून चित्रपटांच्या चित्रीकरणात झळकणाऱ्या वाईमधील.. पेशव्यांच्या परिसस्पर्शाने एक आगळं वेगळं वैभव प्राप्त झालेलं कृ ष्णेकाठचं गाव….पेशवेकालीन सुं दर घाटाने कृ ष्णामाईशी जोडलं गेलेलं…… जग अनेक रंगीबेरंगी धाग्यांनी विणलेल्या वस्त्रासारखं असतं …. तसं च घाट हे एक वेगळं जग आहे…मुक्त तरीही स्वतःपुरतं …. एकरंगी चौकोनी आकाशातून बाहेर पडायला लावणारं…. शांता शेळके म्हणतात तसं – साद पावसाची आली, शहारली माती भुई सवे आभाळाची जुळे आज प्रीती अगदी असं च वाटतं ….जेव्हा काळ्याकभिन्न पण शेकडो पावसाळे झेललेल्या बेसाल्ट वरून चालताना शेजारून जुन्या विटांची कौलारू घरे सोबत करतात अन् समोर दिसण्याऱ्या घाटावरची शांतता तुमच्याकडे वाहत येते… वृक्षराजीचा हिरवा गारवा मन शांत आणि मोकळं करतो…. दवाने थं डावलेल्या घाटाच्या पायऱ्या उतरताना नजर जाते ती कृ ष्णामाईच्या सं थ पात्रावर आणि मन नकळत तसं च नितळ होऊन जातं . ही सारी सृष्टी जरी एक असली तरी प्रत्येक ठिकाणच्या सृष्टीला एक वेगळाच रंग असतो. या घाटाला अनेक रंग आहेत…स्थानिक लोकांच्या कृ ष्णामाईशी असणाऱ्या ऋणानुबंधांचे…..धुतल्या जाणाऱ्या सुखदख ु ांःचे…. मेणेश्वराचे दर्शन घ्यायला येणाऱ्या भाविकांच्या भक्तीचे…….आणि न सापडणाऱ्या अनेक गोष्टी शोधणाऱ्या भटक्यांचे……एक ना दोन! कोणत्याही युगातला माणूस घेतला तरी त्याच्या प्राथमिक गरजा भागल्यानं तर त्याला आपल्या सुजनशीलतेला आणि पूजावृत्तीला वाट करून दिल्याशिवाय राहवत नाही…. घं टानादाच्या लहरी पाण्याच्या लहरींवर विरल्याखेरीज देवळाला देऊळपण येत नाही…. म्हणूनच कदाचित मं दिरं घाटावर बांधत असावेत. नदीच्या काठीच माणूस रुजला, वाढला…त्यामुळेच हे सारं त्याला जवळचं वाटतं . आजूबाजूची हिरवाई, काळाकभिन्न रांगडा बेसाल्ट आणि प्रतिबिबं ांमळ ु े हिरवं निळं भासणारं कृ ष्णेचं पात्र तुमच्याशी सं वाद साधतात…. डोळ्यांना तिथल्या रंगरेषा भिडतात….आपला वापर के ल्यामुळे दगड खूष असतात…. आपल्या नाजूक रेषांतून विटा एक गोडवा आणतात… लाकडाच्या पृष्ठभागावरील अतिमनोहर रेषा एक निराळीच किमया उत्पन्न करतात….सकाळचं धुकं भेदून कोवळी ऊन्हं येतात तेव्हा दगडांवर सोनेरी झिलई येते आणि अरुणाची के शरीपिवळी झळाळी आभाळावर पसरते. घाट ही खरं तर गजबजलेली जागा….शेकडो आवाजांनी सजलेली….पण येथल्या शांततेचा आवाज सगळ्यांत वरचढ ठरतो…. जगातल्या कोणत्याही सं गीतापेक्षा अधिक श्रवणीय. अशा जागा फार मोजक्या असतात…. जिथे काळ थांबल्यासारखा वाटतो….गर्दीत असूनही एकटं असण्याचा अनुभव देणारा हा घाट आपल्या चाकोरीबद्ध आयुष्यात एक अविस्मरणीय रंगीबेरंगी भेट देऊन जातो….

