FOLD 2018 by Srishti P

FOLD RVCA STUDENT PERIODICAL 2017-2018

PATRONS Rashtreeya Sikshana Samithi Trust

DISCLAIMER FOLD is a student initiative towards understanding and interpreting various topics in architecture and its allied fields. The students would have referred and drawn inspirations and references from various sources either directly or indirectly for the contents of this periodical. The content has been peer reviewed by the students. While utmost precision to quote the sources and every other detail is strived for, R V College of Architecture cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies or subsequent loss or damage arising due to this

Architecture spills into and draws from multiple allied spheres or parallels or what one could call â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Dimensions of Designâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. A good number of architects are also further pursuing their careers in these other fields which include illustration, graphic design, product design, photography, journalism and so on. With the exhibition this year revolving around the same theme, FOLD 2018 aims at going beyond the realm of pure architecture and look at what architecture could be, what happens when architecture comes together and beyond. The book showcases work that explore dimensions, space and the built environment not just as text but also as expressions of coordination between the eye, the brain and the hands. This book is intended to provide a platform for expression of opinion , thought and work by the RVCA community. We believe that it may inspire your thinking about future of brewing. The Editorial Board

Illustration by DIsha Dharesh || SEM VI

What makes architecture?

CONTENTS

EDITORIALBOARD Disha Dharesh Srishti P Shravya MP GRAPHICS AND COMPILATION Kaushik Ramasamy Priya CS Srishti P ILLUSTRATIONS Sachet Kiran Roshini S Lakshmy Narayanan Disha Dharesh ADVISORY BOARD Ar. Madhuri Rao Ar. Girish Ramanathan

REFLECTIONS

Mind and space POOJITHA

I viii sem

“What a mind can conceive, it can achieve” - Napoleon Hill

One has to acknowledge that we are not here to build for one or another but to build for all of humankind and to accommodate life and work of so many people from different backgrounds and dreams.

Everything begins with the sparks within the brain, one tiny impulse that then leads to a series of impulses imploding our brain and creating something, something that can change the world.

With changing times, the meaning of architecture has evolved. It’s no longer a means of establishing status or grandeur but to do the opposite; to bring human race and humanity back to Earth, to coexist with nature and each other. “Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you” – Frank Lloyd Wright. The day we all understand and internalize this, is the day architecture reaches its goal in totality.

Now, contain the same mind in a space, an enclosure and how it reacts is what defines architecture. Vitruvius justly defines architecture as an art which combines UTILITAS, FIRMITAS and VENUSTAS, or Function, Firmness and Beauty. Architecture, in simple words, is the relation between people and objects. It is not a natural process like the growth of a tree. Rather, it begins with the mind conceiving a question, rationalizing the answers and understanding the context. In other words, it is the purest form of physical manifestation of human behavior, desires, wants and needs, which evokes sensations and memories, of future and past brought to present. It is not a manifest apart from us; it is us.

“You employ stone, wood and concrete and with these materials, you build houses and palaces. That is construction. But suddenly you touch my heart, you do me good. I am happy and I say “This is beautiful”. That is Architecture” - Le Corbusier

As soulful beings, we need not just a shelter but an atmosphere to be inspired and excited. Walter Benjamin once quoted that “Art is consumed in a state of concentration; Architecture is consumed in a state of distraction.”

“relation between people and objects.”

To view and appreciate any form of art, one’s undivided attention is necessary. However architecture, for the most parts is used for a purpose and that purpose is what usually has your attention. You are learning in a classroom, shopping in mall or eating in a restaurant. But that does not mean that you are not paying attention to the space around you. It subconsciously affects our thought process and behavior.

Illustration by Sachet || SEM VIIIi

Architecture = Engineering ? SHARMILA I ii sem

Possibly the most debated and heated discussion between an architect and people who don’t have a clue of what architecture is really about, which is everyone who doesn’t study architecture! This opportunity has presented itself and it is finally time to clear the fog. Let’s talk about what non-architects think architects do for a living shall we? According to a few questionnaires done and through experiences, here are a few answers. #1 - “architects make houses.” #2 - “making builldings” #3 - “they draw and stuff” #4 - “architects design spaces” #5- “it is a form of engineering with lesser mathematics and more drawing” I would like to take a moment and thank this fourth person, for getting it right. Although he said that he knew this only because his brother is an architect and had drilled this idea into his mind. Let me tell you that ITS OKAY not to know… we as architecture students ourselves didn’t know this existing reality until we joined architecture and someone told us. There is no solid definition for the profession, I must say. But largely, architecture is the tool for designing or creating spaces.

