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DISCLAIMER FOLD periodical is a student initiative towards understanding and interpreting various topics in architecture and its allied fields. The students would have referred and drawn inspirations and references from various sources either directly or indirectly for the contents of this periodical. The content has been peer reviewed by the students. While utmost precision to quote the sources and every other detail is strived for, R.V College of architecture cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies or subsequent loss or damage arising due to this.

EDITORIAL BOARD: Chinmayi Suri Kadambari Komandur Rochana Ramakrishna Falguni Nimje Ananya Nayak GRAPHICS AND COMPILATION: Ekansh Goel Pranav Somayaji Anusha Santosh Namrata Narendra Mrinalini Mahesh Madhuri Sharma Simran Vohra Ujjvala Krishna Abubakar Shaikh ADVISORY BOARD: Ar. Nandita Associate Professor, Co-ordinator , Publications RVCA

KADAMBARI K I vi sem namrata narendraI vi sem nithya rajan I vi sem

9 - 54

REFLECTIONS

56 - 85

SCRATCHPAD

87 - 94

ACCOLADES

CONTENTS

FORM FOLLOWS WHAT?

CHINMAYI S, b v anirudh |

The following pages offer speculation about the relevance of an age old dictum in the world of architecture, “Form follows Function”, and question if it is time to move into new approaches to design.

Part one of the article defends Louis Sullivan’s ideology and seeks to assert it’s timelessness in the age of eccentric form-making.

Part two laments the stoic nature of this very ideology and the far-reaching effects it has had on architecture everywhere. It also seeks to propose new ideologies we might meander into..

VI

SEM

FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION… ....On being the Pragmatic student of Design.

“Design must reflect the practical and the aesthetic, but above all design must serve the people.”

- Thomas J Watson The primary purpose of any building is to house a function. As expressed by architect Louis Sullivan “Form follows Function”. Sullivan argued that ‘form follows function’ is a matter of nature. Forms imbue each thing in nature with a part of its identity. We distinguish one thing from another through their forms – a human is distinguished from a tree, a tree from a bird, and so on. But forms don’t just help us to distinguish one living being from another, they also inform us of their lifestyles and mannerism.

“After all, a building that’s usable is a building that is people friendly, and building that’s people friendly is a good building.

When form follows fiction, design becomes intimate.”

8

Sullivan explains, “Speaking generally, outward appearances resemble inner purposes. A bird flies, a fish swims, and a plant rises from and is rooted to the ground. As such, so is each of their forms.” Likewise, Sullivan believed that buildings should naturally follow suit in that, their forms follow their functions, disregarding that buildings are not in themselves or ganic things. They do not grow as an animal or a plant does. They do not reproduce. Instead, they are made.

.As Sullivan lays it out, for example, a tall office building’s way of being is characterized in part by its spatial organization - which has been a model for many skyscrapers since his time - a prominent ground floor, multiple floors of offices, and a special-purpose top floor or floors (in Sullivan’s scheme, a space for mechanical services). But its organization is only a natural consequence of the building’s practical concerns.

The full essence of a tall office building was characterized by its spatial organization and its height. The grid of offices in a tall office building easily spoke to its spatial organization. Its soaring height, if properly expressed, enlivened it In today’s world, these skyscraper office buildings define the cityscape. However, with further construction, the office buildings that dominate our surroundings are not the functional yet enlivened structures that Sullivan described. These buildings are cuboidal variants that have been overdone and overused in the name of being economical and practical. (To consider an example).

With the constraints of money and material, ‘functionality ‘of buildings has become paramount.

Aesthetics, in the form of Form is calculated as unnecessary labor and material cost. Instead, glass panes, ornamentation and similar add-ons are used.

So naturally, many of us as architects (students) attempt to create outlandish forms, to bring in liveliness or interest into our designs, and the context in which our building sits. When thinking of ‘concepts’, instead of incorporating the basic premise of function, we tend to try and associate the purpose with grander ideas and ideals that could romanticize our design. The starting point, no longer becomes the reason the building is necessary.

What needs to be understood, is that it is completely alright to build with function in mind, and to make

that your driving force. The structure does need to be built after all, and economic and material restrictions must be considered. A building does not need to have an extraordinary form to create an impression in the minds of the people that use it. The remarkable thing about people is that they have the ability to make memories anywhere and that it is quite possible to touch people in a small way, that will stay with them forever. The building just needs to allow them to do so.

By starting out with taking into account the function of your design, you are in no small part, ensuring it’s success. Considering the best way to make your idea actually work influences your design greatly, both in its form and the spatial quality. It is still possible to have the meaning of the building as your primary cause of concern and still be creative. Just because most activities can be fit into squares that follow the area program does not mean that those spaces have to be squares. There are a million ways to make a usable, practical and pleasing building.

After all, a building that’s usable is a building that is people friendly, and building that’s people friendly is a good building.

FORM FOLLOWS FICTION Time for a new Dictum?

“And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for.”

-Keating, Dead Poet’s Society(1989) As a student of Architecture, there is always an apprehension about whether or not one’s design has achieved supreme levels of functionality. Have we been so over exposed to the famous dictum of “form follows function” that very often, it’s apparent rigidity overwhelms us into creating mere functional boxes?

Look around the average Indian city urban-scape for example. We don’t see in abundance, design that seems like it has been through the horrors (and the refinement) of an AD jury.

All the philosophies and conceptualization we talk about in design studios hardly ever translates into reality on a large scale. Instead, we see that the need to build fast and build in large quantities has produced vast settlements with architecture that is functional yet not very special. Somewhere in the need to get rid of useless ornament and build “clean” structures that cater to specific programmes, have we lost the need to tell a story with the spaces we create?

have made an emotional attachment to his neighbor hood. So doesn’t this mean that the point of origin of architectural design should be the need to tell a story? Shouldn’t we be focusing on the romance of people’s memories that will be encased in a space and therefore shape the space itself?

Bernard Tschumi famously said, “form follows fiction”.

Not fiction that is wildly outrageous and fantasy-like, but fiction in the context of narratives that play out in everyone’s lives. He argued for buildings that remain functional at heart but also strive to be experiential in character so that the quality of living for the user is elevated in an exponentially more wholesome way.

When form follows fiction, design becomes intimate.

Perhaps then, we will have architecture that stops treating mankind as a simulation of regular functions playing out in a space which when successfully completed means happiness. Instead we could have spaces that are sensitive to the primordial feelings, memories and experiences that make us human. Is it possible to have fewer generic functional boxes and many more spaces that shape the story of our lives while being shaped by our stories at the same time?

Is it time to embrace a new dictum, “form follows fiction” so that our cities might be saved from the scourge of mediocre architecture?

Yes, Architecture is about building usable spaces. But does an increase in quality of living just mean bigger houses, more cars or more bedrooms? People appropriate spaces and make them special at a personal level. This is an amazing quality of the human race.

We take even the most mediocre or even downright appalling habitats and manage to pour our experiences and memories to make them special to us.

Photograph by Ekansh Goel

A kid who grew up in the slums of Dharavi will still

Photograph by Kunal

REFLECTIONS

9

benda’KALA’ooru

IN CONVERSATION WITH HEGEL: UNDERSTANDING ZEITGEIST kadambari komandur I vi sem

“The whole of philosophy resembles a circle of circles” Complete and true, and yet ever changing, with no beginning in site, nor end.

As I sit and look out at what is probably Bangalore’s only remaining pocket of forest, from a balcony on the thirteenth floor, I reminisce about another time.

“Periods of happiness are empty pages in history, for they are the periods of harmony, times when the antithesis is missing.”

One that is now but a page in my memory, recalling the sound of my grandfather’s voice as he tells his tale, ensconced in a dimply lit room, in a small house in the neighbourhood.

‘Do you know, that Malleshwaram, as it is today, was necessitated by a plague?

As I sat, trying to digest that particular bit of information, he said, ‘but then again, some things never change.’ With a smile that spoke of secrets past, he said, ‘ The irresistible call of one particular Benne Masala Dosa, for example, that had me cycling all the way across town, almost daily!’

I smile back, sharing a moment, a connection, over a memory, when so much else has changed.

But is it the same? Is anything ever the same, when in the same breath, he goes to say, as most elderly people are accustomed to,’ In those days we paid only _______ annas for a dosa.’ Forget about how much it is, what even is an anna?’ What is this world of theirs? And alternatively, what is ours?

“Spirit does not toss itself about in the external play of chance occurrences; on the contrary, it is that which determines history absolutely.”

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“The world is an undifferentiated and meaningless collection of who-knows-what—an impenetrable cosmic mystery—which the senses and reason conspire to impart with meaning, form, and intelligibility in general.”

This brings us to our next question namely, What makes Bangalore, as a place? It’s rather less pressing than the quality of Benne Dosa, to be sure, but an unfortunate necessity, for the continuation of this thread.

In the same line of thought, what changes Bangalore? What forms and defines it?

Its stories, with each new tale and pocket of life stored away like the forbidden chaklis on my grandmother’s highest shelf? A shelf made accessible, however, through observation, and careful introspection.

Stories of the past, told and re-told, and subsequently, those of the present, untold, stored in people’s minds and the city’s fabric.

It is in the share-cab on one’s way to work, in the gullies of the city’s sprawl, in the city’s majestic colonial buildings and the sunlight that streams through one of many plate glass facades. It is in the mundane as much as the special, in the fluttering of pigeons shooed away from an apartment balcony, all heard over the incessant din of the city’s traffic.

Every place has memory, one that is made up of elements that stretch to the infinity of its conception; of its geography, its history and its culture, in layers seen through its people’s eyes. In such a situation, the memory of the place is only as strong as the memory of its people, in their pride and in their interaction with its past, present and future. It lies in their capacity to reach through the folds of time to grasp at what was; their belief in what can be, while living through the memories of the present. In such a scenario, is the spirit of a place in its people’s hands?

“Actually,” Hegel argued, “this is an optical illusion— it is not the great man who makes History, but History that makes the great man, for he does not create, but expresses, the Spirit of the Times, or Zeitgeist.

People create History, but in a more profound sense, History creates people—therefore, “whatever is, is right.”

‘What is right,’ defines the relationships of the city and the way in which it develops. It is a representation of the absolute, bringing together different players.

An interesting analysis of this idea lies in understanding the settlement pattern of the city, the primary movers of which, across different periods of time, were disease, war and commerce. Each of these players, as winners of their own wars, has defined Bangalore’s development.

The epithet ‘Garden City,’ is another interesting point of contemplation, wherein the relationship of the city with its parks and trees has come to symbolise its spirit. But was this always its spirit? Just as we bemoan the loss of our trees, and the encroachment of our gardens, not to forget our lakes, we have over time, forgotten, that these relationships were, in fact, forged.

It is safe to say then, that places are defined by time, and the resultant tangible and intangible elements, seek to create logical order. An order that serves as the city’s unwritten code, developed as an organ of its ‘Spirit.’

This however, seems to be a difficult concept to accept. For, at the end of the day, were all of these changes not wrought by society? Are we, and in that thread, Bangalore, the chicken, or the egg?

“Spirit does not toss itself about in the external play of chance occurrences; on the contrary, it is that which determines history absolutely, and it stands firm against the chance occurrences which it dominates and exploits for its own purpose.”

Spirit, is the premise that creates the idea of the absolute. It is in a sense, the puppeteer of society, logically decoding and developing world systems.

Illustration by NishitaValli

REFLECTIONS

11

Hegel argued that “it (History), like everything else, contains an essential, rational, necessary nature, which compels it to develop exactly as it does, and which man, because he is rational, can understand.

The World Spirit gives impetus to the realization of the historical spirits of various nations.”

I see now, ‘namma metro,’ snaking through the city, cutting through its layers, and connecting people all the same. I see Kengeri and Peenya, as living, breathing organs of the city, when they were once merely extensions (appendix, anyone?) I see an urban sprawl, spilling out of the city, like so many ‘kaalu,’ out of a bag, all in response to the industrialization, and internationalization of a once-sleepy, well rested town, boasting of a platitudinous people, long incubated, by the earth and the sky. Are we moving forward though, or back-ward, where every step taken leads to the abandonment of an idea, a community, an individual, or an identity?

“Everything,” Hegel argued, “is constantly striving to become what it should be, from the acorn struggling to become an oak tree, to the philosopher struggling to become wise, to the state struggling to order the world.”

(Side note: “Are our traffic jams going to lead to Nirvana, then?”

‘Pause, re-read’ “Or are they just going to get worse?”)

“First, there is the thesis, a new thing that, by emerging into an already-existing system, always disrupts it in some way. It has to struggle for self-realization in opposition to the antithesis, which can be either the system and its components as they were before, or elements within itself that are not in harmony with its essential nature. Out of this conflict comes synthesis—a new equilibrium that then becomes the thesis of a new dialectic process.”

12

I see now, the tell-tale signs of a street vendor, whose trade incorporates, an urban aesthetic, in terms of its borrowed backdrop, one of the many buildings of our skyline. I see still; just as I did before, the same vegetable market, with the self-same traders, unchanged, save for its location, a change necessitated by an urban ‘clean-up.’ I see on occasion, the city’s culture celebrated, from the Kadlekai Parishe, and the brightly lit streets of Malleshwarm’s 8th cross, to festivity in equal rigour, on Brigade road, or maybe even, ‘Soul Santhe.’ I see this sense of informality retained, breaking out of the lines and planes that administrators attempt to confine the city to. An informality which, though retained, turns around to meet its formal counter-part, on equal terms, each a little different, rounder around the edges, or maybe, edgier around its fluidity, in honour of the other.

The creation of history, ‘Hegelian History,’ can thus be understood as a process, defined by spirit, emphasizing the absolute and coming to a conclusion through the dialectic.

“There is a certain “language”, culture or range of concepts in which every dispute, every contradiction must be fought out.”

These disputes, define more than just the spirit of a nation or the thread of its history. It, more importantly, defines the perception of history, and thus, the perception of spirit.

This historiography is the invisible director of the spirit of the time, with lived history defining the time that was, and its perception determining the ones to come. ‘“As a part of world history, a nation—exhibiting a certain trend expressed in its Volksgeist— plays its part in the total process of world history.

But once it contributes its share to world history it can no longer play a role in the process of world history.”

What though, is the spirit of Bangalore today?

Can we attempt to perceive the spirit of our time?

Can we answer this most challenging of questions?

It talks of creation and evolution and the perception of the established order, an order that remains hidden, mysterious, until it is revealed post-haste.

“Hegel conceives the self-creation of man as a process where real man is the outcome of man’s own labour.”

What is talked of here is mental labour, of thought processes and threads that lead to creation and self discovery. He says, “The absolute is mind. This is the highest definition of the absolute.” Then it is probably within ourselves that we will find the hint of this spirit, for the city-spirit is but ours ten-fold. (For Hegel, only the whole is true. Every stage or phase or moment is partial, and therefore partially untrue.)

The city, our city, Bangalore, is an organic, living, breathing entity, as much a bearer of spirit and vitality, as it is a vehicle for. Infused, to its very core, and infusing this spirit amongst us all, it is as much of us as we are of it.

Therefore, in order to understand Bangalore, must we not understand ourselves?

“Of self-consciousness as a huge cosmic accomplishment.”

Sources www.marxists.org www.age-of-the-sage.org www.researchgate.net

Illustration by Megha J Shetty

REFLECTIONS

13

VENICE, 1964 KUNAL I viii sem

“Never forget what you are. The rest of the world will not. Wear it like armour, it can never be used to hurt you” 14

The same building maybe seen in varied ways by different people. What is an institution for some may be a shelter or a landmark for others. There are a number of layers to a building which contribute to making it a piece of architecture. There are cultural layers, historical layers, social layers, utilitarian layers, to name a few. But what truly sets apart a historical building is its ability to capture time as it passes by. In fact various forms of art, sculpture and literature do the same, but being the most public of all arts, architecture has the privilege of projecting the layers to the people in the most efficient manner. You may see the architecture and settlement pattern of a certain culture and predict a number of things about them.

What kind of a government prevailed, what were their living conditions, what lead them to prosperity or demise? A close study can answer a number of such questions.

Architecture may be seen as a string binding the pages of history. Vernacular architecture, through years of refinement reaches a stage of near perfection and ironically this whole process may not require an ‘architect’ at all. In such a case, architecture is the reflection of a certain culture in its purest form.

Now, as architects it is our responsibility to understand the underlying layers and significances architecture holds to its surroundings and most importantly to respect them. Care must be taken when dealing with such structures and settlements which carry such significance. We must be sensitive when adding on to the existing layers, though exponential urbanisation may make it hard.