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Waari Book Cafe... Offline Socialisation You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me. – C. S. Lewis Over the last decade or so, cafes have carved out a permanent niche in the urban fabric of Pune. Go to any locality, you are bound to run into a café with a trendy name and an extensive menu, catering majorly to the ‘youth’ of the city. Some become places with regular patrons, others sadly fall into obscurity, whatever the case, and this industry has taken firm roots in the city. The growing numbers of cafes into the mainstream, have lead owners to create gimmicks to lead eager faces into their establishment. Amongst the rising and falling trends, gimmicks and numbers, stands the humble Waari Book Café. Ameliorating the basement of a mixed use building in one of the lanes off Karve Road, is one of the coziest cafes out there. Its location has never affected its popularity or the number of people visiting. The book café, as the name suggests, is home to an array of genres calling out to people from all walks and stages of life. It was intended as a place where the offline world that calls to those glued onto their black mirrors. Its owners recognizing a need for a haven away from home where rectangular mirrors wouldn’t reflect lonely eyes. A place that accepts the lonely wanderer and larger parties and maybe even budding romances. People watching is the most basic of human psyche that seldom gets fulfilled in the more ‘trendy’ places. Though initially the arrangement didn’t specify this, its formal seating was not special and the books didn’t seem to be a focal point. The food didn’t call out to hungry patrons and a dimly lit atmosphere reduced it into a dingy darkness. The promise of a haven seemed so close yet so far away.

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But a spark was acknowledged by some of its regulars and their criticisms heard. The phrase ‘the customer is always right’ was applied to its full potential. The transformation of this haven into an informal space that accepted all was complete. Floor mats, charging points, well lit interiors, warm cups and good food. Entering the space feels like a breath of fresh air cleansing the mind with shelves of books calling out the wandering hand and the multitude of people calling out wandering eyes, though how much the books are read is another question. You see students trudging through their submissions together, inculcating a sense of a community that will always be present. First time visitors might get confused because a homely atmosphere isn’t the expected theme of any café, yet Waari has evolved to create a home where you get served without the guilt of cleaning the dirty dishes afterwards. They might see patrons that have settled in to create their own bubbles within a public space – working on the next assignment while eavesdropping on the drama happening beside them. If books don’t call the board games will, transporting us into simpler times of summer vacations from school. College goers writing away, groups connecting over a spirited game of monopoly, the lone wolf solving mysteries with Sherlock Holmes, the couple working on the latest drama, aunties discussing the latest antics of their children, kids discovering the joys of learning with soft atmospheric music playing in the background, that is Waari café. A place with its own soul catering to all who enter either with good food or projecting the classical comedies starring Charlie Chaplin, that is Waari Café. A tribe with its own basic needs of food, books and a warm vibe, that is ‘Waari’ Café. (Credits- Gayatri Jagtap, Aishwarya Palve, Ayushi Dubey, Tanvee Dabir, Manali Bapat, Sanjana Shinde)

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I, Pune

Happy I am to flaunt all the epithets thou have given me Oxford of the East, Cultural and Educational capital Pensioners’ paradise, Queen of Deccan and City of Cycle But Happier I am when thou say ‘My Pune’ Happier I am when thou call me your ‘Home’ Blessed I am by thy love Mothered I have Shivaji, Bajirao and Tilak Seen I have battles and rulers, aborigines and aliens, fighters and cowards, staunch and shaky Seen I have victory and defeat, love and anger, loyalty and betrayal, life and death, white and black Seen I have my people grow and prosper, play and earn, learn and live, one and two O! My people, I too lived a life. Paradise as I was called, by the true blues and incomers But Happy I am as ‘Thou City’ my people! The four hundred years old life fabric has two things to tell you my peopleCity is for people And A tiny but conscious start can create legends because I was only Kasba once! City of Happiness and Prosperity as they call me today, City of Happy People I want to be now! I, Pune| 15

Heritage Town, Pondicherry

Burg with Concinnity and Contrast Heritage Town Pondicherry |16

Pondy welcomes you, lets you ramble, resonates you with its cadence, soaks all your stress, lets you sip the energy and it makes sure to evoke a sense in the visitor- of being in a unique place. The vibrant gopura gracing the kaleidoscopic skyline of the town, the colour-studded Goubert market, vivid yellow autorickshaws, the coffee stalls- every element adds to the chromatic collage. Pondy is deeply into the history, but as towns are bound to evolve and things are bound to change; Pondy’s present goes hand in hand with history and heritage – either of the things surfacing alternately. The epithet of being the Heritage town doesn’t become an obstacle for ‘aam’ Pondian- but it sensitizes them and inspires to conserve and grow. Backed by being a franco-tamil town, Pondy today, is a blend of old and new, heritage and modern – its brew drawing and engaging visitors.

