IAB APRIL 2019 ISSUE

THE DESIGN CONFERENCE

Presents

Designing for the Future

VOL 32 (8)

APRIL 2019

` 200 MUMBAI

TOTAL NUMBER OF PAGES INCLUDING COVER 88

ACCENTUATE THE

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industry news

6

Viega presented its Avant-Garde Technology at the Third Edition of ISH India 2019 ~ Enthralled visitors with its innovation in piping, drainage and flushing systems ~

V

iega, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of plumbing and heating installation technology participated in ISH India 2019 powered by IPA. Spread across an area of 150sqm, Viega booth displayed its revolutionary Press Technology in metal & plastic piping as well as its offerings in drainage and flushing systems. The trade expo saw an impressive attendance of over 4000 attendees at the Viega booth across the three-day event held in Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai.

As most of the Viega products are hidden behind the wall and not seen, Viega made use of a lot of interactive digital media at the ISH to explain the benefits of Viega systems. These displays allowed users to interface on a real-time level. The benefits and quality aspects of Viega products were highlighted, allowing people to see pipes, drainage, plumbing behind the wall. Viega which is internationally renowned for piping also displayed its award-winning innovations like the Vario shower channel, height adjustable WC element – Eco Plus and other breakthroughs in drainage and flushing technology.

Other than Stainless Steel and PE-Xc (Plastic piping) piping, visitors also tried hands-on with Viega’s Press Technology. Besides this Viega also had a display of modern pliable piping installation giving visitors fair idea of replacing pipes in pliable systems without breaking the wall/tiles.

Speaking on the occasion Manoj Maithani, Vice President Sales and Marketing, at Viega India Pvt. Ltd said “Innovation is the core value at Viega. It is our belief that innovation does not only flow in product design but also in every aspect of our lives. This has helped us to formulate several state-of-the-art and functional technologies, some of which were on display at ISH India. Going forward, our focus would be to use experiential marketing practices to highlight the benefit and quality aspect of our products”.

“We are glad to showcase our innovations and offerings to a specially curated platform like ISH India and be able to contribute and match the growing trends of this progressive market” he further added.

ISH India is a collaborative venture between Messe Frankfurt and the Indian Plumbing Association, India’s national body representing the plumbing industry. The event is targeted at core sectors like

Indian Architect & Builder - April 2019

plumbing, sanitation, bathroom and kitchen, renewable energy and home automation systems. The Booth had a live installation display of products that were functional, aesthetically appealing whilst demonstrating the flexibility of pipes offered by Viega.

About Viega: Viega was founded in Attendorn, Germany, in 1899.

Worldwide, more than 4,000 people are employed by the Viega Group, which is among the leading manufacturers of installation technology for sanitary and heating. The range consists of approximately 17,000 articles in the product categories of piping systems as well as pre-wall and drainage technology. They are used nearly everywhere: in building services installations, in utilities or in industrial plant construction and shipbuilding.

Since 2005 Viega has been successfully present in the Indian market. After several years with independent Sales Representatives, in 2015 the legal entity Viega India Pvt. Ltd. was founded in Ahmedabad, Gujarat to foster the Indian local footprint. This includes investments in a production site in Sanand to better serve local market needs. Sales and service teams are present in all the major cities in India.

For more details contact: Viega India Pvt. Ltd. 1005 DLH Park S. V. Road, Goregaon West, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400062 Amar Kirale +91 9892459300, amar.kirale@viega.in

industry news

8

Ashirvad Pipes introduces new fire protection system featuring Lubrizol’s BlazeMaster® pipes and fittings Helps to provide increased protection for Indian lives and property

T

he Lubrizol Corporation, inventors of chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC) compound, and Ashirvad Pipes, pioneers in providing world class CPVC solutions, introduce to the Indian market Ashirvad’s new Fire Protection Systems featuring BlazeMaster® pipes and fittings. The offering of this better fire protection solution for India builds on the success Ashirvad has had in helping to improve the safety and health of water across India with Lubrizol’s FlowGuard® CPVC plumbing systems.

“Lubrizol’s BlazeMaster Fire Protection systems have been installed around the world in high-rise buildings, schools, office buildings, hotels and health care facilities,” explains Vince Misiti, general manager, Lubrizol CPVC Piping Systems and Materials business. “These millions of meters of piping have been instrumental in reliably helping to reduce fire damage and in protecting countless lives globally. We are thrilled that these advantages will be extended further to the Indian market through our partnership with Ashirvad Pipes.”

“Ashirvad is committed to providing better fire protection solutions to safeguard lives and property in the communities we serve,” emphasized Deepak Mehrotra, managing director Ashirvad Pipes Pvt. Ltd. “To fulfill this commitment, we are introducing Ashirvad Fire Protection Systems, featuring BlazeMaster pipes and fittings as a key offering in an array of other soon to be launched fire safety products.”

Ashirvad is the exclusive manufacturer and marketer in India of BlazeMaster pipes and fittings. All BlazeMaster products are made from the highest quality CPVC, specially formulated for fire protection and fully approved for use in NFPA 13, BSEN 12845, IS 16088: 2012, Light Hazard applications. Additionally, BlazeMaster systems supplied

by Ashirvad Pipes are UL listed, with Factory Mutual approved fittings.

Lubrizol introduced the resilient material into India nearly two decades ago. Since then, India’s plumbers, engineers, builders and consultants have been reassured by the only material of its kind to be designed and approved to meet all global standards. Lubrizol’s local manufacture of these world class quality materials started in January 2016 at the company’s Dahej, Gujarat facility.

“As a result of the simple installation process and competitive pricing, we are confident that BlazeMaster pipes and fittings will be well accepted over metallic fire sprinkler systems in the market,” states Soumendra Mishra, head-high rise and fire protection systems solutions, Ashirvad Pipes.

Ashirvad Pipes has a strong network of over 1,100 distributors throughout the country. They will rely on this network to ensure that the Ashirvad Fire Protection Systems with BlazeMaster pipes and fittings is available for all their customers.

Indian Architect & Builder - April 2019

↑

Sunil Banthiya-COO-Aliaxis India, Ursula Thakkar-MD- Lubrizol Advanced Materials India Pvt. Ltd.-South Asia and ONeil Pinto-Business DirectorTempRite-South Asia, Lubrizol Advanced Materials India Pvt. Ltd. About Lubrizol’s CPVC Piping Systems and Materials Business: The Lubrizol Corporation is the innovator and world leader in chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC) resins and compounds. Our high-performance and low-combustibility CPVC technology can be found in FlowGuard® Pipe & Fittings, BlazeMaster® Fire Protection Systems and Corzan® Industrial Systems designed for plumbing, fire protection and industrial piping applications. In addition, our CPVC product is also used in a variety of specialty applications serving diverse markets. Backed by robust research and development capabilities and the technical expertise of our piping systems consultants, millions of meters of our CPVC piping systems have been installed globally. For more information, visit lubrizolcpvc.com or www.blazemaster.com About The Lubrizol Corporation: The Lubrizol Corporation, a Berkshire Hathaway company, is a market-driven global company that combines complex, specialty chemicals to optimize the quality, performance and value of customers’ products while reducing their environmental impact. It is a leader at combining market insights with chemistry and application capabilities to deliver valuable solutions to customers in the global transportation, industrial and consumer markets.

About Ashirvad Pipes PVT. LTD, Bangalore: Ashirvad, an Aliaxis group company, setup it’s Bengaluru unit in 1998 and is a wholly owned company of Aliaxis group. Aliaxis group is a global leading manufacturer and distributor of plastic fluid handling systems used in residential, commercial and industrial buildings. Headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. Aliaxis is present in over 40 countries with more than 100 manufacturing and commercial entities, employs over 15,700 people and generates more than 3 billion Euro (INR 21, 600 crores approx.) in annual sales.

For Lubrizol Media Contacts: Erin Edminister erin.edminister@lubrizol.com, Website: www.lubrizol.com Onkar Kanekar onkar.kanekar@lubrizol.com, Website: www.lubrizol.com Ashirvad Media Contacts: Dayashankar GS dayashankar.gs@ashirvad.com, Website: www.ashirvad.com Bibhu Samal bibhu.samal@ashirvad.com, Website: www.ashirvad.com

for the Future 2005 - 2019

Designing

Martha ThorneSpain Enrico Dini Italy Michael Green Canada Gurjit Singh Matharoo India Alireza Taghaboni Iran Shubhra Raje India & USA

The world is changing faster than ever – socially, technologically, environmentally, politically, and economically. In the midst of these shifts, designers have the crucial task of thinking about what our future will look like and how we will interact with it.

The future of design will be more about what we do with our time through an array of technology-supported options.

Sustainability and the need to mitigate the impact of climate change will also require advanced technological solutions to improve energy efficiency. Designers and architects’ role will be to anticipate people’s interactions with technology and provide them with products, living and working spaces that help solve the many challenges the future will bring.

The future of design is about being malleable and giving people choices to live and work at their best. Think about the future. Think about needs. Think about people. Think about systems.

Dr. Reinhard Koenig

Austria

Prashant Dhawan India Olga Chepelianskaia India Pinkish ShahIndia Ayaz Basrai India Monish Siripurapu India Rohan Shivkumar India V Vishwanath India Alhad Gore India

+ 8400 attendees + 201 lectures 11 editions India’s Biggest architecture symposium 361° Conference… since 2005

VOL 32 (8) | APRIL 2019 | ` 200 | MUMBAI

EXPLORE

RNI REGISTRATION NO. 46976/87, ISSN 0971-5509 INDIAN ARCHITECT AND BUILDER

Chairman & Editor: Maulik Jasubhai Shah Printer, Publisher & Chief Executive Officer: Hemant K Shetty Sub-Editor: Shriti Das Writers: Sharmila Chakravorty, Sukanya Bhattacharjee Design: Mansi Chikani Subscription: Dilip Parab Production Team: V Raj Misquitta (Head), Prakash Nerkar Email: iab_editorial@jasubhai.com Head Office: JMPL, Taj Building, 3rd Floor, 210, Dr D N Road, Fort, Mumbai - 400 001.

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36

POST EVENT 361 DEGREE CONFERENCE 2019

An overview of the 12 th Edition of the 361 Degree Design Conference 2019, held in Mumbai on 14 th and 15 th February 2019.

INAUGURAL ADDRESS

44

Martha Thorne, Dean of IE School of Architecture and Design & Executive Director of the Pritzker Architecture Prize

46 52 60 64 70

KEYNOTE LECTURE Enrico Dini, Dini Engineering Michael Green, Michael Green Architecture Alireza Taghaboni, nextoffice Prashant Dhawan, Co-founder, Biomimicry India Lab and Studio V Vishwanath, Founder & Principal Architect, Vishwannath Associates

74

INTERIORS Tango around the table

80

Gather-Together by Compartment S4 encompasses a contemporary vibe with a strong sense of history drawing from the city’s hold havelis and structured the design around an innovative long table.

Flexible design for versatile programs Manoj Patel Design Studio creates a spacious and modern office in Vadodara that maximises its area and creates functionally segregated spaces central to the office typology.

Cover Image: © D-Shape

Bengaluru / Hyderabad / Gujarat: Sudhanshu Nagar Mobile: +91 9833104834, Email: sudhanshu_nagar@jasubhai.com Kolkata: Sudhanshu Nagar Mobile: +91 9833104834, Email: sudhanshu_nagar@jasubhai.com Pune: Sudhanshu Nagar Mobile: +91 9769758712, Email: sudhanshu_nagar@jasubhai.com Chennai / Coimbatore: Princebel M Mobile: +91 9444728035, +91 9823410712, Email: princebel_m@jasubhai.com

Indian Architect & Builder: (ISSN 0971-5509), RNI No 46976/87, is a 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.

