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decoding the footprints..

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Acknowledgements The Editorial team would like to thank NASA India for the support and confidence shown without which the publication would not have been possible. We would also like to thank the Eminent Personalities, Architects, Faculty members who contributed in making the Indian Arch possible. We also commend the students the enthusiastic minds and their colleges/institutes who through their writing, and skills have helped us in building the magazine. We also acknowledge the support from the Faculty and Staff members of Gateway College of Architecture & Design, Sonipat, Haryana along with Executive members of NASA India. Copyright2013, Published by Gateway College of Architecture and Design, Sonepat, Haryana The content of the book is a compilation ofarticles and interviews of the Architects and other personalities. Gateway College of Architecture and Design, Sonepat, Haryana is not responsible for the content matter of the same. All rights reserved No part or whole of this publication may be copied, used or reproduced by any means whatsoever without written permission from the publisher. Printed by: Universal Print & Pack G-2, Ground Floor, B-2, Vardhman Place Nimri Complex, Ashok Vihar, Phase-4 New Delhi-52 09811951588, 09896651588

Cover page Sharad Dhuliya 2nd Year NIFT, Delhi sharad.dhuliya@yahoo.in Editor Bhawna Jaimini 4th Year Architecture Department G.Z.S. Campus, PTU Editorial Assistance Parul Taneja 3rd Year School Of Architecture, Lingayas University Anushri Singhi 3rd Year School Of Architecture, Lingayas University Aviral Sinha 3rd Year Architecture Department G.Z.S. Campus, PTU Siraj Ahmed 5th Year Gateway College of Architecture Sonepat, Haryana Graphical Assistance Mandeep Singh Dhillon 4th Year Architecture Department G.Z.S. Campus, PTU dhillon2ar@gmail.com

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Executive Council President & Vice President Samruddhi Chaphale president.nasaindia@gmail.com president@nasaindia.info Secretary Shaikh Salman Ayub secretary@nasaindia.info Convenor Vikas Kumar Vikram convenor@nasaindia.info Treasurer Saajan Varanasi treasurer@nasaindia.info Zonal Council Sahil Sharma zp1@nasaindia.info Abhishek Gwaskoti zp2@nasaindia.info Omkar Thube zp3@nasaindia.info BMN Chakravarthy zp4@nasaindia.info Waqar Abid zp5@nasaindia.info Aswin Shunmugam zp6@nasaindia.info The Convention Vice Convenor Aakash Khurana
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NASA India The National Association of Students of Architecture, commonly referred to as NASA, is one of the largest communities of architectural students in Asia. 196 colleges of the architectural community are members of this organization. NASA provides an interactive platform for students all over the country by holding conventions both at the national and zonal levels. Colleges all over India compete for the prestigious trophies which cover various aspects of architecture. We strive to provide assistance to the society through the ideas that develop during the convention. The ideas that materialize during this conglomeration are also used to provide technical assistance to the economically backward sections. The conventions also witness participation from various colleges in countries under SAARC. Architects across the SAARC nations have an opportunity to interact with each other and come up with productive solutions. Gateway College of Architecture and Design Sonepat, Haryana The Gateway College of Architecture and Design has been initiated by the Gateway Education & Charitable Society. The basic philosophy of the Gateway College of Architecture and Design is to use the latest technology for creating an effective teaching learning environment but not making the learners slaves of technology. The College will be working on principles that inculcate the use of hand, mind and machine in the world of architecture and design.

Unit Secretary Anurag Dania

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The National Association of Students of Architecture has taken an unprecedented lead in organizing the Annual NASA Convention every year in spite of all odds. The Convention is a strong platform for exchange of information about other schools of architecture in other parts of the country and also offers the possibility of making pan Indian and International friends. As the host college of the 55th Annual NASA Convention, I take this opportunity of extending a warm welcome to all the dignitaries, delegates and accompanying staff to Gateway College of Architecture and Design, Sonipat with the fond hope and wish that all the delegates will attend this event with the same benign sentiments with which it is being hosted. The written word stays. This journal that has been structured in a novel fashion with an input of tremendous effort on the part of the editors and contributors is a profound accompaniment to the annual convention. It is a very impressive journal of a high standard and its contents will make this journal a collectors item for all the young architects. I congratulate the publishers of this journal and wish the 55th NASA Annual Convention all the best.

It is matter of great pride and honour for us to be the hosts of NASA annual convention 2013. We welcome students from all over the country and abroad who have come for the convention. We also extend our heartiest greetings to all the dignitaries, leading architects and professionals who made their valuable time available to the students. We specially wish that all the foreign guests have a pleasant stay in our campus and in India. Our hope is that this becomes learning and an enjoyable experience for all of us.

Directors DESK
Anil Kumar Director Gateway College of Architecture and Design, Sonipat Haryana

Managements Desk
H.P Mangla . Chairman Gateway Group of Institutions
Rakesh Aggarw

Rakesh Aggarwal Executive Chairman Gateway Group of Institutions

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Rakesh Aggarwal

It is very encouraging to note that National level Association of students of architecture is organizing an international meet of the students from 90 colleges from India and 13 colleges from Pakistan. This is an event that has objectives more than one and need to be emulated by all. Such meets bring students from different ethnic groups and countries on a single platform enabling them to exchange not only the technical knowledge, that such a platform provides, but additionally help better understanding of other issues that effect international relationships in the present economic and political scenario. Through such occasions are formal in nature but a substantial component has informal interventions which yield benefits more than pyre technical interactions and can bring about improvements in international understanding at the grass root level. The visitors became ambassadors of the host country and take message back home that bring about changes in the perception of others by transmitting their views, both upwards and downwards, in the hierarchy of their country correcting, through this, narrow understanding of each other. It is my earnest hope that such a forum will yield the needed benefits for all to be built upon for the benefits of the countries involved.

We, the team of 55th NASA (NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF STUDENTS OF ARCHITECTURE) take this privilege to invite so many wonderful architects and young budding architecture students across the country for the 55th ANNUAL NASA CONVENTION to be hosted in Gateway college of Architecture, Sonepat, Haryana. NASA has been a platform of interactive learning and a breeding ground for innovative ideas among the students of architecture ever since 55 years since its beginning and we today continue to follow the NASA footprint with a change that is needed in time to make a difference. NASA has not only provided a scope for students to explore the potentials within but has also added vistas of freedom of thinking beyondlearning beyond and exploring beyond The Defined and Confined. The most amazing fact is the 3 days fiesta which is like a rendezvous with architects whom we admire, students of varied colleges whom we dont know and yet jell along so well, and the innumerable NASA trophies which push us to strive for more and more. Through this 55th Annual NASA CONVENTION, we hope that all of you will have loads to learn and loads of memories to make that are worth cherishing and admiring for a lifetime.

v. ChancellorS dESK
H.S. Chahal Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram University of Science & Technology Murthal, sonepat-131039 Haryana(INDIA)

EXECUTIVE COUNCILS dESK

Samuruddhi S. Chaphale President, NASA India Saajan Varanasi Treasurer, NASA India Shaikh Salman Ayub Secretary, NASA India
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It all started over a cup of coffee and donuts at the Dunkin Donuts outlet in Connaught Place, New Delhi. The idea that was brewing along with the coffee was to make a bold and bright statement with 55th Annual Nasa Convention Magazine. After frequent conversations and meeting, The Window was finally born. As I am skimming through the pages of The Window, I can see the months of hard work materialize and creating a world beyond and within. My heart is fraught with mixed emotions watching the flow through The Window. A part of me is asking me if I could have done better while the other is at ease with satiation and beaming with the joy, the joy that come from creation and nothing else. I hope all of you will be able to feel that joy which I have felt through the whole course of opening The Window. Let us all come together and go beyond what is seen, heard and felt and celebrate the endless yearn to create and break barriers. So dear readers, its time to read, learn and feel inspired.

Every object around me is lying in a precarious state of being, sometimes crying out loud to stipulate my attention and sometimes going into utter dormancy. But I choose not to experience their submission or oppression because when you are expected to host the biggest event of the architecture fraternity in India, empty tea cups stacked in the corner of the room since months, haranguing beard and a forced friendship with the spiders doesnt count. What counts is the tag of Convenor which has been bestowed upon me. We have been working for more than 6 months for the Convention and I have had an experience of a lifetime. I often go into modes of despair and euphoria, one moment I feel being tossed up in the air and applauded, another moment I am lying hard on the ground. There have been times when I wanted to quit and take refuge in my design sheets, but with constant support from my faculty, friends and the executive council of NASA, I have made this far where I am actually few days from either hitting the grounds or walking up the clouds. So here I give you a break from woes of a convenor to look at the convention from The Window.