With the necessity of conservation comes the evil of permanence. Time starts to take over. Columns start to deteriorate, arches begin to crush under their own weight, and cathedrals become a spider’s paradise.

Understanding this dilemma is the only way to turn to preservation.

While preserving architecture, care must be taken to keep it as close to its original form, keeping it true to

its spirit. An array of measures can be taken to proceed in those lines. They say the only way to be happy is to be of some use, the same goes for architecture.

A new program may be introduced to a historical building, to re-purpose a building that is now unused.

Adding functionality ensures that the building is once again maintained; it will reach its previous level of utility (Of course, without actually changing its layout or decoration). For instance, what do you do with a temple whose associated religion does not exist anymore?! Perhaps a museum sounds apt?

Architects must work hand-in-hand with archaeologists and historians to understand the significance of architecture before taking preservative measures. In case, the introduction of a new element for the sake of functionality or the replacement of a member is absolutely necessary, care must be taken to ensure that it is in a harmonious balance with the spirit in which the building was constructed. It is really important to respect the sentiments of the people attached with the architecture.

When being sensitive to architecture, certain settlement patterns and typologies which have evolved must be include as a subset. Even though they might not be aesthetically refined or might lack the grandeur but it serves a purpose which has evolved over time and there is much in there for us to learn from and apply for the future so that a uniform fabric of architecture through time is maintained. For instance, the houses and Havelis in Jaisalmer have evolved over time to be climatologically responsive as well as aesthetically refined, and it is only appropriate for us to derive inspiration from such refined architecture when designing in a similar place.

But it is when such architecture is experimented with to such a degree that the whole spirit is lost.

There might be instances where architecture has been used to show authority over a certain class of people. Take the majestic Gateway of India for example, which took the Indo-Saracenic style to near-per

fection. It was built to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary to Mumbai.Now it just stands as a “monumental memento of colonialisation and subjugation by the British over the people of India”. Even though it was built to show dominance over the Indians, we have still kept it long after attaining freedom. India has been subjected to various invaders and colonial forces, of which its monuments (Gateway of India, Jumma Masjid of Delhi, the various Gothic cathedrals) are tangible proof. Their presence remind us, time and time again, of our identity and reality and how we must proceed so as to never make such mistakes. Preserving the true essence is necessary and it’s unfair to deprive our predecessors by manipulating the pages of history through ‘experimental preservation’. Understanding the totality of the situation is of utmost importance. So let’s preserve and not forget, for a scar, though only skin-deep may tell us a story which the tongue might not. Omitting and modifying certain pages from the history books, in order to suit our taste and comfort our ignorance is an abhorrent thing to do.

“Never forget what you are. The rest of the world will not.

Wear it like armour, it can never be used to hurt you”

Sources:

Game of Thrones Wikipedia: Venice Charter 1964, Gateway of India

Illustration by Anisha kar

REFLECTIONS

15

RHYTHM SRISHTI P I iv sem

On the difference between the ideals of architecture and mere construction, the renowned 20th-century architect Le Corbusier wrote: “You employ stone, wood, and concrete, and with these materials you build houses and palaces: that is construction. Ingenuity is at work. But suddenly you touch my heart, you do me good. I am happy and I say: This is beautiful. That is Architecture” One can draw similar parallels between music and sounds. Employing musical instruments or voices gives rise to sound, and at the most, a tune. Music is created by skillful articulation of notes that reverberate in your soul and make you feel something in your heart.

building or organization - it offers professional services in connection with the design and construction of buildings, or built environments.

Music, in turn, is not limited to sound. One can speak of ‘music’ and ‘musical thought,’ thereby drawing similar conclusions: ‘musical thought’ extends far beyond ‘music’ itself, and constitutes a coherent and developed outlook upon the world. The world of music is one that is as vast as architecture is.

As abstract art forms based on rhythm, proportion and harmony, architecture and music share a clear cultural lineage. This relationship between the two is mostly seen as one that is direct. However, there exists a relationship to the two that extends much deeper than the surface.

The consideration of music and architecture as sister arts has a long history, in spite of occupying opposite ends of the spectrum between the immaterial and the material. The intuition that allows us to even consider architecture as ‘frozen music’ or music as ‘molten architecture’ comes from a deep and ancient understanding that, in its very essence, architecture exceeds building, as music exceeds sound.

“Music and architecture blossom on the same stem: sublimated mathematics. Mathematics as presented by geometry” 16

Architecture is not limited to building, it has always aspired to exceed the pull of the matter. By ‘architecture’ we refer to a more holistic meaning: a physical or virtual environment designed for complex human inhabitation. The realm of ‘architectonic thought’ refers to a second meaning: complex organization and coordination of a composite. In either case, architecture is always beyond simple need. It surpasses mere

Illustration by Lakshmy Narayanan

While certain basic attributes remain common to all kinds of both architecture and music, there exist multiple styles of architecture and genres of music, each comprising of their own set of rules and written grammar. In their most basic and simple sense, architecture and music are descriptions and representations of thoughts, imagination and occurrences, which are most often abstractions.

A carnatic composition really has two elements, one being the musical element, the other being what is conveyed in the composition. In addition to the rich musical experience, each composition brings out the knowledge and personality of the composer, and hence the words are as important as the musical element itself.

Ragas are analogous to the principles of Rhythm and Reverberation. Last, but not the least, Notation and Tala of Music can be looked as Architectural scales.

Music and architecture blossom on the same stem: sublimated mathematics. Mathematics as presented by geometry.

Music and architecture reach for a common asymptote. Throughout time, we witness in musicthe need to surpass its own limits, to develop unlikely virtuosity at incredible cost. Architecture, like music, strives not only to excel, but transcend its very own material and intellectual basis.

Architectural Principles help in the composition or unification of parts to form a single coherent whole.

Architectural compositions come together on basis of harmony, balance and unity. Along with these principles, ideas of an axis, a datum, rhythm & repetition, hierarchy and transformation may also be applied.

In music, sound ratios lead to beauty; these are harmonic ratios that lead us to symmetry. This symmetry is sometimes visual, and sometimes aural. Similarities are seen in the works of architectural theorists such as Vitruvius and Alberti who looked at proportions and mathematics as the deciding factor of aesthetics and the concept of beauty.

On comparision of attributes, Sruti is compared to foundational organizing principles such as the axis or a datum against which all other components are compared. It acts as a reference to tell us what is right or wrong in a music.

Swaras are akin to basic building units or modules that make up the substance of the entire physical composition obtained by use of generative grammar

Illustration by Lakshmy Narayanan

REFLECTIONS

17

THE AKIN WORLDS OF PIROUTTES AND DESIGN

Talk about tulle, tutus, Pointe shoes and slender long legs and you know you are talking ballet. They all know a little French as ballet got formalized in France and their vocabulary majorly consists of French words like Ronde-de-Jambé en-lair, Pas de chat, Piqués and Fouettés. Possessing great amounts of strength, grace and flexibility, the ballerinas precisely dance on toes in Pointe shoes and seem to defy gravity. They love mirrors, hardwood floors and soft pink, and are relieved to have callouses on their feet. They cannot resist a grand jeté in a big space! They buy bobby pins by the pound and can put their hair up in a bun in ANY situation!

NISHI POOJARY I viii sem

I’ve wanted to be a ballerina for as long as I can remember. Just that there neither existed ballet studios at commutable distances nor there was an initial push. It remained at the back of my mind as a dream.

I was sixteen when I first stepped foot into a ballet studio, introduced to me by a new friend in the locality. As I sat in the demo class and looked at girls of various ages doing their pirouettes and routines to Tchaikovsky and other classical symphonies, I knew right away - I belonged there.

“Although my technique wasn’t flawless, I’ve realised that these details get masked under a confident smiling face and lively expressive eyes.”

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There was something about the elegance and grace of a ballet dancer that fascinated me greatly. It is as if they are all inherently beautiful.

Everybody around me told me it was a bad time to start, mainly for two reasons. Firstly, because I was too old to start learning at this age and secondly because I was in class 12. I got a great deal of advice on how this one year would change one’s entire life.

My parents weren’t thrilled at the prospect; naturally they were worried that it would be strenuous. My friends thought I was silly. All I knew was I was finally going to start my dream. There was no contemplation. I instinctively knew it was the right thing to do.

I promised to myself I wouldn’t let academics take a

backseat but I just had to do ballet. I enrolled myself.

Prior to my first studio class, questions like “What if I can’t grasp quick enough?”, “What if the other girls don’t like me?” filled my head. However, my inner self felt it was going to be a beautiful dance session. As I entered class, the loving smile of my teacher greeted me, the mirrors, the lights and the wooden floors made me feel as excited as at ease. The knowing smiles of the other girls felt reassuring and I was just welcomed as another girl who loves all-things-ballet.

At the end of the class, I sure was a sweaty mess with sore muscles and cramps, but I was in love with life.

I knew what I’d missed for all these years. Ballet days became my favourite days of the week!

I gave my first solo performance after five months of training. It did lack in technique-ballet isn’t mastered just in a few months, but it was an overwhelming feeling. I’ve performed a few times since then and there’s always something to take back home from every stage show. I’ve learnt life lessons.

Reflecting back, I was so absorbed in performing ;I ponder if my neck was stretched high with shoulders pressed down, if my knees were straight and if my toes stretched out to the farthest. Although my technique was not flawless, I’ve realized that these details

Artwork by Hashwanth Ram

get masked under a confident smiling face and lively expressive eyes. The audience will enjoy your dance only if you do so too.

They are now left in the lurch – their traditional livelI’ve come a long way from where I started and now that I’m in an architecture school, I’ve learnt some wonderful lessons from ballet that translate quite well into design.

It is easy to be bogged down in the studio by a seven year old girl on toes with her leg above her head or by the guy in design studio whose ideas effortlessly get translated into design concepts but looking at other people and wishing you could be like them doesn’t do much other than deviating your line of focus.

What we don’t realize is that the other person might be looking at you and thinking similar thoughts.We are all unique with varied proficiency levels. All of us will pick up steps at our own pace and have different drawing abilities and design approaches. All we need to focus on is improving ourselves with time. What’s the pointé of a studio if you are already perfect? Pun intended.

I’m constantly trying to work design submissions and assignments around a rehearsal, a class or a performance and it works out fine most times but there have been other times when I’ve tried and failed.

Sometimes I find myself asking “What if I can never do this (because of being too old to try certain steps)?” or “What if my idea isn’t practical enough?” before I realize it’s up to me to either succumb to the fear or give it a shot. And after all this, you might still not get that prime role you wanted or your design proposal might not be the finest of them all, but things do not always turn out the way you want them to and this has taught me how important it is to take life’s ups and downs in your stride.

Both, ballet and design can be isolating at times. You alone have to train your body. You alone are responsible for your design ideas. They want to see an individual style, an original idea and your real personality.

In both these cases, you need to keep yourself going, be it through days of sore muscle cramps or the hundredth variation of one’s design. You will surely have teachers guiding you through it but in the end you need to know how to make it work – dance, design, family, friends and your beautifully exhausting life.

entered it with. Along with architecture, a priority by itself, and a family that’s ever-supportive, I’m grateful for I have all that I could’ve ever asked for.

So the next time you want to hang out with an architecture student or a ballerina and she says “I can’t, I have to go to the studio”, just let her go! Because she really wants to- because she really loves what she does - because it’s a different world out there!

They say you’ll never know how much u can do unless you try. I did, and today I look back with sheer joy. I finally started Pointé work about a year ago and although it’s terribly painful, the glorious feeling you get when you’re én pointé is unparalled. Nothing can replace the sensations of height and the control and balance you try to obtain along with poise, grace and a smile of your face.

The studio now feels like home and even today I go back to each class hoping that I come out of the studio a little better, a little stronger. I love the amount of arbitrary technique and discipline ballet demands.

There is always a grand jeté to learn, pirouetté to improve upon, an arabesque to perfect. Ballet works like therapy for me. It’s the reason I go back to class during exhaustion or frustration; The reason I take hours away from family, friends, or the social circle.

At the end of every class I’m engulfed by a feeling of contentment. Same works with design and I’m hoping all those classes week after week is moving me closer to something grand.

And the biggest learning of them all? That in life, as in ballet, it is all about the endurance and the right amount of balance.

Today, almost three and a half years later, I still enter the ballet studio with the same thrill that I first

Photo provided by Nishi Poojary

REFLECTIONS

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ARCHITECTURE AFFECTING OUR SUBCONSCIOUS MIND SANJANA SHANKAR I ii sem

A lot of our time is spent inside buildings, our thoughts shaped by their walls. What, then, are the psychological implications of architecture? How do spaces influence our subconscious mind? Is there an ideal architecture for different kinds of thinking?

Human psychology can be loosely defined as the scientific analysis of human nature and behavior. The workings of the mind have a subtle but direct impact on the body- the field of psychology blends into physiology. Given that every single individual in this universe is different from the other, what is the impact of architecture on the human psyche?

Have you ever walked into a space and had an air of nostalgia hit you even though you’ve never been there before? Sometimes spaces bring about a feeling of familiarity. As mystical as this sounds, in reality it’s a very common phenomenon. We’ve all had a childhood, but we don’t remember all of it clearly.

What we do remember are instances that for some reason or the other, stand out. As a child, I always hid my toys under my bed. This space was my ‘secret spot’- no one else was allowed in there. Technically, no one else could fit in there. Now, this was a space that was very dark and somewhat gloomy -not very well lit. Nevertheless, my spot it was, and I was at complete ease in it. Very recently I visited a house with an attic. I’d never previously stepped into an attic in all my life. The minute I stepped into it, however, I was taken back 15 years - back to my little play room and it’s memories. The ease I felt now was the same I’d felt as a kid - it was my space. I heard my mother complain that she felt suffocated and claustrophobic here. That’s when it struck me. The relationship between architecture and our feelings is one based on memory.

“Have you ever walked into a space and had an air of nostalgia hit you even though you’ve never been there before? Sometimes spaces bring about a feeling of familiarity. As mystical as this sounds, in reality it’s a very The beauty of a well-defined space is that it appeals common phenomenon.” to the general public, and also appeals to every indi20

vidual - to each in a unique way. Every space that is ever designed, is designed with a purpose.

Every architect tries to evoke people’s emotions through the space they design. Adding complexity to this understanding is the fact that no one will feel exactly the way the architect intended one to feel.

Rather, the person will feel emotions that connect to their past.

At play here is our subconscious mind - it pulls the strings on all we perceive. Experiences are archived here, as dusty stacks of reels with films in five senses.

All it takes is a trigger for the memory to come rush-

Illustration by Hashwanth Ram

ing in and engulf your senses.

Picture this: you are walking through a vegetable market. The greens and the reds and the purples of the produce call out to you just as the sellers do.

There is the characteristic smell of the sabzi mandi in the air. Every now and then you are hit by a peculiar smell - the sharp chillies, the pungent garlic, the metallic spinach. Does it not feel familiar?

There is no remarkable architecture to this market it’s a wild cluster of shacks and tiny roads, with heaps of vegetables just about everywhere. Still this place screams nostalgia. A few trips to the mandi as children are all it takes for us to associate that setting with something as familiar as our home.

It isn’t hard at all to understand how architecture affects every aspect of our lives. Good architecture can make you feel things you never knew you could feel.

This is the quality that sets architecture apart from mere construction. As future architects we must give weight to the impact space has on the people who experience it. Architecture will then become a tool that helps shape the society and culture. The effect it has is far beyond our capacity to fathom. With that being said, one must always remember that the next time they see a building, it is important not only to appreciate its beauty but also to feel all emotions it was designed to be felt. There’s more to a structure than just a few walls and windows. It screams out untold stories and unsaid emotions. We just have to observe.

Illustration by Divakara Murthy

REFLECTIONS

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BRAIN SPACE BHAVANA P, FALGUNI N I

ii sem

A house is a building A home, an emotion. This dichotomy lies at the centre of the chasm between the material and the immaterial halves of architecture. Form gives perception.

Space provides an experience – the experience is a combination of the physicality of the structure and the abstract emotion we associate with it. Architects have the somewhat intimidating task of designing our spaces -- adjusting the lighting, colour, and forms.

Intimidating, because the spaces must be designed keeping in mind the needs and habits of the user. The fact that every user has a unique perception of their surroundings turns the simple exercise of building space, into an intricate puzzle.