Every city or town has a character. Though the stimulants for the formation of the character are varied, here, in Pondy, it is largely defined by the evolution which it has undergone. The one funny reason behind my liking towards Pondicherry could be the grid pattern which absorbs every single possibility of losing one’s way! The Pondicherry what we see today is an aftermath of the vicissitude of rule between English, Dutch and French. Although the evolutionary history of Puducherry is superabound by the French rule. The grid iron pattern, the black and white division of town, the unparagoned franco-tamil architectural style – all are the causatams of the French rule. Pondy is like a quilt- from both physical and emotive outlooks- adorned by the grand canal, petit canal and the orthogonal streets, gussied up by cozy houses, beautiful gopura, soothing churches, flanked by the Promenade- snuggling the visitor in the multistranded warmth.

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Kaleidoscopic Staircase Conveniently ignored as a tool of commuting between levels, is, I say, a Kaleidoscope. The one that shows you things, angles, emotions with a silver lining of light and shadows. It is a place which has something for everyone. It has seen students rushing to the class to put attendance, students running away and it also remembers being used as a hiding place from teachers after bunking the class. It loves keeping secrets shared over lunch. It feels the happy steps, sad steps, angry steps and steps in love; and flaunts it all its lifetime.

Light Focus As all that glitters is not gold, All that shines doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t always catch the eye. The dark semicircle in the centre shaped by linear light strips which appear radial, for which the road acts as a datum line-giving a focus to the composition. The focal point-the black semicircle appears as a rising sun, emitting vibrant colourful rays, reflecting the vibrance in the road, waiting for people to come and go through.

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Skylight... luminous connection

“It’s been almost five years now that I have looked at it at least once daily and it has never failed to present me with an experience. Bounded by four yellow ochre walls, framed by steel truss painted black and covered with white acrylic sheets, it presents itself as an inverted light well, showering warm white light.”

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“It reminds me of the magical roof of the great hall in the Hogwarts Castle, connecting to the outdoors, giving an idea of the weather outside and flowing ‘outdoors’ inside. Although this is an imagination, beautiful patterns of colours and textures, shapes it creates are magical. There is something about looking up and seeing light; and this makes the skylight a magnet that makes me look up to it.”

I interviewed six students based on the following questionnaire. 1. Have you ever actually noticed the skylight? 2. If yes, how and what do you feel when you look up to it? 3. Have you ever photographed it? 4. How do you perceive it from different levels (floors)? 5. If given a chance to change/modify/tweak it, would you change it and how?

Skylight |20

People seem to take things granted when they encounter with it every day. Similar thing happened with the skylight because five out six students interviewed seemed ignorant of the skylight above the courtyard which they use or pass through almost daily. For them, it is just an element allowing light into the building and its presence is to be acknowledged only when the amount of light entering into the building is less than the usual due to weather conditions. Quite in line with their opinions, these students have never photographed the play of light and patterns it creates. Only one interviewee has an opinion contrasting to this. She feels that the skylight is the highlight of the courtyard, creating a refreshing and warm atmosphere with white light. She calls it an engaging visual break in the building. ‘It has something to give every time’, she adds. But, despite many students being ignorant about the skylight, it does not make it any less significant. It has similar effect on almost every being encountering with it. But to ‘know’ it and put it in thoughts or words, thinking a little more about the experience is needed.

