August 2013

INDIAN ARCHITECT & BUILDER

Sustainability (?) Manifestoes Yatin Pandya, FOOTPRINTS E.A.R.T.H.

http://www.iabforum.com/

VOL 26 (12)

Architecture Shunyam, A Private Residence at Jodhpur: Tao Architecture Pvt Ltd The Synergy Park Campus for TCS at Hyderabad: Edifice Consultants Pvt Ltd The Architect’s Studio: Shankar Narayan Architects

AUG 2013

In Conversation Hélène Binet, Architectural Photographer

Campaign: Architectural Education A Road Map To Reform: Prem Chandavarkar Space Frames Monumentality and Modernity Ethos The Patterns of Settlement

VOL 26 (12) | AUGUST 2013 | ` 200 | MUMBAI RNI Registration No. 46976/87, ISSN 0971-5509 INDIAN ARCHITECT AND BUILDER

EXPLORE

Chairman: Jasu Shah Printer, Publisher & Editor: Maulik Jasubhai Shah Chief Executive Officer: Hemant Shetty EDITORIAL Assistant Editors: Maanasi Hattangadi, Ruturaj Parikh Writers: Rashmi Naicker (Online), Shalmali Wagle Design Team: Mansi Chikani, Prasenjit Bhowmick, Kenneth Menezes Event Management Team: Abhijeet Mirashi Subscription: Dilip Parab Production Team: V Raj Misquitta (Head), Prakash Nerkar, Arun Madye Head Office: JMPL, 210, Taj Building, 3rd Floor, Dr. D. N. Road, Fort, Mumbai 400 001, Tel: +91-22- 4213 6400,+ 91 -22-4037 3636, Fax: +91-22-4037 3635 SALES Brand Manager: Sudhanshu Nagar E-mail: sudhanshu_nagar@jasubhai.com MARKETING TEAM & OFFICES Sales Co-ordinator: Christina D’sa E-mail: Christina_dsa@jasubhai.com

38 CURRENT

Au courant updates on events, exhibitions, competitions and news.

44

POST EVENT

The Holcim Forum 2013, held at IIT Mumbai, from 11 th to 13 th April 2013

explored the diverse facets of sustainable building through a thread of

lectures and interactive workshops that gave a comprehensive, contextual

idea of the ‘Economics of Sustainability’.

The Diverse Paradigms of Sustainability

48 PRODUCTS

The Water Bench, an inspired design by MARS Architects of functional and aesthetic relevance, gives us a detailed idea of its local and consequent

urban reach.

50

IN CONVERSATION

Hélène Binet’s distinctive perception of design comes through as she

discusses her intimate journey with film and the nuances of emotion in

architecture that she brings to life through her lens.

54

ARCHITECTURE

Bengaluru/ Hyderabad: Sudhanshu Nagar Mobile: 09833104834, E-mail: sudhanshu_nagar@jasubhai.com

The Luxury of Selection

An epitome of sensitive building, a residence in Jodhpur designed by Tao

Chennai / Coimbatore: Princebel M Mobile: 09444728035, 09823410712 E-mail: princebel_m@jasubhai.com

Architecture Pvt Ltd, draws on the principles of passive cooling methods and

Kolkata: Sudhanshu Nagar Mobile: 09833104834, E-mail: sudhanshu_nagar@jasubhai.com

clever spatial arrangements to create a comfortable microclimate within the

harshness of the landscape.

64

Efficiency & Equivalence

Mumbai Parvez Memon 210, Taj Building, 3rd Floor, Dr. D. N. Road, Fort, Mumbai 400 001, Tel: +91-22- 4213 6400,+ 91 -22-4037 3636, Fax: +91-22-4037 3635 Email: parvez_memon@jasubhai.com Delhi: Preeti Singh / Manu Raj Singhal 803, Chiranjeev Tower, No 43, Nehru Place, New Delhi – 110 019 Tel: 011 2623 5332, Fax: 011 2642 7404, E-mail: preeti_singh@jasubhai.com, manu_singhal@jasubhai.com Gujarat: Parvez Memon Mobile: 09769758712, Email: parvez_memon@jasubhai.com

Pune: Parvez Memon Mobile: 09769758712, Email: parvez_memon@jasubhai.com Printed & Published by Maulik Jasubhai Shah on behalf of Jasubhai Media Pvt. Ltd (JMPL), 26, Maker Chamber VI, Nariman Point, Mumbai 400 021 Printed at M.B.Graphics, B-28 Shri Ram Industrial Estate, ZG.D.Ambekar Marg, Wadala, Mumbai 400031and Published from Mumbai - 3rd Floor, Taj Building, , 210, Dr. D. N. Road, Fort, Mumbai 400 001.