“Architecture , a discipline, a way of life”

Architecture is a discipline, a way of life. Different people have different takes on what architecture is to them. But Architecture and engineering are not the same. Engineering is a wide field of applied sciences and mathematics to buildings, machines and structures. There is also a huge misconception about these two quite different disciplines. It is said that engineers use the left brain (precise, mathematical, system builder) and architects use the right brain (artistic, creative, theoretical thinker). This is not necessarily true… people in both professions NEED to use both brains and they do!

Creativity is not about how well one can sketch, it is all about ideas and out of the box thinking! Rancho in 3 idiots counts as a creative person, and he is an engineer! Count in Steve Jobs, Einstein, Alexander Graham Bell, and the list goes on. Whatever sides of the brain you use decides who you are, no doubt. But it doesn’t decide whether you are an architect or an engineer. The non-engineers too believe things that may not be true about engineering; we think they party all the time and have fun, but who knows, right? Maybe the boredom is killing them, or the fact that the bar is raised far and beyond for them right now, since not many jobs are left These preconceived notions have misled people and/or made people think of the terms in a concrete sense. A few definitions have defined the way for most people. They refuse to raise questions like “what if this is wrong?”. Even the internet cannot be trusted every time. Anybody can be anything; it is only a matter of interests. True, Architecture students face a lot of tough situations… sleep deprivation, criticism, we have a LOT of work (engineering kids, even you can’t argue with this), we don’t get the “ultimate college life”, etcetera. But I bet the other side has its own set of hurdles that we couldn’t know about. As architects we constantly need to put ourselves in W another’s shoes. Why can’t we do the same for the engineers? So what if they think that “we only draw for a living”? We’ve faced much worse criticism from our design faculty! Criticism is a part of architecture. Take it in your stride and walk the highway with pride because we are experts at taking crits! I’m not saying Architect=Engineer and now we can live happily ever after together, but don’t preach what you don’t know. Preach only what you practice; spread love and respect. REFLECTIONS

Illustration by DIsha Dharesh || SEM VI

‘To scale’ simply means that every element in a drawing or model is in the same proportion, with the same relationships as than the real (or proposed) thing - but, that it is smaller or larger by a certain percentage. “Scale is how we relate our representations to reality; a magic correlation of mathematics with experience.” SOURCE: http://portico.space/journal//drawing-for-architects-basics-scale

Illustration by Sachet || SEM VIII

Illustration by LAKSHMY|| SEM VI

â&#x20AC;&#x153;To confer the gift of drawing, we must create an eye that sees, a hand that obeys, a soul that feels; and in this task, the whole life must cooperate. In this sense, life itself is the only preparation for drawing. Once we have lived, the inner spark of vision does the rest. â&#x20AC;&#x153; --Maria Montessori REFLECTIONS

Behavioural Architecture SANJANI Iii sem

“…a solution, a cure for the disease. Pruitt Igoe would rise above the deluded slums, lifting its residents out of poverty. They would thrive and the city would prosper. Everything would be different” The Wendell O. Pruitt Homes and William Igoe Apartments, known together as Pruitt-Igoe, were joint urban housing projects designed by architects George Hellmuth, Minoru Yamasaki and Joseph Leinweber and was first occupied in the 1954. ‘It was a very beautiful place, like I hotel resort I would say’ (Mrs. Ruby Russel, Pruitt Igoe tenant) -‘What happened?’ ‘Well, one day we woke up and it was all gone.’ By the 1960s however, it was seen as a hotspot for crime and poverty and demolished in the 1970s, fuelling a resistance to deterministic thinking. Human behavior is based off actions of our race as both a whole and an individual and are influenced in many different and complex ways. In the Pruitt-Igoe project, architecture aspired to be one of those influencing factors. The project was developed upon land that used to be a slum with hopes that the ‘bright new buildings with spacious grounds that provided community gathering spaces and safe enclosed play yards’ would bring about a change in the lifestyle and routine behavior of the previous slum occupants. Which was how it started out to be.

