Sthapati 2016 by SSAP IITKGP

STHAPATI

2016

Find us at ISSUU and www.arp.iitkgp.ernet.in For suggestions and enquiries, contact us at sthapati.arp@gmail.com

Charles Correa (1930-2015)

Sthapati is the annual magazine of the Department of Architecture and Regional Planning, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. This year, Sthapati is dedicated as a tribute to late Ar. Charles Correa.

Students' Society of Architects and Planners

Council 2015-2016

President

ARNAB KUMAR MAHANTY

Treasurer

NIKHIL BAPNA

General Secretaries Social and Cultural Activities Secretary Magazine Secretaries Wallpaper Secretary Web Secretary Alumni Secretary

HRISHABH AMRODIA RAHUL RATHORE K. VINAY KUMAR ASHISH ANAND KESHRI SOUMYA SOURABH NARAYAN DEVANSHU BHARDWAJ AKHILA KOSARAJU UTSAV MISHRA ABHIGYAN SHIVAM

SPECIAL THANKS TO

J. P. Agrawal Chandan Mahanta

INTERVIEW

Architecture - In and Out

INTERVIEW

Norman Foster

A Mozaic

Dean D' Cruz

INTERVIEW

The Green Architect

INTERVIEW

Karan Grover

Enroute Sustainability

Robert Verrijt

INTERVIEW

Home of Penda

A TRIBUTE TO AR. CHARLES CORREA

Chris Precht

The Oathkeeper

Louisiana Manifesto Jean Nouvel

Ostrichmobility

Krishna Rao Jaisim

The Creation of Beijing Opera House

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Paul Andreu

Redefining the Greys of Green

Yatin Pandya DEPARTMENT

ARP IIT KGP

C O N T E N T S

From HOD's Desk

rom a modest beginning a little over a decade ago, Sthapati, our annual magazine today, may well be considered the harbinger of the next generation students' journals. Over the years, Sthapati has been portraying the true spirit of our department in more ways than one. It gives me immense pleasure to present Sthapati 2016. Looking at the continuously improving standard of our magazine our department was also entrusted with the responsibility of publishing Indian Arch 2014 for NASA. With the experience gained by publishing Indian Arch at such a grand scale, the students were all set to raise the standards of Sthapati 2016 as well. Now I see it from an annual magazine to a serious platform to showcase our achievements, air our thoughts and raise pertinent issues in our field. On behalf of myself and my colleagues of our department, I thank all the contributors and sponsors of this magazine and congratulate the editorial team for this commendable task. The sterling performance of our students in NASA, ZONASA, INSDAG and other academic competitions, has kept the department vibrant throughout the year. And I encourage my students to continue to make us proud with their achievements. From my end, I promise you full support! I also extend my heartfelt thanks to all colleagues for their continuous support in terms of logistics of handling such a big task. Dr. Subrata Chattopadhyay Professor and Head Department of Architecture and Regional Planning IIT Kharagpur

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SSAP Advisor speaks

ear students, thanks for bringing out this sparkling edition of Sthapati 2016. The journal has since its inception provided a platform where innovative and non-conventional expression of ideas has been encouraged. This platform can be used very effectively to exchange academic ideas within the department. This is a carefully nurtured portal where contemporary and futuristic views are always expressed and creative ideas are generated. Getting into the task of compiling a journal like this, triggers teamwork among the students. I congratulate the editorial team for showing the creativity and perseverance that is required to publish a journal like this. Surely, this has been possible due to their other classmates who have been a constant source of support and inspiration for them. Sthapati is truly shaping up into a serious forum to put in your thoughts and I'm sure this magazine of ours, could very well be a technical journal with an ISSN number. Fly on the wings of your fantasy; let Sthapati have an ever ascending trajectory! Prof. Haimanti Banerjee Professor Department of Architecture and Regional Planning Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur

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President speaks

thapati, our annual department magazine, has come a long way from a small handmade journal with all in-house articles to this phenomenal publication featuring articles and interviews from across the globe. In the past year we sadly lost some eminent architects like Ar Charles Correa and Ar Zaha Hadid. It gives me immense pride and pleasure to introduce Sthapati 2016 as a tribute to the late Ar Charles Correa, with remarkable articles from Lord Norman Foster, Ar. Chris Precht, Ar. Karan Grover and Ar. K.R. Jaisim to name a few. With dedicated efforts from almost everyone in the department, I can proudly vouch for the fact that every Sthapati published has always managed to set the bar higher for future publications. I take this opportunity to extend my heartiest congratulations to our Magazine Secretaries, Soumya and Devanshu, who along with their magazine team put in months of dedicated effort to shape this up. I also extend my gratitude to all my batch mates, juniors and alumni for their valuable inputs and relentless support; to our beloved professors for their constant support in all logistics of circulation, valuable reviews and moral supports on all fronts. Over the years, the circulation, sponsorship and quality of Sthapati on the whole has grown tremendously and we hope to see it rise further. This would not have been possible without the benevolent support from our sponsors in aiding this academic endeavour. We hope you will continue to support us in our future endeavours as well beyond the magazine. In conclusion, I reflect upon these last five years at this institute and in this Department. I feel proud and privileged to have been a part of it. It has indeed been an exciting journey with lots of cherishable memories. I thank everyone who has been a part of it and wish everybody all the success in their future endeavours. Cheers, Arnab Kumar Mahanty President SSAP

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Acknowledgement S

SAP (Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Society of Architects and Planners), IIT Kharagpur takes immense pleasure in presenting before you, Sthapati 2016. At the end of the journey of Sthapati 2016, we have bound together invaluable inputs and hard work from various minds. A small suggestion here, or a bit of transcription there, all together has allowed us to be able to get this beauty ready!

We take this opportunity to express our gratitude towards all the people associated with

the magazineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s publication. We are grateful to all our esteemed professors, especially, Prof. Subrata Chattopadhyay and Prof. Haimanti Banerjee for their support and guidance. A special thanks to Ashutosh, Kaushal, Bhimanyu and all the juniors, seniors and our batchmates for their ever invigorating words and support. In the end, thank you once again everyone, your constant support and efforts reflect in each and every page of the magazine.

Soumya Sourabh Narayan Magazine Secretary SSAP ishu.soumya@gmail.com

Devanshu Bhardwaj Magazine Secretary SSAP devanshu.bhardwaj7@gmail.com

Sthapati 2016 | 13

Gandhi Smarak Sanghrahalya, Sabarmati Ashram, Ahmedabad

"Architecture is sculpture with the gesture of human occupation."

INTERVIEW

Architecture: In and Out Norman Foster

Architects are known to be the creative beings, often inspired by things that may seem odd to others. What was your inspiration to take up architecture as a practice?

Credits: Manolo Yllera, Vogue Norman Foster, born in Manchester, graduated from Manchester University School of Architecture and City Planning. In 1961 he won a Henry Fellowship to Yale University, where he was a fellow of Jonathan Edwards College and gained a Master’s Degree in Architecture. In 1963 he co-founded Team 4 and in 1967 he established Foster Associates, now known as Foster + Partners. Since its inception, the practice has received 685 awards and citations for excellence and has won more than 140 international and national competitions. Norman Foster was awarded the Royal Gold Medal for Architecture in 1983, the Gold Medal for the French Academy of Architecture in 1991 and the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal in 1994. In 1999 he became the twenty-first Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate. In 1999 he was honoured with a life peerage in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List, taking the title Lord Foster of Thames Bank. 18 | Sthapati 2016 Cover Credits: Carolyn Djanogly

Very often inspiration arrives subliminally, in the sense that we are not consciously aware – lying hidden to be discovered many years later, or perhaps never. Other influences are more direct, we can acknowledge them at the time and see clearly the impression they leave on our lives. Working in Manchester when I was younger, I spent every spare minute wandering around buildings in the city. I wasn’t consciously thinking, ‘one day I am going to be an architect, therefore I should be doing this’. I was just drawn to buildings for the aesthetic experience. Some buildings and parts of that city were particularly inspirational – the cast iron tradition of Barton Arcade, the Victorian architecture of Manchester Town Hall or the modernist Daily Express building, for example. There is another more modest building which changed my life forever. This was my local lending library, built in 1906, in one of Manchester’s working class suburbs. There, as a youth, I discovered books by Le Corbusier and the work of other modern architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright. Without that building I would never have gone to university – never have become an architect.

All architects have their own design approach, philosophies and concepts. Could you elaborate on yours? A belief that the quality of design affects the quality of our lives. A commitment to the principles of sustainability, performance and ‘doing more with less’; the pursuit of beauty; a continuous tradition of questioning, challenging and innovating a fascination with technology as a means to social ends.

Your firm is known to have a ‘Design Board’ that overlooks the work of various project teams to perfection and innovation. In what way does this kind of guidance help in the development of a project? The Design Board gives an overall strategic design direction and is responsible for reviewing every project, from the start of the design process through to construction drawings. The collegiate environment of our London studios – which are open 24x7, with an open plan to stimulate interdisciplinary discussions – has been greatly influenced by my time spent at Yale. The studio thrives on a jury system of outstanding critics, united by a consistent code of design ethics. There are

Office, Foster + Partners | Credits: Nigel Young a number of projects that I am personally very close to and where I am hands-on as an architect. There are others which with my colleagues, as Chairman of the Design Board, I review, critique, and help shape.

What is your take on the present Indian situation, in terms of its architecture and architectural practice? On a global scale, today two urban scenarios are unfolding; and together they have the potential to create a new kind of architecture. The first scenario is the explosive growth of cities: the future of the city is the future of society. By 2050, it is predicted that 70 per cent of the world’s population will be urban. In many countries the pace of change is extraordinary. What took Europe 200 years is now taking twenty years in China and India. Urbanisation has accelerated by a factor of ten. The second scenario is the shift of balance from the socalled ‘developed’ to ‘developing’ countries. London in 1939 was the world’s most populous city with a population of 8.6 million. Ten years later it still stood in the big-league with cities such as Paris, Milan and Moscow. Today, the European cities have receded into a mini-league, overtaken by a number of mega-cities around the world, with populations in excess of 15 million. We believe that architectural trends, are being driven by the global ambition to develop a sustainable way of living and to tackle the future challenges we face as the world’s urban populations proliferate and our cities are transformed. We have been working on several projects in India that operate at an urban level, responding to the growing needs of cities in

India. With the next phase of infrastructure investment in Tier II and III cities (with a population of over 1 million) across the country, combined with the drive to create smart cities in India, there is an immense opportunity to put in place a holistic approach to transport, energy and communication networks. This is also a chance to explore, on a large scale, the possibilities of creating a blueprint for sustainable cities that is specific to an Indian context. One of the challenges is how to transform and upgrade informal settlements. I am very impressed by the work of younger architects such as Rahul Mehrotra in that respect.

We came across a very interesting project of yours in India, the Dharavi Master plan. What major difficulties did you come across while designing the proposal? We were invited to put forward ideas and in that sense it was an experimental project. Apart from the challenges in meeting the basic need for proper sanitation; dealing effectively with the problem of flooding; lack of electricity, water and open spaces – essentially building new basic infrastructure from scratch, we wanted to design something that complements the way of life of the locals – which meant we needed to go back to first principles, not assuming that we arrived knowing all the answers, but listening to the local people. In developing our proposals for Dharavi, we brought together a small international team, led by Narinder Sagoo and Chris Bubb who made site visits, listened to the residents, drew on research compiled by the local university, highlighted areas of prosperity through specific trade, determined the extent of the problem and established the potential for change. At every stage, we brought an integrated, sustainable approach. We Sthapati 2016 | 19

Dharavi Masterplan | Foster + Partners developed a strategic plan to raise the quality of housing and public space in one of the world’s largest informal communities. At its core, our proposals created a new infrastructure spine to bring in fresh water, data and power to the community. By suggesting a spine above ground in the centre of the street it can be retrofitted to avoid disruptive excavation. Its surface can provide a table for selling goods, cooking, seating, socialising – supporting all of the activities that currently take place in the public realm. A ‘heart unit’ within each home could connect to the infrastructure spine, and incorporates an oven, clean water supply, waste removal and electricity source – a basic framework for domestic life. We did not have the opportunity to develop the ideas beyond concept stage. Our primary aim was to explore the potential to build on the structure of the settlement, both physically and in community terms, as a radical alternative to bulldozing and moving everyone far away.