Editor: Maulik Jasubhai Shah, 26, Maker Chamber VI, Nariman Point, Mumbai 400 021 Indian Architect & Builder: (ISSN 0971-5509), RNI No 46976/87, is a JMPL monthly publication.

Reproduction in any manner, in whole or part, in English or any other language is strictly prohibited.

We welcome articles, but do not accept responsibility for contributions lost in the mail.

Subtle, Penetrating Complexity

The Synergy Park Campus for Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Hyderabad

by Edifice Consultants Pvt Ltd is an efficient answer to issues of context

and environmentally responsive building, giving the design its own

unique identity.

72

A Spectacle of Simplicity

The studio space of Shankar Narayan Architects highlights the often

foreshadowed attributes of honest, simple space that along with

its substantive advantages, brings with it a relatable charm of its own.

EXPLORE

78

SUSTAINABILITY (?) MANIFESTOES Yatin Pandya

Yatin Pandya shares his notions on sustainability and its applicable

potential through details of the design process of his firm

Footprints E.A.R.T.H.

84 CAMPAIGN

Architectural Education: A Road Map to Reform

Prem Chandavarkar dissects architectural education today, stressing on the

challenges and the aspects that can be improvised upon only through the

commitment of practitioners and academicians alike.

92

SPACE FRAMES

Monumentality and Modernity

Through a series of diptychs, this edition attempts to decipher the idea of

Louis I Kahn’s Monumentality through images of our past.

97

ETHOS

The Patterns of Settlement

The settlements of the Indian subcontinent are defined by intrinsic

responses to situations thus developing a unique fabric identifiable to its

place. The fourth edition of Ethos looks at the tissue of our settlements to

understand underlying patterns.

Printed & Published by Maulik Jasubhai Shah on behalf of Jasubhai Media Pvt. Ltd (JMPL), 26, Maker Chamber VI, Nariman Point, Mumbai 400 021.

Printed at M.B.Graphics, B-28, Shri Ram Industrial Estate, ZG.D.Ambekar Marg, Wadala, Mumbai 400031and Published from Mumbai - 3rd Floor, Taj Building, 210, Dr. D. N. Road, Fort, Mumbai 400 001.

Editor: Maulik Jasubhai Shah, 26, Maker Chamber VI, Nariman Point, Mumbai 400 021.

Indian Architect & Builder: (ISSN 0971-5509), RNI No 46976/87, is a JMPL monthly publication. Reproduction in any manner, in whole or part, in English or any other language is strictly prohibited. We welcome articles, but do not accept responsibility for contributions lost in the mail.

r Im Cove

age

ao A :ŠT

rc h

t re P v u t c e it

Ltd

current

38

Category Type Deadline

: : :

International Open to Students Registration – August 28, 2013

‘Rethinking the Future’ has announced the International Architectural Thesis Awards across five categories - Sustainable Design Thesis Project, Residential/Housing Thesis Project, Public/ Institutional Design Thesis Project, Transport Terminal Thesis Project and Mixed Use Design Thesis Project. Three entries from each category will be awarded and will be featured in their magazine and several architectural blogs. The jury consists of a fifteen-member panel including Romi Khosla of Romi Khosla Design Studio and Anna Herringer of Austria. These awards aim to acknowledge aspirational concepts and architectural excellence across categories.

For further information, log on to: Web: www.re-thinkingthefuture.com

AR+D Awards for Emerging Architecture Category Type Deadline

: : :

International Open to all August 30, 2013

Architectural Review along with d line Knud Holscher designs has announced the 15th edition of the prestigious AR+D Awards for Emerging Architecture, for young designers below the age of 45. Completed projects in buildings, interiors, landscaping, refurbishment, urban projects, temporary installations, furniture and product design are all eligible to apply for this Award. The entries will be assessed by a distinguished international jury chaired by AR Editor Catherine Slessor. The winner will be awarded the prize money of £10,000, will have his work published in a special edition of the Architectural Review and will get an opportunity to exhibit their work at the RIBA. Previous winners of the Awards include Thomas Heatherwick of UK, Sean Godsell of Australia, Jurgen Mayer of Germany and Li Xiaodong of China.