“Human behavior is based off actions...”

But due to several interdependent reasons being socio-economic, political and part due to the failure of modernist architect’s thinking and their failure in being

All living beings exist in a symbiotic relationship with the environment that they live in. This is true for both natural and man-made surroundings. We affect our surroundings as much as it affects us and this is seen in various instances from daily life. Why do we follow sidewalks? It is because we are influenced by the design to behave in this way. But sometimes we do walk off path. Maybe because we traced in our heads a shorter path to our destination, and with numbers having the same thought in mind being put to action, a new trail or a path is created on that lawn. And so, like a mass rebellion against the route prescribed by that of the architect or planner, the public has affected the design. Architecture has always been heavily influential on human behavior and thinking. Even the hunter-gatherers of the Paleolithic age associated the enclosure of a cave with safety and comfort. In modern times, the effect of architecture has developed into more advanced elements like that of light, materials, colour, space and texture are all factors that contribute towards experience and behavior. Understanding ways in which this occurs can help towards enabling the design and construction of spaces that has the ability to influence people’s behavior. Sometimes it is not just the behavior of each individual that needs to be studied but rather a c ollective human behavior that must be taken into account. An example of this would be in the case of large scale housing projects

13 Often, these are designed as if the humans were robots without consideration of the individuality in behavior and how it affects the space as a whole. Perhaps it is the imperative to design something unique and individual that tends to override considerations of how it might shape the behaviours of those who will live in it. An example of this would be as quoted above; he infamous Pruitt-Igoe. In fact, many a time, apartment dwellers make alterations to their spaces in order to satisfy their own personal needs. Maybe this is how human beings seem to have the ability to make their own spaces seem like home despite all the design and architectural obstacles that might confront them. In that sense, perhaps a successful design is not so much about how building shape us but maybe about making people feel they have some control over their environment.

Ilustration by Roshini S

REFLECTIONS

That what dwells in myself

ANKEETA RAY I iv sem

‘I give you peace, for you need some I’ll be your pit-stop, for you need mending I’m yours, hers, everyone’s Container of life and stamp of your lifestyle’ It is really interesting to know that a piece of architecture can be something that people identify to and have been doing so, for a long, long time. We establish this relationship, as part of our human consciousness and feelings, with every other mundane, lifeless object. That’s a really pretty flower vase, ‘Oh! I had brought it from that flash sale back in my golden days!’ A string of narratives entangled in each other. Time and again, people have been on the lookout for these objects, which, to a certain extent defines them. These entities are unique to their living. ‘I own you, you’re mine. I identify with you, hence, I’m yours.’ Home: An obnoxiously common word that has the ability to empower millions around us. ‘I brought a house!’ How beautiful is it that finding a mere composition of bricks and cement gives someone a sense of belonging, an achievement in one’s pursuit of happiness and contentment. What makes a mere building, so prevalent in our lifestyle?

Encompassing a series of spaces whose definitions are limited to nothing, a dwelling can be personal and ‘private, as it can be public and celebratory. A child in his pajamas is nonchalant, peaceful. He couldn’t care less of how he has to be or what he has to portray to stand up to his kinfolk legacy. But during a celebration, or an event, that same abode of living changes for the child as he has to be on his best behavior! The milieu thus changes. Then how do the spaces comprising the building react to this change? ‘I’m assured of an extra scoop of ice-cream, if I behave well. Oh! I’ll take it back to my room once the function is over!’ A space is defined by its inventory to a certain extent. The furniture produces a sense of scale to the room, giving us the familiarity, much required at a house. What differentiates a kitchen from the bedroom isn’t just the shape or design of the space, but majorly its inventory. An alternated inventory suddenly creates another set of narratives, which impact the inhabitant entirely.

Dwelling is defined as a space occupied to achieve shelter, owned to achieve stability, felt to achieve contentment. Evidently, it isn’t something generated from the sole, human need for survival, but discovered by all families of living objects that seek a resting space. A bird returning to its nest at dusk has become a habit or a practice outof the sole reason for shelter and protection against predators, living or non-living.