Printed and Published by Hemant K Shetty on behalf of Jasubhai Media Pvt Ltd (JMPL), 26, Maker Chamber VI, Nariman Point, Mumbai 400 021.

Printed at The Great Art Printers, 25, S A Brelvi Road, Fort, Mumbai 400 001 and Published from Mumbai - 3rd Floor, Taj Building, 210, Dr D N Road, Fort, Mumbai 400 001.

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

industry news

12

Pune Welcomes Swiss Innovation

G

eberit India, opens its Technology Centre at its manufacturing unit in Chakan, Pune.

This new centre houses a plumbing tower and showroom, showcasing the latest innovative products from Geberit under the Design meets Function umbrella- spread over three floors.

The inaugural event, saw an overwhelming participation from the guests (totaling more than three hundred, comprising of channel partners, architects, consultant’s, builders, developers and other well-wishers of Geberit.

Most importantly the event was organised with the theme of “Innovation” and this key message got validated and confirmed during the customer interactions at the event.

The inaugural lamp was lit by Othmar Hardegger, Consul General, Consulate General of Switzerland, Mumbai, Ronald van Triest, Head of Division International, Member of the Group Executive Board, Geberit International AG and Mr. Bruno Rubino, Managing Director, Geberit Manufacturing, Pune along with many dignitaries.

India, MD, Mr. Abubaker Koya, welcomed the gathering and thanked all the Geberit customers and partners for their continued support and contribution towards Geberit’s successful business growth in India.

The guests thoroughly enjoyed the tour of the Technology Centre and the light entertainment followed by cocktails and dinner.

All in all, a very successful evening that was Simply Swiss in its outlook!

For more details contact: At The LaLiT Ashok Bangalore, Kumara Krupa High Grounds, Bengaluru, Karnataka - 560001

Indian Architect & Builder - April 2019

industry news

14

Häfele Digital Door Security Systems - It’s time to ‘REinvent Access’…!

O

ver the years, evolution in living patterns has demanded more from the traditional key than mere home security. People move out of their homes much more – be it for short durations to work or longer durations for holidays; and the home is left to the limited realms of security provided by a simple lock and key. During this time, the home has to be accessible to few key people like the domestic help coming in for household chores or children returning from school or maybe even a guest wanting to use your house while you are away on vacation. At the same time the home has to be secured from break-ins or unwanted access. And so comes to mind some pertinent questions about the modest possibilities of security from a key: ↑

↑

Real

↑

Resize

Can a key…

…Allow remote access?

…Manage selective access?

…Smile its way to opening a lock?

…Tell who tried to break into your home?

…Raise alarms during break-ins?

…BE TRUSTED? Today, people want smarter and convenient options to manage the access to their homes - the question is no longer about who stays out of the house but who can be let in.

Häfele introduces a new perspective to home security with its integrated range of Digital Home Security Solutions. With this range we bring to you the most advanced technologies in digital access modes, safety features, convenient settings and much more; attempting to provoke a serious thought towards home security. These solutions from Häfele can allow you to control multi-dimensional aspects of home access through a single locking device, as per your specific lifestyle and at the leisure of your convenience. So it’s time to move to a smarter way of life - it’s time to “REinvent Access”!

Through this range, we would like to introduce you 5 home security wonders that will redefine the spectrum of security and access for your homes: REVEAL: Because you need the highest form of security…

• Häfele’s REVEAL Digital Lock carefully scrutinizes every individual need that you may have from your home security system and presents itself as the ideal answer for all those needs. This fullyloaded face-recognition lock comes with the highest standards of technology that reads over 170 points on the user’s face – this means that it is highly sensitive to even the flinch of a nerve on your face and will only allow access if you exactly emulate the Indian Architect & Builder - April 2019

↑

Replace

Reveal

↑

Rebell

expression that was pre-set as your access recognition.

REAL: Because you need a better security solution…

• Its time your digital door security system gets a promotion with Häfele’s REAL Digital Door Lock. True to its name, this lock addresses the ‘real’ needs of holistic home security through its feature-rich proposition. With 4 different access modes – Finger Print, Key Pad, RFID and Mechanical Key – Häfele’s REAL Digital Lock brings you optimum security and more choices.

RESIZE: Because your fashionable door needs its ‘right’ match…

• Häfele’s RESIZE Digital Lock uniquely combines incomparable technology with an aesthetic design, bringing the much desired ornamentation to your door while also securing your home with planned access. Owing to its singular design, RESIZE allows you to combine its existence with any preferred lever handle as per your choice. This brings in a whiff of customization to your approach while designing the security needs for your door- you may not otherwise find such flexibility in the market.

REPLACE: Because your mechanical lock needs an upgrade…

• Häfele’s REPLACE Digital Lock is designed to bring a seamless transition from traditional mechanical locks to sophisticated digital security systems. As the name suggests, this lock will replace the limitations of the traditional lock-and-key with the innumerous possibilities of a tech-savvy digital lock- and literally overnight. With 3 different access modes – Key Pad, RFID and Mechanical Key – Häfele’s REPLACE Digital Lock addresses your principal security needs; and the possibility of combining two access modes neutralizes any chances of a break-in.

REBELL: Because you need a 99.99 “100” percent…

• Häfele’s REBELL video doorbell completes our offering for holistic home security with an added touch of smartness. This Wi-Fi enabled solution can be integrated into your smartphone through a featurepacked App that allows you to remotely manage all functions at your fingertips. This means that you could be lazing in your bed or sitting at your office desk or shopping at your favourite mall and yet you can see or even talk to the person standing at your doorstep.

industry news

16

HP Inc. demonstrates extensive large format printing possibilities at the Media Expo 2018 Displays unparalleled capabilities through the Latex 315, 335 and 570 printers

H

P Inc., the market leaders in commercial printing, today demonstrated its leading portfolio of Latex printers (HP Latex 315, 335 and 570) with capabilities around indoor and outdoor signage at the Media Expo 2018 in New Delhi. Showcasing the potential of the printers, HP set up creative experience zones across the event area to demonstrate how the printers can bring a brand to life.

To fit the needs of businesses and brands alike, HP’s portfolio of Latex printers has a range of applications that are used for outdoor & event banners, point of purchase posters, vehicle graphics, backlits, textiles (Latex 315 and 570) along with labels and stickers, floor graphics, wall decals, window graphics (Latex 335). Visitors at HP’s booth could also see live demos of various Latex applications printed on the devices on display in the five experience zones. The printers displayed at the expo are equipped to provide traditional signage jobs and explore new revenue streams with an extensive range of application offerings.

Present at the Media Expo 2018, Vitesh Sharma, Head of Sign and Graphics, HP Inc. said “Printing can play a pivotal role in helping brands drive incredible experiences with consumers. HP is here to help them on the journey to create magic and embrace the limitless possibilities of our printing solutions. Our range of Latex printers and innovative applications which provide improved workflows, will enable our customers to differentiate themselves in terms of print quality and serve their clients in a more cost-effective manner.”

The HP Latex printers score high on versatility and are designed to help sign shops, quick printers, small to medium printing companies and large PSPs with production scale requirements easily expand largeformat printing capabilities and break into new application areas. The printers not only provide durable quality and easy operation, but also largely contribute towards building a healthier work environment and sustainable ecosystem with water-based inks which is well suited for sign and display applications like wall coverings, outdoor displays and banners, vehicle wraps, point of purchase posters, backlits and textiles etc.

Customized especially for sign shops, quick printers and print service providers (PSPs) to help them grow their businesses, the 54” HP Latex 315 Print and Cut and 64” HP Latex 335 Print and Cut solutions offers more efficient production for a broad range of applications. With

Indian Architect & Builder - April 2019

double speed, managed integrated workflow and HP signage suite advantage to produce more applications without a design skill set, HP creates the best experiences for its customers at a low cost.

HP Latex 570 Printer on the other hand has been especially designed to help customers accomplish top quality and high-volume print jobs in a cost-effective manner while experiencing quick and easy loading in one minute with the spindle less pivot table.

About HP: HP Inc. creates technology that makes life better for everyone, everywhere. Through our portfolio of printers, PCs, mobile devices, solutions, and services, we engineer experiences that amaze.

More information about HP Inc. is available at http://www.hp.com

For more details: Hewlett- Packard India Sales Pvt. Ltd. Building No. 02, DLF Cyber Green, 1st to 5th Floor, Towers D & E, DLF Cyber City, Phase III, Gurgaon – 122 002, Haryana, India www.hp.com/in

Building a world of functional beauty

Outokumpu - the global leader in the advanced material business with heritage going back over 100 years to the very invention of stainless steel.

Strong yet pliable. Resistant yet yielding. Useful yet decorative. An apparent contradiction. A synthesis of depth and surface.

A generous range of decorative stainless steel for building facades, elevators, indoor & outdoor furniture, kitchenware and utilities. The list of applications is growing ever longer for smart cities being created in India.

The beauty of engineering Gone are the days when stainless steel products were only there to do a job, looks be damned. Nowadays aesthetics play an important part together with a union of form and function.

So, if you are an architect or a designer, we hope to inspire you to create a world that lasts forever.

yatinder.suri@outokumpu.com outokumpu.com

8400+

201+

attendees till date

lectures till date

700+

11+

professionals in each edition

editions

India’s Biggest Architecture symposium ICON LECTURERS OVER THE YEARS Dr B V Doshi, Pritzker Laureates, 2018

India

Richard Meier, USA Pritzker 1984 Laureate

One of the oldest and most respected design forums in India, the 361° Conference is an initiative by Indian Architect & Builder, under the aegis of Jasubhai Media, to inspire a truly relevant discussion on architecture.

The Conference establishes a thought – exchange program with lectures and discussions chronicling a multitude of ideas and innovations that have had a significant impact on our habitats.

Through the years, the conference has connected various disciplines of design, by offering dialogue opportunities across essential themes like Architecture and the City, Architecture & Identity, Architecture of Purpose, New Spirit in Architecture, Design & Informal Cities, Earth Matters, Imagining Urban Futures, Material Innovations & Discourse, Intuition & Syntax in Architecture.

Fumihiko Maki, Japan Pritzker 1993 Laureate

Late Charles Correa, India Padma Vibhushan, Padmashri, RIBA Gold Medal

Massimiliano Fuksas, Italy Crystal Globe IAA Grand Prix 2015

Peter Rich, South Africa Building of the Year award at WAF

Toyoo Ito, Japan Pritzker 2013 Laureate

Sir Peter Cook, UK Royal Gold Medal of the RIBA

“India is diverse economically, socially, culturally and climatically. We need to stop talking about buildings and talk about a sense of community. That is what identity stems from.”

“I think, any work of architecture that has, with it, some discussion, and some polemic, is good. It shows that people are interested and people are involved.”

“Time was able to give us the ability to reflect on what we had done and became the mediator between the city and its architecture.”

“Place represents that part of truth that belongs to architecture.”

“Architecture is probably the easiest and simplest interpretation of art and culture.”

“You cannot reinvent the wheel with architecture; it has all been done before.”

“Asian Architecture and cities have inherited the culture of integrating with nature and are opened to nature.”

“History of architecture seems to be preoccupied by the form of the window, the decoration of the window, the acknowledgement of the window.”

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24

You Design.We Execute.

Q: How was the idea of Design Café born?

Q: When you say “Pain-points”, what are you talking about?

Gita: Design Café was born out of the desire to make quality home interiors available to everyone, in their budget. When my partner, Shezaan & I started Design Cafe in its first avatar, we were doing all genres of projects, but gradually we realized that there existed a severe lacuna in the residential interiors category where quality & execution were a major issue. We wanted to fill that gap and make the best of systems and processes accessible to homeowners and the Architect & Interior Designer Community.