For further information, log on to: Web: www.architecturalreviewawards.com

UIA 2014 International Students Competition

COMPETITIONS

Category Type Deadline

: : :

International Open to Students Registration – October 31, 2013

World Architecture Festival 2013 Date Venue

: :

October 02-04, 2013 Marina Bay Sands, Singapore

In its third year now, the World Architecture Festival intends to celebrate the spirit of architecture, throwing light on many good practices and working towards the betterment of the field. It is the perfect platform for any architectural practice looking for international exposure. The three day event includes competitions for student and professionals, judged by a panel of esteemed judges, series of workshops, presentations, lectures and an awards programme. This year, the list of sixteen speakers includes the likes of Charles Jencks, Jeanne Gang, Sou Fujimoto, Jo Noero and Ralph Johnson. The INSIDE festival, co-located with WAF, plays host to an illuminating and inspirational seminar programme, unique design features and installations, exclusive tours.

For further information, log on to: Web: www.worldarchitecturefestival.com

Urbanism Week Date Venue

: :

October 08-11, 2013 Delft, Netherlands

Organised by Polis, platform for Urbanism, the third edition of Urbanism Week aims to understand the perspectives, practices and trends in the field of urbanism. This year’s event will explore the influence of big brands on our cities and the effect it has on the citizens’ lifestyles. The Urbanism Week hopes to link students interested in urban studies with the professional field, along with exposing, examining and predicting the new trends, practices, roles and issues. The four-day program will include four theme-based lectures, six related workshops and a research presentation about the future of students of urbanism, from the combined research of TU Delft and other acclaimed universities, amongst other functions that might follow.

For further information, log on to: Web: www.urbanismweek.nl

Dutch Design Week Date Venue

: October 19-27, 2013 : Eindhoven

The Union Internationale des Architectes (UIA) has invited groups of graduate & post-graduate architecture students to submit a design for their intervention around the dynamic Warwick Junction in Durban which is a trade and transport hub in the inner fabric of the city and explores the question – “should Warwick Junction’s diversity and contrast be encouraged, celebrated, or bridged?

And through what means, and on what terms?.” The registration includes a fee of ZAR500. Selected entries will get a chance to exhibit their work at the UIA 2014 Durban Congress in August 2014 where the winning team shall be announced.

In its twelfth year, the Dutch Design Week (DDW)’s exhibition will be headed by Margriet Vollenberg and Margo Konings of Organisation in Design (OiD) as the Art Directors to Klokgebouw.

The exhibition entitled ‘Ode to the City’ will showcase various talented designers and will be the focal point for all DDW visitors.

Fostering collaborations, innovations and industrial platforms, DDW is based around many venues and was initially conceptualised six years ago as a non-commercial fair wherein design and industry could emerge on a singular platform. As an informal setting, it encourages inspiration and interaction and since its inception has exhibition has attracted many visitors growing upto 50,000 last year.

Participants can register online from May 1 until August 1, 2013.

For further information, log on to: Web: www.uia2014durban.org

For further information, log on to: Web: www.ddw.nl

Indian Architect & Builder - August 2013

EVENTS

International Architectural Thesis Awards

current

40

UNESCO Adds Six Hill Forts From Rajasthan To The World Heritage List On the occasion of the 35 year of the prestigious World Heritage Committee, members of the Committee gathered in Cambodia from June 16 and June 27, 2013 to examine 34 new sites for inclusion in UNESCO’s World Heritage List from the list recommended by The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS). The ICOMOS evaluates man-made and natural wonders considered to be of ‘outstanding universal value,’ a quality that is said to transcend borders, and puts forth the nominations for UNESCO. th

The Council, this year, has recommended Chittorgarh Fort (Chittorgarh), Kumbhalgarh Fort (Rajsamand), Ranthambore Fort (Sawai Madhopur), Jaisalmer Fort (Jaisalmer), Amber Fort (Jaipur) and Gagron Fort (Jhalawar) to the 34 new UNESCO site list.

Last year, five of the six forts were sent in as nominations to UNESCO, but were rejected. The government added Jaisalmer Fort to the earlier five, reworked the documents and renominated the six of them together. Susan Denyor and Giles Tillotson, a two-member ICOMOS advisory mission held a meeting with officials of Archaeological Survey of India and Rajasthan government on their visit to Jaipur in November 2012. The ICOMOS, in its next report, recommended that the hill forts be inscribed on the World Heritage list. Nominations from India also included the Great Himalayan National Park in Himachal Pradesh in the list for the World Heritage Sites this year.

First Section Of A Bus Rapid Transport Corridor In Bhopal Set In Motion Bhopal became the most recent city to join the list of cities with a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) System in India. Bhopal got a trial launch of the BRT on first phase of 6.7km (4 mi) on June 1, 2013. The entire stretch of 23km (14.3 mi) is expected to be completed later.

