May 2011 by Indian Architect & Builder Magazine

MAY 2011 VOL 24 (9)

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18 IA&B - MAY 2011

O rchestrating A mbiences Andre Tammes and Dhruvajyoti Ghose, Principals, LDP, talk about lighting, design and visual experiences in conversation with Maulik Jasubhai, Publisher, IA&B. Andre Tammes and Dhruvajyoti Ghose are principals of LDP (Lighting Design Partners), an international visual planning firm working from offices in Sydney, Auckland, Singapore and Shanghai. LDP dwells on creating visual experiences and ambience designs through their expertise in lighting, interior design and illumination engineering with a background in Architecture. With projects across nine countries including India, LDP is on the forefront of lighting design in contemporary architecture.

MJ. What is ‘visual planning’? Can you elaborate on your practice? AT. This is a term which we believe provides a clearer understanding of the real nature of lighting design. It points to the reality that successful lighting design does not stop at the ‘point of delivery’ of light. It must concern itself with the interaction between the intrinsic qualities of light, and issues such as form, colour, texture, reflectivity and spatial character. We use the term ‘visual planning’ to emphasise the fact that our approach is based, both theoretically and in practice, on this realisation. As we say from time to time: “no light – no sight” – this suggests that the way light is used is not only the key determinant of how we see things, but is also a powerful element in shaping our perceptions of the physical environment.

MJ. Is lighting a means to security or is it a tool to create an ambience or is it art? How do you see the role of lighting design in architecture and the built environment? AT. It is all three, and more; except in the context of pure ‘light-art’ projects, lighting is always functional because, in any form, it is there to enable vision. The question is, how much more should it do in any given application? A road tunnel requires well-engineered artificial lighting with little ‘expression’, it needs to provide for eye adaptation, good control of glare and, preferably, an element of brightness on the walls. Appropriate lighting plays a key role in achieving this. I believe that we are moving slowly from a situation where lighting has been divided between the purely functional and the essentially cosmetic.

let’s partner Hitherto, these types of environment were lit from a purely functional viewpoint which was based on varying codes of practice that largely emphasised the quantitative, and readily predictable elements of lighting (principally lux levels). We are now seeking ways to enliven and humanise such environments, not only through the provision of appropriate levels of light, but also by the creation of visual messages through the quality and distribution of light. MJ. You have designed ambiences for a diverse range of places and projects. How do your commissions differ from each other? AT. Our commissions vary enormously in scale and purpose. Among other projects, I am currently dealing with the lighting of 16 large dams in South Korea (providing an overview on the detailed lighting design, which has been prepared by local designers), the detailed lighting design for a redeveloped 3,200-seat concert hall in Melbourne and a very beautiful new water sculpture for the Sant Nirankari Mission in Delhi. As a group, our work spans almost all built forms including bridges, temples, private residences, retail malls, hotels, large and small office buildings, airports, and the planning of the nightscape for complete city centres. MJ. Working on a variety of projects in multiple places, how do you create an identity distinct to your design and practice? Is there a common underlying theme in your experience designs? AT. Personally speaking, I would be concerned if our projects could be identified as ‘LDP work’. Lighting is essentially a complementary business, which should rarely seek to draw attention to itself and should therefore not develop an observable house style. If there is a common underlying theme, it lies in our wish to achieve a result which people feel good about, but don’t know why. DJ. I believe there is a ‘LDP way’ of approaching the project. It involves being the perfect receptor for any influence. We like to use light as an amplifier of architectural and spatial intent. The lesser distortion that is introduced, the higher we rank our result. MJ. How do you see the interaction of light and the built object? Do you envision the exact ambience and design accordingly or experiment on the site? AT. My thoughts about the interaction are as described above, but one of the greatest challenges which lighting designers face is envisaging the end result of their work when still at the design stage. Even the most experienced designers take a degree of ‘informed risk’ – the greater the experience, the lesser the risk. I believe this is true of all forms of design. Computer rendering programmes have become an extremely useful tool in supporting us in this, but even these have limits for a variety of technical and practical reasons. DJ. Working as a lighting designer, one has to learn to deal with the unexpected. In a collaborative design team, our input often changes the spatial constructs, triggering a cycle of change that can shape the project into a different frame. It is perhaps more useful to be in the role of the ‘ideal receptor’ rather than prescribe the design. We constantly experiment, in the studio, at the site and even after completion of the project there are times when we will not hesitate to rethink the solution from its fundamentals. MJ. You have been in the field for almost three decades. Which, according to you, is your most intriguing project? AT. For inexplicable reasons, some of my most entrancing and compelling projects have been to do with religious buildings (I am not particularly religious in outlook). As part of a bid to have the Golden Temple in Amritsar listed as a World Heritage Site, I carried out an extremely detailed survey of the complex and resolved many of the problems of how to light this exquisite place – perhaps one day it will be implemented..! I think that my favourite completed building is the great Norman cathedral in Durham, Northern

England, where I was responsible for the interior lighting design with my colleague, Graham Phoenix. There is something immensely pleasing in the way that we achieved the extension of the gentleness of the natural lighting from the high clerestory windows in the evening. DJ. Though each project poses its unique challenges, I have been immensely lucky to have had the opportunity to work on some exceptional projects. The lighting of the Humayun’s Tomb for the Aga Khan Awards in 2004 was the closest that I have been to ‘hand crafting’ a project. All the fixtures (some 3000 of them) were placed under my direct care so as not to damage the monument. The fixtures were aimed by estimation as due to the logistics involved, it was not possible to switch them on for a test till the actual event! MJ. You have worked in India on historic and modern buildings, the Humayun’s Tomb being a celebrated ambience design. Do you find any unique or inspirational character in the Indian way of looking at light? AT. My co-director, Dhruvajyoti, is perhaps better placed to respond to this. However, as a non-Indian, but as one who has been in India many more times than I can recollect, I have always felt that there is such a marked contrast between the celebratory use of light (how may homes put a chandelier in pride of place in their living spaces?), Diwali, the anarchic use of illuminated advertising and, on the other hand, the sensuous qualities of India’s natural light its myriad forms. I don’t know for sure, but I have the impression that Indians are perhaps more alert and sensitive to the quality of light than those in western countries. DJ. It is difficult to identify a ‘regional’ way of appreciating light, but now that you ask, there certainly is a difference in the perception. Asians in general, and Indians in particular, tend to be more accepting of variation. In other parts of the world, there seems to be a greater emphasis on achieving uniformity. I attribute this to the ability to deal with unpredictability! In India if there is one characteristic that truly unites us, is the demand for complexity. Minimal design is sniffed at – but in a land full of opposites, where the pantheon contains every variation, we find demand for the most ineffable Zen like spaces! The second characteristic is the need for shadow. In a country where daylight is in such abundance, it is the need to create shadow that dominates over the need to induct daylight into buildings. Regrettably, in our haste to establish a ‘modernised’ appearance, we have imported curtain-walled buildings that, upon occupancy, have blinds permanently fastened inside. Doubly regrettable is the use of artificial lighting to then solve the problem of not having enough daylight! MJ. Please inform us on your ongoing work in India. Anything interesting to look forward to? DJ. We have recently completed lighting the Jal Mahal in Jaipur. It ranks as one of the most satisfying projects in the past years of working in India. The invisibility of lighting hardware during day, adds further magic to the night time image (Low Res attached). Unstinted support from the client and their willingness to follow through with even difficult details has resulted in an excellent outcome. We are currently working on the JW Marriott in New Delhi which upon completion will certainly be noteworthy. One of our older projects, the Sahara Star in Mumbai is finally going to achieve completion. The exterior of the project which has been lying incomplete for nearly a decade is now back under construction and once finished will be the landmark for Mumbai airport. In Mumbai we are working with Hafeez Contractor on the Century Bhavan, due for completion later this year. At a different scale, we are working with Asian Paints to develop their experience store in Delhi. This will be complete in a few months and will showcase colour – how it influences perception and lighting of course is central to this interactive experience.

LET’S PARTNER Orchestrating Ambiences Aligning unified sensibility and individualistic concepts in lighting, design and visual experiences, Andre Tammes and Dhruvajyoti Ghose, Principals, LDP share their approach of light as an amplifier of architectural and spatial intent with Maulik Jasubhai, Publisher, IA&B.

CURRENT Au Courant Updates on events, exhibitions, competitions and news.

PRODUCTS Featured are contemporary, innovative and state-of-art products from across the globe. .

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CONSTRUCTION BRIEF Centre of Faith Juxtaposing spirituality and secularism over religious distinction, architect Siddhartha Mitra delinates the design for Centre of Faith, Ghaziabad. Richmond Villas Weaving in luxury, lifestyle and nature to co-exist, Hyderabad-based developer Keerthi Estates craft Richmond Villas. Vedic Village Far from the hustle-bustle of the growing city, architect Rajeev Agarwal creates a green pocket abundant in natural landscapes to orient an eco-friendly environment in form of Vedic Village in Neemrana. Rajaswa Bhawan: National Tax Headquarters Navi Mumbai-based Siddharth Shirur of Vistaar Architects & Planners will establish the connection between design adapatability and contextual contingencies to frame Rajaswa Bhawan—an edifice epitomising India’s changing attitudes.

ARCHITECTURE To Characterise Identities Elemental and Cohesive—the multidisciplinary practice of Delhi-based Morphogenesis reflects in the three recently completed and programmatically distinct projects.

Technology, Traditions and Typologies Orienting sensitivity and modular sensibility to define Suzlon One Earth Global Corporate Headquarters, Pune-based Christopher Charles Benninger Architects compose a transformative corporate building amidst Pune’s cityscape.

INTERIORS Cut & Fold Elaborating on an experiential architectural paradigm through architectonic geometries, Lalita Tharani and Mujib Ahmed of Collaborative Architecture sculpt WEDGE 1.

Concrete Couture Responsive to the spirit of its displayed couture, the interior decor of Sabyasachi store at Kala Ghoda in Mumbai explores the sense of rawness and richness to contrive an excitement of discovery.

INTERNATIONAL The World is a Stage A statement built on the ethos of culture, history and time, Studio Daniel Libeskind’s Grand Canal Square Theatre is an urban connect to the evolution of the historic city.

TECHNOLOGY Expressive Intents Deriving technology to design the first zero carbon footprint Olympic Games, Zurich-based architectural firm RAFAA Design develops Solar City Tower in Rio de Janeiro.

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BOOK REVIEW Why Loiter? Mustansir Dalvi reviews ‘Why Loiter?’, a recent book authored by Shilpa Phadke, Sameera Khan and Shilpa Ranade that charts through socio-ethnography, space mappings, and urban studies, the various ways women inhabit public space in Mumbai.

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FOCUS Making of an epoch Timeless expressions of material balance, traditional architecture and social fundamentals shape the practice of the 2011 Pritzker Prize laureate— Eduardo Souto de Moura.

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DELHI DIALOGUES The Sustainable Multi-polis In this column curated by arch i, Professor Ton Venhoeven of Amsterdam-based growth and economic perspectives of Delhi, the Indian capital.

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CULTURE COUNTS Re-imagining the Indian Museum In this column curated by Amita Baig, Rama Lakshmi reviews the relevance of the Indian museums in contemporary contexts in the realm of museology.

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SPACE FRAMES Disturbed Vocabulary Maniyarasan R, in this column curated by Dr. Deepak John Mathew, traces the negotiation of deterioration of heritage and erosion of memory through his lens.

Printed & Published by Maulik Jasubhai on behalf of Jasubhai Media Pvt. Ltd (JMPL), Taj Building, 3rd Floor, 210, Dr. D. N. Road, Mumbai 400 001. Printed by him at M.B.Graphics, B-28 Shri Ram Industrial Estate, ZG.D.Ambekar Marg, Wadala, Mumbai 400031and Published from Mumbai. JMPL, Taj Building, 3rd Floor, 210, Dr. D. N. Road, Mumbai 400 001. 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.

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current SC2011 Spain-China Architecture Competition Category Type Deadline

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International Open to architects June 30th, 2011

Future is launching an international ideas competition to identify the best design concepts to develop visionary urban proposals with the intention of stimulating contemporary cities in four different locations; Hangzhou, Nanjing, Madrid and Barcelona. The competition is single-phase and is open to architects and architectural teams, only if they meet the age requirements – participants have to be students of architecture or architects under the age of 31, as on the date of submission of entries. Also, if participating in teams, the team has to have at least one student of architecture or architect under the age of 31, who shall head the team as the team leader. For further information, log on to: Web: www.arqfuture.com/competitions

Intergrain Timber Vision Awards 2011 Category Type Deadline

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International Open to Australian architects June 30th, 2011

The Intergrain Timber Vision Awards 2011 invite Australian resident architects, landscapers and designers to showcase their visionary use of timber in residential and commercial design projects to prestigious industry audience. There are five categories, such as Residential Interior, Residential Exterior, Commercial Interior, Commercial Exterior and Young Architects (under 30 years of age). To enter, participants are to submit images along with a brief description of the project that shall be judged by a panel of judges, competing for a $2,000 cash prize. Also, all entries shall be eligible for the People’s Choice Award, selected by online public vote from all entries submitted across all categories. For further information, log on to: Web: www.intergrain.com.au

International Chef’s Congress Design Competition

COMPETITIONS

Category Type Deadline

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International Open to all July 15th, 2011

The Mid-Polis: The 2011 Open-Building Competition Challenge Category Type Deadline

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International Open to all July 15th, 2011

This is a student competition for current students of any discipline. Winners will receive monetary awards and stipends to attend the Architecture in the Fourth Dimension Conference taking place on November 15-17, 2011 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The competition asks entrants to consider how familiar and new urban patterns and building typologies can serve to redefine this mid-polis site. The selected urban pattern and building types for this site will face significant challenges in the 21st century. They must be at the same time stable, lovable, energy effective infrastructures of space and form, adaptable to inevitable changes of use or function. How will the proposed urban morphology and building types support changing programmatic, economic and societal forces over time while maintaining a coherent built form that does not become functionally and stylistically obsolete in 30–50 years? Thus, the key issue in this competition is the design of an urban fabric and more detailed design of one building type of enduring quality - so excellent that over 50 or more years, the uses and functions in the urban spaces and inside the buildings can change as cells are replenished in a living organism. That is the design challenge. For further information, log on to: Web: www.open-building.org/conference2011/

Busan Opera House Design Competition Category Type Deadline

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International Open to architects August 3rd, 2011

This international ideas competition seeks to establish a design for the Busan Opera House, to be constructed in 2014. The design will be based on a variety of ideas from both domestic and foreign specialists, as well as student groups. The building would be a landmark, symbolising Busan’s rise as a world-class tourism centre, providing picturesque views of both the ocean and the Busan cityscape. The opera house will include a variety of facilities that will foster a wide range of artistic activities, while being accessible to the citizens. Architecture students or professionals, as individuals or teams of fewer than five, are eligible to submit their designs. For further information, log on to: Web: www.bohcompetition.org

ADA 2011: Architecture Dissertation Award

This is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to showcase design ideas and talent. Three winning firms will exhibit their lounge designs at the 6th Annual StarChefs.com International Chefs Congress (ICC), October 2–4 in New York City. The three winners will be notified by July 22 and announced on StarChefs.com at that time. To enter, be prepared to submit a one-page explanation of your design concept, as well as a sketch of your idea. Design requirements include; a footprint of approximately 15 x 15 feet of open space; design must incorporate comfortable seating for at least 10 to 15 people; winning design firms will be responsible for designing, building materials, labour, special lighting (not required), all furnishings, and on-site delivery and pick-up and you must remove your design in entirety after the event on October 4.

AWR invites students across the world to take part in the competition for graduate thesis on sustainable architecture and design innovation which cover urban planning, architecture and technology. The goal is to increase and promote the culture of sustainability and green architecture. Participation is open to all graduates of architecture and engineering faculties. The thesis made individually or in groups, must have been discussed in the period between January 1, 2009 and October 31, 2011. Winners stand to win €1500.