Skylight |21

Pune Smart Week... Smart Pune - Art for All Pune Smart Week 2019 was organized from 14th Febrary – 24th Februrary 2019. Its was an initiative by Pune Smart City Development Corporation LTD for a smarter Pune and promotion of art in all its forms. it was inaugurated on 14th February 2019 at 4.30 PM at Balgandharv auditorium by Honorable Shri Jayakumar Rawal – Minister of Tourism, Shri Girish Bapat – Cabinet Minister for Food, Shri Prakash Javadekar – Minister of Human Resource Development, , Honorable Shri Prakash Javadekar – Minister of Human Resource Development. the festival was a confluence of art across various mediums – Art & Design, Dance & Music, Film & Theatre, Literature & Talks and Workshops & Demos. Workshops were conducted by celebrated artists viz. Chandan Mahimkar, Aditi Deo, Manjiri More, Milind Mulick, Achyut Palav that were open to all. People got indepth perspectives into their fields of interst and opened up younger minds. The festival focused on inclusivity with events and workshops held especially for children with their works displayed in Raja Ravi Verma art Gallery. It was organized within Deccan’s cultural centres Balgandharva Rang Mandir, Pt Jawarharlal Nehru Auditorium, Raja Ravi Verma Art Gallery. While these venues have been graced by multitudes of events in the past, what the organisers brought new to the festival was its organization on Fergusson College Road ‘Promenade’ and Jangli Maharaj Road ‘promenade’. Sambhaji Park was also cordoned off for various stalls and festivals. The organization of the festival within the urban centres of Pune, it had an impact on the urban fabric of the city. The recent redevelopment of the pedestrian avanues of JM and FC roads lended themselves perfectly for the display of art pieces and display arches.

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Art-Arch competition The overaching theme for the art arches was sustainability and its various explorations in minilamistic approach, perception of the city, reusable materials, etc. these arches, 15ft high, depicted these themes in forms of drawings, writings, models made of sustainable materials and each contained a comprehensive explaination into their though processes.Though they did create a temporary hinderance to the passersby, having relegated the cycle users to use the roads again, the message depicted on each arch was accessiblt to a the common passerby. One of the arches had an added charm of displaying the notorious ‘Puneri Patya’ that definitely amused people to tears. One of the arches depicted the celebrated Ganpati festival through cartoon graphics and depicted the value of waste management. Thus the artistic charm made way for an important message of creating a sustainable Pune City. On the 18th a delightful addition to the FC promenade was the ‘music wall’. Programmed with 12 pre-recorded instruments viz. the drum, Harp, Sitar, Giutar, Piano, etc. with sensors put onto a wall depicting the various instruments. Visitors were invited to activate the sensors to listen to a melody of classical and nonclassical instruments. This wall got a larger response by the children and adults throroughly enjoyed the medly of sounds. Happy Streets On the last day of the week long festival jam packed with evets, workshops and happy faces, JM road promenade was lined with mesmerizing canvases made by over 100 artists that were displayed proudly throughout the day. The laziest day of the week had turned into hordes of people plying through the street talking, looking and buying pieces by master artists. The morning was opened up to the children yet again. Part of the road was blocked off for them to explore their hand at street art, with coloured chalks gracing the barren roadway. The upbeat music and exuberant parents and their children turned the boring roadway into a hubbub of socialization. Later the same area saw a flash mob of Kathak dancers who had participated by the workshops conducted prior.

Pune Smart Week |23

Interviewee I interviewed Prof. Shalaka Shingate. Prof. Shalaka is Assistant Professor at Dr. Bhanuben Nanavati College of Architecture, Pune. Questions Asked I asked her which building she finds significant in today’s architecture scenario and why. I asked about what features make that particular building significant.

Prof. Shalaka Shingate, when asked about an architecturally significant building in today’s context, her immediate response was buildings by architect Charles Correa.When asked to elaborate more on her opinion, she talked about Correa’s building being timely even today, climate responsive and alloy of Indian and Western architecture.She chose to specifically talk about the Kanchanjunga Apartments, Mumbai. Completed in 1983, 84 m high, 28-storeyed residential building, stands on the western edge of Mumbai.“Born through Ar. Charles Correa’s concern about issues in modern Indian cities and understanding and adaptation of modernism to local Indian Culture, Kanchanjunga deserves and attracts attention even today. Everyone would want to live there”, Prof. Shalaka said. She further stressed on the climatic and cultural adaptation i.e. orienting building east-west to

catch prevailing sea breeze, incorporating garden terraces- modern interpretation of a feature of the traditional Indian bungalow-the Veranda to open up views to the residents and also acting as a buffer from harsh sun and Mumbai monsoon. “Such design thinking and efficient adaptation make Kanchanjunga relevant even today to draw inspiration from”, she added.

