Nov 2011 Preview

` 200 NOV 2011 VOL 25 (3)

Architecture:

Footprints E.A.R.T.H SPASM Design Architects Manasaram Architects

Interiors: Vertex Inc.

International:

Bernard Tschumi Architects Atelier Peter Zumthor & Partners

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Practice

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Theory Bernard Tschumi talks about architecture as a form of knowledge as he comments on his practice and his idea of built theories in an interview with IA&B. Photograph: courtesy Bernard Tschumi Architects

Bernard Tschumi spearheads Bernard Tschumi Architects, an experimental practice with offices in New York and Paris. Known widely for his iconic Parc de La Villette in Paris and the intriguing ‘Event Cities’, Bernard Tschumi is one of the most vital thinkers on contemporary architecture. Tschumi’s practice is highly acclaimed and his architecture and writing is widely and frequently published and debated. Tschumi’s work has been exhibited at The Museum of Modern Art in New York amongst many other galleries and institutions. Bernard Tschumi has taught Architectural Association in London, Princeton University, and The Cooper Union in New York. He was Dean of the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at Columbia University from 1988 to 2003 and is currently a Professor at the Graduate School of Architecture.

Bernard Tschumi Architects has established a worldwide reputation for its innovative design solutions to client concerns of different sizes and scales, from small facilities to large-scale master plans.

let’s partner

IA&B: Tell us about your practice. How do you define your philosophy of work?

BT: Architecture is the invention of concepts and ideas. What distinguishes architecture from mere building is ideas and concepts. I would also add that architecture is the materialisation of concepts. So our practice is very much informed by these simple facts.

IA&B: Your designs have multiple and overlapping programmes juxtaposed as layers. Is this a design strategy in all your work?

BT: Again, the invention of concepts is the common strategy to all works.

However, these concepts will often differ from project to project, even if there are some recurrent interest such as programmatic combination and recombination.

IA&B: Your practice intuitively connects architecture and culture.

Do you see profound links between the two? Can you elaborate on the “interface”?

BT: Architecture is not simply knowledge of forms. More importantly, it is a form of knowledge, like mathematics, like literature, like art. It helps us to grasp and understand the world around us. So it is important to establish a dialogue between different forms of culture: an import and export between them and architecture.

IA&B: The Acropolis Museum comes across as a geometric abstraction of the themes of Parthenon. Does your architecture use such abstractions as starting points for design?

BT: Concepts are abstractions that need to be materialized in architecture. So it is correct to say that there is an abstract aspect to the Acropolis Museum.

However, in this case, due to all the site and historical constraints, the context had to be the starting point of the work. The challenge consisted in conceptualising that context.

IA&B: Parc de la Villette and the Manhattan Transcripts. Which would you term as defining work in your practice?

BT: Both. The difference between the Manhattan Transcripts and the Parc de la Villette is that the Transcripts were a theoretical project, while the Parc was a built theory, with all the objective constraints that go with it. Both are still important in the context of my current work.

IA&B: Architecture and Theory. What relation do the two have according to you? Do you see theory as a point of departure or as general framework?

BT: I would say “Practice and Theory,” rather than “Architecture and Theory.”

It is important to remember that theory and practice constantly inform one another. In the early days, the theoretical work had a major influence on my practice, today it is often the other way around: Practice often leads to theory.

So it should always go back and forth.

IA&B: You have advocated the influence of occupation on architecture. In other words, according to you, “events” define architecture. Why would you stress on “activity” as a defining element in architecture?

BT: Rather than “occupation”, I would say “programme.” There is no architecture without something that happens in it. The relation between the space and what happens in it can be a relation of reciprocity (functionalist), or of indifference (multi-use and neutral space) or of conflict (when you purposefully make them clash). The architect chooses the type of relation in order to reinforce the concept.

IA&B: Since Parc de la Villette, your firm has designed and executed many projects. Can we see this body of work as a continuous inquiry on the lines of the Parc or do you see each project standing independent?

BT: Both. There is a general approach trying to develop concepts that started with La Villette, but then each project is generally considered its own right.

IA&B: Do you design buildings or do you design conditions in which an activity can happen?

BT: Both, actually. It is what makes architecture a social art.

IA&B: Do you see a relationship between architecture and art?

BT: Art can be self-initiated by the artist, while architecture generally starts with a programme, a budget, a site, etc., i.e. a whole series of constraints.

That is what makes architecture so exciting: to transform constraints into creative opportunities.

To read more about Bernard Tschumi Architects’ work, refer to the article titled ‘The Parthenon Marble’.

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LET’S PARTNER Practice & Theory Bernard Tschumi elaborates on architecture as a form of knowledge, his practice and idea of built theories in conversation with IA&B.

28 Chairman: Jasu Shah Publisher: Maulik Jasubhai Chief Executive Officer: Hemant Shetty

EDITORIAL

Assistant Editors: Maanasi Hattangadi, Ruturaj Parikh Writers: Rashmi Naicker (Online), Sharmila Chakravorty Design Team: Mansi Chikani, Prasenjit Bhowmick Events Management Team: Abhay Dalvi, Abhijeet Mirashi Subscription Team: Dilip Parab Production Team: V Raj Misquitta (Head), Prakash Nerkar, Arun Madye

Events, competitions and news from around the world.

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The latest addition to Kolkata’s skyline, Forum Group’s Atmosphere is all set to redefine luxury and aesthetics with its spectacular design.

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General Manager, Sales: Amit Bhalerao, E-mail: amit_bhalerao@jasubhai.com Prashant Koshti, E-mail: prashant_koshti@jasubhai.com Brand Manager: Sudhanshu Nagar, E-mail: sudhanshu_nagar@jasubhai.com

in Manila, with signature interiors by Versace Home.

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Courtyard exudes a walk-to-work charm.

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excellence, Creative Group’s design for Chennai Airport’s redevelopment promises aesthetic function.

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TECHNOLOGY The Synesthetic Experience Fibre Composite Adaptive Systems designed by Maria Mingallon, Sakthivel Ramaswamy and Konstantinos Karatzas unites technological progress and programmatic layers of systems already evolved in nature.