Shezaan: Usually, architects partner with contractors or carpenters who don’t deliver a professional level of service. Things like vendor management, material sourcing, adhering to deadlines and timely communication are some of the woes that we take over, so Designers who want to spend more time on designing, can.

Q: Tell us about the Architect Partnership Program of Design Café?

Shezaan: We came across several architects who were looking for a professional execution partner who not only delivered better quality of final products, but also provided a better execution experience.

We realized that we had the infrastructure to cater to that need and so the Architect Partnership Program or the APP as we call it, was incepted. Designers want to Design, and we want to let Designers focus on Design.

Q: How does the APP help the architects?

Gita: Architects typically spend around 60% of their time in project management which reduces their efficiency and the number of projects they can take at a time. When you partner with Design Café, we take care of all the pain-points, so you as a designer can focus on the design and leave the frustration and chaos of execution today, to us.

Indian Architect & Builder - April 2019

Q: How does APP help the Architect community?

Gita: As Architects’ ourselves, we understand the importance of a project well-delivered. While working with our partners we focus on 2 things – Quality & Experience. We have dedicated manufacturing units with international machinery to deliver a quality project along with the 30-point QC which ensures that the end-product is exceptional. Every project is installed by our highly trained & professional execution team.

Shezaan: To deliver an exceptional experience, we have a realtime project tracking, where they can see the entire dashboard of the progress. Our sourcing & operations team take the load of coordinating, negotiating and planning with vendors. The in-house Customer Happiness Team eliminates the communication gaps & fasttracks any grievances the client may have to the concerned person.

With the Design Cafe, we ensure that our partners not only get the best quality of products, but also a superior experience.

industry news

25

Q: What other benefits can an Architect avail under APP? Shezaan: When we get an Architect on board as a partner, we ensure that we provide every service to them. For e.g. an architect with a small team might not have a 3D & VR team in which case they have our in-house team at their disposal. Another scenario, if they want a particular material or finish, we source it for them.

Q: What do your partners say about their experience?

Gita: We started this only after designer colleagues asked me why they could not get their projects executed with us, considering all the infrastructure we had built. That is how the APP program was conceptualized. A recent testimonial we received from a fellow practitioner says it better than I could l, “Design Café came in & took care of everything they promised – along with timeliness and professional execution. It was an absolute delight working with the team at Design Café. My work load has been decreased by almost 50%! Have worked with them on a few projects now, and the experience has been consistently pleasant. Would definitely recommend them to all my fellow architects.”

A Bangalore based architect partner says about Design Café, “My work load has been decreased by almost 50%!”

Q: How has the APP program been received amongst the architects?

Shezaan: Oh, it has been a phenomenal success! We have hardly spent anything on marketing. Most of the people who have signed up with us, have come to us through referrals & Word of mouth.

Which invariably tells us that, it has been well received by our partners. Once someone has a good experience, they stay on with us and also refer us to other architects & interior designers.

Q: So what is on the cards for Design Café in the future?

Shezaan: Right now, we are focusing on expanding our footprint across Bangalore & Mumbai and the top 4 cities after that, while constantly improving our systems, processes & technology to be better and deliver better. We want to be the No.1 in our business and we are working hard to achieve that every day.

Designer want to Design. And we want to let them focus on Design.

Co-founder Shezaan says “We realized there was a need for a professional execution partner who will not only give better quality but a superior experience.”

For more information, please contact: 39, St. Marks Road, Above Koshys Restaurant.

M G Road. Bangalore - 560 001

Indian Architect & Builder - April 2019

industry news

26

Smart City Pole

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he concept of smart cities came into being as a consequential development to internet of things (IoT), digital connectivity, global warming and the compelling necessities for energy saving. More than 50 % of the world’s population lives in cities, A city environment, with a closely knit street light network became a natural choice for a smart city concept, hosting sensor networks and wireless communications for traffic control, smart parking, noise and air quality monitoring, incident detection, and more. Smart city lights are not stand alone system. They have to be integrated with other systems under what is known as Internet of Things (IoT). Hence the chosen smart city light poles should be able to accommodate a full range of lighting controls compatible to remote control and integral with suitable sensors for the respective application.

In fact, the smart city pole is going to be a service platform for various services for Network redundancy, application areas such as mobile connectivity WLAN), traffic control, security camera (CCTV), information transfer, public announcement with loud speakers, smart parking, environmental monitoring and even the electric charger for electric cars etc., K-Lite proudly announces the introduction of smart city poles (Intelligent poles) with its modular solution, to cater to the above needs in the upcoming smart cities with the salient features as below: Salient Feature of Smart City Pole One main pole with one to five modules, Smart column is a multitude of combinations. With flexible modules, the smart column is very handy and flexible for add-on. Choose your combination, add the module, connect them together and the smart column is ready to meet your requirement.

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Shaw Contract’s New Bengaluru Experience Center Achieves the Leed Gold Standard

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fully-owned brand of Shaw Industries, the world’s largest carpet manufacturer and leading floor covering provider, Shaw Contract has just received the LEED v4 Gold for Interior Design and construction certification for its newly opened 343 square metres experience center in Bengaluru, India, making it one of the first few projects in India to have achieved this international standard. With this certification, Shaw Contract hopes to lead the design and build community in creating spaces which are better for the planet and better for people.

Said Mr Rakesh Lakra, Regional Vice President, Shaw Floors India, “Our approach to creating a better future is thought through every step – from sourcing materials, our manufacturing process to our sales offices and recycling centres. LEED’s rigorous standards made this achievement obligatory for Shaw Contract who has always chosen the environmentally smart approach.” Earlier in 2015, Shaw Industries’ state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Nantong, China, built to cater to customers in the Asia Pacific region, was awarded the LEED Silver status in the New Construction category. The new Bengaluru experience center met high standards in sustainability by integrating more natural light through the effective use of glass panelling, minimising energy consumption and selecting furnishings that is environmentally friendly. The use of Shaw Contract’s own carpet tiles, which are completely recyclable and Cradle to Cradle Certified™, further contributed to credits and prerequisites set by LEED v4.

Shaw Contract is among the few carpet manufacturers in the world that have products that can contribute to all the LEED v4 credits raising the bar in achieving environmental, economic and social impact. Consistent with their commitment to full life-cycle sustainability, the use of their own carpet tiles helped the showroom easily achieve the gold standard.

Designed as an open collaborative workspace with pockets of space conducive for people to connect with one another, the Bengaluru experience center was designed without walls. Different spaces were marked out by

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mixing and combining colourful carpet tiles selected from Shaw Contract’s wide award-winning collections.

“Shaw Contract’s LEED certification for the Bengaluru experience center demonstrates tremendous green building leadership,” said P. Gopalakrishana, Managing Director, APAC & Middle East Market, Green Business Certification Inc. “LEED was created to make the world a better place and revolutionize the built environment by providing everyone with a healthy, green and high performing buildings. Shaw Contract Bengaluru experience center serves as a prime example of how the work of innovative building projects can use local solutions to make a global impact on the environment.”

With the final threads in place, Shaw Contract opened its latest experience center to welcome collaboration from designers, architects and industry partners to explore better solutions using sustainable and environmentally friendly products as demonstrated through its LEED certified showroom.

Shaw Contract: As a global floor covering brand, Shaw Contract believes in the impact of design and how to improve how people work, learn, heal and live. Driven by sustainability, our Cradle to Cradle Certified products perform in spaces across the world. The brand has received Best of NeoCon Awards 14 out of the past 15 years and is rated “best overall business experience” by facility managers and designers. The brand is also recognized among Contract magazine’s top ten “Brands that Inspire.” A brand of Shaw Industries, Shaw Contract combines the expertise of the world’s largest carpet manufacturer with the financial stability of a Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary.

For more details: visit www.shawcontract.com. shaw contract #19/3, Doddamane, 2nd Floor, Vittal Mallya RoadBangalore, Karnataka 560001 SHAW INDUSTRIES, INC. - A Berkshire Hathaway Company

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34

Ultratop System – Versatility and Resistance From industrial settings to museums: functional flooring in line with the latest trends in contemporary design.

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ontemporary and modern design aesthetics are always an interesting challenge for any home decorator. There are so many iterations and variations of styles, from mid-century modern to minimalism, that it can be hard to know whether you’re being cutting edge or pushing things too far. Luckily, if you’re trying to bring a modern look to your home through your flooring choices, Mapei offers range of Ultratop systems that helps you with versatile and rapid setting products. Let us discuss about Ultratop range of products: Ultratop, the key product in the Ultratop System, is a rapidsetting and hardening, self levelling mortar available in 6 different colours (light grey, white, beige, red, anthracite and standard). It is easy to apply with either hand tools or a pump and is used to form abrasion-resistant floor coatings between 5 to 40mm thick. It is suitable for use in a wide variety of settings, which demonstrate the enormous versatility of this product.

Amongst all the key features of the products, are undoubtedly its application, speed and rapid hardening properties. Another characteristic that encourages the use of Ultratop in Industrial settings is its very high resistance to abrasion.

In fact, flooring made from Ultratop is highly suited in areas where wheeled vehicles are used frequently, such as logistics hubs, production areas, warehouses and production facilities in general.

Ultratop Living, Self-levelling, ultra-quick setting mortar with special hydraulic binders, applied at a thickness between 5 and 15 mm to create abrasion-resistant internal floors, available in colours: white, light grey, anthracite and natural. Ultratop Living is suitable for numerous applications in the decorating sector of building for

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civil use: Public, Private, Commercial and Residential.

Some of the applications of Ultratop Living are: • New floors in Shopping Malls, Super markets, Hotels, restaurants shops, showroom and Apartments • Abrasion resistant floors on concrete old terrazzo, ceramic and natural stone subjected to light traffic.

According to EN 13813:2002, Ultratop Living is classified as CR-C30F7-A12-A2fl– s1. CT refers to the cementitious-based product, C30 and F7 refer to the compressive and flexural strength respectively after 28 days, A12 is the Bohme Abrasion resistance coefficient and A2fl–S1 is the fire reaction class.

Ultratop Loft, One-component, trowellable coarse-grained cementitious paste applied in layers up to 2 mm thick to create decorative floors with a trowelled or mottled effect.

Ultratop Loft F is the ideal coating product to create decorative interior floors and walls with a pronounced materic effect.

The consistency of the product, reduced thickness of the layer applied the possibility of being applied also on vertical surfaces and of combining it with a various range of colours, allows an infinite variety of original and unique coatings to be created.

Some application examples • Creating floors in shopping centres and residential areas.

• Creating coatings on floors, walls and ceilings with a trowelled effect.

• Creating floors and walls in cafes and restaurants.

• Creating floors in wellness centres, hotel receptions and showrooms.

• In all areas in the residential and commercial building sector where a smooth and mottled effect with a cementitious matrix is required.

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Ultratop Loft, One-component trowellable fine-textured cementitious paste applied in layers up to 2 mm thick to create decorative floors with a trowelled or mottled effect. The consistency of the product, reduced thickness of the coat applied and the possibility of being applied also on vertical surfaces and of combining it with a various range of colours, allows an infinite variety of original and unique coatings to be created.

Some application examples are: • Creating floors in shopping centres and residential areas.

• Creating coatings on floors, walls and ceilings with a trowelled effect.

• Creating floors and walls in cafes and restaurants.

• Creating floors in wellness centres, hotel receptions and showrooms.

• In all areas in the residential and commercial building sector where a smooth and mottled effect with a cementitious matrix is required.

If used to create decorative floors in environments such as homes, showrooms, shops, etc., Ultratop may be dry-polished to leave an effect that is similar to natural stones, or it may be mixed with natural aggregates which, after polishing, leave an effect which is similar to “terrazzo or veneziana” floor.