“Architect should be a good listener- listening to the needs of the building”. These needs are ever changing in context with location, time and other intangible factors. What practice do you think would help the students to cope up with them? There are two aspects to this. First, the process always starts with research and exploration – for example, the things that can be measured like the site, the climate, and the needs that generate demand for a building. Then there are inferences that are less tangible and more difficult to quantify – issues of culture and tradition. The process is non-linear and often involves evaluating options. Each project is a unique response to a particular context – no two buildings are the same. Secondly, flexibility for change is a key ingredient and comes out of a different approach to the design of buildings - an approach which we have pioneered. Its 20 | Sthapati 2016

success can be judged by the end results. I will give four examples: • An electronics factory conceived as a democratic pavilion (Reliance Controls) with moveable glass screens between management spaces and technical areas. Both are clean activities so the ratio of space between them can change and evolve over time. • An insurance company headquarters (Willis Faber) that was designed in the age of typewriters, and started life with them. Because of its unique floor construction, designed to anticipate new technologies, it accommodated the digital revolution with ease. By comparison, their competitors had to build new buildings. • A Bank Headquarters tower in Hong Kong (HSBC) was the first of its kind not to have a central core in the heart of the tower filled with stairs, elevators, and utility spaces. Instead these were distributed along the narrow edges of the open floors. Socially this was better because the views were not blocked in one direction by a solid core – you can see right through in both directions. But vitally, this unique design allowed the Bank to be able to insert a dealer’s floor anywhere in the building because of the large open spaces – unheard of in any other tower. Again the Banks competitors had to build new custom designed spaces for such facilities. • More recently we designed a headquarters for the City Bank in Buenos Aires. During construction the Bank and the City administration did a deal and on completion the building opened not as a bank but as a New City Hall - all without any changes to the design. Only the furniture and offices were moved around. This approach of designing for change continues with a new tall tower for Comcast now on-site in Philadelphia. Here the floors can equally accommodate Silicon Valley-style

loft spaces to encourage technological innovation as well as traditional offices.

This year we lost one of the most celebrated architects of our era, Ar. Charles Correa. Some words, as a tribute to him. A sensitive designer and a particularly eloquent speaker, Charles Correa was a leading international figure in the architectural field. A modernist aesthetic coupled with a deep appreciation of India’s rich culture and heritage characterised his distinctive architecture, which was always led by a strong social purpose.

Hongkong & Shanghai Bank | Credits: Ian Lambot

"...flexibility for change is a key ingredient and comes out of a different approach to the design of buildings ..."

His love for the city of Mumbai – where he lived for most of his life – translated into the many urban schemes he led for the city, such as the plans for the regeneration of the old textile mill district, akin to the renewal of Canary Wharf; his designs for Navi Mumbai, a planned extension of the city that encapsulated the liveliness of the old city; and numerous other housing schemes, the most impressive of which was Kanchenjunga Apartments – an 85-metre high tower with interlocking levels that utilise the natural sea-breeze for ventilation. His designs for the Gandhi Smarak Ashram in Ahmedabad, Jawahar Kala Kendra in Jaipur and the Bharat Bhawan in Bhopal exemplify the spiritual dimension of architecture, bringing alive simple modernist forms through a play of colour, light and shade. The vast legacy he leaves behind has made an indelible mark on the architectural landscape of India and indeed the rest of the world. I was serving on a RIBA committee that made nominations for the Royal Gold Medal. When we proposed him I travelled to Mumbai meet and share the news. That was in 1984 and we became good friends. As well as being such an outstanding architect he was one of the nicest people I have known. This year I was on another committee in which Rolex proposes mentors and ties them with younger students or professionals. I had the pleasant task of personally informing him that he had been selected to be a mentor. He was delighted, agreed to take on the role but sadly he passed away shortly afterwards.

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INTERVIEW

A Mozaic Dean D'Cruz Q.

We learnt from your earlier interviews that you developed interest in architecture in your third year while studying at Sir J. J. School of Architecture at Mumbai. Would you like to share any specific incident or event that drew you closer to architecture? My father being an engineer virtually guided me into following his footsteps and therefore it only seemed sensible to apply to IIT for mechanical engineering! Fortunately I did not get in and strolling past the JJ campus on my way back from seeing my results I chanced upon young students of architecture in animated conversation on design. In school I loved drawing cars and suddenly saw this great opportunity to design something dynamic but at a much bigger scale. The 1st 2 years were enlightening but typically architectural. It was in my 3rd year while travelling around India that I discovered true architectural space visiting places like Chandigarh and Fatehpur Sikri. Clearly experiencing the power of the traditional and the contemporary.

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After graduating from Sir J.J. College of Architecture, Bombay, in 1983, Dean joined architect Gerard Da Cunha as an assistant in Goa in 1985. In 1986 he became a partner in a firm called Natural Architecture, working on cost effective housing in a very Laurie Baker approach using waste building materials and innovative design. In 1994 he expanded base of design work, taking on small hotels, large houses and institutional work as principal architect of Dean D'Cruz & Associates. In 2001 he co-founded Mozaic, with general collaboration between disciplines as the core ethic. Having been part of the State Level Committee for the making of the Regional Plan 2021 for Goa, his current emphasis is on urban interventions, sustainable principles and conservation.

Your designs often relate to nature and follow the principles of sustainable architecture. What helped you in developing this approach? Having started off on a low cost approach in our early work, sustainability was an intrinsic part of design. We recycled materials and innovated wherever we could. I believe simply going low cost would lead to a sustainable architecture.

Could you elaborate on your statement - “The constant factor is envisioning an experience without any architecture in mind and then putting form and materials to it”? While form and materials are an essential component of architecture, I believe that we must first start with the experience we wish to create. If one starts with form and materials as is happening in today's flashy world of iconic looking buildings one force fits the experience into these marketing sculptures. The world of developers clamours for eye catching images that help them sell their “prestigious” projects. What we really need are projects that touch the soul.

"The constant factor is envisioning an experience without any architecture in mind and then putting form and materials to it ..."

Having worked on a range of projects from hospitality, institutions, conservation, urban planning to mass housing, private residences and eco-spaces. Which among these did you find most challenging and why? Private residences are good fun and help you explore architecture and be expressive, interpreting the client's “dreams”. Having designed over 250 of these we have also realised the shallowness of these ego driven spaces. Hospitality has allowed us to explore experiences to a much greater extent and also allowed social benefits to the local community. Conservation has helped us in understanding the need to provide continuity of built form but responding to new uses. The biggest challenge however has been in urban planning. Here one virtually gets to play God and such interventions need extreme responsibility. A mistake here does not just impact the life of a family or a few users as in architecture but can make or break whole communities.

You have been a part of an alliance for sustainable habitat, Gubbi. Could you tell us more about it?

Gubbi has been a fulfilling experience as these group of architect friends freely share information and criticism on a transparent platform. As architects we cease to grow if we are not open to sharing ideas and gaining from interaction. Gubbi with its 20 odd members of diverse interests and strengths is extremely concerned not just about sustainability of buildings, but also with social issues. We believe good design can bring about positive change and a healthy dialogue can help chart a path to achieving this.

You’ve worked with Architect Gerard Da Cunha as an assistant architect, were a partner in Natural Architecture, principal architect of Dean D’Cruz & Associates and now co-founded the firm Mozaic. Which has been the most demanding role in your architectural career so far and how? Its important that architects morph and seek new roles and collaborations. While Mozaic has been a successful attempt at bringing various design disciplines together, it has also spurned an off shoot called Kokum where we have created a platform that allows anybody in a creative field to contribute ideas that can make social difference. We have also been looking at our architectural work, understanding our past and identifying a direction for future, not just waiting for clients to knock on our door but envisioning projects that are needed. In the last couple of years I have also been concerned with architectural education and the diminishing standards Sthapati 2016 | 23

around the country. When I graduated there were just 20 college all India. Today there are close to 500, the result is a dilution of good teachers and a commercial competition to attract students. Institutions are also looking at catering to a market of draughtsman hungry mega offices. We need architects to be thinkers, charting their own paths base don the needs of the society and not developers.

Could you enlighten us on the regional plan in Goa 2021?

The Regional Plan was an exciting experience. I was inducted into the committee as I had objected to, fought against and eventually succeeded in scrapping the previous disastrous plan. I soon realised that it was far easier to scrap a plan than to prepare a new one. Preparing a plan needed one to put down priorities and this came about in the form of mapping eco sensitive areas throughout the state and enforcing a strict protection of them. It addressed the issues of sustainable development and used the existing villages as autonomous models for development. Too often as architects we limit our thinking to the site we are given and fail to realise the impact our buildings have on the environment beyond. This exercise opened our minds to this and the need to create vibrant communities and villages before you can create a successful state.

Your words of advice to students about addressing social needs in architectureâ&#x20AC;Ś

While each of you'll will go through a learning curve in different practices from a lonely barefoot approach to sitting in a 200 desk drawing factory, one needs to be honest to oneself and question the real contribution in making this world a better place. Our education which encompasses so many aspects of life has the power to understand and influence change. We must question our direction occasionally and see if we are making that change or going with the flow.

This year, the world lost a distinguished architect, Ar. Charles Correa. Would you like to say some words as a tribute to him? Having known Charles as a friend for many years and working with him over the last 8 years on the Regional Plan, I was in admiration of his out of the box thinking, his brilliant anecdotes and practical approach to problems. While he was recognised as a great architect, I believe his lateral and creative thinking abilities will leave a greater mark. 24 | Sthapati 2016

INTERVIEW

The Green Architect Karan Grover Q.

For you, what is architecture?

Karan Grover has been passionately advocating the need to look at ones culture and heritage for clues as to the direction for a contemporary architecture and sustainable development relevant to the Indian context today. He has enthused children in conservation and been nominated a “social entrepreneur” as a Fellow of the Ashoka Foundation, Washington. Winner of all the Indian Awards for Excellence in Architecture and Interior Design; he almost single handedly won India’s nominations for UNESCO’s World Heritage Site status for Champaner after a 22 year old campaign. In 2004, Grover became the first architect in the world to win the U.S. GBC “Platinum” Award for the greenest building in the world.

Architecture is more than just a building. It is about changing lives and helping people to change their lives. As architects we are in a fantastic position to promote arts and crafts of India. Like there is a small region in Rajasthan called ‘Jawaja’ which makes rugs. When I came here for a hotel project to make an order of 300 rugs, I could see the difference it made in their lives. So I would wish that architects should do things to promote arts and crafts and in a sense help propagate the idea of Indian handicrafts and culture within their buildings.

What inspired you to pursue career in architecture?

I was studying in Mayo College in Ajmer where we used to make small cardboard models as an extra-curricular activity. So I decided at the age of 12 to become an architect and that is what inspired me. I was also inspired by one of my parents’ very good friends, Piloo Mody, who started the council of architecture and was the only architect in parliament.

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Q. firm?

Congratulations for your firm turning 30. What would you say about running an architecture

I think that it was its hard work. Running a firm is not just about architecture. It’s about how to sustain a livelihood, bringing people together, establishing an identity, convincing the client to do the right thing. So I would say you should have many more talents than just being a good architect. I know many good architects who are unable to run firms and many bad architects who have run very good firms. So if you are a good architect and you have a firm, you are special.

Being called the green architect of India, what are your views about the concept of green buildings?

I think my concept of green architecture was born when I was working in Champaner. It got engraved into my architecture. There is this big discussion about climate change and global warming. Buildings consume 50% of the world’s energy. And we are now able to save half of the energy in our buildings. So we (architects) are the single profession in the world which can actually make a difference in 25% of world’s consumption of energy, which is commendable. And we used this information that we learnt to save 50% energy, 40% water and 100% day lighting. So in all our buildings we do not need light during the day. It opened up another way to produce architecture, which was related to the context, to the place. Let’s say, you go to Mumbai, Baroda or Delhi, you see buildings which are made completely with glass, even if they face east and west, it is stupid. Because we know the sun in India is much hotter than the sun in England. In England, sometimes for four months they do not have the sun. The point is that we have to produce our own architecture which must be derived from the context, climate and place. I think we must look at our older buildings, no matter where we are, because the clues to the future are buried in those buildings. We have to uncover how they were built, improve them and add the technology we have learnt to make them perform better. I was one of those who began green movement in India .The first building was 220 thousand sq. feet, but in 12 years we are now able to build 2 billion sq. feet, which is great. We are the only country after America in the number of green buildings that we build. Because I was working in Champaner, I understood many things that were not taught in college. Our education is very western oriented. All our books are from abroad. Whereas what we really need in India is something different. Courtyards, wind catchers, wind coolers, passive ventilation techniques because we are not a land with a culture of plenty and waste. This started affecting 26 | Sthapati 2016

Amphitheatre, Jaspur my architecture. And for 30 years we produced and experimented with courtyards, jalis, concept of the Venturi effect and passive means to keep a building cool. And that is how we won the US Platinum award for the greenest building in the world.

How the things make green buildings different from the normal buildings, in architectural, economic and social point of view and what is the reaction of a client towards it? The reaction is very different for different clients. Some people who are aware find it easier to accept. Some people feel that we have to spend more money to make a green building. But by saving the energy, you get back the cost you have spent. Nowadays we talk about money and do not use the word green or sustainability. So people feel that it is something monetary and they can save money. But I feel that it depends on how you present a green building. If I talk to you about saving the earth and you are only interested in your building, then I have to show you how to make your building cheaper, quicker, faster and better for you to run.

Your efforts helped in restoration of ChampanerPavagadh to a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004. What problems did you face in the process? Problems that I faced are that India (government) was not interested in heritage. And UNESCO was not interested in working with an individual; they only work with the government. So I was caught between

Institute of Plasma Research, Sabarmati government and non-government, between interest and disinterest. And I resolved to take this presentation to the rest of the world. Whenever any leader, president or prime minister of other country came, I tried to get them to Champaner so as to use that ship to clean the sky, to make roads, to reveal more buildings. Within 30 years, other than the 34 buildings that have been exposed by the archaeological survey of India, I was able to bring that number to 115 and document a city of 3000 buildings.

