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Š 2018 Matter Design Services LLP and H & R Johnson (India) - A Division of Prism Johnson Limited (Formerly Prism Cement Limited) Matter Design Services LLP, #456, The Blue House, Monte-Villa Road, Monte-Guirim, Sangolda, Goa 403 511 INDIA think@matter.co.in | studiomatter.in H & R Johnson (India) - A Division of Prism Johnson Limited (Formerly Prism Cement Limited), 7th Floor, Windsor, C.S.T. Road, Kalina, Santacruz (East), Mumbai - 400 098 INDIA inside@hrjohnsonindia.com | hrjohnsonindia.com
Third Edition, 2019 [Volume 02, Issue 01] Matter Design Services LLP: Ruturaj Parikh, Maanasi Hattangadi, Hrushita Davey, Isha Raut, Anusha Narayanan, Ankit George, Rhea Ishani, Parvez Memon, Kenneth Menezes H & R Johnson (India): Dinesh Vyas, Prasun Chowdhury, Alpana Sethi, Pragati Lapalikar ISBN: 978-81-933936-2-8 Published by Matter Design Services LLP, Goa All rights reserved under international copyright conventions. No part of this journal may be reproduced or utilised in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any other information storage and retrieval system without prior permission in writing from the copyright holders. Designed by Matter in Goa Printed by Silverpoint Press Ltd, Kohinoor Estate, 165 Tulsi Pipe Road, Lower Parel, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400 013 PRICE: 1500 Although the authors and publishers have made every effort to ensure that the information in this book is correct and factually accurate, the authors and publishers do not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause.
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CONTENTS
04 10 22 36 50 64 70 84
Introduction: Dinesh Vyas, Senior Vice President - Marketing, H & R Johnson (India)
Keynote: ‘Making’ Hiren Patel
Kalkeri Sangeet Vidyalaya Kumar La Noce
Sree Vadakkunnathan Temple Conservation Project dd Architects
Architecture in the Public Domain Mancini Enterprises Pvt Ltd
The Meandering Gaze Ruturaj Parikh
Dialogue: Sameep Padora on the Dynamics of Crafting Architecture
The Collaborative Explorations of Aptech, Mumbai
94 110 124 130 142 150 174 198
Experiments of Urban Enquiry Martand Khosla
Models: Technology and Processes Nuru Karim / NUDES
Polemics: ‘Making’: Rooshad Shroff, Khushru Irani, Reny Lijo and Lijo Jos
Roofs in Metal: Suhasini Ayer and R Ravindrakumar
Pedagogy: WCFA, Mysuru Krishnapriya Rajshekar; Prologue by Suprio Bhattacharjee
Design: Creating Ideas at H & R Johnson (India): Conversation with Dinesh Vyas and Pragati Lapalikar
Balkrishna V Doshi: Works Photographed by Fabien Charuau
Directory of Contributors
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DESIGN Over the past sixty years, H & R Johnson has pioneered product development in the industrial ceramics industry with many firsts. At the foundation of this approach towards innovation, we have nurtured a culture of research and development. Our R & D labs and our Industrial Products and Natural Resources (IPNR) divisions have not just enabled us to create unique products and innovative ideas, but they have been instrumental in many core processes in other industries as well. From making Anti-Static floor tiles to researching on surfaces that contain radiation in MRI and X-Ray rooms, design at H & R Johnson goes beyond the concerns of visual appeal. For us, design is a juxtaposition of three key elements - aesthetics, durability and functionality. Our process of design assimilates feedback from architects and interior designers who are our primary specifiers and works in close collaboration with our production team to develop designs that not only align to global trends and design demands, they also address important concerns that include health and hygiene, safety, concern for environment and sustainable processes, an ability to make choices and an endeavour to generate knowledge that enables people to make informed choices. Design, for us, is our ability to internalise influences from the design industry and from the market, and our competence to translate this knowledge into robust product and brand portfolios. Our design team and our R & D labs are critical to these processes. Over time, we have been able to develop surfaces that are Germ-Free, StainFree, Anti-Static, Anti-Skid, Solar Reflective and some more unique products that address issues of safety and access for physically and visually-challenged individuals. Going beyond our obligation to the business of industrial ceramics, we invest time and effort to ensure that our products are not consumptive and our raw materials come from responsible sources. We have been able to develop structurally strong surfaces at thickness as sharp as 5 millimetres. While the process of research is inward-looking, the process of design enables our teams to collaborate with architects and interior designers to co-create ideas that are specific, unique and that respond to design philosophies that are important for projects across scales. We firmly believe that tiles are not the end-products. They are an essential part of the overall imagination of the project - from hospitals to retail - and this idea grounds us in our ability to work closely with the architecture and design fraternity. In that sense, we think of ourselves as stakeholders in this unique ecosystem of imagine-design-create! This issue of [IN]SIDE is special for us. We hope that you find our design story, shared here with much enthusiasm, as intriguing as we find yours!
Dinesh Vyas, Senior Vice President, Marketing, H & R Johnson (India)
DINESH VYAS heads Marketing at H & R Johnson (India) where he leads brand and marketing initiatives across all product verticals. With over 25 years of experience in the industry, he has worked with Ambuja Cement, Larsen & Tubro and Shell apart from his long engagement with H & R Johnson. Dinesh has led retail, brand and marketing initiatives including some of the company’s landmark product development initiatives. He holds an M.Tech and an MBA degree. He has been recognised amongst the ‘50 most talented brand leaders in India’ by World Brand Congress. He enjoys playing musical instruments and writing.
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INTRODUCTION
Above: Fresh from the Johnson kiln - the experiments to translate the design identity of FRAME Conclave into tiles
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CONSTRUCTION CULTURES In India, we have a rich culture of crafting. From simple brick masonry to creating objects in moulded bronze, the construction cultures across the Indian landscape enable designers to engage with materials and techniques that have direct implications on the design process. How collaborative is this process? In this issue, we explore the many facets of this engagement and the critical issues and questions that are presented by the idea of ‘MAKING’. In reflection, the idea of access to skill seems to be omnipresent in India. From basic fabrication and brick-laying to CNC routing and digital modelling, the opportunity of being able to explore material and construction possibilities in multiple realms and at multiple scales empowers one to enrich design processes with an external input - a stimuli. One can witness architects and interior designers working closely with craftspersons and makers for an array of projects that range from furniture to buildings. Layered under this seemingly easy access to skill are more complex concerns that include questions of ethics, professional conduct and authorship. The contradictions in the process are important to address. While skilled craftspeople are employed in various capacities in all construction projects, their engagement with the project rarely collaborative. They are executors of an idea and their role is limited to the utilisation of the specific skill that they possess in service of the idea. Nonetheless, there are projects where this limiting notion is transcended. Some such works are featured in this journal. Ethical practice and creative positions are often in conflict. However, many designers base their work on their ability to negotiate these positions in a manner that does not compromise their professional prerogative to deliver a good design. This idea of engaging with construction cultures is not just limited to new projects. It is intrinsically linked with conservation and restoration works. It is our ability as architects to create a framework in which individuals from diverse backgrounds and the stakeholders can effectively contribute, that enriches the work. It is evident from the ideas and projects in this journal that the top-down view of design is limited and on its way out. The future of practice will depend on our ability to work in large, diverse, teams. Lastly, there is the question of authorship. From our interactions with the architects and designers featured in this book, it is apparent that the idea of shared authorship is beginning to influence core design processes in many offices. Both, the potential and the limitation in this thinking will be apparent in time. At the moment, one can observe the wonder and the beauty in things that get made and the deep interaction one has with fellow-craftsmen in the process of making
Ruturaj Parikh, Matter.
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PREFACE
Above: Making of a shell-vault on a delicate brick screen for a shrine in Siwan, Bihar - a product of exchange of knowledge between the architects and the artisans.
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PACE
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MAKING by Hiren Patel
Visual Material: ŠHiren Patel Architects; Photographs by Patrick Bingham-Hall, Vinay Panjwani, Sebastian Zachariah, Chanakya Patel
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KEYNOTE
Hiren Patel, Principal and Director, Hiren Patel Architects writes about an approach to architecture where the question of thinking in detail is central to the idea of a project and the work reaffirms this belief when it endures inhabitation over a large span of time.
DESIGN For me, designing a building is like creating a painting on a canvas. Growing up, I always had an Facing Page: Watercolour by Hiren Patel: Site plan explaining the ‘village house’ on the bank of Tapi in Surat, Gujarat Above: The semi-covered veranda: pavilion in the middle of the site for a Village house project: structures that promote outdoor living and bear a better relationship with the natural context
inclination for the arts. As a student, architecture opened up a whole new way of looking at art and design. This, I think, in some way influenced my approach towards architecture. Back in the day as a student, I had the honour of learning from the renowned Indian painter and sculptor, Piraji Sagara. Under his guidance, I studied watercolour, landscape art, portraiture, and sculpture, apart from various techniques in painting and drawing. I think that this knowledge has helped mould me into the architect I am today.
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KEYNOTE
I graduated in the year 1989, soon after which I setup my own practice in Ahmedabad. In the initial years, we focused mainly on architectural projects, but soon enough we were approached for interior design work. While architecture taught me how to work with scale and volume, with interior projects, I had the opportunity to explore the art of fine detailing. Fifteen years into practice, I decided to venture further into the field of landscape design. Ever since, our practice has been invested in various architecture, interior and landscape design projects. Having completed works across scales and typologies including residences, townships, hospitality, institutional, industrial and heritage restoration - a quest for a ‘timeless’ quality in architecture has remained a constant guiding factor in all our explorations. Our process involves constant evolution of design, even during the stages of construction – until we have achieved that master-stroke. As someone who is very observant, I find myself curious about new things and ideas I can learn from. Every project poses a new challenge and we try to bring something new in the manner of finding a solution each time. Many times, it so happens that our client and design team are confident of a particular direction but I am still not entirely convinced. Therefore, I often continue to work Facing Page Above Left: Village House: Inside the prayer space - a pavilion in the landscape Facing Page Above Right: The metal screen creates beautiful patterns of light and shadow through the day Facing Page Below: Village House: Composition of roofs with gardens: The tile roof is a typical feature of villages in Gujarat Above Left: Watercolour by Hiren Patel: A house of full of surprises: the courtyard works in many ways – here, as an extension to the master bedroom Above Right: The Village House: The master bedroom courtyard walls clad with Indian black marble and split-bamboo
even while the project is on site. Although it is an exhaustive process for the studio, at the end of each project, there is a deep sense of satisfaction. After several years in the field, and many projects later, we still strive for that synergy between architecture, interiors and landscape. At the start of every design process, we try and work simultaneously on the interior lighting and the planting layout. This, I think, is a truly holistic approach, wherein each phase of design complements the other. As a studio, we still prefer to work conservatively – form-follows-planning. Although, the form has a subconscious presence in our minds, we first work on the functional aspects of the layout. At any given point, we are working on a variety of projects across diverse scales and programmes. I like to call this way of working a ‘mental gym’, wherein we have developed a skill of simultaneously working on large scale planning projects while figuring out small-scale design details for interior projects. This brings about flexibility in the workspace.
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CONTEXT The quality of any architecture should ideally strive to bring out the richness of its context. We strive to achieve this in our projects in some way. As a country, India is gifted with a wisdom of ages and a rooted cultural heritage. It is important that we learn how to utilise this knowledge that is embedded into every context, with equal joy and pride. Working in different places across the country, it is our constant effort to integrate nature into our buildings just as much as it is important to integrate the ‘contemporariness’ of the form into its natural setting or neighbourhood. This is the underlying philosophy across all our work. Japanese architecture is a good reference for a regional approach to architecture as there is much to be learnt from their way of building. It is modern but rooted - the adopted language and materiality infuse seamlessly into the traditional narrative. In India, while a few have already achieved it, it is still possible to keep the spirit alive with a little more conscious effort. If we can successfully strike a balance between the known and unknown, the architecture of India can certainly inspire rest of the world. Often, construction sites in India are found to be chaotic and quite disorganised. Additionally, each site poses a unique challenge in itself. The uncertainty of Indian sites brings with it a lot of potential opportunities as well. For instance, we had worked on a residential project in the old city of Ahmedabad with common walls all around the site. This meant that even if we managed to create an introverted house, what would happen to the privacy if the client decided to sit in the garden? Reading into the context of the site, we realised that the garden could infact provide the neighbouring houses with a sense of visual relief, each time they look out their windows. It has been ten years since this project was completed, and now whenever our client uses the garden, the neighbours respect their privacy. Even after all these years as a professional, I think I still consider myself a student. There is so much one can learn every day from just observing their surroundings, neighbours, students, colleagues, and even the workers on site make for some of the best teachers. There are many new ideas and thoughts that could be assimilated from such observations - not everything can be taught in a classroom. A lot of learning happens based on the practicalities involved in a construction site. DETAIL At the studio, we work with a unique philosophy on each project. This is something we establish at the start of the project and follow it through to execution. Detailing of architectural as well as interior elements - from the door knob to the stitches on the cushions - is of equal significance in the process of design across all our work. This means, we are constantly working towards design-development, once the project has taken off. Execution of details requires good craftsmanship - including multiple samplings and mock-ups to enable fine-tuning of the end result. This back and forth process is an important assessor of the practicality and longevity of our intended design solutions. In a beautifully designed idea of architecture, it is the fine detailing that is very critical. Our material palette is quite diverse today. From synthetic materials to the naturally available palette - there is a huge variety. It is quite similar to a rich palette that an artist works with. With our kind of architecture, the most
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KEYNOTE
Previous Page: Office in the garden: the organic floating roof is seemingly weightless Right: A border of flowering plants, landscape elements and contemporary art work with the open & transparent layout of the office: a new vocabulary for office spaces in India
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important aspect is whether the chosen material would help create something timeless. Natural materials are generally the preferred choice but we also find immense potential in the man-made palette. I think striking a balance between the two is critical. Different projects demand different approaches, and hence the requirements vary. While few projects may require a very minimal palette, there are others that are complex in terms of materiality. In the end, the challenge is not very different once you have the experience and with it a certain control over application. Using a material for the sake of it, will fade away in essence, if the same had no established purpose in the first place. Today, our practice has grown fairly from when we started out. I think beyond materiality, the essence of each project is reflected in the governing design philosophy. A strong foundation can help a project by providing clarity in the materiality, limiting our choices by design and resulting in a well-articulated project. Today, we operate in a fast-paced economy where the quantum of construction is huge and access to information and know-how about anything is abundant. The impact of the visual media is immense on an individual, and we need to be aware of this as designers while guiding clients through the process of design. It is all right to falter but it is important to realise when we do. Being distracted by the numerous choices that are sometimes demanded by the client, is then not an option unless there is some significant bearing on the design. I have learnt that only practice gives the best results images can be distracting, and sometimes - deceiving. WORKMANSHIP India is a land of diversity in arts and crafts. We are a land replete with skilled communities of artisans across cultures. As designers if we do not acknowledge this, it is truly unfortunate. Collaborating with artisans is an important part of what we do as a practice - something I am still discovering and learning about from significant Indian practices such as Abhikram Architects led by Parul Zaveri and Nimish Patel. For instance, a traditional craftsman or a carpenter can teach us much more about a material they work with. I have learnt over the years that constraints in projects help one to push boundaries while finding solutions that may have not occurred to us otherwise. The basic elements of light and shade on any given site present in themselves the possibility of creating something beautiful. For us, the idea of exploring and reinterpreting traditional art and craft forms into our contemporary buildings has resulted in wonderful architectural possibilities. That said, we still have a lot to learn. We have formed a small team of craftsmen including carpenters who work closely with us on all our projects. There is a lot of mutual respect and understanding that we have developed for each other, and we find that there is a certain consistency and finesse across all our work because of this exchange. I feel that good workmanship that adds quality to a project, is important for the eventual outcome since our intent as designers is to create something that lasts. There are two kinds of workmanship in my imagination – the first affects the quality of the building where one cannot compromise, and the other kind of workmanship is ingrained in the design philosophy. The latter, I have come to understand, is inconsequential to the larger idea of any design project. Years ago, when I first visited the British Council Library designed by Charles Correa in New Delhi, I felt that it was so simple, and I thought to myself: Is it possible to design ‘simply’? At the time, I was only a student, and years later I realised that such simplicity in
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KEYNOTE
Above: A restaurant in Ahmedabad: Amidst the mango trees, the space is extended with small, semi-covered and open spaces to encourage private dining Right: Watercolour by Hiren Patel: House in Ahmedabad: sketch outlining the garden and built-form relationships
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KEYNOTE
a building is the toughest to achieve. It requires one to work their art with the discipline of a ‘Zen Master’. It is a kind of simplicity that takes years of practice and dedication, and sometimes even a lifetime to achieve: the kind of architecture that transcends workmanship! Today, I aspire for such quality in our work and this I know will take more practice and patience. ENDURANCE As architects, I would like to think that we are mostly optimistic (although critical) but at the same time, as professionals it is very important that we are accountable for whatever it is that we create or propose as Facing Page Above: A restaurant in Ahmedabad: Architecture and landscape in synchronicity – a path to design at HPA
design. We are trained to design buildings that would hopefully outlast us. Thus, it is essential that we keep reminding ourselves that whatever we create will inevitably have an impact on the environment and society
Facing Page Below: Courtyard House, Ahmedabad: The reflection pool enhances the verandah
it inhabits. If we design with the intention to spread happiness through our architecture, I believe that the
Above: A page from Hiren Patel’s travel sketch book: notes from a trip to Japan
the same, “Will our work spread happiness?” Subconsciously, I think my process is much deeper than just
positivity will reflect in our present and future societies as well. My question to our practice has always been designing a building - it is more like worship. I firmly believe that architecture cannot be taken for granted
HIREN PATEL is the Principal Architect of Hiren Patel Architects. Starting out as a small firm, HPA has grown exponentially over the last two decades working on projects of great variety and scale. From initial success in designing high-rise buildings in Ahmedabad, their work spans multiple geographies from the plains to the tropics. Today, HPA’s palette of work spans from small residences to large commercial developments. Highly acclaimed, HPA’s work has been recipient of many national recognitions. Their project, the ‘Dadamiyan Masjid’ in Ahmedabad was short-listed and recognised by the Aga Khan Award for Architecture Jury. Their work has an artistic inclination and their office is committed to open and continuous learning with the understanding of change as the only constant in life. Hiren’s architectural sketches and his travel drawing are a glimpse into his thinking and influences. He lives and works from Ahmedabad.