“A simple threshold of a room is involved in this minute conflict”

‘I bid adieu, for now I am safe. I’m assured of protection, for now I am at home.’

Illustrations by Ankeeta || SEM IV

15 These narratives are pious threads of history, which have affected generations! A house suddenly becomes a machine of psychological and experimental interventions. A dwelling isolated to a family contains values, routines and disciplines. Yet, when isolated to a single member of that family, it encompasses, probably, a break from those same inhibitions. What a collected family tries to pursue, may not be reciprocated equally by all its members. How does this relate to a physical entity? A simple threshold of a room is involved in this minute conflict. In that case, the politics of the house divides it emotionally and physically! ‘Why does he stare at that mulberry tree outside through the windows, all day, if he can just go out and be much more content?’ To each his own, a balcony is perceived. The freshness of the morning is explored by a cup of tea and a roll of newspaper with the dainty sunlight teasing the morning.But, then does this imply the only usage or purpose of one?

OIA ,GREECE SOURCE: https://www.strogilisantorini.com/map-santorini-oia.html

‘I like looking at people passing by from my balcony. Why is that? Because every face narrates a story to me.’ The visual connectivity of a house is very important as it a direct link between two completely different atmosphere. Balconies are resplendent places that kick off conversations. Proximity plays a significant role as it conjures two varying entities into a nutshell, invoking a connection. But in the end, all of this is prominent if the house makes you feel alive inside it. ‘Strong and indisputable, secure and beautiful, I am what I’m made to be.’

Illustrations by Ankeeta || SEM IV

REFLECTIONS

“For me, an aerial picture is no different than a close-up portrait. It’s a question of framing and angle. Helicopters are great for that. But I’ve also used planes. Of course, I always have a harness.” -- Yann Arthus-Bertrand

Illustration by DIsha Dharesh || SEM VI

Housing should create neighbourhoods with individuality and identity with mix of functionality and communities. A house is a symbol of lifestyle of people living in it.It weaves the web of the dweller and his familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life.It is his universe.

Illustration by DIsha Dharesh || SEM VI

REFLECTIONS

18 I define architecture as a living organism. Where you live, celebrate life. I believe architecture evolves, similar to life. More than practicing architecture, I’m constantly learning about life and the behaviour of people and places.

B V Doshi

ANANYA NAYAK I iv sem

We are a gregarious society; we mingle, live together, move around and give way to chaos. To me, architecture is not only a single building, but a habitation. I hope my work is received in the spirit in which I have offered it. My name is Balakrishhna Doshi.

ArchitecturalPhilosophy Architecture involves natural elements. These elements are the catalysts for creating moods, they create images, visions, and these visions are the ones that I try to reinterpret in my work.

Life in India To be an architect was not my dream. I could have perhaps become a furniture maker like my grandfather. I come from a Hindu family, we have as many people as Gods. We follow our hearts, our interpretations, morals and ethics. Festivals, gatherings, meetings, going to the temple, roaming the streets, the bazaars are the memories of my childhood. I’m free because I’m a child. Discovery is important to me. I continuously try to discover experiences I have never had before. In a joint family, where several generations live together you learn cooperation, humility, tolerance and compassion. That time, that independence gave us a desire to be ourselves. So, nationalism, searching for an identity, something useful to the society, adapting to Indian conditions when you are a free country, to become one of the important countries of the world, was the larger goal

I work with climate, materials, technology and more so with the lifestyle and characteristics of my culture. With the climate that we have, we are talking of shade, wind, sunlight, but also about the hard sun. Whenever I design housing townships, my designs are inspired by the way the old and the young, families and communities, live in the traditional Indian cities. We use our buildings right from the ground up to the roof terrace. Everything is useful, functional and absolutely sustainable and one of the things that I emphasise on is how do I create sustainable architecture, use local materials, see to it that there is no excessive wastage or misuse of space formed or material.

“..try to discover experiences...”

So for me, every material is alive, it has a message and that message is how do you connect to a larger world to create, imagine and evolve.