If every person is unique, it means that no one has the exact same set of receptors. What, then, makes public spaces so successful in delivering similar experiences to most people?

subconscious has memories stored for every second right before that decision was made -- making it a more influential factor in our decision making.

According to a psychological hypothesis, when you try to remember something, you are in fact remembering that last time you tried to remember it. This continuous process is experienced as deja-vu, where your brain tries to connect a memory to a present-day situation or environment -- tricking you into thinking you have been there before. In the same way, a space can feel familiar and warm, or cold and nasty -- even though it’s the first time you are experiencing it.

Assuming that haunted mansions and ghosts don’t exist, one of the scariest places for any human is pris-

A possible answer is the repeated conditioning that our brains are subjected to daily. This means that, for most of us, red is danger, white is peace, green is safe and so on. This common and continuous acclimatization affects our ability to perceive spaces more than we give it credit for.

There is a reason certain colours seem more pleasing.

It is because we associate a positive memory with it.

The concious part of our brain cannot focus on more than one activity at a time. Subconsciously, however, it registers every detail, colour and texture and associates it with the emotion felt at that point. This is why we sometimes have no rational explanation for our choices in spaces. Given abundant resources and no restrictions, some people would prefer small, compact homes to a spacious large one, or a house with a large garden compared to one in a city.

“The fact that every user has a unique perception of their surroundings turns the simple exercise of building space, into an intricate puzzle.” The conscious (rationally) ‘makes’ choices but the the 22

Illustration by Hashwanth Ram

on- by utility it is supposed to discipline criminals and induce a sense of regret for their doings but despite the passage of centuries, and the various forms of prison, design crime rates are still on the rise. When asked to describe a prison, one would talk of a dark room with a concrete block, a single depressing light, a toilet, maybe a blanket, a gate with long metal bars, a flap to send food in and small corridors supervised by guard. Each cell holds an individual living there for the sentenced time. The constrictiveness of the room and the grey bare of concrete can make a person feel victimized and drive him towards aggravated behaviour -- achieving the direct opposite of what it was set for in the first place.

tention. The mind receives and expresses what it perceives. Spaces help us perceive emotions and, in turn situations, in an amplified light -- thereby controlling our reactions to spaces and elements in the space.

There is a sense in which every experience and every tiny piece of information available to us forms the foundation for how we see everything around us. Is it far-fetched then, that walls we see around us integrate into this foundation that sees them? The way we sense space and colour and light is moulded by what we’ve seen before. It moulds how we see next.

This is the beauty and the challenge of designing space.

The main problem with the typical prison space is that the human brain cannot stay still. When a person is subjected to solitary confinement, he is left alone with his own thoughts. The search for stimuli can lead to severe mental damage, and begins forming stimulation in the forms of hallucinations. This can impair the sensory system affecting the person’s ability to think or even keep a track of time.

Spaces are derived from human behaviour and beliefs. A few centuries ago, when humans inhabited shelter caves and cliffs, they used scale to emphasize the importance of their structure. Large tall stones were used to emphasize the importance of the deceased person. Men erected complexes to emphasize the power of gods and belief system. Today the tallest building stands as a symbol of power and luxury.

Spaces influence our thinking more than we realize.

An open space promotes learning when the classroom exhausts itself. Enclosures, by nature, confine, they hinder thought. Lesser windows give a sense of security and the walls tell stories about its residents.

A library through its organization helps us concentrate and the tallest building on a street grabs our at-

Sources

Photograph by Pranav Somayaji

Michael Stevens ,“Isolation”, Producers: Vsauce, PC. Youtube.com

REFLECTIONS

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THE PAST, THE PRESENT AND THE GAP KEERTHANA VIVIN I iv sem

“It is this harmonious blend of culture and architecture that can truly bring out the soul of a region. So why not embrace change, without losing ourselves to it?”

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In more ways than one, a city, a state or even a country is defined by its culture. And one of the most durable and long-lasting methods of cultural preservation is through architecture. But with the passage of time, architectural styles evolve and a gap begins to develop until a distinct classification arises between the architecture of the past and that of the present.

In most cases, the gap widens to such an extent that we can no longer find a single trace of the past in what we now call contemporary architecture. What remains is simply a situation of cultural disconnection between the past and present.

Change of course, is not something that can be prevented, nor does it have to be. But is it necessary for a region to lose its identity in the process? There is the chance that it will take on a new face, but it may just as easily fall into namelessness while it merges with the multitude of places overrun with modernism. Is it not possible for architecture of the past to complement or maybe even coexist with its contemporaries?

There are two ways in which this kind of coexistence may be brought about. If the word coexistence is interpreted in a literal sense, it would probably direct us towards an architecture where buildings of then and now stand side by side. But in this case, it is likely that the new and advanced contemporary building will overshadow its predecessor or perhaps create jarring contrast that only serves to highlight the aforementioned gap between eras. We may also be left with a controversial situation, as in the case of Daniel Libeskind’s Royal Ontario Museum, where a highly futuristic extension of the museum emerges from its much older counterpart.

Instead, what if we were to adopt certain elements from past architecture that were unique to the region, and incorporate them in the buildings to come?

Would that not serve the purpose of solving the identity crisis? Take, for example, the Graz in Austria, a

center that has managed to hit the right balance between past and present.

Graz is a famous historical centre, and its domestic architecture has been influenced by a variety of cultures including Romanic, Slavic, Alpine-Germanic and Hungarian. Like most cities today, Graz has not escaped from the grasp of modernism. But what makes this city a class apart from the rest, is the way in which it has adopted and incorporated contemporary architecture. Glimpses of Graz’s multi-cultural past can be seen in the beautiful lines of domes and facades, pre-dominantly of Baroque and later periods. One experiences the history of Hapsburg dynasty surrounded by Baroque buildings as well as by the medieval vaults and arches. Coexisting with all this, in the same place, one observes avant-garde shops and café-bars together with examples of contemporary architectural achievements making a marvelous fusion of new-old architectural language.

It is this harmonious blend of culture and architecture that can truly bring out the soul of a region. So why not embrace change, without losing ourselves to it? We try so hard to think ahead and see what lies in store for us, we forget the origin of everything we have now. Instead of forcing ourselves to look back, why not carry the past with us, as we journey through time?

Sources Biljana, Aranđelović. “Historical heritage and contemporary architecture fusion at the example of the city center of Graz.” Facta universitatis - series: Architecture and Civil Engineering 6, no. 1 (2008): 65-74. Accessed March 14, 2017. doi:10.2298/FUACE0801065A .

Grazing through history, Photograph by Ekansh Goel REFLECTIONS

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ARCHITECTURE THAT IS INDIAN ANIRUDH VENKAT

I vi sem

“As a result, a debate over what kind of architecture is relevant in a world that is brought closer by fast sharing of information, is needed” 26

Should architecture in India look for a language/ style that is completely liberated from western and colonial baggage? Or has the advent of a digital age ushered in the need to become part of a more global architectural movement?

Consider Bangalore as a city. It has witnessed an evolution in character from the days of a laid back cantonment to the age of public institutions and later again with the advent of IT jobs. Architecture in Bangalore evolved with these phases. The kind of buildings one saw was a function of time. Consider the lessons in contemporary architecture in architecture school. They too talk about the works of architects in India over a substantial period of time, starting from post- independence to today, and the evolution their work has witnessed.

Interestingly, a significant amount of information derived from western ideologies seems to have gone into the architectural language of the architecture that defined this age. A lot of the architects we learn about such as Raj Rewal, Anant Raje, Charles Correa and even B.V. Doshi for a part of his career, have built upon the philosophies introduced, imposed even, into India by the likes of Corbusier and Kahn. It almost seems as though the post-independence exposure to fresh, never-heard-before principles of modernism captivated and directed Indian architecture towards ideals born in the west and turned attention away from India’s wealth of architectural knowledge that had been evolving for centuries. Even today, we celebrate Gurijit Singh Matharoo as “India’s very own new age modernist” almost as if after all those years of trying, we’ve finally found another person capable of emulating the modernist principles that we were showered with by modernist gods.

Hence we ask the question, is it time to look for a completely “Indian” architecture that is completely devoid of the post – independence UFO that landed in the country in the form of modernism?

But, this is a very different world. We no longer live in the time when Corbusier’s ideas were the only new ideas we were exposed to as an architectural community. Today, technology has changed the way we communicate views, opinions, ideas and philosophy.

As a result, a debate over what kind of architecture is relevant in a world that is brought closer by fast sharing of information, is needed. The role of an architect is being deliberated upon at a time when the impact of our built environment on the planet is being questioned. Is sustainability no more an option but a necessity?

Should the environment play a larger role in any decision taken by architects and should it take precedence over the need to make a building intensely localized? When Bjarke Ingels talks about ideas such as “Hedonistic Sustainability” or when Rem Koolhas is debating “architecture in a digital age”, we get a sense of “world architecture” that is focused on solving problems that seem to cut across cultural or regional barriers.

So we have to ask, if the world is on the brink of a more global architecture movement due to the advent of the digital age, should India board the bus?

spent on rediscovering and researching architectural techniques, treatises and traditions unique to India, we may end up conjuring an approach to design that can resonate with a more global movement. Perhaps we may answer questions like: What if progressing ancient Indian architectural techniques actually means a better response to the problems we face today globally? Can technology help us achieve regionalism that secures local identity but doesn’t sacrifice global aspirations? Is a synthesis of reaching back to our true roots and leaning forward into a global future the need of the hour? These are exciting questions for architects and students of architecture. As Bjarke Ingels puts it, “Architecture is about making the world a little more like our dreams”. So then, what exactly must we Indian architects be dreaming of?

Sources: As an architect, it is almost inevitable that one ends up treading the grey area, however small it maybe, at the intersection of two much divided opinions.

Hence, it is only right that this article concludes with the romantic optimism that we may yet be able to get the best of both worlds thought about in the above paragraphs.Perhaps with enough energy and time

“Apple Park opens to employees in April.” Foster Partners. February 23, 2017. Accessed March 14, 2017. http://www.fosterandpartners.com/news/archive/2017/02/apple-park-opens-to-employees-in-april/.

Correa, Charles. “India: from a Philosophy of Ages, Architecture for Today.”

Museum International 41, no. 4 (1989): 223-229.

“Raj Rewal.” Paradise Backyard. Accessed March 14, 2017. http://paradisebackyard.blogspot.in/2012/11/raj-rewal.html.

S, Sreekanth P. “The development of Modernist architecture in India.” The Archi Blog. September 26, 2011. Accessed March 14, 2017. https://thearchiblog. wordpress.com/2011/09/26/the-development-of-modernist-architecture-in-india/.

REFLECTIONS

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WAR AND ARCHITECTURE KOUSHIK RAM I vi sem

There is a sure correspondence between the architecture of a place and the character of the community that has settled there. Architecture plays a key role in whether a community crumbles or comes together. Syrian society has long housed the coexistence of different traditions and background, and has experienced the prosperity of open trade and sustainable communities. They have enjoyed the true meaning of belonging to a place, and that was reflected in their built environment, in the mosques and churches built back-to-back, in the interwoven souks and public venues, and the proportions and sizes based on principles of humanity and harmony.

This architecture of mixity can still be read in the remains. The old Islamic city in Syria was built over a multilayered past, integrating with it and embracing its spirit. So did its communities. People lived and

worked with each other in a place that gave them a sense of belonging and made them feel at home.

They shared a remarkably unified existence.

But over the last century, gradually this delicate balance of these places has been interfered with; first, by the urban planners of the colonial period, when the French went enthusiastically about, transforming what they saw as the un-modern Syrian cities. They blew up city streets and relocated monuments. They called them improvements, and they were the beginning of a long, slow unraveling. The traditional urbanism and architecture of cities assured identity and belonging co-existence, as opposed to separation.

But over time, the ancient became worthless, and the new, coveted. The harmony of the built environment and social environment got trampled over by elements of modernity -- brutal, unfinished concrete blocks, neglect, and aesthetic devastation, divisive

Illustration by David Bonazzi

“The ties that used to bind the city together --whether they were social, through coherent building, or economic, through trade in the souk, or religious, through the coexistent presence --were all lost in the misguided and visionless modernization of the built environment. “ 28

Source : https://static01.nyt.com/images/2015/10/06/world/06Syria-web/06Syria-web-master1050.jpg

urbanism that zoned communities by class, creed or affluence.

And the same was happening to the community. As the shape of the built environment changed, so the lifestyles and sense of belonging of the communities also started changing. From a register of togetherness, of belonging, architecture became a way of differentiation, and communities started drifting apart from the very fabric that used to unite them, and from the soul of the place that used to represent their common existence.

While many reasons had led to the Syrian war, we shouldn’t underestimate the way in which, by contributing to the loss of identity and self-respect, urban zoning and misguided, inhumane architecture have nurtured sectarian divisions and hatred. Over time, the united city has morphed into a city center with ghettos along its circumference. And in turn, the coherent communities became distinct social groups, alienated from each other and alienated from the place. Losing the sense of belonging to a place and a sense of sharing it with someone else has made it a lot easier to destroy.

The clear example can be seen in the informal housing system, which used to host, before the war, over 40 percent of the population. Yes, prior to the war, almost half of the Syrian population lived in slums, peripheral areas without proper infrastructure, made of endless rows of bare block boxes containing people, people who mostly belonged to the same group, whether based on religion, class, origin or all of the above.

This ghettoized urbanism proved to be a tangible precursor of war. Conflict is much easier between pre-categorized areas -- where the “others” live. The ties that used to bind the city together--whether they

were social, through coherent building, or economic, through trade in the souk, or religious, through the coexistent presence --were all lost in the misguided and visionless modernization of the built environment.

communities that inhabit them. If done, people may not feel the need to seek identities opposed to the other identities all around, because they will all feel at home.

Architecture is not the axis around which all human life rotates, but it has the power to suggest and even direct human activity. In that sense, settlement, identity and social integration are all the producer and product of effective urbanism. The coherent urbanism of the old Islamic city and of many old European towns, for instance, promote integration, while rows of soulless housing or tower blocks, even when they are luxurious, tend to promote isolation and “otherness.” Even simple things like shaded places or fruit plants or drinking water inside the city can make a difference in how people feel towards the place, and whether they consider it a generous place that gives, a place that’s worth keeping, contributing to, or whether they see it as an alienating place, full of seeds of anger. In order for a place to give, its architecture should be giving, too.

The built environment matters. The fabric of cities is reflected in the fabric of our souls. And whether in the shape of informal concrete slums or broken social housing or trampled old towns or forests of skyscrapers, the contemporary urban archetypes that have emerged all across the Middle East have been one cause of the alienation and fragmentation of our communities.

We can learn from this. We can learn how to rebuild in another way, how to create an architecture that doesn’t contribute only to the practical and economic aspects of people’s lives, but also to their social, spiritual and psychological needs. Those needs were totally overlooked in the Syrian cities before the war.

We need to create again cities that are shared by the

Sources Al-Sabouni, Marwa. Marwa Al-Sabouni: How Syria’s architecture laid the foundation for brutal war | TED Talk | TED.com. June 2016. Accessed March 14, 2017. https://www.ted.com/talks/marwa_al_sabouni_how_syria_s_architecture_laid_the_foundation_for_brutal_war.

Woods, Lebbeus. “WAR AND ARCHITECTURE: Three Principles.” LEBBEUS WOODS. December 15, 2011. Accessed March 14, 2017. https://lebbeuswoods. wordpress.com/2011/12/15/war-and-architecture-three-principles/.

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SURVIVING SYRIA: NOT THE CHILD’S DREAM ANANYA NAYAK

I ii sem

Where bomb craters replace old creaky playground swings, where no recess bell for liberation ever rings.

There lurking in the shadows of the deceased is a child, a child whose eyes no more twinkle or shine, who has no one to heed to his wails or whine, whose childhood will never heal with time.

When uncouth scavengers fill the skies above, he knows that a sunrise is miracle enough and that to envision an escape is radically tough.

The wounds and cuts have bled dry and every pore of his body too tired to try.

Now the hunger and thirst seem normal to him like whips and flogs as punishment for sin.

He remembers the day when his parents dropped dead, the bullets engraved on walls and the blood on their bed.

And he dreams of a gravestone beside theirs because it’s the only wish which seems fair.

That night he looked up to search for the Samaritan, whose ways no different than that of Satan.

When he lowered his unapologetic gaze ready to run another round of the maze, a bullet shot him right where his heart lay.

He closed his eyes and smiled as if to say, even dreams come true in the desert of decay.