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CULTURE, COMMUNITY, CONTEXT Kalkeri Sangeet Vidyalaya by Kumar La Noce, Dharwad Bengaluru-based studio Kumar La Noce designs an extension to the existing school through a set of light, adaptable spaces for the Kalkeri Sangeet Vidyalaya, in turn driving culture, education and community engagement.
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Images: ©Kumar La Noce
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G
rounded eloquently on the landscape of the village of
fundamental, sustainable and gentle guidelines to initiate building on
Kalkeri, ‘Kalkeri Sangeet Vidyalaya’ (KVS) sprawls over three
the large, wild landscape. The intent of the architects was to create a
acres of land offering free schooling along with an intensive and
space for children and the community that is layered and adaptable.
comprehensive educational programme with an emphasis on
A quality public realm is created, offering a range of mixed-use
performing arts. Besides quality education, KVS funds food and
spaces and diverse experiences. Creating a safe, comfortable civic
accommodation and healthcare for all the students - mainly from
space, the new intervention welcomes the residents within and
the resident population of the village of Kalkeri. Founded in 2002,
encourages cultural exchange leading to greater social cohesion. The
the institution evolved, and the resulting space constraint demanded
plan suggests a potential for the campus to expand in response to the
an extension to cater additionally to the neighbouring villages.
future needs.
Bengaluru-based Kumar La Noce Architects designed the KVS complex to accommodate new art studios, reading rooms and other
Being the first formal structure in the vicinity, though taller than
supplementary programmes within the constraints of a frugal budget
the existing built environment in the village, KVS steers away from
and the short time-frame for execution.
making any grand expression or an extravagant statement. The plan is scattered - both diagrammatically and physically. The
The design of KVS introduces a language - a template that sets out
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programmes are dispersed amongst an assemblage of three blocks
SPACE Previous Spread: The light-weight steel roof structure designed in collaboration with BL Manjunath, the structural designer Facing Page: The courtyard spaces formed by the placement of the blocks being used by the resident users as spaces for congregation and conversations Right (Above): A diagram elaborating on the conceptual idea behind the design development Right (Below): The Kalkeri Sangeet Vidyalaya placed centrally in the vast expanse with a sparse built environment, highlighting the scope for incremental building in the future
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Left: Ground and the First Floor Plan of the Kalkeri Sangeet Vidyalaya underlining the arrangement of the built spaces around the courtyard and the corridor creating versatile usable spaces Facing Page (Above Left): The raised light-weight roof and the traveling brick jaali maintain the internal temperatures by ventilating the spaces Facing Page (Above Right): The corridors formed by the arrangement of the built volumes: spaces for interaction Facing Page (Below): A section of the KVS highlighting the hierarchy formed by the volumes of multiple scale
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Left: The double roofing system and the ‘eyelets’ creating an effective ventilation system for the classrooms Facing Page: Sensitively - scaled buildings encourage interaction Overleaf: The familiar materials used till the eye level (the bamboo slat roof for the extended corridor) makes sure the structure is rooted to the existing built environment
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SPACE
organised around a courtyard and an open space. The school is a
to the existing context. This connection is drawn with the outside by
composite of masses and volumes that create in-between flexible
privileging a sense of enclosure. An emphasis is sensitively laid on
spaces. These transition spaces allow the users to gather for various
the needs of the community. It was also important for the architects
events, congregations and outdoor classes while nurturing a sense
to understand the building materials and techniques viable for the
of community. These spaces are the collective heart of the plan.
context. Using materials and workforce from the vicinity of the site,
Punctuated by the courtyards, they render light and flexibility to
the construction in itself was intended as a learning process for those
the plan around which the social gathering spaces are organised.
involved, teaching them techniques with which to build on their own
This three-dimensionality and dynamic massing lends KVS visual
in the future. In all the new structures, from design to construction and
inconsistency that breaks monotony and connects more viscerally
materials, a certain roughness exists.
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Left (Above and Below): Explorations of the double roof structure in the form of a sectional model and a section designed in collaboration with BL Manjunath Facing Page Below: A rendered illustration showing the multiple volumes of the blocks
SECTION 1. Size stone masonry in stone excavated on site 2. Cuddappah stone flooring 3. Cement oxide dado in blue-green 4. Brick ‘Jaali’ void for passive ventilation 5. Burnt Brick masonry plastered in mud 6. Reinforced cement concrete beam 7. Mild steel anchor plate 8. Corrugated GI sheet with cut-outs for ventilation 9. Mild steel T-section 50x50x6 tie-bar 10. Mild steel square box section 25x25 11. GI sheet roofing 12. Split bamboo sun shade roof 13. MS double angle beam support 14. Eucalyptus wood post 15. Random rubble stone retaining wall 17. MS angle frame windows
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SPACE
The structures were built by the villagers under the supervision
colour similar to the built environment around. On the other hand, a
of a group of engineering students from École de Technologie
mossy blue-green cement oxide dado complements the ochre while
Supérieure in Montreal, Canada, instead of a general contractor,
protecting the bases of the blocks from dirt and grime. The use of this
and the simplicity of the design is a reflection not just of the desire to
warm visual palette ensures that the structure does not dramatically
use native materials - but also a pragmatic approach to the realities
alter the colours of the landscape. The materiality achieves a balance.
of using unspecialised labour on a complex project. The architecture is not just accommodative of this lack of refinement but it uses this
The extremely light but resilient roofs designed with the consultation of
element to its advantage.
the structural engineer BL Manjunath are a critical component of the project. The two main blocks are designed with a double roof - one
At the eye-level - the community sees everything as one. Even
vaulted and the other inclined. The ‘eyelets’ in the roof are essentially
though the building is a new introduction, it seems still rooted to
punctures that help create a passive ventilation cycle. The corrugated
the context. The materiality is tactile, and the textures are familiar.
metal roof is placed atop the light trusses rather than directly on
Materials are austere but durable, aimed not only at reducing
the walls, preventing the heat from radiating directly into the space
maintenance costs but also at giving the building a longer life,
below. Abundant air circulation through the roofs and the brick-screen
thus becoming a key factor for the economic and environmental
patterns travels along the walls to help maintain a comfortable inside
feasibility of the project. Two key materials used for the construction
even on the hottest days. The intent was to design a roof that could
of the learning complex are locally sourced brick and cuddappah
efficiently integrate performance, character and efficiency in terms of
stones. A layer of mud render provides the buildings with their ochre
climatic comfort, cost and construction.
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Steel was introduced with a specific intent: the steel-framed roof structure allows the architects to create a functional soffit using simple, readily available sections while ensuring efficiency of cost and construction time through a modular system. This was also considered as a ’learning-teaching ’project in the sense that the language used for the steel roof can be easily adapted by the fabricators to construct other facilities within the campus. Kalkeri Sangeet Vidyalaya illustrates a prototype for an economy that confronts the pressing issue faced by peri-urban communities – the lack of quality civic space. While the visual quality plays an important role in this assimilation of the new within the old, the social impact of the built environment is given an upper hand. The Kalkeri Sangeet Vidyalaya is a response to the realities of the immediate context in which Facing Page (Two Images) and Below: KVS has become has become an integral part of the village, and the daily lives of the people
it exists. It is a model for urban offices working within a fairly rural context. The inherent programmatic value of the project is enhanced by the architecture. Kalkeri Sangeet Vidyalaya is an inclusive space that demonstrates the potential of architecture as a catalyst for cultural and social growth
KUMAR LA NOCE is an Indo-Italian architectural practice founded in Bengaluru, India in 2012,by Bhavana Kumar and Nicola La Noce. The studio has worked on projects of various scales including residential, educational, art installations, interior and urban design since its inception. Their work is based on typological reasoning and a need to create evocative spaces informed by pragmatism, culture and collective memory. In 2016, the studio was chosen as one of 10 ‘Outstanding’ young Practices by IIA Karnataka Chapter and their work was exhibited at the 10x10 Praxis Exhibition in Bengaluru. In Jan 2017, KLN was chosen amongst the winners of ‘Young Designers 17’ by Indian Architect & Builder magazine. In April 2019, the studio received a Forbes India Design Award for its work. Their completed projects include the Jade House, restaurants for the Crowne Plaza in Bengaluru, a boutique resort in Kerala along with the Kalkeri Sangeet Vidyalaya in Dharwad.
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CONSERVATION FOR CONTINUITY Sree Vadakkunnathan Temple Conservation Project, dd Architects Images: ©dd Architects, PV Padmanabhan; courtesy Vinod Kumar MM, PV Padmanabhan and Studio Matter, Isha Raut
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Restored through a continuous effort spanning over a decade, Sree Vadakkunnathan Temple Conservation Project was carried out under the supervision of Thrissur-based Vinod Kumar MM of dd Architects. The process focuses on the authentic, with an idea of reviving traditional workmanship through an amalgamation of interdisciplinary interventions.
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ocated in the heart of Thrissur - the cultural capital of Kerala, Sree Vadakkunnathan Temple (incrementally built around twelfth century) has played a significant role in the evolution of
the temple town. Conceived as the conceptual centre of the temple town, the place continues to be a living institution in the core of the new and aggressive developments around. The sprawling fortified temple complex consists of multiple structures performing their specific roles – a comprehensive cluster in the urban fabric of Thrissur. The orthogonally planned temple complex sits on a hillock with four entrances at the cardinal access points of the main axis, following the traditional scheme of the Kerala temples.
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With an undetermined date of origin, the temple is a time-honoured
is a continuing link to the viscera of the history of Thrissur. Enveloped
illustration of the local architecture headlining a reserve of invaluable
by a changing urban fabric and yet effectively located amidst a
knowledge systems of the past. The elaborate open spaces,
conservative community, the residents were the prime drivers of efforts
institutions, vernacular housing, the customs and practices along
behind the conservation of Vadakkunnathan. Day-to-day activities
with the social, spatial and the spiritual fabric of Thrissur has built an
of the temple are administered and managed by the state agency
irreplaceable relationship with the geography of the temple structures.
- Cochin Devaswom Board, while the temple is protected under the aegis of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). The funding and the
After centuries of exposure to tropical monsoons and no recorded
human resources for the project were provided by the VGKT, which is
holistic repair and restoration works, a structural assessment
the Venugopalaswamy Kanikaryam Trust, Chennai.
conducted in the 1990s flagged up concern for a considerable
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part of the complex that was left in a state of disrepair and distress.
Vinod Kumar MM of dd Architects co-ordinated the decade long
The Vadakkunnathan being a repository of heritage and culture,
project. Outlining the philosophical rooting in executing this process,
an integrated approach for restoring this intangible landscape was
he writes, “The temple conservation process itself is incomplete
essential. The legacy and the heritage of this place is a crucial driver
without the elaborate traditions and rituals which are performed with
in shaping the identity of Thrissur. A living entity, the temple complex
the same respect and vigour as they were hundreds of years ago.�
SPACE Previous Page: Pen-and-ink with water-colour: drawing of the plan of the Hindu temple at Thrissur, by John Gould, dated 11th June, 1816 Facing Page: An aerial view of the Vadakkunnathan Temple precinct positioned centrally in the dense urban fabric of Thrissur Right (Above and Below): The Gosalakrishnan, before and after the conservation process. The replacement of the shingles is visible
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Below: An account of the transition of the temple and the process of restoration Facing Page (Above): The restored timber elements of the temple blend in with the original elements Facing Page (Below): The roof shingles creating a visible account of the restoration process
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SPATIAL EXPERIENCE Positioned in a unique cultural realm, the commanding multifaceted
the temples of South India. There is an inherent building diagram that
temple precinct embodies dynamic systems and sub-systems with
follows the solar and the lunar calendar in response to metaphysical
physical and metaphysical hierarchies. Being a sacred and religious
and mythical layers.
site, many customs dictate the access routes and controls for the
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spaces within the precinct. The main shrine, positioned in the centre
The Vadakkunnathan has a complex and distinct timber construction
of the complex, is surrounded by multiple verandas and courtyards. At
system which is characterised by a refined craftsmanship. It is a
the Vadakkunnathan, the innermost sanctum is wrapped in complete
repository of formal knowledge, structural clarity, tradition, symbolism
darkness and the progression into this space is a ritualistic movement
and above all, material and workmanship in timber. There is an
where one undergoes dynamic experiences through the hierarchies of
inherent endurance to the materials used, and the monumentality
transition spaces filtering light in various qualities before reaching the
of the place is evidenced by the intricate use of timber and copper
sanctum. Light is an endemic element to the planning and design of
details and not through imposing scale or form.
Above: A panoramic view of the temple grounds during the process of restoration displaying the hierarchy of spaces within the complex Below: Devotees in traditional outfits exiting the inner sanctum which is enveloped by the corridors and courtyard
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Left: The documentation of Vrishabhan, post the restoration process A. Floor Plan B. Rafter Plan C. Section AA Facing Page Above Left: The restoration process being carried out in traditional methods Facing Page (Three Images): Restored elements from the temple complex
Mugappu
Utharam
Monthayam
Vala
Koodam Kazhukol
Thoonu
Monthayam Koodam Vala Kazhukol
Ornamental Mugappu Clay Tile Wooden Battens
Cheriya utharam Vilakkumadom Thoonu Drain
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Vilakkumadom Drain
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MATERIAL HERITAGE - CONSTRUCTION CULTURES The authenticity in place is reinforced by its cultural milieu. Being
while attempting any conservation interventions. The significant
closely involved with the process for years, the project has been
materials used for the temple construction were timber, lime, stone
restrained to a minimum intervention in an attempt to retain the
and copper. A traditional herbal mixture in oil called Ashtakuttu
ethos of the existing structures. The Vadakkunnathan Temple
(a mixture of eight ingredients) was applied on to the wooden
Conservation Project is an example of an intervention in living
members used in the temple construction for protecting it from
heritage – a case for many historic spaces across India. The
termites and other weathering issues.”
learnings from the process has also informed Vinod’s contemporary practice. His vision to revive the craftsmanship informs his practice
In replacing the copper roof shingles, the architect limits the work
as well. While contemporary conservation attitudes either swing
to the places where it is absolutely necessary and by treating only
towards more stylistic restorations to outright insensitivity, this project
the damaged parts of the timber, makes this project an important
addresses the critical aspects of heritage - its ancient atmosphere
precedent. The patina of transformation is visible through the layers
and its ritualistic significance remains unchanged. The execution is
of the old and the new. These visible accounts of transformation
rooted in the traditions.
now remain open to scrutiny. History and contemporary practice have found a place in a building which has been restored over a
Emphasising these ideas is a thought that “every sacred space
certain period of time, and while it does not reject the notion of
has its relationship with the cosmic energies and renews itself
transformation, it deals with it with a degree of reverence, choosing
at intervals. It is highly important to understand these energy
to expose the magnificence of the old in proximity to the new and
fields as well, the use of organic materials compatible to them
the restored.
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The architect references collective knowledge. In India, the patterns of
knowledge also came from the occupants who administer the temple.
building trade occupations have traditionally followed a conservative
The multiple philosophical layers of indispensable traditions attached
caste system, and recognising and working with this reality was
to architectural space have an equal standing in the process of
intrinsic to the conservation process. Around five hundred artisans
conservation. The execution of the project carefully accounts for and
and craftsmen were associated with the restoration process over a
is done in conformity with the conventional building techniques and
time span of fifteen years. The idea of the community engaging with
craftsmanship. This makes the Vadakkunnathan Temple Conservation
the project helped resurrect the crafts and the sentimentality towards
Project a distinct illustration for contemporary heritage practices in the
some processes. These craftsmen engage with local contemporary
country. It is an exemplification of restoration of the intangible through
practices today - thus safeguarding the practices as custodians of this
a restoration of the tangible. The project balances the conventions
intangible heritage of making.
and the mandates put forth by the various stakeholders and agencies involved in the execution with a clear structure and hierarchy along with a defined scope of work. These stakeholders include the heritage
RITUALISTIC CONTINUITY
authorities, communities, the local government and the administrators of the complex.
A restoration project of this scale is not just an effort of looking into the material aspects, but it also demands a careful study of the ritualistic heritage. The processes that are intrinsic to the life of the
THE PUBLICNESS OF THE LIVING HERITAGE
building must not been overwhelmed. The work had to be carried
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out in collaboration with the temple authorities running the cultural
Sree Vadakkunnathan Temple precinct is a living structure which
establishment to ensure that these essential continuities remain
will always remain relevant to the transforming realities of town
unbroken. His process has been conscious of this rich cultural
of Thrissur. It sits in a contested, yet a democratic realm and the
repository. A considerable amount of contribution, guidance and
consequences of this conservation process is accessible to all. It is an
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effort of restoration in the public domain. The engagement and the
entity for the town. The conscious interventions do not extend to
participation of the community is not limited to the ritualistic use,
materiality solely but also to these larger ideas including blurring the
but it extends to the changing urban landscape of the temple. The
thresholds, thus allowing flexibility while reinforcing present urban
process of design and the restoration effort takes into account the
connections. There are not many known, similar examples of living
space surrounding the temple complex – its immediate context.
heritage within our urban centres that can afford the rich open space
Being an ASI protected monument site, the immediate radius
Vadakkunnathan possesses and to deal sensitively with this space is
remains porous to the urban community engaging with the space.
central to the new interventions. In this process, there is an underlying
The temple precinct remains adaptable and behaves as a nodal
idea of preservation of an ancient public space.
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GOING BEYOND What emerges as a reflection of this process is that “communicating the significance of a heritage site is equally important as conserving it. All efforts including expert workshops, exhibitions, seminars and publications - have been taken to communicate the essence of works done to protect this living monument with all its authenticity and integrity.” The Vadakkunnathan Temple Conservation Project was honoured with the UNESCO Asia Pacific Award of Excellence for Cultural Heritage Conservation in 2015. It presents a compelling vision which potentially allows us to understand better, the changing roles of heritage spaces trapped within aggressively growing urban centres. The discourse initiated here is celebrating the idea of preserving and continuing the rich heritage of material craft along with a consciousness of the experiential heritage – the real and the mythical – a philosophy deeply embedded in our culture. A celebration of collaboration and a commendable effort, the values embodied over the components of the built environment - its identity, analysis and preservation processes and its historic significance - is a step further for community efforts in preserving the fragile thread of continuity that connects our collective past to our collective future
Previous Page: The Vadakkunnathan Temple lamp facade that wraps the inner sanctum Facing Page Above: The Vadakkunnathan Temple Precinct Facing Page (Below, Left-Right): The Restored copper roof and the lamp facade Below: The area around the temple precinct being used as a public space by the locals
dd Architects started as the individual architectural practice of Vinod Kumar MM. During his architectural training at Ahmedabad, Vinod was introduced to Kerala’s rich architectural traditions. Soon after his graduation in Bengaluru, Vinod left to work in a French-Malaysian architectural company at Kuala Lumpur. There he worked on modern high rises. A sudden turn of events brought Vinod back to his home-town in Kerala and he started travelling around the state exploring its indigenous architecture, people and art forms. In 2002, Vinod Kumar MM started design dreams with his first formal public project – Sakthan Tampuran heritage gardens at Thrissur. In the next one decade, design dreams undertook a variety of projects – architecture, conservation, landscape, interiors and urban revitalisation. In 2013, design dreams evolved to a full-fledged studio – dd Architects.