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ARCHITECTURE Notions Footprints E.A.R.T.H, an Ahmedabad-based architecture firm headed by Yatin Pandya designs three projects with different interventions in different scales

Hyderabad: Sunil Kumar Mobile: 09823410712, E-mail: sunil_kulkarni@jasubhai.com

Pune: Amit Bhalerao/ Sunil Kulkarni Suite 201, White House, 1482, Sadashiv Peth, Tilak Road, Pune 411 030 Tel: 020-24494572, Telefax: 020-24482059, Mob: 09823410712 E-mail: amit_bhalerao@jasubhai.com, sunil_kulkarni@jasubhai.com

Chennai Airport An innovative model of engineering, architecture, landscape and sustainable

Delhi: Priyaranjan Singh/ Suman Kumar/ Manu Raj Singhal/ Ankit Garg 803, Chiranjeev Tower, No 43, Nehru Place, New Delhi – 110 019 Tel: 011 2623 5332, Fax: 011 2642 7404, E-mail: pr_singh@jasubhai.com, suman_kumar@jasubhai.com, manu_singhal@jasubhai.com, ankit_garg@jasubhai.com

Kolkata: Kumar Hemant Sinha Mob: 09930336463, E-mail: hemant_sinha@jasubhai.com

Nirvana Courtyard II With most residential developments in close vicinity, Unitech Group’s Nirvana

Bengaluru: Giri Shekar Mobile: 09600077161, E-mail: giri_shekar@jasubhai.com Chennai / Coimbatore: Giri Shekar “Saena Circle“ No: 31/6, Ist Floor, Duraiswamy Road, T-Nagar, Chennai 600 017 Tel: 91-044-42123936, Mobile: 09600077161, E-mail: giri_shekar@jasubhai.com

The Milano Residences Broadway Malyan’s The Milano Residences would be one of the most stylish addresses

Ahmedabad: Hitesh Parmar 64/A, Phase I, GIDC Industrial Estate, Vatva, Ahmedabad – 382 445, Tel: 079 2583 1042 Fax: 91-079-25831825, Mob: 09725877660, E-mail: hitesh_parmar@jasubhai.com Baroda: Samarth Vohra 202 Concorde Bldg, Above Times of India Office, R C Dutt Road, Alkapuri, Baroda 390 007 Telefax: 91-0265-2337189, Mobile: 09898010142, E-mail: samarth_vohra@jasubhai.com

CONSTRUCTION BRIEF Atmosphere

JMPL, 210, Taj Building, 3rd Floor, Dr. D. N. Road, Fort, Mumbai 400 001, Tel: +91-22- 4213 6400,+ 91 -22-4037 3636, Fax: +91-22-4037 3635

MARKETING TEAM & OFFICES Mumbai Godfrey Lobo/ V Ramdas/ Kumar Hemant Sinha/ Sameeksha Sharma/ Viresh Pandey/ Parvez Memon/ Shabnam Sharma 210, Taj Building, 3rd Floor, Dr. D. N. Road, Fort, Mumbai 400 001, Tel: +91-22- 4213 6400,+ 91 -22-4037 3636, Fax: +91-22-4037 3635 Email: godfrey_lobo@jasubhai.com, v_ramdas@jasubhai.com, hemant_sinha@jasubhai.com, sam_sharma@ jasubhai.com, viresh_pandey@jasubhai.com, parvez_memon@jasubhai.com, shabnam_sharma@jasubhai.com

PRODUCTS Things, objects and designs for architectural spaces.

Head Office:

SALES

CURRENT

on a common idea of purpose – driven design.

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Connection – Conversation – Concord The AON Insurance Headquarters at Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, by SPASM Design Architects redefines the traditional perception of office spaces, perfectly blending aesthetics and functionality.

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An Alternative Idiom Bengaluru-based Manasaram Architects create The Bamboo Symphony making use of one of the most potent yet under-exploited natural materials; bamboo.

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INTERIORS Reminiscent Expressions Abhhay Narkar of Vertex Inc. recreates a new identity for the Delhi Art Gallery, blending modernism and local ethics within the poetic fabric of Delhi.

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INTERNATIONAL The Parthenon Marble Treading lightly on the historic excavation site, the built form of the New Acropolis Museum by Bernard Tschumi Architects in Athens responds to its surrounding context.

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Extensity of SPACE Peter Zumthor’s deceptively simple work brings to light the events leading to the idealised space and order; temporal notions of the subject and its interpretation in the architectural object.

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COMMENT Relief From Runoff A university campus rain garden perfectly combines the utility of rain water runoff management with the aesthetics of landscaping.

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BOOK REVIEW Space for Engagement Himanshu Burte’s ‘Space for Engagement’ is an attempt to trigger professional opinions with a radical enquiry into the elapsed position the ‘player’ in architecture.

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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.

SPACE FRAMES The Silent Hustle Neha Malhotra captures the shades of the abandoned Old Stock Exchange Building in Ahmedabad, looking for treasures of a lost era.

Co v e

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arkar N y a c. hh ©Ab Ver tex In : e g of Ima

Printed 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.

28 IA&B - NOV 2011

current Khirki Heritage Reuse Design Competition

Water Park Slide Design Competition

Category Type

Deadline

Category Type Deadline

: : :

International Open to all January 21, 2012

International Open to all March 31, 2012

Architecture and Design Company AXIOM India is organising and co-sponsoring a design competition with INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage) for the reuse of a heritage building, ‘The Khirki Monument’. Using the Khirki Masjid as the point of departure, the Khirki Heritage Reuse Design Competition seeks to promote the potential reuse of a heritage building, while demonstrating how creative, innovative design can potentially reinvigorate heritage buildings. The idea is to promote sustainability through reuse, encourage discussion about the potential for the reuse of heritage buildings, increase awareness of Khirki’s quality heritage architecture and encourage the reuse of Khirki monument.

The water park slide design competition seeks design entries for a new water park attraction. The competition seeks to engage architects and designers with fresh and innovative ideas to design new water park slides. The competition is open to architects, landscape architects, artists, engineers and designs from all backgrounds. Winning designs stand to win USD 20,000 and a design contract to build the creation in Dubai. This is a stage one Concept Development Proposal request (CDP), and winners will work with a dedicated engineering team at the office or via internet communication thereafter in stage two. Upon successful completion of this second stage, the commission for the project will stand at nine per cent of the building cost.

For further information: Email: architecture@axiomindia.co.in Tel: + 91-11-41664995, 41765928

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

The Solutia World of Color Awards 2012 Category Type

Deadline

: : :

International Open to all March 16, 2012

The Solutia World of Color Awards – Inspired by Vanceva is open to all professional architects, interior designers, glass fabricators, engineers and other industry professionals who have made liberal use of Vanceva laminated colour glass products in their projects. The awards will honour the innovative use of coloured laminated safety glass in building design and interior spaces.

The contest and the conversations around it aim to inspire, educate and showcase greatness in architectural design around the world. The winners will be announced at China Glass 2012 in Shanghai, China. The winning designs will be featured at Glasstec 2012, the world’s largest glass event, located in Dusseldorf, Germany. Winners will also be featured on the contest website and published in the annual Vanceva Dream Book distributed around the world.

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

COMPETITIONS

: : :

2011 Open Architecture Challenge Category Type Deadline

: : :

International Open to all March 31, 2012

The Open Architecture Challenge reaches beyond traditional bounds of architecture by challenging designers and architects to partner with community groups and to develop together innovative solutions that improve the built environment. Based on this premise, the 2011 Open Architecture Challenge invites architects and designers from around the world to redesign retired military sites.

This competition asks designers to partner with communities surrounding these former places of conflict to transform hostile, and often troubled, locations into sites where groups can create healthy civic change. The only one rule to consider is that the site must be an abandoned, closed or decommissioning military site.

This design competition seeks to re-envision the future of decommissioned military space.

For further information, log on to: Web: www.openarchitecturenetwork.org/competitions/challenge/2011

10+ Competition: Re-Thinking Shanghai 2012

International Contemporary Artists Exhibition Paris 2012

Category Type

Deadline

Category Type Deadline

: : :

International Open to all March 28, 2012

: : :

International Open to all June 15, 2012

The aim of the 10+ Competition is to design a visionary proposal for a sustainable architectural intervention along the Suzhou Creek in Shanghai.

The location of the site selected can be anywhere along the Suzhou creek as long as it is within Shanghai. The project must occupy at least 150,000sqm of land and contain residential, office, and commercial functions. The ratio and size of the programmatic elements are to be decided by the participant.

The competition is looking for concepts that move beyond the ordinary and address issues such as power generation, cleaning air and water pollution, and the use of innovative materials and geometries. The competition aims to further and expand a dialogue about green thinking in Asia.

EWNS Art Project is seeks entries from artists for a group art exhibition to be held in Paris. The exhibition would be held from October 1st to 31st at the EWNS Gallery in Paris. Artists are free to send in entries of their choice as the exhibition does not have a fixed theme. The competition seeks original entries in the form of paintings, photography, sculpture, textiles, ceramics, glass, etc. Artists must submit a minimum of three images per medium that best represents their work and pay a nominal entry fee. The artwork must be recent, preferably made in last two years prior to the starting date of this exhibition. Also, all of the submitted artwork should be for sale. However, publishers, galleries, agents, and collectors are not permitted to submit artwork on behalf of artists.

For further information, log on to: Web: www.10design.co/think/competitions/re-think-shanghai

For further information, log on to: Web: www.ewnsartproject.eu

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current Kamla Raheja Memorial Lecture Series

New Zealand International Arts Festival 2012

Date Venue

Date Venue

: :

December 16-19, 2011 KRVIA, Mumbai

: :

February 24 – March 18, 2012 Wellington, New Zealand

The Kamla Raheja Memorial Lecture Series, sponsored by the Kamla Raheja Foundation in association with 2A magazine, will feature a dialogue between India and Iran on December 16. The projects from the same shall be exhibited until December 19. The lecture series will be introduced by noted architect Sen Kapadia. The conference on Cultural History and Architectural Practice on the 17 th of December shall have key note addresses by eminent personalities from the architecture, design and architectural publishes spheres from India and Iran. The event will be held for four days at the Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Insitute for Architecture and Environmental Studies.

The New Zealand International Arts Festival is New Zealand’s premier cultural event and a leading multi-arts festival in Australasia. The New Zealand International Arts Festival will be spread over 24 days and will feature more than 300 arts events. The events range from theatre, dance, music, visual arts, as well as literary ones and intend to take the participants from the deserts of the Sahara to the cultural centres of the world, welcoming back favourite artists from past festivals alongside others new to New Zealand – all key in shaping the cultural future of contemporary times. Wellington’s waterfront will be transformed for 2012, with a new Festival Hub on the waterfront.

For further information, log on to: Web: www.krvia.ac.in

For further information, log on to: Web: www.festival.co.nz

India Art Fair

Stone Art Expo 2012

Date

: January 25-29, 2012 Venue : New Delhi, India

The 4th India Art Fair is one of the most premium art events in India, and aims to promote the emerging Indian art market. The event will have quality Indian art on display, and promises to draw visitors not only from India but from all across the world. The art fair will arrange for special sessions where renowned experts from the art world will hold discussions on key issues that are of prime importance today in the global art scenario. There will also be book launches in this event that will pave the way for greater opportunities of interaction between artists and art enthusiasts. The art fair would be an excellent opportunity for the intermingling of art, artists, art buyers and curators. Art galleries in this event will be provided with the opportunity of showing their art works to collectors, artists and curators. In the last edition, this event was a roaring success when hundred thousand visitors from 17 cities in India and 67 cities from all across the world visited the event and around 84 galleries exhibited from 20 countries.

Date Venue

For further information, log on to: Web: http://www.indiaartfair.in/

Architecture and Design Festival

: :

March 03-05, 2012 New Delhi, India

A unique expo, the Stone Art Expo 2012 will display and demonstrate the wide and exclusive range of eye-catching and colourful natural stones, the skills and capabilities of Indian craftsmen as well as Indian entrepreneurs and their efforts to modernise and conserve the art of stone cutting and working. The expo will include natural stone ornamental products for use in the landscape sector, flower pots, sculptures, garden furniture, columns, etc. amongst others. Potential visitors are expected from across the landscape and architectural sector, in addition to stone quarry owners and stone industry associations. The expo would promote stone products and their usage, thereby boosting the entire stone industry.

For further information, log on to: Web: http://www.stoneartexpo.com/

RoCAD 2012 Date Venue

: :

May 16-18, 2012 Bucharest, Romania

One of the most revered international festivals, the Architecture and Design festival would features manufacturers, distributors, retailers and designers showcasing products and services for the discerning residential design market.

The event offers inspirational design exhibits, culinary demonstrations, special events and an exciting line-up of architecture and design-based seminars. The show would be held at the Kiev International Exhibition Centre (IEC), indicative of a large amount of visitors. The festival would be an ideal location for visitors and participants to capture sales leads from the architecture and design sector and further their network across the globe, given the number of international visitors that are expected to attend.

The RoCAD (Romanian Convention of Architecture and Design) is dedicated to the 120 th anniversary of “Ion Mincu” University of Architecture and Design. The event will celebrate the latest developments in architecture and design through products, services, projects and visions that generate trends in the industry reflected in the conferences, debates, exhibitions and other RoCAD events. It will feature presentations, open discussions and meetings with international Pritzker Prize recipients, leaders of international design associations and world renowned architects. It will also hold special competitions, business forums as well as round table discussions with policy makers from the world of architecture. Also, the RoCAD 2012 will have ‘Pecha Kucha’ sessions, debates generating presentations on specific topics, either professional or abstract. Gottfried Bohm (winner of The Pritzker Prize in 1986) and Eduardo Souto de Moura (winner of The Pritzer Prize in 2011) would be the main speakers at the event.

For further information, log on to: Web: www.pe.com.ua/en/exhibitions/architecture_festival

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

Date Venue

EVENTS

: :

February 29 – March 02, 2012 Kiev, Ukraine

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current National Museum of Scotland scoops Doolan Prize 2011 Gareth Hoskins Architects has won the RIAS Andrew Doolan Best Building in Scotland Award 2011, with its £37-million refurbishment of the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. The award is one of the largest architectural accolades in the UK, with £25,000 awarded to the winning entity. Scotland’s Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop, and Margaret Doolan, the late Andrew Doolan’s mother, presented the award to the Hoskins team for their ‘sensitive and intelligent adaptation’ of the 1860s museum. Prior to its refurbishment the Museum, opened in 1866, had been adapted and extended through the decades. “The transformation of the National Museum of Scotland is truly breathtaking, making this project a worthy winner of the Award. Scotland has an international reputation for creativity and innovation, enhanced by the outstanding quality of Scottish architecture. This excellence is demonstrated by the record number of schemes shortlisted for this year’s RIAS Doolan Award, which inspires ever-higher standards of design by celebrating and recognising the very best of architecture in Scotland,” Hyslop said.

London 2012 £5 coin designs unveiled Two commemorative £5-coin designs made to mark London 2012 have been unveiled. The coins have been designed by students, and selected from a design contest held for students. The first coin that depicts a sweep of the London skyline and marks the Olympics is designed by Saiman Miah, a Masters student at the Birmingham School of Architecture.