You with your morning tea and newspaper in hand, will pass this on as another tale from a faraway land.

Look around to see the youngest in the room and think about what this inevitable doom would do to those the age same as your child’s those stuck in endless pain and despair, with childhoods damaged beyond repair and only if a little thought you would spare, You would know that however natural it may seem Surviving Syria was never his dream.

Illustration by Nithin K and Prajna K

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Photograph by- Vaishnavi Chandrakumar REFLECTIONS

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ISRAEL HOW I TRAVELLED THE COUNTRY IN ADAY UJJVALA KRISHNA

I iv sem

“Shalom means hello, goodbye and above all peace, in a country always strife with war and violence.

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As you descend, the landscape changes from lush greens to sparkling blues to dirty yellow desert and tall cityscapes. Date palms, the Mediterranean air, they greet you with a warm shalom. You have arrived in Israel.

Shalom means hello, goodbye and above all peace, in a country always strife with war and violence.

Described as the Promised Land in the Bible, Israel is home to 4 million people today and has one of the most feared armies in the world. And to say, it gained independence in 1948.

But the most astonishing part is how a country this small has stayed true to its roots and yet, is so cosmopolitan and advanced. As new as yesterday’s paper and as old as the Bible. This leads me to my story, the story of how I experienced this in a single day.

A tiny country measuring just about 450 km North to South and a mere 85 km in width at its widest point, it is smaller than most big islands. If you search on Google maps, the total time taken would just be 6 hours!

You couldn’t even drive down to Chennai!

Israel comes as shock to people who haven’t read about it. You expect a backward country, with violence around every corner. One of my friend’s father got posted to Israel as the defence attaché. We all expected her to come back with stories of horror.

But, what you see, is a highly developed country with highways and IKEAs- (I say this since I actually went to one), and multi-storeyed buildings. A modern world!

This is in stark contrast to the countryside and the old ruins of civilisations past. Roman, Christian, Ottoman empires, the British rule and more.

My journey started in the posh district of the countryHerzliya. As you walk the lanes, you feel so insignificant amongst the large and beautiful houses of the rich and powerful, though you can’t really see them, courtesy the large compound walls!

Close by is the business capital Tel Aviv. Tel- is a mound underneath which lay the ruins of previous settlements that once stood on the same spot, Avivspring. So Tel Aviv represents a rebirth of the Jewish

nation in a place where it had previously settled. The city, a scant century old, was founded by some 60 families as a suburb of Jaffa. The city is full of offices, apartments, tall buildings, all next to the sea. As I drove through the city, I came across flea markets, old city areas and a whole host of Bauhaus buildingswhich I learned about recently!

Next on the map was Jerusalem. The old capital, is more a maze of cobbled streets than a planned city.

A juxtaposition of different cultures, Muslim, Christian and Jewish. It is a major site of pilgrimage for all three religions. What I remember most about the city is that it has serious parking space issues! As we had a meal there, sitting on a rooftop cafe, I remember looking across the city and listening to tales and facts and history. The crucifixion of Christ, the wailing wall, the immovable ladder! Absorbing it all in. And I thought, wow, I have myself have a tale to tell back home.

From here I went on to Masada, ruins of a fortress built by king Herod, a site of great importance- the cable car ride up was beautiful! This was the place of a mass suicide of Jewish rebels, who chose death over slavery. Till today, army recruits still declare- Masada will not fall! But the most spectacular are the views of the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea is the lowest point on earth- aptly named, since it has no life. It is so salty that you just cannot drown! A delight to non-swimmers. A dip in the water and a rub of the mud, is supposed to make your skin wonderful. I just felt nauseous- blame it on osmosis!

From here I travelled back up North, to Caesarea, an old Roman port city built in 22 BC. This is where I first learnt the word Aqueduct. An aqueduct is a bridge constructed to carry water over obstacles. But Caesarea will always remind me of how completely lost I would be, since reaching it would take you around a million roundabouts!

Kept going north and I reached the port city of Haifa.

The Baha’i gardens here are any landscape architect’s

holy site! Start from the base and keep climbing up, until you reach the top and then gaze down upon the city. This is when you realize, Israel is beautifulthough I have always had a thing for sea views! This is where you stop and think about the difference in landscape. Gone are the rocky, dry deserts. You are suddenly on a hill.

Again, showing the varied time differences in Israel’s history, this modern city is located very close to an old port town, Akko.

Akko has a history of the Crusaders and the Templars, and this sparked my interest in these conspiracy theories and the Dan Brown books! But the best was lunch- a great big fish staring at me, waiting to be eaten, on a table with a hundred little plates full of things- don’t remember any of the names. Just a lot of chickpea!

From here on, back in the car, we at last reached the northern most point of the country near the sea, Rosh HaNikra and the border of Lebanon. Caves, cable cars again, a long history of railway tracks, this place certainly defined what international borders should like.

This is when I decided, I have to come back- though definitely during Yom Kippur- holiest day of the year.

This is when the entire country completely shuts down. Won’t that be a different experience!

And this was truly, an experience, a ride through time and varied landscapes, a journey through the desert, to the metropolis, to seas to borders and through fields of date palms and much more!

Kol tuv! L’hitraot!

Photograph by Kunal REFLECTIONS

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ARCHITECTURE IN OUTER SPACE SANA JAZEER I ii sem

As a species that has been living symbiotically with planet Earth for millennia now, humans have utilised and exploited its resources in so many ways that it now seems like the life-giving rock is bestowing more than it can. Now the future looks bleak, and that’s the hard truth. The very Earth that gave us our shelter and provided us our living is now subject to the harsh realities of global warming and other natural threats. Therefore, with the evolution of space exploration in the 1950s, the fascination of inhabiting an outer space colony became a real, possible solution to these looming problems. Mankind has and will continue to dream about the endless possibilities of outer space for ages to come.

The seed of space travel was first planted into the human mind through science fiction stories and movies, like Jules Verne’s ‘From the Earth to the Moon’ (1865). The realm of space travel and habitation has been further fantasised by extraordinary modern myths like those of Star Wars and Star Trek. Yet, there are also those that believe that the one event that ‘brought us back down to Earth’ was the flight of the shuttle, Apollo 11. The image of our small, fragile planet against a colossal, alien landscape was enough for Neil Armstrong and his crew to realise the true significance of exploring the possibilities of such exploration in architectonics. This was the moment that heralded the birth of architecture in outer space.

“Mankind has, and will continue to dream about the endless possibilities of outer space for ages to come.”

34

Several advances have also been made in today’s world with respect to modern education and spaceage exploration of colonies and architecture. For instance, the University of Houston’s Sasakawa International Centre for Space Architecture (SICSA) is now well known for its revolutionary masters programs in outer space architecture. As the world soon discerned, this discipline involves dabbling in a lot of streams of knowledge including science, engineering and aerospace design. The practise begins with the

elements of that particular space (such as land, soil, water, etc.) and gain a broad comprehension of all of the natural causes and effects in outer space, that in turn effect the design of any architecture. Since architecture is generally bound by the land it sits on, the challenge here is to unlearn these specific boundaries and understand the space we are given, while considering all dimensions, time included.

The greatest concern for outer space architecture right now is that it would inherently have to be a green and sustainable form of architecture; only then would it be true to its purpose. With pioneering exploration in space, there may finally be a day which sees humans touch-down onto unexplored frontiers.

The future of architecture in outer space, therefore, depends on these aspects and more; but regardless of where people settle down, discovering the world and the universe around us will help bring a global community closer together.

You have now taken your first steps towards this future..

Sources

Illustration by Abu Bakr Shaikh

Carrapa, Daniel. “The Architect’s Guide to Life in Outer Space.” Architizer.

November 07, 2013. Accessed March 14, 2017. http://architizer.com/blog/ outer-space-architecture/.

Harrison, Albert A. “Humanizing outer space: architecture, habitability, and behavioral health.” Acta Astronautica 66, no. 5-6 (March & april 2010): 890-96.

Accessed March 14, 2017. doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2009.09.008.

Kever, Jeannie. “Space Architecture: From Outer Space to the Ocean Floor.”

University of Houston. July 16, 2016. Accessed March 14, 2017. http://www. uh.edu/news-events/stories/2015/September/0915SpaceArchitecture.php.

VERNACULAR STREETS A SOCIAL HUB - CHITRADURGA

ARVIND SHEKAR I vi sem While it is common for various household activities such as cooking, washing clothes and doing the dishes to spill on to the vernacular streets of Chitradurga it is fascinating to see how a simple activity such as buying pomegranates from a street vendor can turn into a social interaction for all the women of the street. An activity that typically lasts for a few minutes in an urban settlement could go on for over an hour. Its not merely about buying fruits, its about the interactions that result from it. Their simple lifestyle lets them take pleasure in these seemingly mundane chores. This in turn brings the community together.

REFLECTIONS

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ARE WE PREPARED FOR OUR NEXT EARTH ODYSSEY? LEILA SRINIVASAN I x sem

“We are aware of the consequences of rising sea levels and soaring temperature, but we are more interested in... a different set of issues... culture, aesthetic, theory and people...”

36

Fantasies of colonising Mars and exploring unknown frontiers of space to find ‘Lebensraum’ for humans is an enthralling idea, it even allows us to momentarily believe that maybe, just maybe, we don’t need to alarm ourselves about the earth – perhaps we’ll be in a completely different universe before it begins to haunt us.

Global warming and the plethora of issues that it brings in its wake is a very well- known concept (of course, if one believes Trump, then this is a non-issues and you can refrain from worrying about such articles). It seems mostly like a scientific issue, something for people to measure in labs and invent ideas like low energy bulbs and air conditioners that pollute less. This then, of course, is something that architects and urban planners can choose to incorporate into their designs and do their bit. And for those architects who want to be crusaders for sustainability – a design process that helps make the building and its working more efficient. Doesn’t seem like we can do so very much to help assuage the situation.

million (incidentally a population larger than that of Russia), could very well have to make its people move to whole new countries when the sea levels rise and swallows up their land – how do we accommodate these people? and where? what will happen to their culture and sense of identity?

The weather cycles that have remained predictable for centuries have suddenly become tempestuous – causing grief to communities in rural Africa that rely solely on these predictable patterns to enable their farming. They are now left in the lurch –

And so, architects as a whole, don’t seem very much interested in the whole issue of creating a sustainable architecture. Oh yes, we are aware of the consequences of rising sea levels and soaring temperature, but we are more interested in grappling with a different set of issues – ones that deal with culture, aesthetic, theory and people – this, after all, is our forte.

This is what we understand, this is what we study, this is truly where we believe we can make a difference.

I disagree.

Global warming, as we know it, has fundamentally dealt with the scientific facts relating to it. But it’s impact is wider and consequences much more far reaching. Bangladesh, with a population of over 156

Illustration by David Bonazzi

their traditional livelihoods rendered obsolete – where do they go? what will they do? Who fills in the gap for farming that they leave behind?

Cuba has begun to buy land in other countries so that it’s people can migrate with dignity when the sea swallows their home up. How will this transform their community? How will they integrate into their adopted country?

What happens when Nordic countries begin to have tropical weather? How will our lives transform when cities like Bangalore start becoming distinctly desert like? What is the impact of unpredictability in farming – what will happen to rural communities? Will a larger influx of people into cities and an emptying of the rural lands cause a great divide amongst us? How will the changing climate affect our lifestyles?

A shift in viewing global warming as a cultural and humanitarian issue, as opposed to a cold scientific one will allow us, as a community, to engage better with it. When we begin to view them as a set of issues that fall into our territory of understanding, interests and solutions we will take a more active role in working on it.

And we sure have a vast sea of unresolved questions – intangible, undefined and full of possibilities – this is our great new adventure – the next zeitgeist that we should take to with gusto.

Illustration by C Kathyaini

REFLECTIONS

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I THINK I AM, THEREFORE I’M NOT ARCHITECTURE AND THE SUBCONSCIOUS MIND NAMRATA NARENDRAI vi sem

‘Now if it were asked: “Do you have the thought before finding the expression?” what would one have to reply? And what, to the question: “What did the thought consist in, as it existed before its expression?”

-Ludwig Wittgenstein, philosopher 38

I continue walking on till I reach the escalator. I shift the suitcase from one hand to the other, all the while listening to the constant buzz of the crowd around.

I don’t look to see, I merely just glance to assess the number of people around the space. I step onto the escalator – These are actions that I’ve done before, in a mall, in an airport, in a hotel, the same activity in different spaces with the same elements. But what makes this one different is this – The ride doesn’t end. The escalator steps below me keep paving way for more and I’m on a loop. I don’t see an end and at this point, I don’t know how I even got here and now I look around to see and I don’t see the people anymore, it’s just me and the escalator and silence.

Around me is a convoluted space, titbits from my past sights and experiences, it doesn’t seem foreign, quite familiar in fact and I look to see and understand over and over again, this sense of familiarity and – I wake up. Almost all of my dreams occur in places that don’t exist in real life, or at least don’t exist as I see them. The interesting thing is that, although my dreams themselves never repeat verbatim, many of the locations do and the loop manifests itself in different ways, spaces and people.

My mind is more open when my eyes are closed.

I have realised this again and again over the past few years and I shall try to communicate the same through my words which I know will eventually fall through because each mind conceives this notion in different ways. That perhaps will strengthen the point I’m trying to make.

The design brief was given a week before and that entire day I had spent working on it, trying to understand the site and evolve a process for a design. The entire night, however, my mind spent unravelling all the work I’d done and left me with all that I associated with the site combined together such that there was a familiarity about it. It seems my mind can go beyond what I have seen and experienced and create an architecture entirely on on its own with no

memory to help with the design. All that I thought the design was, after a night’s sleep- wasn’t. That’s the effect the mind space has on you I suppose.

Not very different from the plot of Inception, is it?

The architect in the movie conjures the most complex of labyrinths for the subconscious to fill with his projections, but the crux of her designs is that there is always a sense of intimacy, her designs have the ability to connect with the dreamer, making it comfortable for him to project his subconscious and inhabit that space.

The mind patches up the voids. This is precisely why the subconscious mind has been the source of major discoveries. We see things around us, we observe some more but the mind sees it all and stores it letting a few out now and again, just enough for us to either be inspired or realise something we’ve missed. Just enough to make us continuously learn more from our senses.

Just enough and more for us to not just rely on what is tangible, but far beyond.

illustration by Namrata N

‘How does one think without language?’

A teacher once posed this question to the class and I was dumbfounded. I didn’t think it was possible. But you don’t need words to think of space or activity for that matter. The realm of our subconscious is the only place where we don’t+ need words to convey or understand things. Jacques Lacan’s psychoanalytic theory contends that the unconscious is structured like a language. The unconscious, Lacan argued, was not a more primitive or archetypal part of the mind separate from the conscious, linguistic ego, but rather, a formation every bit as complex

and linguistically sophisticated as consciousness itself.

For Lacan, modernity is the era when humans begin to grasp their essential dependence on language.

The mind does everything to stop the logical sequence of thought. As I walk through the hallways of my school, I recognize some aspects whereas some are alien to me. I move in the direction I know to be the exit and my subconscious mind alters it in such a way that I’m no longer moving to the exit instead to the entrance of my old school and the other doesn’t seem to be in sight anymore. Being in two places at once? Check.

The mind suppresses my every try to be in control and succeeds and at the end of it all, what occurs in my dream I assume to be my reality, even if it is just temporary. This is what every designer and architect dreams of – to supress the inherent human need to be in control and have a logical reason for everything.

Architecture is just as much about the irrational as it is about the rational because there are two parts to a human, the one that perceives and the one that conceives (both miraculously done by the same organ).

Given any illogical scenario, we can find some familiarity in it because our mind contrives what we want.

Metaphor in architecture. Architects have lately been employing metaphors grounded in the physical world that we perceive to transform the generic ways of viewing a space by triggering the deepest pockets of our minds. Well aware that our brains are constantly making connections between the corporeal and the conceptual, buildings are designed to evoke emotions and memories.

The texture of the materials I’ve never touched and the sounds, sights and smells of places I’ve never been to, the people I’ve never seen before, find

their way and inhabit the insides of my mind, making me a sum of my observations.

My designs aren’t direct reflections of my dreams.

They are either the start or the end of it and I have the power to bring together two worlds with a world of my own.

I am the master of my thoughts. I think I think I am, there for I am not.