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BEYOND PATRONAGE Architecture in the Public Domain by Mancini Enterprises Pvt Ltd 50
Images: ŠMancini Enterprises
Projects in the public domain are not ordinarily facilitated by a direct dialogue between the architect and the end-user. Instead, they deal with multiple agencies or a singular representative body, depending on the nature of the work. Operating within two distinct frameworks but catering to a public at large, the GKD Crematorium and the Railway Station in Coimbatore designed by Chennai-based Mancini Enterprises Pvt Ltd explore the possibilities in the many constraints and contradictions of privately-funded public projects, where the resulting architecture is an informed alternative that is both, applied and strategic.
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A
rchitecture in post-independence India played a critical role in
Addressing the practice of architecture in the public realm, it must
the task of nation-building, a project supported by the State
be acknowledged that there exists a fundamental difference between
and a significant number of goodwill citizens. Since the wave of a
‘architecture in the public domain’ and ‘public architecture’- the
largely ‘privatised’ global economy, the profession like many other
distinction primarily being one of the involved agencies, depending
service sectors, is inevitably sustained by an industrial commerce.
on the ownership and monetary source. Set within an intricate web
However, this notion has witnessed a change of perception in the
of dynamics, architecture today has resurfaced as an effective design
recent years with several professionals collaborating with not-for-
aid in the public realm adopting a different approach to practice
profit organisations and other institutions operating in the public-
by way of collaboration across diverse specialisations. In this new
private interface, as a means to initiate a design dialogue that holds
equation where the current economic, ecological and political
significant value for a society.
climates provoke architecture to confront its own priorities and assumptions, how could these broader relationships help to redefine
With the dawn of a different kind of architecture in the public
the role of patronage in architecture?
domain that is unassumingly responsive to set-requirements by virtue of a diligent design process, it appears that the “fundamental
While the level of complexity poses a variable, the only
difference between public and private projects is not just defined by
uncompromising constant is the unanimous pursuit of an
the agencies involved but also the amount of trust that is bestowed
inclusive architecture. Situated in contrasting contexts of the city
on the collective vision of the private donors and the architects, by
of Coimbatore, the architecture of GKD Crematorium and the
the authorities representing the public. Once this trust is established,
Railway Station strive to strike a balance between the ideation of the
the process of design is not really compromised as opposed to the
appropriate, the imminent negotiations while addressing the rationale
general perception”, clarifies Niels Schoenfelder, Principal Architect.
of planning, and practising restraint in the approach to design.
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A - ADMINISTRATION BLOCK B - CREMATION PAVILION C - ANTE SPACE D - FURNACE E - RESTROOM F - RAISED PLANTER G - RIVERBED LANDSCAPE H - RITUAL PAVILION I - PARKING
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Above: SITE PLAN - The Crematorium designed as two pavilions within a walled garden of existing trees in the midst of a dense urban context Facing Page Above: Approach the GKD Public Crematorium in Coimbatore for the GKD Charity Trust, South India
THE GKD CREMATORIUM, COIMBATORE The rituals associated with death are as diverse in India as its many
within a garden of existing trees, containing a requisite seclusion
cultures. The environment in which they are originally performed are
within the premises.
intrinsically linked to the geography and landscape of a place. In the mundaneness of our everyday urban environments, crematoriums
Funded by a charity, the exposed structures of the crematorium
like most public infrastructure are a bare minimum construct of
attempt at a bold reform that is not only respectful of the cultural
function. While catering to the inevitable pace of urbanisation,
construct, but also the nitty-gritties related to construction on
the design of GKD Crematorium seeks to uphold the traditionally
public land. Entrusted with complete oversight of the execution of
sentimental values associated with this typology.
architecture and engineering in the project, Niels stresses on the importance of the client in the, “Excellent handling of the public-
Situated in the heart of the city, the design of the crematorium
private interface, and the continued association with the operations
consciously negotiates the thresholds between its environs and the
of the building post-construction.� This framework within which
city. With high walls compounding the complex, the gaze is drawn
the design was enabled offers a critical learning in the role of the
towards a pair of stark form-finished concrete roofs that appear to
architect as a mediator of ambition and expectation, rendering an
be gently hovering above the designed pavilions which are set deep
informed alternative that has more to offer than meets the eye.
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Above: Entrance to the eastern pavilion - the space for cremation is a dignified environment, that negotiates light and darkness in the articulation of the form-finished concrete Left: An understated grandeur is perceivable in the order and proportions of the concrete structural system Below: Glimpses of the landscape against the stark concrete finish of the crematorium pavilions Facing Page: (Photographs and Drawings): Details and detailing of the space - an attention to the finer aspects of architecture Overleaf (Left Page): Relationship of the Landscape to the Built: The in-between riverbed acts as a solemn space for rituals on the day subsequent to the cremation
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PAVILION 1
SECTION THROUGH EAST PAVILION
BLACK POLISHED GRANITE 6” THICK ON FORM FINISHED CONCRETE BASE WITH DRAIN
CUT ISOMETRIC VIEW OF PEDESTAL
SECTION ACROSS THE PEDESTAL
ELEVATION OF PEDESTAL
SECTION THROUGH THE PAVILION
ELEVATION FIXING / RAIN WATER DRAIN DETAIL
METAL MEMBER FIXING/RAIN WATER DRAIN DETAIL
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THE RAILWAY STATION, PERIYANAICKENPALAYAM In another public setting, a modest 146-year old railway station situated in the midst of a suburban industrial neighbourhood of Coimbatore, was redesigned to accommodate a potential increase in the number of commuters in the near future. As a public-utility building, the project encompassed potential to grow beyond hierarchies of decision-making, and strategise through empowerment of the local bodies by way of participation. Although privately-funded, the design was not constricted but informed by an established framework within which the representative public body operates, “The Indian Railways have a rule book for the development of stations, and an engineering staff oversees the design and construction of any project on their premises. Apart from lending their expertise, The Railway Users’ Association of Coimbatore also involved the local community representatives via a regular review process to ensure that the immediate neighbourhood is satisfied with the overall design of the station.” The new building was conceived as a simple 2000 square feet layout with clearly defined service cores flanking the two ends. Although the renewed railway station facility seemingly appeals to a ‘modern’ sensibility in the manner of its materiality and logic of structure, at its core the overall architecture of the station attempts to merely “sharpen the vernacular” with an industrial appropriation that is especially visible in the fine resolution of the roof. In architecture, occasionally it is found that a project is often critiqued for its manner of detailing that is sometimes not obvious to the untrained eye. Whether it is in the quality of form-finished concrete surfaces in the Crematorium, the finer details of accessories or even in the choice of a material palette in the Railway Station; the efficacy is usually apparent in the way a space is eventually occupied and used over time. In purview of the recently completed and other proposed public commissions for a ‘state-of-the-art’ architecture, the critical feedback such projects foster could potentially inform the profession about a cyclic change or evolution of needs and concerns of design of our public spaces- filtering out assumptions and romanticised notions of a ‘public architecture’ that often hovers between dream and disaster. Taking stock of the utilitarian architecture in the public domain over the last decade including public toilets, walkways, post offices and bus-stops, it is clear that
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FUTURE EXPANSION
02 FUTURE EXPANSION DROP OFF
PROVISION FOR 4 WHEELER PARKING
PROVISION FOR TWO WHEELER PARKING
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01 SITE ENTRY 02 BUILDING ENTRANCE 03 RAMP ENTRY 04 TOILET FOR THE PHYSICALLY CHALLENGED 05 GENTS’ TOILET 06 LADIES’ TOILET 07 GENERAL WAITING HALL 08 TICKET COUNTER 09 BOOKING OFFICE 10 STAFF TOILET 11 STORE 12 DRINKING WATER 13 PLATFORM
Previous Spread Left: Detailed Design Exploration: Axonometric View of The Railway Station structure Previous Spread Right (Above): Approach: The building is conceived as a solid service volume flanking a permeating public lobby, enabling improved ventilation & visual connection Previous Spread Right (Below): Glimpses of the building - Industrial details as a response to the engineering establishments in the neighbourhood Facing Page Above: The restraint in the design is perceivable in the articulation of the volume, thresholds, and scalability of the structure with respect to its environs Facing Page Below: Dramatic play of light and shadows owing to the structural resolution and the application of perforated screens as an element of transparency
SECTION AA
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the value of the profession is no longer bound by a particular kind of patronage but is accessible as a service to the society at large. While ‘inclusiveness’ as an approach to design is a significant indicator of the engagement of the architect with the society, it is hard to ignore the fact that, “public projects offering a sense of respect and wellbeing to its end-users through quality detailing and a connect to their aspirations, can play a pivotal role in reversing the perception of the profession as a provider for the ‘privatised sector’.” With a recent shift in the patterns of patronage and new-found modes of finance including ‘crowd-funded initiatives’ and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives among others, it is more important now than ever to recognise the appropriate role of the architect in the execution of a ‘progressive design’ idea with respect to the operational framework of a project. The course of design then follows a duly informed approach where the architect is not only conscious of the limitations but also the implicit potential they present in themselves. Evident in the architectural language of the Crematorium and the Railway Station is an inspired individuality that is more about a new spirit, than style of public architecture as an integral contributor to societal needs manoeuvring convention and wishful thinking
Founded in 2004, MANCINI ENTERPRISES offers comprehensive design services in the fields of urban planning, architecture, interiors, landscape, furniture and lighting design. Based out of Chennai, South India, Mancini’s team of 40 professionals is headed by Niels Schoenfelder (M.Arch, TU Darmstadt), J T Arima (B.Arch, Goa) and Bharath Ram K (B.Arch, Chennai). Their approach is based on dialogue with corporate and private clients and analysis of constraints, thus establishing the project ‘reality’. Subsequently, the entire design process - from ideas to finished products inclusive of costing and engineering refers to this reality. It is the challenge of diversity which fuels their practice.
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Image: ©Matter; Monsoon at the Charles Correa’s Kala Academy in Goa
Above: The Kala Academy by Charles Correa in Goa is a fluid space where the eye moves uninterrupted - a ‘non-building’ that resists image-making in the favour of an experience
THE MEANDERING GAZE
Design of Space and the Biases of the Visual World by Ruturaj Parikh
The essay argues for a more sensory and haptic approach towards design of space where the ocular biases are moderated and the experience of the space is the attribute of value of design.
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ESSAY
THE VISUAL REALM While one may sense the slow movement of the world of design towards specialisations and ‘vertical’ domains of expertise, one cannot deny the overwhelming visual stimulus that stretches across all aspects of contemporary life. From trying to sell soda to making a fine piece of furniture, one has to recognise the sheer force of an image and the disruptive nature of mediums that prioritise the visual. Good design, often, is multi-sensory and engages with issues that often go beyond the central purpose of design. In this context, one may be prompted to look at the seminal ‘India Report’ by Charles and Ray Eames that formed the foundational thinking for establishment of NID. The plastic arts, the visual arts and design were engaged with in a seamless domain that delimits design from its entangled definition. The visual realm, in India, also deals with the special way our changing light interacts with our landscape. The light defers – from the sharp, geometric light we enjoy in the arid plains to the defused and interrupted light we work with in the Ghats, the light seems to be an age-old influencer of design in India. The vibrant colours of the desert thus contrast the white and gold of the apparels of the tropical south. The extensive visual palette in India traditionally received its diversity from context. This has changed – especially in the domain of interior design. The interior space is a tactile, three-dimensional space that negotiates the indulgences of architecture with the human scale. Contemporary architecture often indulges in ‘image-making’ – a dissociated and problematic domain wherein the ‘imageability’ of a built space takes over the design process disengaging the design from finer experiences that are difficult to communicate in the predominant mediums of architectural thought drawings, visualisations and text. While the discipline of architecture distances itself from the human scale, the domain of interior design finds itself taking over as the primary medium for experience of the built environment. It must therefore disrupt the visual bias and interact with the idea of ‘experience’ – a theatre for space to unravel.
THE EXPERIENCE THEATRE Contemporary interior design practice is a problematic space. Often misunderstood with styling and ‘lifestyle design’, the discipline in India is gradually coming of age. Dominated by projects in the retail and F&B space, interior design is much more accessible as a conversation for the aspiring middle-class. In a typical Bandra bistro, one would find marble, kotah stone, cast concrete, cane, brass inlay, stainless steel, toughened glass, cement mosaic and copper. The intensity of experience is further heightened by mirrors, water, lighting and music – pure scenography! So what is the architecture of a space like this? – None. It is a neutral white box: a space for the theatre to unfold! In the past 15 years, designers in India have mastered this pop-up spatial domain of design. Magazines have made this space accessible and exciting. The apparent ‘temporariness’ of the interior space opens it up for everyone to experiment with. A failure does not cost much to rectify and there are happy coincidences. It is design for everyone interested in ‘seeing’ – architects, interior designers, designers from other disciplines, stylists, clients and Vaastu consultants. While this accessibility of interior design has opened up new avenues, it has also limited the discussion on the interior space to concerns of form. A conversation on ‘content’ seems to be
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largely absent. There are observable contradictions in the way interior design is practiced. Firstly, the tools of communicating design of an interior space or of – lets say – an exhibition deign proposal are far too similar to the tools that are used for communicating architecture. These tools are limiting. They are two-dimensional and can never capture the ‘experience’ of a space. The 3D visualisations complicate this issue further by extending the fallacies of a 2D space. The experience theatre needs a language of its own. In recent times, some designers have ventured to look for a process that better resembles the experience of the interior space. These tools include immersive renders, spatial mock-ups, Photoshop collages and mood-boards. Nonetheless, they do not substitute for the missing grammar in the practice of interior design. This grammar – however it can be articulated – must deal with the more tactile aspects of Interior Design. This language must talk about social behaviour, environmental concerns, issues of ergonomics and human interaction, ideas of comfort and delight. While the contemporary tools of spatial exploration enable us to have a better grip on the ‘form’ of the interior space, this grammar must address the issue of ‘content’. Effectively, ‘The Experience Theatre’ enables us to delimit the typological and phonetic boundaries of the interior space. The theatre extends the design palette to atmospheres – ambiences, temperatures, visual state of materials, touch, smell and sound. How does one design for hard timber without touching hard timber? In India, where the language of ‘craft’ in the format of ‘making’ is well-understood, how can the formal discipline participate in this fluid, sensory feast that our landscape invariably offers?
THE PLATE FOR THE CRUISINE Interior design is specific. It is as much an issue of recipes that it is an issue of ingredients. One can recollect the exacting nature of traditional furniture – from Gujarati swings to Parsi dining-sets. While our spaces are cluttered with derivative, industrially produced things, they seem to have completely lost the fine indulgence of the stubborn and often, quirky designs that were crafted to complement space. Cheap materials and cheap, replicable, modular, mass-produced objects now dominate our spaces. While they nurture the great idea of economy and efficiency, they often lack the personality of a radiogram cabinet – finely crafted to suit the space, the equipment, the analogue electronics and the human scale. The beautiful hinges enable one to hold the cabinet at an angle wherein the pin can rest comfortably on vinyl. It was built to last forever. We often encounter the limitations of the generic party-dish to enjoy Andhra cuisine. The gravies are too runny for the plate! The form, in interior space, rarely follows content. The new grammar of design thus must have a space for nonuniversal ideas - ideas that are rooted in the immediate context of practice. Take for instance the omnipresent colour catalogue. This fanning-out catalogue of a thousand paint shades has nothing to do with ideas. It confuses and contradicts the principle for using colour in a landscape like India. Instead of a deeper understanding of the backdrop, intensity of sun, the receiving and releasing of light and the tolerances, colour is splashed everywhere almost as a membrane that hides cheap materials. While an industrial palette – designed for graphic exuberance – provides an endless Pantone sequence of hues and shades, it fails to address the very fundamental context for use of colour in an architectural space. It is, thus, not a question of choice but an issue of appropriateness and consideration. This is perhaps the line where interior design parts ways with interior décor and styling.
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ESSAY
CONTEXT “Design is not art” said Dashrath Patel in 1998. He must have sensed the overwhelming influence of Fashion and arbitrary design movements that would consume us in the two subsequent decades. Contemporary interior design is an unfortunate victim of this commodification of the inhabited space. This is not to discard the wonderful gifts of industrial production and IKEA but to evaluate the role of the interior design discipline in contemporary times. Recently, we have come across rich examples of design of interior space in domains other than residential, retail and F&B. These examples span a range of projects – institutions, pavilions, theatre sets, co-working spaces and libraries. Indian society has an innate cultural memory. The interior space and its experience is intrinsically entangled in the web of this memory. This space has a simultaneous grasp of the constraints and the possibilities of life to manifest. The pluralistic nature of this palette has its origins in a limited number of ingredients. These ingredients are the tools that come from the context. They can be agnostic of the visual realm where the designer goes shopping and may not sit comfortably. In some cases, this tension of disparate kit of parts works in the favour of the milieu – a skill few designers possess. In most cases, this over-production of possibilities creates visual confusion and a sense of uncanny newness that mimics the randomness of a retail window-display. Often experienced in the interior design of apartment buildings, there is a delirious concoction of aspirations, cheap credit and quick-fix deployment of things. The house is the most intimate of spaces one designs for. The palette can be compared to a ‘mela’ – a melange of mercurial Indian sensibilities that have an almost magpie-like curiosity. The contemporary discipline does no justice to this cultural memory – an ability to make fine visual judgements without the biases of a consumer culture. We often therefore see the professional interior designers employed in serving the affluent class or trying to do new tricks in the retail / commercial space. The immense possibilities presented to design professionals in the middle-class domestic space are lost. These gaps are quickly filled with decorators and the primary purpose of the design of interior space dealing with the tough questions of human occupation is lost. It feels like a kaleidoscope stuck on a singular thought-pattern. By re-orienting the purpose of interior design to be able to shake this kaleidoscope and to be able to return to the grammar of space that better represents context is the most essential and urgent need. This thought is not merely a reaction to the lifestyle supermarket but it originates from the urge to reimagine the role of interior design in articulation of contemporary life in a culturally diverse India. A context for design thought in the domain of interior design will help us realign our lost bearings and help us make better sense of the deluge of visual information that may soon sweep over us completely
RUTURAJ PARIKH is Founder and Director at MATTER - an architecture, design and publishing firm based in Goa. His work at matter deals with architecture and curatorial projects with the idea of the diversity and richness of the Indian landscape at the core of the practice. He is the former Director of the Charles Correa Foundation where he led research and public forum initiatives.