For more information, please contact: Santhosh Prakash Product Manager (Building Line) Mapei Construction Products India Pvt. Ltd. p.santhosh@mapei.co.in Email: infoindia@mapei.co.in, www.mapei.co.in

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361 Degrees Design Conference 2019:

Designing for the future 14th & 15th February 2019, Nehru Centre Auditorium, Mumbai

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he 12th Edition of the 361 Degree Design Conference took place on 14th and 15th February 2019 at the renowned Nehru Centre Auditorium.

The theme of the conference – Designing for the Future is a concept that has been visited and revisited since time immemorial. The innovations, technology, comforts that civilisation appreciates is the work of visionaries that transpired in the past. And much that pains the current world is also a result of decisions made in the past. The question that looms is; what is the current world, this generation of makers; creating for the future? The conference largely presented two ideas; projecting a future and working towards it; the second was about navigating around existing challenges and scenarios.

Organised by Indian Architect & Builder Magazine of Jasubhai Media, the conference was presented by Armstrong Ceiling Solutions.

Canadian Wood was the sustainability partner and UltraTech Cement Ltd. was the Building & Construction industry knowledge partner. The associate partner was Tata Structura and Outokumpu was the innovation partner. CREDAI-MCHI were the support partners. The 14th of February saw the inaugural of the conference with over 600 professionals and students present in the auditorium. To mark the commencement of the Conference, Maulik Jasubhai, Chairman and Chief Executive of Jasubhai Group & ChemTech Foundation, addressed the gathering throwing light on the founding principles of Indian Architect & Builder and the core values of the Conference. This was followed by the lighting of the lamp with Mr. Maulik Jasubhai, Mr. I. M. Kadri, Mr. P. V. Somasundaram, Ms. Martha Thorne, Mr. Gyan Madhani, Mr. Yatinder Pal Singh Suri, and Mr. Hemant Shetty.

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Lighting of the lamp ceremony.

The 12th edition of the 361 Degree Design Conference offered two perspectives; projecting a future and working towards it and the second, navigating the existing challenges and scenarios.

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Inaugural Address – 14th February: Martha Thorne.

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Icon Lecture: Enrico Dini.

Panel Discussion on day - 1; moderated by Rohan Shivkumar with speakers (L-R) V. Vishwanath, Alireza Taghaboni, Pinkish Shah, Prashant Dhawan, Rohan Shivkumar, (moderator), Olga Chepelianskaia, Dr. Reinhard Konig, Martha Thorne and Shubhra Raje.

The inaugural lecture was presented by Martha Thorne who raised the concerns of the uncertainty of the future. She backed her arguments with an example of the 3d printing technology. Back in the day, especially during the IT boom across the globe, it was speculated that every home would own a 3d printer. But till date, they remain elusive not only to the masses, but also to many architects and designers even though the technology can add immense value to architecture and design. Enrico Dini, the man who invented the 3d printer, presented on the second day of the conference. Enrico Dini and Paolo Carboni highlighted the potential of the 3D printer in architecture and design – a technology that should have gained mainstream acceptance owing to the endless opportunities it presents, but still struggles to find the right backing and investor buy-in.

Naresh Duble of Armstrong Ceiling Solutions spoke deeply about solutions for the future. Peter Bradfield of Forestry Innovation Consulting India presented case-studies on architecture created with wood. V Murali Krishna spoke about the new offerings by Tata Structura and how hollow steel section are enabling architects to design smart structures. Devendra Pandey of UltraTech Cement elucidated the role of concrete in new design innovations. Yatinder Pal Singh Suri of Outokumpu addressed students and professionals in the audience to build bigger and better with the resources available at hand.

Other speakers included Pinkish Shah, Shubhra Raje, Dr. Reinhard Koning, Prashant Dhawan, V Vishwanath, Alireza Taghaboni, Olga Chepelianskaia, Monish Siripurapu, Michael Green, Ayaz Basrai Indian Architect & Builder - April 2019

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and Gurjit Singh Matharoo. The speakers pressed upon the need of using resources judiciously and not overlooking the impacts of climate change. Addressing similar challenges, Michael Green, principal at Michael Green Architecture offered wood architecture as an alternative to the steel and concrete in construction. He demonstrated, with examples and successful experiments wherein he constructed the first wooden tall-storeyed building in North America with 8 floors. Ayaz Basrai demonstrated how design can be a tool to bring about a larger communal change; beyond solely building and producing objects.

Monish Siripurapu spoke extensively about innovations in design, but ensuring that all this technology doesn’t leave behind any major carbon footprints. The first day came to a close with a question and answer session moderated by Rohan Shivkumar with pertinent questions raised by the audience and even some debates amongst the speakers.

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Young Designers’ Jury architect: Alhad Gore.

Keynote speakers Dr. Reinhard Konig, Martha Thorne and Shubhra Raje.

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Keynote speaker: Ayaz Basrai.

Keynote speaker: Alireza Taghaboni.

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Keynote speaker: Gurjit Matharoo.

Keynote speaker: Monish Siripurapu.

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Keynote speaker: Michael Green.

Keynote speaker: Olga Chepelianskaia.

Keynote speakers Prashant Dhawan and Olga Chepelianskaia with moderator Rohan Shivkumar (Centre).

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Keynote speaker: Pinkish Shah.

Keynote speaker: Dr. Reinhard Konig

Keynote speaker: Shubhra Raje.

↑Audience interaction on day - 2.

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Keynote speaker: Prashant Dhawan.

Moderator: Rohan Shivkumar.

Keynote speaker: V. Vishwanath.

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Young Designer felicitation by jury architect Alhad Gore and Abhinay Vyavahare, Armstrong Ceiling Solutions.

V Murali Krishna, Tata Structura.

Yatinder Pal Singh Suri

The second day proceeded with an audience interaction at the end of every lecture. The conference drew to a close with all speakers of both days taking stage and seating themselves at the edge of the stage and addressing the audience. The second day also hosted the Young Designers’ Award, in its 20th edition, with jury architect Alhad Gore and Abhinay Vyavahare from Armstrong Ceiling Solutions felicitating the winners.

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Naresh Duble, Armstrong Ceiling Solutions.

P. V. Somasundaram.

The conference witnessed a wide and diverse scale of attendees.

There were students of architecture and design alongside budding as well as eminent practitioners, including the architect of Nehru Centre Auditorium, I.M Kadri himself. This lent a holistic intellect and approach to the question and answers and the audience engagements with the speakers. It underlined the ideas and arguments made during the event of 2 days and brought the conference to its logical conclusion.

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Interaction with attendees

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Closing note of 361 degree design conference.

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MARTHA THORNE Dean of IE School of Architecture and Design & Executive Director of the Pritzker Architecture Prize

A glimpse into the future with Martha Thorne Martha Thorne is dean of IE School of Architecture and Design, one of five schools that comprise the innovative, international IE University based in Madrid, Spain. She is also executive director of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, a position she has held since 2005. Her current interests focus on the role of architecture and design in making cities more liveable and the development of new teaching methods for architecture and design education.

Prior to her current role, she worked as a curator at the Department of Architecture at The Art Institute of Chicago.

In her curatorial position, she undertook research, exhibition production and collection development, as well as edited books and wrote numerous articles for architectural journals and encyclopaedias.

Text: Sharmila Chakravorty

Dean of IE School of Architecture and Design & Executive Director of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, Martha Thorne shares her unique perspective on how technology will shape the future of architecture and design, and how we, in turn, will shape the technologies of the future in her thought-provoking 361 degrees lecture.

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ne of the main concerns she raises is the uncertainty regarding the challenges of the future.

We have no way of knowing what issues the future will bring. Though science-fiction has tried to envision the future, and the cities of the future – sometimes eerily correctly, sometimes missing the mark – the one thing that is assured is the advancement of technology. So what does all this mean for the future of architecture and design?

Though skeptical of technological innovations, Martha believes that technology can be a powerful instrument to shape the future of architecture and design. However, it is contingent on architects and designers using technology creatively and responsibly, with the right intentions.

These innovations have the potential of enhancing transparency and communication between collaborators in an architectural project – from designers to users, from contractors to clients.

Technology in this sense can be a great leveler, bringing everyone on the same platform where information is accessible to all, efficiency is highlighted, and errors are prevented.

Speaking about predictions made about technological innovations in the past, she mentions how, back in the day, 3D printers were expected to be the rage today. It was said that every home would have a 3D printer. The reality for 3D printers today, however, hasn’t quite shaped up as predicted. They still remain elusive to the public at large, usually thought of as an expensive technology for the uses that an average home would make of one. It can however be a great tool Indian Architect & Builder - April 2019

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Robots could be valuable in construction, while prefab could help speed up the process. Drones could take materials up to higher levels. for architecture and design. It enables prototypes and mock ups to be made quickly, which can then be evaluated and refined. In essence, 3D printers add a lot of value to the design process.

Similarly, virtual reality and augmented reality too could contribute positively to the design process. Architects could test changes and modifications done on their projects, virtually envisioning how the changes would affect the overall project. Based on this feedback, enhancements could be introduced further, making the projects as thoughtfully, efficiently and precisely designed as possible. Artificial Intelligence (AI) too has massive potential. It could provide opportunities to rationalize the design process. Not only can we automate repetitive tasks, but also analyze data to conclusively highlight the best possible views, traffic status, etc. in real time. AI could therefore inform the planning stage with holistic information, and therefore help us create a more precise design.

Other emerging tech such as robotics and prefab construction too have application potential in architecture. Robots could be valuable in construction, while prefab could help speed up the process. Drones could take materials up to higher levels. So, how we use technology, ethically, to arrive at creative solutions for the problems of our time will decide how the future of these technologies, and our cities, takes shape.

To illustrate how we are shaping the future of cities today, Martha compares development projects from Toronto and Detroit, with two very different approaches to city planning and revitalization. Both cities share in common the face that they are located close to rivers, which gives them a fabulous waterfront, and that both cities are trying to renew themselves. Speaking of Toronto’s Quayside development, she mentions how technology plays a central role. Side Walk Labs, a part of Alphabet, and therefore connected to Google, is said to be developing the project. Thus, tech companies are now building our cities. Technology is now the urban planner, the architect, and the designer. The quayside development is envisioned to be a digital, flexible, accessible workshop that is open to all. With self-driving cars as shuttles and digital kiosks for feedback, urban innovation would be built internet up.

On the other hand, a public-private-philanthropic fund is participating with city efforts to rejuvenate Detroit, a city that filed for bankruptcy in 2013. The Strategic Neighborhood Fund plan is a prototype for breathing life into destressed neighborhoods. Detroit currently has large tracks of vacant land due to the severe drop in population and abandonment of housing. Seeing land as a resource and not a problem, or simply a commodity for sale, it is an opportunity to strategically plan the future city. The idea is to learn from the history of the city, and build neighborhoods that are not segregated but are inclusive and at higher densities in order to form communities with an adequate level of urban services. The waterfront and vacant land will be developed to infuse a thriving, safe vibe, and to connect neighborhoods and allow easy access to parks and the river front. Going back to the agricultural history of the city, some parcels of land would be used for urban agriculture. Small, resilient businesses would help create jobs, and nurture the city’s creative talent. Thus, with very little reliance on technology, the Detroit plan aims to turn the city into a creative, safe, green haven for its residents.

With this, she aptly draws attention to the fact that designers need to be able to see the big picture, synthesize information and offer creative solutions to problems of today which are complex, fuzzy and inter-dependent as compared to the simple, knowable and independent problems of the past. Designers have to account for change, whether anticipated such as population changes and technology, or unexpected such as natural disaster or war. The reality of change has to be incorporated into our ideas, which now need to be useful and pertinent for longer periods of time. We need to rethink our approach, and start working with passive technology and contextual understanding, identifying uniqueness of the problems to offer a hybrid, suitable solution with the best of human understanding interwoven with the ample technology we have at hand.