Sources

https:/seanmunger.com/2016/01/10/houses-of-my-dreams-exploring-the architecture-of-my-subconcious-mind https://dreamsthoughtdesign.wordpress.com/ http://www.mysticbanana.com/are-dreams-a -creative-architect-of-our-subconscious-mind.html http://www.cla.purdue.edu/english/theory/psycoanalysis/lacanstructure

REFLECTIONS

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I. IDEA NAMRATA NARENDRA I vi sem

An idea. That’s my fuel. Ink and lead compose me, but ideas propel me. They propel me into lands that lay unconquered, into oceans uncharted.

Drawing is both my vocation and avocation. You may wonder where I’m going with this. It’s quite a story to begin with. From the days of Vitruvius I’ve been a medium through which artists and architects could put forth their ideas. The process has been quite seamless, their ideas bleeding out onto the paper through me. Long, hard days followed by longer nights; I’ve run until I could move no more, refilled again and yet again until my master was content.

In the end, I am to blame too for providing the facilities required for this new era. But see, that’s just it.

I am a co- creator. And I created the computer as an extension to myself. The computer and I therefore, we coexist. I make available the raw input which the computer turns into a precise, clean, sharp drawing, an image I could not even fathom. I am the idea, the primitive source. The computer is the product. Our conclusion is the same, the understanding of an idea

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitruvian_Man

“Get a good idea, and stay with it. Dog it and work at it until it’s done right” - Walt Disney 40

I’ve been wondering for a while now, was everyone waiting for the day when technology would make their life easier? They picked me up and lay me down, up and down. Up and down. But now, I’m at the mercy of the computer. I’m picked up only for to do lists and deadlines and doodling, only when the need for flexibility arises. I am fortunate to at least possess that privilege. It all leads to the same question though, was I just a make do tool until the era of computer aided design dawned upon the field?

But there is a different perspective to this. I know just as well as you do, that without me, the idea of a computer design software wouldn’t have been possible.

That would be true for coffee machines and paper manufacturers as well.

(http://architizer.com/blog/a-history-of-technology-in-the-architecture-office/)

Students are those who stand in the crossfire of this personal battle of ours; this battle between the ideas of the architects and the products of the architects.

I knew a student once who graduated having completed every single project and assignment over the entire 5 years by hand, only with my help .We worked with intimacy– each line I went over, a carefully considered mark. There were pauses long enough to know he was being careful in the creation of his art for fear of any blemish, or for having to restart because a better idea pulled through.

We understood each other’s needs and limitations, workings and processes, a symbiotic relationship.

When asked about why he’d pick me over computer aided design, he replied: ‘It forces you to think in the third dimension, to consider each and every detail above, beside and below every line, to wander in your mind around your own ideas rather than watching them appear in front of you with a few clicks. There is such a romantic human quality in a hand drawing that you just don’t get otherwise. It draws you into its existential conceptualisation and surrounds you in its environmental condition’. I’d lay by the drawing and watch the people passing by during juries. Every set of eyes that lingered by our work glistened with curiosity, a wonderment of the rarity that hand drawings had become. Every pair of those eyes gave me a sense of satisfaction, a sense of pride.

Then one day, he walked out into the world, me in hand, and began regretting those hand drawings, began regretting me. He realised I am archaic and he began to think he was delusional to turn his back on the necessity of his field, the computer. And he tossed me aside.

In the days of computer rendering and 3D printing, we, the patrons of the crafts of hand are being slow ly but surely edged out. Is it the inconvenience of our natural qualities? Are the architects becoming too lazy?

Students are my only remaining source of satisfaction. Their ideas, unhindered by limits and practicalities, are the ones that run through my vein, pulsing and pounding. The importance of my work in education is different when compared to practise. I am the student’s tool to explore whereas I’m the architect’s means to think clearly and to gain control of their ideas before letting the computer dictate it.

Quite a story, isn’t it? But that’s not it. It’s a cycle. It’s a cycle that I’m a part of and have come to accept. The initial drawings are the manifestations of ideas. And I help in this transition between scribbling and clicking.

And once the ideas are flawless masterpieces, we’re back to my station. I understand the need for some to pick up the keyboard and mouse. Maybe they aren’t as good as the rest when it comes to drawing with me. Maybe they can’t show to the world the results I yield with them because the world wouldn’t understand them like they do, like I do. Why should this battle of hand drawing vs computer design restrain their means of being creative? Like I said before, if the final objective is to allow the world to understand the ideas, hand or mouse, the objective is fulfilled.

So sit back and take a good, long look at me once.

Sometimes, I get tired when all you do is scribble aimlessly on countless sheets of paper, yet through it all I trust you.

I trust you to make sense of the chaos on the paper.

Make sense of the clutter in your mind which eventually will let me clear out the unwanted and highlight the ingenuity, your ingenuity, your idea.

Idea.

https://nrelscience.org/2013/12/11/2nd-annual-ecopress-grad-student-contest-vote-for-your-favorite-infographic/

http://www.arch2o.com/multitouch-drafting-table-for-architects-designers-ideum/

Sources http://landarchs.com/hand-drawing-versus-computer-rendering-which-is-best-for-landscape-architecture/ http://architizer.com/blog/a-history-of-technology-in-the-architecture-office/

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IDEAS OF IDEATION ANANYA NAYAKI ii sem

“To post rationalise is lazy and often an excuse to not having an imagination. But ideas are always open to interpretations, even like the one discussed in this paper.”

42

Design thinking is a broad term with no specific directives. It is open to a lot of interpretations.

But thinking about the way you think and process problems and solutions can help you develop better answers.Architectural concepts are the designers’ way of responding to the brief presented to them.

Often encountered by problems during conceptualisation, thinkers over the years have come up with theories. Theories that direct thought. They come up with pointers to guide you through from “develop” to “justify”. Then somewhere along the lines a design comes into being.

The varied ways to approach the thinking process have been defined vaguely. Concept can range from existence as an abstract idea to concrete reality as an intention (plan). It can be an idea that sells or a theory that ages. Ideas evolve into notions which form theories that convince people about opinions.

Carrying forward the narrative of loosely strung ideas into real time space design, we come across a few general issues while designing a building. Fundamental problems are functional zoning, spatial architecture, circulation through building forms and concept responsive packaging.

Trying to bridge the gap between on site build and vague theories you somewhere discover a philosophy. Design philosophy is very personal. Your philosophy is a set of values that you use to inform your design. Often this is considered to be the life values of the designer.To decode a logical train of thoughts and arrive at a design philosophy you can take contradictions to be your starting point. You weigh extremities of opposing views on whether the deign leans towards artistic or scientific qualities, rational as opposed to irrational, personal or universal, visual or non visual, needs against wants and individual versus society.

A design philosophy leads to set of values.

These values move on to work with the design problems you face on a project. These values come up

with another set of contradictions which are to be resolved by choices.

Then arise design problems.

The Design problem has to be identified after one is done asserting his/her design philosophy and values.

Interpreting the problems in sync with your values and philosophy is the next step. These justify your understanding of the design brief and assert your responsibilities as a designer.

Architecture is about problem solving. Solve the problem. If the problem is not clear define it further.

Or break it down to parts. Find or create and internal logic for the project out of the program, the conditions, the materials or may be some combination of sensibilities.Then again you can always example a piece of paper and use it for inspiration. Gehry got his inspiration for Guggenheim Abu Dhabi by dumping a pile of crap from a waste can onto the desk. It is interesting that this thread is generating a variety of different disagreeing opinions about what a concept is, there are some schools of thought which involve starting with an idea, and also other approaches which involve more intuitive making.There is no correct way of designing a building. However designing without an iterative process is a bad way to design because it does not create valuable architecture. And here I don’t mean valuable in terms of real estate value rather in terms of cultural value.

I believe good architects are able to catalogue, collect, categorise, reorder and generate new ideas. To post rationalise is lazy and often an excuse to not having an imagination. But ideas are always open to interpretations, even like the one discussed in this paper.

Sources http://www.jnd.org/dn.mss/design_thinking_a_u.html

-

Illustration by Nishita Valli

REFLECTIONS

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THE SPACE OF LIFE KADAMBARI KOMANDUR I vi sem

The soul. The life force. The Universe.

India is an embodiment of it all.

The country which has mastered the art of creating within itself microcosms of its larger truth has rooted her people with the wisdom of her years. She has, for years past, created an understanding amongst them to reach for the soul and not the body, to grasp the truth at the centre of the infinite spiral of the universe. In deference to the wisdom of the mother and in acquiring some of their own, her people have gravitated towards this all pervasive energy that calls to them like a beacon of learning.

And thus, in a trance, they dance.

They dance together, for it is in this togetherness that the soul resides, and it is this soul that comprises the Universe. They dance as a community, as a cohesive element in time.

“The country which has mastered the art of creating within itself microcosms of its larger truth has rooted her people with the wisdom of her years. ” 44

That which is ever changing, ever moving and if still, then only for the blink of an eyelid. It stands in solidarity with nature, within the fabric of the vernacular, and deeply embedded in infinitely living culture.

Ebbing and flowing, this life force that is the community seems only too willing to grow with its people, swirling in a haze around the hypocentres that hold it together. These constants of dynamism, these primordial elements are what the architecture is centred on. The tree, the water and the fire animate themselves and become inherent facets of the living architecture, themselves being un-built. The subtlety of the ‘juglee’ and the well is perhaps an ideal example of architecture primarily for its users, eternal in its intent. In such a scenario, it becomes impossible, really, to separate the community from its architecture, each being a mirror of the other. Together they are an ecosystem centred on nature’s essentials of food,

water and security. The architecture of the community, as free and growing as its people, ensconces them like a second skin. It creates a strong sense of belonging that comes with its design, dictated if at all, by nature and time.

The fact that it has not been externally designed, however, does not mean an illogical growth. Rather, the logic of seemingly unrestrained freedom has invisible underlying principles. Hierarchy of space, for example, is a principle observed in community architecture all over. From the house courts, to the community courts to the diverse street itself, the scale of community space changes with the scale of the community unit, be it the family or the smaller society, or even the village at large. Another connected hierarchy is one that is based on the centering, growing from the tulsi katte, to the well, to the neem tree, to the temple.

Illustration by Prateeksha

The above mentioned hierarchies have a strong understanding of the delicate balance between privacy and society, moving from private to public, with myriad shades of grey in between the blacks and whites.

The subtlety of the architecture has allowed for the avoidance of the ills of today’s communities, effectively negotiating between ownership and the lack, thereof, to make spaces both integrated into the community spine and yet inviting to those of the outside who wish to be incorporated.

One of the most important principles governing traditional architecture is that of thresholds, which symbolically demarcate the different zones of space within and outside the house. A simple yet powerful ways of separating the sacred and profane, the private and public, of differentiating between what is one’s own and what is the community’s. If the family and hence their home is taken as a unit, a definite movement from public to semi public to semi private to private can be seen, with the house form centred around the courtyard, inviting the sky and the earth to partake in their lives. In several cases a series of verandas lead up to the privacy of the courtyard, acting as effective barriers against the unwanted.

Another feature of these houses is the radiation of space around the courtyard, without the rigidity of modern demarcation and ownership of space. Save for the service areas like kitchen and the bathing room, all the other living spaces merge into each other, invalidating the need for demarcation of rooms.

This principle brings people together, and without the use of unnecessary demarcation, it is the family and not the individual, that is seen as the unit. The architecture becomes both the derivative and the function, working with the community in a continuous cycle.

An important factor that governs community design is the climatic factor. Though the scale of community space and the nature of their use vary based on climate, the underlying principle that governs them is the same and is based on the common thread of culture.

Another community that is a part of the larger whole is that of the men and women, with spaces demarcated to them according to their roles in society. While the man is the master of the work place, the woman is the master of the house. Where men gather at the village square or panchayat, the women congregate around the well and in family courtyards. Inside the house also, there is a demarcation based on gender for security and utility, with the men in the front of the house and the space for women in the posterior portions.

Life then, seems to be the only governing factor of the architecture of the past. Today, however we seem to have forgotten the life in the architecture, and our roots of coexistence are dissolving.

As time passes they may even disappear, only to be reduced to a myth, unbelieved and unfelt, adding to the myriad existing ones.

One can hear however, the faint resonance of melodies past, sung in sync by a generation that is soon to sink into the depths of time. It is time now to question the islands that we’ve built and the barriers that we’ve created around ourselves before it is too late.

Are we to live or merely exist?

Here, we see that the entire village or town is a community in its own right, with points of focus and congregation. The market, the panchayat and the temple, become hubs of community life, organised as per the introverted central or linear arrangement.

The magic of these spaces is such that, at some point, they cease being places and develop characters of their own, transforming themselves and diffusing an air of perennial festivity. The town itself is designed keeping life and festivals in mind, often with roads demarcated specifically for processions, usually circumambulating the temple. The animation of space is thus an important element of traditional architecture where each space exists but for a moment, only to be transformed into something different in the next.

They exist because of the people and the life thus created. Without them these spaces mean nothing for they are largely unbuilt. Even the temple, though monumental seems unfinished without life.

REFLECTIONS

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THE SPIRIT OF PLACE Ar. MEERA VASUDEV I visiting faculty rvca

“The city, however, does not tell its past but contains it like the lines of a hand, written in the corner of the streets, the grating of the windows, the banisters of the steps, the antennae of the lightning rods, the poles of the flags, every segment marked in turn with scratches, indentations, scrolls.”

-Zaira, City and Memory | Italo Calvino (i) The city is full of stories. Stories that are memories concealed and signs that one can read and decode.

How do we decode the cipher and allow a place to let us in? How do we manipulate the signs or work in conjunction with them? Architectural Discourse has generally represented the built form as sculptural form or functional project. However, additionally, the built form is also a social object that is a space where life occurs. A place that is filled with activities and events that inform and manipulate the space. It is these invisible stories that we have to seek out and hear their stories. These are the stories that have altered a space over time to give it character that we have to respond to.

Peter Eisenman referred to the rock concert as being the only type of architectural event. A rock show is a kind of event structure that is not media vs. architecture, but is architecture that is consumed by media and vice versa. One is unable to separate the media from the space and the entire event-space is devoted and defined by the activity of the moment. This is an example where multiple constructs interact to give rise to the event-space.

“The character that defines the place is fundamentally a response of the space with regard to time and the ‘place’ takes on a liminal quality that allows for a multi layered significance to govern it.”

46

Bernard Tschumi’s folies Parc de la vilette are concrete manifestations of this idea of event-space based on architectural theory. The attempt of the illustration of the program gave rise to the idea of ‘place’- an extension of different design conditions to exist.ii The folies however were not successful in creating the event-space that was fed by life and memories of

the collective. This was due to the lack of functional identity and historical context, among other things. In addition, the idea was for the event-space to be born out of repetitive events that take place in a space that thus creates a process of accruing memories. These recollections would have then, at different points in time created shifting hierarchies and memories that are both local and general; both individual and collective. A ‘place’ would have been created.

While a ‘place’ is generally described in geographical, tangible terms in terms of functionality and dimension reality, a ‘place’ is more than just location. Every concrete ‘here’ has its own identity. Kevin Lynch orders the concrete space with ideas of node, path, edge and district- these he refers to as elements for orientation in space. However, here the space remains a purely sculptural vessel to hold volume. It becomes a place with its own unique identity and character when it begins to feed life and memories into it. The boundary that defines a space becomes a line of exchange.iii The ‘ghosts’ across time that inhabit a place give it a cultural significance relevant purely to the immediate landscape that it inhabits. These aspects are like traces across time that once decoded allow us to arrive at the ‘character’ of the place.

The character that defines the place is fundamentally a response of the space with regard to time and the ‘place’ takes on a liminal quality that allows for a multi layered significance to govern it. The constantly transitional ‘place’ is also a vehicle for signs and speaks its own language. The semantic requires to be deciphered in terms of the cultural, social, emotional, experiential, historical, symbolic, etc. Sometimes these symbols themselves require a different understanding where the direction of thought is not immediately evident, and cause and effect are not easily perceived. A place deciphered by signs that are external to the inhabited space in terms of geography and

time give rise to new definitions of aspects of a space.