ESSAY is a white-paper on abstract and exploratory ideas that impact Architecture and Interior Design in India.
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Left and Facing Page: Fabien Charuau captures the sensory spatial quality of Balkrishna Doshi’s ‘Amdavad ni Gufa’ with paintings by M F Hussain: the subterranean building is a cave-like space - a building that is completely interior
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CONSTRUCTIONS Sameep Padora on the Dynamics of Crafting Architecture
In a conversation with Sameep Padora, Founder and Principal at Sameep Padora and Associates, Mumbai, we discuss the distinctions and contradictions involved in the ‘craft of making’ and the bearings of a skill-centric approach towards the practice of architecture in contemporary India.
Left: Sameep Padora studying the rammed stone dust walls by Hunnarshala Foundation at Jetavan Facing Page Above: Detail sketches resolving the typical junctions of rammed earth at the plinth level
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DIALOGUE
INSIDE: [IN]
India has a wealth of accessible skill and there is a certain emphasis on ‘making’ things on site. How does the potential of crafting things with available skill-sets inform your work?
SAMEEP PADORA: SP
Firstly, I would like to discuss this idea of craft. It is usually implied that the ratification of a skill as a craft is contingent on the object(s) that a process produces. For our practice, it is the process more than outcome that is far more fascinating. Many times, I feel that this kind of approach is interesting because of the fact that it allows one to begin looking at things that you would not otherwise even consider as craft. For instance, the Carpet Pavilion is one such project we worked on many years ago. Here, we worked with carpet layers who do wall-to-wall carpeting, stitching seams of carpets - something you would not consider to be a craft, perhaps a mundane urban skill at the most. Informed by strategic design input, we were able to push that mundane urban skill, to a point where it actually ended up transforming waste carpet into a crafted installation. For me, it is the classic distinction between the notion of craft as a verb as opposed to a noun, the distinction between relationships of craft as process instead of an object.
[IN]
When you say craft and process, how does the process of ‘making’ something with a certain degree of human skill or technology inform your work?
SP
Often in the way we practice, the need for a particular skill arises from the material need of a project, which in my opinion should supersede the design input from the architect. So many times, for us the act of making operates within a framework or a material ecology that warrants us to seek out certain skills or vice versa. Even though we may have an idea of what we would want to work with, we are never really fixated on what the idea should manifest into. It is merely a step towards the search for the next
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opportunity for resolution, almost like following clues and piecing together the solution to the mystery or having to switch directions if the clues point to a dead end. For instance, in Jetavan, we actually started out with the intention to build with rammed earth, bringing in Hunnarshala Foundation for that specific purpose. We ended up having to look for alternate materials from our immediate context. That is when we decided to construct walls out of rammed stone dust, owing to the presence of stone quarries in the vicinity of the site, and with guidance from Hunnarshala. The fact is that nothing is sacrosanct, especially the authorship of the architect. I think for us, that is what allows the process to take over the project and it is no longer authored by the designer. The project becomes a sum of these various forces. So, in some way, the role that we as architects perform in the process of making is more curatorial or editorial.
[IN]
As a designer, you establish a framework of how things would work on site. What kind of qualitative feedback do you seek from the processes on site?
SP
At the beginning of any project, we first frame responses to any existing ecological presence that the site may have to offer or be a part of. For instance, in the Concrete Void Factory project we had a seasonal water body on the low-lying part of our site that fluctuated with the monsoons holding flood waters. Having decided to retain this, the entire project was cantilevered above the water body. Other times, even along the course of a design process when we visit a site to ratify our design direction, we realise that our strategy is way off from what our response should ideally be. With Jetavan for instance, we initially started out with a scheme to build around the trees. When we actually started to line-out on site, we realised that although we were working with the trees, they were becoming peripheral to the experience of the architecture within. At that point, we proposed an inverted sloping roof that changed the design completely. While some projects offer such possibilities at an early stage in the project, in others we seek out opportunities for interventions that present themselves as we go along, and bear the potential to make the project richer. This is largely defined by the site, the building process, methodology, the involvement of builders, the community using it, and the kind of changes each of these would permit in the process. The
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Above Left: Study model of Jetavan: A tool to discuss with multiple stakeholders Above Right: Brainstorming with Hunnarshala Foundation for Jetavan Facing Page: Diagrammatic representation of the materiality of Jetavan and the sources
DIALOGUE
important thing here though is to be cognizant about the fact that there is a possibility of change, and light-handed enough to recognise that moment in a project where you could actually intervene.
[IN]
One of the observable things about your work is that there is no recognisable commitment to a certain material palette. When we talk about ‘making’, what is your process of design like?
SP
We are not very inclined to the idea of aesthetics - from the purview of style or from the purview of fitting a project into an ‘image’ of a certain place. One common factor in all projects is the search for efficiencies. So, if a particular material works efficiently in a particular climate or provides an efficient environmental response, we would be keen to take it forward. Our commitment to the outcome of a project at the outset, is minimal. What is actually more interesting is how can we further contaminate a project with inputs that we find along the way that show us something about a certain aspect of the project we did not know of in the beginning. The more we learn through the making of the project, the more successful the project is for me. So, it does not always matter what we want at the beginning of a project, as it might change through the design process and become whatever works best in that particular context.
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With the Maya Somaiya Library for instance, we were attempting to build a landscape in brick because the material was available to us. We began to look for historical references on how to work with the brick tile, and that is how the idea of the vault came up. Literally following a sequence that would lead us from one step to the next, we were looking for efficiency of structure and a certain programmatic need for the project with minimal intervention, which led to the almost pavilion-like form of the library. So, the pursuit of efficiency in a project, is actually an incumbent to material choices. It might be true that sometimes we see greater value in engineering than ‘architecture’ because what we are trying to do essentially is to get things to come together as simply as possible without the weight of the image of what that context would typically produce.
[IN] SP
The level of skill required in your work is higher than the conventional. How is the process different? I am not sure about higher but the kind of skill required is different. Typically, there is no way to judge whether a person is going to be able to do what we set out to achieve. The late Nimish Patel from Abhikram once told me in a completely different context that, “Whenever we meet a client and propose an idea that is challenging, maybe something that we have not built with before, and to which the client usually says, “I have never seen this before, have you done it somewhere, how will you do it?”. To that my only response is, “Honestly, I do not know yet, but I will find out.” To accept that one does not know everything but the willingness to search for an answer is the greatest commitment one can have to a project. To find this kind of an attitude in a contractor, or a craftsman or anyone who is working with a material - that willingness to investigate is more than enough. It does not matter then what he has done in the past, or is going to do in the future. If he is willing to investigate, that is all that we typically need. So, in the end it is perhaps not as much about skill as much as it is about the temperament.
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Above: Relationship of the Jetavan ‘butterfly’ roof structure to its immediate spatiality, creating enclosures for congregation Facing Page: Structural evolution of the pavilion-like vault structure of Maya Somaiya Library: a gradual development to a fullscale mock-up
DIALOGUE
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[IN] SP
How do you budget these investigations? Typically, we have not really had an issue with the experimentations being expensive because of a controlled process. For instance, when we built with rammed stone dust along with Kiranbhai and Tejasbhai from Hunnarshala Foundation, we first made test blocks of stone dust to be tested in their laboratory. In case of the Maya Somaiya Library, we first built a physical model out of small model bricks in the studio, followed by a small mock-up which was about the size of half of this room. We are not at any point trying to build a 1:1 of the project in part, but what we are attempting to do is make enough progress in the studio to be able to incrementally scale-up in the next step. We prefer a gradual evolution to jumping directly to a full-scale mock-up. I think this also helps us manage budgetary expectations a lot better with no major surprises that could arise during construction. It is also very helpful when you are working with someone who understands that while what we are building might push both our capacities to an extreme limit, the value that it creates can be hugely rewarding and catalytic.
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DIALOGUE
[IN]
How do manual and digital processes within the studio explore efficiency of a craft, and how is it different from the typical way of doing things - say, imagining a project completely in the studio?
SP
Historically, the structure of craft & craftsmen has socio-political and financial implications embedded within. Architecture has ‘fetishised’ this idea of craft to the point where it celebrates and encourages,
Facing Page Above: Building a landscape in brick shell at the Maya Somaiya Library Facing Page Below Left and Right: Spatial quality in the Maya Somaiya Library - A common effort in all projects is the search for efficiencies Above (Four Photographs): Design development of the facade in the Seinna Housing Project
for example, a stone mason in today’s day and age to continue using tools and work in the same way as his forefathers may have done 200 years ago. It propagates extant social hierarchies and to expect that masons, carpenters should not evolve, and continue to use the construction techniques of their time is regressive to say the least. Personally, for me, Richard Sennett’s book, ‘The Craftsman’, on how craft and its tools are a function of their time is extremely important. As a studio, we constantly move back and forth between digital and analogue means necessary for realising any project. Feedback loops are omnipresent throughout the design process.
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This is not to say that we do not make drawings, but a personal handicap is that I find it much easier to work with physical three dimensional objects like models, over two dimensional drawings. Perhaps it has also to with my personal history, growing up around my grandfather who traded in Kashmiri crafts, seeing him work on these beautiful papier-mâché objects. I also remember one of my professors from undergraduate school in Mumbai, Rajeev Sathe, once telling me that 90% of architects are space-blind: they only see objects and surfaces. Holding physical models at the level of the eye rather than looking at it top-down, he would often ask us to experience the space within. In this way, the model becomes a way not to imagine the project in a compressed format but rather to imagine oneself within the project. That is something that has always stuck with me as a mode of working. Our models are not a documentation of the final project. They are almost always process models. They inform us about a certain aspect of the project that we would not be able to fathom otherwise, or at least I would not be able to (Vami, my colleague for instance is much more comfortable with the digital). So, you take that one step further and maybe change something as you scale up to look and find another aspect of the project. This constant feedback loop operates back and forth between sketches, drawings, models and augmented reality tools of today, which I have to confess allows us to see parts of the project that one would only see in the final building. We are constantly oscillating between all of these modes to actually get to the final project. The contractors, or engineers with whom we engage also have kind of gotten a sense of how we typically always have a model to explain a project with, in the beginning of a project. In this way, you also begin making models that actually capture ideas that need to be communicated to various actors in the project.
[IN]
There is this notion that in India since sites are so accessible, there is this possibility of taking decisions on site. How does your practice work and how much of the architectural exploration happens on the site?
SP
Typically, I do not want to change a lot on site because there might be larger implications on resources, and efficiency. So sometimes one has to practice restraint, and sometimes there is just enough wriggle room. But since we do a lot of drawings in the studio, even if there is a small change to be made on site it is first formally made into a drawing and communicated. So, there is never really an experimental format on site because the scalability of such a format is very limited and I also think it shows a certain ‘casualness’ in the manner of working- in the way that you treat both material and human resources. So, I think it is better to make all your mistakes on the drawing before you actually take the project to site.
[IN]
Tell us a little about your interface with the office and vice versa. Do you have meetings where everyone is involved?
SP
Yes. We have meetings where everybody is involved, whether it is a trainee, an architect, Aparna, Vami, a contractor, an engineer - everybody has an equal say in a project. I am extremely suspicious of an idea if it has no logical process to manifest. Even if it is an idea coming from me, I usually am very sceptical. So, to a certain extent the entire design process is to either validate or negate any ideas that may come up to
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DIALOGUE
resolve a project till we have the most robust one left standing. In addition to what I was saying earlier about logic, I am also not interested in hyperbole. When somebody talks about how a building smells in summer, perhaps valid, but the intangible in that moment holds no importance for me. For instance, if we are sitting together and working on the organisation of a project, even a trainee could very well point out that what we are proposing may not work as a layout. But if I start talking about how it smells in summer, how could then one objectively respond to that? To keep the process of design considerably Below (Three Photographs): “Our models are not a documentation of the final project�
open-ended, to be able to gather as much input as it may be able to from any of the participants: you have to let go of the subjective. It can be a layer but it is not of primary concern.
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DIALOGUE Facing Page (Above): UDAAN Housing - A detailed study section representing ‘applied research’ Facing Page (Below): UDAAN Housing - a visualisation of the character of space within Right: A Bandra Collective meeting
[IN] SP
What do you think is a truly collaborative process, and how do you see your role in that? It comes from two things. One is the fact that you do not come with saying that ‘you know’. The moment you start by saying, ‘I know what I have to do’, or ‘I know how this should be’- it is over. There is no scope for collaboration. Once you come together with the attitude that everybody is an equal stakeholder and everybody has certain knowledge which is unique then there is no problem really in any kind of collaboration. Everyone is working collectively to resolve a challenge that you see in the project. It is not just about the engineering or structure, it is also about programme and its adjacencies, and about the way the building may connect with the surroundings. The effort has always been to want to genuinely learn something at the end of the project. It is not about constructing a building that already exists in our minds, but finding out what the building needs to be. So, the emphasis shifts from authorship to problem-solving. When we had six architects working together for the Bandra Collective, there could have been many problems. But it is truly incredible the way we were able to work bereft of egos and after all, we were all trying to solve simple issues of how a particular public bench would work in the monsoon or how a wall coping material would stay steady, etc. It is as simple as that
SAMEEP PADORA is a practising architect and principal of the design studio Sameep Padora and Associates based in Mumbai. He received his diploma in architecture from Academy of Architecture went on to study at SCI-Arc in Los Angeles, and received his Masters from the Graduate School of Design, Harvard University in 2005. Recently, he has collaborated on a research project for the ‘Uneven Growth’ Tactical Urbanism exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. The studio has 25 architects and works on projects ranging from small scale urban interventions to large scale developments in India. DIALOGUE chronicles a conversation with an eminent architect / designer / thinker on an idea or issue pertinent to contemporary design practice in India.
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Authored by Anusha Narayanan; Photographs of Aptech by Karan Dhulla; Courtesy Pritesh Shah “Say Cheese Wine Rack”, photography by Sameer Tawde, courtesy MuseLAB Design Engine
MAKING FRIENDS WITH THE CNC MACHINE The collaborative explorations of Aptech, Mumbai
Based in Mumbai, and founded by proprietor Pritesh Shah, Aptech’s work in CNC technology has been critical in realising complex spatial and material explorations that involve co-creating ideas with brands, designers and architects.
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OBJECT Facing Page (Two Photographs): At the Aptech workshop Right (Three Photographs): CNC Routing of a Jaali pattern on ply
W
hat makes an object affordable (or not)? Apart from its intended user, factors such as demand and supply,
production technology, production cost and material cost come into play. Efficient manufacturing technologies today makes it possible to create complicated objects with ease, and for designers, this has opened up a big market for customised furniture, modular furniture and installation art. We look at a technique called CNC Routing that is to produce customised furniture and complex forms with finesse and efficiency. CNC Routing is also used by large modular furniture brands to manufacture high-quality products in numbers, employing a smaller workforce to do so. CNC Routing is not new internationally or in India, but unbeknownst to us, it is behind objects we are interacting with everyday in our interior spaces. From some of Sameep Padora’s wave-like designs to Nuru Karim’s façades, from walls to wine racks, from corporate exhibits to five-star hotels, CNC routed objects are in plain sight. Here is how.
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APTECH, A DESIGNER’S CONFIDANTE Crafting, calculation and construction are three important ingredients for creating precise objects. Craft is the work of the creative; calculation – the work of a logician; and construction – the work of a confidante identified as a vendor, contractor, fabricator and others. Pritesh Shah and Ajaz of Aptech often finds themselves in the role of logicians and confidantes. Pritesh is the owner of Aptech, based in Mumbai, one of the leading manufacturers and suppliers of Laser Cutting, Laser Engraving, CNC Routing, CNC Cuttings, among other services. Ajaz is the Chief Planning & Production Incharge. As Huzefa Rangwala, Architect and Co-founder at MuseLAB Design Engine remarks, “There are two types of people; one type will manufacture things for an architect. They bring no added value in terms of how to save on material, how to save time and cost either. Pritesh and Ajaz are the other type…” But more on that later.
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OBJECT
Facing Page Above: Various prototypes from projects showing some of Aptech’s capabilities: including signage, installations, partitions and Jaali, in various materials: ply, wood, sheet metal and more Facing Page Below: At the Aptech Workshop Right (Two Photographs): Intricate patterns being cut on a Titanium steel sheet via CNC laser cutting. Lasers cut varied material like metals, paper, wood, plastic etc. and routers are primarily used for wood, metal and acrylic
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FIRST, LET’S SIMPLIFY HOW CNC ROUTING WORKS CNC stands for computer numerical control. CNC routing is akin
the material being cut or milled. Simply put, a software converts
to routing with a hand-held router used for woodworking. A CNC
complicated three-dimensional CAD to CAM drawings, calibrates the
routing machine is controlled by a computerised system and can be
X, Y and Z coordinates, routes them to a cutting machine that mills
used to cut a range of hard materials such as wood, metals, MDF,
the surface of a material. That is basic robotics.
chipboard and other composites. If the objects can be made using two-dimensional cuts, a two-axes The process is as follows – the designer or architect sends Aptech their
CNC machine is used (that only reads x and y coordinates) versus
CAD drawings. These are then converted to CAM (computer-aided
a three-axes machine which is used to create an undulating surface
machinery) drawings by a licensed software. These CAM drawings
such as that of a sand dune or a crumpled paper. To understand
are routed via a computer to relay the x,y, and z coordinates of each
this better, refer to the side-boards from MuseLAB’s Living Library
point on the surface (contour) to a cutting machine.
and Free Spirited projects, in the images. Let us look at the example of MuseMart’s ‘Say Cheese’ Wine Rack to understand how Aptech
The base plane (0,0,0) for the cutting machine is the surface of
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collaborates with designers, and the value they bring.