"Architecture is more than just a building. It is about changing lives and helping people to change their lives. ..."

Any message that you would like to give to students?

The advice I wish to give to the students is that go beyond just building spaces. Change lives, involve people, and try to build, invent or propagate an identity of our own which is rooted to the land, the context, the culture. And donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think you should ever forget that you are Indian because for us our culture actually differentiates us from other people.

We lost a distinguished architect, Ar. Charles Correa, this year. Your words of tribute for himâ&#x20AC;Ś

I was a friend of Charles Correa and it is very sad that we lost him. I think that he was the most well-known Indian architect internationally. What he did for Indian architecture was very pivotal in putting us onto the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s stage, and for that I salute him. We will miss him.

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INTERVIEW

Enroute Sustainability Robert Verrijt Q.

Although you acquired education in Netherlands, you chose to practice in India. Why did you choose India? Do you face any difficulties while responding to the Indian clientele's requirements?

After being awarded 2nd place at the Dutch Archiprix for his masters thesis in Architecture at the TUDelft, Robert Verrijt moved to Sri Lanka where he joined the office of Channa Daswatte, one of Geoffrey Bawa's protĂŠgĂŠs. His work there included renovations, houses, high end condominiums, boutique resorts and hotels. In Mumbai he has taught part time at the KRVIA school of Architecture, and the Balwant Sheth School of Architecture. Presently, Robert Verrijt, with Shefali Balwani (C.E.P.T, India), is a leading architect of Architecture BRIO, set up in Mumbai in 2006.

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My upbringing in the Netherlands and the small town that I grew up in are quite the polar opposite of our life her in India now. After graduating I was quite sure I wanted to practice in a place where a practice would be able to have a more fundamental impact. This prompted my to move to Sri Lanka. Working in Colombo in Channa Daswatte's office we had the opportunity to get an insiders perspective on Geoffrey Bawa's work. Through working on a retrospective exhibition on his work, designing extensions and refurbishments of some of his projects, we got to learn that the apparent naturalness and simplicity was the result of surprisingly intensive interventions. And although bold and often extreme in sensitive environmental settings, his architecture did not lead to a domination of its surroundings. This duality was what we set out to explore when starting a firm with my partner Shefali Balwani in Mumbai. Bawa's achitecture seems to have left the people of Sri Lanka with an attitude to both embrace nature wholly and accept its occasional inconveniences. Back

House on Stream, Alibag in India however we mostly encountered unease with dealing with all things that are unpredictable and can’t be completely controlled. Practicing in India we have come across many contradictions in the relationships of people with nature. We learnt it requires a lot of perseverance and argumentative power to convince clients to intervene and manipulate nature, where you need to. We surely must have missed out on quite a few projects where clients who noticed in a first meeting that we weren't going to take context-less, "NA" approved plans without criticism. Designed to fit most efficiently the maximum number of plots within the government

"We can’t avoid the fact that building is an invasive activity ..."

guidelines, most housing schemes defy basic logic by disregarding slopes, winds, views and orientation. Perhaps they are the easiest way to buy and sell land, most profitably. However that they permanently destroy entire landscapes surrounding our cities is apparently not a concern. We see hills being flattened because masterplans are designed without considering contours, wetlands are filled and streams are befouled. We can’t avoid the fact that building is an invasive activity. We are often fortunate enough though to have sites that are full of natural beauty and surrounded by landscapes with minimal intervention by men. This always leads us to think about what is the approach one should take towards designing in such a setting without harming its natural resources and allowing the built form to coexist harmoniously with its setting at the same time allow the user to enjoy it to its fullest. Our approach is to embrace the site, accept it, and take it up as a challenge. The use of simple design tools can enrich, enhance and integrate a building in its context where built form and nature coexist and benefit from each other.

Having designed buildings in both the natural and urban setup, could you elaborate on the difference in the design philosophies for the two setups? In a way our approach is not much different. We start by drawing what is around a site. Whether it’s natural or urban, the boundaries, the immediate and distant elements surrounding a site are drawn up, which becomes the starting point of our proposal. Too often we see that buildings here are conceived as something within the outline of its plot, with the ‘bad’ outside world being ignored. The outside world may be conducive or detrimental to a project, but a project still needs to be understood as a part of a system and a network.

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On going through your designs we observe that you make maximum use of natural elements and also the designs are in perfect coherence with nature. Can we call this your signature style? Yes, I think you have understood what we attempt in our work. But of course there is always this fear that when something is seen as a signature style, it leads to processes which become repetitive and automatic. We keep on challenging ourselves by taking up different kind of projects that we haven’t done before. They make us re-evaluate our approach and work methods.

The Sikkim Butterfly Reserve seems to be a very different and attractive project. What challenges were faced while designing spaces for creatures other than humans? It’s a very precious project to us that hangs on a very fragile lifeline. Butterflies are such amazing creatures that are also increasingly under threat due to climate change and human interventions. This inherent conflict between behavior of humans and the habitat of butterflies, forms the central theme of the design of the Butterfly Reserve. It is known that, if there is too much human disturbance, butterflies can migrate away from that area and thereby defeating the objective of the reserve. Therefore any architectural intervention needs to be sensitive of its social and physical environmental impact. The most appropriate habitat for Butterflies is a lush landscape filled with nectar and feeding plants attract butterflies, which lay their eggs on the feeding plants. By increasing the richness and variety of these plants, the population and diversity of butterflies increases. Shady leafy areas are introduced where the butterflies can find refuge during their roosting times.

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A muddy pond is created where butterflies are found to ‘mud puddle’ and take in vital minerals. Additional feeding areas with baskets of rotten fruits attract even more butterflies. In select areas netted enclosures protect the larvae and caterpillars from predators. These ‘butterfly enclosures’, where the butterflies are bred, are each flanked with modestly sized interpretation pavilions accessible to the public. As the butterfly is not a sedentary animal, the best way of experiencing it in all its glory is to follow it through the landscape. Therefore the ‘butterfly enslosures’ are dispersed throughout the landscape and the visitor is drawn into the natural habitat of the butterfly. In our design the architectural scenography becomes a tool for narrating the metamorphosic story of the butterfly. The journey through the butterfly reserve may start with ignorance of these little animals, but by the end, the visitor is to have a real engagement with the full life of the animal.

"Our approach is to embrace the site, accept it, and take it up as a challenge. The use of simple design tools can enrich, enhance and integrate a building in its context where built form and nature coexist and benefit from each other..."

We do study a lot of precedents and architecture history while designing projects. Falling Water wasn’t one of them and we were a bit surprised when we published the project that it was compared to this amazing work. We have been looking much more at the architecture of war bunkers and how their deformations and manipulations of form enabled them to sit strategically in a landscape. It is surely flattering, but while Falling Water is built on a hilly terrain on top of a small waterfall, the House on a Stream is built around a stream. The challenge in working close to a running body of water though is that water can be unpredictable. And this has lead us to design the pavilions as cantilevered bodies. The seasonal streams in Alibag can become very violent. Imagine three days of continuous rain at a time – there’s about a 1.5 meter level increase in water. We had to account for that difference – from the soil becoming suddenly wet from very dry and vice versa. We set back the foundations from the façade as one solution. For the cantilevered areas like the master and guest pavilion, we used concrete walls, again set back from the façade, that go 2 meters into the ground. They lock into a large raft foundation which is filled with stones to create a counterweight to support the cantilevers and withstand the water pressure. The experience of the house in the monsoon is very different. The temperature suddenly drops and the landscape turns lush and bright green. It’s a great feeling to sit on the verandah, the rain pooring outside and the stream gushing below you.

The initial requirements and the project brief were fairly straightforward. The Centre needed additional shaded areas to hold orientation programs and workshops with the children that visit the Centre. In addition to this they needed some amenities such as toilets, and an area to store their canoes and kayaks. This meant that the pavilion had to be situated close to the river from where the equipment could be launched. The position of the building on the site was the most critical part. We selected the present location, as it was the confluence of the river, the football field, a small hill and a seasonal stream. Even though this building seems to be a small kit of parts, its assembly and its execution was a challenge due to the remote location of the site and its limited budget. We in a way had to play the role of contractor ourselves getting it executed bit by bit through specialized agencies. This meant the involvement of our office on this project was full time on a daily basis for the entire duration of its execution. We designed the pavilion as an extension of the challenge course at site, hoping that the children would be using it not in a conventional way as just a shelter, but start interacting with it and seeing it more as an oversized jungle gym. We were delighted to see that the risk the clients and we took with this approach eventually lead to the pavilion becoming a great success. On the first day of the opening itself we saw children overcoming their own boundaries, helping each other out and starting to work in teams to traverse the ropes bridge, climb the jacob’s ladder and balance on the log bridge that we integrated into the design.

Your design for House on a stream has been appreciated and also received the NDTV House Design of the year award. It resembles the “Falling water” by Frank Lloyd Wright. Did you have “Falling water” as an inspiration while designing?

At certain instances architects have to work under monetary constraints, you had a similar experience while designing for the Magic Bus India Foundation. Please give us an insight about your experience.

Your words of advice for students...

Keep learning!

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INTERVIEW

Home of Penda Chris Precht Q.

What is the story behind the name â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Home of Pendaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;?

Chris Precht founded 'Penda' together with his partner Sun Dayong in 2013. Before that, he was the founder and Director of "Prechteck", a collaboration of international creatives. Chris has won numerous national and international awards in Architecture and Design, including the "Interior Design Award" in 2014, the "German Tile-Award 2013" & the 1st prize for the national Isover Syscraper award in 2013. His work got published worldwide in leading Architecture and Design Magazines, like Frame, Mark, dezeen, wired or archdaily and he has been ranked top 10 of young architects to follow in 2013.

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Penda is simply a mix of Dayong and my name. I think that many startups are putting too much thoughts into their naming and branding in the beginning. That will happen over time. In the end nobody will remember your name, if you don't produce good work... For us, we said at a certain point, if we don't have anything better at the end of the week, then we go with penda.

You and Mr Dayong Sun are from different parts of the globe, with diverse architectural and cultural backgrounds. How does this influence the design approach at Penda? It influences our thought process of a project quite a lot. Dayong was born in China. An architectural language which is defined by its long history and refined details of its buildings. Chinese Architecture origins in a nestlike structure. I was born in Europe and our architecture was influenced by Greek and Romanian Architecture. A heavy Architecture of Stones. It origins from the cave. And growing up with a different background and education enables us to look at a brief in a very broad way.

And the best of it is that we can learn from each other's history, traditions and viewpoint.

“Architecture serves as a bridge to connect nature, culture and people to strive for a better quality of living.” How do you ensure this connectivity in your designs? In all of our work we try to connect it to nature and natural materials. It can reach the point, where Nature becomes the main design language and architecture comes second. That plants can use the buildings structure to grow upon. Due to a fast growth in cities many people lost the connection and the understanding of value of nature. We try to increase living quality by making nature a dominant feature in our projects.

Generally, architects tend to work for established firms in their initial years of career. What inspired you to start a firm at a young age and what problems did you face in doing so? Pure naivety, I guess. By starting out with your own office you are not expecting how much things are involved in running an office. Design is just a small part of it. But Dayong and myself always wanted to learn a profession by doing it. And that also means the business side of architecture, which becomes a very important part of your daily routine. Now we are very happy that we dared to step out on our own and that we are not working on someone else's dream anymore...

"A project always starts with asking the right questions and listening to the actual needs and demands of a project..."

“Ears are actually the most important design tool for an architect and not hands or eyes.” What things do you think does an architect need to listen to while designing? I believe that every designer or architect is preoccupied by an idea for a project, so we stop really listening to a client or just listen to the part, which backs up our idea. A project always starts with asking the right questions and listening to the actual needs and demands of a project. We try to connect the client very close to our process, so it feels more like a collaboration than a commission.

Your project, Vijayawada Garden Estate, follows a user flexible modular design with use of plants as an integral part of the structure. How do you strike the perfect balance between the built part and the green? The perfect balance between the built and nature you normally have on a mountain. The perfect situation is just having nature without architecture. But in order to build accommodations, we need to take space away from nature. We try to do it in a respectful and responsible way and try to give plants the space back on the facade of the building. That creates a balanced situation between nature and people.

A message that you would like to give to the students.

I think I am too young to give any advice to students, but what I would have done a bit differently in architectural school was to start to build a network outside of the architecture world. Other architects and colleagues will never be your clients. And it is easy to explain a concept to other architects but for your clients it needs a certain change of vocabulary. It is not about the Project, it is about what the project can do for the client and that needs to be communicate in a different way. I guess to train for that you can't start early enough, so it's good to mingle with non-architects as well during studying...

We lost one of the most distinguished architect recently, Ar. Charle Correa. Your words of tribute to him… He left many fantastic buildings behind and even more importantly he continues to inspire many generations of Indian Architects to come.

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Vidhan Bhavan, Bhopal

"Architecure is a three-legged stool: climate, technology and culture."

"Certainly architecture is concerned with much more than just its physical attributes. It is a many layered thing. Beneath and beyond the strata of function and structure, materials and textures, lie the deepest and most compulsive layers of all."

