6. UNDERSTANDING OTHER ELEMENTS

6. UNDERSTANDING OTHER ELEMENTS

FATEHPUR SIKRI

Mughal emperor Akbar conceived and built this royal complex between 1571 and 1585. It was built upon a hill but the top was flattened out to create this horizontality spread out citadel. Spaces are demarcated through level differences and plane punctured walls. The labyrinthine structure is woven together only through the contiguity of the floor plane. The floor plane and the structures are symbolic and each accentuates the other mutually. The roofs created by the built masses generate floors for a different level. The Panch Mahal structure with its open colonnaded frame structure collects the space vertically, unifying individual parts making it a pivotal reference point upon which the emperor would sit. Other modulations such as depressions and plinths help in creating sub-identities within the spaces.

Figure 99

HOUSES AT JAISALMER Climatically, Jaisalmer is a hot and dry region. The houses here are, thus, articulated to suit such a climate. The dwelling units themselves occupy a small footprint and are mostly used as storage and for spending the afternoon hours. The raised floor plinth plays a vital role in defining the extent of a cluster or a house in different ways. The threshold here is defined by a raised level and decoration of the entrance by rangoli (ritualistic patterns created by coloured powder pigments). The courtyard and its modulations within the dwellings generate a hierarchy within the same cluster.

Figure 100

DIWAN-E-KHAS, FATEHPUR SIKRI

The Diwan-e-Khas, a special audience hall located in the royal precincts of Fatehpur Sikri, epitomises the symbolic qualities of the column. At the centre of a square hall of modest proportions, a single freestanding column mushrooms outward through brackets and supports the seat of the emperor at the upper level, which is linked by bridges to the four corners where the emperor’s advisors used to sit. The column as a free-standing element, a point ordering space around it, radiating aura. Intricate decoration and fine plastic treatment of the column capital as brackets accentuates its focal value and visual impact. Due to its freestanding nature, form and visual quality, the column becomes the principal architectural feature of the space, imparting uniqueness to the structure –the “image maker”. The visually unstable column defies the sense of repose vitalising the space with a dynamic sculptural quantity.

POL HOUSE, AHMEDABAD

Pols, typical of medival urban centres in Gujarat, are the residential precincts. The residences in the pols confirm to long linear continuous plots, internal courts with wooden structure and masonry walls. Columns, here, play a vital role in defining the central space in addition to becoming the visible structural element. Its role varies from being a supported element to that of space definer, facade rhythm modulator and also as defining the volume within.

Figure 102

UDAIPUR PALACE, RAJASTHAN

The wall here, possessing great height, dwarfs the human scale and functions as a protective barrier and makes up the imposing facade of the built form when seen over the expanse of the lake. The smaller bastions and articulations help in proportioning and scaling the mass. The overall form is further enhanced engulfing the volume within. With its sheer verticality, it becomes the most potent communication element capable of encoding messages while guiding movement along it to the entry. Internally, the walls delineate territories creating varied zones and different ambiences.

BHUNGA HOUSE, KUTCH

Bhungas – the typical traditional dwellings of Kutch, a hot and dry desert region, are characterised by thick circular adobe wall enclosures with small openings and conical thatched roof.

Decorations and ornamentation on the wall with clay and mirror murals give a distinct identity to each unit within the homogenous clusters. With minimum openings it encloses a volume in itself and functions as a protective barrier against the climatic forces. The walls are also creatively used to accommodate built-in niches and extended plinths for storage.

Figure 104

BULAND DARWAZA, FATEHPUR SIKRI

Fatehpur Sikri was built between 1571 and 1585 to commemorate the birth of Akbar’s son and heir Jehangir. The Buland Darwaza marks the entry point of the complex. The gigantic size approximately reciprocates to the space it engulfs within, the scale of the complex who built it. It is strongly supported by the high plinth and succeeds in creating an awe-inspiring impression. From within, the scale is reduced to the human reference and is defined by three entry nodes. The spiked gateways were used for defense purposes with details reinforcing the strength and solidity.

Figure 105

GOPURAM, MADURAI

The Meenakshi-Sundereshwara temple complex at Madurai was built in the 17th century by the Chola dynasty. It has 11 gopurams, literally meaning the gateways, surrounding the campus along concentric entry points which lead into an inextricable labyrinth of courtyards, galleries and hypostyle halls. Embellished with numerous images of the deities they tower above the town, as if heralding the onset of the religious realm even as one enters the city.

Figure 106

BOHRA HOUSE, SIDDHPUR

Houses of Bohra Muslims are grouped together so as to form their own domain, with gates at entrances. The sense of privacy is extremely high and, therefore, windows as connectors to the exterior are more sensitively modulated. Scale and arrangements were laid very much with the human concern of shapes and proportions. Shapes of openings vary from floor to floor, changing from square headed at lower levels, to segmental, semi-circular and pointed at upper floors. This probably was the result of engineering skill establishing harmony between load and support since safety of an arch increases the closer its thrust approaches the vertical and decreases conversely. Within the voids, openings were often further divided into tripartite shutters. The lower one from floor to parapet is louvered shutters which allow breeze at floor level. The middle ones are in opaque surfaces which are opened and closed as per the climate and user’s choice of communication with outdoors. The top one is a stained glass ventilator allowing for light even if the rest of the window is shut for privacy purposes. The permutation and combination of these give users tremendous control to mitigate diverse conditions of climate and privacy.

Figure 107

SUN TEMPLE, MODHERA

The sun temple at Modhera in Gujarat, is a classic example of a typical architectural composition being transformed by the element of steps, stairs and staircases, adding another dimension to the ensemble. This is unique due to the presence of the stepped kund or ablution tank. The kund is the best example of subterranean architecture of steps with linear and cross-linked platforms, levels and shrines that continuously weaves the movement through the volume within.

Figure 108

RUDABAI STEPWELL, ADALAJ

The five-storeyed structure is braced with crossbeams all along its length to retain earth. Steps descending to a square platform provide pause in-between involving a shift in the visual axis. A linear, symmetrical organisation of elements along the horizontal axis at each of the intermediate levels due to the stone crossbeams, the visual references continuously and radically change due to inclined downward movement at every step. Each step reveals only the next while the subsequent flights of steps and water are concealed from the cone of vision by platforms.

Figure 109

7. CONTEMPORARY INDIAN ARCHITECTURE

‘FORM FOLLOWS CULTURE’ – Indian architecture is beginning to finds its own way; for the contemporary Indian architect the central challenge lies in striking a balance between change – the driving force for any culture – and continuity, the link with the past which provides architecture with a cultural resonance. Current architecture in India presents a vast and confusing proliferation of styles, scales and ideologies, and this being further added to by architects who merely imitate the latest trends from the industrial world. However, while does not appear to be a common visual approach to the new architecture being built in India today, it is possible to discern and emerging commonality of approach; not a style as we would know it but more a matter of shared inspiration.