OBJECT
Facing Page Below (Two Photographs): Archival work-in-progress images of some complex ceilings Aptech’s created for architect Sameep Padora. This Page (Six Photographs): “The idea is to showcase a different side to wood, a heavy material. In Free Spirited (right and below), the surface feels like a flowy fabric. In Living Library (above), the surface of the sideboard resembles crumpled paper. The visual experience is totally different and it is made possible by CNC.” – Huzefa Rangwala, MuseLAB Design Engine.
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THE ‘SAY CHEESE’ WINE RACK BY MUSEMART MuseMart is a product brand by MuseLAB Design Engine, a Mumbai-based studio specialising in architectural and interior design. The ‘Say Cheese’ Wine Rack from MuseMart is a modular take on wine-and-cheese, exploring flexibility: a yin-yang form that can be rotated, stacked, or placed on a wall or table in different permutations and combinations, and can still function well. The rack makes use of eight layers of 25mm birch ply, an innately beautiful material, CNC milled and laminated together to give a wine rack. The surface has small scattered depressions that emulate cheese, to complete the ‘wine-and-cheese’ metaphor. The holes of the stand can store four bottles and one more can be accommodated on the slight dip in its elbow. The product was designed by MuseLAB, routed by Aptech, and the sheets were manually laminated and hand-polished. HOW IT WAS MADE? The product by itself is made up of eight layers of 25mm ply which are laminated together. If you take each sheet, the outline and the circles are routed. This uses a two-axes router where each sheet is cut like one would laser-cut. However, the ‘cheese’ depressions on are cut using a 3-axes router on the surface of the top ply.
This Page (All Photographs): Say Cheese Wine Rack by MuseMart: One gets a sense of how the unit can stand by itself in different angles. The cutouts have a certain form. The depressions on the surface resemble cheese. It is made of eight layers of laminated 25mm ply. On each sheet, the outline and the circles are routed with a 2-axes machine. The ‘cheese’ depressions are routed using a 3-axes routers Facing Page (All Photographs): The twofaced moody rack: The Wine Rack has two faces – a front and a back. In the mood-shot with the mirror, one can see that both the faces have different designs and there is a depth to the layers of the rack
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This Page (Two Photographs): The Honeycomb Ceiling, in the making, pre-installation (Above) and The Honeycomb Ceiling, installed on site, at the entrance of a new residential building in Chembur (Below)
WHY APTECH? OF COURSE, THERE ARE OTHERS TOO “There are two types of people,” says Huzefa, “one who will manufacture things for an architect. They bring no added value in terms of how to save on material, how to save time and cost either. The other type are Pritesh and Ajaz who simplify the complicated designs and optimise the process – their appreciation of design is the difference.” Huzefa goes on to explain how at present, there are many CNC milling facilities in the city. All these units have the right machines; they manufacture products for modular furniture brands at a fairly large scale (all modular furniture is CNC milled). The process reduces human labour and is definitely an efficient way of working but when it comes to complex designs, “you need to collaborate with people who understand the design intent and that is where Aptech comes in. They work with Nuru Karim, Sameep Padora and other such boutique practices that do “cool” work that is parametrically complex. Aptech understand design. It is a one-stop-shop for designers like us,” says Huzefa. “For the wine rack”, Huzefa explains, “all plies came in an 8x4 feet. size. I had laid the modules in the sheet in a certain way, but Ajaz rearranged it more efficiently so that we can get more modules in the same material. Because manufacturing is charged ‘per minute’, the faster a product is made, the more cost-saving too.” For an upcoming project by Pravir Sethi of Studio Hinge, although he could not reveal more, Pritesh says, “The best part is, we are going to manufacture a seating out of the project’s wastage (material). We don not want to invest any money in buying new sheets.” Considerate to material, technique and intent; by logicing manufacturing to a degree that purely as a designer, one might not be able to. During my visit, I saw prototypes of innovative prosthetics developed by students of IDC, IIT Powai being milled. It is this spirit of experimenting and collaborating with architects and designers, that sets the work of Aptech apart
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Pritesh (Founder) and Ajaz (Chief Planning & Production Incharge), at Aptech, Mumbai. Most designers who collaborate with Aptech consider them partners who add value to the design process and respect the design intent
Initiated in the year 1999, APTECH has come to be known as one of the leading manufacturers and suppliers in the domains of Laser Cutting, Laser Engraving, 3D and 2D CNC Routing, CNC Cuttings, Murals and Designer installations making, Signage Products and Thermoforming. Aptech’s clients include brands such as L&T, Lodha Group, Kalpataru Group, Raheja Group, Phoenix Malls Group, Godrej Group, Sheth Creators, Narang Realities. For the purpose of this article, we have focused on their work with architects and designers. ANUSHA NARAYANAN (Author) studied architecture from SMVDU, Jammu & Kashmir. She is a Partner at Fish Do It Consultants, a writer/editor and former curator of Colour Quotient by Asian Paints. In the past, she has been the Associate Editor at Kyoorius, a writer at Indian Architect & Builder, and a Freelance Contributor to Insite (IIID).
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Images: ©Martand Khosla
MEANDERING THE MIDDLE GROUND Experiments of Urban Enquiry by Martand Khosla 94
Through his art and architecture, Martand Khosla has created a niche that lies at the intersection of the two fields: art and architecture. The installations embody philosophies from this undefinable space, as he extracts questions using art as a voice, and architecture as principles, to raise concerns about humanitarian aspects of societal and political systems.
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T
he practice of Martand Khosla inhabits a transitional space
2012’. Art and Architecture are perceived as two mirrors placed
between art and architecture, which enables him a platform
against each other, directly casting reflections within themselves.
to address concerns that transgress architecture as independent habitable spaces. He is a partner at the architectural practice
Relationships are also forged between the observer and the
RKDS (Romi Khosla Design Associates), which has obtained both
installation. The driving force of interaction is the individual,
national and international recognition through their award-
and because of this no two people perceive a piece of art in
winning designs.
the same manner. Every installation created by Khosla seeks to confront its observer with a variety of questions, with different
Khosla pursued art independently as a tool to address larger
degrees of appeal. Modulating scales, objects cultivate different
analytical interrogations of the relationship between society
senses of interaction- some sculptures are massive, some engage
and its built environment. The connection between art and
the observer with abstract, miniature landscapes which request
architecture becomes more prominent here - as an ‘intellectual
a moment of habitation, while others connect with the viewer,
link’ between two fields of varied levels of abstraction.
modestly drawing gaze to minute details. Varying degrees of
Exploring this link requires astute perceptions of the human
comfort are imagined in the many installations, each one causing
subconsciousness, and the ability to voyage into areas where
unpredictable reactions based on individual psyches to the nature
the two fields are held more loosely without the perceivable
of a sculpture.
limitations of individually inhabited realms. The crux of Khosla’s practice lies in the field bridging the city and Fundamentally, the guidelines which architecture adheres to are
its people where the city is regarded as an organism that enables
fundamentally different to those that drive art, and yet through
life to prosper within it. He devised a three-part system under
careful calibration they can mutually co-exist, by feeding
which most aspects of a city can be categorised.
each other with an artisanal understanding. This relationship
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resonates throughout Khosla’s practice, as the architecture
It begins with a Macro Domain, defined by the power structures
language of plans, sections, elevations and axonometric
of the city. This includes roads, sewage and electrical lines,
drawings becomes a spring board to other forms of art and
the railways and airports, hospitals and institutions as the key
sculpture abstractions, as ideologies that exist in installations
inflection points, including structures of administrative power and
such as ‘Vanishing Point, 2013’, and ‘Inventory of the Possible,
the judiciary. The Micro Domain is composed of the individual
OBJECT
Facing Page Above: Site Reconsidered I - Part of a three part installation created using medium density fibre board, cloth, paper and brick dust Above Left: Through innovative use of perspex, brick dust and steel, Vanishing Point seems to draw form from the language of architecture elevations Above Right: Inventory of the Possible is an installation made of brick dust and perspex, using principles of forced perspective to allow the user to study the abstraction from different points, enabling them to discover the intended angle of perception themselves Right: Details of the Vanishing Point installation
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Facing Page: The 21 Articles installation, composed of fruit shaped polystyrene, covered entirely by printed strips of paper Right: Intricate details of brick dust used to create The Site Reconsidered installation
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Facing Page Above: Details of Inflection Point 3, from the Inflection Point series, made of SS cable and brass on a mild steel plate Facing Page Below: Inflection Point 1, first of the series composed of wood and brass Above: A combination of 10 vitrines (4”x4”x4”) abstracted together and ornamented with brick dust forms and perspex, created the In the Other Rooms II installation Left: Men Climbed High I: brick dust and perspex (33” x 46”)
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space occupied by residents of the city including households, dwelling
construction sites, such as bricks, steel and wood. As the engagement
units, apartment complexes, commercial establishments, etc as a
gets more complex, there is innovation in the manner in which the
reflection of the relationships between the individual and the society at
same materials garner different results. For instance, the installation
an intimate level.
‘Twist and Shout’ portrays the use of steel with softness and organic subtlety, while ‘The Continuum’, incorporates the rusty, robust and
Arguably, the most important system is the Meso Domain, eponymous
heavy nature of steel to convey a different energy. A comprehensive
with his installation. It comprises all that the city leaves ‘unoccupied’
understanding of these materials was forged in this process, and it
in the physical sense, the in-between, the chaotic, the unplanned and
has since become the central core to his artistic practice. This respect
the informal- understanding relationships that are forged between
for materiality can also be seen progressively more and more in
people who occupy the city and the city itself. Power is given to the
his architectural practice, as his experiences with them grew. More
idea of materiality, where the material is a reflection of the observer
surfaces and materials were left exposed and bare, to enable a
and vice versa. It is through manifestation that a material imbibes
contact between the inhabitant and the soul of a built space.
meaning, and its character can be extracted. The depth of understanding of physical materials and their In Khosla’s experiments with brick dust portraits, this hypothesis
relationship with the human consciousness serves to inform these
was conveyed with greater meaning. He creates objects that draw
sculptures just as much as the architecture. Art and architecture
attention to the casual eye, but it is through materiality that he is able
become tools to aid the explorations that transcend pure
to connect more powerfully with an observer. The conversation with
expressionism, as every installation intends to tackle a subject of a
materials begins with the ubiquitous resources easily available on
humanitarian agenda.
Facing Page Above: The Slow Room installation which doubles as a colourful playground for children made of wood and steel, allowing interactivity and ushering children to physically exert themselves to create different patterns and narratives in the playground Facing Page Below: The colourful panels of the Slow Room installation can be pivoted around their central axes, enhancing the flexibility and movement through the space, creating new configurations while concurrently breaking the old ones Left: Located in Rotterdam, Twist and Shout functions as an interactive public object made of metal and recycled wood, which can be used by civilians to skate, roller blade or skateboard on. It is intended to resemble a twisted strip of paper, offering three curves which provide varying degrees of difficulty for the skateboarder
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Facing Page (Two Photographs): Showcasing the robust nature of steel, The Continuum is a simple abstraction made of wild steel, brick dust and wood, to resemble a large steel wheel being rolled across a room Right: Without any Title III, a portrait created using rubber stamps on paper
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Facing Page Above: The Flying House is an elegant residence located in the Dhauladhar mountains of Himachal Pradesh. It is constructed using materials locally available in the area, including stabilised earth bricks, stone, slate and local wood Facing Page Below: Located in the heart of the old city of Delhi, the Polyclinic for the destitute has been donated to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi by The Sir Sobha Singh Public Charitable Trust Left: The Tower House
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Just as buildings have construction and design constraints, similar narratives and restrictions are generated Facing Page: Sketch for Adam IV; a brick dust portrait on paper
to challenge the creation of his sculptures. The pursuit of ideas are enhanced by the capacity to ask
Below: In the Other Rooms I
fundamental questions of societal concerns where all the fragments meet - the planned and unplanned, the
Bottom: The Spirit Earns
inclusive and exclusive, and all-encompassing chaotic parts that make our societies
MARTAND KHOSLA is an architect and an artist based in New Delhi. He graduated from the Architectural Association in 2001 and set up Romi Khosla Design Studios the following year. The studio has designed a wide variety of projects ranging from street sculptures and playgrounds to low income housing and corporate offices. Martand’s art compliments his architectural practice and is informed by labour and migration in India. His first solo was held in 2012 in Delhi at JNU and Seven Art and his most recent one in 2019 at Nature Morte also in New Delhi.
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Images: ©NUDES; Courtesy Nuru Karim
THE REALM OF THE CODE
‘Nude Models’ by Nuru Karim explores the structure within natural systems through the lens of technology and processes. 110
Evolutionary tools in model making have enabled the translation of concepts of abstraction and coexistence from nature to built environments. NUDES, a Mumbai-based contemporary practice thrives on this process of model-making, while acknowledging the extent of design articulation that is possible with the implementation of these tools.
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A
rchitectural models, historically, are approached as tools that guide design thinking. Apart from their role in the essential act
of communicating design, they have evolved over time to represent conceptual underlays in the design process. The fascination of Nuru Karim, Founder and Principal, NUDES with modelmaking processes goes back to his undergraduate years. The practice of creating threedimensional objects at NUDES is intrinsically connected to the design processes that generate buildings and ideas. The studio, that spans their practice across diverse spectrum of architecture, urbanism and public art, employs the idea of evaluating design through perceptions and imaginations at the human scale through these models. Firstly, there is the idea of exploring three-dimensionality in the virtual realm to test design in real time and obtain feedback with modification at every step of design development. But this feedback, at times, can be deceptive and unreliable. Nuru’s explorations through physical objects is a process that involves a diverse range of materials and techniques of making that range from CNC routing to 3D printing that use complex polymers such as PLA. Apart from testing prototypes in varied scales, the studio often works in the 1:1 scale with actual materials, to test an evolved idea of space under natural forces such as gravity as to design stable environments. The philosophy of the practice is embedded in learning from natural systems. The objective is not just to go back in time or to romanticise the natural, but to learn new efficiencies from certain phenomenon such as the intricate nature of termite mounds and the patterns of natural colonies in order to understand and assimilate fundamental principles that could potentially help to build sustainable environments
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OBJECT
Opening Spread: Detail from ‘Gateway’ - the human figure adds a sense of scale and dimension to the object Facing Page Above: ‘Black’ an exploration in tectonics with undulating smooth surfaces in contrast with the white background Facing Page Centre: Detail from ‘Gateway’ Facing Page Below: ‘Cube’ - an assembly of complementary geometry evolving into a legible form Right: Detail from ‘Cube’ - borrowing a code from natural structures
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OBJECT Facing Page (Three Images) and Right: Black - Revealing the narrator of the space
and that have the ability to continuously rejuvenate. The architect is
and simultaneously, moves to the construction stage as a process of
convinced by the potential of digital environments to impact our lives
experimentation and spatial interrogation. The architect emphasises
and today, more than ever, we can relate to the virtual world as the
that the tool is never the designer. Even with progress in technology,
new frontier of architectural experimentation.
the development of design demands additional inputs, rendering the output as a measure of control and understanding of the tool itself.
Parametric tools are products of a digital revolution that has its roots in learning from natural principles. There is no single leader in the
Advanced parametric mechanisms are not just about form-finding
natural building systems and the same is applied in the research
or the fancy of form. Instead the form provides the data to guide
and design of parametric tools. The efforts of the studio are not
the process of design and the form is the result of the way resolution
directed towards developing models with a predetermined idea or
of the ‘parameter’ works. Data is in the format of streaming values
programme, but instead as a constant loop of action and reaction
and codes which are a function of parameters and algorithms.
between the tool and the designer. The studio mimics the behaviour
This inherently records every input as a design history which can be
of nature using parametric systems to translate the act of building
retraced in an editable format, thus giving the designer control to
into a seamless process, where the design is born in the virtual realm
retrace and remodel the coordinates in order to influence a localised
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or global change in value, therein enabling immediate feedback upon modification to the design. Exhibitions, for Nuru Karim, are a platform to convey this idea of space-making with advanced tools. He perceives exhibitions as engines of research, designed to encourage newer ideas and perspectives of examining space and spatial experiences. These exhibitions showcase models developed to aid his research in spacemaking. They are also initiatives aimed at blurring the boundaries between architecture and art. In this context, NUDE MODELS, is a solo art exhibition comprising five years of research work on design, and models of spatial investigations as art, discussing space and human scale on different levels of contrasting visual media. These models address qualitative aspects of modularity, spatial hierarchy, and harmony. They attempt to instigate an informed dialogue on concepts of sustainability and climate change through its presence in the public domain. The models are exhibited true to the nature of material without any formal finish almost, “stripped bare to reveal their language of the code”. They represent the evolution of technologies across industries
Above: ‘Cube’ metamorphosis from a solid, orthogonal surface to the fluid forms Left: ‘See-Saw’ - with the reflective inner surface and an opaque, imbalanced shell, the text provokes thought Facing Page Top Left: ‘Gateway’ - Tessellations of a network constructing a three dimensional space Facing Page Top Right: ‘Mathsurf’ - An array of extrapolated curvatures - a play of solid and void volumes Facing Page Bottom Left: Detail from ‘See-Saw’ Facing Page Bottom Right: ‘Baori’ - a step-well archetype abstract - an interpretation of the water-structures found across India
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OBJECT
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OBJECT
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OBJECT
Facing Page (Four Photographs): ‘Camel Toe’ - A furniture designed with innumerable layers of corrugated fibreboard Immediate Right: ‘Tree of Life’ - a structure seemingly emerges from the terrain Right: ‘Colonnade’ - A fissure in form Bottom: ‘Tree’ - Nuru Karim’s work deals with deciphering the codes within biological structures
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OBJECT
and critique the contemporary systems of construction. The architect personifies them as living forms engaging in a dialogue on the current state of design and construction and seeks to learn lessons on how they inform the profession. The conventional systems of architecture are top-down processes wherein the design is hand-held from the architect’s desk to the execution on site. In the present-day systems, the construction process is marked by boundaries of anthropometry and life processes as standards of measurement guiding every space. The nuanced structural complexities in nature have always inspired the art of spacemaking. With the onset of digital evolution, model-making finds new fissures to break through the rudimentary and thrives in the realm of algorithm, data parameters and codes. The tool is not a commodity but a propeller of new ideas that will help harness new building systems. The design and construction guided by border-mark technologies will help articulate effective use of resources that sharpen design concepts and empower spacemaking by research in nature. These tools are eliminating the myths of standardised attributes and orthogonality as a recurring design solution. The intelligence of technology is not limited to serve the demands of the elite, but designed to comprehend thinner frails of Facing Page: The many facets of ‘Wheels of Democracy’
our social system
NURU KARIM, Founder & Principal Nudes received his Masters in Architecture and Urbanism from the Architectural Association [AADRL] London, United Kingdom in 2006. His undergraduate studies include travel and education in the metropolis of Mumbai [KRVIA Gold-Medalist] and Montreal [McGill University]. He has worked with Zaha Hadid Architects in 2005 on a host of institutional projects both in competition / schematic design and design development stages. NUDES operates within the realm of cross-disciplinary cultures of art, architecture and computational design powered by digital “making” tools addressing larger networks of social, cultural and environmental. Nuru Karim has achieved critical recognition both for its built work and in competition in addition to several design awards including a nomination for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture 2013 cycle. He has also recently won the World Architecture Community Awards in the Designed category. Nuru Karim is also a 2019 TEDx speaker and has presented his work and research on national and international platforms.