A Tribute to Ar. Charles Correa Neeta Das is a graduate in Architecture (1987) from CEPT, Ahmedabad, M.S. (Arch.) (1995) from the University of Cincinnati, USA, a Ph.D. from Lucknow University (2004), and specialist in conservation from SPAB, London (2004) and Scottish Lime Center, Charlestown (2013). Based in Kolkata, she is involved in private practice, research, and writing on architectural history and conservation. Currently she is also a visiting faculty at CEPT, Ahmedabad.

harles Correa has been acclaimed as a great architect of India. He had a deep understanding of India, it’s climate, it’s culture, it’s traditions, and it’s people. This was translated into his many projects and designs which are well known and published. But his musings, interpretations of history, both Indian and western, and personal experiences are found in his writings, which are much lesser known. He wrote about six books, the most widely read being The New Landscape, and several essays which give an insight into the man, the designer, and the theorist. His essays, which rarely have footnotes and are un-interrupted by quotes, are refreshing to read. In The Blessings of the Sky Correa writes, ‘In India, the sky has profoundly affected our relationship to built form, and to open space…such spaces have an infinite number of variations…. verandah…terrace…thence to an open courtyard.’ It was this understanding of the Indian climate that became a central theme for his designs. An insight about him as an urban planner comes through his essay Learning from Marine Drive in which he writes, ‘If any of us had been around 80 years ago, Marine Drive would never have got built…it brings more traffic…involves reclamation…obviously bad news.’ But he goes ahead to argue the need for (discreet) development, like the railways versus the bullock cart, since it made the life of people easier. His humanistic nature comes through his writings very strongly. He continues to say, ‘ Those who live in South Bombay do not have the foggiest notion of what it means to commute…jammed in

overcrowded trains…yet we oppose any attempt to ease their journey.’ Not one to mince his words, he has strongly criticized the lack of creativity in the current education system in In Search of Brunel, the master mind behind the broad gauged Western Railway, and the need to bring back the ‘guru-chela’ tradition for teaching architecture in Learning from Eklavya. His interpretation of Chandigarh in Report from Chandigarh boldly brings about the genius of Corbusier as an architect as well as his failures to solve the problem of the Indian climate. In The Public, the Private, and the Sacred Correa poses the question to all contemporary architects in India; ‘how does one create an architecture of relevance for the millions upon millions of urban poor?’ Charles Correa (1 September 1930 – 16 June 2015) wore many hats of an architect, urban planner and activist. Born in Secunderabad he began his higher studies at St. Xavier's College, Mumbai and went on to study at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor (1949–53) and the MIT in Cambridge (1953–55). In 1958 he established his own practice in Mumbai. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1972, and the Padma Vibhushan in 2006. He was also awarded the 1984 Royal Gold Medal for architecture, by RIBA. He died on 16 June 2015 in Mumbai following a brief illness. I had the good fortune of starting my architecture career in his office. I learnt a lot from him and much of him still lives on in me. People like him never die, they live on through their work and through inspiring others. Rest in Peace Charles.

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Charles Correa: The Oathkeeper

first met Mr. Correa when I was working with IA&B – the magazine. The Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown had just been completed and the first photos of the inaugural ceremony were released. I had sent a general request for publishing the building in the magazine and Dhawal from then Mr. Correa’s office called to ask if we can come down to Sonmarg, the residence, for a meeting. Finally, I was meeting a man whom I considered a myth; too tall to exist in flesh and blood. Throughout the architecture school, Charles Correa was an enduring idea.

By: Ruturaj Parikh Director, Charles Correa Foundation

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years since then and in this time I have generated a mental image of the man which somehow is not bigger than the man himself. In a strange way, Charles Correa was greater than the idea of Charles Correa - something that seldom happens.

Charles Correa had a unique grasp of the abstract. He had the ability to move fluidly from the real to the conceptual and back. He could effortlessly explain an idea by immediate references. He had a huge bag of his experiences with His texts were clear and always held a art, writing, travels, and his favorite – moment of joyful realization of truth. His two film. He could talk about architecture books – the blue monograph and refer to a war-time and ‘Housing and Urbanisation’ classic. He could talk had multiple copies in the library about symbolism and "If there was and were in issue almost all the refer to tantric drawings a Hippocratic time. You could see from the while being intrigued by Oath for softness of the spine that people a beautiful layout in a architects, he have indulged in them. They book on Palladio. In his would have were photocopied extensively, mind, all these threads read and re-read, scribbled were connected and he kept it to its on, underlined, scanned and could move on the web last word." almost all corners were folded. from ring to ring drawing Presentations were made on threads to the centre. His his buildings. His designs were great intelligence was unreferred to in almost all juries. Students tarnished by cunning and he possessed made study models of his summer and winter an almost child-like innocence and sections. There was a certain reverence inquisitiveness. He will be equally with which we used to look at his work – excited for a scale model of a steam authentic, modern, expressive architecture; engine and for a masterpiece of modern an architecture of India. art. He could see merit in the small and the big – the essential and the trivial. Then came ‘A Place in the Shade’. It completed He could make huge moves and worry the picture I had in mind about the man about the smallest detail. who will influence me immensely in years to come. I had reviewed it for the magazine Competence delighted him irrespective as one of my first editorial assignments and of its source. He was annoyed by in the process, read the book several times. incompetence, irrespective of its source. I had emailed my review to Mr. Correa and He will appreciate a good carpenter who it won me a meeting for the publication on knew his wood and dismiss a piece from the Champalimaud Centre. It has been five an acclaimed artist. A friend of mine told

me that Anant Raje used to refer to planetary orbits while explaining the idea of personal growth. Prof. Raje used to say that an individual makes ‘orbital leaps’ that one is stuck in an orbit for a long time and suddenly, something navigates you to the next orbit prompting a huge leap. In my early interactions with him, he would generally dismiss what I had to recommend citing my limited experience with the matter. Then I will move orbits. His ruthless criticism was a constant source of energy – if Charles Correa thinks it is good enough, it must be great. I always knew that he was a tough individual to work with but it is only after I joined the Charles Correa Foundation as the Director, I realized how tough a task-master Charles Correa was. He was extremely demanding and uncompromising in his demands. He would frequently outpace me in thinking and he would expect me to deliver quickly and with extreme efficiency all the while asking for a very good product. He was extremely prompt - emailing, messaging and calling from his phone, I-Pad and Computer. He knew how to push people to perform. I have known Charles Correa to have a great attachment to India. His concerns consistently involved the idea of India; our challenges and potentials, our myths and realities, our aesthetic capacities and the ingenuity of our people. He was extremely compassionate. He consistently thought of the urban poor often mentioning how they have gone out of discussion. This compassion is manifest in a lot of his work on housing and cultural projects. Charles Correa was a public man. He believed that his work, his writings and his thoughts had a potential to change thinking and he used all his might to make things change for the better. He was as emotional an individual as he was rational. His confidence made him completely comfortable with his contradictions. While he was at ease with the ambassadors, artists, parliamentarians, socialites and the privileged, he could have long and intriguing conversations with gardeners for a plant, carpenters for joint, printers for the ink and had an uncanny

ability to recognize and appreciate a job well done. While he would fight with me on the smallest of things: things that I thought are of no or little consequence. He would comfortably move through the big picture. We all had complicated relationships with him. But once we came to the table, he would ensure that we could never leave mid-way. So with him, the choice was simple: either you come to the table or you don’t . . . and I am glad I did. For me, the legacy of Charles Correa goes well beyond his unmatched contribution to the domain of architecture and planning in India. For me, he represented an ideal – a moral and an ethical standard for my profession. For me, his presence in the fraternity of architects in India rendered it great stature. Charles Correa exemplified what an architect can contribute to the civilization he belongs and I am convinced that if there was a Hippocratic Oath for architects, he would have kept it to its last word.

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I Carlo Ratti Director, MIT Senseable City Lab

first met Charles Correa back in 2001, when I arrived at MIT. I had just completed my PhD at the University of Cambridge, UK, and got involved into teaching a course between the UK and the USA. Charles was one of the class instructors - and one of the first people I met in Cambridge, Mass. I knew his work and had studied his oeuvre beforehand, but meeting him in person was a different story – almost illuminating. Charles was one of those rare individuals with the ability to span different worlds. This applied to the geographical and cultural context of the USA and India (he was regularly commuting between Mumbai and Cambridge, Mass). More importantly, it applied to the world of architecture – where Charles brought a unique blend of modernism, tradition and his individual sensibility. His statement that cities are “places to hope” merged social responsibility with an endless search for beauty and functionality. That’s what we discover every day on the MIT campus when we walk along Vassar Street, and glimpse through the colorful and airy spaces of Charles’ Building 46. As Charles’ legacy remind us, a city is not only a matter of infrastructure: people are its most crucial ingredient. That is what he reminds us ourselves every day both at the MIT Senseable City Lab at and our design office Carlo Ratti Associati. We hope that part of his legacy continues to live in our work.

Satish Gujral Architect and Artist Padma Vibhushan

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ith the passing away of Charles Correa a vacuum has been created in the Indian Architecture that may not be possible to fulfill. The significance of his presence lies not so much in what he built but what his outspokenness has contributed to the progress of Indian Architecture. In a way, he provided a philosophical content that was so much needed for the development of architecture in India. In fact, it was, this ‘philosophical content’ that rarely affected contemporary Indian Architecture and it served to enlighten the younger generation of both - the architects and the beholders. My personal acquaintance with Charles Correa was negligible but I never missed an opportunity to enrich myself with whatever he created (the quantity of such work was indeed amazing). I know of no other Indian architect who built outside India in Europe and America. This in itself is a credible. May God bless his Soul.

harles Correa’s life has many things to look up to and many things to applaud. But on a personal level, what inspires me the most is the fact that he took Indian Architecture, Indian Design, global. His architecture whilst being regionalist in some way caught the imagination of the world, that too in the days where today’s digital medium was not all pervasive. The reach of his work and its influence was a lot greater than a lot of architects before and after him. In that sense, his global impact and global leadership is something that one can only aspire to. Also, his engagement with society through his profession, directly or indirectly has had deep impact and continues beyond him through various organizations that he incepted.

Sonali Rastogi Founder, Morphogenesis

harles Correa’s passing has deprived the world of a unique talent whose legacy will live on through his many inspired buildings. Correa had the rare ability to synthesize not simply the stylistic characteristics of both Eastern and Western architecture, but the spiritual underpinnings that permeate India’s built history. I’ve personally been inspired by his references to India’s ancient and often unknown water harvesting structures - stepwells and kunds - in projects like the Jawahar Kala Kendra in Jaipur and the IUCAA in Pune. His vision is irreplaceable and will be sorely missed.

Victoria Lautman Freelance Cultural journalist

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6th June 2015: Waking up to the extremely disturbing news of architect Charles Correa's death, I felt a sudden and intense urge to clutch on to the memory of meeting and seeing him at a Goa conference, earlier in the year. From being an architecture student, studying and reading about him, to the ten years of being an Architectural journalist, wanting to write on him, today, it disheartens me to know that the only piece I wrote on him, ended up to be a tribute on his death. There had been a couple of chances earlier to meet and write on him, which had not worked out completely due to his hectic schedules.

Bengaluru-based architect Apurva Bose Dutta works as an Architectural Journalist. She collaborates and works with publishing houses and architectural organisations to write and speak on architecture. (apurvabose@yahoo.com www.apurvabose.com)

I went for the Goa conference, organised by his foundation (CCF), primarily to meet and connect with Mr Correa and experience his aura on the stage. The meeting was brief due to his limited interactions because of ill-health, but what stayed with me was the 'Climactic Session' at the end of the conference, with the masters who shaped the notion of modern architecture - Correa, Architect Raj Rewal and iconic design engineer Mahendra Raj. Architect B V Doshi had to unfortunately give the event a miss. Witnessing this moment of the masters together, in architectural history was a rarity, and the 1000 people stationed at that point of time in Correa's exquisitely-designed Kala Academy auditorium, bestowed upon the stalwarts an overwhelming amount of respect and adulation, with a standing ovation and a thunderous applause that just didn't stop. Many eyes at that point of time, including mine were moist. That evening architectural history witnessed an exceptional moment, and one, that with Correa's death will never occur again. It was also a moment to witness in person, the sheer brilliance of the man Himself. Correa's visible illness didn't deter him from sharing exciting and nostalgic anecdotes from his journey, mentioning Corbusier, Raj Rewal, Mahendra Raj and B V Doshi. The glint in his eyes, the occasional chuckle at remembering how things were, his immaculate oration skills, his encouraging views and intense loyalty to Indian architecture, his inspiring quotes...all went home with us. Ever since the news of his death broke out, while I felt strange to even absorb the fact that my first meeting with him, turned out to be the last one too, but I felt sanctified to have encountered this genius, and to have lived that moment to see him, not through books, through media, through his works or writings...but, IN PERSON. Correa's sheer brilliance in architecture, where his buildings not only spoke to the context but the users too, make his death, a void not only in Indian architecture, but to the world architectural fraternity. His writings have itself played an exemplary role in alleviating architecture. "Let our work nourish us"...were the master's concluding words at the conference. And that is what I pray we do with Indian architecture, which lost not only one of its mentors in Correa who accorded a unique meaning to it, but one, whom thousands of architects of different generations continue to follow! Correa Sir, thank you for showing us the way. We miss you!