19 The Future I feel responsibility to educate students as well as the society, and this concern has always been there with me for the last fifty years. The college that I started in â&#x20AC;&#x2122;62 had no doors. So, I think we need to find a new perspective, a new approach to life and its philosophy.

busier his Guru, and therefore he treated me like his brother. I learnt from him how to create spaces which can be used by anybody and it would become part and parcel of their lives.

Our responsibility as an architect is to create buildings which will not only last long, but which would sustain in these ephemeral times. We now have traffic everywhere, the villages and the towns are changing, the cities are expanding, and resources are going to be limited. So, our role as an architect is to look at how to revitalise our resources. Young architects need to connect to the world, understand technology, make buildings as well as societyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s culture feasible and sustainable.

Influences I was not really sure about what independence meant, because I was still young. I was not conscious about what role I would play in the future. But luckily, opportunities came my way. There was no distinction between object and living, they merged. This is what I learnt from Corbusier. WI worked with him in Paris for four years and then other four to five years in India. He taught me about freedom, creativity, and working with climate, communities, and technology. He looked at buildings as living beings and believed that architecture, environment and life are one entity. This I think is his greatest gift to me. He talked about freedom, innovation, about the environment we live in and finally he said we must have a pact with nature. If we can do this then architecture will become an extension of life. Louis Kahn was one of my seniors, whom I met in Philadelphia, and he considered Cor

Photos by Srishti || SEM VI

REFLECTIONS

The exercise was to abstract the fingerprint to get different compositions (points,lines,planes,etc) with the constraint of a verb in each case.

Comics by Frezzill || SEM II

Comics by Jahnavi || SEM II

REFLECTIONS

Comics by Fariah || SEM II

Comics by Dharini || SEM II

Bridging the Languaes of Music and Space ASHWIN ABRAHAMI viii sem

When a good piece of music is created or a good space designed, the creator understands at a very fundamental and self immersive level, the emotion or quality of energy that it is trying to convey. Typically to create such a work the emotion must first be experienced personally and in depth before it is translated into the language of space or song. When done well, the original emotion or quality of energy felt by the creator can be conveyed to anyone experiencing the work. Given that the process of creation in both languages is similar and that none of our five senses are truly independent of the other, I believe that it is possible to take a work in the language of music or space, that you have not yourself created and express the same underlying energy in the other language. I have attempted to capture music in space through a series of sketches, each taking only 15 minutes to establish the form, proportions, materiality, light and route of journey. The quick creation speed can be attributed to the fact that the inspiration received from music was very pure and required no abstraction. It was felt immersively by the whole body and not just in the mind. It was merely an exercise in translating the experience into space rather than first imagining the experience and then translating it into space Below are some examples and attempts at explanation. The aim of the exercise was never for the viewer to feel that particular music when experiencing that space. It is just a quick way of creation. S ong: I’m Still Here (from the movie “Treasure Planet”)

“What a mind can conceive, it can achieve ”

Parts of the song used: 0:00-0:30 & 1:08-1:30 The first 6 seconds feel open and vast. Next, until the twentieth second the repeating guitar melody in sync with the beat creates a feeling of journeying, expressed here merely as the journey of the viewer’s vision from the point where he sits to the massive pillar ahead.

At 1:10 there is a sudden infusion of energy represented by the uplifting of the landform. From 1:18 to 1:30, the way the vocalist draws out the words “I” and “How” in this part of the song combined with the sudden energy gives the landform its extreme verticality. The multiple layers of guitar at this point of the song give the pillar it’s crystalline material, lit from within in bright colours, once again speaking of the energy.

25 Song: “Untitled” (by the band Simple Plan)

Song: War of Change (by the band Thousand Foot Krutch)

Song: Set Fire To The Rain ( by the singer Adele)

I began listening to this song with a slight bias. I knew that it was a sad expression of how the world is unfair to the singer. In the first 10 seconds, the piano conveys delicacy and forward movement, as each phrase (a series of notes seeming to have a start and a finish) is a series of only one note at a time in ascending order of pitch. This is the glass bridge with white steel supporting the panes.

The first ten seconds have quickly repeated high pitch xylophone notes feel like tiny points of light diffusing through a greenish blue screen above.