Editors Desk
Bhawna Jaimini 8th Semester Architecture Department G.Z.S. Campus, PTU bhawna.jaimini@gmail.com
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Convenors Desk
Vikas Kumar Vikram 10th Semester Gateway College of Architecture Sonepat, Haryana convenor@nasaindia.info
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Towards Footprints ...Samruddhi S. Chaphale...15 The Birth of an Identity ...Nilay Bhandari...16 College Overview...24 Formal Events...20 Informal Events..18 Other Events and Activities...26

THE CONVENTION

My footprints on the sand of architecture in time and space ...Krishna Jaisim Rao...51 Digital design and the small design studio ...Ayodh Kamath...56 My buildings speak a contemporary language ...Oscar Concessao...63

OWN JOURNEYS OWN WORDS

CONTENTS

AT A GLANCE
Creating no signatures ...Sameep Padora CAD-Computer

Aided Dilemma Pioneer of ...Architect mud Tapan architecture in India Chakravarty...67

...Revathy Kamath

Versatile, innovative and adventurous ...Sandeep Khosla...76 Architecture is a curious craft ...Christopher Charles Beninger...78

Architecture Education in India needs Reform COA way ...Architect Rajendra Kumar...70 Building common ground at the Venice Biennale ...William Chan...72

LINE TO LINE
Dean D Cruz...28 D Uday Kumar...31 Abhishek Bij...33 Amit Talwar...35 Amardeep Singh... 38 Akshar Pathak...41 Vinod Gupta...49 Sanjay Prakash...45
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Space and spirit Places and people ...Yatin Pandya ...Shirish Beri...60
Tirelessly innovative ...Jatin Das

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It was yet another phase of NASA India which surpassed the toughest situations and had come to the other side of the sea. We were the sailors now who had to take it to an internode that will be safe, pretty and divine for the growth of knowledge in architecture and provoking the spirit to float. How to start with this journey was the first question that popped in our minds for we were very much aware of the challenges that would encounter. Unsteady minds began to doddle and fiddle and finally BASE was the unanimous answer .Thus we finally decided to slowly start reestablishing the base and making it firm. It was then that the idea of redefining NASA materialised. We started on hunting for synonyms and the diversity and scope of this attempt. It was thus that we embarked upon harmonising the various aspects and finally arrived at the conclusion of imprinting the idea of LEAVING BEHIND THE MARK! FOOTPRINTS! The theme was not planned keeping the convention in mind but it was for the overall picture framing of the 55th NASA. Footprints indeed served its meaning completely for it was envisaged in every step that NASA India took in its 55th year. It was more of a pledge than a theme for us and so was our constant effort to syndicate all our ideas and notions to leave the FOOTPRINT.

immortality lies in leaving a mark behind, its not the end, we have just begin, for we have traced the path and the journey goes on for it has footprints to follow, live and grow

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sustainable neighbourhoods, The video documentation of a building material contest which aims at unfolding the mighty reality of the building material which lies in sensing it rather than just perceiving. The footprint of CRAFT through the UCP TROPHY, The footprint that any building around would signify is what THE WRITING ARCHITECTURE talks about. 55th NASA INDIA Footprints at Gateway college of Architecture, Sonepat, HARYANA is a coup de grace to the very IDEOLOGY. It also aims at layThus, it is not only the trophy briefs, trophy ing a footprint of having a small classic convenworks and the convention that reflected the tion that shall bring to the students a platform of theme FOOTPRINTS, but also the various other in- knowledge exchange and interactive learning in itiatives that we took this year like the Celebration the right spirit. OF NASA Day leaving a mark of social service We, the 55th NASA FOOTPRINTS TEAM hope with an architectural essence, THE NASA LBC collaboration leaving a mark of INDEGINEOUSITY IN that we have finally laid our UNIQUE FOOTPRINT ARCHITECTURE, THE NASA-UOW started dialogue and we are thankful to all of you for being with with architecture students to help in building us to mark A SUCCESSFUL 55th year.

Towards Footprints...

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Samruddhi S. Chaphale NASA President

Past this stage, I got down to exploring, through sketches, each of those approaches. Footprints as a visual kept creeping back into my explorations as I struggled to not have them at all. As anyone would tell you, the first rule of logo design is that you never do the most obvious! As I explored further, certain things started becoming clear, though.

The Birth of an Identity Nilay Bhandari Designer

It started with a frantic call from Samruddhi! Some three phone calls later, I had agreed to design the identity for the 55th Annual NASA Convention at Sonepat, Haryana. The theme for this year was Footprints, she told me. Thats how I found myself staring at a white sheet. All I could visualise then were 5 different styles of footprints that looked like Goddess Lakshmis. And thats where the problem began!

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What loomed heavy on my head was a deadline two weeks apart. As a result even before the design process started, I planned how every stage of the process should pan over successive days. As I began, I thought it was important that I got to know and understand the values by which NASA stands. I also jotted down all that was given, all that was expected and everything in between along with what I had gathered from my quick research on NASA in a mind map. I find mind maps are an effective tool to visualise data across categories. Quickly, I also put together a rough mood board that helped me translate information I had so far, into visuals. Further I explored various approach- 55 + footprint + Haryanvi Arch = Identity for the es that I could take to realise the final identity. 55th Annual NASA Convention.

Logos usually represent visually what an organisation/company stands for: its values, beliefs etc. In this case, though, we were, basically, trying to represent the theme of an event visually. This implies that the visual essentially shall turn out to be a symbol more than a logo to denote the theme. Symbols by virtue cannot be abstract as opposed to logos. Especially in this case, Footprints: Leave your mark in itself is an abstract concept to imply that architects must find their uniqueness and strive for a lasting legacy. To represent a philosophy like this in the abstract i.e. without including the literal footprint is abstracting the abstract. Hence, it became necessary to have the footprint as part of the symbol for easy communication, recall value, simplicity and brevity. While personally, i wouldnt have preferred having a foot in the symbol myself, it is there not because of preference but out of necessity. To negate any such counter arguments, the symbol brings in the number 55 to define the foot. That reinstates this conventions uniqueness and associates the theme with this years convention as against any other year. Thus, a definite logic has dictated the use of the foot and not whims or colloquial rules of logo. Sometimes its just necessary that the most obvious is done for the very motives behind logo design, in this case, symbol design. To further add meaning to the symbol, it was placed within a form that resembles an arch common to many traditional Haryanvi architectures. Thus,

That was all about form. As i delved into colour options, red stood out each time. It stands for dynamism, revolution and youth: all defining parameters for the convention. The gradient in the red added that extra touch of depth and drama to the identity subtly. As for the font, Rockwell was chosen for how it bold and firm with its slab serifs and yet legible in all sizes. Instead of using two fonts, different weights and sizes of Rockwell were used to achieve hierarchy and flow. Once all of this was finalised, half the battle was done. Next, we figured out how the identity should look with the NASA logo. How should the identity translate onto applications: visiting cards, letter heads and letter pad covers? After a few arguments and a few less agreements, we reached consensus over the entire identity: the symbol, its interaction with the parent logo and its applications! The best part about the project was that all deadlines were duly met! As designers, our primary duty is to fulfil our roles as problem solvers. Here was a classic case that began with a tough timeline and limited space for play. Often, outcomes are sweet when constraints are heady. Come to think of it, all of it began with a frantic

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Line to Line
Conversations
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Architect Dean D Cruz, Goa

When you take up a project, apart from the clients briefs what else do you require to start designing? Inspiration. It can come from various sources, the site, the clients background, something that has been on your mind and searching for a situation to implement it. Ever so often clients come to you based on your previous work, the challenge is to break away from that and treat each project with a fresh eye and vocabulary. With globalization and readymade information available with just a click, clients are becoming more aware. Does this hamper the scope of an Architects independence in designing? On the contrary, it means that clients are more aware of the need of a good design. The problem is however, they usually get hooked on to flashy images and 3Ds and miss the essentials of well working spatial connections, a sensible climatic and ecological approach in the use of materials and technologies. This really means that the architect has to be far more equipped in his knowledge of these, far too often substandard buildings are made because clients are blissfully unaware of what is good arAfter graduating from Sir J.J. College of Architecture, chitecture. Sadly, in India we lack the professionBombay, in 1983, Dean joined architect Gerard Da alism that one sees in architectural firms abroad. Cunha as an assistant in Goa in 1985. Enamored by the soft and human scale of Goas Architecture and lifestyle he decided to stay. In 1986 he became a partner in a firm called Natural Architecture, working on cost effective housing in a very Laurie Baker approach using waste building materials and innovative design. In 1994 he expanded base of design work, taking on small hotels, large houses and institutional work as principal architect of Dean DCruz & Associates. In 2001 he co-founded Mozaic, with general collaboration between disciplines as the core ethic. His current emphasis is on urban interventions, sustainable principles and conservation. Read on to know more about him.

Well-informed and equipped young architects willing to break out of the moulds can show the way

Why do you put a lot of stress on resonating with the traditional and cultural values of the place where you are designing as opposed to following a personal style? It is essential to root a building in its locale especially if one is designing an area that has a great deal of vernacular architecture and crafts to support it. It does not mean that one copies those styles or elements, but instead interprets them, responding to materials, crafts and technologies presently available. Personal styles speak of a great ego, which can get in the way of good architecture. They also limit ones learning and ability to work in different materials and locations. Goa has a rich cultural and architectural background; it attracts tourism from worldwide and is constantly evolving leaving a lot of scope for architects. Do you think working in Goa has given you an advantage in carving a niche for yourself? Yes working in Goa does push one to be far more sensitive to the environment and cultural backgrounds of the place. I started working here at a time when there was not much work with people just building small low cost homes for themselves. Hospitality was in its infancy and no new public buildings coming up. It gave one the mind space to experiment and also design / build most of these houses. This experience of actually constructing what one designs is invaluable.

working in Goa does push one to be far more sensitive to the environment and cultural backgrounds of the place

You have been working in the industrial design sector for quite some time now. How did you think of stepping into the zone? Product design has always been a passion for me, having wanted to do my masters in it after architecture. The process that product designers use is a far more research based and rigorous one than we use in architecture. Product Design also allows one to get into the detailed workings of the building. There is a separate wing in Mozaic that handles Product Design and supports the architectural side in its detailing.
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You condemn the mindless urbanization of villages in India, but urban areas are taken to be as standards of development, which the villages are mimicking. What can be the other way out to this problem?