This rather vague movement is highly appropriate in a culture that has historically been uninterested in rigid definitions. Whereas western values such as technology and reason have forced a certain rationalisation of form and expression, the values prevalent in India, of spiritualism, tradition and the cyclical nature of life, have predisposed the nation’s architects towards a more abstract approach to their work.

Drawing on India’s spiritualism, architectural design is beginning to utilise ‘invented authenticity’ – a strong if not immediately obvious link connecting with the soul, not the eyes. A distinctly Indian approach, it relies on the spirit of the building to evoke a sense of continuity or belonging. This notion of ‘invented authenticity’ is not as concerned with appearances as it is with sources of inspiration. If these are appropriate and authentic, then the building, in whatever form it takes and whatever material, will be Indian in the truest, spiritual sense. This is an architecture that reflects a shared sense of mind as opposed to a shared visual style. – Romi Khosla.

8. SUSTAINABILITY & VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE

8.1 GENERAL

In 1992, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, popularly known as the “Earth Summit” took place in Rio De Janeiro, organized to showcase the global concern towards climate change. Sustainable development was defined as “Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It is a process of change in which the exploitation of resources, the direction of investments, the orientation of technological developments and institutional changes are made consistent with the future as well as present needs.”

An action plan that emerged from the conference which was a creative approach to, and detailed proposals for communities throughout the world to adopt and implement specific measures centred on key objectives aiming at improving the social, economic and the environmental quality of human settlements and the living and the working conditions of all the people.

Agenda 21 states that “Environmental protection shall constitute an integral part of the development process and cannot be considered in isolation from it. Indigenous people and their communities and other local communities have a vital role in environmental management and development because of their knowledge and traditional practices. States should recognize and duly support their identity, culture and interest and enable their effective participation in the achievement of sustainable development.”

Although the concept of sustainability was defined in the Earth Summit in 1992, it has been the underlying concept for development in the history of mankind. Man has created and environment which is in direct response to: climate, available materials

and resources and the needs and functions of the society. The same is noticed in the design of every habitat from the cave dwellings to a traditional house form.

The combined manifestations of the works of man and nature are defined as

cultural landscapes, which are illustrative of the evolution of human society and settlement over time, under the influence of the physical constraints and/or opportunities presented by their natural environment and of successful social, economic and cultural forces, both internal and external (UNESCO 2005). These cultural landscapes are depicted in many World Heritage Sites.

These practical and pragmatic choices based on the availability of raw materials and as per the climate pattern of a place was first publicly displayed in the exhibition ‘Architecture without Architects’ by Rudofsky in 1964 in New York. The concept of economy in form, design clarity and simplicity has been an inspiration for many modernist architects such as Renzo Piano, Frank Lloyd Wright, Meis Van De Rohe, and Walter Gropius.

“Sustainability implies the potential to continue dwelling indefinitely maintaining the connections of land and place. Sustainable architecture then is seen as a revised conceptualization of architecture in response to a myriad of contemporary concerns about the effects of human activity. Good architecture is a building that is suitable for its environmental context, one that would adequately protect the inhabitants from the climate. It is a building that is sensitive to the environment that will adequately protect the environment from potential pollution and degradation caused by human habitation.” Williamson et al (2004)

Historic towns and traditional settlements are eloquent of the traditional wisdom in sustainable development. The traditional towns in India have all developed as a sensitive response to the climate, topography, culture, and natural resources and are therefore sustainable in social, economic, ecological and cultural sense. For example,

in the city of Ahmedabad, the dense fabric of the city is divided into pols, dense neighbourhoods developed on the basis of community and its cohesion. Traditionally the pols are characterised by intricately carved timber framed buildings built around courtyards with narrow winding streets to ensure comfortable environment within the hot arid climate of Ahmedabad. The design of the settlement also incorporated underground rainwater storage systems as well as a series of stepwells and ponds and is a great lesson in ecological sustainability. A similar approach is evident in Chettinad also where water collection, irrigation systems, rainwater harvesting, and drainage have been incorporated in the traditional settlement planning. In the hot arid climate of Jodhpur in Rajasthan, an ancient and advanced system of water management of rainwater collection has been used, with Ranisar as the main collection tank and other underground wells and step wells linking to it. These serve as best examples of not just architecture and engineering but also of community sharing of scarce resources.

The concept of sustainability can be further defined as having three different spheres of influence namely ecological, physical and socio-economic.

8.2 ECOLOGICAL SUSTAINABILITY:

The focus of ecological sustainability is to create a balance between man and his environment including both natural and man-made. Buildings therefore are designed keeping in mind the forces of nature such as sun paths, wind directions, precipitation levels, etc.

This genre of architecture finds itself driven by nature and ecology. The aim is to work with nature and not against it. Vernacular architecture across the world has evolved over this principle where structures have been built using locally available materials and taking care of the environmental factors. Examples of architecture which are climate responsive may be noticed in the settlement planning in Spituk Valley, Ladakh where the southern slope has been developed to make optimum use of the sun

path. While in Jaisalmer, the havelis have been constructed in a dense manner with courtyards and narrow streets which are used for cross ventilation and provide respite from the extreme temperatures.

The approach to design is through the study of natural systems, emphasizing sensitivity and humility in relation to nature and at the building level. It is developed by recognizing sun paths, breezes, shade trees, etc. This concept has been very popular in India as well and the works of the contemporary architects like Revathi and Vasanth Kamath, Anil Laul, Sanjay Prakash, and Shirish Beri have been developed on these very principles.

It is also important to identify the need for human comfort while talking of sustainably built architecture. The climate is changing rapidly and the human habitat has to be modified and adapted to suit the changing needs and lifestyles. Technology is often the chosen tool to grope with the problems of the environment. Climate control within buildings is now predominantly controlled by mechanical means such as the buildings by Foster & Partners and others like Commerzbank building – world’s first ecological high rise office block with many unique features like double skin walls, dual natural and artificial ventilation, four storey high winter gardens to create natural atriums.

The key is the rationality and efficiency in planning, material use and systems. The concept of bioclimatic skyscrapers came up in 1990s. They are tall buildings whose built form, configured by designs, uses passive low energy techniques to relate to the climate in the area. Architects like Hamzay and Ken Yeang have adopted such ecological design features like wind walls, solar panels, recycling, solar panels, rainwater collection, vegetation and vertical landscaping, etc in their designs. The Spice IT Park at Manesar, Gurgaon designed by the same architects is a 21-storey building with vertical landscape along the facades such as green walls and sky

terraces. It is too designed as a climate responsive building with sun shading devices, roof gardens, eco cells, rainwater harvesting and recycling.