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nown as India’s greatest architect, Charles Correa was responsible for some of the finest structures post-independence India has seen. Educated in the USA, Correa returned to India and brought his clarity of thought and design, coupled it with a deep understanding of Indian culture and ethos and applied it to his designs. His work is hugely influenced by the evolution of Indian architecture and spaces through history and is a tribute to the sensitivity of the ancient planners using modern technology. Whether it was the cave temples, ancient forts and temples, palaces and courtyards, the importance of design and its relevance to the environment, both physiological and cultural, is evident in his every creation.

Krishnarao Jaisim Former Chairman, Indian Institute of Architects, Karnataka Chapter

What is striking about Correa’s work is its stark simplicity. He was uninterested in the so-called classical approach prevalent in the subcontinent since its colonial invasion. His emphasis was on honest space and the reduction of unnecessary consumption of natural and other resources. He gave importance to features such as verandahs and terraces, courtyards and as many open-to-sky spaces as possible, enabling a natural interaction of indoors and outdoors, with an emphasis on light and air. He was not a proponent of high-rise buildings which he admired for their technical achievements but dismissed as architecturally unliveable spaces. Correa’s unique design concepts were path-breaking in the area of affordable housing, which, had they been adopted, would have changed much of the landscape of third-world countries. He was the pioneer of urban housing architecture in India and as the chief architect of Navi Mumbai he was responsible for the design of one of the largest urban spaces in the world. As he said, there is a big difference between “construction and architecture,” and he concurred with Corbusier who described this difference saying that a construction holds things together whereas the purpose of architectures is to move us; to take the inner material and infuse it with passion. Having said that, however, Correa was clear that whatever the abstraction that architecture is or should be, a building must work. And with architecture the building goes beyond the purpose and takes on a metaphysical value. Some outstanding examples of his work include The Bharat Bhavan in Bhopal, with its vast open areas and the natural flow of spaces; the navagraha-inspired Jawahar Kala Kendra Arts Centre; the Gandhi Ashram in Sabarmati based on Gandhi’s childhood home; the Kanchenjunga building in the heart of Mumbai, stark is the structure in contrast to its surroundings; and the Champalimaud Centre in Lisbon. In his words, architecture “is a risk... and no building is better than the client who commissions it.” Correa’s conviction, his sensitivity to the environment, his philosophy of design, his contribution towards low-cost building, and his reach across the world are his enduring legacy to our nation. Recipient of several awards and recognitions, subject of several publications and journal material, philosopher and thinker extraordinaire, Correa has left some very large shoes to fill.

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Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur

"Like a trail that a snail leaves in its wake as it inches forward, over the years an architect leaves behind a body of work, generated by the attitude he gradually accumulates towards the agendas he deals with."

Louisiana Manifesto JEAN NOUVEL Jean Nouvel started his first architecture practice in 1970. Soon afterwards, he became a founding member of the “Mars 1976” Movement whose purpose was to oppose the architects’ corporatism and then a founder of French Architecture Union. His works have gained world-wide recognition through numerous prestigious French and International prizes and rewards. Jean Nouvel was the recipient of the prestigious Pritzker Prize in 2008. In 2001, he received three of the highest international awards: the Royal Gold Medal of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), the Praemium Imperial of Japan’s Fine Arts Association and the Borromini Prize for the Culture and Conference Center in Lucerne. In France, he received many prizes including the Gold Medal of the French Academy of Architecture, two Equerres d’Argent and National Grand Prize for Architecture. Jean Nouvel develops his vision of architecture. This text was written in 2005 on the occasion of an exhibition at the Louisiana Museum in Copenhagen.

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n 2005, more than ever, architecture is annihilating places, banalizing them, violating them. Sometimes it replaces the landscape, creates it in its own image, which is nothing but another way of effacing it. And then there is Louisiana, an emotional shock. The living proof of a forgotten truth: architecture has the power to transcend. It can reveal geographies, histories, colours, vegetation, horizons, qualities of light. Impertinent and natural, it is in the world. It lives. It is unique. It is Louisianan. It is a microcosm, a bubble. No image, no statement can plumb its depth. You have to be there to experience it, to believe it. It is an expansion of our world at a time when that world is getting smaller. At a time when we rush across the world faster and faster, when we listen to and watch the same global networks, share feelings about the same disasters, when we dance to the same hits, watch the same matches, when they flood us with the same films, in which the star is global, when the president of one country wants to rule the world, when we shop in cloned shopping centres, work behind the same eternal curtain walls ... and when whatever good might come of this forms no part of global priorities ...

Doha MNQ Why, for instance, shouldn’t education eradicate illiteracy more quickly and surely? Why don’t the medicines that save the victims of pandemics get to them in time? Architecture is by no means spared these new conditions of an efficient, profitable world increasingly marked by an ideology delivered as the baggage of the economy. The global economy is accentuating the effects of the dominant architecture, the type that claims “we don’t need context”. And yet debate on this galloping frenzy does not exist: architectural criticism, invoking the limits of the discipline, is content with aesthetic and stylistic reflections devoid of any analysis of the real, and ignores the crucial historical clash that – more insistently every day – sets a global architecture against an architecture of situations, generic architecture against an architecture of specificity. Is our modernity today simply the direct descendant of the modernity of the 20th century, devoid of any spirit of criticism? Does it consist simply of parachuting solitary objects on to the face of the planet? Shouldn’t it rather be looking for reasons, correspondences, harmonies, differences in order to propose an ad-hoc architecture, here and now? Louisiana is the symbolic arena for this new struggle of David and Goliath, between the partisans of situation architecture and the profiteers of decontextualized architecture. Undoubtedly this confrontation runs deeper and is more complex than the issue of local against global. Specificity is linked to the actualization of knowledge. Architectural knowledge is by nature diverse, given its links with all civilizations. Travel is an essential element in the cultivation of any builder. We are familiar with the importance to architects of journeys to Egypt, Greece and Rome.

Louisiana is the result of a journey to California: the fruit of the grafting of information gathered from afar on to the interpretation of a unique location. Generic architecture is certainly thriving on the compost, the Functionalist droppings of the simplistic modern ideology of the 20th century. The Athens Charter set out to be just as humanist as Communism in Moscow, but the equally dogmatic caricatures realized by the submissive or the corrupt have left us with an oppressive political and urban heritage.

"Architecture means the adaptation of the condition of a place to a given time by the willpower, desire and knowledge of certain human beings. .."

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In the name of the pleasure of living on this Earth, we must resist the urbanism of zones, networks and grids, the automatic rot that is obliterating the identity of the cities of all continents, in all climates, feeding on cloned offices, cloned dwellings, cloned shops, thirsting for the already thought, the already seen in order to avoid thinking and seeing. We must replace these generic rules, territorial and architectural (yes, architectural! For architecture exists on all scales, and urbanism does not: it is nothing but the mocked-up travesty of a servile architecture on the macro-scale, advancing to prepare the way for the myriad of generic architectures) with other rules based on the structural analysis of the lived landscape. We must establish sensitive, poetic rules, approaches that will speak of colours, essences, characters, the anomalies of the act of creation, the specificities of rain, wind, sea and mountain. Rules that speak of the temporal and spatial continuum, that will turn the tide towards a mutation, a modification of the inherited chaos, and take account of all the fractal scales of our cities. These sensitive rules cannot but defy the generic ideology that leads to the proliferation of hegemonic, dominant technologies, creating dependencies, thus tending to hypertrophy all our networks of transport, energy, hygiene, to go for the bottom line. By contrast, the ideology of the specific aspires to autonomy, to the use of the resources of the place and the time, to the privileging of the non-material. How can we use what is here and nowhere else? How can we differentiate without caricaturing? How can we achieve depth? Architectural design on the large scale does not mean inventing ex nihilo. Architecture means transformation, organizing the mutations of what is already there. Architecture means encouraging the embedding in the

Louvre Abu Dhabi, Interior View 48 | Sthapati 2016

landscape of places that anyway have a tendency to invent themselves. It means to reveal, to give direction. It means prolonging lived history and its traces of past lives. It means listening to the breathing of a living place, to its pulsations. It means interpreting its rhythms in order to create. Architecture should be seen as the modification of a physical, atomic, biological continuum. As the modification of a fragment situated at the heart of our immense universe amidst the dizzying discoveries made by macro- and nanophysics. Whatever the scale of the transformation, of a site or of a place, how are we to communicate the unpredictability of the mutation of a living fragment? Can we domesticate the visible components – clouds, plant-life, living organisms of every size – with signs, reflections, new plantings? How does one create a vibration that evokes a hidden depth, a soul? This is surely a task for poetry, since only poetry can produce “the metaphysics of the instant”. To work at the limits of the achievable – with the mysterious, the fragile, the natural. To anticipate the weathering of time, patina, materials that change, that age with character. To work with imperfection as a revelation of the limits of the accessible. These architectures that kill emotion are not Louisianan. They are the work of globe-trotting artist-architects, princes of repetition. Specialists in the perfect, dry, perennial detail, the true confession of emotional impotence! The repetition of the ‘controlled’ detail as proof of their insensitivity to the possible nature of an architecture in-the world.

Mass construction as misconstruction! Weight and emphasis as vectors of architectural pedantry! The detail – like the totality – is an opportunity to invent, to dislocate, to enrich the world, to recompose, to reassemble, to provoke confrontations of textures, lights, of unlikely techniques. But generic detail, like generic architecture, manifests the prefabricated, the absence of doubt – that which takes no risks, which holds as far back as possible from the limits of the feasible and sensitive. Its vocation is to exist everywhere, to sell itself everywhere, to spread uniformity, to kill differences, to proliferate. We are in the domain of simplistic thinking – of the systemic, the reassuring.

his work until he slips and slides from creation to modification, from assertion to allusion, from building-up to filling-in, from construction to infiltration, from positioning to superpostioning, from clearness to the nebulous, from addition to deviation, from calligraphy to etching, to erasure ... Instead of the archaic architectural goal of domination, of making a permanent mark, today we should prefer to seek the pleasure of living somewhere. Let us remember that architecture can also be an instrument of oppression, a tool for conditioning behaviour. Let us never permit anyone to censure this pursuit of pleasure, especially in the domain of the familiar and intimate that is so necessary to our wellbeing. Let us identify ourselves. Everyone bears a potential world within himself or herself. Let us be aware of our potential, which is equal to that of any human being – largely unexplored, often poetic, therefore disquieting.

We are far from the sine qua non of seduction: the natural. An architecture that creates singularity in duality, that invents it in the confrontation with a situation, is Louisianan. It opposes the attitude of these artist-architects of the recipe, of the repetition of formal order passed off as the “signature of the artist”. It opposes what can be dropped down on the landscape on any occasion, "Architecture No more corsets, no more ready-to-wear in any place. This global phenomenon is the vehicle lives! perpetuates an artistic tradition of for variations. No more architecture-by-numbers that the 20th century art that is in essence A permanence turns us into numbers! unsituated, dislocated, designed to take changed No more cloned cities, global offices, preits place among the mathematical white occupied homes! boxes of the museums. Autonomous by life and We want to be able to keep on travelling, architectures, unlike these works of art events.." to listen to spontaneous music, to live in that can function in isolation, are doomed landscapes as inhabited as a personality, to the status of static interference, of to meet men and women who invent their absurd collages and sudden sneezes that own culture, to discover unknown colours. disturb their surroundings; and unfortunately the Surrealist sensibility is rarely part of the mix... Architecture is the vehicle for variations. A permanence changed by life and events. Architecture means the adaptation of the condition Unchangeable architecture is not involved with the place of a place to a given time by the willpower, desire and and those who live there. knowledge of certain human beings. Architecture has to be impregnated and to impregnate, We never do this alone. We always do it somewhere – to be impressionable and impress, to absorb and emit. certainly for some person or persons, but always also Let us love architecture that knows how to focus, that for everyone. It is time we stopped limiting architecture shines like a light, that can let you read the topography, to the appropriation of a style. The age needs architects the lie of the land, feel the wind, the skies, the soils, the who doubt, who seek without thinking they have found, waters, the fires, the smells, the trees, the grass, the who put themselves at risk, who rediscover the values flowers, the mosses ... that remembers the usages and of empiricism, who invent architecture as they design customs of the place and at the same time interfaces it, who surprise themselves, who notice the mildew on with the information terminals of our world, that shows their windows and know how to interpret it. Let’s leave us the ages and those who have journeyed through the cosmetics of vain cities to the architects who think them. of themselves as aesthetes. Such architecture is built up in harmony with its time. From now on, let architecture rediscover its aura in the The stragglers who are still constructing the archetypes inexpressible, in the cloudy. In the imperfection of what of the 20th century are diachronically ill, refusing to live is invented! their lives. Architecture dates. We know it to be mortal, imperilled, The architect is not aware of having come to the end of Sthapati 2016 | 49