The song itself is fluid and packed with energy and heat, without any sharp breaks. This is represented in the curves in the upper left.

The strings (instrument) plays a single note at the beginning of each piano phrase elongating it throughout till the end of the phrase. These are the cables of white light attaching itself to the transverse members of the bridge. The lack of any other sound in these 10 seconds makes it feel like the journey occurs suspended in a large space. The prior understanding of the song being sad explains the dark and forbidding nature of this space with its rocky textures, water and stalagmites.

From the tenth to the sixteenth second the vocalist sings his words in a very smooth and fluid manner giving the space fluidity. From 0:10 to 0:25 the rhythm provided by the drums are pillars of concrete projecting downwards disrupting the fluidity of space, yet synchronising with it using it’s circular form.

The continuity of the piano in first ten seconds which keeps going lower in pitch represents an unwinding of the curved form. As I waslistening and drawing this a festival procession was passing by in the night outside with loud drum beats intruding on the immersive experience of the music shown by the rough vertical forms projecting into the curved forms created by the song.

Illustration by Ashwin Abraham || SEM X

REFLECTIONS

The Impact of Design I vi semz

joel zachariah mathew

A design process defines every designer’s journey to solve problems and acts as an agent of positive change. Everything that is designed manufactured, consumed and finally disposed of contributes to a huge matrix of cause and effect. Products add to the complexity of the matrix as they are interpreted as either right or wrong depending upon your point of view. A product may benefit the society but its fabrication or disposal could also be a polluter. The unquenchable demand for more goods and the state of the art technological implements that feeds the market with cheap mass-manufactured goods has made us even more dependent on them . We have turned a blind eye to the consequences of consuming endless of number of products. Scientists have revealed increasing concentration of plastic waste trapped by currents and prevailing winds. These so-called garbage-patches exists in large seas of the world.

fragments known as nurdles floating below thee surface and concentrations of chemicals given off as plastic degrade. The resultant pollutants take a toll on marine life and through them enters our food chain Clearly the designers of many of the products that end up in these polluted seas intended them for higher purposes. Toothbrushes for example serve millions of users by improving their dental health however they are designed with short lifespans and without consideration of recyclability.. This begs the question: How designers like us take up the responsibility to improve the design of products to reduce their negative impacts? One way is to reduce their environmental footprint by minimising the quantity of materials needed to make products. Another way is by exploring methods to utilize natural or biodegradable materials in place of synthetics or oil-based plastics.

They are difficult to measure and even to detect since they are largely made up of minute plastic

A remarkable instance of the reuse of plastic bottles is from Brazil and was an innovation by a mechanic rather than a trained designer.

Bottle light s installed in houses across the world

Bottle lights installed in Alfredo Moser’s house

“Invention is the mother of necessity”

27 In 2002, the Brazilian mechanic Alfred Moser had a light-bulb moment and came up with a way of illuminating his house during the day without electricity - using nothing more than plastic bottles filled with water and a tiny bit of bleach. He observed how light refracts through water filled bottles so he cut holes through his roof tiles and installed them, with half the bottle hanging in the room below and half open to the sky. A little added bleach keeps the water clear and a polyester resin seal stops the rain from leaking around the bottles.

The inspiration for the “Moser lamp” came to him during one of the country’s frequent electricity blackouts in 2002. He remarks that “It’s a divine light. God gave the sun to everyone, and light is for everyone. Whoever wants it saves money. You can’t get an electric shock from it, and it doesn’t cost a penny.” In the Philippines, where a quarter of the population lives below the poverty line, and electricity is unusually expensive, Moser’s idea has really taken off, the idea has also caught on in about 15 other countries, from India and Bangladesh, to Tanzania, Argentina and Fiji.