These redefine and layer the place with information and character beyond the immediate programmatic givens. The existence of several worlds in the same space implies that we must accommodate and overlap varying uses, perceptions and physical forms.iv Some ideas of cultural symbolism are so deeply rooted that one is unable to look beyond obvious stereotypes; one such example are cathedrals that were built with larger spires to indicate divinity. Over time, the cathedrals were overshadowed by skyscrapers; yet they retain their verticality and divinity for those with faith purely dues to the signs the place is depicting. The symbolism of the same space of worship has found different meanings across history- places of shelter, as nursing houses, residences and in many ways being reflective of the period it inhabits. These become symbols that describe the character of the place with reference to time and allow us into understanding what the intangible of the space is- an accumulation of the memory of the people: the genius loci of a place.v Umberto Eco refers to several different codes that can decode a place- technical codes that refer to tangible elements; syntactic codes that concern spatial articulation such as open plan and typological understanding and semantic codes that dissect ideas of function, aesthetics, sociological, etc.vi

knowing it intimately and making oneself ‘one’ with it.vii (i) Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities, William Weaver, Giulio Einaudi. (ii) Andreas Papadakis, Theory and Experiment, Academy Editions. (iii) Christian Norberg-Schulz, Genius Loci: Towards a Phenomenology of Architecture, Rizzoli. (iv) Aldo Rossi, Architecture of the City, Diane Ghirardo and Joan Ockman, MIT Press. (v) Genius Loci: genius lociˈləʊsʌɪ,ˈlɒkiː/ noun the prevailing character or atmosphere of a place. the presiding god or spirit of a place. (vi) Neil Leach, Rethinking Architecture; Essay: Umberto Eco, Function and Sign: The Semiotics of Architecture; Routledge. (vii) Benjamin and the City- City as riddle and Metaphor (Excerpt from Domus 2015)

Architecture while responding to the zeitgeist has relationships with memory that leaves indelible marks on the essence of the place, much like footprints across the sands of time. The understanding of the genius loci has to extended beyond the physicality of the space and to experience a with regard to the human, social aspect of those who are not physically there but have altered and redefined the place to suit the needs of the time. A place is almost seen as a riddle that needs to be solved by understanding the emotional, experiential memory that defines it, by REFLECTIONS

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THE ART OF BUILDING OR THE BUILDING OF ART Ar. PARVATHI S. RAO I visiting faculty rvca

“Aesthetic intention and the creation of better surroundings for life are the two permanent characteristics of architecture...But because architecture gives concrete form to society and is intimately connected with it and with nature, it differs fundamentally from every other art and science...With time the city grows upon itself; it acquires a consciousness and memory.”

- Aldo Rossi

mingled with poetic imagination. Architecture essentially deals with human societies, their memories and aspirations.

Historically, architecture has served as communicating numinous beauty of an ancient landmark, or as a deification of control and affluence of the kings and noblemen. Men and women have wanted to leave their mark for posterity. Temples, churches and other religious precincts or stately homes and buildings, had to be different and also dominated the surroundings. Monuments of antiquity have gone through a long evolutionary development, documenting the country’s cultural history. Through time, these structures have shown to the public, of the grandeur and turmoil that the nation has endured.

As a profession, it is riddled with uncertain realities and is in a constant state of flux. It has always been an interconnected, dynamic discipline, where the notion of time and space influenced by the dynamics of culture, society and environment, defines the process of space creation.

In times past, it has personified itself as a sign of the vitality of a community, and the prominence of architecture directly relates to the quality of a society in numerous ways. The vivacity and its interest in business has a bearing as to how much money flows through the community, and this in turn to the investment in buildings and environment. In addition, the quality of life is reflective of people’s health and well being.

“For long, architects and engineers have strived to shape the character and aspirations of a country as architectural icons - in their continued ability to inspire us as much now as in the time that they were built” 48

With a pleasant environment - adequate sunlight, picturesque parks and trees, people tend to be more contented and are liable to be more productive. One has to understand it as a potential archive, not in terms of the physical building, but the material and technology that draw skill and references to construct it. It has to be read as a story, where facts are

For long, architects and engineers have strived to shape the character and aspirations of a country as architectural icons - in their continued ability to inspire us as much now as in the time that they were built.

In the rapidly growing economy of India, intricate social and cultural values, juxtaposed with the consumer driven global culture provides a challenging context to explore new and fascinating opportunities.

Our work can be seen as an intuitive and spontaneous response to this environment, where the instinct has been shaped by our curiosity and a constant quest to examine and probe. When navigating such conditions, improvisation is accepted as a necessity.

As designers, we believe that extended reliance on aesthetic judgement creates idealistic illusions. Our constructed expressions attempt to understand and explore how materials come together to resolve complex geometry and practically reveal new possibilities. Appropriate technology is seen as a means to appreciate and understand our environmental resources and limitations.

We recognize the fact that drawings, models and sketches reveal fragments that sometimes hold more promise than the whole. We may see an entire work taking the character of the part and the understand-

ing of that aspect or fragment might be seen as fuel for a subsequent project.

Symbolically, architecture has been and hopes it will remain the largest signature statement to mark the kinetics of a nation - capturing the soul and pulse of its people as it transgresses through eras of evolution.

Photograph by Kunal

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MEGHALAYA THE LIVING BRIDGES ARCHITECTURE THAT LIVES, LINKS AND GROWS! Ar.Kumaresh rvca

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sekaran

|

visiting faculty

So..how do these villages stay connected?

It’s ingeneously simple : Roots of Rubber trees + Betel trees + Khasi tribe’s ingenuity = Selfless piece of Architecture built over few decades.

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It’s the epitome of a symbiotic relationship between human beings, trees and water,all peacefully co-existing.

The living root bridges are engineered with great patience as it takes about 10-20 years for the bridge to evolve and start performing as a bridge.

These natural marvels evolved by human intervention stay camouflaged with the dense mountainous jungles. They grow stronger as the roots become thicker.

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Aptly named, these bridges continue to evolve and this growth is meticulously channeled by the villagers. These strong bonds make these bridges last for few centuries.

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A FEW THINGS I LEARNT IN AN ARCHITECTURE SCHOOL NITHIN K I vi sem

There are a few things I’ve “unlearned” as an architecture student.

DRAFTING IS ANTI-YOGA Yoga has proven to be: 1.Relaxing 2.Healthy 3.Mentally relieving 4.Increased tone Drafting has proven to give you: 1.Back pain 2.Eye sore 3.Mental stress 4.Black circles around eyes (also enhanced by the saga of sleeplessness we go through) The only common thing between the both is the.....

Increased flexibility. Ever seen an architect student trying to draft an A1 sheet in portrait? It displays outstanding flexibility in front of which even a yoga guru will surrender.

“It’s about time someone makes it illegal without a disclaimer note- “Until and unless you choose architecture. Then you’re doomed” 56

COLLEGE IS LIBERATION..... IT’S A MYTH Every Indian student is certainly familiar with “Beta, work hard now, once you get good scores in twelfth grade, college will be cake walk.” Yes, it’s true, but it’s about time someone makes it illegal without a disclaimer note- “Until and unless you choose architecture. Then you’re doomed.”

WE DON’T FALL UNDER THE NORMAL PEOPLE CATEGORY Normal person- Walks into a room. Enters. Exits.

Arch. Students- Walks into room. Looks at where the light is coming from. Starts analyzing the proportions and if it would be convenient for people. Is that a flat roof? How mundane. The number of openings- is the ventilation level adequate? I like the way there’s a balance between built and unbuilt. Exits. While leaving....... Hey! This was not the way I learnt door hinge details in BCM.....

OVER THINKING AND OVER CRITIQUING “Oh truly spectacular! The use of dome represents the microcosm and architecture in relation to the universe. The proportions are astronomical! Monumental and invokes a sense of awe and grandeur.

Notice how there is multiple points of interest evoking curiosity and elements of surprise, an absolutely sensory and experiential architecture.”

The architect: I used a dome because it’s cooler than a flat roof any day. Oopsie looks like the interns didn’t set proper scale and units in AutoCAD before drafting. And as for the last sentence, could you come again? Too much and too fast for my brain to process.

CONCEPTS ARE OVERVALUED Architect: I thought your building could be a conversation with itself and the surroundings, the context.

Use of harmonic proportions and rhythm...

Client: Will it look good?

Architect: Yes most certainly.

Client: Will our neighbours feel jealous looking at it?

Architect: Yeah, I guess....*mumbles* Client: Done. Here’s your advance

TIME MANAGEMENT PARTYING HARD Yes, no one parties like us, especially if it’s the day after a jury.

However we also learn, EXCELLENT JUGAAD SKILLS How do you think we finish our models?

PUBLIC SPEAKING SKILLS With juries and presentations every other day, this is an obvious outcome.

I could go on... but... jury’s done with (and you know what that means!)

WHAT SATISFACTION REALLY MEANS That moment when you finish your work for jury.

--Disclaimer: These are the views of one student (for the most part), and are to be read in jest only.

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DEATH AND ARCHITECTURE KAUSHIK RAMASWAMY |ii sem

“Throughout history, People graciously accepted death when it came, and they reconciled quickly.

What remained after one’s death were memories and impact of one’s life.”

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Throughout history, People graciously accepted death when it came, and they reconciled quickly.

What remained after one’s death were memories and impact of one’s life; the results were design typologies that immortalized power, glory, wisdom, benevolence.

Death has been interpreted in different ways, as an attempt to understand it. Oftentimes, the ancients believed in a “life after death” or a “cycle of rebirth”.

Ideas like these drove the evolution of design typologies, like in Ancient Egyptian sepulchral designwith false doors, a passage for the soul and endless symbolism in artefacts.

Pyramids, with their form, were a representation of the power of the Pharaoh, and the stability of the empire under his rule. The sheer scale of the pyramids imposes an image of superiority and magnificence over those who visit them.

In response to increasing concern for the natural environment, architect Katrina Spade proposes a new post mortem tradition, known as The Urban Death Project which dismisses both burial and cremation rituals and favours composting instead. Tthe former is too toxic and the latter too carbon intensive,” she says. Composting may conjure up grim imagery for some, but Spade argues that this is only because of “one’s misplaced desire to cling onto individuality after we die.”

Variants of this idea were also developed, where the deceased was cremated and the remains mixed with soil and embedded with a seed. The seed would then be planted inside a grove and would grow into a tree.

The tree becomes an embodiment of the person.

The idea of nurturing a tree in memory of the dead isn’t very recent though. In Kerala, the head of the household would be buried in the farthest corner of the backyard where a coconut sapling was placed.

The tree would continue to provide for the family, as the head of the house once did.

According to Phillipe Aries, French historian, death has gradually become “forbidden” and “unnamable” since the second half of the nineteenth century. We meet death with fear and despair, because of the anticipation of pain, and depression from hopelessness of an afterlife. The fear of death transpires into family and relatives, and death is viewed as a tragedy.

Our idea of building for the dead has changed dramatically, in every respect from scale, form, size and symbolism. Our ideas of death have dictated this, along with the hierarchical structure of society becoming comparatively flat.

In Tamil Nadu, a body is taken to the banks of a river in a procession, complete with music, dance, flowers and crackers. It is a belief that the soul is sent with happiness to the eternal world, where it will remain in a state of peace. Funeral processions are an organized movement to music, and hold great meaning. This practice is not confined to South India- from the All Souls’ Day in Mexico, Dodi and Mutu in Africa to the trances of Dayals in Central Asia, coping with death is seen in different light.

During a time when affordable and dignified burials were a rare commodity in Victorian London, Architect Thomas Willson proposed a towering vertical cemetery, called the Metropolitan Sepulchre.

In his vision, a huge brick and granite pyramid would be built upon Primrose Hill in North London, with a square base of 400 feet and nearly 1500 feet tall, four times higher than St. Paul’s Cathedral, dominating the skyline. The pyramid would contain rows of remains, and at its full capacity, the sepulchre would eventually house five million bodies. To Willson, this pyramid would be “a coup d’oeil of sepulchral magnificence, unequalled in this world.”

To many others like Historian N.B. Penny he was at the pinnacle of insanity.

Contrary to its reception in the industrial age, the world is phasing out of denial and coming to accept that in modern cities, there is barely enough room for the living. Verticality might just be our solution to the acute shortage of burial space.

Private developers in Tokyo have used temples as covers to build cemetery plots which they can sell for ten times the price of land without taxes. This practice results in the unwanted placement of cemeteries adjacent to homes in the already densely populated neighbourhoods. As a solution to this, Arch Sources The Angry Architect. “Designs for the Dead: Out Loud, an architectural research ini- Exploring the Modern-Day Architectural Challenges tiative, threw open the challenge of de- of Mortality.” Architizer. March 18, 2015. Accessed March 14, 2017. http://architizer.com/blog/designssigning a vertical cemetery in Shinjuku for-the-dead/. district. The four final designs that were Lynn, Marri. “Thomas Willson’s Metropolitan Wonders & Marvels. June 04, 2012. Acpresented were a step forward from Sepulchre.” cessed March 14, 2017. http://www.wondersandmarThomas Willson’s Sepulchre because vels.com/2012/06/metropolitan_sepulchre.html.

“Tokyo Vertical Cemetery Competition Winners they attempted to connect to the griev- Announced.”

ArchDaily. October 27, 2016. Accessed ing through their religion, beliefs and March 14, 2017. http://www.archdaily.com/798158/ tokyo-vertical-cemetery-competition-winners-anlarger philosophies, making them more nounced. palatable.

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A TRYST WITH BAMBOO VIT WORKSHOP POOJITHA Y

I vi sem

”Travel is like knowledge- the more you see, the more you know you haven’t seen.”

With acres of sprawling green cocooning the centre of learning, Vellore Institute of Technology’s character is of distinct vibe and atmosphere. Wide, shaded pathways, large foyers and interspersed cafeterias create pockets of gathering spaces around which a whole dynamic of interaction takes place.

The International Design Workshop and Vertical Studio took place in one such pocket, a woody, vast area secluded from the buzz of outside world of the college. This pocket nurtured our exploration of Bamboo’s potential to form pavilions. When ideas of fractals, geometry, scale, repetition and weaving were added, the scope for innovations grew manifold.

Although the workspace assigned was a patch of land inside the campus, called ‘Woodstock’, the actual site for the pavilion was a garden set in the context of Vellore Fort, a mark of identity for the local people.

Mise-en-scène being the fort, and the path of movement being the foreground, the site took on a dramatic flair, with breathtaking views on all four sides.

Units and fragments, woven and intertwined Layered together, to let us unwind The grass, the wall, the trees, the sky The water, the temple- all in a strong tie Not one, not other But all, and another A bond of mix and blend Made till the earth’s end.

“All our efforts, combined, tangled and woven together, culminated into a grand piece of experiential sculpture, a source of pride.”

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Once the stage was set and a design brief given, our exploration merged with interaction as a collaboration of students from across semesters and colleges lapsed into a series of discussions and brainstorming.

Debates ensued regarding the skin and structure of the pavilion, and the overall concept of the pavilion. A constant exchange of knowledge between the

mentors and students, ranging from the technical tothe conceptual notions of the pavilion, augmented the process of learning. The result was the creation of a family, an entity that was molded, modified and strengthened by constant discussions, debates and deliberations.

From the perspectives of ‘Emerging Architects’, our ideas formed a diverse compilation of the most philosophical thoughts, to the most trivial, nuanced elements. With discussion, our concept evolved into an amalgamation of fractals, material and philosophy.

Triangular profile, curved plan and varying heights of the triangular units (based on the pitch variations of Raag Hindol) reinforced our conception.

All our efforts, combined, tangled and woven together, culminated into a grand piece of experiential sculpture, a source of pride. The real satisfaction however, lay in the successful process of ideation, collaboration and creation; it lay in the discovery of ability- in- self to contribute towards creating a marvelous piece.

This tryst with bamboo at VIT not only aimed at the target, but served to provide an opportunity to explore all the nuances of the subject and all the interactions that create a result. It provided an opportunity to explore the means to an end and to discover the significance of each step and thought towards the outcome, as perhaps all meaningful experiences do.

Photo Credits:

Poojitha Y | Sem VI Kirthan Shekar | Sem IV Srishti P | Sem IV Parth Agrawal | Sem II

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ALLEPPEY VI SEM ‘B’ SEC

Photograph by Raghunandan Bung

“The boat pulls away from the port.

Or is it the port that pulls away from the boat?”

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I see as I see, see her, Hazy on the horizon, A faint line, Untouched, unreachable, Who am I? Standing by the sea, watching the infinite horizon, through the perspective of the piers, one becomes acutely aware of one’s own insignificance in comparison to the vastness of the place and the magnetism of its soul.

“Ask us what the essence of Allappuzha was, before the physical trip to the bustling town, and we would

have said, primarily the Canals, the Sea, the industries, its tourism, and would’ve have proceeded to describe it as it had been visualised in our heads, as a quiet and peaceful place, sans excessive activity or noise.”