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Dr. D. Uday Kumar, IIT Guwahati

Dr. D. Udaya Kumar is the designer of Indian Rupee Symbol. At present, he is teaching at IIT Guwahati as an Assistant Professor in Department of Design. He has completed his PhD in design from Industrial Design Centre, IIT Bombay. Udaya has a Masters degree in Design (Visual communication) and Bachelors degree in Architecture. He worked as a senior designer and then as a design head in a monthly magazine Intelligent Computing CHIP. His two years professional experience in the publishing house has given him a good knowledge on print media. His areas of interest include graphic design, typography, type design, architecture and design research with special focus on Tamil typography. About his personal life, well it might sound ascetic but thats what he prefers to be. Udaya Kumar believes in humbleness and leads a simple lifestyle. He also strongly believes in himself and certain fundamental principles righteousness, equality, love, trust, cleanliness and discipline. He is a sports enthusiast and a nature lover. The Window talks to him about his future aspects and life after the symbol. Read on.

One needs to look at the issues of densification of villages, whether it is just speculative investment that is prompting new houses, an industrial node close by or proximity to another urban centre. Most villages have emerged from an agricultural base over a long period of time and in an organic fashion. It is usually some other fast moving economic driver that upsets the fabric and without an understanding and proper planning for this, urban chaos is simulated. The solution is really to educate people on the issues of planning and create a platform for democratic dialogue among all stakeholders. Once these people have established their vision for their village to use professionals, including sociologists and economists to actually draw out their future. Economic development has generally been associated with environmental and cultural destruction. But if properly planned can actually be greatly beneficial to both. A lot architecture students in India look up to for inspiration. What would you like to say to them?

Sadly, over the years I have seen a general decline in the quality of architectural education. There were 20 schools all over India when I graduated and now over 200. While schools may be able to impart some basic skills, true learning can only take place if the student has the yearning and looks well beyond what the school can offer. Computers and their great presentation outputs are only tools and while handy in putting ideas across can cut short thinking and developmental processes. While three dimensional renderings may be impressive in describing architecture they need to come through proper step by step design which one sees lacking in a lot of academic work. Students need to travel more, experiment more, research more, and push the boundaries. With this economic boom and short design time span architecture is in a crisis in India. Well-informed and equipped young architects willing to break out of the moulds of a typical architectural practice can show the way.
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Your name will go down in the history as the Designer of the Rupee symbol. How has life changed after this feat and recognition it brought you? At personal level not much has changed I am still the same person. Professionally, the recognition has introduced me to lots of talented and wonderful people. It also opened a window of opportunities. The symbol was criticized and attacked by many people as just a shallow show of superiority by the government as the Rupee is not as strong as the other currencies with their symbol like dollar, yen, and euro. Do you agree with this? Well, I am a designer not economist, I may not be able answer this one. Your bio-data tells us that you are an architecture graduate. Why did you shift gears and moved to typography and graphic design and research work? Yes, I am an registered architect moved on to typography, graphic design and design research. Nevertheless, they are all rooted in the same foundation - Creativity. On the other hand, I havent quit architecture.
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Every architect has an ethical responsibility of designing a green building Architect Abhiskek Bij, New Delhi
In terms of the present context, how will you evaluate the role of an architect in weaving the socioeconomic and cultural fabric? It is very important to realize that architecture operates in various realms. We often get blinded by the uncontrollable scale of construction augmented by the developer circuit. Simultaneously, Museums continue to get build, concert halls, rural schools, urban schools, universities. Architects will always contribute to create both wealth and health (intellectual and physical). Our competition winning entry for Silvassa Transport Nagar, not only organises a chaotic infrastructure, for drivers+transporters but also gives a model for the Union Territory to generate enough wealth to keep the Transport Nagar self sustaining. What factors have influenced your design philosophy over the years? How rigid or elastic is it when it comes to catering to the needs of the clients. I have always maintained that architecture is influenced by factors that are external to the profession. Architecture is a response to changing scenarios - cultural, social, economic, technological etc. So to a great extent our philosophy is contant but our deliverables have evolved. I guess by default that means that we try and understand our clients and their needs before we plug-in to the project.
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There is always an immediate co-relation between the clients needs and our response. It is important to realize though that there is a difference between needs and demands. Most of your projects are more contemporary in their outlook and spatial context. They appear to intervene with the present days needs and issues to be addressed in the future. How do you achieve this? This is probably linked to the previous question. I think it is a ethical yet generic responsibility of an architect to understand impact of the project, from all facts of life. i dont know whether you noticed something specific in a particular project but adaptability varies from project to project and Scale. No architectural debate is complete without mentions of Sustainability and Green. Is it possible to seek a common criterion for addressing this issue? Every architect has an ethical responsibility of designing a green building. And if we can as responsible architects pay attention to planning and details of every building our buildings would by default perform better. Sustainability revolves around vast agendas contextual influence, energy, community, labour, money, and period. Green often gets camouflaged behind energy efficient.

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You have done a lot of research on the Tamil typography. Typography is not popular study option as the present generation is concerned. What made you interested in this? I guess, the answer is partly in your question. If no one is interested in that subject isnt there an ample opportunity to grow, to become a pioneer and expert in that field. Thats how I see it, with a positive mind rather than staying away because of its unpopularity. One needs to explore and adventure whether it is a success or failure he/she will still learn. It like in business, one needs to take risk to be successful, it only requires courage. Having said that, we see typography everyday and everywhere and one wonders who designs them. From that point of view, I see there is a huge scope and potential in the subject. Once you are aware of the subject you will understand what I am trying to convey. Yes, I agree there is a need for design awareness. If I am not wrong, architecture too went through similar phase in our country and see how it is perceived now.

You are currently working as a professor in IIT Guwahati and is also working indifferent disciplines of print media. What more do you plan to do ahead? There is a lot more to achieve and research in design with respect to our country, from regional typography to graphic design to design education to awareness and so on. If not all, I would like to work on Indian typography and graphic design. You are an inspiration to all those who want to break barriers and rise above the clichs to follow their own decisive paths. How easy or tough was it for you to do it? Nothing comes easily, its a fact of life. Even if one gets lucky, he/she needs to make lots of efforts to sustain that. Like I said before, I have lots to achieve and long way to go. It takes discipline, devotion and dedication to reach there, somethings that I learned from a speech by an expert during my school days.

Amit Talwar is Founder and Partner of Amit Talwar Associates / office of Blurred Edges. Amit is an Architect with a Masters in Architecture and Urban Design from Columbia University, New York City, USA.

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Architect Amit Talwar

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End of the day, technology and its arms are mere tools (powerful or not is a separate debate). Every era portrays its tools and techniques and our prevalent era is no different. We operate in exciting times where we have a plethora of different tools / technology / techniques. In our proposal for the With new possibilities opening up for the world of police memorial, we were generating graphic inarchitecture every minute in technology, do you formation from a set of tables. For each varying think architects are at a risk of losing their indi- output the parameters were identical - there were lines that were being attracted. viduality? I wrote an article called "who is in Control?" Published in Architecture Time Space and People, Architects thrive to form a niche for themselves by March 2010. This article's premise was the influ- seeking not only clients satisfaction but fulfilling ence of ICT (Information and communication their own architectural ambitions too. have you technology) within architectural studios. My the- been able to fulfill your? sis is that we are in a stage where architects are I am still trying and there are lots of projects of setting up systems, which can adapt and evolve satiate my hunger. The greatest thing about archireal time. These systems require parameters and tecture is that you have so many stratas to operate then inputs to generate a repertoire of outputs, in. You can operate at planning level, architecture and these parameters are defined and controlled level or detail level. you could bother about site by the architect or user. What technology defi- or you could bother about tenders. everywhere nitely enables an architect to do is account for you can find something you might want to make it "your way". scenarios that might be overlooked. In my book an energy efficient building is only one chapter in a Sustainable building. While an energy efficient building focuses purely on energy consumption, a sustainable building takes a wider purview.