The bottle lights illuminate dark interiors for free where electricity supply may not be reliable or even available. Depending on the strength of the sun, each bottle can emit light comparable to that of 40-60-watt electrical light bulbs. Exploiting the capacity of plastic bottles to refract light adds value to the plastic rather than becoming wastefully disposable and an agent of pollution. Light sources like this bring definite improvements to living standards as it enables millions of deprived people better access to life changing education. IMAGE SOURCE: http:/www.bbc/news/magazine-23536914

The lamp works best with the black cape

REFLECTIONS

It is like meditation after all to do what we love which is essential in this busy hectic architecture life. So these fields can always be a sweet escape. Text by Sneham Pandeyi || SEM VI

Illustration by Taarini || SEM VI

A Pavilion is a flexible architectural open space that invites people to come in and spend time in it. It could be temporary or permanent and might even change its form and function. A Pavilion might be used as a: shelter, seating, meeting point, cafe, theatre, or for lectures, events, exhibitions, sports, play, relaxation, work and much much more. SOURCE: http://buildyourownpavilion.serpentinegalleries.org/what-is-a-pavilion/

Illustration by DIsha Dharesh || SEM VI

REFLECTIONS

Curse of the Cultured Eye.

BHARGAVI I ii sem

This real point of this article is to wonder what inspires architecture, and to ask if by any measure it’s inspiring at all. Somewhere over the rainbow, our eye sees a wonderfully radical thing every once in a while. Images of some masterfully composed space, the promise of a poetic walk-through, a giant colourful pinwheel standing out in a landscape of staple pin stacks. To be truthful, these images are like a dose of relief from what we do everyday. At least for me they’re an escape route, and that rainbow ever-so-often looks like a small icon on my phone called Instagram, Pinterest, Arch Daily or some such thing.

‘cultured eye’(taking a small but rather close tangent here, it’s interesting to think how the Alahambra Palace, the Salk Institute and Bjarke Ingels are such popular reference points while trying to construct an argument). The last, and the ugly part in this give-and-take, an incessant search for inspiration, is that we rarely create something that uplifts our soul. We rarely create architecture that transcends visual fascination and changes the way we live.

The good part about this habit is that we’re constantly aware that somebody is pushing the boundaries somewhere. The simple knowledge that nothing is ever going to remain the way we know it now is fiercely inspiring The bad part is that, subconsciously, we’re creating a mental gallery of go-to images. When we seek inspiration, the easiest thing to do is grab one or more images from the gallery and attempt to morph them to fit (albeit subconsciously, I agree). The illusion that what once seems radical can have the same magic again is the death of real imagination. Furthermore, the working of the rainbow is in overdosing you on the images that fascinate, and strangely blocking out what doesn’t (a smooth, near-invisible straitjacket). This is especially dangerous within a community of people who rely on each other’s opinions and see validation as a market-survival tool. Imagine trying to introduce a new idea to this community within which everybody is viewing almost the same images, and evaluating the world through their REFLECTIONS

THROUGH A SECONDARY EYE

ELEMENTS KARAN HASIJA

Architecture in most cases is seen as an independent entity, where the architecture or the built form is seen in isolation with the surroundings, what it occupies and who occupies it is often neglected. These are issues that need to be looked at in both stages, the so called “Pre-architecture” and “Post-architecture stages.” The following images look at the former and the latter and depict how different ELEMENTS lead to a shift in architectural perception.

I vi sem

“I sense Light as the giver of all presences, and material as spent Light. What is made by Light casts a shadow, and the shadow belongs to Light.” LOUIS KAHN

Bangalore Gold Club, Mindspace Architects.

In the image of the Bangalore Gold Club designed by Mindspace Architects, mass/function are used as elements to create shifts in the perception of the built form and there is a disruption in the notion of “architecture”, here architecture itself becomes the element. Another example of this is shown, where the space itself is abstracted in a way that it behaves as a “unit” or an element.

In this case again, like the Lunuganga stairs, it may seem as if the light is the defining aspect of the image, but is it really?

Anthropometry, the study of proportions of the human body, why anthropometry? The answer to this question may be very simple, because the cause for all existence of the “built” is the human race and its needs for shelter. That is why we build, to serve. However, at some point in time, once all needs are accounted for, architecture crosses its boundaries of serving the purpose of shelter and becomes something more. As stated earlier, it becomes memory. That is what architecture does to the human. How, in the “post” stage does the human affect the built environment we so ungratefully occupy? The “human” adds to architecture the aspect of “life.” Without this life, architecture would remain as a servant to the “human” rather than becoming a companion. It is motion that lends its life to the images and the surroundings. It is this motion or life that puts into perspective how architecture is used and how it varies based on the ELEMENT. In conclusion, it is imperative to state that architecture cannot be seen in isolation and as a “product for”, it must been as a “product of” as well. The above stated elements are just a few such examples that contribute to the built environment either in the “post” or “pre” stages, the world has a lot more of such elements which help in establishing links between everything in existence, START SEEING, STOP LOOKING.