The trial run of the buses on the length of the finished corridor went on at an average speed of 20 km/h, which is 27 per cent faster than the speed of the buses operating outside of the BRT. The project is funded by the Central Government of India under the JnNURM Investment program. This news comes in as a fresh lease of life to the commuters who tackle the problems of mobility in the expanding urban precincts. The connectivity offered by the transport shall have a genuine impact on disciplining the traffic and developing an affordable transport for the city. Presently, there are 13 cities in India that have BRT lines which are either operational or under construction.

NEWS

Architect Henning Larsen Passes Away At 87 Danish architect Henning Larsen died in his sleep on June 22, 2013 at his house in Copenhagen. Just two days before his death, on the June 20, 2013, he was awarded with the Europe Nostra Denmark Award, for his persistent efforts in evolving contemporary architecture on the fundamentals of history and context. He had also been honoured with the Mies van der Rohe Award 2013 earlier this year for the design of Harpa in Reykjavík, Iceland, which he had done in collaboration with Batteriið Architects and Studio Olafur Eliasson. Some of his renowned works include the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Riyadh and the Copenhagen Opera House in Copenhagen.

Apart from Copenhagen, his firm Henning Larsen Architects has subsidiaries in Riyadh, Oslo, Munich and Istanbul.

Indian Architect & Builder - August 2013

Herzog & de Meuron Win M+ Competition Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron, teamed with London’s TFP Farrells, has won a design competition for M+, the Museum of Visual Culture in Hong Kong intended to select the best design that will enhance the West Kowloon Cultural District. The award-winning design resembles an inverted ‘T’, with the horizontal section serving the galleries and the vertical piece above housing offices. The vertical facade is faced with LEDs to become a billboard overlooking Victoria Harbour. Describing the form, Jacques Herzog said,“For art to enter into the life of a city like Hong Kong it has to come from below, from its own foundations. Our M+ Project does exactly that, by literally emerging from the city’s underground.” The project is expected completion in 2017.The winning design beat the likes of SANAA, Renzo Piano Building Workshop,Toyo Ito & Associates (with Benoy Limited) to win this competition.

The World’s Largest Building Opens In China China opened its doors to what is being claimed as the world`s largest building on June 28, 2013. New Century Global Center, standing right opposite The Chengdu Contemporary Arts Centre, designed by Zaha Hadid, measures 500m long, 400m wide and 100m high with about 1.7 million sqm interior. The newly constructed Center in Chengdu is reportedly capable of housing 20 Sydney Opera Houses. The Center’s most novel attraction, besides an abundance of high-end shopping outlets, cinemas, office space, conference centres, two five star hotels, a university complex and a replica Mediterranean village, is a massive artificial beach, which is a part of a water park. It will be illuminated by a giant screen which mimics the horizon and offers sunrises, sunsets and nautical breezes.

Participatory City: 100 Urban Trends From The BMW Guggenheim Lab The BMW Guggenheim Lab, a mobile think-tank for exploring urban life, travelled to New York, Berlin, and Mumbai to inspire innovative ideas for urban design and new ways of thinking about cities, from 2011 to 2013. To sum up the major themes and ideas that emerged during this two-year global journey, the Guggenheim Museum will present the exhibition ‘Participatory City: 100 Urban Trends’ from the BMW Guggenheim Lab, on view from October 11, 2013, to January 5, 2014. “Thanks to the BMW Group’s support and collaboration, the Lab has allowed us to go far beyond our walls and into the heart of cities, stimulating a broad and ongoing dialogue about urban life. It has attracted tens of thousands of enthusiastic participants, on-site and online, and has been recognised by the United Nations as an exemplary project. With this special exhibition at the Guggenheim in New York, we celebrate the learnings of the Lab along with new insights from contributors around the world,” stated Richard Armstrong, Director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation. The exhibition will represent the trends in an exclusively digital installation through drawings, sketches, short videos, and renderings. Participatory City also will showcase the Lab’s architects, graphic designers, and Lab Team members, and a selection of contributors who helped bring the Lab to life on three continents. The exhibition will be accompanied by a series of public programs exploring architecture, urbanism, and the ways in which people interact with cities and public space.

48

MARS Architects, a Dutch-Chinese research and design firm based in Shanghai, in collaboration with the BMW Guggenheim Lab, the mobile urban think-tank, evolved the unique design of the Water Bench.

Addressing urban issues and offering functional solutions in a local context, the Bench provides an innovative solution to the urban quandary of rainwater harvesting.