I started my own office, but I will not recommend it to anyone (adds jokingly). To be able to develop and grow in the field of architecture, a lot of reading, sketching, exploring needs to be done. One should visit a lot of buildings and places, as it Prior to establishing ATA/OBE Amit has worked makes one learn many things. and lived in various regions of world namely the USA, Middle East and India. He has been involved Your website talks about individual identity in through out his career in leadership roles with the building.. Considering the growth of glass firms such as Skidmore Owings & Merrill Inc, NBBJ, buildings in India, say Gurgaon for example, there Charles Correa Associates, B.V.Doshis Sangath and will come a time when the whole of cities will lose their local social identity. What do you have to say Pan Arab Consultants & Engineers, LTD. about it? Our correspondents Parul Taneja and Anushri The condition in India these days is that we dont Shringi, 6th Semester students of School Of Archi- know who we are. We have been replicating the tecture, Lingayas University talk to him about his west. There are no theories of our own. In U.S, a lot of time is spent on doing research, unlike India. journey into architecture and much more. In India the local buildings cant be associated with, and they dont reflect the culture and traYour perception of architecture that is reflected dition of India. India is a land of the masses, it is through your work is based on whatever you have known all over the world for its population. There accumulated over the years. What were the major is a need for the buildings to be designed keeping that in mind. Indian buildings these days are factors? My years with Charles Correa and B.V. Doshi were not designed keeping the masses, or the culture very important, and it really helped me. The route and tradition of India in mind, and there is a need I chose is not very common, but I am happy with to do that. Majority of the buildings in Gurgaon, where I began and where I am now. . The whole Haryana are just copies of the buildings that exist in Europe! journey was a very fascinating experience.

Our (Indias) chaos is our biggest strength, and organizing that chaos will be the biggest mistake

Our (Indias) chaos is our biggest strength, and organizing that chaos will be the biggest mistake, if we do. Our buildings need to reflect our history for the next generation. Nothing in the master plan talks about such things, and this is why Urban Designers here are required.

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and it is advancing and progressing every day. There are new materials, technologies that are coming up every day. Also with the advancement in Nanotechnology, there will be a completely different industry in some time. As an Architect, it is my responsibility to satisfy a client. One cant tell somebody to like someHow do you emulate the role of an architect in thing. But sometimes you have to entertain your the ever-changing economic and social strata in client. An architect eats people, and poops paper. India? To what extend architects are responsible. There is not just one person or one architect who Food for thought for budding architects. has all the responsibility in his hands. The young people should find their heroes. They One needs to go back to the past that is where the should find real masters who touch their souls. future is. There is a need of more architects like One has to see things in action in order to learn, Raj Rewal and Charles Correa, who thought differ- and make an effort to progress from where you ently. The economy boom change cant be fixed. are. In order to move ahead and finding a way, There is no quick fix or no tricks that will make one should keep going and not look back. one take less time. A lot of angst comes with atti- One will not learn architecture through a matude. Dont work with somebody for the sake of it, chine or by sitting at one place; it is learned on work where you can gain something. One should the streets, by meeting different people and by learn where they really want to, not where theyre experiencing different things. A lot of time has to forced to work. One should be critical about stuff, be put in the work. It is not about sitting and manto get a different idea about what people are aging the show, it is about saying and telling peothinking. ple what to do, and being the person who works constantly in a team. Do you think you have been able to achieve your Handling criticism depends on the person, if architectural ambitions? youre being criticized by someone whos seen Had I achieved it, I would not be working now! less than you then you dont take it as criticism, Moreover, I do not think that day would ever but if its done by some experienced person then come, as architecture is a field that never ends you take it.

When you look at your own work and the happiness and satisfaction you get from it is a great feeling. One should try new, wild things, and even try to find logic in something absurd and that is what really get your brain working and forces you to think a lot. Think of something different, and find ways to justify it, and thats the way to be. One should question whatever they are doing, and take up new challenges. Time should be valued, if eighteen hours of your time are spent doing something, then it better be well damn worth it. The mind should be trained and developed to think and look at things differently. It is hard for an architect to accept peoples thoughts. A good design involves bringing out the best of the abilities. One needs to be careful, and not damage anyone because of who they are. A study model is very important, it makes one learn a lot. People want to do things very fast in todays age, but there is no shortcut. Architecture takes time.

One should try new, wild things, and even try to find logic in something absurd
One can start with small challenges like how much work can be completed in ten minutes so, when one sits and work then there is an idea of how much time is going to be taken. The learning time in the college is a wonderful time because that is when your body of portfolio comes out. Many students dont realize the importance of it. Doing a design all over again is ridiculous. Make the most out of your college life, work and have fun too.

Architect Amardeep Singh, New Delhi

Which of the architects of the contemporary phase in India have influenced you in your own career as an architect? One gets exposed to a lot of architectural works. You cant identify with one or two strays, the whole gamut of them. Architects like Charles Correa, Raj Rewal, and Balakrishna Doshi were very influential .Some of the people who taught me like Ar. Anil Laul, Revathi S. Kamath, and others. Ar. Anil Laul was my professor when I was in second year. His influence was more on the grounds of construction methodologies, new materials and looking at things in a different perspective. A lot of other people were influential. What factors have influenced your design philosophy over the years? Design Philosophy is not something that comes up instantly or overnight, it evolves with time. Im a child of the 80s which means that I was a student from 1984 to 1989. 1984 was the time when Rajeev Gandhi came up as prime minister, and that was when things started changing in India. Suddenly we began to discover ourselves and we also started to discover the world at the same time. Suddenly India was the flavor everywhere and one began to feel proud of it. Before this time, we were looking at the west for direction. Also in the early 80s, the International direction had lost its way, specifically in architecture. Post modernism was being experimented with at that time, which proved to be disastrous. People were looking at their own cultures, societies, heritage and traditions for influence, and thats what was happening in India. Avant Garde cinema was playing a big role in those days. Our concerns were not stylistic, but what was appropriate to the place and time, it terms of geography, climate, and culture, lifestyle, in terms of peoples aspirations, and all that has been a part of ones design philosophy till date.
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We still look at basic things like cross ventilation and lighting. Lighting is something that Le Corbusier understood and used it to great advantage. Unfortunately, in the last 14 years people have completely forgotten it. Things like artificial lighting and air conditioners have been put, and it just goes on. How do you feel about Deconstructivism and The Advent of Cut and Paste Architecture I dont believe in gimmicking architecture. There is a difference between fashion and architecture. In architecture, you are creating a building that is going to stand for twenty to fifty years and maybe even more. It cant be a gimmick unless there is a specific architectural program that demands it. Suppose there is a Motel at the highway that needs to scream for the attention of the people passing by in speeding cars, that is a case in which gimmicking can be done. Or such a thing can be done in a Museum.

I dont believe in gimmicking architecture

In fashion and art you can afford to do that because when you wear a garment, you wear it for a few hours or days and then you throw it away. So you can afford to make an over the top statement. Same applies to Interiors, but only to some extent. We look at architecture with a sense of joy, and not with a sense of shock. Today we have access to all kinds of materials available out there because of Globalization. And it is a great thing which is one part. The second part is the advent of technology, the advancement of the Internet. Any kind of information is available in todays world.

Amardeep Singh graduated in Architecture from the School of Planning and Architecture (S.P.A), New Delhi and he has been in private practice since graduating in 1989 and has experience of a wide variety of projects. He has been inducted in the Fraternity of Habitat Workers by HUDCO for his contributions in the field of Environmental Design. Numerous mentions of his work have appeared in the media, both print and electronic. Correspondent Anushri Shringi, Vth Semester students of School Of Architecture, Lingayas University in conversation with the architect.

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A lot of architecture is cute and paste, Gurgaon is a great example of that. You cut and paste it together, make it look pretty and convince the client to buy it. The elements can be procured from anywhere. This type of architecture is non sense and has no meaning; it has no respect for culture or peoples aspirations and lifestyle. There is absolutely no respect for the city as a whole. When Pragati Maidan was made, individual assignments were given to various architects of the country to do whatever they like and each one tried their best. Each building may have turned out to be very nice, but as a whole it was quiet disastrous. We are doing a similar thing all over again, and the buildings are losing their local identity. The cut and paste architecture buildings dont relate to each other in terms of verbal context whatsoever, and by itself have no original thoughts. Do you identify your architecture with the newly coined Green Architecture by USGBC and Leeds? If one goes through the definitions of the platinum ratings and all, it will be found that a lot of stuff is something which were already doing. Back in the 30s only, Mahatma Gandhi had made a statement about using materials which are about 10-15 kms from site. What is being stated by LEEDS and in platinum ratings these days is what Indian architects tend to do by default. An example can be given in terms of costing. If one uses aluminum and glass in the building, it costs from about 300 to 800 square feet, and if one uses good old stone from Rajasthan and pays a good amount to the craftsman for a great job, the work can be done in about half the price. And this is how one would have instantly reduced the carbon footprint of the building dramatically, that in itself is a pretty big gain on your environment. So, one is encouraging the local craftsmen and workers, and providing employment in that area which is a great thing towards the so called definitions of green technology. Also, the Indian mindset has always been towards recycling, its a part of our lifestyle, we can still go and buy old doors and chaukhats, if a building is demolished then each and every material is recycled.
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You have designed a lot of schools in your career. How do you accomplish the task of making them better places for learning as opposed to the conventional schools? When you have a certain mindset in your mind then it applies virtually to all the buildings that you design, the philosophies stay the same. An institute where the people are coming to study also has to be a place of fun and joy. That joy is not created through bright colours and murals; the sense of joy comes from the joy of experiences. Learning doesnt happen in the classroom only, it also happens outside the classroom where interaction takes place, and that involves interaction with fellow students, juniors, seniors and the faculty. The fact is all professions are creative in their own sense, and the space designed for them shall be able to bring out the creativity of the students.