Louis I Kahn once said “I sense Light as the giver of all presences, and material as spent Light. What is made by Light casts a shadow, and the shadow belongs to Light.” Light in architecture is always seen as a functional aspect, where it is a requirement of the design to serve the functions taking place by providing the best possible light, that is what makes it tangible. However, light if seen in its intangibility has the power to make architecture transcend from being just a built form to an experience, it is then when the built ever so slightly turns into memory. THROUGH A SECONDARY EYE

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KHOTACHIWADI

SRISHTI I vi sem

Walk in through a street that’s really difficult to not miss, and this is what you’ll find. The preservation of a community that’s stayed for one and a half centuries and the vibes of a Goan Evening Walk. A moment of calm. A visual collective of bright colours and the play of geometry. People all moving about as if time stands still, with nothing to worry about. Smiles all throughout. Some of it is as it was, the rest a little modernized. Streets, their Exits and Entrances. Construction and Repair. Worn off paint and more fresh coats of paint. Patterned roads and Old Sign boards. You witness Rhythm in the architecture and Calm in the colours. There are intricacies and there is fusion of architectural typologies, architectural styles An evident interconnection between living communities.

The story of a hidden hamlet, set amidst the business of an Urban Context. The backdrop of a new city.

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Encroach

SHALOM 1

ADITI GUNNA

I iv sem Botched

Exhibition

A walk through Mattancherry in the absence of the Biennale.

Lost

Shalom /ʃəˈlɒm/ Interjection, Hebrew Peace; Used as a word of greeting or farewell

Languid

As irrelevant as this word may seem in the context of the small coastal town of Mattancherry, it was colloquial till the 1950s in the then thriving Jew Town. The Pardesi Jews of the Malabar Coast are a well-documented dwindling society. Today, their echo is felt in the hollow hawks of Kashmiri shop owners — shouting “Shalom” in front of the old Synagogue.

What are you looking at? THROUGH A SECONDARY EYE

A STORY IN

MONOCHROME PAVITHRA & PAVITHRA I iv sem

Light dwells in the positive or the negative space, making it the protagonist or the inextricable supporting character in the picture. Simply, it is the object or the background. A light source in a picture is either quantifiable or non-quantifiable. When the source is not cast in the frame, it serves as the humble background and helps in defining the real protagonist of the picture, whereas, sometimes, a speck of light can steal the show, drawing the attention away from the other tangible objects. So, does light own a frame or is it a mere catalyst? Well...both.

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A SYMPHONY OF STONE

ADHARSHI iv sem

The pride of the pallavas, the art of the Cholas and the myth of the Yazhi.

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EGYPT

AKHILA RAO I vi sem

“A journey worth a million life lessons” Egypt, just by the sound of it we all have this imagery of camels in a desert with Pyramids in the backdrop but to me Egypt is so much more than this, it’s a marvellous piece of land where there’s ice cold mountains to deep blue seas and desert oasis to green pastures along the Nile with simple living, happy going and kind people. It’s a home, away from home and now, I’m counting my days to go to my other home again.

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SRI LANKA

RESHMA UMASHANKARI ii sem

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Gujarat

A COMPILATION I vi sem

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52 1

WHAT MAKES PEOPLE RELATE TO THEIR CITY?

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PUNEET NAIK - II SEM

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KEERTANA S M I vi sem

A SENSE OF MEMORY

SANJAYI ii sem

Vivid colours Facades made bright Yet I cover all of them inside. Hear the rickshaws play your mood, Also the shops that sing the blues. Smell the heat, Let go of sight One stop to the shop of oils and spice. See nature copy the artificial tastes, Let go of your senses but feel this place. Follow the streets and its presence, It shall stay as your memory sense.

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