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ENRICO DINI Dini Engineering

An unwavering commitment to innovation Enrico Dini is known for incredible innovations in 3D printing and the first to build a working 3D printer for printing buildings. He became world famous as “The Man Who Prints Houses”. He invented the “D-shape” printer, the world’s first construction scale 3-dimensional printer. The machine prints using natural materials like sand, earth, and perhaps also lunar dust. It is the biggest 3D-printer in the world, handling objects as big as six metres cubed, layered in 5mm sections.

The technique, says Dini, brings together the best of printing technology and robotics. He is presently working with Foster & partners, Renzo Piano, Fuksas, Zaha Hadid Architects, UN studio on this new technology.

Text: Sharmila Chakravorty Images: Courtesy of D-Shape

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nrico Dini and Paolo Carboni highlighted the potential of the 3D printer in architecture and design – a technology that should have gained mainstream acceptance owing to the endless opportunities it presents, but still struggles to find the right backing and investor buy-in. Speaking on large scale 3d printing in architecture – think big, print bigger, Enrico Dini, a pioneer in 3D printing, mentions that inventions don’t happen by chance. He takes us back ten years, to Buti near Tuscany in Italy where he and his brother first 3D-printed an object. The outcome wasn’t as aesthetically pleasing as they has expected, but they had achieved an important milestone. They had developed the technology for 3D printing from scratch, which of course needed tweaks and adjustment to be as near perfect as possible.

The object they created, Radiolario Pavilion, too was tweaked, grinding it to bring out its aesthetics. The purpose was to celebrate the potential of 3D printing, to showcase an iconic, complex, free-from structure. The inspiration for the object was the organic shape of amoeba. What they wanted was an unreal shape that could be not be materialized or manufactured using ordinary means. The 3D printer that made this possible, worked from foundation to roof, as if carving out the desired shape of a monolithic structure, made with layers and layers of cemented material.

Adding another layer to this innovation was computational design. Paolo Carboni is a civil engineer and architect who collaborated with Enrico for his thesis. He was keen on exploring the design processes required to create a building using this new 3D printing technology, while adding algorithmic tools that would optimize the design.

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Radiolario Pavilion, inspired by the shape of an amoeba was the first object that was printed by Enrico’s 3d printer.

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The D-shape 3d printer.

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This D-Shape coral is produced from chemistry which actively supports marine-life. Sedimentary rocks originally formed from sea deposits are introduced as source material, chemically bound with a patented ecological binder. (Cited from website)

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While the concept is not as popular as it should have been, it goes on to highlight the potential of 3D printing on building site to quicken the process.

The first steps involve an architectural project with inputs such as plans and sections. His software elaborates and develops the plan in 3D in cubes, with a basic module of 20cm that makes up the entire building. Then begins the form finding process, wherein shapes are optimized based on dominant, prevalent environment conditions. Then, inner partitioning and the positioning of doors and windows is evaluated. A strength analysis helps to map the thickness of the walls, with suggestions for thermal insulation cavities. Similarly, cavities for electric systems are analyzed with a noninterference check. Then exterior patterns and customizations can be added. Walls are subsequently lightened with new cavities. It is followed by calculating the best possible foundation bounding box that incorporates only the essentials needed to support the building. After checking the foundation ring and beam, the first slab is designed, with a reanalysis of thickness. Then, layer by layer the printer materializes the project.

While the concept is not as popular as it should have been, it goes on to highlight the potential of 3D printing on building site to quicken the process. It is almost like digital printing on paper, just that there is a Z Axis too, and the printer uses sand and other binding materials instead of paper. It could print amazing organic structures only limited by human imagination. Natural forms and shapes could inspire designers to create objects that mimic nature. The 3D printer and its technology are Enrico’s contribution to new architects as a tool to express themselves, and their journey of biomimicry. He hopes that designers of the future add to the technology he has created to enhance what 3D printing can achieve, and use it ethically to explore innovation in building technology.

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MICHAEL GREEN Michael Green Architecture

An adventure in architecture Based in Vancouver, Canada, Michael Green founded architecture firm MGA to create meaningful and sustainable change in building through innovation in construction sciences and design. Michael and his team are ambitiously extending the boundaries of mass timber construction, having completed some of the largest modern timber buildings in the world, including The Wood Innovation Design Centre and T3 Minneapolis. He is also the founder of DBR | Design Build Research and TOE | Timber Online Education, a non-profit school and research platform dedicated to teaching the design and construction of socially, culturally and environmentally relevant student-led installations with a focus in systemic change in building for climate, environment, disaster and global shelter needs.

Text: Shriti Das Images: Courtesy of MGA | Michael Green Architecture

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resenting a strong case for wood, Michael Green brings to the forth the merits and certain challenges of wood architecture. Wood construction can play a pivotal role in steering the world away from global warming and climate change. But arguments like speed of construction, cost, strength, feasibility override most materials, giving preference to steel and concrete over alternative technology, etc. often deter the actualisation of such techniques on a large scale. He lists each challenge involved in wood construction and effectively lays down solutions that mitigate the same. Going a step beyond, he also acknowledges the fact that architecture is built largely sans architects throughout the world, yet change is possible at an individual scale. MGA further underlines their endeavours with an online not-for-profit school that imparts knowledge to not only students and designers but also addresses vocations associated with design and construction.

Michael Green, founder and principal architect at MGA | Michael Green Architecture makes a compelling statement at the beginning of his lecture. He says, “The way our experiences shape us; from being kids to informing our practices, is very interesting. Because we end up on different paths that lead to common goal with different perspectives.” This single line of thought branched into many ideas; almost like the metaphor of a tree. The tree, in fact, is closely connected to Michael’s practice that is focussed on wood architecture. He further ‘branches’ and lists these experiences as the 3 loves of his life, “Adventure, nature and making”. Born on Baker Lake, Nanavut in Canada, Michael imbibed adventure as he explored the arctic as a mountaineer and explorer. He climbed the Himalayas, kayaked with his son and so on. The second, being nature, as he grew in a land that was covered in ice for long durations, harsh climate with no trees; which made him think of nature in a different manner, with a certain connect. His last love, one that is shared by all architects and designers, is the love of making.

Assimilating the loves together; each entity is intertwined with another. The mountains he encountered during his explorations; the ice and stone formations incited ideas about structures Indian Architect & Builder - April 2019

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The Wood Innovation and Design Centre. Photographer – Ema Peter.

in design. At the same time, the sight of a drifting glacier, almost the size of the state of New York, enunciated the impact of climate change and global warming. And tying nature and adventure together, Michael started looking at how his practice can create a larger impact in the vocation of design and building.

Michael currently lives on the west coast of North America, in one of the greatest forests of the world. To him, the trees offer fascinating stories and insight; the capacity of the branches to withstand winds, bear the load of snow and so on. The fibres align themselves to carry weight in ways that architecture has yet not discovered, invented or gauged. And MGA emulates these forms to understand and even push the capacity of forms. These experiences and observations shaped Michael’s vocation; he became a carpenter, went to architecture school alongside climbing mountains and guiding mountaineers. While ‘culmination’ seems like a rather limited and narrow term to describe his practice and endeavours; these undertakings shaped the way MGA looks at design.

Michael recounts a second story that is again a mix of his passions for nature, adventure and making. It was a project in Tajikistan that morphed his outlook towards building and design.

Tajikistan, a high-mountain area is small country that borders Afghanistan to the south and former Soviet republics to the north. He was working on a project with the Tajik government to build, or rather, re-build communities and their cities. He recalls that while Afghanistan and Tajikistan are separate countries owing to manmade borders, they share similar topographies.

Divided by the Panj River, Tajikistan appeared more advanced than Afghanistan as the former had homes, schools and infrastructural alongside facilities like coal for heating and food provided by the Soviet Union till Tajikistan declared independence in 1991. On the other hand, Afghanistan, as seen from the Tajikistan side of River Panj, had rocky mountainous trails as opposed to the concrete roads in Tajikistan. The Afghani side appeared to persist the ways of life as it existed more than hundred years ago. While homes in Tajikistan were big and spread across their lands, Indian Architect & Builder - April 2019

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Wood is carbon-neutral. It is perhaps the only material that can store carbon unlike steel and concrete that are accountable for 11% of man’s greenhouse emissions.

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Upon completion, The Wood Innovation and Design Centre was the world’s tallest modern all-timber structure at 8 storeys / 29.5m. Photographer – Ed White.

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Afghan homes were clusters of small structures huddled tightly. The remnant land was used for agriculture. The Tajikistani culture appeared to have evolved from the traditional practice onto a more ‘developed’ way of life inculcated by resources provided by the Soviets. This, on face-value implied that Tajiks lived a modern, comfortable and advanced life, much like the aspirational western dream. And a lot like the urbanism that may develop to house the rural-to-urban-influx.

However, the post-independence Tajik lands no longer had means to sustain their ‘modern’ way of life endowed by the Soviets. The expansive homes had no heating. They occupied land that could have been used to grow food. While the civilisation fit the imagery of a progressive society, the system could hardly sustain life. And herein lay the role of Michael and his counterparts to rebuild Tajikistan in a more efficient fashion. Afghanistan, on the contrary boasted of lush fields that grew crops. Their homes being in built in clusters and in close proximity to one another insulated them from the cold. Every practice was built around the intent to live sustainably in a self-sufficient fashion.

This irony of unsustainable development versus the efficiency traditional practices is a clear reflection of the direction that urbanisation is leading towards. Or worse, the systems that have already been created globally! And the fact that the world is rapidly developing similar habitats raises serious repercussions. This prompted Michael to reflect his own practice and conventional design practices that build impressive portfolios and perhaps even follow sustainable methods but their contribution to the larger cause, or the threats that loom at large. While it may be outside the capacity of each individual to make large changes, architects, designers and planners in tandem with policy-makers and environmentalists hold the capacity to bring about change. Influenced by the self-sufficient practices in the Afghan-Tajik area, MGA began to look at design ideas that were not only made from waste, reused or recycled materials but could also be reused or turned around post its lifecycle. Their work took on newer paths inspired by craft, values and systems.

The next ‘story’ involves use and climate change. The construction industry consumes copious amount of energy. And architecture plays a huge role to impact and reverse the climate change.

And architects are thought leaders who can bring about the desired change. A large component of architecture and building is reinforced cement concrete (RCC). The world is increasingly building taller building, RCC being a major component in most. Given the rapid urbanisation, it is predicted that the world will witness a large rural-urban migration in the coming years. There is immense pressure on housing and building tall is assumed to be the sole approach to the challenge. While Michael does not advocate building tall, he presents wood as sound material to construct higher. Wood is carbon-neutral. It is perhaps the only material that can store carbon unlike steel and concrete that are accountable for 11% of man’s greenhouse emissions.

Michael asserts and has proven that the Empire State Building and all its 102 floors can be made in wood. MGA uses post-tensioned structures, box-sections using engineered woods and largesize wood panels. Innovations spanning across the last 20 years have introduced mass timber panels that are 4 meters wide and 20 meters long. Available in various sizes, they are glued together to make huge panels of wood.

The North Vancouver City Hall project deploys wooden structural panels on the ceiling that are laminated together to create large prefabricated panels. These are 9 meters wide and 6 meters long. They act as tension chords at the bottom of shallow trusses. The shallow trusses are lumber made of small pieces of wood glued together. The Ronald McDonald House for families and children with illness is built entirely in wood but is used an example to illustrate that wooden buildings can be finished in glass, stone or other materials. The structural system is constructed in wood using 12 meter tall panels that create 4 storeys. Upon completion, The Wood Innovation and Design Centre was the tallest modern all-timber structure at 8 storeys at 29.5 meters. It was an experimental project made entirely in wood, built before the building codes allowed it.