Ile Seguin as sure as we know it is alive. And so we watch it emerging from the darkness and imagine that it will return there one day. The architectures of situation, of the specific, the Louisianan architectures weave this bond between past and future, mineral and vegetal, between the instant and eternity, the visible and the invisible. They are the loci of emergence and of disappearance. They distil the essence of their own slow, poignant ruin. This consciousness of time overlays the surprises of the new lives lived in the place, the great rhythms of dawn and twilight, the indifference of the inevitable hours of idleness and decay... Louisianan architectures are dreamed architectures, full of silences â&#x20AC;&#x201C; places of forgetfulness but also of archaeology. They become the cue for reinterpretations of an ambivalent past. Louisianan architectures move us because they have been dreamed into life, into insecurity, into resistance, sometimes into despair; ruined or assassinated, but never forgotten, because like the Phoenix disappearing in the flames only to be reborn, they make us dream of eternally recurring points of light ... The uncertainty, the simplicity and even the modesty of the Louisianan materials and resources hold out the hope that Louisianan architecture can continue to exist in any economic conditions. That it can filter through even to the shameful shantytowns of our global politics... And to see the beauty in the precariousness of poverty is not to forget the desperate conditions. It is simply to see the power and dignity of life in extreme situations and to experience the unplumbed depths of humanity to be 50 | Sthapati 2016

found there. We begin to understand why the inhabitants of shantytowns and favelas have preferred their makeshift, precious, aleatory, evolving homes to rows of concrete lockers formatted as high-density living-machines! Exploration is a duty, understanding is an intense desire, questioning is a condition of evolution. We think with our senses, we feel with our thoughts. Contradictions generate sparks. Sensations generate emotions. Emotions generate love; love the desire to live, to share, to give, to extend our life into others. Architecture is connecting, belonging, interfering; it is yea-saying and nay-saying. But it is also harmonizing the inanimate with the living. Harmony is not always soothing; it can be a source of unimaginable pleasure, of a hope beyond hope, an exaltation of our imaginative powers. Pleasure is sometimes the improbable but indispensable catalyst that transforms intelligent doubt or honest despair into a conquering force. We must discourage those who have given up, the sad cases, from speculating in the creation of irreversible depression â&#x20AC;&#x201C; from repeating themselves! In architecture too, repetition is often morbid â&#x20AC;&#x201C; life is to be found in change. Apprentice developers, apprentice architects, do not embark on this dangerous profession except to differentiate, not to stereotype; to build, not to destroy; do not earn your living by limiting the lives of others! If you do not like a city or a place, are not responsive to it, then spare it, spare it! Go somewhere else! If you do not want to give but to take, think about something else; even cynicism should have its limits.

Paris Philharmonie Architecture is a gift from the deepest part of yourself. It is the making of worlds, the invention of places, of micropleasures, microsensations, quick dips into reality. Let architecture be vibrant, perpetually echoing the changing universe! Let it build temporary oases for nomads in search of the directions, the desires that form them as long as they live! How can we mark out, how can we fence in our lifespan? How can we petrify serenity, calm, delight, far less ecstasy, intoxication, euphoria, jubilation? Let us abandon forever these cold living-machines! There are depths to be sounded, heights on which to breathe the air, landscapes to bejewel. Let us denounce automatic architecture, the architecture of our mass production systems! Let us attack it! Engulf it! This soulless architecture crying out to be contradicted, to be finished in both senses of the word! Chance brings us encounters to be exploited, situations to be invented! This arid architecture should be used as a support, a point of departure for odd, dislocated, exploded, inverted strategies. One of the missions of Louisianan architecture is to complete, to re-orient, to diversify, to modify and to imagine what the generic architectures can never imagine: the lifetimes to which they will give shelter. Let us be Louisianans! Let us resist! Let us reclaim the architectures of the improbable! Those that unite praxis and poetry to leave their imprint on a place, to throw in their lot with that place. Let us be Louisianans in all these territories: from Petra to Sanaa, from Venice to Manhattan, from Chartres to Ronchamp, from fishermen’s huts to the tents of the desert, from the favelas of Rio to the industrial ruins of the Ruhr, from Katsura to Louisiana … All clashes of temporalities and illuminations, all poetic paradoxes. The miraculous paradoxes that Paul Valéry summed up in this simple verse: “Time scintillates and dreaming is knowledge”

SLCE New York

"Louisianan architectures are dreamed architectures, full of silences – places of forgetfulness but also of archaeology. .."

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Ostrichmobility KRISHNA RAO JAISIM The ETHOS of the INDIAN ARCHITECT and ARCHITECTURE

he Indian Male and the Indian Woman (watch the difference in the manner of address), have been discussed dialogued and battered throughout the History of the sub-continent. The Man especially battered these last few years. A PEOPLE and their behavior express ARCHITECTURE. Every time we talk of the Glory that was Ind, it is always with reference to the History of beyond and the Culture that existed thousands of years ago and somehow found expression through our Mythologies. Today, all that is common knowledge. What is less understood and appreciated both in the Positive and Negative sense is the Architecture that played a role in this LIFE FORM. Mohenjo-Daro - Harappa, the Indus valley civilization, the Ganges Banks and the Grandeur of Cities like Benares and Lucknow have been since bygones, to the Magnificence in the South, of Vijayanagar, Madurai and the Near Perfection of the Kerala Temples and Palaces. Where have all this Gone?

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Krishnarao Jaisim is an architect and the former chairman of the Indian Institute of Architects, Karnataka Chapter. His work has been featured in the New York Times, The Hindu, The Times of India, The Deccan Herald, and on HGTV. OSTRICHMOBILITY (The substance of this article was presented in May 2000 as part of a forum INDIANISM,)

To-day we are only a Myth.

About Four or Five Hundred years ago , the country went into deep freeze. Fear, born of every conceivable destructive and defaming process that was, was unleashed on the sub-continent. Imagine this, a land that drifted away from Africa and Australia, surged forward to hammer itself into the continent of Asia (in the process creating the Himalayas) and became the cradle for a remarkable civilization. A Culture born, that became not merely the Envy of the rest of the world in Material comfort but of also the Spiritual Kind. It paved the way to a WAY OF LIFE.

Where has all this gone?

When you are up, you are also likely to trust the lesser beings out of a benign kindness or a sense of charity and drop your physical defenses thinking that once you are high on your spiritual endeavors nothing else matters. Imagine the perfect Social system born of an evolving process of thousands of years, suddenly being corrupted, corrupted by questioning the existing, by the invading forces, made up, of physical power and brute force.

Unity in Diversity

Contrary to what has been written by recent non-Indian Historians, the groups and sects that populated the sub-continent were not a set of fighting warring groups. They were in eternal competition, not in conflict. They set high standards and fought battles (if they be so called) as a manner of sport. One does not have to list the Architectural accomplishments of the Past, this is common acknowledged knowledge. Of the recent Past, it has been the colonial and the Islamic influences that have dominated - more by imitation, than by any original creative derivations. Of the present past, the experiments with new materials from the dawn of this century, has more been the expression of Technology and structure than the experiment with either spaces or the spirit. There have been notable buildings but very little Architecture. The few notable achievements have been few and far between and limited to very specific individuals and areas.

IS THERE RESURGENCE?

As I said in the beginning the Male is at last being battered. This battering will eventually have its expression. This will lead to a change in behavioral patterns, and life - styles this will lead to a change in the Culture of a People and thus the Expression through Architecture will be significant.

or wants a inter-active discussion with the Male owner only, S/he insists on a dialogue with the Women of the Household. Even amongst the youngsters, it is a difficult process but definitely a meaningful one. The Modern Media has finally managed to unleash a lot of influence and thereby free a lot of Individuals not only the woman in the urban sector but also that large populace that inhabits the rural belt. The Ethos which remained dormant for these centuries will wake up. Today in India the Schools of Architecture are predominantly dominated by women students and faculty. They have found it a niche for adding value to their lives. Many of them do contribute with effective meaning in both depth and involvement. But it is clear and evident that a drift and change is happening in the expression. What sort of expression will INDIANISM have then - I believe that buildings will become more sensitive. The spirit of the place will have a significant role to play. BUT in these times when a rich new cultural expression can unfold, A NEW DANGER LURKS - the dominance of the new west oriented technologies powered by Globalization bringing in MASS and Faceless buildings which call themselves I T Architecture. This Wave could be a like the Tsunami and wash away in its wake this resurgence of a new Indian ethos. The Answer to this lies in the very modernization process. More access to more technology therefore to greater freedom and choice this could be through the Information Technology Avenue. Women as much as men could have easy access, and as an example why do Indians do well when overseas than at home. It is obvious that When overseas they not only work harder and goal oriented but also because the Resident local is lazier and does not compete as effectively - their ambitions are different. Here the same principles can apply, the Men over the years have become Lazy and take thing for granted, Women shall challenge this and triumph in their expression. Again, this could lead to a greater expression of what the built world ought to be. In all this we shall see a new Architectural Expression which we could proudly assign a Style Name and say Feminism in INDIANISM. The Ostrich will finally raise its head from the sands and run. The glory of the past was revered and dominated by the women goddesses and they shall now run our future. Saraswati Lakshmi, Durga and the team will once again win and rule with the senses the elements.

We are seeing signs of it today. When a sensitive architect sits to designs S/he no longer is confronted Sthapati 2016 | 53

paul andreu

The creation of Beijing Opera House PAUL ANDREU

s Renzo Piano once said, in a world where there is no place left to explore, where can one still have adventures and take risks if it is not in the field of art and creatio ? Travelling abroad and leaving one’s familiar surroundings is as much a risk for a traveller and a company as it is for an architect. For the first part of my life – until I was more than sixty years old – I worked in airports, but for the past ten years, I have been involved with the Grand National Theatre of China in Beijing and the Beijing Opera House. The opera house is an enigmatic building, poised on water, standing out from behind trees in the middle of Beijing. It was an adventure.

A competition which breaks the rules?

This adventure started with a piece of land in the middle of Beijing, near the Forbidden City and the Parliament (known as the National People’s Assembly), in other words next to the historic and political centre of the city. This is an area which is of great significance and importance for the Chinese. When we received the plan for the competition, I first thought that there was a mistake as it seemed completely inconceivable to me that an opera house could be built so close to these symbolic places. The geographical location made the project even more interesting, but, at the same time, intimidating. My feelings ranged from enthusiasm, to 54 | Sthapati 2016

Paul Andreu is an architect and engineer. He worked for more than thirty years for the Aéroports de Paris (ADP : Paris Airports) where he was in charge of architecture and engineering. When he left ADP in 2003, he created his own architecture company in Paris which enabled him to open a new angle to his work. His latest achievements include the Oriental Art Center in Shanghai, the Grand National Theatre of China in Beijing and the Science Enterprising Centre in Chengdu. All these projects have helped strengthen the current relationship he enjoys with China. Photograph by Nicolas Guilbert

panic and doubt. Such feelings are quite common in our profession. Perhaps the ability to have doubts, to assume those doubts and confront them without giving up is one of the principal qualities of being an architect. We were in a competition in which other invited â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and uninvited â&#x20AC;&#x201C; architects were taking part. The invited architects were paid, unlike those who were not invited. I started off as an uninvited architect. The Chinese partners with whom I had been working withdrew three days before our projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s deadline because they had received orders from their government to wait before associating themselves. In those three days, we had to start again from scratch. This should have comprised two phases, but in the end it had five or six, and lasted eighteen months instead of the five months initially envisaged. The process was, in fact, exemplary because the Chinese authorities only made the decision once they were convinced of the chosen project, whereas in France the competition often results in the declaration of a winner at the end of the stipulated time limit and in spite of dissatisfaction felt on either side.

Remus was right! At every phase of the process, they asked the remaining candidates to change their project. Those who did so were eliminated: by abiding by the rules and changing their project, they ended up by spoiling it! Complacency has never resulted in anything worthwhile. A certain degree of tenacity is reasonable, but is stupid when it gets too extreme. Rule-breaking even proved to be decisive. At the outset, the rules of Chinese urbanism dictated that we design a rectangular building. The Prime Minister broke these very rules by deciding that the location of the building had to be altered. I made it very clear that I was not in the business of moving buildings like furniture, and I designed another building, an oval one! In the end, despite everyone breaking the rules, we got what we wanted. After all, breaking rules has always made the world move forward. Romulus founded Rome, but Remus disobeyed and overstepped the line. His brother killed him, but he was still the one who was right!

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Simple ideas and a complex project â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Art and architectureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; conjures up images of very distinguished thinkers and inspirational characters wearing floppy neckties. This is an erroneous idea. Artists and architects are in close touch with ordinary life. They work, sometimes a great deal, and their work has a material dimension. I started by making a series of sketches using many notebooks. I did not know very much, I was looking for something, and a kind of organised image started to appear: an opera hall in the middle, a hall on either side, a large public area, a sketch of the roof, and then three circles side by side which I took from old drawings of the three auditoriums at the Arche de la DĂŠfense in Paris. One day, in the depths of doubt, when I was convinced that I was getting nowhere, I was talking with a friend. I took a metal coffee cup and a piece of paper which I folded, and the idea for the roof dawned on me. Finally, everything started slotting into place : the roof would close on two sides, surrounded by water, and there would be an opening which divided the roof in two. Suddenly, the project started to take form but it was still only an idea, in other words, nothing, an embryo which had to grow before it could be presented and convince 56 | Sthapati 2016

people, which implied a lengthy amount of work on the functions of the building. An opera house is technically complicated. One has to develop spaces, bring them to life and make them attractive.