Similarly, Hereford College of Arts graduate Pippa Sanderson, of Malvern, Worcestershire, designed a Paralympics coin which shows a stopwatch, a target and a wheel. These commemorative coins are being produced by the Royal Mint.

NEWS

Architect David Adjaye named Design Miami’s Designer of the Year Design Miami, the global forum for design, has announced David Adjaye, OBE, Principal Architect of Adjaye Associates, as this year’s recipient of the Designer of the Year Award. A site-specific installation by Adjaye, commissioned for the fair, was presented at the 2011 edition of Design Miami. The award is bestowed upon an internationally renowned architect, designer, or studio whose body of work demonstrates unmatched quality, innovation and influence, while expanding the boundaries of design.

Adjaye’s use of architecture as a catalyst for generating community, his novel application of materials, and his diverse catalogue of projects that intersect architecture, design and art, complement Design Miami’s objective of creating a forum that advances the discourse surrounding experimental design while encouraging visitors to connect and exchange ideas within its venue. The Designer of the Year is chosen over his demonstration of a consistent history of outstanding work, along with a significant new project, career milestone, or other noteworthy achievement within the previous twelve months. Past Designer of the Year winners include Zaha Hadid, Marc Newson, Tokujin Yoshioka, the Campana Brothers, Maarten Baas, and Konstantin Grcic.

Jaipur joins Unesco’s Creative Cities Network Popular as the Pink City, Jaipur will now have one more name to associate itself with after having joined Unesco’s creative cities network. Having joined this network, as the first city in the country, Jaipur will choose a name from a set criteria by Unesco to suit its field of excellence and be known by it across the globe. There are currently 29 member cities around the world in seven creative industry fields such as literature, film, music, craft and folk art, design, media arts and gastronomy. Mayor Jyoti Khandelwal said, “As Jaipur has rich craft and architectural designs, we have come up with names - Unesco design city or craft city for Jaipur.”

She added, “We have kept gastronomy as the third option as we also have good places to eat.” She further said, “Once the name is finalised, it would reach other countries through the Unesco project, which in turn will boost tourism. It will also give chance to local artists to visit other countries that are a part of this network.”

Unesco World Heritage list may include five Rajasthan forts As of today, in Rajasthan, only Jantar Mantar and Keoladeo National Park have been recognised by the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO. However, the state government is now trying to bring forts in the UNESCO World Heritage list.

A UNESCO advisor has made visits to the forts of Amber, Gagron, Kumbalgarh, Sawai Madhopur and Chittor, part of the process to declare them as sites of universal value. It is being said that these forts are under consideration as they have certain unique features. While the Kumbhalgarh Fort in Rajsamand has a wall which is the second largest in the world after Great Wall of China, Gagron Fort in Jhalawar is the only fort which is surrounded by water on four sides.

Amber Fort in Jaipur is known for a distinct architectural style which has both Mughal and Rajput influence. Chittorgarh Fort is famous for its historicity. And Sawai Madhopur Fort in Ranthambhore is totally surrounded by forests. These unique characteristics may become the factors of consideration that would get these forts the Unesco World Heritage sites tag, paving the way for better conservation and preservation of the buildings.

Chandigarh’s night illumination plan to get approval Chandigarh city’s administration has plans to promote night tourism by illuminating the city’s buildings and monuments. “Chandigarh Tourism has planned to promote night tourism in the city to add a new dimension to its product. Architectural edifices and monuments of Le Corbusier (Chandigarh’s founder-architect) shall be illuminated keeping in view their prime importance in the city’s history,” Arvind Malhotra, general manager-tourism, Chandigarh Industrial & Tourism Development Corporation (CITCO), told us. Amongst the architectural gems that would be highlighted are the city’s ‘Capitol Complex’ in Sector 1, which houses the buildings designed by Le Corbusier and his team in the 1950s and 1960s, buildings like the Punjab and Haryana civil secretariat complex, assembly complex and the Punjab and Haryana high court complex. The administration has also decided to enhance the ambience of the Rock Garden, a unique place created by Nek Chand from waste materials like broken bangles, ceramic items, broken lights and switches and other discarded material, with a plan for lighting up of the famous attraction.

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products Glacier Smooth and fluid-like in appearance, the Glacier emerges as a result of a single, swooping gesture of energy captured in pure, optically transparent glass. The once-fluid material flows from the central core of the piece and counterbalances the outstretched planes of the overall sculpture. Edition one of only ten ever made, this lucid chaise longue is the perfect synergy of design and craftsmanship. Casted by hand from 135 litres of molten clear glass, the Glacier’s graceful monolithic form fills a 7ft-long mould and is fused with a total weight of 300kg.

Designer: Brodie Neill Contact: Tel: +44 (0) 207 613 3123 Website: www.brodieneill.com Email: info@brodieneill.com

Miesrolo Named after the legendary architect, Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe, and a dedication to his Cantilever Chair, the Miesrolo is an elegant serpent-like creation that can be rolled-up or flat-folded in any segment. It is easy to handle, carry and store, and provides sleek contemporary aesthetics with conventional wood.

innovation

The structure of this compact cantilever chair comprises of a series of wooden slats attached to synthetic bands on one side, which confer load-bearing properties while allowing the ability of being folded in the opposite direction.

The material palette and production flaunt a sustainable approach with the use of locally abundant certified wood off-cuts and recyclable polyester bands.

Designer: Uroš Vitas Photos: Nebojša Babić, Orange Studio Belgrade Contact: Email: vitas@tesla.rcub.bg.ac.rs Weblog: universityofbelgrade.blogspot.com

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products Bamboo Chair A sudden realisation on a lazy Saturday evening, while sitting aimlessly in a garden initiated the design of the Bamboo Chair. Organic and eco-conscious with no carbon footprint in terms of material, the low-height chair is made of bamboo with joineries inspired by the work of Assamese craftsmen. A simple gesture of addressing ubiquitous needs, the chair allows one to be close enough to the earth, while saving garments from being soiled. The light-weight foldable chair can be easily shifted, economically stored and conveniently transformed into a low-height table. The design is subtle, avoiding any disturbance to the character of the natural surroundings, but at the same time refuses to depart unnoticed due to its functional brilliance.

Designer: Rohit Sharma Contact: Tel. +91 9737 11 8426 Email: rohit.s@nid.edu

The Motion The chief concept behind “The Motion� is the predominance of a viewpoint of furniture as a versatile element rather than a mere functional arrangement of a room. The developed piece emerges as a spatial aspect and enters into a relationship with the user. It not only functions as an elaborate storage shelf but also as a space for reading and relaxation. The mobility of the bookshelf bestows its users with unexpected delight and takes the form of

mobility

a comfortable play-mate.

Designer: Kamkam Studio Contact: 4F 12, New Building, 25, Wonhyoro 1ga, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Korea 140-846 Tel: 070 8680 6655 Email: studiokamkam@gmail.com Website: www.kam-kam.org

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products Double Side With an ideation that an object is simply not generous enough if it resolves merely one function, the Double Side chair is an intuitive gesture. On one hand, it provides simple seating while on another, it becomes a tool for work by providing a table-like surface. The revolutionary product breaks the codes of traditional living and eliminates the restricted utility of the furniture piece by following the course of activity encounter and leaving itself open to interpretation. The chair interacts with the user psyche, invites action and forwards potential opportunities that are revealed during its use. Updating the conventional seat, the Double Side interprets the real needs of “seating� and incorporates within itself probable supporting features.

Designer: Matali Crasset Contact: Matali Crasset Productions, 26 Rue du Buisson Saint Louis, 75010 Paris, France Tel: + 33 1 42 40 99 89 Mob: + 33 6 27 36 42 12 Email: matali.crasset@wanadoo.fr Website: www.matalicrasset.com Weblog: blog.matalicrasset.com

Seat Slug

technology

Inspired by the shape of the recently discovered Flabellina Goddardi Sea Slug and employing the splendour of traditional Japanese Karakusamon patterns, the cement-based polymer Seat Slug is a prototype that demonstrates the potential of the material along with three-dimensional printing in the development of sophisticated low-cost, non-repetitive pieces. The bench is comprised of 230 individual pieces, each developed as a unique shape. The unique shape is both functional and collectable with its provocative massing and highly polished finish. A ray of hope, the ambitious dream of three-dimensional printing technology for mass consumed objects may finally be realised.

Designer: Rael San Fratello Architects (with the University of Washington and University of California Berkeley) Contact: Rael San Fratello Architects, 2200 Adeline Street, Suite 340, Oakland, CA 94607 Tel: (510) 207-2960 Email: studio@rael-sanfratello.com Website: www.rael-sanfratello.com

40 IA&B - NOV 2011

Piana Light, sturdy, practical and ecological, Piana is a folding chair created using cutting-edge material and technology. Available in many colours with an anti-slip opaque finish, it displays a visual expression of simplicity of its function. It is made using 100 per cent recyclable polypropylene reinforced with fibreglass and is suited for both indoor as well as outdoor usage. The chair has a backrest that measures only 7cm when folded, making it easy to handle. The design takes full advantage of a synchronised seat-opening-and-closing system with a single point of rotation, without any visible fastenings.

Designer: Alberto Alessi & David Chipperfield Contact: DI PALMA ASSOCIATI International Press Agency, Via Boccaccio, 43-20123 Milano, Italy Tel: +39-02-7602 1515 Email: info@dipalmassociati.com

The Bride Chair - Peacock

space-savers

Inspired by the figure of a bride in a wedding dress, “The Bride Chair – Peacock” uses paper as its material and origami, the traditional Japanese art of paper folding, as its structural technique. Its unique advantage lies in its capability of converting its solid three-dimensional form into a two-dimensional flat form that can be easily stored, stacked or transported. The honesty and simplicity of its material and technique ease construction and its undeniable aesthetic beauty generates interest.

Designer: Kamkam Studio Contact: 4F 12, New Building, 25, Wonhyoro 1ga, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Korea 140-846 Tel: 070 8680 6655 Email: studiokamkam@gmail.com Website: www.kam-kam.org

products Light Form A tribute to what a mid-century light fixture should look like, the sculptural and functional Light Form is more than just an ordinary desk lamp. It is a medium of lighting personalisation that allows each of its users a unique experience of lighting as per their personal taste. By merely punching a fist into the mesh LED wiring, the light can be manipulated to create a unique form around one’s hand. The side profile of the design is a minimalistic interpretation of an arm, but when put into perspective, the inspiration from Japanese designer Nendo and mid-century Harry Bertoia is ever so clear.

The structure of the wire frame light borrows inspiration from Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic dome, the frame comprising of steel wire triangles that connect together in an evenly balanced manner.

Designer: Scott Young Contact: 32520 Woodvale, Farmington Hills, MI 48334, USA Tel: +1248 953 8035 Email: scottyoung2012@yahoo.com Website: www.syproductdesign.com

Lamp E

Designer: KAKO.KO Design Studio Photos: Orange studio Belgrade Contact: Kako.Ko Design Studio, Dositejeva 30a, 11 000 Belgrade, Serbia Tel: +381 11 26 24 001 Email: vpejovic@gmail.com Website: www.kako-ko.com

luminaire

interiors

Designed to be playful and stimulating for the user, the “Lamp E” invites interaction and repositioning. Intended as a simplified “light line“, this lamp can be used in a variety of the situations as a functional reading desk lamp or as a sculptural lighting object. Made out of an extruded aluminium profile with energy-efficient LED, the shape guides one’s gaze along the path of the light line and changes its appearance by simple turning or walking around it.

50 IA&B - NOV 2011 The idea is framed as a physical manifestation of the responsive systems in nature like those found in sunflowers, bone structures and sea urchins.

The Synesthetic Experience Designed by Maria Mingallon, Sakthivel Ramaswamy and Konstantinos Karatzas, Fibre Composite Adaptive Systems transcribes the potential of architecture through the union of technological progress and programmatic layers of systems already evolved in nature.

Text: Maanasi Hattangadi Photographs: courtesy Maria Mingallon, Sakthivel Ramaswamy

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echnology has a great deal of influence on items in everyday life. What is the work that captures the essence of technology in architecture? Is it like a series of experiments - an examination and interpretation of architecture through systems and material? If so, it is an ambitious agenda – all very idealistic in search of a large mechanical microcosm – the search, immense and endless. Maria Mingallon and Sakthivel Ramaswamy, through research, reveal in an intense exchange of information titled Fibre Composite Adaptive Systems – the scale of a part to this holistic idea, basic in concept, yet complex in possibility.

It is an investigation of space and the role of the material properties in the creation of dynamic and adaptive structures. The design scene is witnessing a rapid transformation; why then, should a structure not be responsive?

Fibre Composite Adaptive Systems are architectural applications proposed as biomimetic models developed as synthetic self-actuating materials. The system understands and anticipates senses and actuation competences to adapt to transient changes as a reflection of morpho-mechanical

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The Fibre Composite Adaptive Systems offer a range of possibilities in application through local variations.

Two Hexagonal Grids

Layers Connectivity - Tripods

Tripods frame Suture Curves

It is a strategic interpretation of material behaviour, fibre organisation, topology definition and the overall morpho-mechanics.

Space Truss

Suture Curves

Interwoven of Surfaces

The geometrical progressions of the structures.

processes found in natural fibre tissues. The thought is structured on ‘thigmomorphogenesis’ that involves exhibition of change in shape, structure and material properties of biological organisms in reaction to changes in the environmental conditions. The exemplar of such properties is found in the best of nature, like in the movement of sunflowers, bone structures and sea urchins. The ability to understand these growth movements and slow adaptations from the standpoint of stimulus and narrowing it down to fibre composite tissue leads to the basis of this research. It can diverge as a contemporary equivalent of a natural system, like a leaf where the veins account for the form of the leaf, structural strength and nourishment; yet they are an integral part of the sensing and the functionality of actuation.

The fibre composites manifested into an performative aesthetic that explores complex geometries generated by integrated logics of its material behaviour, fibre organisation, topology definition and the overall

The geometry of the design.