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The Ronald McDonald House is built entirely in wood illustrated that wooden buildings can be finished in glass, stone or other materials. Photographer – Ed White.

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North Vancouver City Hall deploys wooden structural panels on the ceiling that are laminated together to create large prefabricated panels that act as tension chords at the bottom of shallow trusses. Photographer – Martin Tessler.

The foundation is in RCC but is constructed entirely in wood from the ground up. The wooden core provides the lateral bracing. The fire-core and staircase are also made in solid wood. The idea seems counter-intuitive as wood is known to burn efficiently, or so it believed. But mass timber doesn’t catch fire easily. The behaviour of burning wood is highly predictable and firefighting systems can be devised accordingly to minimise or prevent damage. Wood buildings are also faster to build. They can be assembled and put together quickly as opposed to concrete that necessitates time for curing, pouring and setting. Snow-covered areas offer small windows of construction-time during the year. For a ski-resort in Vancouver wood seemed feasible given that the large panel sizes are put together faster than smaller components, for instance, brick and mortar. Another example illustrates curtain-wall systems in wood with little aluminium. The project demonstrated that choosing wood over concrete for the building resulted in a carbon difference of 1400 metric tonnes. To put things in perspective, it is the equivalent of subtracting 900 cars from the roads.

But Michael also mentions that while wood behaves better than cement steel in terms of energy efficiency, it is one part of the solution and not the complete solution. Addressing a common concern with wood, he steers towards deforestation around the world. Forests are growing in some parts of the world and shrinking in the other. Forests are razed for agriculture and development. MGA is working with countries to build forests for wood for construction that creates an income source and strengthens the economy. It also provides an alternative to concrete. But to make this a possibility across the world, an in-depth knowledge of forestry is essential to source wood responsibly and contribute to growing forests instead of razing them.

To communicate these ideas further, the practice has decided to focus on research, advocacy and education. Most architecture and design schools barely touch upon wooden construction. Hence, MGA created a not-for-profit online school, Design Build Research Institute, which provides free global education. It addresses not only architects and designers but also engineers, contractors, policy makers, fire officials, environmentalists, insurance companies, the general public and other professionals and enthusiasts. The broad spectrum comes from awareness beyond the love of making. Michael addresses the common knowledge that much architecture is built without architects. Perhaps the vocation has embraced this idea as most practices revolve around individual practices of creating well-designed buildings but at individual scales. The small community is still ‘tinkering around the edges’ afraid or shy of initiating big change. The industry needs big ideas and brave moves. This notion needs acceptance and action. If each building is treated as tool to contribute to the bigger change, even the sole individual, a seeming drop in the mighty sea, is capable of immense transformation.

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North Vancouver City Hall. Photographer – Ema Peter.

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ALIREZA TAGHABONI nextoffice, Studio of Architectural Research & Design

Wishful architecture for social stability Alireza Taghaboni, a practicing architect since 2004, founded Next Office in 2009. Taghaboni is also a painter and holds a Ph.D. in Architecture. His project, Sharifi-ha house, with its revolving rooms, adapts to a shifting lifestyle and demonstrates a critical take on building regulations and zoning by-laws, was shortlisted at the World Architecture Festival in 2014 and has been acknowledged internationally in professional and public media. In 2018, Taghaboni was awarded the inaugural Royal Academy Dorfman award in recognition of his talent that “represents the future of architecture”. Over the past decade, the practice has won several Memar Awards, a prestigious national award for architecture in Iran held annually, making it one of the top prize-winning practices in the country.

In his lecture at the 361 degrees conference, Tehran-based architect Alireza Taghobani outlined how architects can play an active role in shaping the future of cities, or countries, with sociopolitical instability by creating humane spaces that further the agenda of bonding, diversity, and public good.

Text: Sharmila Chakravorty

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rchitecture in Tehran before the revolution was a mix bag of magnificent Persian designs, modernist buildings, as well as iconic structures drawing heavy influence from the west. The neighbourhood of Tehran-based architect Alireza Taghobani’s childhood was full of houses, designed in a rather international style of architecture, in a dense grid.

But after the revolution of 1979, most of these houses, and other western structures, were demolished, and formats that were more suited to deal with the density and flux of population to the cities took their place. Based by the revenue generated from oil, the construction industry grew, giving rise to more and more residential colonies, triggering a post-revolution construction and real estate boom.

Considering the population and GDP, Iran has a high per capita rate. Then, inflation contributed to an increase in the real estate prices. Additionally, there was confusion in social layers that the revolution created, and it changed the model of wealth distribution in Tehran. So, the city had to host a mosaic of different and opposing lifestyles with clearly demarcated public and private spaces. Diversity as well as conflict was hidden in the stack of boxes that from being places to live, became a commodity to benefit investors. As the desire to occupy land increased, free and public spaces decreased. Also, the construction flux caused the emergence of a kitschy façade phenomenon, with ornamentation on facades clashing with each other for attention. Therefore, many distinct elements affected the sociopolitical and economic momentum in Tehran – the commodification of buildings and construction boom, dense architecture for communities with conflicting ideologies, kitschy Indian Architect & Builder - April 2019

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Sharifi-ha House Indian Architect & Builder - April 2019

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Sharifi-ha House

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This is the future he envisions for his city, and his country: Spaces informed by economic reality and spatio-social possibility right on the border of familiarity and strangeness.

facades, and political churning in the country. With a backdrop like this, how can architects contribute, create quality of life, and repair the cracks in the system? According to Alireza Taghobani, by using these problems to our advantage, and addressing these questions through the practice of meaningful architecture.

He then presented a few of his projects wherein they were challenged with issues of boundary, mass, and void, public and private, open and closed spaces, as well as the inside and the outside. The designs are informed by these restrictions, as solutions to specific problems. In one project, they designed a curved outer surface in order to save two trees besides the building. To optimize natural light, they placed a void in the centre of the building. Adding drama, dimension, and dynamism to the building, the accentuated the void by bringing it out to the building surface.

In another project, they tried to create design harmony in a kitschy neighbourhood. They designed the building in parts – the lower part up to the average building height of the neighbourhood was designed in the same style as the other buildings around it. Above this height, the building, and its design, flourishes. Not only does it provide options for different lifestyles to choose accommodation as per their preference, it also suggests a solution for the kitschy façade problem across the city.

Similarly, other projects presented at the lecture illustrated how different formats and forms were used so as to fulfil different design requirements. Their architectural proposals seek to make typologies out of lifestyle paradoxes. They seek out various types of dichotomies, in all their projects, right from the smaller residential projects, to larger projects. How should architects weave different requirements together in one urban component? He illustrated this with a number of interesting, innovative designs that integrate structure with conceptual, social and spatial organization to arrive at an inspired final form.

He also spoke of a competition in another city for an engineering and administration building on a site that was located between two main avenues. Another competition was to replace a building that was damaged by fire in the busy centre of Tehran. To address these competitions, they created buildings that are monumental, but support everyday functions for the public. Thus, their architecture gives the public in busy cities of Iran an opportunity to engage with outdoor spaces, and use these as a community space. He then introduced another city planning competition wherein they proposed carefully interlaced their master plan with the existing structures of the satellite city. The existing structures are a repetition of a type of building that, in reality, bring more isolation than connectedness.

So, public space is reduced to whatever residual space is left after serial placement of these abovementioned residential towers.

Their plan takes inspiration from history. Older Iranian houses would have central courtyards, with roofed spaces throughout the neighbourhood. Thus, there was a continuous connection with nature, light and shade, and the ground. For the competition, they tried to reimagine these central courtyards, making them a public field with diverse interconnections. Roofed spaces are spread over these permeable connected yards, and instead of linear circulation, there is a sequence of connectedness of varying scales. There are no streets as such, just yards informing the overall configuration, and spatial pockets that host various programs in terms of their scales and orientations. Over the years, residential units would be gradually built around these courtyards, and little by little, like a puzzle, this city-like complex would grow from the ground up.

This is the future he envisions for his city, and his country. Spaces informed by economic reality and spatio-social possibility right on the border of familiarity and strangeness.

To perhaps help others see and actively participate in creating this future for Iran, Alireza Taghobani recently established a school of architecture. At the school, they reimagine alternative solutions for architecture and city planning for different parts of Tehran. For dense areas, for developing areas, for areas that are constantly reinventing themselves due to their dynamism. They aim to find newer ways to design and develop so as to increase green space, social interaction, semi-open spaces, quality of life, and a decreased footprint.

The school also looks as façade-related and pragmatic interventions in existing reality, where architects take an active position in changing the world.

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PRASHANT DHAWAN Biomimicry India Lab and Studio & Biomimicry India Network

Biomimicry – Design that sustains all life Prashant Dhawan is the co-founder of Biomimicry India Lab and Studio as well as the Biomimicry India Network.

Biomimicry India has been and is actively involved in spreading the knowledge of biomimicry and has organised and conducted biomimicry talks, workshops and courses at various schools, colleges, corporate offices and conferences as well as ‘open to all’ talks and workshops across India.

Prashant prefers to see himself as an amateur researcher of ‘sustainable happiness’.

Text: Sharmila Chakravorty Images: Courtesy of Prashant Dhawan

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s designers, we are all in a race to manifest our ideas of utopias – the ideal building, the ideal home, the ideal office space, the ideal city, etc. For instance, we are increasingly thinking of Smart Cities and how we can create these across the world, because clearly our current formats have failed us. But how do we ensure that our designs are fool-proof?

We have been repeatedly causing damage to our planet with unintended consequences of our designs in the past – climate change, biodiversity depletion, environmental pollution, endemic poverty, water and resource scarcity, waste, chronic addiction, etc. So, to perfect our designs, our technology, our systems, and our lives, where do we look for inspiration?

Prashant Dhawan, founder of Biomimicry India, points us in the direction of a billions-ofyears-old system that works flawlessly. There is zero waste, zero pollution, and almost zero ill-effects of this system. It is self-sufficient, constantly evolving, and yet at perfect harmony with the multiple sub-systems within it. Nature. But how do we translate processes that work flawlessly in nature into usable solutions for our problems? By training ourselves to demystify these processes, and treating them as ‘advanced technologies’.

All over the world, we come across accidents and collisions, be it cars crashing into cars, or trains running into other trains. But have you ever seen fish bumping into each other when swimming in large schools? Or insect and birds that fly in swarms. How do they avoid accidents? With rules of physics applying to fishes and birds the same way they do to human technologies, there must be something they do differently that keeps the system going without a crash. How do bees make their hives without a blueprint? How do termites decide who repairs broken parts of their mounds? Each bee, each termite is an individual within the colony. How do they then decentralize and distribute jobs? All this evidence from nature suggest that with the right tool and methods, the natural world has a lot of offer in terms of ideas that would change our world for the better. And that is where biomimicry comes into the picture.

But how do we mimic our biological world? Can, and should, everything be mimicked? To help us navigate these questions, there are three nonnegotiable elements of biomimicry.

The first, and most important, is ethos. Anything that does not create conditions conducive to all life is not worthy of being mimicked. In our reductionist way of learning and practice, we often delegate ethics to a regulator. And yet, for biomimicry, the ethical value of design holds prime importance. The second element is to ‘reconnect’ to establish a true connection with nature. To do so, you have to go out in the nature, and rediscover your love for nature. You will never fight for something you don’t love, and Indian Architect & Builder - April 2019

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so you have to discover an internal connection so as to experience a real shift of mind.