When the drawings become the project The drawings, which we presented in 1999, looked like a bubble in the middle of water. At this stage they looked very similar to the finished product which was unveiled at the end of 2007. In the meantime, a huge amount of work was necessary to bring to life almost exactly what had already been drawn. The project consisted of three halls : an opera hall with 2,300 seats, (the largest possible size which produced satisfactory viewing and acoustics) with a central stage, lateral stages with high ceilings, and floors belowstage resulting in a total height of seventy metres ; a concert hall with 2,000 seats ; and a theatre with seating for 1,100 people. The opera hall is the main part: it is in the centre, whereas the other two halls are at the sides. All three halls are located on the same level, beneath which is a large area consisting of three sunken floors of dressing rooms, rehearsal rooms and rooms for stocking scenery. Between them, there is a huge public space protected by a roof.

A living opera The current trend is for increasingly large public spaces in opera houses. When Victor Louis designed the Bordeaux opera house, he created a very large entrance hall and a magnificent staircase which together mark the transition from ordinary life to the world of theatre. Garnier did the same by amplifying various elements, and the architects of the Bayreuth Opera did likewise by constructing a large path leading up to the opera house surrounded by a forest. They did so for emotional and functional reasons. They believed that the audience enters into another world and that, according to Utzon who designed the Sydney Opera house, there had to be something processional in the way in which one arrived at an opera house.

interrupted between the moment when digging started and when the concrete was laid. Nearly three to four thousand people worked on site.

The influence of local conditions Architecture involves a huge amount of work in order to adapt to local conditions. In China, the organisation of construction sites relies on a sizeable work force and very little mechanised work. With time, these conditions will disappear, sites will become more rational, economic conditions will change, the work force will become more expensive and it will not be possible to practise this sort of architecture any longer.

After this initial phase we constructed the roof. Firstly, a ring was put in place to which all the radial beams There are also more modern reasons for this huge public were attached. Prior to this, the building work had been space. Opera-goers tend to be old. All opera managers rather traditional, approximate, hand-made and with would like to have a younger audience. What must one no cranes. Construction of the roof required the use of do to keep an opera alive? How does one make it a the largest crane in China and the workers started to lively place or a large cultural centre, with show their skill in precision work. Once multiple possibilities open to all walks of the ring had been manufactured (which life and not just ‘exclusive’ groups? The took four months), the rest fell into place "Buildings Pompidou Centre in Paris was the first to very quickly. The structure, weighing seven are like give a modern answer to this question. It thousand tonnes, was mounted in seven was designed without an obvious front weeks, in other words ten times faster parents: one door and with a terrace which has views than would have been the case in France. can respect of Paris. It is an example which I always This was achieved rapidly and with great them without had at the back of my mind during this precision and care. We saw this threehaving to like project, not for its formal element but dimensional structure appear, made of them.." for its open spirit of heritage and space beams and bars which had the shape and without social barriers. the same resistant qualities as an egg shell. In our project, the public space is under the lake. We decided to make a glass roof. Water, which is moved by wind and through which the sun shines, demolishes structures which are underneath it and makes them open to change depending on natural elements and the sun. From the outside, the theatre looks like a vague promise. On the inside, there is a large public space with a large ground area and galleries. The roof is made from red wood and there are staircases which are there just for visitors and not for access to the halls or the theatre.

A building site in China

The structure is made of plates of steel, six centimetres thick; cut into pieces, joined, welded and ground down to made a single piece. This architecture is both technical – since a certain amount of steel is necessary and certain instruments are needed to cut out figures mechanically – and is also dependent on a plentiful and high quality work force. This would be completely impossible in France but is still possible today in China. It was not a passing fancy or whim: structures with large plates of steel can be found in progressive Russian architecture, for example in the Gum market in Moscow. The way in which light glides off these structures is truly unique. This is what interested me.

The project was controversial and was halted for a year. We had to start again and rationalise it. Without changing it, we reviewed our intentions to create never-ending technical spaces but we preserved the project and saved the atmosphere, the halls and the theatre. After a number of ups and downs, we started in earnest. The building site was a long story. It began with a great deal of work in the first year only to be

One day, we saw the reflection of light which we had been waiting for and which we had not yet seen. It had been raining a great deal just before. The roof is made from titanium. Because titanium is very delicate and very thin, it has an interesting way of reflecting light. I had hoped to make a very modern building with no direct reference to China and without the need to please anyone or add any unnecessary complications. At the Sthapati 2016 | 57

same time, I wanted to produce a building with very soft, rounded lines and which could blend in with surrounding greenery and appear through the trees like a reflection.

The halls and theatres An opera hall is very complicated to design because everyone is constantly asking you to create something in a particular way. When the acoustician is happy, the set decorator is not, and when both of them are satisfied, you are not. There is always someone to tell you that you have forgotten something. It is essential that everything which takes place on stage and in the hall comes together as a whole. I was told that an opera hall is not an auditorium. There are two vertical elements opposite each other, the stage and the public. I tried to meet these requirements by making the hall a sort of curved shape, in which the audience could see each other. We managed to achieve this by separating out the visible curves from the reflecting sound surfaces which are walls in the background. We also managed to insert lighting between the two. Depending on the light, sometimes the wall may appear without any structure and sometimes it is tangible, which allows directors to play on the atmosphere of the hall.

Shoe box or vineyard There are only two models for a concert hall: a shoe box or a vineyard. An example of a shoe box is the Viennese music hall, a large rectangular ballroom, which has perfect acoustics. The other model was invented thirty years ago in Berlin by Scharoun. Every architect, even those who say that they do not imitate, stick strictly to these models. For this project, I drew a shoe box with rounded angles. I wanted a white, sober hall with an orchestra in the middle. I wanted there to be music in the foreground to fix oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attention, with less attention focussed on the rest of the hall, and for it to be as blurred as possible. I designed a sculpture with acoustic properties for the ceiling. It was simpler to do it myself rather than to have to explain what I wanted. For the first time in my life, I made something with my hands rather than making drawings which someone else reproduced. Using the sculpture which I made in clay, the sculptors of the opera designed a model and the workers created it in polystyrene which was cast in fibre to make this ceiling. I was able to work on my own construction, and this was an experience which gave me new-founded pleasure. I was still breaking the rules, but why should a rule exist which dictates that I have to do the drawings and others have to execute them? 58 | Sthapati 2016

Tradition or modernity? To hell with that! We were able to design works which would have been very difficult to do in France, for example our marble staircase with complicated shapes. We built it on site in polystyrene, corrected it with a pencil, re-cut it and brought it to the factory to be cut in stone. We produced it in a way which no longer exists today. We also combined different materials. For example, to construct a wall, we combined an extremely rare black Chinese stone with a mixture of glass fibre and plaster which is the least expensive material in the world. We worked very hard on it: we went to the factory and had moulds made to give a cloudy aspect to the finished product. We also combined shapes cut out by laser from a piece of thin sheet metal and placed them on silk. It was in deliberate defiance of conventional methods to have both high and low tech as well as modern and traditional elements.

An opera in Beijing Gradually the construction started appearing above the trees. We started wondering what peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reaction would be to the structure. I was rather worried and even bothered because people did not seem very interested. It was very curious. Before the barriers to the site were removed, no-one tried to see over

the top or underneath, but once they were no longer there, there were always two or three hundred people around, looking at it, taking photographs and walking around. It is a building without doors and windows and as such is very striking. It feels like one is making a forced entry when one goes inside. This recalls legends from all sorts of countries like a Chinese legend about paradise which is discovered by following a path in the mountains. A lot of ink has been spilled about the neighbouring building, built about thirty years ago, which is a mixture of pure Soviet ĂŠlan, Ancient Egypt and a Chinese vision of space. My project disrespects it. I did not scorn or look down on it; I just built opposite it, like two different people who set up shop opposite each other. Buildings are like parents: one can respect them without having to like them.

"Breaking rules has always made the world move forward..."

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Redefining The Greys of the Green YATIN PANDYA

reen has been a fashionable word these days. Unfortunately, more often than not it has remained a word rather than a colour. As a result it gets interpreted in numerous shades. While on one hand fully glazed building using photo sensitive glass product may be rendered as green, on the other end building with adequate comfort conditions without use of air conditioners would not find favours with the LEED rating system. There needs to be a boundary defining the blacks and whites of the green. No doubt that with the current state of affairs, which has rendered the environment dismal grey, every possible shade of green may be a welcome tone. Range is vast but we still need to define priorities. While, turning the television at night, rather than keeping it on a standby mode can save billions of Rupees worth of Energy (50 million pound estimated for entire UK in a year). We still need to identify our own spectrum of green and chart strategies around the same. It has to be a contextual resolution rather than a global statement. Universal-global norms have been one of the major factors in aggravating the problems. For example, even for the basic essential tasks there are such diverse norms existing in the world that universalising them with the higher denominator as the benchmark will only remain unduly wasteful. For example, an average consumption of water in USA is 600 litres per person per day, in Europe it is 250 litres, 135 litres is the Indian average while in Africa they manage with as little as 30 litres per day. India has 8 vehicles per thousand as compared to nearly 800 of America. Ninety percent of world’s cars are 60 | Sthapati 2016

Yatin Pandya is an author, activist, academician, researcher as well as the practising architect, with his firm Footprints E.A.R.T.H. (Environment Architecture Research Technology Housing). Graduate of CEPT university, Ahmedabad he has availed Master of Architecture degree from McGill University, Montreal. Yatin has been involved with city planning, urban design, mass housing, architecture, interior design, product design as well as conservation projects. He has written over two hundred articles in National and International Journals. Several books authored by him on architecture, especially “Concepts of space in traditional Indian architecture”, and “Elements of space making” have been published internationally. Data Sources: DSCL Energy Services, Earth from the Air, Pattern Language

owned by sixteen richest nations accounting for only one fifth of world population. No wonder, Christopher Alexander in his studies found nearly sixty percent of downtown Los angles land devoted to car. Need India follow the suit? India ironically ranks fifth in the energy requirements. Of which buildings account for nearly forty percent. (Residences 23.4% and Commercial buildings 6.6%). Industries follow next with 36.5% and agriculture 30.7%. As a development agent dealing with the building industry it makes us quite responsible for our decision making. In a daytime use building nearly ninety two percent of energy is spent in cooling (60%) and day lighting (32%). The same figures for residential buildings are 64%. This makes it quite logical for us to prioritize cooling and day lighting to be the preoccupation of the sustainable designs. How does our decision matter in these aspects? For example a building type can be a critical decision for its energy demands. A multi owner high-rise residential building has energy demands of (59.8KWH/sq. M) one and half times that of the single owner low rise building (40 KWH/sq. M), owing largely to the elevators and the energy intensive services. Entertainment centres guzzle three and a half times (135 KWH/ sq. M) while hotels and data centres are ten times intensive. But topping all the list are the recently found shopping malls pegging energy needs at 565 KWH/sq. M. Needless is the debate whether after all these if they even measure up to the plurality and vitality of the traditional street bazaars. Air conditioners take up nearly half of the energy demands consuming at 1000 watt unit rate versus a fan which is only 80 watts. Need we chart an agenda for twenty percent reduction of air conditioning load or to resolve to find comfort without one? It is also a fallacy to think that modern times imply more comfort. Electricity has been invented and applied since over two centuries but the energy consumption of entire year of 1950, even

after 150 years of its invention, is equivalent of today’s consumption of six weeks only. And yet it remains inaccessible to over 40% of world’s population. Where has it got consumed and what are its alternatives? Entire estimated stock of fossil fuel of the world is equivalent of eleven days of solar energy. Moreover one kilowatt of solar panel saves one ton of carbon dioxide. In last fifty years world’s population has doubled and that along with the enhanced consumerism has put strain on the resources. Not to mention the severities of alarming pollution levels. In this reality of world and times of inundated construction can we pull ourselves back to question the taken for granted conclusions? It still makes sense to apply commonsense and conventional wisdom in resolving architecture. As architects we are called to take six basic decisions and the sum total of which is architecture. • Sitting and location: This has severe implication through orientation, exposure and impact of natural forces. In western hot arid zones of India orienting building with its longer faces to North-South compared to East-West can reduce solar radiation and exposure and thereby the energy demands to nearly half. • Form and Mass: This has potential for confronting natural forces as well as to benefit from mutual shading and scaling. As a thumb rule exposure levels and thereby energy demands can be reduced in a building in hot-arid zone up to ten percent by optimising on volumes of the building in areas such as passages, verandas, toilets, alcoves etc. Something like split levels. By adding a floor with reduced radiation from the top it gets reduced to about twenty percent. It is nearly halved by attaching the building from sides as well as stacking floors above.