A place of study should be full of fun and joy. That joy is not created through bright colours and murals; the sense of joy comes from the joy of experiences
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Indian cities have opened gates for high rise living. Good or bad? We are not Hong Kong or Manhattan; these are the only two cities in the world, which are highrise and high density. There are no other places, which are high-rise as well as high density, and the high-rise buildings happen to work there really well. The demand is that there is a high concentration of people that need to live there and work there, so inevitably high rises would make sense. Hong Kong happens to have some fantastic pedestrian zones, the systems work, the transport has been taken underground, and everything is very systematic. Now does that work in cities like Delhi and Jaipur is the big question because we dont have that kind of shortage of land. It really is a question of debate. If given a choice Id like to live within five stories from the ground, and have an interaction with the ground, instead of being of the 40th or the 50th floor because then your ground becomes very unnatural. Unfortunately, high rises are also a reflection of the social situation in our country. We are a country that has been divided between the have-s and the have-nots. It has been that traditionally and its becoming worse and worse now. The have-s is creating more and more of gated communities and the have-nots are not allowed in, except when they have to work. The good thing about them is that they have created an environment that is very safe and makes one feel very socially secure, it works well for a nuclear family where the parents can leave for work knowing that there kid is going to be safe in the house. So, one doesnt mind being perched on the 35th floor in a three-bedroom house. Also, this is the reason why Malls are so popular now. The social divide is expressing itself in the architecture and for me to say is it good or bad, Im not the right person to say it. As an architect you reflect whats happening in the society, now is it good whats happening in the society is for them to decide and I cant answer that question.

If given a choice Id like to live within five stories from the ground, and have an interaction with the ground
Words of wisdom for the students Whatever you do, do it with full passion and do it with conviction. Dont get worked down by stylistic drives and be realistic in what you do. And when you do that you will automatically find joy in it, the rest would all follow provided you are doing it with conviction. As youre doing something with conviction, it means that its honest and you will find happiness in it. If everybody in this world did their work with conviction, the world would be a better place.

This is more in the fan-art genre. I dont know if it can actually replace the original format. Maybe not. But even if it does, that is still not going to happen very soon. You are currently working as a brand manager with Zomato. Tell us something about your work profile. Current work profile includes hard-core graphic design. Creating advertisements, a little bit of marketing. Do you think being creative is accidental or a spontaneous process? There are times when ideas float everywhere and at times hours go by staring at walls and nothing-substantial come up. Do you face similar issues too? For me, its always accidental. I try sitting staring at the walls for hours and nothing good comes up. And sometimes Im diving back from work to home and I get the most brilliant ideas ever. Apart from graphic design and photography, where else would you want to try your hand? Ive been experimenting with a few stop animation videos. Only problem is making a video requires 1000 times the effort as compared to making a graphic artwork. Favourite Bollywood poster Kahaani starring Vidya Balan If not a designer than you would be A film critic (Easiest job in the world!) You wish to be the ambassador for Brewers Association (If there is anything like that) Your biography would end with So he invented the time machine, went back in time and found the guy who invented pizza and gave him a long, wordless hug.

Akshar Pathak Designer

Akshar Pathak is an artist and a graphic designer who creates posters of Bollywood films, based on one element kept in association with the film. His posters have been widely recognised in the digital world and featured in over 70 magazines and newspapers. He has earlier worked with Happily Unmarried, Comic Con India, DSYN and is currently working with Zomato as a Marketing Associate. You did your graduation from NIFT. Did you actually want to pursue something design oriented or was it just an option you kept while running the rat race like most of students do? I actually wanted to take up architecture, since my father is an Architect, which is why I opted for science in th 10+2. I was only a Bodhi Tree away from enlightenment. Design was never even a backup. It just happened.

This is more in the fan-art genre. I dont know if it can actually replace the original format. Maybe A book you picked up because of its cover is not. But even if it does, that is still not going to Any Eoin Colfer book. Those covers are fantastic! happen very soon.

Architect Sanjay Prakash, New Delhi

Sanjay Prakash, B. Arch., A.I.I.A., is an architect with a commitment to energy-conscious architecture, eco-friendly design, peoples participation in planning, music and production design. Over the years, he has integrated all his work with the practice of new urbanism and sustainability in his professional and personal life. His area of practice and research over the last 30 years includes passive and low energy architecture and planning, hybrid air-conditioning, autonomous energy and water systems, bamboo and earth construction, community-based design of common property, and computer-aided design. Under his guidance, hundreds of persons have developed capabilities in performing design, conceptual or management work in these areas. Vikas Kumar Vikram and Siraj Ahmed, 10th Semester, Gateway College of Architecture talks to him on green and much more. How did architecture happen to you? Architecture happened since I thought I was interested a lot in science & maths and equally interested in humanities, and it is the only field which seemed to be a descent balance of both. Besides this, quite trivial things happened I childhood, for example my grandmothers youngest brother was an architect. He was one among the founding architects of DDA, Delhi. And so when I used to play around his house as a child, I used to like the stationery a lot (laughs) and I thought its a great profession which.
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would have such nice pencils, scales, paper etc. Most of your projects talk about green and energy conservation. How far did your school inculcate this thought in your designs? First of all, actually I dont really design what you may call green, but I have designed what I thought was sustainable & sensible architecture. The label of Green architecture: has come from the USGBC route. Sustainable is a nice short and catchy name word, but I think it is better left to USGBC. (Smiles) You might be aware of you might not be that we havent done any LEED certified buildings in our careers in this office. Recently we did one, when our client decided to apply for LEED certification, and because of its way of construction, it got platinum. Another project in Bangalore, which after its completion was used by IGBC to normalize their scoring pattern and made it platinum. It was used as a benchmark, though it never applied for! (Laughs) So in that sense, weve never really gone after Green as Green. Another reason how I personally came into sustainability is that I really knew other way of thinking from the very beginning. And partly it had to do with simple frugal habits that I picked up not from school, but from home, and always keeping a scientific temper in mind. For example there is this wrong formula of opening the widows at 9:30 in the morning, or closing them at 9:30 in the morning and opening them at night, which is okay as long as the weather is summer, and yet I find people do it in the winter as well

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Now if you have a scientific mind youd yourself understand than whenever the outside is more comfortable than the inside, the windows should be open and this is scientifically called selective ventilation. There are more such examples where people just blindly follow a formula without applying any scientific mind. Thankfully because there were no air conditioners in those times when we were brought up, we were more curious towards our environment and climate. Today I find it odd that people want everything to be air conditioned. People no longer care if the building is slightly poor designed. Buildings these days can be optimized for air conditioning rather than natural running, and therein lays the problem of addiction.

This concept of Closure is really the heart of sustainability. That is, in order to get something, you get its negatives somehow. You have to understand what you are extracting out of environment and therefore you have to give back something to environment as well.

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Like you said schools etc. are using these air conditioned & glass facades to call them international. It is the duty of the architect to convince the client not to use these. Why does the architect fail over there? It is not entirely the professions fault that it is succumbed like this but it is also because of the fact that the client has been overtaken by global capital around its glamour. They are constantly employing people and sometimes directly or indirectly hinting to them that this is what they want and nothing else. It is very difficult to convince them or to sell the old fashioned way of buildings, which are still very much appropriate for the climate. And why is that so? Because they carry with them the responsibility to clean more and maintain more, what if you dont want to do, you would want to make the building extremely glassy. Thought it definitely takes more money to clean a glassy building than non-glassy building. Clients have been unfortunately taken in by this to that extent that this trend is thought off foolishly as westernization or Singaporization. Although even in Singapore, if you actually go in the town, its only some glamorous commercial building that are built this way, but most of Singapores Children have more tolerance to bear extreme of middle class housing, which is the backbone of temperatures than adults because of skin ratio Singapores vibrant economy live in naturally venbody mass to amount of resilience in their body tilated houses with open windows and clothes left to overcome exhaustion etc, Now given all these in the open to dry. But we choose not to see this. factors, I cant see the point of air conditioned schools. It is unhealthy, expensive, elitist ad what Builders who build these glassy buildings usually not! I dont understand how schools make them- have huge marketing teams, who display the upselves international with this kind of attitude. coming projects in a grand manner. As students, Other reason that I worked on sustainability we see these projects because they are much more came from my deep interest in Mathematics & talked about and major of the times we even tend Physics. The concept that everything is Zero or to get inspired, while the other projects which get Shoonya is very interesting. Like in accounts, termed as 1980s arent much talked about. Peoif you were to compress the account book of ple dont even know about these kinds of works. any business it would vanish to nothingness. How do we redress this balance?

first of all, actually I dont really design what you may call green, but I have designed what I thought was sustainable & sensible architecture

Architect Vinod Gupta

Vinod Gupta graduated in architecture in 1969 from School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi. He spent two years studying pre-fabricated housing in Denmark. From 1973 to 1989 he was full-time faculty of architecture at School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi. In 1984 he completed his work for Ph.D. at the Center for Energy Studies, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. Among the special findings were the use of texture on buildings and the fragmentation of form to achieve cooling in the desert city of Jaisalmer. He initiated the teaching of passive solar architecture and energy conservation in buildings at the School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi and continues to be a visiting professor there. Vinod Gupta is advisor to the Delhi Urban Arts Commission, member of the Board of Studies and the Committee on Doctoral Programmes at SPA, member of the Technical Advisory Committee for GRIHA, the national green building rating system for India. I dont know how you can redress this balance. After all the kind of projects Im talking about is 5 or 10 in 100, so this is tricky. But clearly if you are doing some kind of architecture appreciation, workshops, courses etc. in college, it would make sense for you to appreciate glass and non-glass buildings on their own terms and merits. And possibly, to highlight the works of other architects who work in the other genre and yet produce clearly very modern buildings such as Ashok Lal or Vinod Gupta. And somehow I see this is more severe problem in North & South of India and not in Ahmadabad for example. And by the way, I dont get why dont people take pictures of run-down glassy buildings? Because within 2 years theyre looking much dirtier if theyre not cleaned before. Thats the problem with glamour actually you never take the pictures of a model after she has lived in that make-up for 2 nights and the lipstick is smudged. The other thing that I see is that increasing number of clients have been getting increasingly insensitive to this. To the other area that needs to be improved tremendously is good real estate & architectural criticism in the popular press because right now it contains cutting & pasting the marketing peoples text.. Writing them without any critical commentary. So these are the issues that need to be getting into popular press and to deal with these issues, I think some sensible architects will start having to become journalists. Vinod Gupta is concerned about the impact of modernisation of building technology on the quality of workmanship and the loss of livelihood for traditional craftsmen. This concern is reflected in his designs, many of which use large amounts of traditional crafts. Vinod Gupta believes that buildings are built not in isolation, but in the overall socio-economic context and physical environment. Efficient design solutions have to emerge from the context as much as they do from the architects style of working.

The design of furniture for networked offices has occupied Vinod Guptas attention for the last decade. Going beyond the commonly available, mass-produced, generalised furniture for offices, his designs show greater respect for customer requirements, functional efficiency and ergonomics. The office interior for UBEST at Calcutta shows a unique system for organising a modern office. For KLG Systels offices, he has evolved a completely new Together with Rasik Bahl, he founded Space De- system that makes it easy to implement the concept sign Associates in 1983. He has been involved in a of task light. number of research projects incorporating solar heating and natural cooling in buildings. The hostel Correspondent Aviral Sinha, 6th semester, Archibuildings at Jodhpur University and at the Indian In- tecture Department, G.Z.S Campus, Bathinda in a stitute of Technology, Delhi, and the campus for the tet-e-tet with him. Solar Energy Centre at Gurgaon, near Delhi are his well known solar passive projects. The office building for CMC Ltd. at Bombay is famous as the first intelligent building of India where energy conservation is achieved by application of microprocessor control technology. A recent project is a housing scheme for the National Media Centre near New Delhi, which addresses the issues of choice in housing and the environmental impact of largescale development.
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What keeps you inspired? For me, inspiration comes from projects. Im always in the hunt of a new project that would challenge me and make me think. The source of inspiration could however come from any where it could be music, art or just a random object on the street! How would you draw a line between inspiration and influence? Its a difficult line to draw, really, but I feel that inspiration is natural, without intent, it could come from wherever and in any form, and then you would shape it according to yourself. Whereas influence, of course is more direct. You see something you use take it as it is, as a default. Youve been working a lot with furniture, how did this field of interest happen. Well, I studied in Denmark for quite a bit of time. There I was exposed to the industrial design phenomenon which was mass based and economical. Whatever I learnt there is still relevant in my furniture design which is more on catering the masses. How do you classify your style of work? (Laughs) havent thought of it that much; I enjoy doing different styles of work, no particular ism. But, yes Id definitely term it as sustainable; Ive been into sustainable building for 25 years now! That is instrumental to my projects; rest is up to the needs of the site, and the client. With an increase in the awareness of the client how do u manage? Its actually pretty helpful, contrary to what one might think. Its easier to explain your clients thing that possibly they couldnt have understood earlier. Plus its a big boost as far as the environmental phase of the project is concerned, they understand and are ready to implement. What is architecture to you? I dont know! Frankly, I havent thought about it. Im not a theorist. Its, work that I believe in, and architecture to me is the work I do. No real definition to it really.
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Own Journeys Own Words

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My FOOTPRINTS ON THE SANDS OF ARCHITECTURE IN TIME AND SPACE Prof. Krishna Rao Jaisim
During the second year came Prof. Sheila Tribe and she made me aware of the three dimensional aspect of Time and Space. At this stage also walked in AYN RAND with her inspiring THE FOUNTAINHEAD - the rest is HISTORY. Life changed. Objectives clear. TWO other GIANTS passed my narrow path during these years at school. And they were to have an impact as to how and why of my practice. ONE was the phenomenal BUCK MINSTER FULLER. One day I had a call from my sister from the tourism department that some elderly architect was stuck in the Madras airport as his flight was delayed, will I keep him company. Little did I know that in the next TWO hours a world of geodesic and Tetra hedra will open before me to compete and complete unimaginable steel structures of large and intricate spans of spaces in my practice. A little later but with a difference I met another father figure, Otto Koenigsberger, of the school of tropical studies, London, and a mentor of many a garden capital in this country during the glorious princely era, as also a mentor to my grandfather who succeeded him as the palace architect. My world of climate influenced design changed. I made study after study in depth and width of nature and the great integration, which today influence every aspect of my architecture. FORMATIVE With so much of the above, I somehow scratched through the mundane classes and joined L. M. Chitale &Son as an intern and later as an assistant architect under the admirable Sri Krishna Chitale learning and grappling the fundamentals of this profession for four years.

He taught me and I learnt the Details. Every line mattered. Each decision is DESIGN. FOUNTAINHEAD Come 1970, got married, left work, all I had was her income and a rattling Rajdoot motorcycle and little else. Scraped all I had and on a site bequeathed from my father, on the sands of the Sea Side Kalakshetra Colony, built with my hands with professional assistance EGO my home. The architecture of this was the inspiration drawn from my interaction and in depth study of the Great Master Mies van der Rohe. The home is an innovation in concrete hollow blocks walls and filler slabs with low ceiling heights all floating with pads on the sand. It got to be admired and studied much to my surprise.

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A journey that started in 1961, entering the portals, the School of Architecture, Madras, the fifth or sixth school in the whole country. The only context I had to join was I learnt from my mother that my grandfather was the palace architect to H. H. the Maharaja of Mysore and also that I would get the Triumph Tiger Cub a four stroke fabulous motorcycle, as an alternative to joining mechanical engineering in MIT. Decision made and I thoroughly enjoyed my five years the later years as student leader Secretary and President, at the same time as editor and publisher of Student TIMES and playing sports and rarely in class, to the utter discomfort of my HOD, if there was any!

A whole new scenario of architecture was revealed. I did not notice it; I just carried on as also the motor cycle evolved to fascinating cars like the VW Beatle, the 2CV Citroen and the Mercedes Benz. Name it I had to have it. And into FOUNTAINHEAD walked in The legendary Geoffrey Bawa , made me see and sense beyond the obvious, hidden meaning and value in The next step as a wandering architect with every day and waste objects. Waste turned into an inspiring and innovative structural engineer Wealth. P S S, was getting anchored to a place on Haddows Road, by the grace of a successful advocate, It was a high. Well a pause was needed and it who gave us space to run an office and put up came. the board JAISIM FOUNTAINHEAD all gratis. Suddenly the practice took off and soared beyond the EXPLORATION wildest imagination. Students and spirited youth After three near coincidental learning disasters in flocked in and many milestones just flowed by. 1975 came an invitation by the IIT to visit the unThe Cochin Stadia with its large inverted umbrel- heard of Muscat in the Sultanate of Oman to offer las, The TAJ Fishermans Cove, Holy Cross institu- consultancy. The fortnight run turned out to be a tions, the Dinathanthi large Spans press unthinka- Four year Odyssey. Architecture took second seat. ble those days, the many bungalows, the geodesic Construction management, project planning, BUBE an exhibition centre and many more. Well contracting, fabrication, running a crusher and the practice inspired youth, but became envy to sand and cement processor, import and export the established as it followed no known norms or of building materials, labor management, name it and I had it. I comprehended that even as the East methods of design, detail and development. had much to learn from the West, our concepts were eons ahead. Hubli Auditorium

The Anthem

ANTHEM explored every aspect of SUSTAINABILITY and GREEN that today is bandied about with immense success. THE PRESENT 1980 to 2012, three decades, many explorations, President and Director of Cooperative Housing, Chairman IIA, Professor Design Chair, Advisor and board member of many a professional educational institution. Awards galore, anything presented won an award or an acclaim. A whole new venture into innovative materials and innovative structures, Exploring space beyond time and culture, Homes, Housing, Industry, Health, Entertainment, Hospitality, became the order of everyday. But the students and the young took priority.

The human took on a greater meaning. Technology raced and Art focused. In 1999 the fusion of professionalism by launching JFPPL (Jaisim Fountainhead Projects Private Limited) gave new measure. The lonely journey became a space time travel for anyone who showed even the least of interest in the world of architecture. The professionals acknowledged and revered and respected. The media had and has a field day. The journals give it depth. Anger stills. Patience conquers. The young want to tread these footsteps, but time does not linger and the space is a wandering wonderland.

I comprehended that even as the East had much to learn from the West, our concepts were eons ahead
In 1978, Ashwini was born and thus the call to return.

Residence

REBEL Over the decades I have been called MAD, CREAI firmly believe with total conviction that today TIVE, ORGANIC, ICONIC, BOLD, INNOVATIVE, IMClassrooms can only offer tools of expression. AGINATIVE, PROBLEMATIC, ORIGINAL, CRAZY, LAZY, difficult but NEVER ORTHODOX. Architecture is an individualistic and lonely journey. Where alone you can do nothing and toAn enigma to the architects of the day. gether it can be a cacophonous mess. To Rebel, reflect and respond with an ethos in The Messiah of today can inspire and edge the built living environment became the script. These days the Mind wants to race, the Body these spirited youth and launch them beyond smiles and lazily strides. New materials inspire boundaries. new structures to create unimaginable spaces in My footprints are today in my mind as new tools a moment of Time to realize an Architecture that of expression allow me to metaphorically swim makes me smile with pride. the skies for designs beyond definition and yet realize the virtual into the real. I am today within that whirlpool. Watched by the traditional old and egged on by arrogantly sublime youth, each thinking they can pave the way to the future. And neither knows where or what Time and Space will tell. As I edit these lines from my SUVIDHA cottage 126 for THE WINDOW and attempt vainly to close, spirited away by youthful thoughts, the windows opened to view the world; the doors opened inviting to step into the world of adventure and to forever mark ones footprints that others may learn to fly.
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A few years of dedicated internship with FOUNTAINHEAD transformed to new sprouts all over. The associates flourished beyond the founder. CONTINUUM Back to Motherland but this time to Bangalore. The clients were and are a spectrum. To rest and retire. ANTHEM the new home built in 1980 in the Ideal Homes Neighbourhood TownTravel Exploration Experience to Evolve and acship as a quiet space once again inspired and got invaded by architects of all ages from all over the cept the challenges and change with the times and yet strongly led by a philosophy of objectivcountry. ism in every aspect of the built environment. A reIt became a must visit on any student tour alization that the unbuilt spaces are stronger than agenda. Peace exploded, exciting projects, invita- the built and that space expressed all the senses tions to talks and participate became the order of and that psychology played a significant part for joy and happiness. the day.
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Every day is today, every project an adventure.

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Digital Design and the Small Architectural Studio Architect Ayodh Kamath
Architects have become increasingly invested in specific proprietary software packages. Being tied to an expensive piece of software means that a designer is forced to use that software for as many tasks as possible to achieve a return on investment. This means that architects do not have the flexibility to select a piece of software that is ideally suited to a design task. As an analogy, if each app for your smart phone cost a lot of money, youd probably just use a general purpose We have seen the rise of the graphical user in- browser to search for the cricket score rather than terface (GUI) increasing the opacity of the inner buy an app made specifically to give you score workings of computers. You dont need to know updates. how to write code any more. Using computers is I define a small architectural studio as one no longer about creating software but consuming it. We now use what software we get off the that interacts directly with the end users (or some group of end users) of a building during the deshelf rather than create our own. sign process in order to provide them with a customised design solution for their specific needs. Like a lot of people of my generation, I was introduced to computers around middle and senior school. This was before Windows, Macintosh, Linux, iOS, or Android. If we wanted to interact with the computer we had to programme it to do exactly what we wanted it to do. In todays terms, we had to write our own software and create our own apps. Computers have come a long way since then.
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This is in contrast to a big architectural firm that largely designs buildings for a generic user while interacting with a builder or investor during the design process. If small firms are to use digital design tools to their full potential, and fully integrate them into their work flow, then a standardised software package cannot be the solution. For a small firm to fully embrace what digital design has to offer, it needs the ability to customise design software to provide customised design solutions. The trajectory taken by architectural software has been in the opposite direction to the needs of the small firm. Simple Computer Aided Design (CAD) software which functions like a digital drawing board has now given way to Building Information Modelling (BIM) software that is able to handle all aspects of construction from site surveying to construction supervision. The ability of BIM software to process all kinds of data related to design and construction vastly increases the efficiency and productivity of an architect.

For a small firm to fully embrace what digital design has to offer, it needs the ability to customise design software to provide customised design solutions

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For a big architectural firm doing commercial projects this is not a significant trade-off, in fact, standardisation across projects is an asset in terms of speed and economy. But these very advantages of the software are not only an anathema to small practices but also significantly increase the competitive edge that large firms have However, the more data an architect processes over them in an already shrinking professional using standardised software, the more the archi- space. Unlike CAD, BIM software is not only a detect is restricted to what the software is pre-pro- sign tool but also guides project management grammed to do. and construction.

The global standardisation of BIM software results in an overt and/or covert standardisation of building materials and technologies. The kind of software an architect uses influences the form and aesthetic of the buildings they design, the kinds materials used in the buildings, and the kinds of construction techniques required to build the buildings. The implications of this discussion therefore go far beyond the confines of architectural firms and their software to ultimately affect the economics of construction, the environmental impact of buildings, and social issues linked to the value of local skills and materials. The way a small architectural firm negotiates the use of software in their practice will only become more pressing in the future. One way to deal with this can be to use only CAD software for digital drawings and not use BIM in the project work flow at all. This is the way a lot of small practices currently function, but it may not be feasible to indefinitely compete with the ever increasing efficiency of large firms using BIM. Another way a small firm may deal with this can be to introduce BIM into the work flow only after major design decisions have already been taken and use it merely as a tool to coordinate

information robustly and efficiently. In architectural terms this will make construction management and general coordination more efficient, but it will not allow the small architect to make full use of the possibilities that digital design opens up. If used to its full potential, digital design tools offer the opportunity to deal with greater formal complexity in the pursuit of optimisation, customisation, efficiency, and design expression. The third way for the small firm is to create a digitally aware practice that approaches software the way we were taught at school to be creators rather than consumers of software tools. This does not mean re-inventing the wheel and making ones own version of general purpose commercial BIM and CAD package. Rather, the digitally aware small firm must be able to quickly and efficiently create specialised digital tools that are tailored to perform the unique tasks that are required to create unique designs. These tools need not be sophisticated pieces of software but rough and ready tools for one-off deployment. The use of customised tools of this kind adds value to the creative process and is much more than an office automation tool or information database. Such digital tools will not do away with the

need for a CAD or BIM package but will augment it and overcome its limitations, acting as a bridge between the architects creative design process and standardised software tools. In real terms it is likely to function as a module that runs within a standard software package and makes the most of its pre-programmed functions. A small firm using such tools will be a savvy consumer and tinkerer of software with the goal of being a creator of unique and customised architecture.

as tea rooms, guard huts, and machine rooms for electrical and HVAC equipment, with the possibility of new requirements evolving as the campus develops.

A digital design tool in the form of a parametric model (a digital model that gives a specific formal output for a given set of input design constraints) was created for this project. Given different input constraints based on a pavilions function and location the plan-form of the pavilion, the corner The Parametric Pavilion project is an attempt at heights, the size and spacing of bamboo, etc. creating and deploying such a customised digital the parametric model creates a family of pavilions design tool. The project is a part of the landscape that follow a set of formal rules and architectural and architectural design of a spiritual and educa- language. The parametric model also creates ditional research campus on the outskirts of Delhi. mensioned drawings, giving member lengths The campus consists of a variety of existing and and joint locations, which guide the construction proposed functions such as a shrine, a day-care of the pavilions. This customised tool enables the centre, a gym, a conference centre, a guest house, rapid and efficient construction of unique, cusand residential and administrative buildings. tomised pavilions in various locations in the campus as and when their need arises. In this context, the clients required a number of semi-covered pavilions to house functions such

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of disposable dispensability has also crept in psychologically in our human relationships. When shortsighted commercial goals are to be pursued, the superficial gloss and the attractive, quick-appeal wrapping becomes more important than the inner content. Alienation from the direct, natural, real experience is heightened because of todays Indulgence in packaged artificial reality on T.V., computers and sense simulators. All this tends to fragment the wholeness and unity of life, which also reflects in the quality of our spaces.

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This over cluttered way of life has brought Let me start with a basic question that we need to about our alienation from the healing and rejuveask ourselves Why do most of our modern liv- nating powers of Nature. ing and work environments make us exhausted Todays insular, segregated spaces have also and dispirited? Why do most of these environments tend to become life sapping spaces rather taken us further away from our fellow humans. than life renewing ones? Inspite of having good The solace and mental comfort derived from material specifications, excellent technologi- healthy interactive human relationships is misscal support in terms of lighting, climate control, ing. equipment and other facilities, what makes these The adaption of high speed as a part of our spaces lifeless? daily lives (speedy transportation, speedy work All the measurable three dimensional prereq- output, speedy cooking, fast encounters etc.) uisites for a good working environment seem to has not only changed our perception of time but be in order. What, I feel as amiss is the hidden, im- is contributing to the deteriorating quality of our measurable dimension, a dimension that helps lives. Our inner psychological space experiences integrate the individual with the wholeness of a cluttered confusion - a reflection of the chaotlife, that which exalts his own worth and supports ic clutter and information overload of our outer the regeneration of his body and soul. Can we call physical space. this the spirit dimension? Overdependence on technology and overA quick look at our contemporary values & the emphasis on security reduces the natural, pluralquality of spaces it creates will reveal what may be istic diversity and spontaneity to monotonous, predictable repetitiveness. This further brings a ailing us and our environment today. numbness to our aesthetic & overall sensitivity. Self centred greedy consumption based life style with undue importance attached to economic

SPACE AND SPIRIT Architect Shirish Beri

gains only, has brought about an unprecedented encroachment on our physical as well as psychological space.