We have to break away from the mindset that caused us to first mine nature for resources, and now for ideas. And lastly, emulate nature to suit the context of our problems.

If this seems like theoretical knowledge that would never really find practical, viable applications in our world, think again. We talk a great deal about circular economies, and zero-waste systems. But are we sure that these are new theories, and not something that has existed for millions of years? Take forests, for instance. Compared to cities, a forest has more diversity and ecosystems working within each other. And yet, for centuries, till humans went and cut them down in the name of mindless development, forests thrived. Even now, if we scale back, and leave nature to its devices, there is enough evidence to suggest that it would repair the damage we’ve done and go back to being a holistic system in perfect harmony. So, a circular system has always existed, it is just that we have started to observe it now and theorized it as something new.

But how do we take these observations and apply them to our world in the true sense of biomimicry? Take city planning for example. The concept of Smart Cities is gaining popularity all over the world. A Smart City is one that provides a healthy, nourishing, harmonious, selfmaintaining (adaptive and evolving) environment where all life thrives and citizens enjoy sustainable happiness, while enabling each to pursue a way of life and work of choice.

But traditionally ‘smart’ has always been attributed to living beings. So, a smart city is therefore our attempt to infuse life into a city. Taking inspiration from forests, we could ensure a resilient and sustainable city if we appropriated forests’ networks, flows, and coevolutionary interdependence.

On a smaller level, take for instance a pine cone. If you keep a pine cone for a few days in a dry environment, you will find that it opens up. The same pine cone, if stored in moist conditions, closes up. This phenomenon can be used to inform our window blinds and shading systems, based on the amount of light, wing, rain and other elements. Similarly, given that we cannot digest salty water, how do marine fish stay hydrated? They must have some systems within themselves desalinating the water. Thus, the solution to desalinating water, thanks to our increasing water scarcity issues, exists. We just have to look deep enough to find patterns and phenomenon in nature’s library to help us. Prashant Dhawan’s students have worked on a number of such biomimicry solutions that, with conscious emulation of nature’s genius, could help us stick to nature’s design brief - create conditions conducive to life.

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For instance, why does a ‘best before’ date on harmful plastic packaging decide whether you consume or throw away a product? Prashant’s students are working on a disposable packing design which, like fruits that tell you their maturity status from raw to over-ripe, communicate the product’s status in real-time. Then, another set of students studied how a cat is said to always land on its feet, and applied this to disaster relief where food and other essentials are delivered by air, and end up getting damaged when air-dropped. Taking inspiration from the honeycomb, a system of transporting crude oil could be designed that reduced weight and material used, making logistics efficient. Water filtration mechanism based on the kidneys of a kangaroo rat is always been designed.

Students observed how fire ants, while they drown individually, can form groups to float on water for long periods of time. This inspired the design of something like a boundary wall that, on coming in contact with water, forms a raft for emergency situations. This solution is extremely pertinent for coastal cities with our sea levels constantly on the rise. There are several other examples of biomimicry in design – observing leeches to create better blood bags, beehives for light and stronger false ceiling systems, the tail of the seahorse for prosthetics and earthquake-resistant housing, puffer fish to prevent cracked phone screens, camel and polar bear for thermoregulation in building, mangroves for water desalination using minimum energy, cephalopods to develop materials that can change colour and shape, and so on. The possibilities are endless, if we only know where to look, and how to ethically use the solutions we mimic from nature.

With rules of physics applying to fishes and birds the same way they do to humans, there must be something they do differently that keeps the system going without a crash.

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Rooted cities.

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VVishwannath VISHWANATH Associates

A constant tug between the past and the future First generation entrepreneur Ar. V. Vishwanath – Principal Architect of Vishwannath Associates is an alumnus of B.M.S. College of Architecture, Bangalore, is currently on the Board of Governors of the same institution. He had an interest in designing various buildings and interiors across the nation and trained with Senior Architects at Bangalore before establishing his firm with his wife Vidya Vishwanath. He successfully designed the first Property Development building with the terminal Metro Station at Delhi, which was a successful accessibility proposition and revenue generation model in the urban landscape. He is in the process of designing the 28th Auditorium in the public domain with capacities ranging from 250 to 2000 seats.

Text: Shriti Das

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echnology is changing fast and humanity needs to keep up. The converse is equally true.

Human needs are evolving and changing. Family systems are changing, food habits are expanding and diversifying, ways of working is shifting as ‘work’ is no longer constrained within offices or even conventional working hours. With the rise of independent freelancers, the blogging culture and to counter the costs of running an office space; cafes became a hub where people not only conducted meetings but also worked throughout the day. This led to the concept of co-working spaces that offer the benefits of an office-space sans the expenses. And seeing opportunities within the co-working culture; many cafes, retail stores and even conventional offices started renting out spaces for co-working. And with time the co-working culture also led to a collaboration culture where work undertakings often involve various professionals forming a team for projects and working much like a company does. These factors however do not undermine companies, or offices or traditional systems. It is a new way of life, one that is in a constant state of flux. And it is within this context, that V. Vishwanath, founder and principal architect at Vishwannath Associates attempts to draw some threads that can unravel how the future can be designed for.

Before one designs for the future, the task at hand is to envisage it. While humanity is touted as the most intelligent creation of the universe, architects are perhaps the most intelligent amongst humanity, Vishwanath argues. Their work requires them to use both hemispheres of the brain with equanimity; the right regulating creativity and the left regulating logic. And together, they facilitate art, technology, function, engineering and more in the realm of architecture. In the past, architects and designers were gauged by their logical left-brained capabilities to design a functional, well-engineered building with conscious use of resources merged with the right-brain controlled aspects of creativity; aesthetics, form, proportion and so on. And within this realm of Indian Architect & Builder - April 2019

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St. Thomas Mount Integrated Metro + MRTS Station at Chennai.

Women’s Museum Bijapur – The region being highly dusty where the dust rises; the front façade has little to no openings and lighting is provided from the slit openings and the top.

architecture, in the midst of the left and the right, arises a third dimension, says Vishwanath.

This third dimension is the architect’s proficiency over using design software tools. And the ‘future’ will certainly involve more dimensions emerging across different directions.

Vishwanath emphasises that while skills are developed and learnt, it is adaptability and the humanitarian aspect of empathy that shall be the need of the future. Citing a true story, he speaks of Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft. Close to 25 years ago, during his first round of interviews at Microsoft, he was asked what he would do if he saw a crying baby lying in the Indian Architect & Builder - April 2019

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While in college one could undertake case-studies of built projects, there are hardly references to a co-living space and other such new-age concepts. And such concepts will transpire and even dissolve at breakneck speeds and architects have to be prepared for the design.

middle of the street. Nadella said he would call 911 to which the interview retorted that Nadella needs empathy. Ideally, one must first pick up the baby before proceeding to the logical step.

Empathy and understanding the needs of the next generation with experience of the past and the present will perhaps work efficiently for the future. Housing is changing, public transport, public spaces, etc. are changing. Before designing for the ‘change’ one must understand the change that is transpiring.

Citing an example of food, Vishwanath cites the idli and dosa; native South Indian foods that have remained almost unchanged for over generations. Bengaluru and most South-Indian cities have stalls that sell these foods. They have continued to churn out the same food were relevant decades ago and continue to appeal to newer generations. Processes may have changed and logistics might be different but prima facia, the business has sustained. But the same idli-dosa in malls has witnessed transformation as some food-courts advertise more than 99 varieties of the same food. Again, keeping a step rooted firmly in the past, the traditional fare has evolved for the future. Vishwanath raises a pertinent question that keeping these factors in mind these changes, how does one design a food-court for the malls of the future? How are architects adapting to change?

The second example that emerged was of housing. The long-established system that influenced housing was a family system where nuclear families or two –generations, or at times 3-generations lived together. Since the last decade or so, especially in urban cities, individuals are now moving out of homes in the in their 20s’. They live and work in co-living and co-working spaces. They come back home, or create a home, post-marriage; (perhaps) and eventually senior-care homes have emerged for this generation to retire in. Vishwanath’s design practice is working on elder-care homes in cities. Across ages, co-working spaces have become convenient, but co-living as a concept is emerging. In the recent past the anguish and trials of obtaining a house on rent for single individuals sans family is a well-known phenomenon. Co-living can revolutionise rented living spaces and even change the political dynamics, prejudices, racism and irrationalities of rented spaces. But the interrogation that Vishwanath looks to make is that the concept is new and subjective. While in college one could undertake case-studies of built projects, there are hardly references to a co-living space and other such new-age concepts. And such concepts will transpire and even dissolve at break-neck speeds and architects have to be prepared for the design.

This is again not to say that the traditional family system is diminishing. That still persists and it has a stronghold. But the way housing is designed for even the long-established systems of living, is evolving. They are being designed better; with courtyards, energy-efficiency and so on. Much like the age-old idli-dosa that has persisted and evolved to cater to many palates; the traditional seems unchanged prima-facia but the workings and operations may have evolved from hiring helps to buying machinery for production. And its new-age variant in malls is fleeting and will need much innovation and change in the product itself to keep its clientele coming.

A project that Vishwanath has worked on ties together a similar old-and-new ideology. He worked on re-designing the library in the Indian Institute of Management, Bengaluru. A building that he characterises ‘heritage’, being an iconic structure designed by Pritzker laureate Dr. Balkrishna Doshi. A grouse that the authorities mentioned before work commenced was that the library received very low footfalls. On interviewing several students and alumni of similar institutes, it Indian Architect & Builder - April 2019

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The Louvre Museum in Abu Dhabi also accommodates space for children and outdoor activities, breaking out of the archetypical experience of the museum.

was revealed that the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay was a popular favourite library amongst many. They not only had books and reading tables but also facilities to relax, discuss and even lounge around. Vishwanath kept the exteriors and flooring intact; with the exception of using marble on the corridor floors for IT related activities. The acoustics were re-done, they added more tables, opened up the roof sans major structural changes to bring in more light. They also made provisions for digitalisation as many books are available in digital formats.

Another segment that is geared for radical change is the public transport system. Showcasing a proposal for the Chennai Metro, Vishwanath demonstrated a system where the metro, Southern Railway, the suburban trains as well as the bus-station were amalgamated into a single connected entity. The Beijing South Station was a case study in example that has all transportation under one roof. A similar concept was successfully implemented for the Huda City Centre in New Delhi.

For redeveloping an auditorium, Vishwanath’s team was asked to replace the original structure with a new design. The building was in sound condition and the architects modified it to suit the context instead of demolishing and creating a new structure. But even in the space of entertainment, needs are diversifying. Once shopping complexes and theatres were separate entities, today a mall sans a theatre is rare. The next jump within the retail space is the synthesis of shopping, entertainment, offices and so on. Vishwanath’s practice has worked on a project where the brief was a hybrid of a mall and an office with restaurants for the office-goers, halls to be rented to corporate functions and so on.

Another project, is a museum in Bijapur that is dedicated to women’s studies. The region being highly dusty where the dust rises; the front façade has little to no openings and lighting is provided from the slit openings and the top. Designing the same project in any other city would involve different design solutions. The Louvre Museum in Abu Dhabi also accommodates space for children and outdoor activities, breaking out of the archetypical experience of the museum.

Another project in Abu Dhabi, the Al Bahar Towers is designed with a honeycomb structure that moves along the building during the day to keep the façade cool. But beyond changing functions and prerequisites, Vishwanath addresses the most important, most discussed and feared ‘change’; that of climate change. While the future can be projected and planned for in numerous ways, none holds any ground if the future’s ‘future’ is bleak. With rising sea-levels and increasing temperature, there may hardly be a future to design for. The change can begin today and steer the world towards the future painted by Vishwanath’s projects or stay in limbo and let catastrophes take over. Whatever be the case, we are still steering the world and where we take the planet from here on, lies in our hands.