Water inlet buttons

products Channels to direct water into inlet buttons

WATER BENCH

Overflow outlet

Text: Chandrima Padmanabhan Images & Drawings: courtesy MARS Architects

Hole for outlet tap that connects to the pump Socket for PVC tubing To connect benches or anchor a single bench to the ground

49

1mm openings to allow water in, yet prevent insects

DETAIL OF A BUTTON

A collaborative project by Mars Architects with the BMW Guggenheim Lab, as part of a series of sustainable urban strategies, the Water Bench is a multifunctional bench that works within the broader premise of building a more efficient, liveable and sustainable city. As per the research conducted by MARS Architects, the large scale infrastructure, even the ones pumping in water from reservoirs further removed from the city, are unable to solely meet the growing water requirements. In addition, the water issue was not a disconnected, isolated problem. From surface water pollution to unavailability of safe drinking water to public sanitation, it was important to find a wholesome collective answer. The ideal response was to bridge the gap between grass-root interventions and linear top-down solutions, and allow them to work in tandem to support each other.

MARS Architects hypothesised that every individual needs a certain minimum amount of private space to flourish and a minimum amount of public space for the city to operate efficiently. The Water Bench has thereby been set up on the scale of a local solution with the intent to steadily align with formal networks and expand to have a city-wide impact on urban efficiency and sustainability. Apart from functioning as outdoor furniture, the Water Bench makes use of the constancy of the annual Mumbai rains as a source to collect and store rainwater that can consequently irrigate parks and gardens, independent of a public water supply. The dimensions of the Bench are 2100mm x 900mm x 500mm.

Made of 50 per cent recycled polyethylene, the Bench is hollow, with a capacity to hold 500 liters or 1000 liters of water that is well suited for the local precipitation. The Chesterfield cushions that have been moulded in the plastic, funnel water through the surrounding channels into the interspersed buttons which act as water inlets. Available in a variety of colours, the cushions offer a comfortable, slightly bouncy seating area with the added benefit that the surface is dry almost immediately after each rainfall.

The Water Bench is specifically developed for Mumbai and the local climate. A full Bench contains an above and an underground tank. The size of the Bench is intentionally awkward, encouraging up to three people on either side to interact and converse. The first Benches have been installed in Horniman Circle and Cross Maidan in Mumbai, where this social encouragement works quite well.

While the Bench is an apt standalone installation for small plots and private parks, it also works as part of a larger group of water conservation solutions at the scale of the city. These include smart wells, ecological sanitation, use of indigenous vegetation (as opposed to large lawns) and even small-scale solar powered seawater desalination.

These solutions work to lower demand, increase supply and create buffers to minimise the impact of floods and droughts. Together they complete the traditional infrastructure and make for a much more resilient and flexible water management system.

Designer: MARS Architects Contact: MARS Architects 94 Yong Jia Rd, Unit 202 Xuhui District 200031 Shanghai, PR China Tel: +86 (0) 21 63276672

50

Subtle, Penetrating Complexity Working exclusively with film to expose architecture’s strengths and to highlight its precise details and nuances, London-based architectural photographer Hélène Binet’s analogue frames reflect her deep personal experiences and intense perceptions of architecture.

Photographs: courtesy Hélène Binet

Hélène Binet is a Swiss-French architectural photographer, most known for her work with architects Daniel Libeskind, Peter Zumthor, Zaha Hadid and Studio Mumbai. She has studied photography at the Instituto Europeo di Design in Rome, and over a period of twenty five years, has followed, both, the work of contemporary architects – often from construction through completion – as well as the works of masters like Alvar Aalto, Geoffrey Bawa, Le Corbusier, Andrea Palladio and many others. Her work has been published in a wide range of books and has been presented in, both, national as well as international exhibitions.

Indian Architect & Builder - August 2013

in conversation

IA&B: You have previously stated, “A camera is not really so much a tool to represent, but a tool to understand your own personal engagement with what is in front of you.”

Can you please elaborate?

HB: As I have always maintained with what you feel in my photographs, I do not want to compete with the complexity of the perception of a space. I am trying to bring to you very specific aspects of the building. When I point the camera, I ask myself “What is this building made of? What is the atmosphere made by? How are the materials assembled? Why do we feel something?” And I try with my photographs to elaborate very direct explanations to these.

IA&B: How did you first develop an interest in architecture as a subject of photography? How do you think your formative years in Rome, surrounded by historic architecture, influenced your thought and work?

HB: I am sure that Rome had a great influence on my work, though in an unconscious way. But one experience that was very poignant to me was when I was asked to photograph the villages after the devastating earthquake of Irpinia, south of Italy, in 1980. The reduction due to the earthquake allowed me to discover how space could be complex and subtle, and that my job was to record the few traces left in it.

IA&B: You have previously photographed various performances at the Grand Théâtre de Genève in Switzerland. How is architectural photography different from animated and dynamic subjects? How is it similar?

51

HB: Photographing performances and architecture are completely different. The only thing I can relate to is the love and excitement when something comes out of the darkness. And, perhaps, that originates from my experience in the theatre.