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MAKING
With Rooshad Shroff (Founder & Principal, RSAD), Khushru Irani (Principal Architect, Khushru Irani Design Studio), and Reny Lijo and Lijo Jos (Principal Architects, LIJO.RENY.architects) This conversation touches upon the idea of ‘making’, from the perspective of access to materials and skill in India and the implications on design and construction processes. The discussants debate materiality, affordability, application and relevance in the larger agenda of a design.
[IN]SIDE
India has an incredible diversity of available construction skills such as masonry, carpentry, welding as well as finer crafts such as weaving, filigree and plasters. How does your work engage with ‘making’? What is the interface like?
ROOSHAD SHROFF
Personally, I feel that the ‘process’ of working with the crafts is one of significance. It begins with understanding the technique of making, the possibilities within, as well as the limitations. Our curiosity lies in exploring ways in which we can challenge the material or the craft by persuading the artisan to go beyond that which they know, allowing us to create objects of interest. Having worked with artisans for a number of years, I have come to realise that once they overcome their ‘fear of failure’ is when they truly begin to innovate and push the boundaries of their own craft - creating endless possibilities. Our practice is quite diverse in its offering - from architecture & interiors to furniture & product design. Very often, the furniture or product being designed, becomes the culmination of a rigorous research process with the craftsmen. The techniques developed therein are then incorporated into our interior design projects to create bespoke materials or finishes.
KHUSHRU IRANI
As a practice, we engage more with construction skills than with craft per se. However, when we do engage with craft, it stems from a personal connection with the craftsman, a form of professional friendship that is built over time through mutual respect and trust. The choices we make, vary depending on the type and nature of the project at hand. While a particular skill set or material is not the starting point of the design process, I often find myself looking for ways to include the services of these craftsmen while making choices within a project. Crafted products create a kind of intimacy and immediacy that is increasingly difficult to find. Working with craft has its set of issues, and patience, flexible timelines, the uneven nature of natural materials and the care needed in handling a crafted product. Yet, when that understanding and willingness to adapt exists, craftsmen are not only supported but are allowed to weave their magic into our lives.
LIJO.RENY
In our experience, we have had some very successful engagements with craftsmen on projects. They have been rewarding as a learning. However, there have been instances where we have encountered difficulties especially while working with specially-skilled labour or dealing with specific crafts owing to the exclusivity attached to the nature of work or lack of available labour with the same skill-sets.
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POLEMICS
The dwindling number of people involved in craft-oriented work has also influenced the situation in Kerala, where we practice from. There are instances where a lack of interest to imbibe new ideas has persuaded us to choose alternative methods of execution. We feel it is very important to have the right attitude while collaborating in order to sustain a craft or skill.
[IN]SIDE
We often speak of the ‘local’ and the ‘traditional’ while working with skill on project sites. How does your practice deal with context – especially in terms of available materials and workmanship?
ROOSHAD SHROFF
I think the focus on tradition is more to do with understanding the technique of making. This potentially allows us to ‘contemporise’ the craft through innovation. However, within projects, our core focus is to make allowance for bespoke finishes and materials that best represent the requirement of the client. This allows us to closely engage with their technique while the artwork is still customised with respect to the branding/proposed identity. Context for me is not always restricted to immediate surroundings or the geography of a place. It has much to do with the understanding of a given brief and then arriving at feasible solutions that are in cohesion with the nature of a project.
KHUSHRU IRANI
Context is the thread that ties our design process together. From knowing the client and jointly developing the building programme, to working with the challenges of a particular building type - all of these form a part of the context of a project. Aspects of context that I have been preoccupied with and try to find answers for, are the search for an appropriate way to build within the specificities of people, project and place. While working in rural contexts, I find myself thinking about how a method of construction and a language of the build can be made simple and accessible enough for local contractors to replicate when they build for their own clients. Challenges with availability of materials and quality workmanship are more pronounced in rural settings. Decisions on material usage are then based on durability and ease of maintenance, adaptability to a robustness of design and available skill sets to achieve an acceptable result. Economic considerations always play a role in selection of materials irrespective of context. However, I find that these types of limitations are less a constraint in the design process and more a set of clues to what should be done.
LJJO.RENY
As a practice, we do not believe in using traditional or local skills for the sake of novelty or to simply anchor a project visually into a ‘context’. We continue to prefer using locally available materials and labour wherever possible. However, the situation specifically in Kerala is quite bleak. Most natural sources - be it laterite, clay for terracotta, lime and even wood - are depleting at a fast rate, requiring us to be more precautious than ever. The common argument one hears when it comes to wood is that trees can be planted and hence its use must be encouraged. This is a gross misconception because much of the construction wood used in Kerala comes from countries as far as Africa. The decision to ‘go local’ demands a different set of workers and materials that are location specific. The success of this is determined by the required time to try, test and adapt the available material and labour to suit a specific design.
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[IN]SIDE
Much of the skill we discover is linked closely with material and technique. Both these ideas are specific to the agenda of design. What is your understanding of materials when it comes to architecture and design?
ROOSHAD SHROFF
Often with furniture and product design, the material becomes the starting point and the design is the culmination in the process of making. To give you an example, we have designed the C - Chair where the form is essentially a cantilevered structure with two legs. It is not very common to associate wood as a material for cantilevers. The chair was an experiment to create a form that pushed the boundaries of the material structurally. Another example is the design of marble bulbs. For this, we collaborated with incredibly skilled marble sculptors from Jaipur to achieve a certain ‘slenderness’ in the marble that allowed us to make something quite translucent. Each bulb was hollowed out of a singular monolithic piece of marble. It is this process of exploration with materials that is of critical interest to us as a practice.
KHUSHRU IRANI
Materials are increasingly being imbued with meaning beyond their primary functional purpose and their usage often has the tendency to create myths. Myths about design, and about the people behind them: the client and the designer. So much can be said, implied and inferred by the use of a particular set of materials that their ability to tell stories can be easily abused. The materiality of a project is so intertwined with the act of building and the stories they tell, that their selection and usage become an integral part of our design process. While there is an ever-widening array of materials and building products, we find ourselves consciously working with a smaller set of materials which enable a certain degree of integrity and simplicity. It is a search for how everyday seemingly ordinary materials can be used to create an appropriate and meaningful architecture. As Frida Escobedo puts it, “We are trying to do as much as possible, with as little as possible.” And as with any practice, it is an evolving process of learning through doing.
LIJO.RENY
Designs evolve in many ways. We do not start any project with a certain material or methodology in mind because each one sets its own trajectory. At times, when a specific material or labour is locally available, the design evolves as a process of reinterpretation and innovation of conventional techniques. There have been instances where we require a specific material or skilled labour due to nature of the design. Assessing core characteristics of materials such as strength, durability and aesthetics with respect to context is important for us. Materiality for us is never a predetermined factor, but instead it arises from the specific need or situation. Once we have decided on the material, the next conscious step is to explore techniques of application, associated craft, etc. With every project, it is important for us to establish our vision in the beginning along with the client. This is primarily related to the idea of space and experience.
[IN]SIDE
A lot of discussion currently focuses on the meaning of tradition. From the perspective of design and construction/making, what is your understanding of ‘contemporary’ and ‘tradition’?
ROOSHAD SHROFF
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When one is working with an artisan, there is an engagement with the know-how of the craft which
POLEMICS
has been cultivated through the tradition of transfer of knowledge from one generation to the next. Thus, the ‘tradition’ is embedded in the know-how of the craft, and not in the object being created. The techniques of making, the application of those skills is what is important. What makes it contemporary is an ‘evolved design’ and the translation of those skill-sets to produce an object that is relevant in today’s context. To my understanding, this is the only way to sustain the crafts. KHUSHRU IRANI
We look at tradition from the perspective of particular challenges and the solutions they provide/d, rather than as purely visual, stylistic or historical references. Undoubtedly, some traditional techniques and solutions are relevant today, but it is when we are able to contextualise their essence as solutions to a problem that we are best able to reinterpret, adapt and appropriately use them. For me, the word ‘contemporary’ evokes a heightened sense of urgency and responsibility. As building professionals, considering the lifecycle of buildings, our work creates not only the present but also the future. With the present full of innumerable challenges, the current practice demands a much higher level of responsibility, and raises an increasing number of ethical and social dilemmas. A primary focus has been on how our buildings respond to rapidly increasing temperatures and water scarcity. The secondary focus is on developing projects in the social sector that enable social equity, entrepreneurship and the development of skills. There is, of course, the other approach, as C Anjalendran puts it, “Do not try to save the world, but try and perhaps make a few people around you happy.”
LIJO.RENY
Traditional concepts were once contemporary ideas. The concepts that we term as ‘traditional’ today must have risen due to the need of its time governed by several factors. In our practice, we try to address those concepts of tradition to suit our present needs. They could be called ‘contemporary’ but in many cases, it is actually a process of adaptation. The critical learning for us is in understanding the functionality embedded in a tradition, and its relevance. I think it is imperative to analyse these value systems of the past from an objective viewpoint in order to be able to reinterpret and apply it to a specific project. If it is inapplicable, then we do not pursue it for the sake of a ‘vernacular’ language. Most of our application is a collective reflection of what we have learnt over a period of time and what we hope to achieve out of a project in the present. It is through mistakes that we learn. Some mistakes take us along a different path of realisation which, in time, benefits our future projects. It is often such time-tested ideas in the present that become traditions tomorrow.
[IN]SIDE
What is the nature of experimentation on a site/in a workshop? What understanding do you seek from your work with various materials?
ROOSHAD SHROFF
I believe in the veracity of hand skills and local techniques. They often create objects that are unique and contextual. Such associations with the local techniques of production are increasingly becoming critical for me to express my interests and work.
KHUSHRU IRANI
Ours is not an experimental practice, not in the conventional sense anyway. As a young studio, I find it more meaningful to build our practice one layer at a time, project by project, rather than trying to
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be experimental for the sake of it. The most experimental thing we have done recently is to work with two very different types of clients: the government and a developer. Both these experiences, at different ends of the spectrum, have taught us a lot about how things get built in India and challenged our notions of practice. They are the two types of clients that build the most in our country and thus, have the most impact on our environment. Surprisingly while working with them, I found as many similarities in the challenges and outcomes as there were differences in the process. Despite the abysmal financial terms of government projects, I feel it is important for sensitive studio-based practices to offer their services to projects that would otherwise be ‘designed’ by the PWD. LIJO.RENY
When Reny and I decided to start our own practice, we were looking at other practices in Kerala to understand what they have already achieved. There is a certain image associated with ‘Kerala Architecture’ and we were curious to see if there were architects who had gone beyond this perception and succeeded in doing different things in this climate. Experimentation related to design is never restricted to material or labour. It is an exploration of concepts or the questioning of conventional ways. To be very honest, we are the kind of practice that prefers to resolve as much as possible on the drawing table before going to site. We rely on our ability to imagine as opposed to taking decisions on site. A majority of the experimentation happens off-site: be it materiality, volume, approach, etc. While from the outside it may look like a small step, it is a huge leap as far as the idea is concerned. Our constant effort is to push the envelope in our immediate context, one step at a time, making it an environment conducive process leading to unexplored possibilities in architecture.
[IN]SIDE
Many designers refer to collaboration as an interface between them and the people they work with. What does it mean to you and how do you truly collaborate?
ROOSHAD SHROFF
A collaboration is a union of minds that brings together a new perspective. Over the last few years, I have been involved in a number of them across different segments of the design industry including Cocoon Rugs, Atmosphere, Godrej Design Lab and Fashion Designer Ambrita Shahani. Every collaboration is a unique form of exploration. They are a great way to push ourselves beyond the comfort zone and innovate.
KHUSHRU IRANI
Collaborating with like-minded practices is something that we have been open to but have so far been unable to make happen. I enjoy following the work of the Bandra Collective and realise that a common goal is essential in sustaining such collaborative efforts. Articulating that would be a key beginning in replicating this effort in Pune, and would be one way of making a contribution to the city’s public realm. What I have been more successful in doing is working with individuals in allied fields on research, documentation and student mentoring. One such collaboration is with urban conservationist Kamalika Bose, with whom I have conducted studio-based workshops where we studied the Pune Cantonment from a heritage and urban design perspective. Historic precincts, their conservation and relevance to current urban design practice is a subject that both of us are interested in and the Pune Cantonment afforded us the best opportunity to begin this work.
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POLEMICS
LIJO.RENY
As a practice since we largely resolve most of the design on the drawing table, the primary collaboration is between the two of us. Once we agree upon a direction, we initiate a conversation with a fabricator, craftsperson, etc. We enjoy resolving ideas ourselves before involving other people. The only collaboration that happens beyond the studio is with fabricators or carpenters or other skilled labour, where we bank on their experience with the material for the finishes we have in mind. This kind of collaboration happens towards the end of a project where execution is key. The way we work, we like to design every little detail in depth. As ‘directors’ of the project, we believe that we must be involved in every aspect of design. We do not rely on external sources for ideas but instead enjoy brainstorming on ideas as a team, and then working with other people to explore the best possible way to execute it
ROOSHAD SHROFF leads a multi-disciplinary design and research studio. Founded in June 2011 in Mumbai, the architectural practice developed its own design department, operating at nano-scales and crafting bespoke furniture, products and materials. Rooshad received his undergraduate degree in Architecture at Cornell University where he was awarded the Edward Palmer York Memorial Prize for Outstanding performance in Design. On completing his Masters in Architecture at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University, his work produced at the GSD has been exhibited at the 2010 Venice Architecture Biennial as well as the 2010 Shanghai Expo.
KHUSHRU IRANI is an architect and urban designer whose practice searches for an authentic response to the contexts and places it works in; an architecture that is appropriate from a socio-cultural, environmental, functional and aesthetic perspective. The studio is engaged in designing buildings for education, adaptive re-use projects and varied work in the social sector. Khushru studied architecture at the University of Pune and urban design at University of California, Berkeley.
LIJO JOS and RENY LIJO lead LIJO.RENY.ARCHITECTS. The practice takes inspiration from art while designing spaces. The studio attempts to transform the contemporary architectural language in Kerala, staying away from the mainstream to evolve insightful architecture. Apart from their architecture and design practice, they are also responsible for several site/space-specific art installations. They have been recipients of several significant acclaims including the JK State Young Architect of the Year Award and IIA State awards in multiple categories.
POLEMICS is a record of discussions with respected design thinkers in India from multiple vantage points on the common concerns of the profession.
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Images: ŠJoginder Singh, Dustudio, StudioMatter, Auroville Design Consultants; Courtesy; Jinu Mammen, Giorgio, Pino, Vimal, Hrushita Davey
MAKING ROOFS IN METAL Documenting Construction with Suhasini Ayer and R Ravindrakumar
While alternate modes of construction and production with higher efficiency and precision levels continue to influence the building industry, there exists a sustained effort to renew processes rooted in the idea of endurance. Suhasini Ayer, Principal Architect, Auroville Design Consultants and R Ravindrakumar, Principal, Ravindrakumar Roofing Technology, shed light on aspects of sustainability and construction methodology deployed in crafting the metal, respectively.
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SURFACE
T
he term ‘sustainable’ building materials often gets used
iron or steel coated with zinc and in aluminium since the 20th century.
synonymously with low-embodied-energy and low-carbon
In Auroville, some of us have been designing and building aluminium
building materials. As a high embodied energy material, metal
(corrugated and non-corrugated sheets) roofing since the late 90s as
as a choice for roofing may seem like a rather counter-intuitive
we had a highly skilled resident metal roof craftsperson who trained
choice for professionals especially seeking to build sustainably.
a handful of local metal fabricators of grilles and gates. The more
All roofs are required to be resilient to the contextual weather
enterprising of them have now branched out and undertake contracts
conditions, to the geophysical, temporal and functional stress
for metal roofing in peninsular India, appreciated for their high
besides sheltering the building it sits on.
quality of workmanship.
In areas of difficult soil conditions and zones with seismic
The design of the roof shape combines various aspects such as the
activities, the low self-weight of metal roofs allows the foundations
structure, function of the building, economy and timeline along with
and framing structures to be considerably lighter when compared
ascetics of form and proportion. As the heat transfer is high during
to the conventional RCC slabs and compression structures such
the day, it is desirable to have good insulation that is adapted with
as brick domes and vaults. This goes a long way in lowering the
the false ceiling. This also helps with the noise of the rain that can be
quantity of material required for foundations and superstructure,
quite deafening otherwise. In some parts of the world, the metal roof
thus the overall cost of the buildings.
is disconnected from the insulation by a maintaining a gap of 4 to 6 inches allowing for air flow as heat exchange. The anodised sheet
Metal roofs have reflective factors of 65% or more, reducing the
develops a weathered patina within one seasonal cycle, making it less
heat gain in the building considerably and have emissivity ratings
reflective to prevent glare to the surrounding, and retaining enough
of 0.85 or greater, allowing the stored heat to be re-radiated
reflectivity to prevent heat gain.
up and away from their surfaces, rather than harboured and absorbed by the rest of the structure. This is desirable in lowering
Auroville being in a hot humid zone, any spaces are avoided between
the heat island effect, lowering the cooling demand. In terms of
the metal roof and the insulation to prevent condensation of the
resilience and longevity of metal roofs, if implemented with a
trapped air. Humidity in non-accessible areas poses a risk for fungal
skilled team - these roofs are good for five decades or more if
infestation, besides providing a protected habitat for the considerable
there is no damage due to unforeseen factors.
biodiversity of insects in the tropics - where no amount of insect proofing works, and life always finds a way!