As the sun slowly pulls away its covers of the foliage, arising, and with its wake, the people of the city as well, rubbing hands over eyes, the bleary town slowly comes to life. Empty sidewalks slowly start transforming themselves into an array of small transient cafés.

As the smell of puttu, idiappam waft over you, you walk over to the place and while you eat, you notice

people eating in companionable silence, a companionship that they extend to you.

‘Ask us now, and funnily enough, some of it still remains the same – the canals, the sea, the industries and the tourism. However, all thoughts of it being a quiet, still place, have been chased out of our heads; replaced with the memories of all the hustle and bustle, the energy and the movement of the town, side by side with its slightly laid back nature. Add to this the surprisingly complex urban fabric, and the mix of the Gujarati, Kutch, Sind, Tamil, Native Christian, Muslim and Hindu communities, and you get a whole new perspective of Alleppey, something that is filled with the things unsaid, and unseen, the things that can only be observed and experienced firsthand.’

The way the canal meets the land, backwater meets the canal, the living meets the non-living change in terms of our perspective, every time we look at them.

We could see trees on both side of water, kids rowing small boats as a mode of transport, sun shining in the sky and guest houses on banks of water. A flat sheet that’s called water spreads in front of us, without any direction, end and beginning, ‘The boat pulls away from the port. Or is it the port that pulls away from the boat?’

The wheels of Allepey, however, are slowly evolving - from the large intricately detailed wheels of the boat to the steering wheel of a motorised car. This is a city moving ahead in time yet tightly wrapping itself around with the threads of its past.

“Architecture disciplines nature and nature disciplines architecture”.

The city can be compared to a giant banyan tree, in which all the tiny elements are the hundreds of interwoven branches, all held together by a firm trunk called Alleppey. Small scale sheds fill up the voids created by the trees. On the other side of the road, however, there are buildings of bygone era which have been refurbished on the façade, retaining the interiors of already built structures.

‘Alleppey is my soul’ If anything, the people make the place, and Alleppey is no exception. While the bigger picture of the place is what we see, it is the intricacies of its people that affect and are affected by this whole. They are also what bring out another layer to the town; they are some of the spaces of grey, the ones that perhaps make up the soul of the town itself.

“I walk now, towards that line, Walk the streets, sail through, Sail into, or merely sail by?

As untouched as she, An observer as ever, watching That faint line of the horizon.”

Photograph by Raghunandan Bung

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RHAPSODY OF STRIFE EKANSH G, GANESH R, G KAUMUDI, RACHANA S, SATYA S I vi sem WINNERS- PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP

Life and death are the two faces of a coin and one cant exist without the other. Breaking the chain of nature by human greed has costed us a fortune. the evolution shown through these images shows how human greed and deforestation and done nothing but a greater harm to mother earth. It shows how plastic and other non degradable materials have slowly become the topsoil of earth. This pictures depict a series of destructive images that throws light on this issue.

The transition from a healthy plant to one killed by plastic. This environment which is not sustainable is shown through a series of barren roots exposed at the climax.

“RASTERISING REALITY -Developing narratives, one frame at a time.

This workshop is as much about exploring the flexibility of everyday objects as it is about composition and creating a narrative through the captured frames.�

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JIMEO AND JAMIET Natasha C, Sahil A, Sarah T, V Ashwin, V Parvathi I vi sem 1ST RUNNERS UP-PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP

Once upon a time in Brittaniland, Two biscuits, Jimeo and Jamiet, fall in love.

Jamiet belongs to an elite family of biscuits and is not allowed to lay with a biscuit from another clan.

However, fate makes Jimeo and Jamiet fall in love.

They decide to elope out of brittaniland to be together.

But Jamiet’s clan finds out and goes in search of them. Furious, they try to kill Jimeo to end their relationship.

Hearing about this, Jimeo’s clan declares war. Both sides fight till the end, leaving only the distressed couple who realises that there is no happiness in a love that has caused so much pain.

So they take their own lives to rest together forever in biscuit heaven.

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IN THE MIDST OF ALL THE COMPLAINIG AKSHATA SUTARI viii sem

I guess I was always a conformist.

I believed in black and white, right and wrong, not uncertainty and mist; And if I somehow didn’t fall into that dichotomy, there was something I had missed.

So easily convinced, Almost always winced, At my own unpopular opinion.

Because the feeling of being rejected, Was so very dejecting.

But Architecture, from its Neo-classicism to its Minimalism, Has taught me not to fear criticism.

I will be rejected, questioned, criticised, not given preference; But it is better than indifference.

For, only when you are opposed, will you be challenged, Only then the depths of your mind be rummaged; You will see things from a different perspective, And know that your comfort zone is oh-sodeceptive.

So, in the midst of all the nagging and complaining, One thing I am grateful for, is the learning, That there is no black and white, And everything can be seen in a different light.

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Illustration by Taarini Kaul

Photograph by Vaishnavi Chandrakumar SCRATCHPAD 67

THE SCARY THING ABOUT ARCHITECTURE SCHOOL BHARGAVI MURTHY

I

vi sem

As young architects who look for paths in the labyrinth that the field has now become, we’re all constantly seeking innovation ways. We’re always hopping between ideas, never settling easily.

which offers the best of both is scarce and expensive.

However, in search of that sweet spot between pragmatic and poetic, a storm is continuously brewing on the inside and the outside! This storm, we’re all too familiar with. But every once in a while, when I’m not chasing a deadline, I like to take time to step away from the madness, and simply reflect.

Is there a more judicious yet equally effective way to go about it tomorrow? I wonder.

And when I do, it makes me a bit scared, to be honest.

As soon as we start architecture school, we’re taught to sketch, trace, cut, saw and acquire every skill needed for our ideas to take physical form. We’ll spend the rest of our lives mastering the art of conveying our ideas to the world. Doing that successfully is very satisfying too. It makes all the midnight oil we burn, the rain check on our social lives and all else totally worth it!

However, the studios we work in is often a sea of large sheets of paper, scale cardboard models and a ton of stationery, strewn all over. At times, I’ve stood there simply gawking at that sea of things and wondered if how one could even begin to estimate how many trees went into making that studio function through a typical hectic semester! This studio being just one of many, world over.

“As soon as we start architecture school, we’re taught to sketch, trace, cut, saw and acquire every skill needed for our ideas to take physical form.”

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It’s bothersome how we’ll go on to conjure dreamy things like sustainable buildings, green cities and draw pretty sketches of lush green landscapes, while in our offices and studios we’ll consume an obscene quantity of paper, cardboard and wood! Will those little trees in our drawings ever compensate?

While some are of the opinion that technology could the solution to it, others have tirelessly advocated the acquiring of hand skills. The kind of technology

Access to it, moreover, is a long and tedious journey from where I sit to write this essay.

-

Raghunandan Bung SCRATCHPAD

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HERE ANANYA NAYAK I ii sem

How did I reach here.

A dream on a dusty bench.

A page from a rundown book.

Illustration by Nithin K and Prajna K A dialogue with the creator.

A want to see squatters no more.

A vision to make every nook accessible.

A resolve to change the skyline.

That dream, the torn page and catchphrases from that talk lie in my drawer pushed to a corner my fingers cant reach and will probably never get preference over that 3am nap.

When did I reach here.

A cramped up study called “my space”.

A sheet full of scratches called “my ideas”.

A canvas with colours called “my greys”.

A want to understand homes.

A vision to build different.

A resolve to interpret original.

The faint remnants of musty smells of space, rough edges of idea and smeared shades if grey are in the trash I emptied last night and smiled back at the bin labelled “RECYCLE”.

Why did I reach here.

It was meant to be.

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Photographs by Deeksha Subash SCRATCHPAD

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PRADYUMNA P |viii sem

COMPROMISE An act of compromise A trade of fresh air for the stench of one’s blood and sweat Clear skin for withered fingertips, All as a sacrifice for the utopian

UTOPIAN The portrait of perfection, An alluring simulation, Unhinged And devoid of all constraint, When manifested into flesh and bone, becomes mortal

Illustration by Shreya M

Illustration by David Bonazzi

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Illustration by Vandana Shekar SCRATCHPAD

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THE WATER IS CHOPPY BUT WE’RE ALREADY IN

A MONTH OF ARCHITECTURE FALGUNI NIMJE

I

II sem

“To anyone who peers in, coffee is aplenty. To us it’s just enough.

In hindsight, the one who peers in would be right.”

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27 July, ‘16. Pigma Micron 03.

Hello! We got the stationery today! It was a splurge.

M__ does not look too happy about this architecture thing anymore, but, like I said to him, what’s done is done.

Not to worry though. I’m pretty excited. After all, it was a splurge! And look what I got! Awesome stuff!

For example, this Sakura Pigma Micron 03 that I’m using it to write this. M__ wouldn’t be glad, but M__ doesn’t know. A journal is an important thing.

2 August, ‘16. Pastels.

We started today! What a day. I’d hung about the house like space junk for two months, so the amount of people was nauseating.

Then I got over it and just wanted to find myself a desk to catch my breath but everyone else who wanted to find themselves a desk to catch their breath was smiling and exchanging names, so I did that too.

I heard about ten names and remember only a girl with dramatic hands whose name starts with I-N. PS: At one point I was standing against a desk and the girl who was sitting at it introduced herself and talked a lot. I was too nervous and all I got out of it was that she loved paneer.

PPS: Get a better head. Faster input. Expandable memory.

4 August, ‘16. Cutting Mat. What is this thing made of?! Rubber, yes. But what exactly?

(Look up) Now, something on the social front. Guess who’s here from class 12? It’s A__! I missed her in class yesterday and the day before, and I would have today as well, if she hadn’t caught hold of me! She looks so different!

For one, now she’s bald (well, almost!). A souvenir of some Himalayan soul searching. There’s like, a 3mm brown fuzz, which you could factor or ignore. But we

had food together and she chose mushroom over baby corn and tapped her foot to my music. I’m gonna go with factor.

7 August, ‘16. Drafting Table.

Okay, a week in, People are friendly. Yesterday was about getting the table set. Board fell on toe.

Hurt like hell, but did not cut off. So no strange-sight-compensation. But still, some blood.

T__ swooped in with bandage and patched things up.

All’s good!Noticed a self-evident truth. Bandaged toes and fingers are a LOT more interesting than normal toes and fingers.

At dinner, R__ looked empathetic at it and showed me her bandaged finger and we got along pretty well.

Then there was S__ and B__ with bandaged fingers as well. N__ made a remark on the prevalence of cuts and made a face at the green curry and we were all friends.

10 August, ‘16. The Cutters. Big and Small.

So here’s the scene. We are all at the tables and it’s three in the morning. People have started to get bored, and are making new crazy food from whatever ingredients in the room.

There are chunks of dates and figs with coffee powder.

There’s coffee in curd.

There’s coffee in room-temperature water because no kettle.

To anyone who peers in, coffee is aplenty. To us it’s just enough.

In hindsight, the one who peers in would be right.

Also T__, who is responsible and asleep and had no coffee in the middle of the night, So it happens that we’re all wide awake. R__ mentions this awesome movie and S__ goes hyper and shoots out an Ihaveitinmylaptopyouguys!! The awesome movie has been sitting still all this while awaiting the eyes of some beholders.

Beholders we become, all eight of us, watching with unnaturally wide-open eyes. The movie turned out alright and not awesome at all! And try as we may, we still couldn’t sleep. It was long after the movie ended and about an hour after sunrise that we finally caught our naps.

This was a bad, bad idea.

I slept the sleep of the comatose and it took T__ much effort to wake me up. It was 8:20. In the next moment it was 8:35, which is five minutes to the bus.

My stuff was still on the table. T-scale, set squares, pencils all strewn about, sheet still stuck, when N__ walked in. Between us we packed things up and got ready.

It was college that I realized we’d left the sheet meant for submission back on my table. In its stead I had a sheet up for next week that was only quarter done.

Now I had to complete two sheets for the one o’clock submission when everyone else had one!. Got done with the first by half time and did about one-eighth of the second and took a break with my biscuit.

And lo and look, my biscuit shed a crumb on the sheet. Wiped it off.

And lo and behold, a mysterious cut on my finger from god knows when bled out a prominent red circle, right on my sheet. #1123. Give your sweat and blood to a job. Never tears.

(Excerpt, Bucket-List-That-Couldn’t-Possibly-Be)

24 August, ‘16. Parallel bar and Drafting table The parallel bar stands in its cardboard box gathering dust. This drafting table falls off every time I almost fall asleep on it.

I don’t like them.

26 August, ‘16. A1 Portfolio This is heavy. Carrying it around has made me stronger. Yesterday I lifted that thick stack of sheets from my bed and put it on top of the almirah. Alone! Before college it had taken two of me and a lot of dragging. T__ cheered.

27 August, ‘16. Sense Okay, well, that’s not stationery. But I’m running out of stationery that matters to me.

So, sense, common and uncommon. We have some already and we’ll get some more here. Let’s keep it simple and that’s all.

16 August, ‘16. 2H, H, HB, 2B, 4B, 6B Busy as hell.

18 August, ‘16. 4H, 3H, F, 8B, 10B Busy as hell.

22 August, ‘16. Poster colours Okay today was like, eh.

Illustration by Shreya RaoScanned by SCRATCHPAD 75

EVALUATION OF ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN A DEBATE devyani, sridevi d.s ananya nayak,

anushree parikh, mrudhulaa c.r, maheen, kaushik ii sem

“Architecture is a dynamic field which cannot be bound by archaic set of definitions. Who decides the qualification of the people who evaluate?”

WHO DECIDES HOW TO EVALUATE? According to Devyani, architectural design is an expression of the ideas of an individual who is trained to make structures that stand without any defects.

Given that a building will be stable, how can the creativity displayed by an architect be evaluated by someone else? A building is also a piece of art. Its aesthetic function cannot be denied. She argues that one person’s idea of beauty and aesthetics will always be different to that of another’s. How, then, can any architectural design be evaluated as right or wrong?

The case of architect-client interaction will now be considered. It is an architect’s job to incorporate the ideas of the client into the design of the building. The architect will then use their technical knowledge to construct a structure that will not only achieve the idea of the client, but will also be structurally sound.

The architect only creates what the client asks of them, along with their own additions to improve the design. Given this scenario, Devyani believes that the architect’s creation cannot later be pulled down by the client.

Several points are made that the community is a rightful evaluating body of architectural design.

Sridevi D.S. believes that this counter-argument is also moot. Architects are members of the community and, as responsible professionals, would not go against the community as a whole. For instance, Jorn Utzon’s designs weren’t approved at first but, against all odds, the Sydney opera house stands proud and tall today representing Australians.

Ananya Nayak say that every evaluation process needs to have constant parameters to judge on. And since this vast field of knowledge involves seventeen disciplines of engineering there are high chances of overlapping of scales of judgement.

So, who decides how to evaluate?

Architecture is a dynamic field which cannot be bound by archaic set of definitions. Who decides the qualification of the people who evaluate? As they say designers grow along with their designs, that implies no designer or in our case architect is eligible for evaluating.

Anushree Parikh argues that architecture is abstract art with a physical form. If abstract art were to be evaluated, then it would lose its soul; as it is open to interpretation. She also says that, each person has a different mind, a different thought process. Each one is unique in one’s own way; and architecture is all about being creative and unique. Evaluation will limit a person’s creativity and then the world will look the same everywhere. Hence architecture can definitely not be evaluated.

Evaluation causes a person to design according to the norms and rule. However, it is best being you.

Architects are taught and trained to bring out their creativity and identity in their design. Hence evaluating an architectural drawing, would mean tampering with an architect’s identity.

Mrudhulaa C R says that ‘design’ is a very vast and complicated concept. Each one is unique and has their own way of interpreting things. This being said, she argues that nothing is completely ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ when it comes to design per se. Here, we are not talking about the function or the practicality of the building but only the aesthetics of it.

Hence, design is something personal and is always open to interpretation and anybody can have any opinion on it, but definitely cannot be evaluated as it may limit or influence the way a person thinks and feels.

Maheen argues that if we are bound by many do’s and don’ts and many limitations then we as architects cannot completely express our ideas, as design is partially being dictated to us.

We are always thought that an architects work expresses him or her in her absence, if we aren’t allowed to express what we want then it doesn’t serve the purpose.

EVALUATION IS A PART OF DESIGN Architectural design, or any design for that matter is constituted by Form and Function, implying that the practicality of a design is as important as its aesthetic appeal. Although one may argue that aesthetic appeal is purely personal, the viability of a design can and must be evaluated from time to time.