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Tango around the table Gather – Together, Ahmedabad Gujarat To design an ice cream shop which is contemporary in its vibe but also has a strong sense of history in belonging to the oldest ice cream vendors in Ahmedabad; Compartment S4 drew its inspiration from the city’s old havelis, and structured the design around an innovative long table that promotes interaction and bonding between the shop’s visitors Text: Sharmila Chakravorty Images and drawings: Compartment S4

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he activity of eating ice-cream has gained popularity as a comfort food responsible for the scores of ice-cream parlours mushrooming all over the country, trying to assert their edge with unique, funky flavours, and a gourmet quality promise. So how does one respond to tastes of people while justifying a good design for an ice-cream parlour?

cream shop belonging to one of the oldest ice cream vendors in Ahmedabad. The clients envisioned the store as a space that would be anything but mundane, and assert its distinctiveness over the other usual ice cream shops all around the country. They also felt that the store should have an ideal balance between functionality and aesthetic appeal; one could not overrule the other.

Ahmedabad-based firm Compartment S4 would have perhaps thought of such challenges when designing interiors for an ice

For the people of Ahmedabad, eating Ice cream is almost like a ritualistic experience engrained into the culture of the city.

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It is syn o n ym o us to ba rs wh e n on e tal k s a b o u t n i g h t l i fe i n Ah m e d a b a d . Fa m i l i e s , fri e n d s a n d re l ati v es g a th e r to e n g a g e in t h e p le a su r e o f ea ti ng i c e c rea m . Th e pro j ec t i s d e s i g n e d w it h t h e co n ce p t o f fos te ri ng the i d e a of ‘ e a ti ng l i k e a fa m i l y ’ b y t h e w a y t h e fu rn i ture h a s b e e n trea te d . A n o rg a n i c a l l y sh a p e d lo n g t a b l e w i th l oo s e s to o l s c an a c c o m mo d a te v a ri o u s g r o u p s o f p e o p le , wh i c h a l s o c re a te s a v e ry d y n a m i c s e a ti n g a r r a n g e m e n t ; p e o p l e c an s i t aro u n d v ari ou s c on to u rs o f th e t a b le a s t h e y c h o o s e , c re a ti ng o p p o rtu n i ti e s o f i n te ra c ti o n a s w e ll a s m a xi m i za ti on of s ea ti ng s pa c e for th e i c e c re a m st o r e . It e xp a n d s an d c o n tra c ts a t v a ri ou s p l ac e s . Co u p l e s c a n sit clo se t o e a c h oth e r an d s ha re the i r i c e c rea m w h e re th e t a b le b e co m e s ve ry na rro w a n d bi g fam i l i e s c an a c c o m m o d a te t h e m se lve s a t t he c o rn e rs w he re th e ta b l e b e c o m e s l a rg e r.

T h e t a b le slit h e rs i n the av a i l a b l e s pa c e an d i t w e a v e s a d if f e r e n t st o r y i n the s pa c e ev e ry da y. A s s oo n a s o n e g ro u p f in ish e s t h e ir ic e c rea m , an o th e r tak e s the i r p l a c e a n d th e r o t a t io n co n t in ue s .

Their overarching idea of the design is inspired from the houses and havelis in the old city of Ahmedabad. The architects studied typical elements of traditional houses, and reinterpreted them in a contemporary manner so as to blend well within the context of a new-age ice cream shop with a strong sense of heritage.

The fluidly designed table is the highlight of the store, subtly drawing attention, while ensuring that the ice cream, and the

act of bonding over the ice cream, assumes the place of pride.

The rest of the design weaves itself around the table, with materials that perfectly complement each other to create a harmonious, aesthetically pleasing space.

FACT FILE: Location Design Team Area Project Category Initiation of project Completion of project

: :

: : : :

Ahmedabad, Gujarat Krishna Parikh, Kishan Shah, Aman Amin, Monik Shah, Manuni Patel, Vedanti Agarwal, Prashik Chaudhari, Nishita Parmar 1500 sq. ft.

Commercial Interior Design August 2017 September 2017 Indian Architect & Builder - April 2019

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Flexible design for versatile programs Real Estate Office Property, Vadodara, Ahemdabad Using the lack of space to their advantage, Manoj Patel Design Studio creates an office in Vadodara that feels spacious and modern thanks to the creative use of design elements and features. Not only does it maximize the overall available area, but also creates functionally segregated spaces that are central to the office typology.

Text: Sharmila Chakravorty Images: Tejas Shah Drawings: Manoj Patel Design Studio

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Real estate office space by Manoj Patel Design Studio in Vadodara, Gujarat.

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The office is designed in 180 square feet on the 2nd floor of an existing commercial building. The architects focused that all available space were effectively used and creatively segregated as per the principles of small space designs.

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pace is a luxury in most Indian cities. While one could begin thinking of it as a very limiting factor in architecture and design, it has also sparked creative design solutions that maximize available space. Thus, the very fact that we are space-starved had led to brilliant design innovations that would otherwise not exist. Take for instance the real estate office space by Manoj Patel Design Studio in Vadodara, Gujarat. The office is designed in 180 square feet on the 2nd floor of an existing commercial building. Due to the rather small space, the architects focused their approach to ensure that all available space were effectively used and creatively segregated as per the principles of small space designs.

The office space consists of a main cabin and a reception space with a waiting area to accommodate visitors. To segregate the spaces, while ensuring the space still feels open, the partition wall demarcating the two spaces is kept transparent. Thus, the

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architects have managed to create a visual connect while give both the cabin and the reception area the privacy and acoustic isolation that is required for work to continue uninterrupted.

Further, to continue this approach of maximizing space, the architects came up with furniture design that evolved to incorporate innovation, flexibility, versatility and adjustability. The genius furniture design approach resulted in a storage unit that is accommodated in the lower half of the glass partition, and can be accessed by both areas of the office.

Its openable flaps and shelf boxes in pastel colours and shades ensure optimal storage, and its sliding feature makes it a functional element. The presence, or absence of, this storage space as and when required from the two areas of the office makes the space flexible. Even the storage frame in the main cabin follows this versatility and flexibility principle.

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To continue the approach of maximizing space, the architects came up with furniture design that evolved to incorporate innovation, flexibility, versatility and adjustability.

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The lack of space brings out the architects’ prowess in maximizing it into a multifunctional office with customized furniture that adds to the overall aesthetic.

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The internal storage frame has operable perforated metal flaps with wooden side flaps below to access internal storage for cabin.

This creates an impactful arrangement of storage spaces through various possibilities. Even the sitting stools in the office add to the overall idea of the space optimization. They can be used as single units or interlocked together creating a sculptural element.

The pastel colours and materials used throughout, make the space are very modern. The lighting design too adds an interesting touch.

These elements lend the space the creative spirit it requires while not making it look to casual at the same time. The design treatment creates the feeling of being in a spacious high-end office. Overall, the project is not restricted by the lack of space. In fact, the design is enhanced because of it. The lack of space brings out the architects’ prowess in maximizing it into a multifunctional office with customized furniture that adds to the overall aesthetic.

FACT FILE: Project Location Built up Area Initiation of Project Completion of Project Architect Client Designing Team Designing Concept Photographer

: : : : : : : :

: :

Real Estate Office Property Vadodara - India 180 square feet May 2018 July 2018 Manoj Patel Design Studio Bharat bhai Patel Ar.Manoj Patel , Shivani Tamboli , Aishwarya Gupte and Krupa Chokshi Adaptable furniture with Color Graphics Tejas Shah

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TOTAL NUMBER OF PAGES INCLUDING COVER 104 MUMBAI ` 200 DECEMBER 2017 VOL 31 (4)

MUMBAI NOVEMBER 2017 VOL 31 (3)

` 200

TOTAL NUMBER OF PAGES INCLUDING COVER 88

TOTAL NUMBER OF PAGES INCLUDING COVER 136 MUMBAI ` 200 OCTOBER 2017 VOL 31 (2)

IN CONVERSATION Patrik Schumacher, Zaha Hadid Architects

ARCHITECTURE Celebrating Mimar Sinan: An exhibition of selected works Mausam: The House of Seasons, Zero Studio Design Studio of Architect Dhananjay Shinde, Dhananjay Shinde Design Studio

ARCHITECTURE Salerno Maritime Terminal, Zaha Hadid Architects Retreat in the Sahyadris, Khosla Associates INTERIORS The Bengal Rowing Club, Ayan Sen Architects Urban Designers and planners The World Resources Institute, Biome Environmental Solutions The Matt House, Studio Course

INTERIORS Mobile Retail Space, I-Con Architects and Urban Planners Artist Zoë Le Ber’s Residence, Sophie Dries Architects

RESILIENCE Building resilience, essay, Architect Abin Chaudhuri

TOTAL NUMBER OF PAGES INCLUDING COVER 96

TOTAL NUMBER OF PAGES INCLUDING COVER 92 VOL 31 (6)

VOL 31 (7)

FEBRUARY 2018

MARCH 2018

` 200

` 200

MUMBAI

MUMBAI ARCHITECTURE Twin Houses, Spasm Design The Pool House, IORA Studio Haveli Dharampura, Spaces Architects@ka New headquarters for Société Privée de Gérance, Giovanni Vaccarini Architetti

INTERIORS Versatile Decadence, Hsc Designs White Edge Architects’ office, White Edge Architects Cream Affair, Architecture_Interspace Pitchers Cafe Bar, Architecture Basics

ARCHITECTURE 15°, .warp The Pavilion, ARUR Vikarna Basement, Studio 4000

INTERIORS Baradari at City Palace Jaipur, Studio Lotus Apple Kids Play School, NAAMS Architectural Workshope

INSTALLATION Time Machine, Studio acrossZero

ARCHITECTURE INTERIORS CASA LUX, Studio WhiteScape Phantom House, UDAI

PRODUCT DESIGN GoT Window, MyInnoSpace

TOTAL NUMBER OF PAGES INCLUDING COVER 90

SONAM WANGCHUK

MUMBAI

YAMA KARIM PREM CHANDAVARKAR SANJAY PRAKASH

MAY 2018

RAHUL SRIVASTAVA MATIAS ECHANOVE AMIT PROTHI

For the next 100, we need architects who believe in architecture

VOL 31 (8)

APRIL 2018

SHAUN KILLA

VOL 31 (8)

We have modernists, deconstructivists, situationists, new-media interpreters, post-modernists, neo-brutalists, rationalists, minimalists and revivalists… they have defined the past 100 years of architecture!

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` 200

MUMBAI

TOTAL NUMBER OF PAGES INCLUDING COVER 90

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RESILIENCE Building resilience within Indian craft clusters and communities: Kashmir

SUSHANT VERMA YASHWANT PITKAR G. V. SREEKUMAR ISHAAN DIXIT S. VISHWANATH GLENN BERRILL ASHOK B LALL AROMAR REVI

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TOTAL NUMBER OF PAGES INCLUDING COVER 104 MUMBAI ` 200 JANUARY 2018 VOL 31 (5)

POST EVENT Third Edition of Structure & Architecture Conference, New Delhi

RESILIENCE Imagining a Resilient City: Varanasi, essay, Architect Ritu Deshmukh

Presents

Resilient City Powered by

CAMPAIGN A perspective by Julian Treasure on acoustically designed spaces

SHUBHENDU SHARMA PRASOON KUMAR

ARCHITECTURE Muraba Residences, RCR Arquitectes Skewed House, Studio Lagom Artrovert: Conversations in Grey, Anagram Architects The SHACK, The Side Lane – Design Co.

SANJAY PATIL

INTERIORS Terracotta, tHE gRID Architects

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