IA&B: Photographs of a particular building can shape the way one thinks of or remembers it. What do you look for while concluding on a particular frame? What are the aspects that you keep in mind?

HB: To convey the quality of one space, I compose the image using very simple geometry and not too strong perspective while subtle games of lights and shadows, often shot on black and white film, complete the message.

IA&B: You insist on shooting only on film and plate, rather than working with advanced digital techniques. Can you tell us why to prefer this approach?

HB: For me photographing is like a performance and I like that the film does not allow for too many changes in post-production.

IA&B: Colour plays an important role in how we perceive architecture. So, when you choose to shoot a photograph in black and white, it drastically changes what is, in fact, in front of the lens. What are the elements that then become crucial?

HB: What I look for in my work, is not an image of the building itself to be remembered, but that of the atmosphere that engulfs it. That is what I would like to transmit.

Indian Architect & Builder - August 2013

52

Indian Architect & Builder - August 2013

53

IA&B: You have stated, “Shadow is an amazing subject.”

How so?

HB: Shadow is the absence of energy; it is revealing, but it also misleads. It allows me to compose my photographs and to bring out the materiality of a building. I need shadow to show the light and to give a beginning and an end to it. In music, sounds need silence to evolve into a piece and to define its existing to an end. In photography, we need shade; for blackness surrounds light in a very tight relationship of dependency.

IA&B: On one hand you capture ‘pure’ architecture, and on the other, you arrest natural landscapes. Is there a difference in approach while photographing the two subjects? What are the similarities?

HB: I think photographing landscapes and architecture are not very different. They are about the photographing of space and how it is made, by men as by nature.

IA&B: Your photographs reproduce neither the experience of inhabitation nor of movement associated with architecture.

You have stated that you do not feel the need to include people in your photography. How does a photograph convey an absolute experience, while rejecting these vital elements of wholeness in architecture?

HB: My concern is to allow the viewer to enter, for an instance the space, and to inhabit it.

IA&B: Amongst your contemporaries in architectural photography, whose work do you admire? What are the aspects in their work that you find intriguing?

HB: Walter Niedermayr intrigues me because his architecture photography evokes the space very well without almost any use of black and with colour photographs. And I find the diptych a very good way to articulate the quality of the spaces.

IA&B: You have previously stated “When you make a photograph, you create an instant ruin.” Can you please elaborate?

HB: When you make a photograph you create something that is a memory of something else and that moment at that specific date and time does not exist anymore, it lives only in the photograph.

IA&B: Architectural photographers, inevitably, play an important role in documenting architectural history.

Do you think your photography is free from personal predisposition?

HB: I am not concerned about historical documentation. I want to portray my personal approach to architecture and, therefore, there would have to be a personal predisposition involved in the subject.

IA&B: Is there a particular building, architect or project that you would want to work on and that, you think, would be your most challenging and definitive undertaking?

HB: I would love to photograph the work of Inger and Johannes Exner, but that would be a pleasure. I think the biggest challenge would be photographing something at the scale of a city.

Indian Architect & Builder - August 2013

54

The Luxury of Selection Shunyam, a spacious residence in Jodhpur designed by Pune-based Tao Architecture Pvt Ltd utilises ideas of passive cooling and climate control through materials and spatial strategies that enable creation of a micro-climate in the extremes of an arid plain.

Text: Ruturaj Parikh Images & Drawings: courtesy Tao Architecture Pvt Ltd

↑

The monolithic stone surface.

Indian Architect & Builder - August 2013

64

Efficiency & Equivalence The Synergy Park Campus for Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) at Gachibowli near Hyderabad is an embodiment of spaces surpassing their functions to bestow the building with a vibrant identity. The architects at Mumbai-based Edifice Consultants Pvt Ltd deal with complex issues of contextual & environmental concerns and address them with responsible space-making principles.

Text: Archa Desai Images & Drawings: courtesy Edifice Consultants Pvt Ltd

The idea was to retain the natural topography of site while planning. Rainwater harvesting was harnessed by turning the low lying area of the site into a catchment basin.

Indian Architect & Builder - August 2013

78

Yatin Pandya’s work stays true to his belief that the primary responsibility of an architect is managing the basic architectural resolution in consonance with the forces of nature and the local context.

Yatin Pandya Footprints E.A.R.T.H (Environment Architecture Research Technology Housing), Ahmedabad Yatin Pandya is an author, activist, academician, researcher as well as the Principal architect of FOOTPRINTS E.A.R.T.H. (Environment Architecture Research Technology Housing). A graduate of CEPT university, Ahmedabad, he has availed Master of Architecture degree from McGill University, Montreal. Several books authored by him on architecture, especially “Concepts of space in traditional Indian architecture”, and “Elements of Space Making” have been published internationally. He also contributes as a visiting faculty at the National Institute of Design and CEPT University and as a guest lecturer/critic to various universities in India and abroad.