Most designers agree that any design can be improved upon, and evaluation is the perfect tool to identify problem areas. Without evaluation, innovation will grind to a halt, and without innovation, there will be no progress. On these grounds, Kaushik strongly argues that evaluation is as much a part of design education as the process itself.

Illustration by Shreya Rao SCRATCHPAD

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SMALL TALK A SURVEY MAHATI I ii sem

This is survey is a window into the minds of the first semester architecture students who have packed for the journey of creation.

Are they emotionally strong enough to survive? Let’s find out!

3. Is self criticism a method of self improvement?

1. Does destruction inspire creation?

For: Destruction provides ideas. Literally, anything can inspire creation, giving way to new perspectives.

Against: How can negativity induce any positivity? Destruction is formless and thus, cannot inspire creation 4. Do you promote criticism over suggestion?

2. Is personal destruction a solution to frustration?

“I have chosen the most debatable questions of the great Design Philosophies. It’s hard to come to any correct conclusions. But I know one fact for sure, that my generation really does think. They Analyse, Understand and Believe. They strive to be better creators...”

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5. Is fear the strongest of your emotions?

6. Can the power of fear be used to one’s benefit?

7. Do you think the power of fear should be used in the field of education?

Yes: When you fear something, you tend to perform better

8. Is creation dependant on your state of mind?

11. Does practise help perfecting all art forms?

For: Emotional state, mood and thoughts influence creative thinking.

Against: Practise helps improving but no one can be perfect

9. Do you think it’s right to use the power of fear?

12. Is perfection time dependant?

13. Is perfection found in nature?

10. Do you believe in human artwork being perfect?

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HYMN BHAVANA PRIYA B

I i sem

Illustration by Kadambari K

I knew something was there Something special An undefined feeling of pleasure A wonderful emotion of elation The calmness of the sea, besides it’s Wrestling waves trying to express their thoughts to the content of their hearts The eyes poured with a certain joy that arose from the depths of the pain withheld in the memories of the past I stood before an empty sheet of paper With a pastel in my hand as my brain contemplates the possibilities that lie ahead. The ideas that matter, the ideas that must remain a mystery to the eyes of the beholder, ideas that transform the way the mind thinks,the ideas that mark the beginning‌ The beginning of a new convention that breaks the rhythm of the past to create a temporary noise that shall manifest itself into the hymn of the future.

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Smaller things make bigger things look more beautiful

Photograph by Ekansh Goel SCRATCHPAD

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A ROOM OF ONE’S OWN

In 330 BC The light it poured gently (Syracruse this was) And into a room that sat around a room And sat in the tub an old man (heavy was he) And the water it splashed to the floor

FALGUNI NIMJE I ii sem

The man looked at the water (depressed was he) How has it come to this?, sighed he Even water has come to detest me!

Then it was the light that saved his head For it dropped into it a ray of intellect Jumping up for joy he said Oh God’s Mercy!

It ain’t me, it’s just the Archimedes Effect!

This is the story of Eureka.

Don’t please dismiss this As his devotion to Egaria It wasn’t simply that That made Archimedes toast of the regalia (Or maybe it was But mere toast does not Appeal to royalty, no, not at all)

Illustration by Vandana Shekar

Don’t forget to credit The space and the light (This was the butter the cheese the great delight) It does do wonders, does it not?

In lifting spirits and fixing lives (Perhaps it’ll make you a genius, even!)

A room of one’s own A good room of one’s own does this all.

Illustration by Nithin K and Prajna K

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Photograph by Vaishnavi Chandrakumar

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Madhuri Sharma 84

No one Needed Beethoven’s Fifth symphone till it was written.Desire created its own need.

- LOUIS I KAHN

RUSTY BARS HASHWANTH RAM

I

vi sem

Hey! Old man Yes dear boy May I know why your always staring into the blues, and how long?

I never stopped looking into the sea right from those days when they used to dock the ships under my spine.

May I see some of your ships ?

No dear boy my friends don’t visit me anymore I just wave at them from distance as they sail to my cousin Kochi.

Why do they sail to Kochi when someone as mighty as you stand here?

Remember my son I may be old and wretched but my glorious days have long gone.

Tell me about those days old man.

Those were the days of hustle and bustle and continuous whistle. From men shouting and women screaming to sell their fishes.

Tell me more great old man.

Oh dear boy if I had to tell you everything you would become as old as me.

You know what old man you have an amazing story to tell. Will you tell me more ?

Yes sure dear boy the next time you come.

Definitely who would not like to hear a wonderful story ciao till then great old man.

Haha the old age is an excellent source of irony I believe.

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DENSITY AND ARCHITECTURE shreya arora

I x sem

“ what is giving rise to the definition of what we know as architecture and its style today.�

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Density in its pressurised sense with reference to the present global situation, leads to the pondering of the macro and micro implications it has on architecture. On looking at the relationships that can be derived on the measuring scales of context, the following are variants of possible decoding.

Density in Architecture While architecture seems to be a wide compass of variety, compilation of a few distinct styles in architecture (post Modernism), have been yet controlling the progression, in relation to globalisation.

On factors of the minimal scale, density in architecture forms social links, tying up a relation with its existence in the environment of constriction. The space then, dictated by architecture yearning balance, looks at the density in its components like a jig-saw puzzle.

Worked out through solutions of design, these densities give rise to modules of culture, context, comprehensions of the negative impacts and its iterations, efficiency of function and the quality of the dense architectural spaces inhabited by people. But the most unique result of such constrictions is challenging the notional function of architectural components and their functional definitions; such as a wall, a boundary, an opening or even a roof. Thus, the building and its structure is constantly a body in the state of repair, due to fluctuations in density, while its components and their function are in transcendence over time.

Architecture in Density Observing Michael Wolf’s documentation and inference of dense habitats being mesmerizing abstractions, the positives of density on a macro scale can be redefining what private, semi-private and public spaces of occupancy might just be in the real world.

Dense habitats weave strong communication and expressions amongst those living in it, reinforcing sense

of community and cultural complexities of in terest.

The shared spaces amongst people bring out events of interactions, relations and spaces without individualistic ownership. In a way, it relaxes the economic disparities in addition to the dynamic sequencing of movement and adjustments made related to the environment and the corresponding behaviour that refines their living conditions. Togetherness then becomes a compulsion rather than a choice.

A individual unit of space fails to function without the system transgressed my such multiple units. Thus the architecture in such contexts of density plugs itself in, to mediate the existent flow of movement and events through spatial solutions of planning and compact creations of utilitarian design solutions.

Architecture and Density today Globalisation has helped us all approach resources, pool knowledge about architecture and its advancements, to uplift our scenarios of infrastructure based on comparisons of various existing styles. However, this is also invariably quantified a standardised language of materiality and structure to portray a notional symbol of architectural advancement, tiring down the vernacular richness of individualistic dense areas around the world. It has changed its priority of being a symbolic tool globally, rather than an globalised space.

Architecture notified as change in such densities, is just another commodity of symbolism instead of a tackled solution for the face of globalisation. It manifests as a product of accumulation of technology and other products used, leaving a very superficial underlying need of the architectural character itself, that pays no richness to the local indigeneity of its context. And as a product, architecture this disconnected to its densities builds itself on assumptions rather than real life genres, with a life span so short and replicable unlike the timelessness that the archi

tecture and spatial carving once held in the same contextual soil, now neighboured to the present vision. With the dialogue between the disconnected and a vernacular identity, densities give rise to third spaces which grope its mass into relation and mediation of acceptance.

But globalisation on the other hand has also given rise to a new aspect of architectural rationality, where the grouping of random systems of experimentation amongst architectural styles give way to being cases solutions to problems and complex scenarios of dense spheres, looking at strategy aimed innovation towards contradicting ideologies and new models of thought intuition.

There is no one way of adaptation, but is density of architecture itself becoming a probing body of symbolism instead of different medias of viability in its explorations?

Hence, the modest contemplation in the globalisation context would be, trying to decode architecture as the factor giving rise to densities of smarter, smaller, compact regions or rethinking whether, letting densities control its spaces, is what is giving rise to the definition of what we know as architecture and its style today.

accolades

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RESEARCH HUB

THE MAIN STRUCTURE , i.e, THE WATER RETAINING STRUCTURE IS OF EXPOSED RCC STRUCTURE. THE OTHERS ARE WORKSHOP MADE STEEL PLUG-INS. THE JOURNEY THROUGH THE STRUCTURE NARRATES A PARTICIPATORY LEARNING. THE INSTITUTE AIMS AT SPREADING KNOWLEGDE AND ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS. THIS STRUCTURE WILL SUPPORT THE SAME ISSUE BY THE ARCHITECTURE ITSELF PARTICIPATING WITH THE ENVIRONMENT

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STUDY HUB OUTREACH

AN ECOGICAL APPROACH

WHY QUARRYSCAPE? A quarry is an abused landform which is exploited for its resources (building material stones). The program is an institute for environmental education and hence it supports the regeneration and recovery of such landforms.

QUESTIONING THE VERY BASIC IDEA OF ARCHITECTURE BEING MERE UTILITARIAN OBJECT OR ANYTHING MORE? A WATER RETAINING STRUCTURE...

A SYSTEM OF REGENERATING THE ABUSED LANDFORM....

JUST A RETAINING WALL

THE WATER STUDY AND CATCHMENTS OF THE SITE DETERMINE THE BEST WATER HARVESTING PORTIONS OF THE SITE. BUILDING A RETAINING STRUCTURE TO RETAIN AND USE WATER FOR THE DOMESTIC PURPOSES IS JUST NOT SUFFICIENT. AS IT IS CENTRE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION AND ITS AIM IS TO DEMONSTRATE THE TO THE WORLD THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPORTANCES AND HOW TO REGENERATE LANDFORMS, THIS STRUCTURE NEEDS TO BE SOMETHING MORE THAN JUST A RETAINING STRUCURE. THE RETAINING STRUCTURE ITSELF BECOMING THE ARCHITECTURE

ARCHITECTURE OF THE CONTAINER BEING DEFINED BY THE CONTAINED BUTTRESSES TO ADD STRENGTH

Design by Suhaasini Hangal ROOKIES 2016(SILVER MERIT) AWARD YOUNG ASIA DESIGNER’S AWARD (DOMESTIC LEVEL) SILVER MERIT BUTTRESSESS MADE FLYING BUTTRESSES

_A LIVING RETAINING WALL

ACCOLADES

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RECLAIMED NATURE

BY

COMPETITION ENTRY BY C.KATHAYAINI & GANESH K | VI SEM

Organized by Landscape Foundation India.

Change that has occured over time.

GREEN RESPRESENTING NATURE AND GREY REPRESENTING THE BUILT

“CHANGE IS THE ONLY CONSTANT”

Once upon a time, the earth was said to have been just green and blue.there was a time when dinosaurs roamed this planet and before when there were just single celled organisms. Now, there is us, more evolved than any other creature.

In the early days, man respected nature. However, with time, his attitude towards nature changed, resulting in the degradation of the planet. Like no none other, we attempt to master nature.

Change is the only constant.

What if nature did the same to us?

Would we be able to withstand the change?

As one infinitesimal part of the tapestry, is it not time to look at the larger whole?

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Grassland

Shrubland

Young forest

Mature Forest

Option i Green wall like a trellis to sepeatre the linear foersts and the buildings. Still allowing the runners and climbers to take over the building.

Option ii The buildings could be stepped backwards to welcome the green cover on to their buildings forning a bowl of green in section.

Option iii Lifting the plane by piers and alternating the projecting floor plates with a suitable height providing seeding areas for forest landscape.

Stage 1

Stage 2

View of a fully grown linear forest in a dense urban area.

However, nature becoming extensively aggressive can also result in an apocalyptic situation with people abandoning the cities. So there is a need for the forests to adapt to the buildings or for the buildings to adapt to these linear forests.

Stage 3 Biodiversity As the forest developes over time, it invites a lot of fauna.

Improving the biodiversity of the area.

Urban heat island Solves the problem of the urban heat island as the forests around the buildings, helps in improving the local climate.

Water cycle The urban linear forests contribute to the water cycle through transpiration, to improve the condition of water shortage.

Underground water table Forests improve the water to percolate into the ground, reviving the underground water table.

Stage 4

ACCOLADES

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ACCOLADES

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JLPL was started in the year 1963.We have 2 manufacturing plant for Lifts – One in Poonamallee, Chennai and Second in Nagpur, Maharashtra. The combined Manufacturing Capacity of both plants is close to 750 Lifts per month. We are the first in India to manufacture Escalators at our New Plant in Chennai. All our above factories are ISO certified and total built up area of all our factories is 86000 square metres. We are also recipient of the prestigious “IMC Ramakrishna Bajaj National Quality Award 2009” Our company has 7100 Elevators under installation, Pan India. Our company has a service base of 45000 Elevators, Pan India. Our Sales Turnover for 2014/15 is 13500 Million. We have 43 branches Pan India and more than 6000 Employees. Our market share is close to 20% on All India basis. Our company has been consistently No.1 in South India for close to 15 years in market share. We enjoy the No.1 position on all India basis in terms of “New Sales” for the last 4 years – 2010 – 2014.

Agrima delivers solutions end to end around “Steel Structures” with rich understanding of “Polycemic concept” relevant to Indian context. The different perspectives be it technological, cognitive or situational have been honed by team Agrima from past three decades of work in nuclear field, infrastructure, heavy industries and architectural. The praxeological approach- conceptual and logical applications we adopt is rooted in humility and desire to learn always.

This is reflected in our philosophy of work which is humble and human.

Our complimentors have same underpinnings be it KALZIP, NOVUM or PALRAM, bringing in full range of “Epistemological perspective” to serve our esteemed clients utmost.

We will be happy to respond to your needs in “Structural steel works” along with roof and envelop quickly and efficiently in trustworthy atmosphere.

Svamitva Group, is a multi-disciplinary Organization with a successful track record over 30 years. This includes Real Estate Development, Construction & Contracting, Hospitality, Solar Power Generation, Ware Housing & Sporting. Head quartered at Bengaluru, this has a strong presence in South India and extending to Northern parts of India starting from Jodhpur. This also has set footprints in Melbourne with incepting a number of real estate projects in Australia.

Svamitva believes in being Green and adopts a sustainable architecture & environment friendly designs in most of the projects developed by them.

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Jayswal is a fully integrated Manufacturing and Product Stockiest company that provides Interior solutions to its consumers around the country. Having made its presence felt in the interior market since 1984, Jayswal Group possesses a trading wing in Bangalore that deals with products related to False Ceiling, False Flooring, Gypsum partition and Acoustics under the banner of Jayswal Agencies. With 34 years of experience, our goal is to provide the highest possible level of professional interior construction products and services to our clients in an atmosphere of mutual support, teamwork and uncompromising ethical standards.

Easter Granites is the pioneer and visionary of the Indian Granite Industry with more than 3 1/2 decades of experience in mining and processing of natural stone. Easter has earned high degree of credibility with customers as a trustworthy company through supply of the best quality Indian Granite products as per their specifications. Easter Granites and their Group companies export their products to most countries across the globe such as Chain, USA, Germany, Holland, UK, Singapore, Japan, Italy, Easter products are part of several historical, prestigious and monumental projects all across the globe bringing global recognition to the entire Indian Granite Industry. Maintaining high standards has been a part of our service, be it production, manufacturing or deliver. Easter group has always been interested in encouraging new ideas and innovation all around the globe .As a part of it we are glad to be associated with The periodical of RV college of architecture .

SPONSORS

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FEEDBACK AND CONTRIBUTION To contribute to the next issue of fold or to send in your feedback, email us at journalrvca@gmail.com

PUBLISHED BY RV COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE Site CA-1, Banashankari 6th Stage, 4th Block, Near Chikagowdanapalya Village, Off Vajarahalli Main Road, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560062 , INDIA Phone – +91-80-2271-7820/21/22 Mobile – +91 97422 75212 www.rvca.in

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FOLD CONSTRUCING ALTERNATE PERSPECTIVES FOLD is an annual student periodical brought forth through peer review by the students of R.V College of Architecture, as part of the annual exhibition held each year. It is an initiative by the students towards understanding and interpreting various topics in architecture and its allied fields.

Extending the critical assesment fostered in the exhibition, fold showcases the architectural perceptions of the students through an alternate constructed context.

This issue of fold includes articles, musings and accolades and photography by students from 2016-2017.