The process of experimentation.

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The thought is structured on ‘thigmomorphogenesis’ that involves exhibition of change in shape, structure and material proper ties of biological organisms in reaction to changes in the environmental conditions.

morpho-mechanical strategy. Inherently anisotropic and heterogeneous, fibre composites render a possibility for local variations in their material properties. This reference allows one to appreciate the model both as a possibility and research in materiality and fabrication. The logic is embedded in the material directly, wherein fibre optics would be used to measure and interpret multiple parameters like strain temperature, humidity and shape memory alloys allow actuation. It is contingent of definition of geometry and on deployability of functions and systems to

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The prototype modules.

evolve as an “integrated functionality”. The dynamics is in recognition as a series of environmental inputs. By segmenting these configurations, a new reading of “multiple states of equilibrium” is achieved. The system’s topology establishes a different kind of interaction as a multi-layered, tessellated space frame composed of a continuous surface. The layered strategy emulates a paradigm combination of varied structural characteristics and levelled approach of porosity, density, self-shading and illumination. The actuation perception is actualised by a set of embedded shape memory alloy strips of Nitinol which derive the characteristic of shape-shifting after reaching a certain temperature. The materiality is not vague; it evokes this elemental arrangement due to the transition of its molecules from their austenitic to their martensitic states. About the inclusive embodiment of diverse possibilities, the researchers say, “A shape memory alloy strip is bi-stable, but a strategic proliferation of these strips through the development of rational geometries, renders several permutations among its multiple states of equilibrium and thus, enables the continuous dynamic adaptation of the structure to be a reality.”

Distinct in its observations, the project expands on the materiality of architecture. It reinvigorates the impact on space in a metaphysical way without stressing on the aestheticised versioning of systems. It is an honest presence with an organic fluidity of amalgamation. Of the intersections between and architecture and technology at large and with its implementations remaining to stand the test of time, it is an indication of a new future.

FACT FILE: Project Designers

: :

Fibre Composite Adaptive Systems Maria Mingallon, Sakthivel Ramaswamy, Konstantinos Karatzas

68 IA&B - NOV 2011 The composition of stark concrete, transparent glass and blade-thin roof gives an impression of majestic impenetrability.

Connection – Conversation – Concord

The customary impenetrable formality in office design has for long awaited a conceptual revolution. An attempt at redefinition, the AON Insurance Headquarters at Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, by SPASM Design Architects displays a myriad of personas within itself, exhibiting a perfect blend of great power with equivalent responsibility.

Text: Shalmali Wagle Images: courtesy SPASM Design Architects

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n the world of spaces, an architect is the individual responsible for functional perfection and existential continuity. It is his initial meticulous endeavour that, even long after possession and occupation, maintains a pleasing rhythm of affairs in these miniature worlds that so delicately balance pragmatism and splendour. In essence, the architect, occasionally attributed for the benefits of his creations but instantly blamed in case of displeasure, plays nothing short of Atlas for his self-fashioned globe, bravely supporting responsible spacemaking on his shoulders. The question then, that needs a thought, is what would happen if Atlas was to shrug? Indeed, of the various architectural typologies, commercial office design is the most prone to deviations in terms of sensibility and sensitivity. Premeditated with a lack of emotional attachment in the first place, it is calibrated with a certain formality in

language and further strained by the pressures of productivity. As a result, office spaces prefer to be mute enclosures and seldom attempt to connect with or respond to its users or the activities it envelopes.

In a scenario as this, exhibiting an unrelenting intent in architectural ideology, the AON Insurance Headquarters at Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania,

by SPASM Design Architects delivers a sophisticated expression with exemplary functionality.

Certain names stand out prominently on the global map. Africa, as a continent, has always generated universal interest due to its adventurous tropical culture and romantic attitude. An emerging financial hub on the coast of Tanzania in Eastern Africa, Dar-es-Salaam or the “Harbour of Peace”, cradles in its bosom, the quiet, low-rise,

architecture

The architecture explores the relationship between aesthetics and functionality seeking to define their intersection.

residential neighbourhood of Msasani. Here, amidst serene environs, the AON Insurance Headquarters nestles in an exquisite garden estate with vistas of Acacia, Royal Poinciana, Frangipani and Areca Palm. Envisioned and built to house a premier insurance company, the majestic built form exhibits expressive contemporary organisation with the promise of a steadfast commitment to purpose.

Prompted by the brief, three giant off-shutter concrete cabinets holding archival storage systems and services perch majestically on a natural green carpet, forming the principle enclosure. Over these cabinets levitates a giant, blade-thin roof canopy. The overall composition with its seamless blend of stark concrete, untainted transparent glass and the dramatic roof gives a preliminary impression of regal impenetrability. It appears as though the envelope intentionally receives the visitor in an almost detached manner to maintain the sincerity of an environment intended for work. The sparse but tasteful natural landscape highlights an underlying disciplinarian character that remains essential to workplace design. A pebbled pathway parallel to the dramatic roof borders the built form crafting an obscure continuity between the two planes.

Scripted Sensory Stimulations As one approaches the entrance of the 923.6sqm office headquarters, the

A honest simplicity of purpose forms a continuous connectivity with the occupant – a connectivity that impar ts a range of sensations and in turn receives a variety of responses.

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The entrance receives the visitor in an almost detached manner to maintain the formality of a work environment.

An evident vertical connectivity is observed between the ground, the faรงade and the roof.

The architectural language questions the relationship between aesthetics and functionality seeking to define their intersection with the connectivity of expressive conversation between the user and the space.

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A pathway parallel to the dramatic roof borders the built form to create an obscure continuity.

Three such giant concrete cabinets form the principal enclosure and the blade-thin roof floats like a divine halo above the glass.

Sparse landscaping maintains the integrity of a work environment.

The landscape follows the lines previously defined by the built form linking the entirety in harmony.

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The design scripts a drama of assorted characters with the various spaces and elements acting as obedient players of an effortlessly flowing experience.

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1 Main Entry 2 Generator Room 3 Main Building 4 Lawn Area 5 Road Way 6 Parking

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realisation of refined minimalism flowing as an authoritative centrality makes an impression that carries itself throughout the experience. There is complete elimination of the unnecessary in terms of space, elements and ornamentation, and pure sensory experience dominates. The entry welcomes one into a double-height foyer with abundant tropical light filtering in through the transparent layer of glass from the floor above.

The exposed concrete walls, that previously appeared rather grim from the outside, now aided by the landscape prove to be effective boundaries that create the feeling, not of captivity - as can be expected from the rawness of concrete - but of a snug enclosure rendered with sprinkles of tasteful green. The transparency and openness in the layout unites the entire interior in a weave, establishing the idea of concord between the various levels of organisation and passively contributing to productivity. The previous hesitance transforms into comfort and curiosity with the transparency of the glazed façade, welcoming the surrounding landscape to the interior and framing pleasant vistas of green to enhance the spatial construct of the sparsely furnished reception and lobby. This aroused curiosity of the senses is further rewarded as a serene stretch of blue magically reveals itself with the soft soothing sound of flowing water.

Be it the subtle privacy and formal discipline of the work areas promoting productivity or the comforting solace of the water body and landscape, the harmony imparted by the openness of the studio format office or the playful frolics of light that befriend the occupant with stories from the clock-cycles of the sun and shifting shadows of the trees, a honest simplicity of purpose forms a continuous connectivity with the occupant – a connectivity that imparts a range of sensations and in turn receives a variety of responses.

This connectivity further transforms the story into sheer poetry with the terrace and the surrounding landscape interrupting the first floor layout as well. The glazed upper storey detaches the solid walls from the light canopy and allows limitless panoramic views of the green tree tops and the blue sky beyond. Large windows penetrate the building allowing adequate light and ventilation while the projecting roof offers protection from tropical climatic elements ensuring that the glazing can be sufficiently utilised to reduce energy loads. The blade-thin canopy is a contemporary interpretation of the indigenous ‘Makuti’ (thatch) roof and sails unequally over the delicate glass so as to respond to solar incidence and protect the entire length of the perimeter. This simple

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Front elevation

section through meeting rooms

The subtle privacy and transparent layout eliminate notions of any hierarchical distinctions in office organisation.

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The serene stretch of blue and the soothing sound of flowing water comfort the occupant while the dynamic reflections arouse curiosity.

A light fragile staircase crawling up the faรงade forms a connection between the ground and the sky.

A simple gesture modulates light into the work environment and establishes a strong connection to the outside.

The dynamic roof floats like a halo above the concrete cabinets.

75 gesture modulates glare-free, reflected light into the work environment and establishes a strong connection to the outside. A light fragile staircase along the building façade forms an effortless connection to the water body and landscape on the ground while the canopy above witnesses a surprising link to the earth owing to the dynamic reflection created on its surface by the water body below. An attempt to reduce the overall energy consumption, the projecting canopy symbolises a much superior connectivity to not just the local context owing to its form, but also to a global concern owing to its inspiring intent. Movement and occupation within the building further amplifies this intrinsic association, introducing the user as a component of this graceful continuity, and the architectural scene gradually acquires a rather animated behaviour.

Minimalism flows as an authoritative centrality that carries itself throughout the experience.

Putting it rather simply, the design flow scripts a drama of assorted characters. If one had ever thought of architecture as a story of lines, this one would be the architect’s magnum opus. The various spaces and elements act as obedient players of an effortlessly flowing experience, each portraying a unique personality capable of conversing with its user.

An architect is indeed bestowed with immense power. Portraying God in the modest world that he creates, he possesses the authority to define and control not merely the activities that take place there, but the quality of their expression and the experience of its occupants. This power, however, is accompanied by a significant amount of responsibility towards the user as well as towards architectural novelty. One often encounters situations where pragmatic constraints tempt one to abandon responsible architecture for the quest of hassle-free solutions.

The result is mere construction, creating and recreating the ordinary, and the relevance of art and imagination to architecture becomes hazy, almost vanishing. A gesture then that combines unrelenting intent with equivalent initiative can unravel endless possibilities of functionality with brilliance to create lasting impressions of distinction. The currents may be rough, but the architectural scenario awaits a response and anticipates the possibilities. What if Eve can resist wile temptation?

What if Atlas never shrugs? Ah! What then?

There is complete elimination of the unnecessary in terms of space, elements and ornamentation.

FACT FILE: Project : Location : Architect : Design Team :

Client : Project Area : Project Cost : Completion :

AON Insurance Headquarters Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, East Africa.

SPASM Design Architects Sangeeta Merchant, Maithali Joshi, Sanjay Parab, Sanjeev Panjabi AON Corp.

923.6sqm USD 680000.00 2007

All aspects of the interior are sparsely but tastefully detailed.

84 IA&B - NOV 2011

Engaging with the poetic fabric of Delhi, Abhhay Narkar of Vertex Inc. recreates a new identity for Delhi Art Gallery, allowing dualities of a modernist take and local ethics in equal measure.

Text: Maanasi Hattangadi Images: courtesy Abhhay Narkar

interiors

The light filters through the metal lattice, creating the distinctive faรงade of the Delhi Art Gallery.

90 IA&B - NOV 2011

The Parthenon Marble

The New Acropolis Museum by Bernard Tschumi Architects in Athens treads lightly on the historic excavation site as the three layers of the built form respond to the context above, around and beneath.

Text: Ruturaj Parikh Images: courtesy Bernard Tschumi Architects

international

New Acropolis Museum with its simple faรงade and three layers of the structure.

96 IA&B - NOV 2011

Extensity of SPACE

The 11th Serpentine Gallery Pavilion is designed as an austere assembly in black in the lawns of the Serpentine Gallery.

international Deceptively simple, Peter Zumthor’s work makes one see the events that lead upto the idealised space and order; temporal notions of the subject and its interpretation in the architectural object.

Text: Maanasi Hattangadi Photographs: © Walter Herfst, Hufton+Crow, John Offenbach, Hélène Binet; courtesy The Serpentine Gallery, Atelier Peter Zumthor & Partners

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s quoted by Peter Zumthor, “In order to design buildings with a sensuous connection to life, one must think in a way that goes far beyond form and construction.” It is not about highbrow architecture; it is thoughtful. It is a mysterious sense of space – a symbol of resilience.

“Materials react with one another and have their radiance, so that the material composition gives rise to something unique. Material is endless.”

The thread connects all his buildings – in the haze of glass of concrete of Kunsthaus Bregenz, in the stark simplicity of The Kolumba, Art Museum of the Archdiocese of Cologne, and even in the unbuilt reminiscence of Topography of Terror. The enigma is the quality of composure; a consequence of the way it is thought of or made. The pursuit of meaning continues through material manifestations, its unmistakable personality breaking through the Swiss Pavilion for Expo 2000, Hanover or Thermal Baths, Vals.

It emerges from the architectural perception of enhancing locality. The austerity is in the simplicity, simplicity is in the objective. It is then not about Peter Zumthor, or is it? But it is.

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The diverse body of work.

“Quality in architecture does not – not to me anyway – mean inclusion in architectural guides or histories of architecture or getting my work into this or that publication. Quality architecture to me is when a building manages to move me. What on earth is it that moves me?

How can I get it into my own work? “ The Serpentine Gallery, London, is notable for its famous weave of allusions with the Pavilion commissioned to designers including Frank Gehry, Jean Nouvel and SANAA. Peter Zumthor designed the 11 th Serpentine Gallery Pavilion in 2011. The continuity of tradition is the basis for architectural experimentation – a site which hosts a high profile programme of talks and events. The Pavilion by Peter Zumthor enjoys a rare spirit of introspection.

The creative voice of the Serpentine Gallery is never more relevant than now. The beauty lies in the slow pace at which the meaning unfolds. An intuitive transition takes place from the formality of a black construct to the intimacy of a garden within.

“I find it’s a beautiful thing when you’re making a building and you imagine the building in that stillness. I mean, trying to make the building a quiet place. That’s pretty difficult these days, because our world has become so noisy.“ It is a measured procession of the elements. The concept of the Serpentine Pavilion 2011 forges a close architectural narrative, building a sense of suspense in the site. The resonance does not strike one until one arrives at the mass centre. In that respect, the building echoes with a new level of silence; away from the bustling city. The object is a container-like continuum of blackness and shadows. This locks the museum in the cityscape; drawing it away from the usual demographic. It meanders inside as a modest nod – a simple intention as a strong expression.