Historically, metal has been used for roofing for 2500 or more years, either as sheets or shingles of copper and alloys of copper,
- SUHASINI AYER
Facing Page: Magnificent Copper Roofscape at the Kaviyoor Temple in Kerala [Glimpses of Architecture in Kerala by Ramu Katakam] Right: Metal roof edge detail at Auroville Visitors’ Centre Following Spread: The steep copper roof at Koodalmanikyam Koothambalam at Irinjalakuda, Kerala [Glimpses of Architecture in Kerala by Ramu Katakam]
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CRAFTING METAL ROOFS In a recent visit to Auroville in Tamil Nadu, [IN]SIDE documented
Although naturally resistant and not prone to decay, the workability of
the fundamental steps involved in the construction and laying of a
the metal for construction is not so simple to handle. Therefore, the
metal roof, as demonstrated by R Ravindrakumar and his team.
importance of a skilled hand is critical to the construction - keeping a check on commonly encountered problems such as penetration of the
Kumar was introduced to the craft by a Frenchman more than
metal surface, erosion of the metal, loose seams and flashings.
a decade ago and ever since, he has been experimenting independently as well as working on several projects alongside
A well-fabricated metal roof can prove to be economical and a
architects. Today, he has a team of 15-20 people, all of whom are
long-term solution - it is low-maintenance, requiring no painting or
trained in the various stages involved in the process of construction.
finishing and all of the metal is recyclable. The proposed structure of the roof is the pivotal starting point - the sheet size and the spanning
The possibilities of metal roofs are many: aluminium, steel, and
between purlins is based on this.
zinc, apart from copper, and each of these possess innately
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different properties. Based on their characteristic tensile strengths,
Metal Roofs, believes Kumar, unlike the conventional tile-roofing
the metals are normally rolled out into sheets for roofing and
systems have the advantage of ease of customisation. They can be
cladding purposes. Copper, being compatible with all kinds of
used as a sheeting in any odd corner of a building. Additionally,
metals is also used as an alloy in the form of a mix of other metals
the sheet is recyclable as a material and the upkeep is minimal if
including bronze, brass, tin, zinc, and aluminium.
assembled and insulated well enough.
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Previous Spread Left: First, on a metal under-structure of trusses, beams and purlins, the false ceiling is fixed; the edge sheet is held in place to anchor the gutter Previous Spread Right: The edges are chamfered for a clean fold; The metal sheet for roofing is then cut to size Facing Page: Using a special machine fabricated in Auroville, the metal sheets are first folded into troughs that are then laid in place Right and Below: With selffabricated “V� clamps the adjoining lip of the troughs is then crimped and twice folded, making the joint water proof; Depending on the aesthetics this fold is either left as is or batted down
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The intent of ‘making’ evidently comes alive in the pursuit of a craft. The distinction between technique and skill is an important one to make when assessing the efficiency of employing ‘craft’ in architecture- while former trains in the ability to perform, the latter is critical to the quality of execution. In a land as culturally diverse as India, there exists a plethora of such distinct skill-sets that are refined over time and diligently passed on as a discipline. It is important to establish here that the idea of craft is not so much about a nostalgic connection to a tradition but what it ‘affords’. Endurance is at the core of most craft-based practices while their ability to constantly renew with time is embedded in the innate motivation to ‘make’. Beyond the banal understanding of a ‘cause & effect’ idea of craftsmanship, there is a deep sense of affection associated with this art of manipulation - in the doing and undoing, the haste and Previous Spread Left: The insulation is laid out to receive the metal sheets when using non-corrugated aluminium sheets; The metal sheet is folded twice, forming a trough-like form-work between the spacing Previous Spread Right: Anchoring the gutter section to the edge profile with brackets
slowness, even in the accuracy and inaccuracy. Today, several contemporary architecture practices have rediscovered the potential in the embodiment of craftsmanship - the idea of contamination of space with human touch. And it is here that architecture and the crafts
Facing Page: View from inside and outside the Auroville Public Library; [Suhasini Ayer; Auroville Design Consultants]
find a common ground as a practice in the way it is understood as
Below: Crimping tool set
encompasses - this is what ties us
an extension of the body in the inhabited atmosphere and all that it
SUHASINI AYER is a graduate of ‘Delhi School of Planning and Architecture’; living in Auroville since 1985 and one of the co-founders of the Auroville Centre for Scientific Research; an organisation dedicated to research and experimentation in the field of appropriate building materials and technologies, water management, renewable energy and solar passive/climatic architecture and sustainable urban planning. As head of the Auroville Design Consultants, the Planning and Design wing of this organisation, she has designed and implemented over 50+ projects in India in the last 25+ years. She was co-recipient of the Hassan Fathy Award for ‘Architecture for the Poor’ in 1992, co-nominated for the Aga Khan in 1992 and recipient of the Design Share Award for educational buildings in 2003 and 2005.
R RAVINDRAKUMAR is an master craftsperson and Metal Roofs consultant based in Auroville, Tamil Nadu. He trained for nearly six years from 1999 to 2005. Ever since, he has been working in collaboration with studios based out of Auroville including Dustudio and Auroville Design Consultants, apart from taking on independent commissions. In 2015, Kumar formally established his practice, Ravindrakumar Roofing Technology in Auroville from where he continues to train young, interested people and experiment extensively with metal roofs. His team today is fifteen people strong.
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Images: ŠKiran Sharma, Karthik VGK, Keerthana Venkatesh
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PROLOGUE BY SUPRIO BHATTACHARJEE
W
hen I had set out to write the first essay that in many ways I had thought of as an ‘anchor’ to this series – though not a definitive, dogmatic or instructive one – as points of view, definitions, what
can be determined as radical or not, etc. – all of this tends to alter and transform over time – I had never thought it could be seen as a set of ‘implied’ questions or loosely framed inquiries to which one can directly respond. In many ways, I am indebted to Krishnapriya Rajshekar, Assistant Professor at the Wadiyar Centre for Architecture [WCFA], Mysore, for breaking this aforementioned perception I have had of my one piece of text. WCFA for me has always maintained some kind of enigmatic and mysterious ground – something that should not even exist in today’s world – but one that I am more than grateful for that it does, showing that finger to the assumed calamity of running a ‘school’ and not a ‘mere business’ – that almost all schools of architecture in the country have become. As such it is intriguing to see how this institution evolves as a pivotal centre for the fostering of future architectural enquiry within the country – something that it should or must aspire towards – and something that its campus – composed of a set of extraordinary contemporary buildings – can be seen exemplary of. At the same time, it is a welcome relief that the school does not see itself as a means for certain individuals to profess and pander a misplaced sense of ideal or principle – as institutions thriving on dogma bring about their own demise. Or at worst, begin to stand out as misshapen intrusions into an already complex and confusing world. Is there a place for simplicity of gesture, yet complexity of action – something that we are in dire need of? Hopefully the following text will offer us some insight into this much-needed space of engagement.
AN EPHEMERAL LAB IN A CITY OF FIXITY Wadiyar Centre for Architecture [WCFA], Mysuru
by Krishnapriya Rajshekar; Prologue by Suprio Bhattacharjee
Facing Page: The courtyard as a space for calm at the WCFA
Architect and Academic Krishnapriya Rajshekar shares from experience as Assistant Professor, WCFA, the significance of context in a studio culture, ‘making’ of a campus experience, and the intrinsic pedagogical framework embedded in an architectural education.
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large 1:200 scale map of a half-kilometer-long portion of Devaraj Urs Road, Mysore lies spread across a long table in the studio. Surely, the map has seen better days as a (very large) piece of paper
– it is a wee bit dusty, covered with scribbles of complex-looking numerical relationships and whimsical little sections. On one corner of the map sits a tall stack of books on the Mysore City Corporation’s Zoning Regulations – a part of the objectives of the studio is to trace the origins of urban planning bye-laws and question their impact on the growth of the city. Pieces of a tiny white, out-of scale 3D-printed model of the same area lie askew across another corner. The west wall bears a patchwork of studies undertaken over the semester, criss-crossed by a complex network of wool threads denoting opportunities and constraints. How would you radically transform what was once envisioned as a lively high street for shopping in the centre of the city so that it may become truly vibrant, much more than what it is today - a vehicular thoroughfare flanked by rows of retail stores that not a lot of people go to? What if it means having to assume the drastic premise that a portion of the street has been cleared away to allow your radically transformative intervention to manifest? While the seniors’ urban design studio for the day winds to a close, there emanates from the other side of the space, a deep, resounding adhan. The expansive, usually undivided studio has been portioned into two using tag-boards. Half of it becomes home to ‘Indriya’ – an exhibition of curated socio-sensorial experiences from the neighbourhood of K.R.Mohalla, put up by the students of semester two. The stories of a neighbourhood laid bare through the eyes of its diverse residents – a priest, a roadside samosa vendor, a young girl with eyes uncovered while the rest of her face is veiled by a hijab, among others. Find the stories first, the students are urged by the studio guides – find the stories of the people and their place (or is it the place and its people?) first, so that you may know where yours could fit in. Perhaps, you might find that your story will not fit in. One studio; a temporary, permeable divide demarcating two ways of looking at the same city - one drawing trajectories from the past and looking towards a future that could be, like a surgeon poised with a scalpel over a redundant appendage; the other urging us to steep ourselves in stories of the everyday past, present and future collapsed into an unhurried whole, finding meaning in pockets of the city resistant to change. 8th century Persian thinker, physician and astronomer Ibn Sina worded the eternal predicament when he asked how one could balance philosophy’s restless mobility with faith’s absolute sense of anchorage1 . The coming together within a single space of these apparently divergent yet essentially intertwined ways of seeing is a microcosm of WCFA – Wadiyar Centre for Architecture, Mysuru. Mysore2 is a city that leisurely ambles through space-time, more in conversation with the past than the future, unlike neighbouring Bengaluru that is transforming at a rate that makes it unrecognisable to its own inhabitants. It often gets slotted into the “heritage city” category, excessively attached to its erstwhile aura of the regal-colonial; so much so that almost every institutional building that comes up Mysore even
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Hoskote, R. and Trojanow, I. (2012). CONFLUENCES: Forgotten Histories from East and West. Yoda Press, p.43.
This spelling of the city shall be used for the remainder of the essay – the author, like many others, is often disoriented while referring to changed city names, no matter how minor the change.
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in the present day is automatically made to shoulder the mantle of being “heritage” enough (the mantle invariably comes with gilded domes, arched colonnades and a classical pediment). These are solid structures of masonry that sit squarely upon the ground, representative perhaps of immovable hierarchies within the functioning of the institutions themselves. The city, said to have inspired R K Narayan’s timeless ‘Malgudi’, is one where the small-town and the cosmopolitan rub shoulders, domed shopping malls and balustrade-topped commercial streets concealing tight-knit agraharas and mohallas behind them. It is not hard to imagine why the city might come across as a perfect laboratory for observing the contradictions and complexities enmeshed within an urban fabric; the fact that it has not been engulfed by chaotic development yet, allowing the opportunity for a space to ruminate on one’s learning. The design of the WCFA campus seems to embody this very nature of complexity – new that has drawn the old into its embrace, respectful of what once was, without being stifling, an inward-looking cluster of structures forming a necklace that clasps at a slope-roofed heritage building within the campus – it seems almost symbolic that the oldest building on campus houses the library. It is hard to describe the built here – imagine two layers of pavilions, placed one upon the other, with walls of alternating warm wood and cool glass that one could wilfully make appear or disappear. What makes the nature of the built perceptible, however, is the courtyard which seems to form the temporal centre around which the school revolves, a stepped expanse of paved brick and red soil, seasonally carpeted in yellow by the petals of the temple trees that spread their generous boughs above. The fact that the school was born out of a shared dream and passion towards education between eleven professionals (10 architects and 1 structural engineer) who went on to form the Design Foster Trust3 , is not inconsequential. It makes one wonder if ultimately, architects make the best clients for architects, because it is hard to imagine any other clientele group that would be on board with a design philosophy that can be best summed up as ephemeral. In the words of Prashant Pole (who designed the school, along with B L Manjunath on structural design), the aim was to have the ‘new’ sit unobtrusively and quietly within the context of the existing old without drawing a sharp contrast, and perhaps the only architectural statement that was being attempted was to not make a statement. With masonry walls kept at a minimum, what stands out the most are the skeletal steel-frame structural system and the tall timber and glass doors which work on a slide-and-stack mechanism, allowing the outside to permeate within. The building seems to reflect not just a design philosophy but also the constant tug-off-war that has been waged among schools of thought in architecture regarding the nature of the timeless and attitudes towards permanence and impermanence in the built environment. On the one hand, you have the larger cultural context of a city that celebrates monumentality and the fixity of tradition – functional and sensory obsolescence does not seem to be as much of a concern as compared to the need to project and retain an unchanging image. Here then, you have a school of architecture that
Members of the Design Foster Trust: S G Srinivas (Dean & Professor, WCFA | Naksha Architects, Bangalore) | Prashant G Pole (Design Chair & Professor, WCFA | Genesis Architects, Bangalore), Anand Krishnamurthy (Director & Professor, WCFA | Firm Terra, Bangalore), Nagesh H D (Principal & Professor, WCFA | Innovarchin, Mysore), Nelson Pais (Professor, WCFA | 2PKM Architects, Mangalore, Mysore), Vidyashankar R (Adjunct Faculty, WCFA | Design Forum, Bangalore) , Anand Prakash (Adjunct Faculty, WCFA | Archi-Technics, Bangalore) Ryan Thomas (Adjunct Faculty, WCFA | Genesis Architects, Bangalore), Manoj Ladhad (Adjunct Faculty, WCFA | Architecture Paradigm, Bangalore), Kukke Subramanya (Adjunct Faculty, WCFA | Kukke Architects, Bengaluru) B L Manjunath (Associate Professor, Structures, WCFA | Manjunath & Co., Bangalore), HH Sri Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar (Maharaja of Mysore)
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could, maybe someday be adapted for a different function with negligible logistical hassle – a versatility of space that comes to fore especially during the workshop weeks organized at the school where design studios transform into theatre, dance or music studios in the blink of an eye. Perhaps, someday, if the land is to be returned to its earlier state, the building could be easily dismantled (the operational word being dismantled, and not demolished) and trucked away, maybe to be reassembled elsewhere, serving a whole other purpose, living another life. This too, could be transient. Is that an uncomfortable vision to have for a building? On the other hand, it is the fixity that also makes Mysore a rather comforting city, especially for harried Bangaloreans and visitors from other bustling metropolises – for the simple reason that it allows you to slow down. Permanence in the built environment provides associational value, a concretisation of common beliefs, strands of nostalgia that allow you to link your past, present and future selves. Erasure of physical cues in cities eventually leads to a sense of disorientation and alienation among its inhabitants, old and new. In that sense, Mysore is a compassionate city. Where then, does WCFA fit in with its ephemeral philosophy, which is today a home for many of us, but built on the notion of impermanence which is almost at odds with “home”? In this contradiction, lies the wellspring of the pedagogical challenges encountered at the school – and “challenges” here imply opportunities and constraints. Here, the word studio encompasses thought and action, space and time, noun and verb. Because there is no exclusive mandate on what architecture should be, that is being subscribed to by the school as a whole, a “design studio” for a single semester
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could be multiple interpretative “studios” taking place within the same “studio” space. Hence, a second semester studio could be one faculty-student group looking at space-making for a fictional user within a natural setting with an emphasis on phenomenology and the perception of light within space, while another group looks at various narratives associated with the idea of “dwelling” within an existing sociocultural context. Yet another group’s enquiry could stem from the possibilities of the wall as a space for living, decontextualized, dealing purely with the essential attributes of what a wall is/could be. Each group thus forms a different understanding of context through degrees of universality and specificity in design responses, with skill-sets among students also being developed to varying extents, and of course different “end-results” based on whether the studios are more outcome-based or process-oriented. In such a scenario, there cannot be a common yardstick to measure a studio’s “failure” or “success” (both being terms to be handled with great caution). A pertinent question that we need to be asking (and hopefully addressing) is whether the openness of a pedagogical framework really matters if at the end of the day, our studios and exercises are responses to a set, invariant syllabus and “success” and “failure” are dictated by affiliated university norms. When it comes to the question of what architecture is – a question for which one seems compelled to offer an answer Facing Page: Another day, the studio is set for conversation and dance (Workshop Week, South block) Above: Today, the studio is set for design, spilling into the studio beyond (Semester 4, South Block)
and is simply embarrassed to admit not knowing – the overarching tendency is to seek absolutes. If our contemporary architecture syllabus for instance, continues to circle around the work of “master architects” and ‘iconic buildings’ what happens to the discourse on permanence and impermanence? Where do adaptability and transience fit in when our definition of “success” in architecture, is to have created unshakeable built forms that have been deemed worthy for discussion according to syllabi-makers?
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From the idiosyncratic failures of master-architects, do we focus the discussion on their steadfastness towards an idea or the short-sightedness of their obsession? If we do believe that there are multiple ways of practising architecture, why do we end up referring to some practices as “alternative” in the way that one might introduce an eccentric relative – part admiration & part apology? As a young school of architecture, we are thought and action, space and time, noun and verb. Faculty young and seasoned, academics & practitioners, bring in a mixture of experimental probing and assured experience. And as is the case more often than not, one’s greatest strength usually doubles up as one’s greatest weakness. Is the openness of a framework negated by its response to the fixed? Or is it the fixed that provides necessary rootedness without which a framework would just be immaterial? What we seek is the state of balance that Sina spoke of – that is a journey well-begun. Whether we veer towards restless mobility or absolute anchorage is something that only time can tell
Facing Page Above: The north block, walls drawn, beyond the roof of the library Facing Page Below: The courtyard at WCFA as a space for gathering Right: Where does outside end and inside begin? (South Block)
SUPRIO BHATTACHARJEE is an architect now based out of Chennai, India. He has recently been appointed Studio Director of architectureRED (a Chennai-based practice known for their urban architecture), and is the Founder and Principal Architect of S|BAU / Suprio Bhattacharjee Architecture Unit. He has served as a faculty member in various schools in the city of Mumbai over the past sixteen years. Suprio’s architectural writings and critical texts have appeared in DOMUS India magazine, and his contributions have also been published in respected academic and professional journals such as TEKTON, Conditions Architecture & Urbanism, Oris, Innowin, architecturelive.in and Architecture: Time, Space & People. Suprio has contributed to professional conclaves and seminars on architecture, design and pedagogy as a presenter and a curator and has been a vocal critic of the status quo. He has been a recipient of critical acclaim for his architectural works and has been recognised as one of the emerging architects to look out for, by the iGEN2016 programme instituted by Architect & Interiors India.