In the urban environment, given the current lifestyle, it is not possible to disregard mechanical climate control systems. The needs to be accommodated in the design of the habitat, it can be ensured that the building is designed in a manner that the heat loss is minimized and the air conditioning is the most effective. It is not advocated to regress to a time period 50 years ago, at the same time it is not advised to shun the tradition completely. Continuity with the past is essential for the sustainability of the community on the whole. It is thus important to ensure the wellbeing and health and safety of the occupants in the design of the habitat.

8.3 PHYSICAL SUSTAINABILITY:

Physical sustainability is one of the most tangible forms of sustainability displayed in the built environment. As the needs and values of society change, the buildings either adapt themselves to suit the new demands or fall prey to dereliction and neglect, or get replaced by modern buildings. Physical sustainability is that quality of a building which allows it to adapt itself to the changing needs.

The world is witnessing the repercussions of globalization. Consequently, the vernacular form of architecture is rapidly being replaced with new industrial materials such as steel and concrete. It has been observed that when buildings fail to meet the basic requirements of contemporary standards, conflicts arise and often lead to redundancy, vacancy and overcrowding. For example, in an area of high economic activity, such as a walled city of any historic town of India, the physical fabric survives as part of the thriving market place albeit in a deteriorating condition.

Historic buildings are a reservoir of embodied energy in the form of stone, timber, glass and steel which have been used in the construction and thus their

preservation and reuse is advocated as part of sustainable development in the heart of the historic city centres. Several studies have been conducted to improve the energy efficiency of the historic buildings. The point is not only to restore the buildings, but to increase sustainability, community partnerships and training as well as adaptive reuse and rehabilitation of the physical built environment. Restorations, modifications, alterations and reuse of the building or its components therefore are a critical element of physical sustainability.

8.4 SOCIO ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY

A key parameter of sustainability is the social and cultural relevance. The diversity of the local cultures is eloquent in the way they treat and manage their environment. The built environment is shaped by the values and cultural beliefs of the community and as these values rapidly change due to globalisation, changes in lifestyle, patterns of living and working, several elements of the built environment lose their relevance. These patterns of evolution, adapting to the change in tradition, is critical for the continuity of cultures and is inextricably linked to the sustainability of the living environment.

In the past fifty years, the traditional Indian cities have been subjected to degradation and decline, owing to the aspiration of the people for the want of ‘modern’ houses and easily discarding the past in want of a better future. This has been detrimental to the built environment causing overpopulation, slum-like developments and lack of proper living conditions in most historic cores while cities and suburbs have developed outside in almost similar fashion pan-India.

The social structure of the historic towns serves as an inspiration for the design of sustainable human settlements. Regeneration of the historic built environment is used as a primary tool to achieve sustainability. Measures need to be taken to repopulate the city centres and bring people back into living in the centre, creating

pedestrian exclusive areas in the market places and bringing the area back to life with activities that would sustain the community therein.

“Satisfying the spiritual economic and material needs of the people in determining condition for sustainable architecture and every decision concerning areas, the design of the building must be sensitive to the culture, the resources, and the character of the place. The risk is global standards global modes of building and global processes will overwhelm the local context” Williamson et al (2003)

To achieve sustainability in the living environment, a balance needs to be achieved between the available resources and the needs of a contemporary society. The survival of the past will depend completely on its ability to adapt to the needs of the future. It can therefore be concluded that sustainable development can only be achieved by learning, understanding, and appreciation of a city’s resources and integration of these with contemporary knowledge and technology.

8.5 VERNACULAR AS SUSTAINABLE BUILT ENVIRONMENT:

Traditionally, builders used knowledge/technique passed on from generation to generation to ensure that the buildings constructed could withstand the impact of a hostile outdoor environment. These principles include physical functionality, beauty, low energy use, comfort, durability and affordability. Such buildings use local construction materials, passive cooling and heating and renewable energies.

Vernacular resources, technologies, and forms are generally seen to be well adapted to local climatic conditions and are often considered an appropriate base for environmental design. However, in spite of its effectiveness and sustainability, traditional architecture and its methods and strategies are often undervalued and not preferred in new constructions.

It must be recognised that although many vernacular technologies, resources or forms are suitable and sustainable, there are a couple of techniques/methods that are no longer properly functioning because of the changed cultural and ecological situations. It is not practical to go back to the traditional buildings, for they were designed for a different culture and climate.

In this regard, the key challenge in the 21st century is to learn the fundamental lessonsand principles of vernacular architecture, and to find ways of integrating those principles into development programmes to upgrade existing settlements and to plan new ones. The challenge is to find out how the achieved knowledge, skills, and experience be fruitfully applied in a modern context. What is required is a method that enables us to scientifically test the actual performance of the vernacular traditions and generate an understanding of how these may be upgraded to provide truly sustainable buildings for the future.

Vernacular buildings make good models for sustainable design lessons and often serve as ‘laboratories’ for architects as these are comprehensive due to their often simple forms and resourceful use of materials and technology, meaning that lessons can be easily demonstrated and then adopted by architects in their design work. Vernacular knowledge has a lot to contribute to the design of appropriate and sustainable housing and hold important social and anthropological design cues for creating better environments.

9. VERNACULAR & MODERNISM – HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE

Currently building technology and sustainable design are considered as fundamental to the growing field of contemporary architecture. Practicing architects have a challenging responsibility to design buildings that are environmentally sustainable with the change in the global concern regarding the use of energy and resources. This new responsibility has prompted a sensible shift in trend from a biased preference of eye-catching, institutionalized building forms to more organic, humble, yet energy-efficient vernacular forms. Additionally, the local forms of construction capitalize on the users' knowledge of how buildings can be effectively designed to promote cultural conservation and traditional wisdom. A number of practitioners are also inspired by building traditions, given that the local vernacular forms have proven to be energy efficient and “green,” honed by local resources, geography, and climate. However, given the diversity of vernacular architecture in the global context, the techniques or technology-based research on vernacular architecture remains surprisingly limited beyond performance-based examples.

In the discussion of vernacular architecture, ambiguities arise from the meanings of certain terms and concepts. The words “modern” and “traditional” are often considered as being in fundamental opposition to each other. One tends to suppose that vernacular architecture is a kind of traditional architecture, distinct from modern architecture. However, a fragmented volume of works suggests that sly details, materiality, as well as adaptive and smart-space solutions and techniques are deployed ingeniously as much by the local unknown builders in a traditional setting as by modern illustrious architects. These findings are shunned by the limited development in research that explicitly addresses the application and use of vernacular knowledge and skills in contemporary architectural examples.

The concept of modernism in architecture is difficult to define despite being clearly conceived in opposition to late 19th century historicism, and rejecting historical

precedents and traditional methods of building. Despite showing strong preferences for industrial building materials and production, the buildings of modern style have simple forms, visually expressive structures, abstract ornamentation, and functionality, in that there is a strong rational basis to the building volumes. Modernism redefined the aesthetic appreciation of buildings to value clarity and to highlight the philosophy “less is more” in appearance and detail. Paradoxically, however, the early 20th century pioneers of the movement so exhibited strong preferences for nature, environmental factors, structural precision, and material integrity – many of the features inherent in vernacular architecture.

Wright talked about organic architecture in1908, long before the term “ecology” became fashionable. He pioneered the ideas that buildings should be extensions of the environment and that their three-dimensional forms should depend upon the properties of materials. Modern masters, such as Corbusier and Aalto, aimed to build spiritually reviving environments in which man could live in harmony with nature. Aalto believed that the natural energy of light and air should filter into the designed spaces and thus developed a variety of techniques to let natural light into interior spaces. Le Corbusier was well known for his deep concern for “sun, space, and greenery” in his designs.

…what is needed at the beginning of the new millennium is an architectural perspective in which valuable vernacular knowledge is integrated with equally valuable modern knowledge… (VellingaandAsquith,2006, 18)

The vision, though noted, is yet to be sculpted in the right direction. We propose that ideas and issues be opened up for the exploration and identification of new directions in green/ sustainable and innovative techniques, which might be channelled and filtered through local knowledge, practice, and wisdom as much as by new industrial innovations and emerging technology. Vernacular dwelling studies show a remarkable shift from the previous “image” and “notion” ideas of static old forms. By

contrast, a section of current works is opting to highlight critical, creative, and procedural aspects of vernacular examples. This shift certainly lifts vernacular to a prominent position in architectural research, education and practice.

Any boundary between tradition and modernity is fluid and complex. The bypassed vernacular built solutions, such as material and structural sensibility, minimalism, modularity, adaptability, as well as tactile and temporality or fluidity, are essentially modern. Drawing upon the similarities in principles rather than in images, one can see the possibilities of transmission of ideas and techniques from traditional (as in vernacular) to modern (as in contemporary examples) or from modern to vernacular in a two way directional process.

Needless to say, local vernacular examples offer a rich repertoire of architectural knowledge not only in the field of design, innovations, and sustainable techniques but also in other theoretical fields. Local solutions are obviously honed by culture and social logic, thereby adding a deeper meaning to the given examples. Indeed, many of the defining criteria for modernist design (such as Le Corbusier's “five points of architecture”) that are often considered as radical innovations, are inspired by traditional or vernacular forms in which social, cultural, spatial, physical, technological, and aesthetic factors combined into one complex definition.

Modernism demands a respect for inherent qualities of building materials, expressiveness of structure, and functional justifications for forms that constitute buildings. Regionalism focuses on local culture and traditions, elements that modernism rejects. Some scholars argue that the failure of the Modern Movement was in not considering cultural aspects of architectural programs, pretending that modern buildings could be built in any environment regardless of their regional characteristics. Furthermore, internationalism, as a minimalist tendency, demands reduction of building into basic components (structure and envelope).On the other hand, regionalism seeks meaning and content to build structuresunder specific local

conditions based on the cultural and environmental features of a particular geographical location. Regionalism is by no means an attempt at a stylistic movement; rather it should be considered an attitude against internationalist and globalized architectural premises.

Modern regionalism recognizes the vernacular modes of building at one extreme, and the rediscovery of Edwin Lutyens and Frank Lloyd Wright at the other. Lutyens was a British architect established in India who "showed how a modern classical style (neo-classicism) could be adorned with Indian flourishes. Lutyen's early architectural work accomplished urban development and the Indo-Deco style, an amalgam of Art Deco and Indian decorative patterns. Contemporaneously, Frank Lloyd Wright inspired by Viollet Le-Duc, Ruskin's art and craft, and Louis Sullivan's functionalism, developed his "organic architecture.

Additionally, modern regionalism manifests a respect for the local culture, for climate and sometimes technology. Nevertheless, there are some elements that limit the scope of modern regionalism. One of these elements is the standardization and industrialization of materials and structures supported emphatically by the building industry. There is a tendency in the market to optimize time and construction which often results in the use of standardized products and the reduction of labour and handcraft. The building industry, international and local, has been trying for decades to industrialize architecture, and in terms of localization, architecture has resisted. Moreover, the rising costs of local materials and skilled labour have also established a limit for regionalism.

Even though regionalism recognizes the vernacular modes of building, there are distinctions between vernacularism and modern regionalism that are important to notice. According to SuhaOzkan, a concrete and an abstract modern regionalism are being developed. Both approaches use contemporary materials and construction techniques, and most importantly, both convey cultural and regional issues.

Furthermore, both approaches differ in a particular characteristic. Concrete regionalism produces architecture based on the "replication" of regional features, portions, or often entire buildings. Abstract regionalism, as its terminology implies, consists of abstracting elements from the regional architecture of the past so that new forms can be revived, revitalized, and reinterpreted. According to Ozkan, abstract regionalism "incorporates the abstract qualities of a building [massing, solids and voids, proportions, sense of space, lighting, and structural principles of the architecture of the past] in a reinterpreted form.

Critical regionalism considers every architectural aspect through which the consciousness of a given regional society and culture can be expressed and can flourish. The architectural and cultural differences between universalism and localism

were discussed in an attempt to provide a critical action for the future development of architecture. An architecture that keeps people close to their environment and culture; an architecture that responds effectively to societal needs; anon-representational architecture that enhances regional symbolism through perception rather than only visual means and the function for architecture remains an expression of local culture.

Among various critics and theorists, Kenneth Frampton is one of the most loyal defenders of the ideology of critical regionalism, which he sees as the most feasible paradigm in the future development of architecture today. He not only approves of the idea but expands h by discussing other sensitive aspects of architecture. Kenneth Frampton, in his book "Modern Architecture: A Critical History, "considers critical regionalism as both a "strategy of resistance" against universalization and a historical trend, because of the profound and convenient relationship of architecture with nature in contrast to the progressive idea of society. This seems to describe the Modern Movement, the architecture that was intentionally not in tune with local culture, perhaps the reason scholars argue it was a mistake to apply globally. Moreover, within Frampton's examples, meaningful architecture occurs through critical regionalism, not

at a superfluous level but by in-depth analyses that combine social, cultural, physical, and environmental properties of a specific region into an architectural reaction.

Once critical regionalism, vernacularism, and modern regionalism were clarified, a correlation was conducted to identify similarities between the characteristics and properties of the architectural discourses. These characteristics will set a conceptual guideline that can serve for revaluing, recuperating, searching, or developing the architectural identity of any region. Thus, it is essential to search for an appropriate architecture that: 1) Recognizes that buildings rest in the natural environment and that it is necessary to establish a harmonious relationship between building and nature. 2) Pursues architectural honesty by decreasing the influence of fashion and increasing the influence of real social purposes as design conditions. The intention is to emphasize an attitude over a style. 3) Develops quality habitable architecture that integrates and expresses local sociocultural customs and traditions by using minimum resources. 4) Participates in a continuous evaluation taking into account that the built environment is not static but dynamic. Current architecture serves current needs but also reveals its principal intention in regard of space and time. 5) Combines the most advanced spatial, formal, and constructive solutionsavailable (e.g., new materials, construction methods, and design methods) with the most traditional solutions developed by local culture (e.g., traditional materials, intermediate technologies, and intuitive design). 6) Instigates local archetypes by means of repetition that will enhance and aid in developing the identification of common patterns and eventually an architectural identity. 7) Searches for "glocal" architecture that suggests the global application of regional principles, the rescue of practical examples at a local level, and the adaptation to the global market (rescue-adaptation ideology).

10. THE CONTEMPORARY VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE

10.1 RELEVENCE OF THE VERNACULAR

The study of the vernacular has been of interest to architects since the last 50 years. The pioneering attempt at recognizing the vernacular architecture was by Bernard Rudofsky in 1964, when he held an exhibition titled ‘Architecture without Architects’ in New York. More studies and research projects were carried out further in traditional architecture in both the developed and developing world. The publication of the Encyclopedia of Vernacular Architecture of the World in 1977 and the ICOMOS Charter on Built Vernacular Heritage in 1999 have been instrumental in bringing vernacular architecture to the forefront.

The image of any city is defined by its architecture, both in terms of its monumental and iconic buildings as well as the small dwellings and its conglomerations. Vernacular architecture is essentially that everyday architecture which has evolved over the centuries. Essentially civilian, domestic and pre-industrial construction, it is built with local materials and knowledge systems and is a fundamental expression of the aspiration and culture of the communities and their relationship with their environment. Having evolved to suit the changing needs of the climate and culture, the vernacular architecture includes not just the buildings and their construction materials but also configuration of urban forms and settlement patterns such as the streets and chowks. These settlements that today form the nucleus of the contemporary city are constantly threatened by the pressures of population, neglect and degradation.

With every passing day globalization and high degree of development are changing the face of our environment. The breakdown of the traditional world and the tendency of cultural homogenization as a result of globalization have brought disregard for much of the traditional environment, often considered to be a symbol of

poverty with values and qualities that are far removed from the mediatized concept of modernity. The introduction of new materials and technology has revolutionalised the process of construction and has also redefined the role of the architect, designer and the craftsman. Pressure on the traditional habitat began with the process of industrialization, accentuated by the modern movement and urbanism in the 20th century, seeking new models of dwelling and building cities that could overcome the deficiencies of traditional settlements. The aspirations of the society and the need to ‘modernise’ are leading to a catastrophic evolution – a mass destruction of our traditional built environment. It is now an accepted fact that the traditional built environment was designed to meet the challenges of the climate and culture using local materials and hence was a sustainable pattern of development. As architects and designers turn to these traditional environments for inspiration, the traditional environment on the other hand, is shunning its knowledge systems and embracing contemporary materials and technologies for the want of the ‘progressive and modern’ milieu. And, herein lies the dichotomy which holds the key to the future of our environment.

With an accelerated degree of development coupled with sky reaching land values and a social disconnect with the past, the future of the built environment remains bleak. The economic boom is ensuring that a large section of everyday historic buildings is demolished rapidly to pave way for modern development. The survival of this tradition is threatened worldwide by the forces of economic, cultural and architectural homogenization. How these forces can be met is a fundamental problem that must not only be addressed by communities, but also by governments, planners, architects, conservationists and by a multidisciplinary group of specialists.

10.2 THE NEED FOR SUSTAINBLE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

The urban environment in our cities is degrading at an alarming rate. Congestion, traffic, pollution, crime, increasing demand for housing and influx of rural migrants are only adding pressure on the already overburdened infrastructure of cities. The cities in the developing world are constantly mitigating issues of poverty, overpopulation, lack of health care and infrastructure while cities in the developed world are faced with problems of decline of industrial centres, depopulation, economic and social degeneration. In both cases, schemes for urban renewal and re-development are constantly developed to create a better living environment.

Historic city centres across the world, often developed around a royal or religious core, present themselves as good examples of sustainable cities. Most cities have developed habitats of cohesive communities which lived and worked together. The cities were planned considering the environmental concerns of the nature, topography, climate, and culture and advocated an optimum use of the natural resources. With the industrial revolution and the invention of the urban transport, cities began to expand and it created a distinct living and working environment which were segregated from each other. The decline of industry in the developed world and the development of the suburban environments had a detrimental effect on the historic cores resulting in degradation, depopulation, poverty and crime. Achieving sustainable development is dependent on many factors such as efficient ways of urban planning, pollution control, energy efficient management of natural resources, and providing health and comfort conditions in a given context.

Considerable research has been conducted in recent times to ensure maximum

energy efficiency in historical buildings by the imaginative use of technology and encouraging the use of renewable sources of energy. Vernacular built heritage is now being seen as an economic, social and environmental asset and can form the loci for sustainable urban development. Cities and towns are dynamic and continue to adapt

themselves to the changing needs and aspirations of the society they house. The skill of the architect and the urban planner lies in resolving this conflict between the available resources and the changing culture.

Therefore, there is an urgent need for sustainable cities to create a balance between the economy, natural resources and the changing needs and aspirations of the society. Initiatives need to be made to include environmental and cultural resource based planning in the developmental plans.

10.3 CONTEMPORARY VERNACULAR

The architecture by the people, for the people today is radically different from the image of the vernacular associated with the community. The change in the economy and social patterns has allowed the availability of manufactured materials throughout the country and has caused a profound change in the vernacular architecture of many regions. The widespread use of cement concrete, corrugated iron sheets, stone and bricks have lent a new meaning to vernacular architecture.

In Himalayas, for example, the rural vernacular has been transformed from slate tiled roofs to corrugated iron roofs across the entire landscape. Flat concrete roofs or pitched roofs in cement concrete are preferred to timber roofing owing to the scarcity and expensive nature of the resource. In Ladakh, the form of traditional buildings has been transformed increasingly by the use of sheet glass to provide sun rooms for winter warmth and plastic pipes have been incorporated into the water supply and drainage systems of the vernacular buildings.

The dichotomy of the situation is in understanding what is locally available? For example, conservationists often prescribe the use of lime as a building material instead of cement. But in reality, lime is not readily available and has to be prepared by a tedious process while cement is available off the counter in the remotest of villages.

The question therefore again is – what is locally available, cost-effective and sustainable? A similar situation comes to the forefront with the use of stone. For

environmental reasons, the quarrying of stone has been banned in several regions and thus with no locally available stone, the common man resorts to the use of brick or imports stone from another place, the economics of which eventually driving the decision of what does the common man therefore use as his primary building material. In the changing social, economic, political, and natural environment what may be called vernacular of today?

10.4 THE FUTURE OF THE PAST: THE ROLE OF VERNACULAR IN THE 21st

CENTURY

Rapid development and economic and political globalization have made culture and tradition less ‘place-routed’ and more ‘knowledge-based’. In a situation where the world becomes a global village what is the relevance of the local? Will the vernacular survive in the twenty-first century or will it be eradicated and replaced by modern buildings?

Conservation may be defined as the action which is undertaken to prevent decay and therefore includes not only preservation but also restoration, rehabilitation, adaptation, alteration as well as reconstruction of the built fabric. Conservation means all the processes of looking after a place so as to retain its cultural significance.

The physical conservation of the vernacular architecture provides for an increased understanding of the original choices of materials and methods of construction – the primary reason for the destruction and dilapidation of vernacular architecture is the lack of recognition and valorization of the traditional built environment as ‘heritage’. Current economic situations where the land prices are skyrocketing, the survival of the historic built fabric remains bleak. These historic cities are also plagued with issues of lack of urban infrastructure, increasing urban poverty

as well as a weak institutional and financial framework. Hence, there is a need for intervention, stressing the need for long term action in the form of education and sensitization measures and promoting traditional architecture.

It is therefore important to not only study and document vernacular architecture but to also intervene and ensure its survival into the future. The three approaches enlisted below are that of conservation, rehabilitation, and reuse and reconstruction or development using traditional methodologies.

The approach to deteriorating vernacular has recently shifted from preservation towards rehabilitation using modern materials and technology. For the survival of the vernacular, it has to be relevant to the needs of the contemporary society. Globalization and standardization of cultures has considerably altered the way of life, the domestic routine and images of modernity. Economic and development models from the West have been readily accepted as models for urban development without fully testing its relevance in the Indian context. Hence, it is necessary to successfully catalogue each typology of vernacular architecture in every region and adopt tools of renovation and rehabilitation to improve the living conditions of the community as well as preserve the historical identity.

Rehabilitation is the action taken to create a balance between heritage, economics, and social needs and is an approach that underlines sustainable urban development. The main objective of rehabilitation is to improve the living conditions of the community as well as the quality of the built environment, maintaining and promoting its cultural and heritage values and at the same time guaranteeing its coherent adaptations to the needs of contemporary life.

10.5 OPEN AIR MUSEUMS

A preservationist attitude has been adopted predominantly in the European countries where the vernacular architecture has been allowed to be eradicated from the

urban environment and has been preserved in the form of open-air museums. A typical example of vernacular houses from each region is demonstrated in a park like atmosphere, where visitors can come and enjoy the ambience of the village. The Museum of Folk Architecture & Rural Life, Ukraine; Lviv Museum of Folk Architecture, Estonia Open Air Museum, and Taman Mini in Jakarta are some of the popular open-air museums for vernacular architecture.

In India, too this concept of open-air museums is being explored with the haveli in Punjab and the Chok di dani in Jaipur which provides the visitors a village experience. The question, however, still arises as to whether this is a viable solution? The ethos of vernacular is its continued use and relevance in contemporary community life. It is not possible to freeze time or capture the essence of the rural habitat in the form of open air museums.

The solution therefore lies in recognizing the values attached to the traditional built environment and evaluating its relevance in the contemporary context. It will be interesting therefore to explain if an association between the traditional and contemporary is possible. Is it possible to develop a language of design which is contemporary but based on traditional practices which are sustainable? Hence, it is necessary to first understand what is vernacular architecture, secondly understand why the same in important as regards heritage and sustainability value, and finally to understand how it can guide contemporary architecture to achieve a sustainable built environment.

10.6 DEVELOPMENTAL VERNACULAR

A developmental vernacular is one that uses the characteristics of vernacular architecture to achieve better shelter and settlement. It uses and develops local cultural and material resources. It is small scale, technologically and organizationally simple and inexpensive. It’s planning and construction can be controlled by local communities. It expresses value, needs of the local community, and demonstrates continuity with change remaining rooted in the past and the local while incorporating new and the external to meet contemporary needs.

Developmental vernacular is cost effective and economical. Being labour intensive it is job creating as well. It is one of the best forms of architecture as using local resources it plays an important role in generating local income and remains ecologically balanced using renewable resources through community participation.

“The work of three contemporaries – Laurie Baker in India, Hasan Fathy in Egypt, and John Turner in Latin America – is eloquent of the fact that each one sought the development of a contemporary vernacular, a commonly observed, felt and accepted language of building which could be transformed to suit the new requirements. In this typology of architecture, the prevalence of an overriding craft tradition and the need to evolve buildings out of severe economic constraints shifted the emphasis away from technology towards earthy humanism sharp comprehension of dual phenomenon of tradition and change and of the need to re-establish the use of traditional construction style without actual imitation of the traditional style,” -Bhatia (1985)

The work of the famous Sri Lankan architect, Geoffrey Bawa is a mix of modern and traditional. The relationship Geoffrey Bawa establishes with the geography of the terrain and the garden has a great ability to fuse man-made with nature.

A similar approach made by Luis Barragan in Mexico, where he fused modern architecture with the local architecture of Mexico. The dominant concerns remain the

same – the culture of the place, people, loci and the cultural sustainability. The architecture is highly contextual and uses forms, materials, and construction methods echoing the local vernacular. The design approach engages the study of local culture, buildings and emphasizes the use of local involvement and expertise. Local vernacular mode of building is seen as having authentically emerged as a response to local culture and the genius loci; it serves as a model for new building. The local vernacular inspires the contemporary in the choice of materials, colours and building forms. The work of Laurie Baker is part of this philosophy of building.

The architects of the post-independence architecture in India have been known to be inspired by the vernacular architecture of the country. Raj Rewal for example, used the principles learnt in the urban pattern of Jaisalmer in the Asian Games Village and the National Institute of Immunology, Delhi. The Design Group, by architects RanjitSabikhi and Ajoy Chowdhury used the prototype of the north Indian mohallas for the Yamuna housing in Delhi. The architecture of B V Doshi also exemplifies the learning from the vernacular in the designs for the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore and the LIC Housing at Biman Nagar. Some of the works of Charles Correa such as the Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur is based on the design of vaastupurush mandala.