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Environmental Sanitation Institute, Sughad

Ludiya, Kutch • Space organisation: This governs the extrovertedness or introvertedness, compactness or fragmentation, along with directionality and exposure value of the architecture. For example traditional buildings from hot arid regions have been compact, stacked and attached in their form, and have been interspersed with multiple yet small scale courtyards to reduce heat gain. As against Bungalows of the hot-humid zones have been extroverted with veranda like living spaces in the periphery to increase its transparency to breeze. • Elements of Space making: This forms the essential syntax of the architecture and thereby it’s interactivity with external conditions. For example pavilion like structure with prominence of inclined roof form versus lightness-often absence- of wall is the syntax of hothumid climate. Conversely predominance of wall and subjugation of roof is the grammar of hot-arid climate zone. • Material and Construction techniques: This is vital in setting forth the chemistry of building with external elements through its thermal coefficient, material properties and dynamics of its physics. If sunburnt clay block is taken as a unit of energy demand of material, cement is nearly ten times energy intensive, steel thirty times, PVC 120 times and aluminium 160 times. 62 | Sthapati 2016

• Finishes and surface articulation: Although seemingly micro, the skin rendering turns out to be the first aspect of building to negotiate with environmental conditions. As the first line soldier it takes most of the brunt of the vagaries of nature. Dark versus white or very light colour rendering with glossier surface can create up to five degree temperature difference within through its high reflectance value. Any building, good or bad, demands the architectural decision on these six aspects. If only we understand the wider implications of these decisions we would be able to make informed choices and arrive at the resolutions basically sustaining. While smallest details can matter and advanced technology can help further in achieving efficiency of environment management these device or technology based solutions come later after the basic architectural resolutions. For example if heat gain through clear glass opening is seen as 100% the double glazing can help reduce it by about ten to twenty percent. The tainted glass can reduce by about forty percent. As against external awning or a meter wide eaves band can reduce it easily by over sixty percent. Thus technology does not absolve us, as doctor of vital forces, from our primary responsibility of managing the basic architectural resolution in consonance with the

forces of nature and the local context. So the debate is not about shying away from the technological advancements but rather to let it play as second fiddle and not to hide architectural fallacies behind the facades of energy intensive technologies. Through history we have known of full wall openings or undeterred views but we resolved them either as perforated Jaali walls in Rajput or Islamic phase or as stained glass openings in colonial phase. Both discouraged ingress of heat and yet provided extended views from inside out while protected outsiderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s peek within. Smaller apertures of Jaali created microclimate features to induce velocity of air and cooling of air particle through Ventury and Bernoulliâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s principle respectively. There is no logic for omission of overhangs for curtain glazed western or Southern facades in present day buildings, in our extreme hot climate condition. We seem to have left our bearings somewhere...

Here is a quick overview of the range of architectural resolutions and approaches as explored in our architecture.

"There needs to be a boundary defining the blacks and whites of the green. No doubt that with the current state of affairs, which has rendered the environment dismal grey, every possible shade of green may be a welcome tone..."

â&#x20AC;˘ Environmental Sanitation Institute is a combination of solar passive as well as solar active strategies. Soil management through cut and fill approach, land as reproductive resource through cultivation, breaking the mass into chequered board pattern of the built and un built to optimise outdoors as active extension of indoors, north-eastern orientation for daytime use spaces while South-western orientation for the night time use spaces, mutual shading through taller masses in south and west, projecting profiles of upper floors and roofs for sun shading, ventilated cavity wall construction for active insulation, ferrocement shell roofs for optimisation of structural stresses and reduced material consumption, vaulted roof forms for volume optimisation within, over two million litres of rain water harvesting in cistern, percolating well as well as an open pond, recycling of waste through natural plant based root zone system, generation of methane gas through bio-gas digesters attached to the toilet waste, use of low water sanitary pans, fertilising of the compost, saving of finishing material and maintenance through exposed brick external surfaces, frameless fenestrations, louveredglazed and perforated window combinations for lightview and ventilation, interactive courtyard and terraces for outdoor use, solar active applications as water heater, solar cooking (100 persons), solar photovoltaic panels producing electricity are some of the nuances applied at the institute that provides training in the areas of alternative low cost solutions for rural sanitation.

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• Manavsadhna Activity Centre is the very different interpretation of sustainability. A community centre in a squatter settlement, it uses the building components recycled from the domestic and municipal waste. The entire building is the demonstrative application of waste recycled products indigenously developed. Recycling the waste answers the call of environment through reduced pollution, empowers and employs the poor through value addition processes, and helps towards affordable and durable housing as these products are cheaper and more performing than the present options. The building uses fly ash bricks, dump fill site waste residue bricks, stabilised soil blocks, wood crate panels, glass bottles and waste filled plastic bottles etc. for walling options. It uses cement bonded sheets with clay tiles, stone slabs, glass-plastic bottle filled filler slabs etc. for the roofing, wrapping waste reinforced F.R.P., oil tin container panelling, wood crate panelling etc. for the doors and windows and in parts waste-fly ash-china mosaic tiles and blocks for flooring. These become live demonstrations for the urban poor to emulate in their homes.

bank, Shrines, House to house sanitation blocks, solar lighting, Rain water harvesting ponds, Check-dams are built. Craft and agriculture has also been rejuvenated. Thus the rehabilitation has been sustainable from the point of view of its socio-cultural appropriateness, environmental management, Earthquake resistance, Economic opportunities and support amenities provision.

• Shahjehan- an abode for intuitive sojourn Living environment is rendered sustainable through multi prong strategies employed consistently from design to detailing .The formed contiguity and connectivity to intersperse common areas such as living spaces, verandah and entrance vestibule and yet their staggered alignment in plan offered identity and individuality to each unit. The staggered massing also integrated the unbuilt with the built respectively in north east and southwest corners blurring the sense of front or back. Each side opened positively to nature. Verandah located in the southwest was conceived as the pivot as active living spaces of both homes opened into this sheltered node. This verandah • Gandhi-nu-Gam: Ludiya, Kutchchh: The "Green comes in turn opened and extended into the devastating earthquake measuring 6.9 at in various garden in the south. Thus with sliding Richter scale struck the state of Gujarat in shades. folding doors providing least barrier to the India on 26th January 2001, leaving more interior spaces they visually and physically than 20,000 persons dead and millions It is a extended into garden and vegetated homeless. The worst hit was the region of phenomenon nature. Nature is also integrated within Kutch. Virtually the desert, it has limited and not a through courtyard on ground floor, while natural resources for basic sustenance. formula .." terraces and terrace garden on the upper However, people are full of resilience and floor. Even verandah has large cut out to sustain through handicraft and skills. The sky with temple tree piercing through hamlets have circular adobe dwellings with void connecting both the floors visually and spatially. a conical thatch roof, which are richly embellished with Large thickly vegetated garden, Water body and deep clay and mirror work relief. Thus, it is a complete milieu verandah in the southwest direction offer cooling to where art, culture and architecture are symbiotically prevailing breeze. Sleeping alcoves extending beyond interwoven and cannot be separated. It was therefore room space provide for cross ventilation over the bed important to recognize that any redevelopment effort at night. Internal courtyard makes the interior space should be holistic and should not disrupt the established cheerful with daylight illumination without ingress of chain of sustenance. Continuum of long set traditions heat and direct sun and also helps ventilate warm air yet introduction of the element of "new" for progressive out through convective principles. Curvilinear roof change was the need of the situation. profile with slit along the roof not only render the Gandhi nu gam was developed entirely through user roof floating with a golden glow of setting Sun but also participation where inhabitants were involved in all key create air draft to flush hot air out. Cavity is ventilated aspects of development such as selection of site, layout through perforations to guide warm air out through plan with location of plot and choice of neighbours, convective currents. Roof insulation is provided through self help house construction, provision of amenities an external layer of china mosaic characterised by and services. A holistic development where not only the non conductive clay and white and glossy surface shelter system but also economic activities, service reflecting sun. Floor surfaces are rendered with natural infrastructure. and support amenities provision, craft and local stones animated through textural treatment development and natural resource management were and inlaid patterns. included to make the living environment complete • Evosys - Evolutionary Systems Pvt. Ltd. Interior and sustainable. A total of 455 Bhungas – circular space designing for Evolutionary Systems Pvt. Ltd. – an traditional dwellings in earthquake resistant adobe Information technology multinational corporate on an block construction, Schools, Health centre, Grass 64 | Sthapati 2016

eleventh floor of a commercial tower was one such challenge except for the client’s brief which had an open window on concerns for “Green” and “Sustainable”. Here is an account of design explorations to evolve humane, interactive and eco friendly interiors within an Information Technology corporate office. The first bold step is to create practically the entire internal periphery of the floor plate next to windows amounting to nearly as green belt with live plantation indoors. While the periphery takes the shrubs like and, the entrance lounge with additional exposure to outdoors has small trees like Champa (Temple trees). Choice of vegetation and their density is governed by solar orientation, negligible maintenance needs and endurance to indoor conditioned environment. Natural light is put to the optimum use by zoning of activity spaces to periphery, open plan organisation and detailing of partitions with visual transparency. Bulk of work stations are organised along the perimeter zone next to window within reach of natural light. The passive functions such as server, services and storage as well as closed in functions like audiovisual rooms and teleconferencing areas are organised around opaque – non window- surfaces of the envelope. Inner core meant for circulation, informal lounging and occasional group activities also continue to receive day lighting through glazed partitions or open voids. Predominantly white coloured wall surfaces within also help dissipate light through internal surface reflections. In addition to natural plants roller screens with alternated opaque bands offer softening of the glare as well as manual control of the environment for intensity of light, blocking of direct Sun yet allowance of breeze and partial views outdoors. The direct glare of the fully glazed lounge space is moderated by contemporary application of a traditional ‘jaali’ like element. While, the workspaces are air-conditioned by provision, the fenestration systems are maintained as operable to allow for natural ventilation and cross breeze in a favourable climate conditions through parts of spring, fall and winter. Combination of natural wind and fan could be allowed

to maintain comfort as an option and only in intense climate conditions operate through mechanised cooling through air conditioners. Air conditioning is prioritized in peripheral zones intense for working spaces while inner zones rely on borrowed or say sheltered ventilation. Apart from commonsense wisdom the state of the art gadgetry and VRV technologies optimizes the tonnage by variable factors of occupancy fluctuation, external conditions and ambient temperatures. Fresh air is introduced in work environments through separate ducting while plants help oxygenate in addition. General toilets are installed with low flush systems as well as fully dry waterless urinals. The lighting fixtures are energy savers from the current technology band. Self perpetuating water elements like fountains bring in a dash of nature within packaged interior space. Thus Green comes in various shades. It is a phenomenon and not a formula. It is a concept more than a configuration. As architects we alter the landscape forever and as responsible professional we need to understand and own its consequence. Green has to be our resolve rather than mere rendering.

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Department of Architecture and Regional Planning IIT Kharagpur

Competitions INSDAG 2016

National Winners Nikhil Bapna Sarang Yeola Anshul Deshmukh Subham Malpani

First Runner up Shahir Aziz Supriya Pawar Gaurav Purwar

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INSDAG 2015

VIMARSHA

SPIRITUAL CENTRE IN STEEL

National Winners Sweeya Tangudu Abhishek Ramanathan Mohamad Shahrukh Shaikh Deepnath Majumder

TRANSPARENCE 2015

Best Studio Project Husna Begum Nivedhitha Mathan Vignesh Kumar

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Thesis STEEL TECHNOLOGY CENTRE

M. Shahrukh S. Fifth year Student

The aim of the project is creation of a state of the art facility which shall serve as a symposium for exchange of ideas, pioneering research on steel technology, educating the general public about the myriad applications of steel in architecture and study of public spaces that can serve as education kiosks, interaction plaza, buffers for displaying applications of latest building materials.

EMERGENCY MODULAR SHELTERS FOR FLOOD DISASTER VICTIMS Sweeya Tangudu Fifth year Student

The aim of the project is to derive an integrated approach towards designing emergency modular shelters for flood disaster victims and layout for the rehabilitated settlement.

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Handicrafts

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Department Activities

workshops

Workshops

• Photography Workshop by Mr Ajay Sood. • Traditional Masonry and Bamboo Domes by Mr Laurent Fournier. • Universal Design Workshop by Prof. Rachna Khare and Prof. Sandeep Sankat. • Workshop on Green Building and Launch of IGBC Student Chapter in IIT Kharagpur by Ms Shakuntala Ghosh. • Workshop on Post Modernism by Dr Amit Srivastava.

Site Visits

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Diwali

Holi

Farewell

Freshers' Introduction

Photography

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YEARBOOK Anish pendharkar

Ambikesh Mishra

anshul deshmukh

avijit singh dogra

anutosh chaudhuri

arnab kumar mahanty

gaurav purwar

abhishek kanchi siddharth kandra

ARCHELLOZ BATCH OF

2016

keerthana rao balusu

kartikeya pathak

kuppa gowri shankar

mohammad meraj shaikh

mridul mittal

abhishek mukherjee muddangula venkata sahith

ketan mundhada

nayansi jain

YEARBOOK harika nelli

nikhil bapna

manoj parasa

p. manish kumar

pravesh kumar

priti rani soy

rahul rathore

rakesh samaddar

rajeev ranjan

ARCHELLOZ BATCH OF

satyarth prakash

2016 shahir aziz

shivajee biswanath shubham jain

sohini chowdhury subham malpani

supriya pawar

v. praveen

yeola sarang anil

Department of Architecture and Regional Planning Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur