“ Three E’s on ‘E’ ”

It is our frequent unthoughtful behaviour of throwing several empathetic and diverse words vaguely and mindlessly, open to the forum. We all have travelled along so far that it’s time we go back to our roots and get the grasp of the etymologies - history and evolution. This starling investigation will neither cater any chance to make less of such great things nor underestimate its meaning and form.

Architecture: The root of the word architecture is the Latin word architectus which comes from the Greek arkhi-tekton, meaning “master/chief builder”. It’s not that architecture played its existence, soon before or after its naming, rather we had started to interact with it since the stone ageseeking shelter in caves to mummifying the aristocracies in the Great Pyramids - trying to protect oneself from calamities and prey to bubble up themselves in securities. Securities of survival, beliefs or practices. During Roman’s peak time, the practice of architecture was as divine as the work and position of God. They believed as God created the universe, likewise, the architect carried the potential to skillfully curate the highest levelled point - arches - where the creation is at its highest position.

This reputed perception of the architect’s image is millennia old. Architects still play a key role in nation-building and the betterment of the

What did this happen? How the concept of building construction has got so diversified over imitations? When did such thinfine streamline fragmented specializations get their breaths?

This suggests that there has been significant evolution in the adoption of notions, essence and aspects of certain feelings of the phrases. Evolution is not a nightmare, which happens overnight. Evolution initiates on an attempt of experimentation. Informally, passion for trying out something new or a quest for advancement, innovation and necessity - relative to time and place. Evolution took place in its first place because of the hyperactive neural activity of the human mind. In the duration of an experiment, one explores and acquaints with new unexplored results. Coming down to conclusions of distinct findings, post-analysis of multiple explorations and neural performance. Summarising the entire roll, to a process or cycle of “Three E’s” Experimentation, Exploration and Evolution. Man is undergoing this cycle since he got on wheels, sharpened his stone spear and practised agriculture. Each second is a point in the ‘three E’ coordinate system on ‘E’arth. It is a never-ending phenomenon and will be going on till infinity. The database is expected to be huge, established in a six-dimensional system, where time, place and people are the fourth, fifth and sixth dimensions respectively, after the three E’s. Overall, as the universe is continuously expanding, this system stretches itself to put forward something new to the society and world.

Examining similar scape to architecture, the modernist movement arose with the zeitgeist in favouring ideas of simplicity, brutalism and functionalism over ornamentation and nobility. Then as well, the conviction of universal design and inclusiveness has got its hype, when the designs seemed futile unless it addresses the entire society - all people.

This ongoing procedure of addition and subtraction has now multiplied and divided architecture into various characters of building or constructing something to anything. Deep within, architecture has woven a web of complexities ranging from design ideation, planning, construction/execution and pre-post management activities.

As a practitioner of architecture, one has to take into consideration some primal elemental influencers - land, climate, society, technology and style. Spinning a fabric of interdependencies within these factors will not only make the profession more serviceable, plus more feasible, durable and cherishable, standing the test of time.

Sun Tzu in his writings “The Art of War” explains the importance of terrain and climatic factors. “Therefore, to estimate the enemy situation and to calculate distances and the degree of difficulty of the terrain so as to control victory are virtues of the superior general.” Thus, for the army architects, worshipping the abiotic entities is inevitable and essential. Furthermore, studying and understanding the biotic community - flora and fauna, people and their mingling culture, heritage and traditions- is duly valued. Technology is the genesis of the human mind for its ease and comfort. Active and passive technological aspects facilities the life of the stakeholders. As time paces, various stakeholders and disciplines keep on growing and added on as blockchain, impacting the industry - directly or indirectly.

There is nothing to grumble about about these numerous potentialities and constraints. Architects have to consider - reconsider, for simple to complex objectives in architecture. Architects are no more unlike a potter - who beats the clay to mould it into the shape of a pot. Similarly, these considerations/factors/constraints are the beats which play an essential commanding/performing role in the shape of the pot “building” executed by the potter “architect”.

Just the way potters have to beat the clay to attain the desired shape and form of the pot, the architects have to now play around with multiple agencies to nurture the construction - involving maximum stakeholders and maintaining the sanity of their safety.

Architecture has now become more collaborative, multidisciplinary and holding a diverse perspective. The great architects define - better word - interprets architecture differently and uniquely. Henceforth, there is no particular, absolutely no chance of a concreted explanation of the phrase. It varies by the virtue of person and time. Architecture is not about today, tomorrow or a work of few years to tend, rather it is for the upcoming decades, centuries and millennia - an eternal art, standing the test of time to inspire the future. Architects impart “soul to the skeleton”, after scrunting all tangible and intangible players to contrive serenity.

“Present draws inspiration from history, futures establishes from the present. Thus, focus on the present, as it is a beautiful gift.”

The locus of a professional is a sphere. Just like the way, mother’s womb takes in the child and equally how mother earth takes us all in her womb - architects are expected to fish in all the complexities in their matrix. Via umbilical cord of skills and emotions, source them to prosperity. Sooner or later, humanity lands to an upper step of knowledge and speculations.

But whenever there are times when her children “human” - lose the balance between nature and technology, take the wrong paths in the name of development, mother earth scolds us with scenarios like the current COVID19 outbreak. She has been continuously warning all of us about climate change, global warming and rising water levels - whose results are quite vivid around the globe. Yet there has been a lot of advancement in the breathing of essence of culture and its implementation via architecture. More things to come, as the profession teaches. There is always a scope for improvement, which the concerned will figure out whilst in the presence in the “Three Es” philosophy. Let’s see what else new we have got to see.