KRISHNAPRIYA RAJSHEKAR is an architect and academic based in Mysore. She currently works as Assistant Professor at Wadiyar Centre for Architecture, Mysore. Her chief interests lie in the overlaps between architecture, literature, visual culture and the city, which she explored in her graduate thesis titled ‘The Art Biennale Phenomenon: In Conversation with the City’; and continues to examine through her research and writing.
PEDAGOGY is a curated series that investigates contemporary experiments and new thinking in design education.
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Images: ©PRISM JOHNSON LIMITED (Formerly - ‘PRISM CEMENT LTD.’) H & R Johnson (India) Division
CREATING IDEAS AT H & R JOHNSON (INDIA)
ESIGN
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“A tiled surface is designed with the intention to last for a long duration of time apart from being integrated to an aesthetic aspiration of an overall palette.”
DESIGN AS IDENTITY CREATION Dinesh Vyas, Senior Vice President (Marketing and Product Development), Prism Johnson Limited; on the design ethos of key brands as a process of generating an identity for the eventual products Over the past six decades, H & R Johnson (India) has successfully established itself as a pioneer of key design developments and research in the tile industry. As the Senior Vice President who has been closely associated to the journey of the brand, Dinesh Vyas shares a fundamental understanding of the range of factors involved in the development of a brand or a product at H & R Johnson (India) through a ‘usercentric’ thought process.
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[IN]SIDE: [IN] DINESH VYAS: DV
What role does ‘design’ play in industrial ceramics and what core factors govern the ‘design process’? Design is a very vast subject in itself and the definition changes with context. However, one thing that is common to any design process for us is that it must fulfil the ascribed purpose. Discussing industrial ceramics and ceramic tiles in particular, the purpose is defined by a three-fold objective: Durability, Aesthetics, and Functionality. If one were to elaborate on these objectives - functionality refers to the performance of a surface in a familiar environment of usage. For instance, a technically correct tiled floor will require different surface characteristics depending upon its environment of usage. Not all tiles perform the same way in a given environment. Secondly, a tiled surface is designed with the intention to last for a long duration of time apart from being integrated to an aesthetic aspiration of an overall palette. This means that the functionality and aesthetics must have a much longer life without any objectionable decay or loss of sheen. In that sense, aesthetics, which is often considered to be an artistic endeavour - dealing with colour, design flow, touch etc - also needs to be a consideration of durable use. In other words, a good tile must endure wear and tear in the environment it is designed for, such as: skid-resistance, ability to perform under different levels of static and dynamic loads and so on. So, ‘durability’ is not just with regard to the mechanical strength of tile but the aesthetics and functionality must also possess durability as an attribute.
Right: Johnsons’s Tactiles used in public spaces such as bus stops to endure high traffic
In light of these factors, design in industrial ceramics involves multiple disciplines. The first one is ceramic engineering. It imparts desired mechanical strength and dimensional attributes to the tile body and the top, visible surface of the tile. Here is where one encounters the opportunity to employ and combine latest technologies and equipment in the process of design. The second aspect includes graphical combinations of shades, detailing and an overall visual appeal. Since surfaces are designed to be integrated with different environments of usage, it requires intuitive design expertise from architects, interior designers and other such professionals from diverse fields of design. In short, the meaning of ‘design’ with respect to tiled surfaces can be a very comprehensive and interesting subject.
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“According to some sources, the oldest thing closely resembling a ceramic tile, so far found is aged more than 2000 years!�
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[IN] DV
How has design of ceramic tiles evolved over time? The knowledge of ceramics is actually quite old as a subject. Over the last few centuries, ornamental ceramics for beautification and decoration have become immensely popular. According to some sources, the oldest thing closely resembling a ceramic tile, so far found is aged more than 2000 years! What has really changed is on two fronts: first is the technology which has gone through a tremendous evolution and the second is a huge variety of affordable and easily accessible range of products. Beautiful, smallsized ceramic tiles which were once a luxury, available only to the elite of the society as decorative products, are now widely accessible to everyone. Modern-day tiles are large in size, mechanically very strong and have a wide variety of aesthetics and features to suite different environments of use. Apart from the mass-production technology introduced by Europe (with China emerging as a strong competitor today), few of the most remarkable changes brought about during this evolution include: •
High mechanical strength and thinner tiles for walls as well as floor applications.
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Multiple technologies creating a wide range of aesthetics.
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Creation of economical, polished porcelain (vitrified) tiles and large size glazed, versatile porcelain tiles in multiple surface finishes.
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From a simple coloured glaze and flat screen printing to a modern-day ink-jet digital printing and realistic textures.
At Johnson, with the help of our in-house R&D (Research & Development) team, we have been successful in combining the latest manufacturing technology to introduce some unique features that render ceramic tiles as a better alternative for surface covering. For instance, our range of Anti-Static tiles deal with static-charge in enclosed electronic environments and the high SRI (Surface Reflective Index) tiles keep the Facing Page (Three Images): We live amongst a rich culture of architectural ceramics since almost 2000 years!
temperature below the roof much lesser than convention. Apart from these, we introduced Germ-Free and Stain-Free tiles, ready to use Stair-case Tiles and many such other innovative products. To re-emphasise, design is perceived as an integral idea of a surface and not just limited to the aesthetics of a coloured
Below Right: Johnsons’s Smart Slim Tiles, all of 5mm thickness used to clad interior surfaces, reducing wastage and bulk
graphic or finish type. It is a continuously evolving process in all the three aforementioned aspects: Durability, Functionality and Aesthetics.
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“Apart from value-addition to aspects of durability and aesthetics, we are rigorously working towards developing ceramic tiles as an environmentally-conscious product.” Facing Page Clockwise: Johnson Tiles for different usage environments; Industrial Tiles for Server Rooms, Germ-Free and Stain-Free Tiles for Hospitals, 20 mm thick Meteor Series Industrial Tiles for Garages, Germ-Free Tiles for domestic use, Cool Roof Tiles for reduced heat gain used in domestic and commercial spaces Right: R & D work in process at the laboratory in the Industrial Products & Natural Resources Division (IPNR) at H & R Johnson’s Plant
[IN] DV
What skill-sets are required for the product-development process of a new range? Graphic designers, artists, interior designers, 3D space visualisers and ceramists - they all play important roles in the process of synchronisation. Marketing inputs and feedback mechanisms with the help of our sales team are also critical to the process. Personally, I feel that the nature of the working relationship between various skill-sets is at par with that of a football team. The team assembles into a set-formation as per the requirement of that stage and challenge at hand, and at the same time every player understands the goal and hence adds value to the team-effort.
[IN] DV
What other product ideas is Johnson contemplating on for the future? At the moment, we are immersed in ceramics R&D. Most of what we do as R&D also gets manifested into reality, including the creation of India’s first and only Germ-Free tile. Apart from value-addition to aspects of durability and aesthetics, we are rigorously working towards developing ceramic tiles as an environmentally-conscious product. For instance, we are presently working to create a unique sort of tile that can make the environment of X-Ray and MRI centres safe without using the conventional sheet of lead. Innovation is our aptitude and lot of our projects are at different stages of development. Overall, our effort is to design ceramic tiles that can push the envelope with their enhanced performance attributes and add value to the society in as many ways as possible. Personally, I see a great opportunity in collaborating with architects, designers and technocrats to co-create interestingly customised products that are revolutionary in some sense, and well-ahead of their time.
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Left (Three Photographs): Inside the H & R Johnson Manufacturing Unit; Raw Material Storage, Slip House Ball Mill, the Glaze Line Facing Page: Tiles passing through the quality check before they are packaged, Tiles passing through the Digital Printing Machine, Finished tiles straight out of the kiln and moving to the Rectification and Finishing process
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Left and Below (Three Photographs): Co-Creating flooring ideas with Ar Swapnil Patil for a cricket pavilion Facing Page: Designing industrial ceramics is an iterative process that involves much back-and forth between design, production and marketing teams
“Every project has a unique thought process that informs the design decisions. In this premise, when a ceramist and a designer collaborate, the resulting output is far more informed.�
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[IN] DV
Could you elaborate on some of these collaborative efforts? Collaborating with architects and designers on exclusive projects has been very rewarding for us as a company. Every project has a unique thought process that informs the design decisions. In this premise, when a ceramist and a designer collaborate, the resulting output is far more informed. The scale, however could be an issue as ours is a process involving mass-production. But with present-day technology, I think that a lot many projects could be customised where the requirement is of a few thousand square meters.
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[IN] DV
The tag line of Johnson reads: ‘Not just tiles, Lifestyles’. How do you correlate your designs with lifestyles? ‘Lifestyle’ is a constantly changing attribute of our society, and with every change, there are certain unconventional nuances that gain prominence. It is widely known but not well-accepted that lifestyle, in a way, is also a reflection of wealth and power. In modern terms, we think that ‘lifestyle’ has a few important aspects - health & hygiene, safety, concern for the environment, freedom to choose from a wide range of options and an ability to make an informed choice. In this context, having our positioning as ‘Not just tiles, Lifestyles’, we have launched Stain-Free and Germ-Free tiles which cater to ‘health & hygiene’, Anti-Static and Anti-Skid tiles for concerns of ‘safety’, slimmer but stronger tiles and cool-roof tiles that address the concern for our fast-depleting resources and the urban heat islands respectively - in short, our ‘concern for the environment’. Apart from this, we
Facing Page: ‘Lifestyle’ and the constantly changing definitions: H & R Johnson proposes an alternate understanding that bases itself in well-being Right: The essential components of a contemporary lifestyle - the foundational ideas for design at H & R Johnson
have over 3000 products across over twenty categories - ensuring a ‘freedom of choice’ for every type of customer for any need that they may have. We believe in empowering people for ‘making informed decisions’. To sustain these efforts, we have introduced House of Johnson Experience Centres across the country where our trained staff can help and guide every customer – even if unaided by a qualified architect or designer - about the best options to suit their needs, budgets and aesthetic requirements.
“We believe in empowering people for ‘making informed decisions’. To sustain these efforts, we have introduced House of Johnson Experience Centres across the country where our trained staff can help and guide every customer.”
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“There is constant effort from our end to positively influence the fraternity by way of having a physical and digital presence.�
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[IN]
How would you like to collaborate with the fraternity of architects and designers to develop something new in the field of ceramics?
DV
We are part of an industry where design is driven by architects and interior designers. In this way, we consider ourselves as co-creators within the same fraternity - thus trying to involve ourselves beyond just ‘a product’ as a deliverable. In my personal interactions with different architects and designers over the years, the one thing that poses a common concern for all of us is the knowledge about the right kind of workmanship in the tiling process. There is a constant effort from our end to positively influence the fraternity by way of having a physical and digital presence.
Facing Page (Two Images): [IN]SIDE is a Print + Digital content initiative by H & R Johnson and Matter for the fraternity of architects and designers in India Below: “We are immersed in R & D: research at H & R Johnson is the springboard for product-development”
We are also associated with a few design institutions and architecture bodies apart from encouraging and promoting good publications and design conclaves on contemporary architecture and design such as the [IN]SIDE journal and the Frame Conclave on ‘Modern Heritage’ in Goa. In the near future, we are also looking to launch an online design-content platform in association with the Goa-based Studio Matter. Our ultimate aim is to qualify as a collaborator in design with the very diverse architecture and design community of our country, therein helping us enrich our conversations and thus, products
DINESH VYAS heads Marketing at H & R Johnson (India) where he leads brand and marketing initiatives across all product verticals. With over 25 years of experience in the industry, he has worked with Ambuja Cement, Larsen & Tubro and Shell apart from his long engagement with H & R Johnson. Dinesh has led retail, brand and marketing initiatives including some of the company’s landmark product development initiatives. His holds an M.Tech and an MBA degree. He has been recognised amongst the ‘50 most talented brand leaders in India’ by World Brand Congress. He enjoys playing musical instruments and writing.
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“The design thinking for our team starts with application in any given environment. It is very contextual in that sense. Our design team comprises of designers from diverse backgrounds including the arts.�
DESIGNING CERAMIC TILES Ms Pragati Lapalikar, Senior Manager, Prism Johnson Limited; on the processes and challenges involved in the design and production of industrial ceramics The range of Johnson Tiles, customised to cater a variety of environments, involves a rigorous in-house R&D routine as part of the design process. Industrial Designer and Senior Manager, Pragati Lapalikar elaborates on the philosophy, process and challenges encountered, and the influence of a new and advanced technology on the design of ceramic tiles.
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PHILOSOPHY At Johnson, we have a design philosophy which in essence states that ceramic tiles must never be designed in isolation, as it is ‘an element’ of an overall enclosed space as envisioned by the designer along with the end-user/client. The design thinking for our team starts with application in any given environment. It is very contextual in that sense. Our design team comprises of designers from diverse backgrounds including the arts. However, unlike an artist, the role of a designer in this case is to cater to a purpose and in doing so, establish a commercially successful range of products. From the perspective of functionality, there are limitations to explorations in the third-dimension as far as tiles are concerned, barring some deep textures for wall cladding or rendering some relief work on stones and wooden floor tiles as designs.
PROCESS The crucial stages in designing ceramic tiles involves an elaborate process where certain activities happen in tandem with certain others, while some of them are just sequential in nature. To briefly explain, some of these stages include: •
Market-research in order to gauge what works in reality and then identify the gaps and potential opportunities to create newer and interesting options.
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Conceptualisation and optimisation of designs since choices of themes vary. In order to stay largely accessible and relevant, we work with multiple design ideas.
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In-plant trials and development of prototypes.
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Finally, we make necessary enhancements and continue to stay involved in production until the first commercial run is completed.
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DESIGN | H & R JOHNSON (INDIA)
CHALLENGES Ceramic tile-design involves multiple skill-sets. By virtue of this, the first challenge for us is to appropriately identify and manage talents from diverse backgrounds. The second challenge then is establishing a balance between conventionally successful ideas and probing unconventional territories. There is always the possibility of a hit and miss accounted for where in a design conceived and developed at the studio may or may not manifest into a ceramic production. This calls for repeated trials and tribulations, and change-overs as part of a continuous production process. Personally, I feel the biggest challenge is in the ability to achieve commercial success wherein the sales team goes in to present the design to a fraternity of architects and designers. The risk of miscommunication of an idea behind a design is minimised in collaborative projects as the design team is involved in all stages leading up to production and supply. Most of these challenges can be resolved internally with the help of an effective framework for control within the organisation, making it almost imperative for the design team to interact with the sales and marketing team and vice-versa throughout the process of development.
INFLUENCE OF TECHNOLOGY If one were to trace back from where we began as a manufacturing unit, many things have changed since the transition of our design studio into a completely digitised space. Today, collaboration with different design studios across the globe, and working with varied materials and methodologies is entirely feasible. Developing software and visualisation tools have added value and this new breed of designers are extremely hands-on with the tools of their time. Technological advancement has brought us one step closer to understanding and addressing market forces which are quite competitive today. With the aid of technology, today we can visualise the end-product with much more clarity than it was possible a few years Facing Page: Exterior wall cladding tiles designed for a natural stone-finish look
ago where the errors in the tile could be rectified only once the end-product was realised. Technology has definitely created a more versatile environment for applied design
PRAGATI LAPALIKAR presently leads the team of designers with diverse skill sets at H & R Johnson (India), frequently collaborating with Architects and Interior designers to translate their ideas into exclusively designed tiles. Pragati did her post-graduation from National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad as an Industrial Designer and has a decade of experience in varied design fields covering a wide spectrum of materials and products that include glass products, sanitaryware, souvenirs, tiles and fabrics. Her passion to explore different materials, textures, colours and forms has helped her develop innovative and out of the box concepts. Her earlier assignments were at Year Glass, Colorobbia Chemicals India, and the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation.
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BALKRISHNA V DOSHI Works photographed by Fabien Charuau
Architect Balkrishna V Doshi was conferred the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2018 for his formidable contribution to the field of architecture in a career spanning nearly six decades. Featured in this edition of [IN]SIDE is a selection of glimpses of his work - a few iconic projects in Ahmedabad.
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“We were sitting on the dusty floor of the cave, looking at the sun rays lighting the words of the tale. The unfolding of the skies of the Gufa revealed a mythology of abstraction. The Gufa is a story told by Doshi. It’s a story of the sea curling up on the ribs of the cave and of flat demons hiding in the ferro-cement woods. Here inside, the light in the undergrowth is bent, slowed down with the weight of the city din, far outside. It’s a tale of the young seeker sitting, meditating in the softness of the dark, the walls of the womb - already dangerously round - curved even more to shelter her small shoulders. There’s no straight line here: the horizon line is coiled like one of Husain’s cobras, and to find orientation in this mirage one has to drop all need for orientation. That’s the optical trick of the Gufa: the distortion of the lens unrolls the painter’s canvas.” - Fabien Charuau
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FABIEN CHARUAU is a French photographer based in Mumbai and working in the Architecture and Interior space. Over the last ten years, Fabien has contributed to many national and international publications including Architectural Digest, Elle Décor, ELLE, GQ, Harper’s Bazaar, WSJ Magazine, Vogue India, Le Monde and The Good Life. Fabien has shot for leading architecture firms and takes on private projects. INSIDE is a gallery of photographs that explores up-close important buildings of India’s modern architectural heritage.
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HPA: HIREN PATEL ARCHITECTS
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MARTAND KHOSLA /ROMI KHOSLA DESIGN STUDIOS
R RAVINDRAKUMAR
Nature Morte Gallery,
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#456, The Blue House, Monte Villa Road, Monte-Guirim, Sangolda, Goa - 403 511 think@matter.co.in H & R JOHNSON (INDIA) - A DIVISION OF PRISM JOHNSON LIMITED 7th Floor, Windsor, CST Road, Kalina, Santacruz (East), Mumbai - 400 098 inside@hrjohnsonindia.com
[IN]SIDE
MATTER DESIGN SEVICES LLP
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