Images & Sketches: courtesy Yatin Pandya

Yatin Pandya: YP There seems to be a certain ambiguity on what exactly constitutes ‘sustainable’ architecture. What, according to you, is the definition of ‘sustainability’ in the Indian context?

YP: Sustainability is a phenomena and not a formula. A phenomenon involving culture, lifestyle, routine and the approach to way of life. An approach to remain contextually appropriate.

Resolution that stems from the needs of the context and relies on the resources of the context to meet its needs locally; without creating adversities to the existing milieu. It is a circumstantial adjustment for improved performance and best gain by least consumption. Attempts at ‘recipification’ and its universal application independent of the realities of the context have led to convenient definitions of sustainability and thereby, emergence of varying shades of so-called green. Often, even greys get rendered as green. For example Leadership in Energy Efficient Design Initiative – popularly known as LEED rating initiated in Indian Architect & Builder - August 2013

USA, while is quite valid in its intention of raising awareness for sustainable design and commendable in providing some form of suggestive checklist to evolve environment friendly design in the North American context, the same when turned into a formulae with points for recipe ingredients, remains questionable and often non-sustainable in a different context. The point considerations for only air-conditioned building with controlled environment, dependence on mechanised systems for environment management and then attempting to reduce its energy demands by twenty percent, definition of local material as far as 500 miles (800km) implying from Mumbai to Rajasthan, unclad surfaces finding no favours but additionally overlaid with so-called recyclable material as extra gaining points, use of specific commercial products to gain points, very little priority for water saving and very high norms for the same tasks are highly questionable and objectionable to Indian milieu at large. The benchmarking of Green buildings are pegged at 150 KWH/sqm/year energy needs where most vernacular structures in India have remained at 20 to 40 KWH/sqm/year energy demands.

Even air-conditioned theatres with high volumes and large group

84

ARCHITECTURAL EDUCATION: A ROAD MAP TO REFORM

In a detailed analysis on the challenges of architectural education today, Prem Chandavarkar, Managing Partner of CnT Architects, delivers an eloquent and forceful commentary on the social responsibility of architects and educators in reforming the process.

By Prem Chandavarkar Preamble: Understanding the Challenge

T

here are 328 colleges in India that are accredited to offer professional degrees in architecture (Source: Council of Architecture website as on 24 June 2013). Out of these, six have either had their recognition withdrawn or have their recognition currently in dispute, which leads to a definitive current number of 322 accredited colleges. A handbook of professional documents published by the Council of Architecture in 2005 shows that at that time the total number of colleges in India was 117. This is a growth of 175 per cent in a period of eight years: an explosive growth rate by any standards.

A practice that survives by absorbing graduates who may have skills but lack the ability to think critically and innovatively is one that only repeats conventions of the past, or one that does not go beyond surface imagery.

The case could be made that this growth rate is justified. India currently faces a huge shortage in housing stock, both in urban and rural areas. To complicate matters, the rural-urban mix in the country is poised to go through a sea of change.

We are currently just under 30 per cent urban, and historical data from other parts of the world shows that when a region reaches the 30 per cent urban threshold, the rate of urbanisation begins to rise sharply. Several estimates by both public and private organisations predict that we will be a 50 per cent urban society shortly after the middle of the 21 st century, which means that over the next forty to fifty years, our cities and towns will have to accommodate an additional population of 200 to 300 million people or more. This growth will be driven by internal growth within cities, rural-urban migration, as well as intra-urban migration in some cases.

India already has a low ratio of architects to the general population; unlike

Indian Architect & Builder - August 2013

Europe or the United States, one rarely encounters an unemployed architect in India. Architectural practice tends to be largely an urban-based activity, and the rural areas have been managing to build without the services of professionally trained architects, so it is apparent that the full utilisation of the current stock of professionally trained architects is being absorbed within the urban areas alone. And if the urban areas are to grow as projected, then there is a large need for an additional number of architects in the country; and this is without even addressing the need (which must also be addressed) to bring professional building design inputs into the rural areas.