The other architects whose works include from learning from the vernacular are Kulbhushan and Meenakshi Jain, Vasanth and Revathi Kamath, and Anupama Kundoo to name a few. These are a few contemporary architects who have attempted to incorporate vernacular traditions in creating sustainable contemporary architecture.

The works of architects like Shirish Beri, Revathi and Vasanth Kamath, Anil Laul, Sunil Patil, Jose Mathew are hinged on the concept of ecological sustainability.

The focus of their projects is to design habitats which are in sync with nature and not against it, and in accordance to the sun paths, water channels, existing trees on site, etc. The emphasis has also been on integrating the landscape into the building. The nature of the spaces is such that they have multiple meanings. The materials for construction have been utilized from the site itself. Their buildings are ecologically sustainable as they demonstrate the optimum use of the naturally available resources in a cost-effective, creative and imaginative way.

The works of Anil Laul, Chitra Vishwanath, Anupama Kundoo and Satprem Maini also demonstrate the innovation in technology by using locally available material in combination with the modern technology to create a new typology such as the use of locally available terracotta urns in formwork for the concrete in Anupama Kundoo’s work. This concept is also demonstrated in the development of brick funicular shells by Anil Laul and stabilized mud brick blocks by Chitra Vishwanath as well as the Auroville Earth Institute. The buildings are designed in response to the surrounding ecology.

The works of Vinod Gupta, DeependraPrashad and Sanjay Prakash have been developed on the concept of solar passive architecture, where technology and a combination of architectural elements such as courtyard planning, sun shading devices, jaalisare used effectively to create buildings which are both contemporary in their use and have incorporated the learning from the vernacular. The works of Benny Kuriakose shows how the vernacular can be used in its pure form in the design of the habitats by using local materials and technology and aesthetically following the traditional idiom. While in contrast, the works of Anagram Architects and Rajiv and Tallulah D’Silva use traditional materials such as stone and brick imaginatively ensuring that the architectural expression of the building is contemporary.

The most interesting among them is the work of Studio Matharoo, which questions the concept of sustainability and the use of natural materials. Gurjit Singh Matharoo highlights an interesting debate as to what is natural and sustainable, when quarrying of stone is banned, is stone genuinely sustainable when it has to be transported from elsewhere? His work is exemplary in using readily available industrial materials such as concrete and steel to create an aesthetically pleasing and comfortable built environment.

11. CASE STUDIES

11.1 IIM AHMEDABAD, LOUIS KAHN

Louis Kahn’s Institute in Ahmedabad was based on an orthogonal system characteristic of his rational approach to planning. The heavy brick envelope of each of the units in the framework, pierced with huge circular and square openings, is placed in front of a second inner envelope as a means of layering that Kahn called ‘wrapping ruins around the building’. He relied upon geometric arrangement of units to bring order to a large and varied programme that almost looks like it contains all the components of a small self sustaining village.

Kahn studies the Indian Way of Life, the cultural traditions, the city and its institutions. He convinces his clients that the sole concept of management cannot create the institution to which they aspire. It is not just a functional fact of give and take, but something more. His stress is placed on the integration of culture and spiritual wellbeing. His efforts as designer are aimed at process of integration of man, the space around him and the elements making up this space. Only in this sense does architecture become an "Institution of man". The Indian Institute of Management represents an exemplary effort in this sense.

He implemented the same techniques in the Indian Institute of Management such that he incorporated local materials (brick and concrete) and large geometrical façade extractions as homage to Indian vernacular architecture. It was Kahn’s method of blending modern architecture and Indian tradition into an architecture that could only be applied for the Indian Institute of Management. The large facade omissions are abstracted patterns found within the Indian culture that were positioned to act as light wells and a natural cooling system protecting the interior from India’s harsh desert climate. Even though the porous, geometric façade acts as filters for sunlight

and ventilation, the porosity allowed for the creation of new spaces of gathering for the students and faculty to come together.

Vastly monumental, yet heart-warmingly human in scale the IIM is a feast of light and shade, vistas and views, connections and transitions.

"Architecture is the wise play of volumes in the light". The light in India, a tropical and subtropical country, is always accompanied by glare, and is most difficult to handle! And under the beating rays of the sun, arranging spaces cannot be reduced to arranging volumes under the sun. In India the light is the real arranging element in architecture: before entering an inner room, this has to be diverted, damped and rendered harmless. The infinite gradations of light, from darkness (but total darkness is an abstraction) to the greatest brilliance guide the visitor and become elements ordering the hierarchy of spaces. He had the ability to invent new meanings, uses and situations for volumes and spaces from everyday life and from Indian tradition.

Figure 110 & 111

11.2 IIM AHMEDABAD NEW, HCP DESIGNS

The new campus for IIMA is located adjacent to the original building designed by HCP Designs. Though both campuses function independently, they are connected by a pedestrian underpass creating easy access between them. The extension is built to cater to the growing need for academic, research, outreach and residential facilities.

This extension can arguably be considered one of the most important architectural projects in recent times in India. This could be an opportunity to reposition architectural practice in an era of massive change, a commentary on the history of institutional architecture of India, and especially a response to Louis Kahn’s profound magnum opus.

The use of smoothly shuttered exposed concrete as primary building material with fenestration in a combination of mild steel and wood, gives the new facilities a distinct vocabulary while in formal terms, the new buildings allude to the architecture of the original campus. A deliberate attempt seems to have been made by the architect to refer to, and provide continuities with the existing structures through the use of diagonal geometries, semicircular stairs and turrets, and materials and composition using abstract forms and large surfaces. Hence, in a way it has also created a distinct identity for the new one.

Figure 112 & 113

COMPARISON OF THE TWO

The impressive sequence of entry ends in a forecourt from which you enter the classroom block. The entrance hall immediately offers a view of the space beyond, through the wide and high southern face. At right angles, stretching into the distance is the corridor connecting the classrooms arranged in a linear sequence. The silvery grey concrete wall and kota stone floor surfaces with regularly spaced, large openings create an even wash of light, revealing the crisp regularity of geometry that organizes the parts.

One cannot but help compare this sequence to the entrance sequence in the old campus. A short entrance drive, a forecourt dominated by the high and massive body of brick of the library building, a wide flight of steps ascending to an incongruously small aperture in the wall. Having risen up the stately stair, you enter a low dark space, engulfed into the building mass. Re-emerging into an open space, you walk onto the terrace at one end of the somber and grave Louis Kahn Plaza.

The new campus respectfully continues some of the concepts articulated in the architecture of the old campus. Firstly, the site planning shows clearly the structure and hierarchy of relationships by disposition and geometry of plan. In fact, the plan shows a near symmetry of disposition of the two parts. Further, the choice of a single dominant material (concrete in the new campus) and a geometric and constructive coherence marks both the works.