The architecture is prolonged to its extreme; where the visitor can opt to observe and participate in the silent experience. It is a sieve where one transcends in time from light to lofty darkness-filled corridors to a bright spill of sunlight and green in its nexus. It is framed as a “Hortus Conclusus” – an enclosed garden.

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“It has to do with the way architecture involves movement. Architecture is a spatial art, as people always say. But architecture is also a temporal art. My experience of it is not limited to a single second. Wolfgang Rihm and I are in full agreement about this: architecture, like music, is a temporal art. That means, thinking about the way people move in a building, and there are poles between which I like to place my work.”

The quality of the building retains its alienating scale in its materiality. The site holds a lightweight timber frame in a steady focused concentration; low-slung under the tree line of the Serpentine Lawns. The structure is enveloped in scrim and coated with black paste and sand mixture. The symbolism is of quiet and seclusion. The elementary acts of building thereon are slow and intense. The impervious black skin encloses a matrix of dark hallways washing in an aura of secretiveness. Shaded by the walls, the visitors walk through a labyrinth of pathways that lead into the core.

“So, the first of my favourite ideas is this: to plan the building as a pure mass of shadow, then afterwards, to put in light as if you were hollowing out the darkness, as if the light were a new mass seeping in.”

It is a dimension of accessibility that solidifies the design’s single poetic objective – the ‘Hortus Conclusus’. A slice of colour erupts bathed in the slant of light like a spontaneous gesture in the modest appearance. The edge of the courtyard integrates seating that looks out onto the planted garden conceived by the Dutch designer Piet Oudolf.

“And it’s a kind of voyage of discovery. As an architect, I have to make sure it isn’t like being in a labyrinth however, if that’s not what I want. So I’ll reintroduce the odd bit of orientation, exceptions that prove the rule – you know that sort of thing. Direction, seduction, letting go, granting freedom. There are practical solutions where it is more sensible and far cleverer to induce a calming effect, to introduce a certain composure rather than having people running around and looking for the right door. Where nothing is trying to coax you away, where you can simply be.”

It is a dimension of accessibility that solidifies the design’s single poetic objective – the “Hortus Conclusus”.

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The design has been conceived as a unique synthesis of architecture and nature (top and bottom).

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The architectural narrative renders a sense of seclusion and quietness to the site.

The restrained design ethos plays around with the tender uncertainty of discovery. A complex mixture of meanings emanates from this unexpected encounter with nature. It is an encounter of intimacy, yet relaxedness in which one can feel the presence of the languid expressions of the layout.

Yet it is the communication of the specific sense of direction that guides us to the interiors. The experience is self-effacing in the view of the space and garden in its simplicity. “I think architecture attains its highest quality as an applied art.

And it is at its most beautiful when things have to come into their own, when they are coherent. That is when everything refers to everything else, and it is impossible to remove a single thing without destroying the whole. Place, use and form. The form reflects the place, the place is just so, and the use reflects this and that.�

The Serpentine Gallery possesses the tenor of an apparently simple and universal design ideology. It shies away from abstraction or perception.

There are no rough edges just dwelling on details. Platonic spaces balance out the extremity of architecture and the creative tour de force is a consistent underlying approach of creating a harmonic experience. It lies equally in the performance of the building as well as its aesthetics. One can perceive it as architecture true to its purest intent; in its barest expression. It is about an architect able to make authentic affirmations with his architecture, still able to surprise with sensitivity of thought in every aspect, his desire to engage with architecture on its own terms. And build on. “So at the end of the day, I actually do take a look at things. What I find is that when things have come out well they tend to assume a form which often surprises me when I finally stand back from the

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Dark corridors, running along the perimeter of the inner courtyard, dramatise the shadows within.

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The layout divulges the core concept at its centre - the ‘Hortus Conclusus’.

The impervious black skin encloses a matrix of dark hallways washing in an aura of secretiveness. work and which makes me think: you could never have imagined when you started out that this would be the outcome. And that is something that only happens sometimes, even after all these years – slow architecture. It really gives me pleasure, makes me proud too. But if, at the end of the day, the thing does not look beautiful – and I’m deliberately just saying beautiful here, there are books on aesthetics if you want – if the form doesn’t move me, then I’ll go back to the beginning and start again.”

The courtyard, comprising of seating in its perimeter, looks out onto the natural garden.

The excerpts have been borrowed from the transcript of Peter Zumthor’s lecture ‘Architectural Environments - Surrounding Objects’ delivered in the Castle of Wendlinghausen.

FACT FILE: Within the modest context, the garden stands out as a sculptural inclusion – at peace with the warm colours of the surroundings.

Project Location Architect

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Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2011 London Peter Zumthor

112 IA&B - NOV 2011

The Silent Hustle Neha Malhotra explores the dreamy landscape of the abandoned Old Stock Exchange building in Ahmedabad looking for treasures of a lost era in this edition of Dr. Deepak John Mathew’s ‘space frames’.

Text and Photographs: Neha Malhotra Curated by: Dr. Deepak J. Mathew

space frames urban villages

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hmedabad is known for its rich heritage and culture with a vast history behind it. The architecture of the city is a fusion of various styles of various eras. The core city of Ahmedabad is on its way to achieve the status of a world heritage site. With many steps being undertaken to conserve and glorify the city, it misses out on the few old buildings which form an integral part of the heritage of the city. This project is a reflection on those old, forgotten and left-alone buildings.

The place that was once filled with people and the hustle-bustle of the stock market is now silent and abandoned.

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This is the Old Stock Market Building in the Manek Chowk area of the core city. Once a place that was used extensively, it lies in neglect and decay today. The place that was once filled with people and the hustle-bustle of the stock market is now silent and abandoned. This place has seen stories of many people going from rags to riches, and many from riches to rags.

Its depleted state reveals the ignored nature of the building and thus – of the past that might have been a glorious one. The stock market is 108 years old. This attempt was to make everyone comprehend the treasure we are neglecting. Through the photographs, I intend to bring to attention the beauty of our lost heritage – and a possibility to revive the same.

This attempt was to make everyone comprehend the treasure we are neglecting.

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Neha Malhotra Neha Malhotra is an architect and photographer with a zest for the lens.

After completing her education as an architect from Hyderabad, she pursued photography with the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad. She extensively documented the Ahmedabad Stock Exchange Building over a period of three months. Neha has also been a part of design teams working on architecture and interior design projects. She lives and works in Hyderabad.

Space Frames November 2011: ‘The Silent Hustle’ by Neha Malhotra Indian Architect & Builder Magazine

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

Neha Malhotra Neha Malhotra is an architect and photographer with a zest for the lens.

After completing her education as an architect from Hyderabad, she pursued photography with the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad. She extensively documented the Ahmedabad Stock Exchange Building over a period of three months. Neha has also been a part of design teams working on architecture and interior design projects. She lives and works in Hyderabad.