We must recognise that this challenge has a quantitative as well as a qualitative dimension, and if we seem to be achieving impressive numbers on the quantitative front it is necessary to also evaluate what we are accomplishing in qualitative terms. The speed with which growth will occur in our cities means that the processes of urbanisation that took place over 150 years in Europe and the United States will have to be compressed into a time scale that is over three times as fast. This is a tremendous challenge in an era of global warming where we also have to be intensely aware of the environmental impacts of whatever we do. Clearly we cannot develop our cities using the tried and tested methods of the past, for they not only implicate demands on the environment that are no longer sustainable, but will also not happen with the speed we need. We will have to learn to live by Albert Einstein’s dictum that “we cannot solve today’s problems using the mindset that created them”. This poses a formidable demand on the educational

92

Monumentality and Modernity In this edition of Dr Mathew’s Space Frames, we attempt to understand the idea of Louis I Kahn’s Monumentality through a series of diptychs that attempt to understand his work through images of our past.

Images: Mandu – Ruturaj Parikh; IIM, Ahmedabad – Shalmali Wagle Text: Ruturaj Parikh

Indian Architect & Builder - August 2013

space frames

F

or a modernist and an advocate of monumental forms and scales, Louis I Kahn’s IIM, Ahmedabad represents his ideology and convictions – a truly avant-garde building in our context.

Beyond the idea of scale, lies his sense of delicate nuances that enriches the spaces of his built work. Louis’ intuitive response to the Indian conditions – our light, our trees and our dense air is experienced in the way his built forms control the sanctums within – sometimes dark, sometimes bright, sometimes silent and sometimes containing sound.

93

It leaves us mesmerised by the occurrence – a striking resemblance of scale and sensibility in two structures four hundred years apart in time and four hundred miles apart in space. It makes us appreciate and understand what Louis wanted to say when he did about his architecture.

In the experience of the humane space, the Monumentality of Louis I Kahn’s architecture comes to life.

In the history of our architecture, we find similar responses to our conditions from buildings like the pavilions of Mandu that were avant-garde in their own time and were inherently responsive to our conditions.

Indian Architect & Builder - August 2013

94

Indian Architect & Builder - August 2013

95

Indian Architect & Builder - August 2013

ethos

97

The Patterns of Settlement Situation, Response and the Beginning of Continuity...

India’s settlements have a characteristic link with circumstance. With an intuitive understanding of context, they mirror India’s multiplicity in a fine blending of practical necessity, inherent tradition and intrinsic craft. The structure, form and content of its tissue is representational and in turn, represents a continuous negotiation with and against the forces that shape the fabric. It is with this understanding that our communities develop a unique language and identity for their urban architecture. They bear in their numerous accidental adaptations, a gradual and emerging personality - one that is born out of ordinariness, is fundamentally situational, and functions as a unified organic whole. The most eloquent responses are found in the most diverse situations.

Indian Architect & Builder - August 2013

98

[1] – The villages in Kutch are conglomerations of ‘Vandhs’. Each ‘Vandh’ constitutes of a few ‘Vaases’ – family units comprising of ‘Bhungas’ as rooms, where the entire family shares one or more common open spaces. The structures respond suitably to the climate and tectonic requirements of their context.

In the Indian subcontinent, diversity is the generator of Identity.

[2] [3] – In a typical village, the units are arranged around a common central community space with streets branching out between them.

The ‘Vaases’ are located at a distance from each other which helps them cope with the scarcity of water, pasture and other resources.

While respect for nature and regard for the realities of the land shape form and structure, character stems from an additional and intentional accommodation of human relationships with all their physical and psychological connotations.

[1]

[2]

Subtle, minimal and pure, the constructs of the settlements that exist in the most remote of our contexts, develop as naturally as landforms and belong as simply as their natural surroundings.

[3]

In India, these responses originate from values of individual existences, combined lives and the fundamental need for continued sustenance. But as settlements reconcile in their course to continuity, they begin to accommodate, even in their crudest forms, an extended agenda.

SCALE

HISTORY Indian Architect & Builder - August 2013

Plateau

Desert

Coast

Island

TOPOGRAPHY

CLIMATE

Arid

Wetland

Semi-Arid

Foothill

Plain

Tropical Wet

Mountain

Tropical

The region developed organically inhabited by the ‘Banjaras’ or nomads. Traditional salt production is a recorded 600-year-old economic activity. The epicentre of the 2011 Gujarat Earthquake was experienced here.

Sub-Tropical

Unit Cluster Neighbourhood Town City

Montane

Settlement

Eventually, a pattern begins to originate.

Location: Kutch, Gujarat Population Density: 35/sqm Government: District Governance Society: Aboriginal Lifestyle: Semi-nomadic Income: 18000 INR (per capita)

PARTICULARS

Space Frames investigates issues of architecture and environment through the medium of photography. To contribute, write to us at iabedt@jasubhai.com or to the curator Dr Mathew at dr.djmathew@gmail.com.

INDIAN ARCHITECT & BUILDER

EXPLORE