For further information, log on to: E-mail: Susan@starchefsinc.com

For further information, log on to: Web: www.awrcompetitions.com/competition

Category Type Deadline

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International Open to students November 15th, 2011

IA&B -MAY 2011

current Flux Presents the Australia New Zealand Student Architecture Congress Date : Venue :

July 6-9, 2011 Adelaide

Flux will feature a balanced programme of lectures and workshop-style sessions over three days, with the customary opening and closing parties ensuring an ideal mix of academic and social engagement for delegates. As we have experienced in the past, the biennial student congress will foster rich discussion and debate on the prevalent architectural themes of the day. The congress theme will centre on the position of the architect in the face of societal and environmental change, and economic crisis. With a range of speakers drawn from diverse sectors of the profession, the content will explore the positive ways of responding to challenging circumstances, both within a local context and the broader one of humanitarian and post-disaster relief. For further information, log on to: Web: www.flux2011.com

Compostela Architecture Summer Programme 2011 Date Venue

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July 18 – August 6, 2011 Santiago de Compotela, Spain

The programme will integrate students in the historical context of the city of Santiago de Compostela, to experience walking, travelling, and living among architectural masterpieces. The students in this programme will participate in a sort of “architectural pilgrimage” to buildings by Alvaro Siza, David Chipperfield, and others. Students will also have the unique opportunity to visit the construction site of Peter Eisenman’s largest project to date, the Cidade da Cultura, which embodies some of the most intriguing ideas the architect has been developing for decades. In addition, this programme will focus on issues of sustainability in contemporary architecture. Lectures and seminars will discuss new technologies and new approaches to create more sustainable buildings within a new context. These different dimensions of learning will be smoothly integrated into a single coherent educational programme, complemented by the spiritual experience of own architectural pilgrimage. For further information, log on to: Web: www.CAinstitute.es

State of Design festival programme

EVENTS

Date Venue

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July 20-31, 2011 Melbourne, Australia

Roots Architecture Workshop WOMAD 2011 Date Venue

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July 29-31, 2011 Wiltshire, UK

Roots Architecture at WOMAD Charlton Park 2011 aims to celebrate the work of architects, builders and makers working on humanitarian and emergency shelter projects across the world. Roots Architecture will feature talks and an exhibition highlighting the growing worldwide humanitarian architecture and building community, against the lively backdrop of a practical building challenge. Workshop participants will team together over four days to design and make four stages. Materials will be reclaimed, re-useable or sourced from Charlton Park itself. The finished structures will become part of the festival, hosting live performances during WOMAD’s finale. Whether you’re an experienced self-builder, or a practical newcomer, join the convivial workshop led and guided by experienced specialists. For further information, log on to: Web: www.womad.org

Postmodernism: Style and Subversion 1970-1990, An Exhibition Date Venue

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September 24, 2011 London, UK

The V&A’s major autumn exhibition will be the first in-depth survey of art, design and architecture of the 1970s and 1980s, examining one of the most contentious phenomena in recent art and design history: Postmodernism. It will show how Postmodernism evolved from a provocative architectural movement in the early 1970s and rapidly went on to influence all areas of popular culture including art, film, music, graphics and fashion. The exhibition will explore the radical ideas that challenged the orthodoxies of Modernism; overthrowing purity and simplicity in favour of exuberant colour, bold patterns, artificial looking surfaces, historical quotation, parody and wit, and above all, a newfound freedom in design. For further information, log on to: Web: www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/future_exhibs/postmodernism/index.html

Now Dig This! Exhibition Date Venue

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October 2, 2011 Los Angeles, CA

The State of Design festival has revealed the latest in the upcoming highlights for its Design for Everyone programme. The festival claims to be the largest design event in Australia. Design for Everyone, the festival’s public programme, aims to engage and inspire a broad audience through informative workshops and creative activities across Melbourne and regional Victoria. Highlights of the Design for Everyone programme will include: Look.Stop.Shop presented by the City of Melbourne is a design-led walk through Melbourne’s city centre, 72-Hour Urban Action presented by RMIT, is an internationally reaching event, Late Night Platform at ACCA will be co-hosted by State of Design and the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art across three nights of the festival.

This comprehensive exhibition examines the incredibly vital but often overlooked legacy of Los Angeles’s African American visual artists, featuring works from public and private collections located across the country, some of which have not been seen for decades and were previously considered lost. Now Dig This! will feature artists including Melvin Edwards, Fred Eversley, David Hammons, Maren Hassinger, Senga Nengudi, John Outterbridge, Alonzo Davis, Dale Brockman Davis, Noah Purifoy, Betye Saar and Charles White, presenting their creative output alongside parallel developments and teasing out the connections among individuals and groups of different ethnic origins. This multicultural component will bring to light a significant network of friendships and collaborations across racial lines.

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

For further information, log on to: Web: www.hammer.ucla.edu/exhibitions/detail/exhibition_id/196

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current Padma Shri honour for eminent architect C N Raghavendran C N Raghavendran, eminent architect from Chennai, has been honoured with the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in India. Born on March 14, 1944, Raghavendran received his Bachelor’s Degree (Honours) from IIT, Kharagpur (1965) and Master of Architecture Degree from University of California at Berkeley, USA (1967). He has been responsible for the design, engineering and implementation of a wide variety of projects across India and abroad, including UAE, Mauritius, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Guyana, Malaysia and Zambia. His portfolio of projects include works in a wide range of sectors such as central and state government, foreign government and consulates, private sector industries, IT campuses, educational institutions, healthcare, hospitality and sports infrastructure. Currently a Partner of the well known C R Narayana Rao (CRN), Architects & Engineers, a firm recognised for their contribution in the field of developing eco sensitive projects, Raghavendran’s focus from the beginning of his career has been on sustainable & environment-friendly principles conducive to intelligent building concepts, much before it became a fashion statement.

CNBC AWAAZ has announced the ‘Real Estate Awards 2010’. The awards aim at identifying and honouring visionaries and professionals who have carved a niche for themselves in the real estate industry and also been the frontrunners in taking India’s development international. Presented by R R Kabel, a $400 million conglomerate rapidly spreading its wings into the domestic and international market, the event brought together the most revered names of India’s real estate industry on a common platform. The Indian real estate industry has grown significantly over the past few years. This sector has recorded a 30 per cent annual growth in the financial year 2009–2010 and also progressed overwhelmingly in both, residential and commercial properties. India’s construction sector accounts nearly for 7 per cent – 8 per cent of India’s GDP. It is also one of the growth drivers of the Indian economy.

Citizens to help envision new development plan for Mumbai

The Joint Venture (JV) between Ceramic leader RAK and European bath fitting manufacturer KLUDI will offer four major brands—JOOP, Espirit, KLUDI and KLUDI-RAK in India. RAK Ceramics, the world’s No. 1 ceramic manufacturer, has announced the launch of KLUDI-RAK brand, a new range of designer faucets in India. The joint venture with KLUDI offers different ranges of taps, shower and faucets. The KLUDI-RAK series is specialised for its fittings for bathroom and kitchen. Equipped with the latest European technology, KLUDI-RAK has the skill for development, design and manufacturing of fittings that combine technical perfection and high functionality. Janusz Palarczyk, Managing Director of Kludi Poland and General Manager of Kludi Group, said, “This JV is indeed a pleasure and of great importance for both RAK CERAMICS and for KLUDI. We are here to offer the best to the masses and both brands are known for their quality, which is also our priority with KLUDI-RAK.”

The city’s new development plan (DP) is still three years away from implementation. But citizens’ groups, NGOs and urban planners have started formulating their own vision of Mumbai’s future - they want the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to incorporate them when finalising the plan. A DP defines land use in the city and envisages its future growth prospects in infrastructure development, housing, development control, transport, environmental management, sanitation and beautification. In Mumbai, the largest ever citizens’ survey covering 2,000 people, spread over 10 civic administrative wards, was carried out a few weeks ago. The survey, conducted by 200 students from various architecture schools in the city, spoke to a cross-section of citizens - from flat owners to street dwellers - to elicit their views about the city.

Earth Infra to invest ` 750cr in Haryana

NEWS

CNBC Awaaz announces Real Estate Awards 2010 winners

Earth Infrastructures Ltd. has announced its entry in Gurgaon, Haryana with an investment of `750 crore in the residential and commercial projects. Gurgaon has undoubtedly and increasingly the most affluent and educated segment of people moving into the city now. This is the company’s first project in the state. This upcoming project in Gurgaon is a symbol of lifestyle statement which is creating a paradise for modern living. It is designed by the Spanish architect firm, Cervera & Pioz. The architects Maria Rosa Cervera and Javier G Pioz have won the international Golden Global Award, granted by a panel of 25 renowned architects and academics from India and Southeast Asia. They are the first Spaniards to win this award for their research in Bionics and its application in international architecture. Vikas Gupta, Director, Earth Infrastructures Ltd. said, “The success of Earth Towne and Earth Sapphire Court in Greater Noida has motivated us to bring another project in Delhi NCR, so we thought to launch our project in New Gurgaon, which is one of the new faces of modern lifestyle era.”

RAK Ceramics join hands with KLUDI

US firm to design Pune convention centre An agreement has been signed between the Pune International Exhibition and Convention Centre (PIECC) management and an American architecture firm, Alliance-BBG at Mumbai to design the `600 crore PIECC project. The agreement was signed during a meeting involving the divisional commissioner and Pimpri-Chinchwad New Township Development Authority (PCNTDA) president Dilip Band, Chief Executive Officer of PCNTDA Suhas Divase, Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Commissioner Ashish Sharma and officials of the state urban department. Sharma said, “There were two important decisions finalised in the meeting. The final agreement between Alliance-BBG and PIECC management was signed. The firm would make the architectural design for the project.” “Moreover, there would be employees appointed for PIECC on contractual basis. The posts like chief operating officer, heads for finance, administrative and legal departments will also be created for the project,” he added. According to Divase, the American firm will complete the task in about three months. Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan had given a nod for the proposed exhibition and convention centre at Moshi, on Pune-Nashik Road, in November last year. About 240 acres of land is marked for the project, of which 180 acres will be used to develop exhibition halls and convention centre and a golf club.

32 IA&B - MAY 2011

products 3D WallArt WallArt brings an imaginative yet sustainable solution to render plain walls. The eco-friendly wall panels made out of fibrous residue of sugarcane (also called bagasse) also portray a 3D effect. To make the WallArt 3D wall panels as 100 per cent recycled and compostable, the base material of the product is formed of fibre of crushed sugarcane stalks. Ideal as an eco-decór cladding, the textural finishes provide an innovative and durable surface by adding an extra dimension to the walls. WallArt introduced their 3D-wallcovering in Europe in 2010; and offer twelve different models of WallArt 3D wall panels.

Designer: WallArt Contact: Sigarenmaker 10b 5521 DJ Eersel P.O. Box 110 5570 AC Bergeijk The Netherlands Tel : 0031 497 369900 Email: info@mywallart.com Web: www.mywallart.com

Sunrise Bath & Kitchen Boutique

finishes

Bridging innovations with latest trends, Sunrise Bath & Kitchen has unveiled three new series titled Arketipo, Fashion and Mettalix. Each series is characterised by a particular concept that adds to the wide choice. The Arketipo collection is characterised by purity and harmony. Thanks to its incisiveness and deep grains recalling primordial elements, it emerges as an elegant collection series. The designs are enriched by ‘Gres Throughbody Technology’ for enhanced applications. It is available in beige, grafite and nero colour and priced at `279 per sqft. The Fashion range used classic colours like Nero, Tobago, Beige and Perla to craft an elegant feel and is priced at `675 per piece for Wall Art and `81 to 91 per sqft. Metallix range captures a luxurious finish and is priced at `675 per piece for Wall Art and `81 to 91 per sqft. “Each of these collections is exclusively merchandised to allow customers to easily visualise the completed installation,” says Divyesh Kumar, Director, Sunrise Sales Corporation. Sunrise Bath & Kitchen Boutique offers stylistic and latest market preference keeping in mind the aesthetic appeal of the design community.

Designer: Sunrise Bath & Kitchen Contact: 531, Amariyothi, HSBC Layout Kormangala Intermediate Ring Road Domlur, Bangalore Tel: 9164 00 4560

34 IA&B - MAY 2011

products Cork Peg Minimalistic details liven up your living space with utilitarian solutions. As an elegant hanging solution, molo design has introduced the Cork Peg. Enhanced by a magnetic mounting system, the Cork Peg can be used to hang anything from clothes to bags and lanterns. The Peg can be surmounted on any wall to form random compositions while being serving its purpose. The total weight bearing capacity is 1.2kg (2.65lbs); and when an item is hung from the middle, it is 2.2kg (4.85lbs). The calculation of the weight bearing capacity includes the magnet and the magnet cup. A simple tool, it is adaptable for any theme in the living space.

Designer: molo design Ltd. Contact: 1470 Venables Street Vancouver, BC Canada V5L 2G7 Tel: +1 604 696 2501 Email: info@molodesign.com

Eco-Public Urinal Cubicle

modular

Addressing the need of improvised hygienic conditions as well as convenient sanitation facilities in public spaces, the designer Amol Jungari has designed a portable solution. The convenience is directed at the end-users like tourists, pedestrians, hawkers and commuters in urban areas. The flexible unit is provisioned as an answer to lack of appropriate and affordable technologies, persistence of urination in the open, unhygienic conditions on footpaths and sidewalks and absence of public toilets in public places. The module was developed as a progressive approach comprising of many features like waterless urinals, solar powered for night time illumination, maintenance-free, provision of perforated grills at base for increased hygiene, appropriate privacy, provision of wheels for mobility, stainless steel construction for durability and rain water flushing during monsoon. The detailed module is designed as a public resource that facilitates the user immensely and yet is eco-friendly.

Designer: Amol Jungari Contact: Andheri (E), Mumbai Tel: +91 9867673824 Email: vj.amol@gmail.com

36 IA&B - MAY 2011

products Chool Innovating the seating experience, the designers have developed a half chair/half stool as a deviant approach. Chool is a flexible module that adapts the form as per the required activity. An embedded mechanism provisions ascent and descent of the stool to accommodate the functionality. When converted to a stool, it can be stowed under tables and desks or when raised to a certain height, can be transformed into a chair with a full size backrest. The entire contraption can be locked in any positionâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;chair or stool at the push of a button. The system requires no external power, but relies on the mass of the user. The designed element is not only useful, but is also aesthetically appealing in any background.

Designer: Slam Contact: The Old Truman Brewery 91 Brick Lane London E1 6QL Tel: 0845 094 9081 Email: lowdown@slam.co Web: www.slam.co

Swing-UP

innovations

Collaborating with Serralunga, Aquilialberg have devised a multi-purpose flowerpot, pouf and side table. Evolving modules through a controlled geometry, the unique construction and design can also be stacked. Distinctive in its look, it evolves into space in a sinuous and calibrated plastic torsion expanding its dynamism in space, both vertically and horizontally. A simple addition like a lid transforms the functionality from a side-table to a container or a pouf. Visually complex, the form aligns to a simple concept of rotation of 60Â° of two equilateral triangles, superimposed and spaced in height. A spiral movement is obtained by stacking these units, while illustrating a sense of dynamism and lightness.

Designer: AquiliAlberg studio Contact: Corso San Gottardo 9 20136 Milan Italy Tel: +39 02 39439070 Email: studio@aquilialberg.com Web: www.aquilialberg.com

38 IA&B - MAY 2011

products Day & Night Connecting product applications to natural cycles, Philip Bogaerts has designed a series of individual lamps. The Night lamp, made of acrylic and aluminium, creates a hue of soft blue light that renders a calm atmosphere in the room. Technologically sound, the lamp is embedded with a timer that follows the cycle of the moon — brightest during full moon. The Day lamp will shine increasingly as it gets darker and will dim when the sun is brightest. The entire contraption uses LED lights, hence making it eco-friendly. The concept delineates the way the natural cycle of day and night influences daily lives.

Designer: Philip Bogaerts Contact: Eindhoven, The Netherlands Tel: 0031 6 360 852 99 Email: info@philipbogaerts.nl Web: www.philipbogaerts.nl

Corner Seat

interiors

The design of Corner Seat has been set to optimally adapt to any space. In a conventional room décor, the corners are always accessorised with tables or other knick-knacks. The chair is positioned with a bi-directional seat, evolving as “an elegant solution to an awkward problem”. Visually light and compact, the chair is composed of Seesham wood with wood inlay as decoration on the armrest.

Designer: A Balasubramaniam & Gaurav Sharma Contact: January Design B-48, GF, Ardee City, Sector 52 Gurgaon 122003 Tel: +91 124 4144908 Email: bala@januarydesign.com

40 IA&B - MAY 2011

products Phul Chair Deriving functionalism, modernism and the machine aesthetic to be the main aspects of the design, designer Mann Singh has created the Phul Chair. In the designer’s words, “In 1938 Hans Coray designed the Landi Stuhl; a chair which was to become the archetype for a whole generation of chairs which would emerge post WW2—the shell chair. Charles Eames and Harry Bertoia were to popularise the concept with their versions, which were better known and widely copied. My starting point was the Landi chair and in many ways, Phul Chair is the antithesis of it. But it also brings the philosophy full circle.” The Phul Chair has been designed with an individualistic touch as a combination of traditional craft with modern material of stainless steel. The decorative framework is sculpted to form the chair. Each module of ornamentation contributes to the structural aspect of the design. The entire creation is underscored with the fact that it is probably impossible to put this chair into production anywhere but India.

Designer: Mann Singh Contact: Email: singhmann@yahoo.com

Lastika

interiors

Forty elastics compose the flower-like form of Lastika. It is a chair that evolves into a flexible seat and frames an enjoyable experience for the user. Owing to the elasticity, the bounce creates a rocking sensation, although the structure is very stable. The concept delineates a hammock, wherein the external structure is the only rigid element. The seats are lightweight and stackable. The chair is available in ten different colours or in a multicolour version.

Designer: A Balasubramaniam & Gaurav Sharma Contact: January Design B-48, GF, Ardee City, Sector 52 Gurgaon 122003 Tel: +91 124 4144908 Email: bala@januarydesign.com

IA&B - MAY 2011

construction brief

Entry facing the East.

Centre of Faith Designed by architect Siddhartha Mitra, Centre of Faith, Ghaziabad, emphasises spirituality and secularism over religious distinction. Text compiled by: Debajyoti Samal

eviving lost memories of a vernacular architecture and giving it a new dimension, architect Siddhartha Mitra tries to translate some of his deeply-held values on the relationship of man and architecture, cultural aesthetics and traditional knowledge that instinctively underline his process of design in the Centre of Faith project. Centre of Faith is located on a land of 1.5 acres towards the northern edge of the site boundaries. Originally mandated as a temple in this 50-acre institutional campus, it is being interpreted by the architect as a non-denominational, non-sectarian core of cultural life of the institution. The design seeks to reflect a reinterpretation of a traditional religious centre, appropriate to an institution in the modern context: more for an individual’s solace, peace, and even spiritual regeneration, rather than for the practice of distinct religious rituals. The architect attempts here to actualise India’s cherished value of regard for all religions through design. Cruciform in plan, the enclosed space is crowned by a composition of sloping brick vault roofs, alternating with concrete slabs that rise as a mountain peak, simulating a ‘Shikhara’, a ‘Spire’ or a ‘Gumbad’. The complete crown is finally clad in stone, in a gesture recalling precedents in Indian religious architecture. Open from all four directions, the space is independent of distinct religious tradition and invites all. Wall construction follows a composite masonry of Quartzite Random Rubble built to courses (external) and exposed brickwork in rat-trap bond (internal). The building

is skewed carefully to conform to four cardinal directions with the main entrance and the solitary deity facing south. The diagonal placement of the interior walls and extensive floor-to-ceiling windows extend the inside space outside by integrating volumes and celebrating oneness. Marginally fulfilling the fundamental form of Indian architecture, the entire space including the open courts forms a square in plan and sited at the intersection of the cross axis is a modern version of an open ‘Garbha-Griha’, lit naturally from the top. Centre of Faith is a part of Ajay Kumar Garg Engineering College (AKGEC), Ghaziabad, a well-regarded institution for technical education. AKGEC is located on NH 24 Hapur Bypass, roughly 20km east of New Delhi.

FACT FILE: Project Location Architect Client Area Photograph Status

: : : : : : :

Centre of Faith, Ajay Kumar Garg Engineering College (AKGEC) Ghaziabad, U.P Siddhartha Mitra Ajay Kumar Garg Engineering College (AKGEC) 6,400sqft Anoop Chalissery Under-Construction

IA&B - MAY 2011

construction brief

A view of Richmond Villas.

Richmond Villas Conceptualised by Hyderabad-based developer Keerthi Estates, Richmond Villas promises blend of aesthetics with modern novelties to make homes to reflect one’s lifestyle.

ifestyle takes on a refreshingly new dimension when one is anchored at the Richmond Villas in Hyderabad. Designed for fine living, set in a striking green, open ambience, one will discover a freshness at Richmond Villas that is truly enriching. The first thing that greets you at Richmond Villas is the huge open space at the entrance of this prestigious gated residential complex. You will be pampered by the huge, fully equipped Clubhouse that’s sure to excite your senses. As you drive in, you’ll notice that Villas at the Richmond are aesthetically designed where quality is beyond the ordinary. Welcome to an uncommon legacy for uncommon people. The entire gated residential complex is nestled in verdant greens and vast lung space. There’s as much room for you as for chirping birds and flowing breeze that are sure to remind you of the good old days when homes were built on vast open spaces for children and families. This truly is the place to be one with nature. The smartly designed Clubhouse exclusively for residents of the Richmond is a boon. Loaded with sports facilities, the fitness conscious and sports lovers can look forward to a treat. A host of recreation facilities are in place to keep children and the elderly in the best of spirits. The location of Richmond Villas is as aesthetics in nature as its design. Enjoy a majestic view of Golconda fort against the canvas of vast sky over a grand sunset from your abode. The terrain will fascinate you as much as it did the Nizams ages ago while the countryside charm envelopes you warmly at the Richmond.

You are well-connected to the rest of the world through express highways. Either it is the airport at Shamshabad, Jubilee Hills, Gachibowli or Madhapur, a 10-15 minute drive will reach your global destination as smooth as quick silver. In close proximity are schools like Glendale Academy and engineering colleges including Vasavi and CBIT that ensure that your school and college going children are in good company. Keerthi Estates enjoys an unmatched reputation in construction and delivery of high quality residential and commercial spaces. Established a decade ago, the company is run by a team of highly dedicated professionals with a single-minded objective of creating ‘happy lifestyles’. Today, Keerthi Estates is renowned to be a symbol of an elevated lifestyle and comfort par excellence.

FACT FILE: Project Location Client Total Area Built-up Area Status

: : : : : :

Richmond Villas Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh Keerthi Estates 3,600.00sqft 3739.00sqft Under-Construction

construction brief

IA&B - MAY 2011

Vedic Village Vedic Village in Neemrana, a creation of architect Rajeev Agarwal, offers an eco-friendly built environment essentially absorbed in the natural landscapes, far from the synthetic city. Cluster View of villas.

Master plan at a development stage based on a circular theme, now changed

Master Plan till to day

uilt on experience of the distinguished Vedic Village in Kolkata, this scheme spanning across an area of 250 acres of land, features to be a gated community in Neemrana, precisely fronting the northern side of the Delhi-Jaipur highway. Architect Rajeev Agarwal, in this project, shares his piece on craft, continuity and change. With a reasonably flexible brief, the conceptualisation and design development aided the formation of the programme to a great extent. The project Vedic Village proposes to house independent villas/second homes and resort as major developments along with entertainment facilities, wellness spa and a convention centre; envisioned to feature as a self-sufficient, sustainable development amidst beautiful landscapes. Located strategically along the foothills of the Aravallis, the architecture of the entire complex reaches to be in complete harmony with nature. The uniquely planned villas present a clear resolution of spaces, a sunken level with living areas and an entire face overlooking the private green and a dwelling sheltered by its own ground - a green bermed roof rising up from the earth! The (completely transparent) north façade facing the inner court conceals the literal boundaries and presents a seamless view and integration of the house and grounds. The southern interface protected from the rising berm ensures its share of light through tall openings under the alternative cut-outs along the entire stretch of service bay. The centre of the site housing a Resort in 5 acres is envisioned to present an architecture that is more expressive, evokes a sense of place and offers a form that absorbs in the present times. The whole place resolved into three courtyards includes a 200 room hotel, 30 independent villas/’havelis’ and a common administration in the centre. The hotel with an enclosed courtyard translates an indispensable vocabulary of the Indian tradition. The court integrates the indoor and outdoor spaces at different levels through undulating platforms and patterned arrangements. External elevations emerge from an inherent recollection of deep-rooted art forms and intricate carvings surfaced along ‘havelis’, forts and other heritage structures throughout India. The independent ‘havelis’ towards north, are conceived in a more conventional line distinctive of traditional building styles with stone jails, Bengal roof and an apparent hierarchy of independent and collective courtyards.

FACT FILE:

View of Villa Type A

Project Location Architect Client Status Area

: : : : : :

Vedic Village Neemrana, Alwar; Rajasthan Rajeev Agarwal Architects Vedic Realty Pvt. Ltd. Under-Construction 250acres

56 IA&B - MAY 2011 A view of the National Tax Headquarters, the face of finance in the modern Indian economy.

Rajaswa Bhawan: National Tax Headquarters Nearly a quarter century after the state’s last major architectural design competition, the Government of India issued a call for design entries for the ‘Rajaswa Bhawan,’ designated as the new National Tax Headquarters building. Siddharth Shirur of Vistaar Architects & Planners and their design partners have been awarded this prestigious project. Text: Darpana Athale & Thomas Dietz

n 2009, the current Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee—along with Home Minister P. Chidambaram, Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit and Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy—laid the groundwork for the ‘Rajaswa Bhawan,’ a new National Tax Headquarters building to be built in New Delhi. A 5.65-acre plot located in a heritage area on the Kasturba Gandhi Marg in the national capital has been allotted for the purpose of erecting this structure. The building complex will house various offices for the Finance Minister, Minister of State and Department of Revenue. In addition to these offices, the Chairpersons, Directorates, Members, Staff and offices of CBDT and CBEC,

along with support facilities and the G.A.R Section, are to be housed in the same complex. The programmatic requirements dictate a provision for future expansion and flexibility in space planning. Five distinguished architects and four representatives of the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance comprised the jury. The jury’s expectation was for a building designed with an understanding of local climatic conditions, leading to an energy-efficient building. Ease of public access, design adaptability and flexibility, and sensitivity to site and heritage, were other factors considered when judging the proposed designs.

construction brief Context The Lutyen’s Bungalow Zone is considered a heritage precinct. The site for Rajaswa Bhawan is within the central hexagon, on an axis (called Kasturba Gandhi Marg) connecting India Gate with Connaught Place. This area was originally envisaged as a development for less important princely states in the pre-independent era of British rule in India, but apart from a few notable exceptions, none of the princely palaces were built. The existing site has numerous two-storey barrack-like masonry buildings in the process of being demolished, interspersed within a context of old growth trees far predating the surrounding structures. By default, the low-rise structures were built in deference to the trees, creating a compelling context and establishing a design precedent for new architects, working in this region of the city, to follow.

the supporting truss. The order of conventional spatial organisation is thus inverted, by placing the greater occupational density toward the top of the structure. The structure, thus de-materialises with the lower office pods, hanging between the canopies of the trees.

Following the rise of the British, the architecture of Delhi evolved into a new style characterised by the fusion of Eastern and Western influences: an Indo-Saracenic architecture that historically relied on stone as its primary building material. Subsequent post-independence designs for new architecture have drawn heavily from this style, in an attempt to complement the existing fabric. Consequently, the immovability and opacity of the Government apparatus has been metaphorically engrained into the stone façades of nearly all civic architecture, erected post-independence.

The ‘Rajaswa Bhawan’ is envisaged as an edifice epitomising India’s changing attitudes. The use of glass, fosters a belief in the public’s perception of government, as moving from a closed, opaque and stoic system to a more open and transparent one. The inversion of conventional hierarchies lays foundation to the strength, that common Indian’s have in their resources, and encourages their use in a manner, that supports open and effective government.

Employees and officers are housed in 7.5x7.5x4.0m 3, that are either contiguous at upper levels, or linked via a series of connecting pathways at the lower levels, symbolic of the bonds that tie together the diverse Indian nation. The first two floors above the ground plane, hold the offices defining the higher echelons of government. These floors remain visible from below, thereby visually and symbolically re-enforcing trust in government. The ground floor, is then restored to the populace as a public domain, a ‘tabula rasa’ left free of any office functions.

Approximately three decades ago, a philosophical shift toward a more modern style of architecture has gained momentum. Progressive acts like the RTI (Right to Information) Act of 2005, the Environment (Protection) act of 1986, the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act of 1986, and the Right to Education Act of 2009 have moved the country, from a spirit of opaqueness to one of transparency, in governing affairs. Specifically, the rapid rationalisation of taxation policies over the past decade, coupled with advances in information technology, have moved government operations in a direction, more in keeping with the spirit of the age and the philosophy of transparency. Design Strategy Two key ideas drive the design: First, the context of the trees on the site; and, second, the metaphor of transparency used in tandem with the structural inversion of political hierarchies. These two ideas meshed perfectly with the ideals of the prospective clients, who sought to use such metaphors in redefining popular perceptions of government. Respecting the surrounding trees, with the intent to build around them without destroying them, the design thus defers to their venerable age. Pragmatically, the building’s form—in both elevation and plan—directly responds to the size and location of the trees on the site. The structure is suspended from a roof truss system, in a manner similar to that of limestone stalactites, that grow downward from the roof of a cave. From this truss, the networks of inverted pods are designed to be denser toward the top of the structure, with all general staff and services being placed near

SITE PLAN

FACT FILE: Project Location Architects Landscape Architect Client Team at Concept Structural Consultant Environment Consultant

: : : : : : : :

Rajaswa Bhawan, National Tax Headquarters New Delhi Siddharth Shirur (VistaarArchitects and Planners), Cyrus Subawalla (CSA Partners Ltd), Gurdev Singh Urmila Rajadhyaksha Ministry of Finance, Government of India Sunita Dalvi, Prachi Maindargi, Smruti Athalye, Gandhali Marathe, Aditi Nijasure, Trupti Kamat, Sharvari Deshmukh, Bijali Mukherjee, Uday Shirsat, Umesh Thamke, Sangwan Seo, Nate Johnson S.N.Bhobe Associated Pvt Ltd. + Mahendra Raj Hrushikesh Kolatkar

IA&B - MAY 2011

technology

Ex p r e s s i v e I n t ents Zurich-based architectural firm, RAFAA Design, fuses the formal possibilities of the first zero-carbon footprint Olympic Games with a layered technological approach to develop Solar City Tower as a sustainable landmark in Rio de Janeiro. Text: Maanasi Hattangadi Photographs: courtesy RAFAA Design

The cascade develops an identifiable element of the structure and owes more to the woven technology than a stylistic agenda.

The expressive exterior of the Solar City Tower will rise as a â&#x20AC;&#x153;symbol for the forces of natureâ&#x20AC;?.

ustainability in the contemporary landscape is all about the exchange of technological parameters and iconic building statements. The ongoing concern to seek this way of life is unearthing alternative models of self-sustenance. The visions are not a trend anymore, they are a responsibility. Taking the philosophy throughout the entire structure of the Solar City Tower, Zurich-based architectural firm RAFAA Design proposed this project as ‘a building/city as a machine’ for the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games. Solar City Tower, conceived entirely in the virtual realm, addresses the power to kick-start the global green movement again in Rio de Janeiro. In its many forms, generative or parametric, the Solar City Tower concentrates more on the usefulness of the technology than the aesthetic take. Modelled on the spatial concept of a waterfall, the surface folds back to form ‘an urban waterfall - a symbol of the forces of nature’. This cascade develops an identifiable element of the structure and owes more to the woven technology than a stylistic agenda. Integrated in its recesses is a solar power plant which, by daytime, complies with the energy needs of the entire Olympic village. The excessive energy is articulated in form of pumped seawater in the structure. The envelope pushes this design solution, system or strategy to define its appearance - an attitude that defies yet blends in the ambient landscape. Instead of a singular gesture to define the digitally-conceived volume, a multitude of competing gestures occur. At the base of the rising Tower, lofted 60m above sea level is an urban plaza - a confluence of public spaces. As a spatial continuity, the amphitheatre then leads the path to the entrance niched at the ground floor.

The strategic location of the Tower offers endless vistas to the visitor.

The Olympic Flame that will be seen at the top of the Tower.

urban plaza / skywalk waterfall

water tanks

sea water supply

+ 105m (sea level)

retractable platform bungee jumping olympic flame (LED)

view to Cotunduba Island

water platform

hydroelectric turbine

solar energy plant

auditorium / m.u.s. / storage

administration

entrance / amphitheatre cafeteria shop

The urban plaza located at 60m above sea level defines the entrance to the Tower.

Axonometric view of the Tower.

18 17 5

level +105 m

4 1

12 6

3 9

level +98.0 m 12 14

1 10

ground floor+55.0 m

1 2 3

solar energy plant water platform amphitheatre

920 sqm 390 sqm 120 sqm

4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

administration cafeteria entrance / info shop entrance staff maintenance auditorium M.U.S. lavatories storage

100 sqm 339 sqm 123 sqm 112 sqm 65 sqm 52 sqm 138 sqm 197 sqm 98 sqm 81 sqm

14 15 16 17 18

bungeejump observation deck 1 observation deck 2 urban balcony skywalk

6 sqm 127 sqm 127 sqm 127 sqm 78 sqm

1770 sqmat Illuminated Soccer CityTotal Stadium first floor+60.0 m

level +90.5 m

Floor Plans

The inner circulation of the Tower travels from the entrance at the ground floor into the urban balcony, rising 105m from the ground.

Within the building, the underlying logic of the views remains the same. Spaces are carved out of the Tower, each eroded by a particular activity. The walkway from outside appears to travel through a foyer to the administration offices inside. A patchwork of elevators and entrances delineate the inner circulation. Exploiting the intersection of verticality and endless views from the tower, the functions have been subtracted from the volume thoughtfully. The cafeteria and shops are situated strategically beneath the waterfall, providing ample vistas to the visitors. The traversable plane is pushed back to organise the semi-public spaces at the back so as to allow a separate access. The ascent encompasses a varied allotment of functions. The public elevator takes the visitor to the observation decks and the urban balcony. A retractable platform for bungee jumping is located on level +90.5 while the level +98.0 boasts of an observation deck. Evoking the advantage of the highest point, the urban balcony is situated at 105m above sea level. Enfolding

the visitor in an infinite promenade, it not only offers a 360° view, but also frames an experience of the waterfall over a glass sky walk. There has been a conscious effort to blend one space into another. The appearance is not understated but of interest and potential. It features a liberal interpretation of how technology can be used to shape dualities in architecture, more sustainability than aesthetics. Sculptural and suspended - the Solar City Tower will emerge as an exploration of the medium – rather than the message – of digital architecture.

FACT FILE: Project : Location : Architect : Client :

Solar City Tower Rio de Janeiro RAFAA Design International Architecture Competition for the Olympic Games 2016 in Rio de Janeiro

IA&B - MAY 2011

architecture

To o Characterise haracterise Identities dentities Three recently completed and programmatically distinct projects by Delhi-based Morphogenesis reinstate the significance of identity as a point of departure and an idea of cohesion of design. Text: Ruturaj Parikh Photographs: Andre J Fanthome and Edmund Sumner; courtesy Morphogenesis

he Pearl Academy of Fashion in Jaipur, Corporate Office for India Glycols in Noida and Harley Davidson Corporate Office in Gurgaon have a common conceptual thread running through each of these distinct designs. Morphogenesis, through their critical practice, display a synergy between brand and corporate personalities and expectations set against modern

design, built on a sensitive and contextual conceptual base. The three projects presented hence signify a thought process that brings contemporary architecture to represent brand aspirations, thus pushing architecture to take up a role as corporate branding, while staying adherent to the fundamentals of a good architectural design. Pearl Academy of Fashion.

The academy building as a modern, progressive expression.

Pearl Academy of Fashion

et in a rather lifeless Kukas industrial suburb of Jaipur, the Pearl Academy of Fashion is an institution of excellence located in a hot-dry climatic context. The idea of design for the institute departs from a basic concept of creation of a micro-climate to counter the extremities of a typically hot climatic context. While being expressive in its architectural language, the building adheres to passive climatic control techniques and local mechanisms to establish a comfortable interior, while saving energy in the process. As a confluence of modern design expressions through traditional and local ideas, the building is a rectangular mass placed on an underbelly carved from the earth, which acts as a heat-sink by retaining temperature throughout the day, keeping the indoors comfortable. The double-skin of the building is an abstraction of the traditional ‘Jaalis’, creating a mechanism of self-shading and thus cutting the thermal gain due to solar radiation. Multiple and interconnected courts of the building are landscaped with water-bodies and vegetation that use recycled water from the STP. The building makes use of local stone, glass, steel and concrete as primar y building materials. The efficacy of the cost-effective passive architecture is realised when the indoor temperature of the naturally-lit classrooms stays at 27°c, while the

Facade with an external ‘Jaali’ screen for climatic control.

Though the overall formal and aesthetic language varies from project to project, the attitude towards architecture as a vehicle of expression of identity stays central.

Diffused Light

Building model with three carved courts and an intricate facade.

Jaali Facade To Bolck Direct Sun And Help Control Heat Gain

SITE PLAN

Indoor - Protected Academic Teaching Areas

Buffer Zone

Open - Courtyard As Micro Climate Control Device

Semi Enclosed Corridor As Transition To Open

Glazing On Inside Of Jaali Transmits Diffused Light.

External - Face Exposed To Climate

The idea of passive cooling embedded in the design.

LONGITUDINAL SECTION

69 outdoor temperature is 47째c. The building also acts as a 100 per cent self-sufficient microcosm by recycling its waste and har vesting rain water. No ar tificial climate-control techniques are used in the building. The design, while representing an aspiring image of a progressive institute building, derives its contextual relevance and effectiveness through abstraction of local concepts of building.

FACT FILE:

OTS courts with water body for evaporative cooling.

Double-skinned facade of the building with an external and an internal layer for insulation.

Project Location Architects Client Structure Electrical Plumbing HVAC Landscape Contractors Plot Area Built-up area

: Pearl Academy of Fashion : Jaipur : Morphogenesis : Pearl Academy of Fashion : N M Roof Designers Ltd. : Integral Designs : Tech Consultancy : Design Centre : Oracles : R G Colonizers Pvt. Ltd. : 12,250sqm (3acres) : 20,000sqm

Corporate Office for India Glycols

ocated in the alienating context of NOIDA, the design for Corporate Office of India Glycols deals with the workspace as a social activity, taking into consideration the behavioural issues related to workspaces. Like all corporate designs, the design for the India Glycols office takes into consideration the corporate identity of the organisation to derive an architectural language for the place.

The India Glycols Corporate Office facade with contemporary material claddings.

The idea of an open-office system with transparency of a non-hierarchical workspace creates a less formal but an organised work culture. The building contains a variety of spaces in various hierarchies of openness and privacy, forming verandas, terraces, courtyards and OTS spaces within the formal organisation of the building. The maximum surface area of the building is very sensitively fenestrated with slit-openings on the outer skin and large, permeating openings towards the internal open spaces, maximising the natural and reflected light, while avoiding the harsh sun. The eight-metre-wide office bays of the building capitalise on the natural light, reducing the electrical consumption. Through a gridiron stacking system, passive climatic control techniques are brought to use. The air-cavity construction of the building increases the thermal time-lag, acting as an insulating layer to the building.

Internal courts, terraces and patios exploit natural light and ventilation.

Vegetation and landscaping within the building helps passive cooling and climatic control.

Gridiron structure enables combinations in stacking of floors.

72 63

Rain Water

Roof Garden Minimize The Solar Radiation Absorption

Conference Room

Office

Conference Room

Office

GYM

Evaporative Cooling

Slit Window Blocks The Direct Sunlight From West Side

Multi Purpose Hall

Reclaimed Water For Irrigation

SECTION WITH OTS AND COURTS

GROUND FLOOR PLAN

The overall aesthetic language of the building is relevant to the modern work culture. Modern and minimal language of the design complements the open and transparent office system. The architecture of India Glycols identifies with the work ethic of the firm and aligns with the personality of the company with no compromise on the fundamental architectural paradigms. As Morphogenesis puts it, “the workplace should manifest itself more as a flexible and integral part of an employee’s life rather than a separate entity of specified hours of confinement.”

FACT FILE: Project Location Architects Client Plot Area Built-up area

: : : : : :

Corporate Office for India Glycols NOIDA Morphogenesis India Glycols Limited 13,260sqm 36,390sqm

Harley Davidson Motorcycle in the office.

Harley graphic wall and memorabilia as a part of the interiors.

Harley Davidson Corporate Office

ontinuing on architecture and design of brand identity, Morphogenesisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Harley Davidson Corporate Office in Gurgaon is inspired by the iconography of the legendary brand. The brand image and associated identity of Harley Davidson motorcycles is explored to derive a language of interior design, somewhere between representation and abstraction. The programmatic requirements of the office space demanded a flexible and accommodating design, wherein the workspaces can extend and convert into spaces for functions, workshops and parties. The design is a single, unified space with compact enclosures that open to form the gathering spaces. The adventurous ethic of Harley Davidson is imbibed into the design language of the office with graphic walls, symbolic elements and modern, aerodynamic designs. The backdrop of the reception has Harley tanks painted by various artists.

Morphogenesis uses the iconography of the brand in the interior spaces.

From Harley Davidson bikes set for display, to the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;HDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; badge cut to make a screen and the bike handles acting as door handles, the design imbibes peculiar design elements of the bikes. Some intricate and expressive details in the interiors of the office are inspired by the automobile. The colour palette of the office, containing orange, black and grey, is also derived from the Harley palette. The interior design of the Harley office thus becomes an exercise in finding a common plane between brand aspiration and ethic and the expressive functionality of an architectural space.

Reception with painted tanks in the backdrop and transparent, multifunctional interiors.

Training centre for maintenance of Harley bikes.

Shaft

Physically Challenged Toilet

Male Toilet

Male Female Janitors Toilet Toilet Room

Wash Basin

Modular Pantry UP Pantry Events Entrance

Toilet

Work Bench

Ele Room

Reception Table

Server Room

Parts Eye Wash Storage

Work Bench Tool Box Tool Box

Workshop

Tool Box Tool Box

Executive Wrokstation

Shop Tool Box Work Bench

Work Bench Work Bench Press

PLAN

Planter Box

Bathroom interiors with Harley style mirrors and bike handles for door handles.

The architecture and design of Morphogenesis is an expressive amalgamation of contemporary design with critical thinking. Though the overall formal and aesthetic language varies from project to project, the attitude towards architecture as a vehicle of expression of identity stays central to the designs of Morphogenesis. The three projects chronicled here are not representative landmarks in design but are diverse examples connected by a common thread of a cohesive idea; the idea of architecture as a critical practice of spatial articulation.

FACT FILE: Project Location Architects Client Design area

: : : : :

Harley Davidson Corporate Office Gurgaon, India Morphogenesis Harley Davidson 650sqm

77 IA&B - MAY 2011

Technology, Traditions and Typologies Suzlon One Earth Global Corporate Headquarters, designed by Pune-based Christopher Charles Benninger Architects, is sculptural addition to Pune’s cityscape as a commercial adaptation that skilfully negotiates sense of the brand image to fulfil the sustainable needs of the hour. Text: Maanasi Hattangadi Photographs: courtesy A. Ramprasad Naidu, Harminder Singh, Owen Raggett, Ritesh Ramaiaha

Meandering façade of various blocks around the central plaza envelops the various work areas, bringing in and out the built mass into the landscape.

rivileged by site, budget or high client brief, corporate projects have existed iconically in the world as sprawling infrastructures, yet subsist sustainability-wise developing a core of urban concern. However, the history of the corporate image of architecture has been recast in the last decade. The changing iconography of the companies has observed a shift in traditional modes of individual identity in favour of social infrastructure, not as a short-term elusive phase, but as a collective to develop a ‘greener’ identity of the brand. Central to this strategy and a perception of the same circumstance in the Indian architectural scenario is Suzlon One Earth Global Corporate Headquarters designed by Pune-based architectural firm Christopher Charles Benninger Architects. Sited across 45,393sqft in an industrial pocket in the Pune-Mumbai corridor, Suzlon Energy Ltd. is the flagship company of the Suzlon Group. A growing

global leader in wind energy, the design of its headquarters called for a symbolic adaptation of its brand - in terms of ambience, organisational structure and values. Underlying this brief was an imperative to make it cost-effective, suitable for rapid implementation and energy savvy. The designed campus of Suzlon One Earth Global Corporate Headquarters across 8,16,171sqft of site area, reflects well considered detailing that complements remarkably well with the ordered simplicity of the planning. It is drawn on both literal modules and components choices - as the architects puts it “elements and events”. The concept is locked together by a series of modules that locates and defines the nature of the interior programme. The layout follows an ideological persuasion of taking square as the “MODULE” of construction. The module mutates accordingly in plan and elevation to manifest a set geometry. The repetition

architecture The project embraces a poetic reading of its context - a modern interpretation of vernacular aesthetics; its strategies and material usage making a powerful argument that the structure has to play in the green scenario as a community asset.

dictates a logic that is reflected everywhere; like dimensions are drawn from the most logical ceiling-to-ceiling height, which is reflected in plan and the columns and beams leave a square cut-out closed by horizontal louvers and cladding that maximise ventilation and uninterrupted views outside. This massing design decision allows a valuable view into a number of recombinant equations that will activate spaces. 12x12 foot squares when grouped could form spaces, the columns can hold up the roof sections creating pergolas, and pavilions can be placed on the roofs. It is a small tweak to the plan, almost domestic in scale, yet it adds exponentially to the project’s spatial richness. The major volumetric move onto the existing fabric is one of division rather than addition. Composing the modules into poetic interludes, the components are “idiosyncratic solutions to notional problems, like stairways and sky courts

bringing in light and allowing nature to grow within the fabric.” They are used as inserts, as “RELIEF MODULES”, volumes where the staff can introspect, reflect or take a break. Corresponding to its scale, the main entrances of the structure are uplifted glass SKY cylinders that invite in light and ventilation. Native landscape like palms and other plants buffer the zones from activity and traverse as sociable spaces. The conservation credo of simple rectilinear spaces blends in well with the planimetric organisation. A built uptake on a LEGO building block set, it echoes well in the strategic positioning of the modules, sky cylinders, retreat areas and stairs. Triangular skylights in the circular cylinder channel in indirect light, its shadow-light trajectory animating the interiors day and night. Expressed in a network of remarkable openness and flexibility, the woven tapestry of the building dilutes into smaller composites of break areas like toilets, a

MAIN ENTRY TR Y

ENTRY- 1

BL OFFI OC CE KG

SERVICE YARD

LO FUN UN GE

OFFICE BLOCK - A

BL OFFI OC CE KF

Welcome Lounge

LOUNGE

SUZLON EXCELLENCE ACADEMY

ENTRY

OFFICE BLOCK - B

SUJLON ONE EARTH

OFFICE BLOCK - D ENTRY

WIND LOUNGE

OFFICE BLOCK - C

LOUNGE OFFICE BLOCK - E ENTRY

SITE PLAN

SECTION

Suzlon One Earth Corporate Headquarters, Pune

SECTION

Suzlon One Earth Corporate Headquarters, Pune

97 80

Waterfalls act as a backdrop to the activities; the pools create a micro-climate in the campus.

The Deepa Stambh, or the central oblix reaching out to the sky as symbol of excellence and hope.

Solar photovoltaic panels form the roof of the atrium of the learning centre, generating green power.

Glass cylinders mark the entrance portals rendering a feel of as a connection between the earth and the sky.

97 82

The interiors reflect a rich material palette.

convenient pantry for self-help coffee and tea, a small library for self-education and reference, a “smoking porch”, a small dialogue table as well as a photocopy machine. The most visually arresting component of the whole design is the ‘deepa stambh’ at the centre. Deepa Stambh, a huge traditional Maharashtrian oil lamp, graces the centre of the Suzlon reflecting pool - a pivotal position in the campus. About 40 feet tall, it will be covered with LED lamps. The visual lines from all directions extend to it - be it from the entrances or from the glass ‘Brahmasthal’. The pool is crafted at the basement level wherein it subtly shapes as a view of the dining and cafeteria. The water element traces lines back as a cascade of water in the backdrop, winding down three tier levels. Further dressed with traditional step-like objects, the water lends a rhythmic background score to the ambience. A long water basin feeds the water falls through a pumping system. The linear basin links the Brahmasthal to a fountain toward the east. Architecturally, these nuances push the building towards a vernacular typology, with its generally restrained palette and auspicious components functioning as a backdrop to a high-tech context. The auspicious components are subtle details within the project that make it particular to its location. Overall, the volumetric dialogue is about rectilinear spaces which imbibe extensive openings to promote cross-ventilation and there is an emphasis on a connect of the interiors rooms with the exterior, both physically and visually. The framework is fraught with sustainable initiatives. It has embedded the materialistic program with mainly two environmental controls—Solar photovoltaic panels that form the roof of the atrium of the learning centre and reflective pools that create a microenvironment in the campus, cooling the air around. Its material palette aids cohesion between the work and its locale, expressive in its objective as a contextual fit. The visible activity and relaxed collaboration in this transparent setting is far from the hierarchical spatial structure and compartmentalised office-scapes. It not only accepts the plurality of

The work areas delineated in the campus.

functions but also from its overlaps brings forth a unity that can be viewed in rhythms and episodes. The building is a continuous exploration of a designer aesthetic with green initiatives that shows creative involvement in brand communication at all levels. A shift from the conventional style to an approach that positions sustainability as its key aspect – Its strategies and material usage making a powerful argument that the structure has to play in the green scenario as a community asset. The project embraces a poetic reading of its context - a modern interpretation of vernacular aesthetics. The resulting building is ambiguous; both rhetoric of high technology and contextual culture, both sustainable and urbane.

FACT FILE: Project : Location : Principal Architect : Design Team : Client : Prime Contractor : Landscape Design : Interior Design : Branding and Experience : Structural Design : Construction Management : Green Building Consultants : Completion of Project : Project Estimate :

Suzlon One Earth Global Corporate Headquarters Pune Prof. Christopher Benninger Jagdeesh Taluri, Sushilkumar Khairnar, Daraius Choksi, A.Madhu, Visharad Sharma, Subhankar Nag, Manasi Sahu Mr. Tulsi Tanti, CMD, Suzlon Energy Ltd. R.Vasudevan, Kumar Krishnan, Narendra Badave, Vascon Engineers Ltd. Ravi & Varsha Gavandi Landscape Architects Space Matrix in association with Manish Banker (Tao Architects) Elephant Design and Strategy Dr. Santhosh ,Vastek Knight Frank Environmental Design Solutions, Delhi Tanmay Tathagat, Kavita Jain October 2009 ` 280crores

83 IA&B - MAY 2011 Concept sketch showing the ‘wrapping’ of an envelope.

Cut

Fold

Sharp angles, dynamic geometries and high finish define this pavilion designed by Lalita Tharani and Mujib Ahmed of Collaborative Architecture as an intermediate between sculpture and architecture. Text: Ruturaj Parikh Photographs: courtesy Lalita Tharani & Manish; Collaborative Architecture

he WEDGE 1 is a temporary installation space seen as a pavilion for the display of products. The architecture and geometry of the space gets shape from tectonic explorations of a deconstructing ‘shoe-box ’. A continuous movement in space defines the basic geometry of the curve. Subsequently, the curve is broken into multiple and multidimensional trapezoidal planes that form a unified and singular wrap which encapsulates the presentation space. Thematically, WEDGE 1 assumes the role of a pavilion; a conceptual frame linking an idea and architecture. This in-between typology has

WEDGE 1 pavilion in elevation from the entrance side.

a function of creating a relatively neutral display space for the objects within, while establishing enough inquisitiveness from outside for the pavilion. The high finish and complex geometr y of this project were achieved within a small time frame and budget. Three elements define the space within: the wrap of the fractured curve, the planes of the ceiling and intermediate planes that segregate spaces and support the overhead plane. “These two-dimensional cut-outs on the skin transform the project from a simple container of products to an architectural ensemble of multiple meanings and unparallel perceptual

interiors

By deconstructing the box into an expressive pavilion space, Mujib and Lalita make a curiously uncanny statement on architecture of semi-permanence.

Neutral white external skin of the pavilion with openings.

Three space-defining elements: the wrapping vertical surface, the undulating ceiling and the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;light vectorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

86 85

PLAN WITH VERTICAL WALLS

values,” say the architects. Sharp cut-outs on the peripheral surfaces encourage a visual connection with the objects and spaces outside. The ‘light-vectors’ in the form of florescent lights stay suspended in the air, forming a visual ceiling to the space. The idea of the pavilion is to encounter objects in a neutral space, but not necessarily in a sterile box. By deconstructing the box into an expressive pavilion space, Mujib and Lalita make a curiously uncanny statement on architecture of semi-permanence. Such models not only ser ve as real experimental spaces but also act as typological transitions between a diagrammatic idea and a model, and architecture. In context of designs of temporar y pavilions, WEDGE 1 por trays a refined spatial character and in context of architecture, WEDGE 1 represents an experimental model; an experiential pre-cursor to permanence in space.

FACT FILE:

Exploded isometric showing the constructing elements of the pavilion.

Project Location Architects Design Team

: : : :

WEDGE 1 Mumbai, India Collaborative Architecture Lalita Tharani and Mujib Ahmed

87 86

Objects in a neutral space do not compete with the space.

Concrete Couture

IA&B - MAY 2011

Roses behind the red glass flank the entrance to the store.

aw and robust, the interior decor of the recently opened Sabyasachi store at Kala Ghoda in Mumbai allures by exuding a sense of richness in selection and an excitement of discovery.

Text & Photographs: Ruturaj Parikh

interiors

A collection of a multitude of objects â&#x20AC;&#x201C; clocks, frames, plates and lamps form the decor.

Glittering objects on a stark concrete wall â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the opposites.

he Sabyasachi store at Kala Ghoda is housed in a renovated heritage building. Designed by Sabyasachi Mukherjee himself, the store has a very romantic appeal from the street. The green edifice, the wooden doors, windows with flowers and two blood-red glasses with roses within it flank the entrance, rendering a sense of Parisian elegance from the street. The space within is practically devoid of any visual connection to the outside. The space within is that of indulgence and of tactile experiences.

The dimly-lit entrance of the store renders a certain warmth and cosiness to the prelude. A collection of diverse objects that can be categorised into plates, frames, clocks and lamps, cover the bare concrete walls that exude a rough, hand-made appeal. A clean concrete wall, with four Persian mirrors, reflects the collection and furthers the effect of subtle lighting. Hand-blown glass lampshades in multiple forms and colours light this narrow passage. A wall with intricate glass tiles forms a backdrop to a wooden chest.

Variety of old clocks render the space an antique ambience.

An assortment of framed paintings, photographs and sketches resembling gods and goddesses, retro actors and stars of the silver screen cover up the walls. Some pictures with an inquisitive depth stare at you from the frames, re-visiting black & white memories of a bygone era. Brass, wood, glass and steel of ancient clocks glitter from the walls, contrasting against the matt of the concrete. The timepieces, some working and some still, present a sculpted background to Sabyasachiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s creations in rich weaves and embroideries. From the subtle yellow of the passage, as one enters

A collection of objects, selection of a minimal material palette and sensitive display renders a distinct and unique personality to the store. a bright yellow of the store area within, hand-made furniture pieces on the walls and antique chests and cabinets pose as objects supporting the exuberance of the overall decor theme of the boutique.

A variety of objects within the space demand attention and compete for visual space.

As you try hard to resist meddling with the black Bakelite of the old switches, you find a very sensitively-lit space of elegant greys and blacks against the matt finishes of dark and old wood. In terms of material sensitivity, a variety of objects within the space demand attention and compete for visual space, whereas the garment display area is kept minimal, so as to only focus on the merchandise. Seasoned wood furniture with upholstery and linen, embroidered to vibrant design details, characterise the taste.

Three silver mannequins against the concrete wall.

A collection of objects, selection of a minimal material palette and sensitive display renders a distinct and unique personality to the store; distinct to the elegance and luxury of the rich taste of Sabyasachi garments. The fitting rooms have a wood-framed mirror and a chairâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;a relaxing, hard-wood, polished chair. Three mannequins, gracefully posed against the austere simplicity of a bare concrete wall and a wooden chest, overlook the collection from the corner; elegant and stark.

The elegance and luxury of rich taste â&#x20AC;&#x201C; exposed concrete, dark wood and linen.

93 IA&B - MAY 2011

The World is a Stage Studio Daniel Libeskindâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Grand Canal Square Theatre in Dublin is an urban insert intended to rejuvenate a historic city through a powerful cultural presence. Text: Ruturaj Parikh Photographs: Hufton+Crow Photography; courtesy Studio Daniel Libeskind

international

he canals of Dublin have been an intricately woven feature of the historic city for a century and a half. These canals, over a period of time, have become significant features of the urban landscape of Dublin. Though they do not serve their original purpose of carrying cargo anymore, they have assumed a recreational role since the last cargo passed through the Grand Canal in 1960. Since then, the historic quarters of Dublin silently watched time go by without significant change, while the surrounding suburbs saw a surge in developments. Studio Daniel Libeskindâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s proposal for the new commercial development (expected to complete by the end of 2011) in the Grand Canal Square will hopefully revitalise this area and breathe new life into the old quarters. One of the recently completed and significant structures of the redevelopment is the Grand Canal Square Theatre; a 2000-seat performing arts centre,

which is integrated into the commercial heart of the new development as an icon for the future of the city. In the recent past, there have been frequent and effective examples of architecture being instrumental in revitalising old quarters of historic cities, that cannot keep up to the pace of development, by surgical interventions and inserts. The Grand Canal Harbour Development is envisioned to be one such feature. At the focal point of the grand central square stands a transparent crystalline form of the theatre, acting as a backdrop and a facade to a landscaped piazza extending to the canal. The transparent facade of the building complements the transparency of the neighbouring buildings and extends to the plaza, acting as a platform for activity and interesting vistas. This 1,17,000 square feet hall has the

Grand Canal Harbour Development from the dock with the theatre in the centre.

At the focal point of the grand central square stands a transparent crystalline form of the theatre, acting as a backdrop and a facade to a landscaped piazza extending to the canal. theatre in the sanctum, while the peripheral public spaces blend with the external skin of the building, making a bold visual statement and having an imposing presence in both, the scale and prominence. Bold and clean lines, sharp and crystalline forms, expressive and intuitive relations and an awe-inspiring scale make the architecture of Grand Canal Square Theatre, like all Daniel Libeskindâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s architecture, a powerful visual statement. A large landscaped public plaza extends from the theatre and is flanked by a five star hotel and residential developments. The plaza is thus contained from three sides and acquires a sense of scale. The plaza is brightly illuminated at night and the transparent, illuminated facade of the theatre acts as an extended backdrop and a facade to the piazza. The iconic structure was intended to have a powerful cultural presence; something like the Pompidou Centre in Paris. The juxtaposed functions,

New developments juxtaposed on the existing fabric of Dublin.

Grand Canal Square Theatre from the pier extending into the canal. SECTION THROUGH THEATER

72 71

66 65 64 63 62 61

60 59 58 57 56 55 54 53 52 51

50 49 48 47 46 45 44 43 42 41

40 39 38 37 36 35 34 33 32 31

30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21

20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13

12 11

THEATRE FROM GRAND CANAL

10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01

GLADIATOR 4

+6.445 M

+5.685 M

RHWL 1

SECTION THROUGH THE HALL

STUDIO DANIEL LIBESKIND

Conceptual sketch.

Completed Projects

Schematic section through the theatre with reference to the waterfront.

PLAN OF GRAND CANAL SQUARE THEATRE

Imposing and iconic formal vocabulary of the theatre â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a cultural presence.

Dynamic glass and steel wedges in the facade.

Performing arts hall â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the sanctum of the theatre.

multiple layers and series of altering experiences eventually intend to present an old quarter of Dublin with fresh activity and vitality. Fluid, transparent and dynamic architecture with a powerful iconic presence characterises the design of this urban complex. As our historic cities deteriorate against the surge of developments in neighbouring districts, urban interventions and inserts of such nature make vital contributions to the process of rejuvenation by attracting an influx of activity and interest. Grand Canal Square Theatre stands as an architectural expression of a new spirit that defines a new generation of citizens of Dublin. Grand Canal Square Theatre stands at a confluence of Studio Daniel Libeskindâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vocabulary and the aspiration of a historic city.

FACT FILE: Project Location Architect Client Project Area Civil Contractors Structural Engineers Acoustic Consultant Facade Consultant Fire Consultant Lighting Designer Completion of Project

: : : : : : : : : : : :

Grand Canal Square Theatre Dublin, Ireland Studio Daniel Libeskind Ramford Limited 148,171sqft 2,100 Seating John Sisk & Son Ltd., Dublin ARUP (Dublin) ARUP Acoustics, UK Billings Design Associates Michael Slattery & Associates Pritchard Themis 2010

100

View of the piazza from the gallery within â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the building as a platform.

101 IA&B - MAY 2011

Why doing nothing in

Mumbai could liberate its women.

Mustansir Dalvi reviews â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Why Loiter?â&#x20AC;&#x2122;, a recent book authored by Shilpa Phadke, Sameera Khan and Shilpa Ranade, discussing the freedom of women in our public realm and the reason why they should loiter in Indian cities.

Cover.

book review

‘W

hy Loiter’ is transformative book. It makes a case for the ‘Bombay Girl’ to be on the streets of Mumbai on her own terms. Its authors, Shilpa Phadke, Sameera Khan and Shilpa Ranade, look at freedoms compromised by a civil society that thrives on the presentation of respectability. This book is the result of three years of research called ‘The Gender and Space Project’ that the authors helmed. The project charted, through socio-ethnography, space mappings, and urban studies, the various ways women inhabit public space in Mumbai. Their findings are uncompromisingly awkward for a city that prides itself on being liberal. The public realm in Mumbai poses a gauntlet of challenges for half of its rightful inhabitants. You are recommended to read this book with one finger firmly placed in its copious endnotes that encompass eighty-odd pages. They offer an abundance of appendices, notes and comments that enhance the appreciation of their research and validate several counter-intuitive claims about living in Mumbai. The research challenges the myth of safety that most of Mumbai’s denizens either take for granted or essentialise, as ‘in Bombay, a single woman can return home at two in the night in complete safety’. Such assertions have been bandied about for decades now. While this is probably ‘literally’ true, the authors show how this truth is mediated by a variety of conditions. So, a woman may move freely in the city, only if, etc. It is in unravelling these many etceteras that ‘Why Loiter?’ is perceptive and challenging. Mumbai, while benign (or neutral), at least in the public realm, is actually ‘value’ laden; constantly putting its women (and men) under a panopticon of continuous surveillance that one may evade, or conform to. How easy it is to be spotted as out of the ordinary, and how difficult it is to function, once one has been perceived as such. Eyes are always on the street looking out for those ‘not like us’ and there are so many of ‘them’. The authors demonstrate the difficulty of ‘the unbelongers’ to use the city normally and freely. The list of oddballs on the street, who are whetted by the silent city every time they step out is inclusive and top-lined by one single group: ‘all women’. To conform, and so to have open access to public space, every woman in Mumbai must be (or appear to be) ‘young, able-bodied, Hindu, upper-caste, heterosexual, married or marriageable.’ There is an entire semantic of respectability she must construct each time she leaves her home. She must be (or appear to be) neutrally middle-class - ‘not-lower-class, not-Dalit, not-Muslim, not-lesbian, not-disabled’. On Mumbai’s streets, every woman must dress modestly and preferably be escorted by (an equally respectable looking) man. She must be healthy, freely mobile, sexually inert and, most importantly, have a good reason for being out of doors. She must never loiter. This is the crux of the book. The authors question the assertion that a woman may not remain in the public realm without purpose. If spotted as such, she would be perceived as having a dubious provenance, or would be putting herself at risk and the city would need to exert itself to keep her safe. Her risks are twofold: the first is from assault (to her modesty or respectability), the second (perhaps more insidious) that she may herself do something disreputable or immodest. Every woman (and every man) enters public spaces in Mumbai with this knowledge.

The authors narrate several instances from Mumbai’s contemporary past to show what happens when women seek to occupy the same space as men in the same way. Part of the problem is that some women themselves have bought into the respectability rubric and at times even perpetuate it. Otherness is not restricted to gender - women are equally prone to perceive deviance in ‘other’ women. In one instance, liberal and well educated women, who freely patronise a ticketed park on weekdays, avoid venturing there on weekends because ‘those people’ come to the park. Here, ‘those people’ mean Muslim women and children. Thus, those dispossessed, those of inconvenient religions or castes, easily distinguished by their appearance are marked, if not isolated. Women identified by caste, class, age, (dis)abilities, sexual orientation or ambiguities each have their own minefields to cross in a city that clearly does not offer any concessions, and prefers (as much as possible) that they were not on the street at all. The city is not designed (nor has it grown) with any consideration for women. Nowhere is this more visible than in the lack of public conveniences. The authors provide a disturbing, though obvious, insight into what a woman in a public space has to do to find a toilet she can use. There are so few to start with. Mumbai is, for the bursting bladder, a ‘Minimum City’. Those that exist may be completely unusable, while most are designed as supplements to male amenities, requiring sophisticated gymnastics to use them in a hygienic way. If freedom in society is to be equated with freedom to pee, then women are the least free of all. ‘Why Loiter?’ is about the ultimate freedom a woman demands in an urban space: the freedom to do exactly what a man is allowed to do. Mumbai, the progressive city, denies this just by being what it is. Perhaps the most important liberty a megalopolis should offer is the choice to do nothing. To loiter. To have fun. To be a flaneur, to walkabout, to regard the city and its life as it happens, with no purpose in mind at all. The problem is, if you are not some kind of a useful cog, you are a deviant, and a surveillance obsessed society will not accept this. It is difficult enough for men in Mumbai to loiter without being seen as vagabonds. For ‘Bombay Girls’ Phadke, Khan and Ranade, the normalisation of loitering is central to citizenship - a fundamental to be reclaimed; to deny them this is to deny them equal rights. They ask, in the words of Susan Faludi, not to be forced to choose between public justice and private happiness. Here is the ultimate irony then: in Mumbai, every woman still needs to manufacture (the authors evoke Foucault) a ‘disciplined body’ just to be acceptable on its streets. To achieve unconditional access in a true sense, however, would require a patriarchally enmeshed society to transform itself from the inside out, beyond both gender and ‘otherness’, to make Mumbai ‘aamchi’ for all.

Book Authors Publisher Language ISBN Reviewed by

: : : : : :

Why Loiter? Shilpa Phadke, Sameera Khan and Shilpa Ranade Penguin Books India English 978 014 341 5954 Mustansir Dalvi

103

why

Loiter ?

Presenting a short extract from the book ‘Why Loiter? ‘ talking about the pitfalls of a ‘designed city’ in making its public realm truly ‘public’ and democratic.

n an exercise we conducted in architecture colleges, students were asked to trace the path they would choose while negotiating a fictitious street. The street is edged on one side by a park; its adjacent footpath neatly fenced on both sides and lined with trees. It is the kind of text-book-perfect edge urban designers dream of creating. On the other side of this hypothetical street is lower-middle-class housing—with household activities spilling out unevenly on to the street—the nightmare of city planners. Ironically, an overwhelming majority of the female students who took the exercise concurred that they would choose to walk on the residential edge, despite its messiness, because it appears friendlier and safer. A tree-lined fenced footpath with low visibility, they argue, would make escape difficult in case they were harassed. Besides, given that it is primarily men who are socially sanctioned to ‘hang out’ at public places, parks are often predominantly ‘male spaces’. So, even those who choose to walk on the park edge prefer to do so along the road rather than within the fenced-in footpath, lest they be heckled. As women, it is clear that they prefer to walk on the more ‘chaotic’ edge of the street. Our question then is as architects or urban planners, which edge would they design? And there is silence—the beautiful silence of irony hitting home. The moral of this story is that architects, as well as other design experts or spatial technicians, very often design in and for an imaginary context that is determined by aesthetic values where concerns such as safety and comfort are not only secondary, but sometimes even irrelevant to the process of design. Usually, material environments in cities—which range in scale from large buildings to details such as fencing, paved footpaths, benches, lighting—are just considered a backdrop against which social drama is played out, or at best, a reflection of society as it is. The proactive role of the built environment in producing social experience is rarely acknowledged. However, as much of our research has shown, this is far from true. The students at our course in the architecture college did an assignment that we titled ‘Safe/Unsafe Spaces’, where they were asked to identify two spaces from their everyday experiences, one which they would define as safe and the other as unsafe, and to map these spaces through drawings…. Students realized that in spaces they used regularly, they sometimes subconsciously chose to take detours which were many

times longer—and more cumbersome than the most convenient route from one point to another just because the shorter route was not comfortable. And much of this had to do with how the space was constructed in terms of its enclosure, visibility, light and scale. In general, spaces without visual connection, narrow enclosed spaces which did not allow escape in case you were accosted, and spaces with poor lighting were found to cause the most anxiety amongst women users and created a sense of unsafeness and discomfort. These street experiences that generate feelings of safety and comfort make a huge impact on women’s everyday relationship to public space and the role of the material aspects in facilitating or impeding this experience cannot be underestimated. When it comes to women and public space, the answer to the sceptical question ‘Can design really change society?’ must be a qualified ‘Yes’. While ‘bad design’ of public spaces might not directly cause verbal or sexual assault, the inverse does hold true. Design can go a long way to make a space inviting to women and discourage situations where women get harassed. Similarly, while design by itself might not be able to create an equitable and welcoming public space for women, it can create the situation for change to happen and reinforce it when it does. One key obstacle in the good design of public spaces is the assumption of a neutral universal user of space. More often than not, particularly in the absence of a unique client as is the case for urban scale projects, designers and planners assume a generic user of the space. Unsurprisingly, as we have argued before, this ‘neutral’ user is usually male. However, different bodies have different needs and experience the same space differently, depending on their gender, class, age, sexuality and physical ability. …. By treating men as generic human subjects and all others as specialized sub-groups of this norm, design often tends to fundamentally discriminate against a majority of its users. The exemplification of difference-blind design is the public toilet discussed in the chapter ‘Peeing’. The question that feminist architects and designers constantly face is: will we be accepting and perpetuating difference if we design differently for women? In other words, can one design for safety without accommodating, and therefore accepting the

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conditions that create discrimination in the first place? And then, it is really possible to design in a way that is sensitive to everybody—won’t some group or the other always be left out? It’s a valid question. It may never be possible to always cater to everybody, but perhaps, if we stop designing in a way that consciously excludes certain people, chances are that it will make the space more inclusive. Making the city safe for older women would make the city safe and accessible for others too. For instance, better street lighting, lower bus steps, paved sidewalks, broad, un-chipped steps on foot-over bridges and usable public toilets would not just benefit children, the physically-challenged and women, but also all men. … one needs to also see difference-sensitive design as a provisional step aimed at bridging the gap between theoretical and actual equality. This requires minimal monetary investment and importantly, a commitment to making spaces more accessible through intent and design.

drastically reduce the quality and quantity of public space. This tunnel vision of the city is unfriendly to women at multiple levels. For one, zoning spaces on the basis of use into residential and commercial areas is detrimental to women’s mobility. Our research shows that women have more access to public space in mixed-use areas, where shops and business establishments are open late into the night, ensuring activity at all times. Second, vertical development often means a detachment from the ground. In comparison to low-rise horizontal urban forms, the public spaces of a vertical city are less friendly and safe, particularly for women. And third, when public space falls off the agenda in planning, what is left becomes increasing privatized, policed and often fraught with risk. Contrary to common sense notions of urban ‘beautification’, clean lines and people-less streets do not equal comfort or safety for women who often seem to prefer a degree of chaos, ambiguity and multiplicity to univalent notions of cleanliness and order.

Design in urban public spaces is not just relevant at the micro level to individual parks and toilets, but also at the macro level to the overall planning of the city. Over the past few years, Mumbai has been steadily undergoing a makeover into the global image of streamlined order: gleaming steel and glass skyscrapers, air-conditioned office spaces, flyovers for snazzy cars, and pre-packaged recreation. These developments are constructing a new geography of the city where streets are conduits for speedy movement, neighbourhoods become gated communities of contained order and public spaces merely lost oppor tunities for more development. This shor t-sighted, bottomline -focused thinking is slowly making the city into a cluster of islands of sanitized exclusivity. In this situation, public space is reduced to leftover space, its value limited to connecting private spaces or enhancing their value. As people feel decreasing claim over public space, increasing policing is required to maintain it.

The first impulse of design based on ‘rational’ modernist principles—as is prevalent even today—is to reign in chaos and enforce a visually- clean order on to the lived messiness of the city. Flexibility and creativity in the use of public space that is a depar ture from its apparent intended use —an absolute bane of planning professionals—is actually a mark of its success. Unfor tunately, designers see the ever yday spatial negotiations of people in the city as mundane impediments in the path of pure design, instead of being its ver y purpose. What is needed then, is not a call to sacrifice aesthetics at the pragmatic altar of safety and accessibility, but a new aesthetics of inclusiveness, where right of access of all defines what is good design and what is not.

The primary strategy for achieving this image of the global city is that of segregating spaces for different people and activities. All diversity is attempted to be contained into a singular image of the built form, exemplified by vertical towers. Defining urbanity in this one-dimensional manner ignores the inherent plurality of the city as reflected in its diverse built environment. In the last few years, moreover, critical policy decisions and amendments in development regulations have sought to erase the existing urban fabric and

Authors: Shilpa Phadke is assistant professor at the Centre of Media and Cultural Studies at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. She has been educated at the St. Xavier’s College and SNDT University, Mumbai, and the University of Cambridge, UK. Sameera Khan is a Mumbai-based journalist and writer. A former assistant editor at The Times of India, she is currently researching on the old Muslim neighbourhoods of Mumbai. She teaches journalism at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. Shilpa Ranade trained in Architecture from CEPT, Ahmedabad, and has a MA in Comparative Cultural & Literary Studies, University of Arizona, Tucson. Shilpa has been associate editor of South Asian volume in the series ‘World Architecture 1900-2000: A Critical Mosaic’. Shilpa is a partner in DCOOP, a design firm based in Mumbai.

105 IA&B - MAY 2011

Eduardo Souto de Moura, 2011 Pritzker Prize laureateâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Balancing three decades of energy, resources, costs and social aspects to spurn a tale of relevant sensibility in traditional architecture and yet embodying a certain spirit of the visual, tangible and abstract to weave in todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s progressive design culture. Text: Maanasi Hattangadi Photographs: courtesy Eduardo Souto de Moura.

focus “Architects don’t invent anything; they transform reality” - Alvaro Siza Vieira

here globalised frameworks mark the malaise of architecture in today’s times, Pritzker Prize Laureate 2011 acknowledges a genuine shift with respect to contextual contingencies - the practice of Eduardo Souto de Moura, Portugal. The representational picture depicts an architectural detail that becomes a motif of history - a lifetime of work engraved and added to legendary names in architecture. The Pritzker Prize legacy since 1979, formally connects The Hyatt Foundation with a commitment “to honour annually a living architect whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision, and commitment, which has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built environment through the art of architecture, it has often been described as “architecture’s most prestigious award” or as “the Nobel of architecture.”” Conferred with the highest possible honour in architecture this year, 58-year-old Portuguese Architect Eduardo Souto de Moura, since setting up his independent practice in 1980, has re-imagined the approach to the built space with a diversified range of projects like the Braga Stadium, Portugal, Burgo Tower, restaurants, family homes, cinema halls etc. The projects showcased here ruminate on the spatial journey – dual role of an architect presented as a spectator to the global growth and as an analyst of its own culture.

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The interior view of “Casa das Artes”, S.E.C. Cultural Centre.

The expressive use of stone enhances the relationship between “natural and man-made”.

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There is nothing definitive about Souto de Moura’s work. His appeal lies in the coherent integrity of details. Referred to as a “Miesian architect”, Eduardo Souto de Moura dwells on an expression that relates to open and layered frozen narrative – one crafted with an elaborate human and local dimension. Phrasing his philosophy of work simply at Holcim Forum in 2004, he said, “For me, architecture is a global issue. There is no ecological architecture, no intelligent architecture and no sustainable architecture — there is only good architecture. There are always problems we must not neglect. For example, energy, resources, costs, social aspects — one must always pay attention to all these.” The idiosyncrasy that associates itself with a particular architectural era is subject to change, yet it always has an affixed style. Reflection of the society that fosters and refines it, it symbolise a timeframe. Although, Eduardo Souto de Moura’s practice was nurtured in our time, it speaks of versatility. The main tangent is not a tone of glamour, but of subtle materiality and intimate spaces. This is true of over sixty projects that he has completed since 1980—most in his native Portugal, with a few designed in Spain, Italy, Germany, United Kingdom and Switzerland. The timeline traces a tale of projects of every scale. This subtle progression creates a dialogue between old and new, with a striking a contemporary balance. In the more domestic of environments like Casa des Artes, S.E.C. Cultural Centre, Porto, Portugal, the old and new coexist without being confronting. The duality subsists in form of a confident character of stone that revitalises the modernist expression of the interiors. Streamlined with honest material choices, the work comprises humble yet subtly outspoken residential projects. Built in the initial years of his practice around 1989-94, ‘House in “Bom Jesus”, Braga, Portugal’ is a concrete monolith frozen in semblance with local conventions. Contrasting gently in the natural colour of the surrounding environment, the house was singled out by the Pritzker Jury “for its uncommon richness throughout

the subtle banding in the concrete of its exterior walls.” Sited on a steep hill overlooking the city of Braga, the contextual interpretation of House in Serra da Arrábida, Portugal (1994-2002) is seen across a host of five terraces with retainer walls. Each terrace demonstrates an individualistic engagement with the its functionality—fruit trees on the lowest level, a swimming pool on the next, the main parts of the house on the next, bedrooms on the fourth, and a planted forest on the top. The context and point of departure here anticipate a contemporary element. The projects lie in traditional of elemental composition, mapped along a specific path of movement of light, volume, and context—an equivocal exploitation of the potential of the locale and its prevailing culture. The experiential path also involves design classics and reinventing them. Adept and comfortable in the broad range of sources, conversion of

The house was singled out by the Pritzker Jury “for its uncommon richness throughout the subtle banding in the concrete of its exterior walls”. © Luis Ferreira Alves

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Traditional ideations like the natural and manmade are translated into the buildings in a contemporary mould. © Luis Ferreira Alves

The house is a concrete monolith.

The raw corridor spaces enhance the connection with the surrounding.

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the Santa Maria do Bouro Convent into a State Inn, Amares, Portugal in 1989-97, delineates an aesthetic borrowed from the art deco of the past. A sophistication bound by history, four feet thick walls encase the state inn converted from a convent and monastery existing since the 12 th century, amidst the lush mountain‘scape’. Along the breadth of work with the time, an inherent paradox comes into play. Modern analogies also come to mind. Built in 1991-2007, Burgo Tower in Porto, Portugal alludes to a new type of urbanity. Casting aside overt displays, the design emphasises a horizontal stress with one block while the other plays up on a vertical stress without taking up too much visual space. A sculpture by Ângelo de Sousa sits lightly next to the Tower. The genteel one-off statement makes discrete spatial connections between the developing urbanscape and the proportions of its design. Commenting on the project, Eduardo Souto de Moura says that “a twenty-storey office tower is an unusual project for me. I began my career building single family houses.” The potential for innovation comes forth in the move from marginal architecture to mainstream. Tracking a

linear development with time, his work exhibits a progressive agenda. The experimentation resists any theoretical or ideological limitations. Part of the architecture scenography in public realm comprises of architectural project for the Porto Metro (subway), Porto, Portugal from 1997 to 2005 and Cinema House for Manoel de Oliveira Oporto, Portugal from 1998-2003. Exploration of constructs in this typology has a multifaceted character. The sensitivity caught up in the process of change is revealed in the construct of architecture project for the Braga Stadium, Braga, Portugal around 2000-2003. One of the sites of European soccer championships, the highly praised soccer stadium from a social standpoint deals with a new kind of urban environment and sense of community. To adher to these aspirations, a “powerful landscape” was formulated by blasting nearly a million and a half cubic yards of granite from the site and crushed to make concrete for the stadium. Solid and massively anchored, the stadium terminates at one end where the explosions have created a hundred foot high granite face. The designed space captures fragments of the coexistence of the

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Five terraces with retainer walls mark a unique statement – each terrace having different functions.

Courtyards define the traditional components of the contemporary spaces.

In 1989-97, the practice executed the Conversion of the Santa Maria do Bouro Convent into a State Inn, Amares, Portugal. © Luis Ferreira Alves

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The strategic location of the courtyards offer visual respites in the buildings.

Four feet thick walls encase the State Inn. ÂŠ Luis Ferreira Alves

The interiors delineate an art deco borrowed from the past. ÂŠ Luis Ferreira Alves

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natural with manmade construction as good architecture, as Eduardo Souto de Moura frames it. In his own words, “It was a drama to break down the mountain and make concrete from the stone.” These notions also reflect in the Jury’s citation, “…muscular, monumental and very much at home within its powerful landscape.” The expression of an idea and its interpretation coalesce together wonderfully in his work. The symbolic dimension of nature’s relation to architecture strikes one as the first component of logic in building forms. That connection established, the dialogue sustains in his later projects. The Paula Rêgo Museum in Cascais, Portugal, built during 2005-2009, is an intersection of volumes of varying heights in cohesive relation with the elevation of the ambient trees. Describing his project, he says, “After the painter Paulo Regio chose me as her architect, I was lucky to be able to choose the site. It was a fenced off forest with some open space in the middle. On the basis of the elevation of the trees, I proposed a set of volumes of varying heights. Developing this play between the artificial and the natural helped define the exterior colour, red concrete, a colour in opposition to the green forest. Two large pyramids along the entrance axis prevent the project from being a neutral sum of boxes.” Simple yet rich material palette with robust finishes provides a physical link between the past and present. The metaphorical reference is induced by a series of continual changes that connects to Eduardo Souto de Moura’s distinct discipline. The thread that binds the work depicts a constructivist architecture with a feeling

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The exterior of Porto Metro (subway), Porto, Portugal built in 1997 to 2005. ÂŠ Luis Ferreira Alves

Replete with a contemporary look, the project caters to the public realm of architecture.

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The pathway leading upto Cinema House for Manoel de Oliveira Oporto, Portugal.

for materials, for space and for human proportions. Variety characterises the choreography of experience in space and in some ways, exceeds the idealised view of humble architecture.

Talking about relevance, one starts to discover and the projects grow. In essence, the practice exudes an obvious humanism and respect for complexity and cultural variation. It speaks of a culture generated gradually through the consistency of a certain place. While it is not easy to identify the point of history you are dealing with, it marks the adaptability of the architect. While the contemporary ethos is big in technical and material innovation, Eduardo Souto de Moura’s spaces carve out forms assembled in light. The tacit use can be recalled in his exquisite use of materials - granite, wood, marble, brick, steel, concrete - as well as his unexpected use of colour. He elaborates on his take on restrictive materiality; “I avoid using endangered or protected species. I think we should use wood in moderation and replant our forests as we use the wood. We have to use wood because it is one of the finest materials

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Constructed in 2000-2003,Architecture project for the Braga StadiumBraga, Portugal was one of the sites for the Europe soccer championships ÂŠ Luis Ferreira Alves.

The exterior view of architecture project for the Braga Stadium Braga, Portugal ÂŠ Luis Ferreira Alves.

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The Paula Rêgo Museum in Cascais, Portugal, built during 2005-2009, is an intersection of volumes relative to the elevations of trees on site. © Luis Ferreira Alves

available.” Rather than focusing singly on the architect’s statement, the buildings he constructed form the multifaceted background from which the style draws its influences.

Architecture is not supposed to be a neutral space; unaffected by a culture or history. Tradition is important when it contains moments of change. The sense of belonging to a construct is devolved owing to the transferred sensibility to futuristic and contemporary compatibility that is emerging. Modern tradition in theory combines a distinct drive that resists the bottomline of global architecture—boxy frames of glass and steel. What is fading away is a style or statement—the individualistic mark of an architect but in time is akin to a unique language of legacy thinking. Eduardo Souto de Moura’s work states that architecture is coming of age. Notions of a cultural context come into play with simple forms to frame the genre. What precedes is the reputation, the method, and the signature one seeks lies in the randomness. These sculpted forms effortlessly make a statement about emerging architecture – an uplifting, humanising spirit in the midst of globalisation.

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Citation from the Jury During the past three decades, Portuguese architect Eduardo Souta de Moura has produced a body of work that is of our time but also carries echoes of architectural traditions. His oeuvre is convincing proof of modern idiom’s expressive potential and adaptability to distinct local situations. Always mindful of context, understood in the broadest sense, and grounded in place, time, and function, Souto de Moura’s architecture reinforces a sense of history, while expanding the range of contemporary expression. Already in his first works, undertaken in the 1980s, Souto de Moura had a consistent approach that never adopted the trends of the moment. At that time, he was intensely out of fashion, having developed his individual path during the height of postmodernism. As we look back today, the early buildings may seem normal, but we must remember how brave they really were back then. The versatility of his practice is evident in the variety of commissions he has undertaken with success. He is capable of designing from domestic to urban scale. Many of his early works in the 1980s were single-family houses and remain

among his seminal works. However, the scope of his work has expanded: the Braga Municipal Stadium, Portugal, designed in 2000 is muscular, monumental and very much at home within its powerful landscape; the Burgo Tower, Portugal, designed at the beginning of the 1990s and built a decade later, consists of two buildings side by side, one vertical and one horizontal with different scales, in dialogue with each other and the urban landscape; the Paulo Regio Museum, completed in 2008, a grouping of volumes interspersed in the trees at its site in Cascais, Portugal, is both civic and intimate, and so appropriate for the display of art. In their apparent formal simplicity, Souto de Moura’s buildings weave together complex references to the characteristics of the region, landscape, site, and wider architectural history. Often simple geometries are underlined through interplay of solid and void or light and shadow. The restoration and adaptation of the Santa Maria Do Bouro Monastery into a hotel has taken a building from ruble to reinterpretation. Souto de Moura has created spaces that are both consistent with their history and modern in conception. The effectiveness of his works usually stems from the juxtaposition of elements and concepts. His unique capacity to embrace reality while employing abstraction creates an architectural language that transforms physicality into the metaphysical. Souto de Moura is an architect fascinated by the beauty and authenticity of materials. His knowledge of construction and skill with materials are always visible in his buildings. He has the confidence to use stone that is a thousand years old or to take inspiration from a modern detail by Mies van der Rohe. The thoughtful use of copper, stone, concrete and wood in the Cultural Center in Porto, completed in 1991, for example, is a testament to his ability to combine materials expressively. By modifying pavements, textures, pathways and public spaces for the subway system of Porto, he has granted new significance to public spaces. House Number Two, built in the town of Bom Jesus, Portugal, in 2007, has achieved an uncommon richness through the subtle banding in the concrete of its exterior walls. Eduardo Souto de Moura’s architecture is not obvious, frivolous, or picturesque. It is imbued with intelligence and seriousness. His work requires an intense encounter, not a quick glance. And like poetry, it is able to communicate emotionally to those who take the time to listen. His buildings have a unique ability to convey seemingly conflicting characteristics—power and modesty, bravado and subtlety, bold public authority and sense of intimacy—at the same time. For architecture that appears effortless, serene, and simple, and for the care and poetry that permeates each project, Eduardo Souta de Moura receives the 2011 Pritzker Architecture Prize.

119 IA&B - MAY 2011

The Sustainable Multi-polis

Ton Venhoeven in this article curated by arch i, talks about sustainable urban growth, his experience as a government infrastructure advisor and an architect in The Netherlands and reflections on the future of the Indian capital. Text: Ton Venhoeven Photographs: VenhoevenCS, arch i Curated and Edited by: Anne Feenstra, Tanvi Maheshwari

he worldwide growth of cities is forcing us to think of effective ways to anticipate social challenges which are manifesting themselves more and more as urban issues. The urban regions offer the opportunities of developing a sustainable world. This certainly applies in the case of Delhi, with its explosive population growth and economic development. Can collaboration between Dutch and Indian governments, designers, universities and companies offer prospects? What are the opportunities for Delhi to achieve sustainable development whilst retaining the characteristic qualities of this urban region?

Sustainable urban development New Delhi is not the only metropolis that is bursting at the seams. The facts are well-known; more than two thirds of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s population will soon be living in urban areas, which cover approximately one per cent of the land area. Throughout the world the transformation from an agricultural to an industrial and in some places post-industrial information society, is drawing more and more people, companies, factories, head offices and knowledge institutions to cities. The explosive growth and mass accumulation of

delhi dialogues people in cities is forcing us to think about the sustainability of urban infrastructures and organisation patterns. The importance of cities is increasing from an economic perspective. Cities have become important hubs in global economic networks; oases of prosperity in an environment that is, relatively speaking, becoming poorer and poorer. A large proportion of our wealth is generated in a very small part of the available earth’s surface. At the same time, throughout the world, cities are already consuming 75% of the natural resources while the urban population is set to double by 2050 (Figure 1). This population is becoming more and more prosperous and consequently will start to consume more and more. It is a major challenge to accommodate this “double growth” in a sustainable manner because many of the existing methods of accommodating urban life today are inadequate for the future. Water sources are drying up and oil, food and raw materials are becoming too scarce and expensive when there is a constantly increasing demand worldwide. Whilst we currently still feed our cities using finite resources from other parts of the world, in future we shall have to make urban regions more or less self-sufficient in order to prevent large-scale depletion of raw materials and resources. The technologies for this already exist; however, their implementation shall demand a major cultural and organisational change. Meanwhile the cities themselves have changed considerably, both with respect to scale and with respect to social configuration. They have become increasingly connected through the globalisation of economic activities. There is a progressive individualisation that results in the spread of clustered social living environments across the urban areas. As a result of global and urban networks new concentrations of urban activities emerge around hubs of mobility. The scale on which we have to think about the city is no longer the scale of the traditional centred city, but the scale of the mega-city or better still, the scale of the polycentric urban region. This change is not a product of planning but of social dynamics and is therefore irreversible. The past few decades have seen a lot of focus on reinforcing and maintaining the identity of cities, but the major task for today and the future is the sustainable development of urban regions. Whereas in recent years sustainable urban development was all about making individual buildings sustainable, the question now is how we can sustainably structure our entire urban system. In the sustainability experiments that are being conducted around the world (e.g. Huaxi city centre in Guiyang China), tabula rasa is often still the starting point. The real challenge is dealing with existing cities, a task on the cutting edge of culture, infrastructure, re-use, economy, ecology, mobility and architecture. It’s

about how we can save and produce energy on an urban scale. Can we produce our food regionally and how we convert our waste into new raw materials? Where do we work, live, relax, and how do we get there? How do we organise the spectrum of diversity, cultural life and social spaces? How do we link a range of different flows together? At system level we can work with an updated Trias Energetica that does not use finite raw materials: 1. Reducing the demand by driving back consumption through efficient design, 2. Exchanging surpluses and shortages and 3. Sustainable production of the remaining requirement. In this context it is important that the various networks in the area of mobility, food, electricity, ecology, heat and waste can be optimally balanced. To this effect multi-modal hub development and transit oriented development is needed for mobility, for example, hubs where pedestrians, cyclists, public transport and car networks come together so that everyone has an option to choose the most efficient mode of transport for them. For energy it is necessary to link sustainable central energy generation with local energy generation and possibly an exchange of surpluses and shortages via smart grids. Food can be produced in closed systems and water can be buffered and recycled from wastewater. This way, sustainable cities become heterogeneous ecosystems in which all different functions benefit optimally from each other. Every building, every means of transport, every city resident will, in future, not just be a consumer but also a producer. Knowledge about how to make cities and urban regions more sustainable is being developed worldwide. Everywhere the complexity within sustainability is being discovered and applied. We also see the importance of a heterogeneous, integral strategy in the 26 key performance indicators that have been formulated for the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco city, for example, it can also be seen clearly in comparisons between sustainable and less sustainable cities. In Houston, 15 times as much energy is used for mobility per inhabitant as in Shanghai. This is caused by the big distances between the homogeneous residential, working and shopping areas in Houston, all of which are covered by car. Successful cities like Helsinki, Tokyo, Vancouver and Paris, in contrast, establish multi-modal connections between people and sectors and use the opportunities of today and the inspiration from the past to prepare for the future. A successful sustainable strategy combines the vitality and creativity of bottom-up initiatives with

121 flexible top-down frameworks and strategies. A sustainable urban region is dynamic and continuously ‘becoming’. VenhoevenCS In my life as an architect my awareness of what architecture and urban development are really about has evolved. When I graduated, the philosophy of post-modernism in architecture was being robbed of its ideological side and placed in the tradition of the aesthetic. Only shape, colour and material mattered; architecture functioned as decor for economic progress. Since then, this has only become stronger. But architecture and urbanism are not a luxury, they represent something structural that has to do with life itself. The origin of architecture is about the culture of cohabiting and urbanism is about the city as a technical organisation; both are less about style and beauty than about a culture in which the practical value and future value are focal points. They are about how different people, animals and objects can live together in a culture that is always developing. The city is therefore not an object with only one identity that must be reinforced and aestheticised. A city has countless identities which, in addition, are also continuously up for discussion. The city of our time is reminiscent of Italo Calvino’s Invisible City, which can be interpreted in countless ways and which also evolves constantly. Designing and planning in the city are therefore also about dealing with the unplannable, with the spontaneous and responding to changes. The plural and the balance between the planned and the unplannable form a very important part of the way in which I work. Environments are not homogeneous but heterogeneous. It is exactly this hybrid aspect that offers opportunities. As a designer I fulfil different roles and I try to switch between different languages and methods of reasoning. By continuously changing roles and angles you separate yourself from rusted patterns and a fixed script. This is why my firm works on architecture at all scale levels, on urban development, planning and research, we participate in art projects, let ourselves be inspired by film, music, philosophy, art. We try to make architecture poetic as well as pragmatic and will be working on a detail for a corner solution one day and on the plan for expanding the main infrastructural hub of the Netherlands the next. As Government Advisor for Infrastructure I advise the Minister of Infrastructure and the Environment on planning large-scale, integral infrastructural and spatial development projects. Based on my independent position I work on connecting different parties and sector interests, improving the international competitive position, the accessibility and the spatial quality of our urban

The green facades and roof of Sportplaza Mercator.

regions. In the Netherlands a lot of attention is given to the development of integral sustainability strategies for urban development. I don’t know whether it is because of the location of the Netherlands in a wet Delta, but it has a long tradition of dealing with major challenges and integral engineering issues. We have a large number of companies and institutes with an international reputation in the area of water management, construction, environment, traffic and other engineering services. All the knowledge that is needed to enable the integral sustainability of urban regions is present and the government plays an important role in facilitating and stimulating the transition to a sustainable economy. To get more insight into the complex cohesion between the many different aspects that play a role in making urban regions sustainable I, as Government Advisor for Infrastructure, in conjunction with the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment, have had a sustainability meter developed. In the coming years this instrument will continue to be developed further. Delhi in 2050 Thinking about sustainable urban regions is also extremely relevant for Delhi. Multicultural and cosmopolitan, Delhi is the feverishly growing, political, cultural and economic centre of northern India and the eighth-biggest metropolis in the world, with an estimated 19 million inhabitants. The strong economic and population growth (in 2050 Delhi will be home to an estimated 32 million people) causes rampant urbanisation of poor quality and little mutual cohesion. Three million people in Delhi live in slums while an estimated 45% of its population lives in unauthorised colonies. The city copes with the growing mobility requirement by outsourcing the infrastructure to international consortiums. Delhi has an acute drinking water problem. The groundwater level in southwest Delhi is now 0 to 80 metres below ground. Wastewater and sewage is dumped directly into the Yamuna River. Some regard Delhi as an organism that is growing out of control. The growth and sustainability of Delhi represents a task that fascinates me enormously, especially because the city is the spatial counterpart of the way in which its society functions. Delhi is, at the same time, a dynamic city and a task that changes continuously. A task that is plural, has many facets and can only be treated that way. The good news is that India and Delhi are blessed with a young population (average age 25.7) which is increasingly well-educated. Consequently there is enormous potential for intellectual and physical activity in India, in contrast to the shrinking and ageing societies in Western Europe. Delhi is characterised by the heterogeneous and the plural. It is unique in its variety, its range of cultures and eras. The city has an agile liveliness. It is

One of the various facilities offered at Sportplaza Mercator.

Aerial view of Jan Schaefer Bridge.

dge.

122 time rather than space that determines the programme of the public space. Who can use which square metre of public space at what time is regulated on the basis of a combination of tradition, patterns and chance. The traditional street supports an entire spectrum of city life. The public space adapts organically to the changing situation. However, modernisation has hit Delhi as well. As India is opening up economically, parts of India can be compared to Switzerland in terms of prosperity, while more than half of all Indians live in slums. The state has withdrawn, its major projects are infrastructural; airports, roads, telecommunications, electricity. Meanwhile, following the Anglo-Saxon example, private parties produce gated communities; controlled environments that are completely isolated from their surroundings. As a result of the withdrawal of investments from the public space streets are increasingly considered a dangerous place that needs to be homogenised. What has always been so distinctive about India is, the political ambition to create an open society from a diversity in human lives. India has always been the country where the balance between planning and spontaneity, between state and market, has been sought. This society, with the Indian street life as the spatial exponent, must be cherished but is at risk of being lost. The government appears powerless to solve the enormous spatial, ecological and economic problems. Whereas a long-term strategy is indispensable for dealing with the fundamental problems, no cohesive â&#x20AC;&#x153;visionaryâ&#x20AC;? plan has been formulated since Lutyensâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; plan of 1911. This is the reason for the inception of Delhi 2050 process. In collaboration with Indian and Dutch designers, authorities, universities and business communities work is being done on scenarios with spatial, economic, ecological and socio-cultural components that will be bundled, co-ordinated and tuned into an integral long-term vision, in the first instance to stimulate the thought process but ultimately also aimed at concrete realisation. Through the collaboration between Indian and Dutch authorities, designers and experts in the Delhi 2050 project a new step is taken toward the development of sustainable strategies for mega-cities.

Sportplaza Mercator is a building designed as a city; a miniature society that reflects and strengthens the cultural dynamics of its neighborhood in Amsterdam. With its green facades and roof, the Sportplaza Mercator marks the base and endpoint of the Amsterdam Rembrandtpark. From a distance it appears to be an overgrown fortress, but through its glass facade a contemporary thermal complex with pools, fitness, and catering facilities shimmers. Situated in the eastern harbour of Amsterdam, once a desolate and unattractive area, now one of the most popular locations in Amsterdam with its collection of cruise ships, railway yard, 19th century warehouses, passengers terminal and brand new housing projects, the Jan Schaefer bridge is a clear example of an heterogeneous, multi-interpretable approach on architecture. The bridge connects the old and the new city, sticks right through an old warehouse and generates a multiplicity of experiences. A bundling of connections divides the bridge into different traffic flows.

About the authors: Professor Ton Venhoeven (Apeldoorn, 1954) is founder/architect of VenhoevenCS Architects and National Government advisor on Infrastructure. He established VenhoevenCS Architects in Amsterdam in 1998. In his position as Government advisor he advises the Dutch government on complex infrastructural projects and sustainable urban developments. Ton Venhoeven graduated in architecture and development (Cum Laude) at the Technical University in Delft.

Side view of Jan Schaefer Bridge.

123 IA&B - MAY 2011

Re-imagining

the Indian Museum

Rama Lakshmi focuses the relevance of the Indian museums in contemporary contexts in this column curated by Amita Baig discussing the lack of imagination in museology. Text: Rama Lakshmi

INTRODUCTION: ZEROING IN ON THE PROBLEM Almost every time I speak to an average Indian about museums, they roll their eyes in ennui. Then I ask them if they have been to the local museums in their cities. Indeed, they have. But most of them have visited only once when they were young and were shepherded by their school teachers. Or maybe twice when they took a visiting relative or friend around for a city tour. This is the central challenge in the Indian museum landscape. Local residents rarely go back to their museums because they do not feel a connect with the institution. Looking at the state of our museums, should this surprise us at all? Most of our museums house beautiful antiquities but rarely communicate stories. The objects are powerful but they are uncreatively displayed. In fact, our museums understand the word “display” merely as placing objects in illuminated glass cases and fixing a turgid 10-word text label on it. Our static, moribund museums do not change or upgrade their exhibitions. Occasionally, the museums in the big Metros host international travelling exhibitions, leading to a short-spurt in visit by local residents. But the museums very rarely generate new and temporary exhibitions based on existing collections and new scholarship. The problems I have outlined above – that of rare visitor patterns, lack of connect with local residents, indifferent display and unchanging exhibitions – go into the heart of the museum crisis in India. This may sound very simple and easy to fix. But we are unable to repair the problem. I call this a crisis of imagination. IDENIFYING THE CAUSE If we look at the early beginnings of history museums in India, we learn that there were two primary impulses: 1. The colonial excavators wanted to store archaeological artifacts and preserve them in-situ instead of shipping them back to England. 2. Also, weave together all the archaeological sites that were being excavated in the early part of the 20th century and build the idea of India around them. Between storing and nation-building, Indian museums got boxed into a role that served it well for the first few years after Independence, but did not give it enough room to change with the times. The grand storage function gave them a uniquely static quality. The need to communicate and tell stories were set aside and the objects were merely labelled and rarely explained. The nation-building goal trapped our museums in triumphalist, heroic narratives. You went to the history museums to learn how great a nation this is and how glorious its history was. The museum could not be disentangled from its patriotic endeavour. In the young, evolving nation, a number of difficult stories are eclipsed from the museum. There is very little introspection in its themes. And in the majestic retelling of India, its people got left out of its walls.

A MUSEUM FOR AND OF THE PEOPLE Born in the colonial era, most of our museums are still stuck in the same colonial construct. We need to begin the process of renegotiating the definitions. Even today, as government officials form committees and task forces to reform our museums, the emphasis is on showcasing the best of India to the world – they are still captive to the old visual regimes. While this is important, we do need to think of museums outside of the realm of tourism as well. The day we make our museums relevant to our own citizens, they will automatically become dynamic institutions. We need to resituate the museum in the community we live in. Let us take the National Rail Museum in New Delhi. It is the largest rail museum in all of Asia and has a very impressive collection of locos, engine plates, emblems, tickets and time tables – from the colonial era to the time of the Maharaja rails to post-Independence. But the museum has for the most part been headed by a railway engineer, not a curator or a museologist. As a result the exhibit labels reveal information about the artefact that can leave the average visitor cold. It gives you exhaustive technical details about dimensions of the wheel and horsepower and engine design. If you are not a hardcore rail enthusiast, you come away from the museum with very little learning about India’s rich rail history. Interestingly the museum has no problem attracting visitors. Averages of 450,000 visitors come to the museum every year. But visitor studies conducted in 2008 and 2009 revealed that most people remember eight minutes out of their visit; the duration of the toy train that runs in the museum. The loco-history in the museum leaves out human stories. As a pilot project last year, the museum set up the first trained student-volunteer docent program. A dozen college students were trained to give guided tours of the artefacts and began telling stories about the railways – why did the armoured train come into being? How did the train ticket and train time-table evolve over time? What is the origin of the train whistle? Which Maharajah built the monorail in India and why? How did the kings travel in their salons? Who were the famous railway robber gangs? These docent-led tours, which ran for six months, were immensely popular with the visitors. The museum began connecting with its visitors. TRANSITIONING INDIA What we are seeing in India today is a heady cocktail of factors that have coalesced in a manner that makes a reconfiguration of prevalent museum practices imperative. About two-thirds of Indians are less than 35 years old, making it an incredibly young and restless nation at a time of enormous economic, social and cultural change. The economic boom has unleashed unprecedented political aspirations and anxieties. A second industrial revolution offers hope but also

culture counts The museum institution has to enter the argument India is having with itself, and mediate between what’s inside and what’s outside. unsettles old communities and fragile ecologies. All this is happening in an explosive information age, robust democracy and a vibrant, vocal, trigger-happy news media. This is arguably one of the most significant phases of transition that India has experienced. The idea of India will be shaped by not only the outcome of the debate that we are witnessing today, but also the manner in which the debate is conducted. The platform available to resolve these changes and contradictions is either politics or the media – both visceral, unforgiving and rhetorical. A good museum is one that offers itself as a stage for enacting a million identities, conflicts and challenges of a transitioning society. MUSEUMS AND IDENTITY Historically museums have been identity-creating institutions. They have also been a mirror to the dominant political ethos of the day – whether it is a colonial regime, a dictatorship or a newly independent republic. The Louvre was no different. First it was a museum in the hands of the royal ruler whose opulent walls and lavish display proclaimed his territorial and military might. Then in 1793, when the Louvre was established as a public art museum by the French revolutionary government, it became a political statement as a museum of the people. Likewise in South Africa, after the dismantling of the Apartheid regime, it is in museums that new stories are being told and the newly-freed identities enacted. Museums provide fertile sites for the post-colonial inquiry into the politics of representation - like the District Six museum and Robben Island museum in Cape Town. The free Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have also set up museums to re-write the story of an occupation that had for so long been called “liberation”. Museums are where a society remembers, responds and re-invents itself. Visitors often engage in constructing identity inside museums. A visitor carries to the museum this unfinished and continuing process of identity formation that he or she is engaged in. We need to think about how Indian museums engage with the question of identity and change. THE MUSEUM ENTERS THE ARGUMENT What kind of a museum should India establish to capture this moment of tremendous change? Our museums rarely show a fluid identity. Meanings in our museums are static, unchanging and fixed. But the society outside the museum walls is alive, dynamic and ever-changing. The varying arguments - environmental, economic, social, political, cultural and religious - sweeping contemporary India may appear to be negative, turbulent and self-destructive at times. But from this upheaval and debate will emerge the contours of an emerging economic and political powerhouse. The museum institution has to enter the argument India is having with itself, and mediate between what’s inside and what’s outside. They say that a museum is the safe space for unsafe ideas. When the ongoing social processes don’t match up to the official narrative, then it is often institutions like the museums that keep them alive. But our museums, stuck in the chest-thumping, patriotic paradigm, cannot

engage with these turbulent times in India. In a world made fiercely borderless by technology and trade, can the traditional patriotic narratives remain the sole articulation of the museum? They are unable to address either painful fissures and memories (like partition, caste system, Emergency) or the contemporary stories of triumph that have unsettled old ways of living (like the IT industry and how it changed the city of Bengaluru). If we situate the museum in the community and pick issues that the community is grappling with, it becomes relevant for the local residents. And more importantly, it becomes relevant to the visiting tourists as well. Neil Postman wrote that “a museum must be an argument with its society” and “direct attention to what is difficult and even painful to contemplate”. For instance, let us examine the traumatic event of the 1984 Union Carbide gas leak disaster in Bhopal that killed thousands of people and continues to afflict residents with various illnesses. The Madhya Pradesh government wants to build a memorial complex at the factory site. But some of the Bhopal survivors ask a very powerful question that strikes at the heart of not only their battle for justice, but also the museum debate: “Who has the moral right to build a memorial and a museum at the Union Carbide factory site?” They say that the government does not have the right because it as complicit in the injustice and that only the survivors should build this museum. Whose memory? Whose version? Who builds a museum? These questions reveal the political landmines that we will encounter in the process. How we answer this question will also frame the kind of museum we will end up building there. The very act of ‘museumising’ the Bhopal story is a political one. The museum will have to enter the argument about justice, environmental damage, toxic pollution, corporate responsibility and foreign investment. Such a museum will truly mirror and confront the questions enveloping of contemporary Indian discourse. THE MUSEUM AND COMMUNITY CURATORS A museum has been called a contact-zone, a townsquare, a piazza – a public space where competing, differing and different mini-narratives converge and peel off. A good museum that is relevant to our times should be willing to dismantle the authoritative, curatorial voice that metes and doles out meta-truths. There was a saying in the South African anti-Apartheid struggle – “Nothing about me, Without me”. Many movements around the world have borrowed this idea of self-representation. Today, new-age 21st century technology makes this approach to museums eminently possible. In the world of personal blogs, ’you-tube’, ‘facebook’, and ‘Twitter’, ‘MySpace’ and “Wikipedia’ - the new mantra is “user-generated content”. Everybody wants to be in control of their story and do not want to be passive consumers of narratives constructed by others. This is why the museum of the future has to reflect the argumentative society that India is.

About the author: Rama Lakshmi Rama Lakshmi is a consulting museologist and a journalist. She has worked on projects for the Smithsonian Institution, Missouri History Museum, National Museum Institute, National Rail Museum and the Foundation for Contemporary Indian Art. She writes for The Washington Post.

125 IA&B - MAY 2011

Disturbed Vocabulary

Maniyarasan R, in this column curated by Dr. Deepak John Mathew, explores, through his lens, the fragmentation and erosion of memory within a slow and gradual deterioration of heritage in real and perceptual space. Text and Photographs: Maniyarasan R

eritage is becoming an inherently political idea around the globe and is no differently perceived in the walled city of Ahmedabad, India. Ahmedabad was founded in 1411 AD, by Ahmed Shah, on the open plains to the east of the river Sabarmati. The city was a planned organisation enclosed within monumental walls which opened out through fourteen towering gates and eight more gates that were added at various points of time. Out of the 22, only eleven remain today. A lot has changed since then. Today, tucked out of site and memory, the people of Ahmedabad have little knowledge of the erstwhile ostentatious fort walls of the city, which have guarded it since time immemorial. In the history of the mankind, there are many instances of cultural heritage falling victim to the ignorance and intolerance of a few pushed by religious, ideological and political motives. This case is no different. What is glorified as ‘heritage’ at present by the ‘Amdavadis’ are the bits that have been salvaged from a rapidly vanishing built-legacy and glorified by the political establishment in power for all the reasons but the right one. This project, ‘Wall-Exposed’ in its initial stages, a year ago, focused on identifying the history behind the rapid rise and fall of the city of Ahmedabad and on learning its glorious past through documenting what remains of it. With every turn in the corner of the street, the first stage of the documentation

was a witness to the beauty of the lost cultural heritage and all the intangible wealth associated with it. Heritage has been documented time and again, but the life that continues along the nearly-collapsed walls and the brightly lit gates has been overlooked and this symbiotic relationship never ceases to amaze the human eye. Apart from the destruction caused by the city’s very own people who were driven by political/religious personalities with ulterior motives, some parts of the wall have collapsed due to natural factors. Also, a majority of the wall was razed to ground in the name of ‘development’; massive steel and glass buildings replaced years of history which stood the test of time until now. The proposed course of the project is to explore the context of ‘life along the walls in relationship to time, space and emotions’ and to expose the political, religious and other influences that led to such destruction of the heritage. This documentation aims to educate the people of the city on the importance of preserving and conserving our heritage, whether built or un-built. The project would also bring out the behavioural changes in the psyche of the people that have occurred through the past decade, which led to such acts of vandalism against our built heritage. The documentation would be showcased as an exhibition in all the prominent places in Ahmedabad, frequented by all classes of the society and is intended to wake people up to the cause of the great legacy of our heritage that has been reduced to a belt of poverty and neglect enveloping the city.

space frames urban villages

127

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Out of sight and memory, as we turn ourselves away, some of the fragments left behind in the rubble are picked up and saved. With every enclosure we open, we witness the beauty of those objects and feel anger and sadness for their loss; the importance of the records are becoming painfully clear.

Maniyarasan R Creative, innovative and with an eye for detail, Maniyarasan strongly believes that every challenge presents itself with a bundle of opportunities. Being a qualified architect, the built environment appeals strongly to him and his work reflects his passion towards improving it. His main interest apart from architectural/heritage documentation lies in capturing the essence of pure human emotions, and the sanctity and joy of weddings - moments that bind people together. Through his visual documentation, he is on a constant endeavour to capture the context of ‘life’ in relationship to time, space, and emotions.

‘space frames’ will investigate issues related to architecture, space and environment through the medium of photography.

Space Frames May 2011: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Disturbed Vocabularyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; by Maniyarasan R Indian Architect & Builder Magazine

Maniyarasan R Creative, innovative and with an eye for detail, Maniyarasan strongly believes that every challenge presents itself with a bundle of opportunities. Being a qualified architect, the built environment appeals strongly to him and his work reflects his passion towards improving it. His main interest apart from architectural/heritage documentation lies in capturing the essence of pure human emotions, and the sanctity and joy of weddings - moments that bind people together. Through his visual documentation, he is on a constant endeavour to capture the context of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;lifeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in relationship to time, space, and emotions.