Considering other factors, such as figure and ground – buildings occupy spaces and form spaces. The space between the buildings can be as important as the buildings themselves. Kahn ensures that almost any group of functions forms an incomplete configuration. Observe the classroom block, library, office blocks or the dormitory. By implying incompleteness in their forms and juxtaposing them in almost cramping

proximity, a complex spatiality and a sense of wholeness is achieved. The gaps are read as positive forms and resolve the composition. The complexity is further achieved by level changes.

The new campus clearly distinguishes buildings as complete entities through the planned organization. The dormitories complete a square around a courtyard. The space between them allows us to read them as individual blocks. The classroom block sets up a clear serial order, entered at one point, but separate from the other buildings. The power of negative space or ground to engage our imagination is not evolved. Here, the changes in levels happen unobtrusively and smoothly.

Figure 114

IIM BANGALORE, B V DOSHI

The IIM Bangalore campus was designed by celebrated architect B V Doshi, and is a conversation piece amongst laypersons and professionals alike. Completed in 1983, the original stone architecture is now complemented by the greenery, just as B V Doshi had intended. Here is B V Doshi in his own words, explaining the architectural concept of the buildings:

Emperor Akbar established his well-known capital, FatehpurSikri, in the 16th century. Though, barring a few years it remained unoccupied, it is universally appreciated for its scale, clarity, architectural style and most significantly, for its spatial organization. Here one discovers solutions to the now familiar problem of how to extend or add buildings and yet, related them, and on how to ensure that all the individual constituent parts of the complex evoke the sense of belonging to a larger fabric. And, it is not surprising that the tools employed at FatehpurSikri to simultaneously divide functions and unite the various buildings in a complex are the same as those used in planning temples in South India.

The response is achieved by adopting a system of major corridors for movement, along which activity areas are disposed. And within the network of corridors, the spaces between the activity areas become courts for extended activities. These courts regenerate the primordial sense of continuity, growth, and the tenuous linkages of the living environment.

In Fatehpur Sikri, the presence of the buildings is strongly felt in spite of their being relatively small, a factor of special interest to me. This has been made possible by the modest relation of the building to the ground, the sky, and the backdrop of the linking corridor, very much like the umbilical cord and the extended family. One is separate, and yet connected, even though tenuously.

Designing the IIMB's academic programme, which would stretch and change over the years, demanded such an approach. Bangalore's climate is very comfortable and the city is full of lush green lawns and trees. Therefore, in this project, the 'building' includes external spaces, and the links between the buildings in the Bangalore climate permit academic exchange beyond the classrooms. The functional and physical attributes of its design are related to the local traditions of pavilion-like spaces, courtyards, and ample provision for plantations.Owing to the varying rhythm of the solids and voids, that is, the wall and the opening, coupled with direct or indirect natural light, these links change in character during different times of the day as well as the seasons, and offer the students and the faculty, the occasion to feel the presence of nature even while they are inside. By creating such an environment, the activities pursued within the building become enriched because they become one with the larger total world.

"Apart from the organizational principles such as interlocking courts, pavilions, terraced gardens and connections, the IIM-B also employs more subtle lessons about materials and consistency of details from FatehpurSikri. The construction of the entire complex is made simple and standardized using exposed concrete, lattices, frames, and wall system using rough blocks of local gray granite."

Figure 115 & 116

IIM BANGALORE, SANJAY MOHE

The IIM Bangalore campus, originally designed by B V Doshi, gets a new centre. Designed by Sanjay Mohe of Chandavarkar& Thacker, it has an identity of its own, yet harmonizes with the distinctive Doshi vision.

When we were asked to take on this project, we were honoured to be asked to do something in an area with such a prestigious, strong architectural heritage,’ says

Architect Sanjay Mohe, who headed the team responsible for designing the Nadathur S Raghavan Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning for IIM Bangalore. The team was enthused by the fact that they had been called upon to expand on the work of none other than guru and mentor, Balakrishna V Doshi, known for his ‘deft sketching and translation of even the most abstruse and abstract spaces, and giving them a concrete form with fluent mastery’. Doshi’s buildings emerge as a simple statement of natural contours which Sanjay Mohe’s team wished to emulate.

Over twenty years in the making, each phase has helped to add new dimensions to the flexibility of the 5,400 square metre campus. In continuation of its undulating form, the GIV Incubation Centre rises from the ground as a set of adjacent ‘objects’ in silent acknowledgement of Doshi’s work.

The connections along the spine are alive with the changing quality of light streaming in, illuminating the corridors, which, like internal streets, make their way through covered and semi-covered pergolas, prompting visitors to pause and ponder. Large double and triple height spaces, built of stone and exposed concrete, the basic material used throughout, make a powerful impact. ‘Since a strong architectural language had already been established, we wanted to do something that was sympathetic to the development of the area,’ said Sanjay.

Interestingly, though the stone walls are not physically related, Sanjay had wanted an earth-born magnetism between the existing building and the new structure, which he did by using an over-lapping design with an unusual isoclinal formation. For people using the spaces, this energizing link provides an ambience conducive to creative thinking, which is just what budding entrepreneur required to structure a new venture.

From wherever one stands, one can see open courtyards at different levels with seating around the periphery, which makes for ideal sit-outs and a break from office spaces. Some of the trees, which had been preserved, now find themselves within the walls of the building, expressing the environmental concerns of the architect. A wide, exposed concrete stairway leading to the upper floors seems to hang suspended over the space, the effect enhanced by voids on either side. Natural light streaks in from skylights, which run the length of the ceiling on the east and west sides, adding to the floating effect of the stairway.

Figure 117 & 118

REFERENCES

1. Built to Meet Needs – Cultural Issues in Vernacular Architecture, Paul Oliver.

2. Thematic Spaces in Indian Architecture, Kulbhushan Jain.

3. Architecture – Conceptual to the manifest, Kulbhushan Jain.

4. Concept of Spaces in Indian Architecture, Yatin Pandya.

5. Elements of Space Making, Yatin Pandya.

6. Architecture without Architects, Rudofsky Bernard.

7. Vernacular Traditions – Contemporary Architecture, Aishwarya Tipnis.

8. Vistara – Architecture of India.

9. Architectural Regionalism – Collected Writings on Place, Identity, Modernity & Tradition, Vincent Canizaro.

10. Architecture in India since 1990, Rahul Mehrotra.

11. SPADE Research Magazine, SIRCLE, Samira Rathod.

12. Made in India, Wiley.

13. Architecture and Contemporary Indian Identity, Rupali Gupte, Rahul Mehrotra and Prasad Shetty.

14. Underlying Ethos in Indian Architecture Critical Regionalism in the age of Globalisation, Shaji Panicker and Michael Ostwald.