Ar. Shalaka Shingate |24

Interviewee Architect Zaha Hadid The interview was conducted in 1999, when Zaha Hadid had just designed Contemporary Arts Centre in Ohio. Interviewer Charlie Rose starts it with a brief yet apt introduction of Architect Zaha Hadid as one the most interesting architects in the world and architecture’s one and only diva. As Zaha Hadid being a woman architect and a successful woman architect for all times, the interview revolves around two things‘Women in Architecture’ and her recent project- ‘Contemporary Arts Centre in Ohio.’ Zaha Hadid’ s first project is Peak Club at HongKong, which she won at the age of 33; got tremendous appreciation but never got built. When asked about it, the celebrated architect says you can never completely control your destiny and same is one of the frustrations of the profession. The question which was quite obvious to be raisedWomen in Architecture and Architect Zaha Hadid answers it pretty simply and modestly. First of all, she did not consider herself under-privileged or privileged because of being a woman. She calls herself ‘architect’. According to her, the field has been male-dominant and is changing this trend gradually as more and more women are becoming architects. When asked about her concept behind the design Contemporary Arts Centre at Ohio, she says that the building is designed to be blend-in and stand-out at the same time. Though it’s heavy volumetric massing makes it appear as an independent and impenetrable sculptural element, the Centre is in fact designed to pull the city in – past its walls and up, toward the sky. The building is juxtaposition of different volumes- free flowing allowing the movement of people, presenting an urban carpet for the commoners. Talking of architect’s special interest in designing museums, Zaha Hadid attributes it to the civic aspect of it and interesting spatial qualities, which comprises a larger part of architecture. She does not believe in having a set genre while designing- like horizontal design or vertical design and says it is all dictated by the project site. She exemplifies Contemporary Arts Centre at Rome for the same.

Zaha Hadid’s Image of Peak Club, Hong-Kong

Zaha Hadid’s Most Famous Project- Vitra Fire Station, Germany

Contemporay Arts Centre, Rome

Interviewer Charlie Rose (American Journalist) Zaha Hadid |25

Indianizing Indian Architecture... A Postmodern Tradition by Ritu Bhatt Ritu Bhatt is a Woodrow Wilson Fellow at the Townsend Center for the Humanities at University of California, Berkeley. She teaches in the department of Architecture, Comparative Literature and Rhetoric.

Critique puts forth a fact and explanation about an apparently wrong path on which postmodern Indian Architecture went to back up and support the ‘Indianness’. The need to impart an identity to the nation was felt post-independence in almost every field including Architecture. The major difference visible in post-modern edition of Architecture of India and the West is due to the rich and diverse, cultural and religious heritage of India. This very thing was used by the eminent architects of India to support ‘Indianizing Indian Architecture’. Two works, which when analysed sequentially and logically, reveal the process. One is Vistara-catalogue of exhibition of Indian architecture in the Festival of India held in the western countries between 1983 to 1986 and the other is Jawahar Kala Kendra at Jaipur.

With a motive to differentiate Indian Architecture from the Western Architecture in the context of rich cultural heritage, the story which was put forth through ‘Vistara’, portrayed Indian Architecture as representation of myths, notions and images. It divided Indian architecture into Hindu, Islamic, Jain and Buddhist architecture, giving tainted explanations for rise of the same. Authored and structured by the eminent architects of India, Vistara stood as a base theory or explanation for their agendas of the postmodern architecture. Jawahar Kala Kendra stands as an example of everything discussed above-use of myths and symbols to impart ‘Indianness’ to architecture.

Indianizing Indian Architecture |26

Charles Correa’s Poetry in Concrete by Ajanta Sen Poovaiah

The article unfolds story of an architect, architectural fraternity and society which grew an prospered together. Being aware of his roots, being sensitive and responsive towards the culture, climate and civilization, Architect Charles Correa sets an example through his large expanse of works including museum, housing and campus projects.Informed by two parameters, culture and its expressions, and using the elements of nature for climate mitigation, Architect Charles Correa sails him into the group of the universal architects, whose architecture is to be cherished, experienced and remembered even after a few thousand years.

Charles Correa’s education and career has many notable influences including his western university education, Master Innovator and Social Engineer Buckminster Fuller, Kevin Lynch and Le Corbusier. Envisioning a successful career within his own country while having studied abroad and his ability to assimilate Western sensibilities without hurting Indian ones places him high as a person and as an architect.

Charles Correa’s Poetry in Concrete |27

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