The issue is, are we going to continue in the future on this same path as we are on now; or could we pause, re-examine our parameters and priorities in life? It is not possible nor is it necessary to retrace our steps back to the beginning, but It is definitely possible to pause, deviate and start on a tangential path towards a richer and a more harmonious life. Our concern as architects is whether our designs can enrich our human spirit or would they further contribute to the growing poverty of this human spirit. Spirituality is the creation of a self organizing dynamic order in the working together of the implicate and the explicate. It also implies our shift from the measurable objective consciousness to the immeasurable subjective consciousness while functioning simultaneously at multiple levels. Could our spaces too be designed in such a way as to give a glimpse of this universal totality? Could they relate to their multiple contexts, grow out of them & integrate with them? Instead of just responding to the limited measurable rationale of the clients brief with a matter of fact objective consciousness, can we expand upon the brief and then design with a more value based comprehensive consciousness?

Can our designs strike a dynamic balance between the measurable and the immeasurable in life? Could our architecture, the spaces that we live in evoke a kind of time perception that nurtures sensitivity? Spirituality Is to be - it is the isness of things. This isness can be comprehended only in the directness of our experience. As designers, could we work with a childlike spontaneity that comes from the absence of conditioning ? Spirituality is to be in touch with the primal forces of life and thereby regenerating our body and soul! Spaces that are in touch with Nature and its forces have been proved to have a rejuvenating effect on our body and soul. Can our designs act as a catalyst in bringing us closer to Nature and to our inner spirit ? Can the manmade and the Natural be integrated so that a symbiotic relationship develops between the two? Then, sustainable designs that respect the spirit of this earth would spontaneously happen.

Can our designs contribute to the universal values of communicating, sharing, caring (not only with fellow humans but with everything) by designing appropriate interactive spaces? Could the Goodness of Beauty be exemplified by the simplicity (amidst plurality and complexity) of our designs? This can happen when we stop confusing good life with the number of goods that we have. Can we create holistic, value based designs leading to an architecture of belonging, of caring, an architecture of honesty, spontaneity and simplicity? Ultimately it is the kind of Life that we understand and live that finds expression in our work and behavior. To overcome the casualness and the stylized fads and imitativeness that has crept in our designs, we really need to have some silence to pause and reexamine our premises, understandings, values and attitudes and translate them into the spatial language.

My buildings speak a contemporary language Oscar & Ponni Architects, Chennai

My buildings speak a contemporary language, affirms Oscar Concessao. It is a language based on creativity and logic that appeals instantly to people who understand and love buildings. Oscar Concessao, did his schooling at St. Aloysiuss a Jesuit School, in a small coastal town in Karnataka, Mangalore. He grew up seeing several Churches, Schools and Colleges which were developed by catholic missionaries and the Portuguese. He was fascinated by the monumentality and the several architectural styles of these buildings. He did his B. Arch from National Institute of Technology, Trichy (1986), and his M. Arch in Urban Design from University of Oklahama (1987) and thereafter Advanced Professional Studies
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from Harvard University (1992) and his doctoral research on History of Modern Architecture, (2008). Oscar is the only Indian to have won the William Van Allen Fellowship at the International Design Competition (USA) for designing a University in Africa. Specializing in campus planning, he joined Emery Roth & Sons, pioneers in skyscraper designing, and then went on to handle several high-rise buildings in New York. He also worked on the Plaza edition at the World Trade Centre - a glass tube, which now ceases to exist due to the recent bombing. Emery Roth & Sons and Minoru Yamasaki from Japan, had jointly designed the World Trade Centre and I worked with them on several large-scale mixed-use developments in the US, Europe and Asia, he recounts.

Architects Oscar & Ponni returned to Chennai in 1996 and established Oscar & Ponni Architects from one room 3 person Chennai office, started by the husband wife team Ar. Oscar Concessao and Ar. Ponni Concessao. they have completed their 16 years into a vibrant, aggressive, design conscious and service oriented multi disciplined architectural and interior design . It was very challenging initially as I was new to Chennai, it was a roller coaster symphony, starting the firm, growing, managing, and ultimately transitioning out a design firm successfully to the satisfaction of our clients and winning architectural and Interior design accolades.

We firmly believe that a good design is a gift, a gift of pride and a gift for all to enjoy

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The scale, type and style of the projects, the arI flirt with different styles of architecture. Grow- chitect has been creating on his canvas shows his ing up in Mangalore, I was influenced by the tiled ability to handle a wide variety. The famous maesSpanish and Portuguese buildings in the area. I tro of architecture - Ar. Frank Lloyd Wright once prefer neo-classical designs and work with a fu- said that It always happens that you truly believe sion of western classical and the modern high- in something; and that belief in a thing that makes tech, which includes the new materials available it happens. in the market. I have no signature tastes thrown in. Every project is a challenge to bring in rarities Our design philosophy is to use as much as in realty. In a short span of their presence in India, eco-friendly materials, use natural daylight save Oscar & Ponni architects, a leading integrated ar- the earths natural resources and firmly believe chitecture and - Interior design consultancy con- in sustainable green architecture. Service is cern in Chennai, have made a perceptible impact the key. For Oscar & Ponni architects, client is the on the architectural scene across the nation. The most significant part of the design team, being a husband-wife team of Oscar and Ponni Conces- key player involved right from programming to fisao works wonders together, with Oscar handling nal inspection, occupancy and maintenance. It is the architectural aspect of a project and Ponni the the art of listening, servicing and interaction with - Interiors. the client, that makes this firm achieve excellence in design. Time has changed. There is more awareThe Way shadows give life to light ness, appreciation and demand for good buildand rains give trust to earth ings in society. the Ambitions give passion to creations. Keeping in mind a local context in my design In addition, it is even more difficult to com- process, I do like to use modern materials and use bine this ambition with vision, energy and com- local vernacular forms with contemporary materimitment. Today, we talk about an architect who als which are on the cutting edge of the 21st cenis a perfect mix of these. Oscar & Ponni architects tury says Ar. Oscar Concessao. Ar. Oscars Touch say, Working and studying abroad, has taught us to his language of architecture has different flaabout architectural discipline, meeting deadlines, vors spread every time he designs a new building. design process, theory, research and integration Somewhere there is a modernist approach, someof engineering systems in all aspects of design- where buildings speak of traditions and someing. We firmly believe that a good design is a gift where, like our todays youth, the buildings are a a gift of pride and a gift for all to enjoy. fusion of both.

Ar. Oscar has developed a thorough understanding of designing educational campuses and has been contributing many different types and scales of campus designs so far. He believes that many educational campuses face the same constraints as commercial development projects, and indeed the history of campus design and town design has many parallels. In addition, campuses have complex functional requirements that are often not well solved by monolithic institutional The main thrust of the over all design of the buildings. In designing the campuses creating prestigious Satrap University arts & science cam- academic ensembles with excellent nodes, green pus building was the triangular profile of the site. spaces and plazas where space between the Based on the site context, the geometry of the buildings is as important as the buildings themsite was bisected and the academic blocks were selves. Creating a structured services and utility oriented in a triangular configuration. There were oriented more harmonious, sensible and secure two radiating ovals which houses the auditorium environment are the paramount parameters in and the library. The exterior faade is Neo-Classi- Campus Planning. cal in style, with beautiful pilasters, columns and A lot has been achieved for Oscar & Ponni archivertical & horizontal bands to give rhythm, variety and scale to this monumental edifice of knowl- tects and a lot more is yet to be achieved. Henry edge. Also, the two ovals on the extreme end Ford once said that I am looking for men who of the building have been beautifully laded with have an infinite capacity to not know what cant be glass to give a very modern outlook to the build- done. We hope that the spirit with which Ar. Oscar ing. Over all, the building is a proud landmark in and Ar. Ponni has reached to a success ladder, they the fabric of the temple town kumbakonam. both continue to climb higher and dream bigger. The exterior faade is Neo-Classical in style, with beautiful pilasters, columns and vertical & horizontal bands to give rhythm, variety and scale to this monumental edifice of knowledge. In addition, the two ovals on the extreme end of the building have been beautifully laded with glass to give a very modern outlook to the building. Over all, the building is a proud landmark in the fabric of the temple town kumbakonam.

We must understand humanity better so that we can create an environment that is more beneficial to people. Buildings should serve people, and not the other way around

Oscar & Ponni architects architecture is strongly rooted in the modern movement, using the site effectively, contours, daylight, wind direction and incorporates a subjective approach to concept and design, seeking alternative interpretations of modernism. Architecture is a contextual problem of use and reference to models, my architecture does not have a pre-established architectural language, it arrives from the response to the site, the geometry, a situation in the transformation in which I participate.

His advice to other architects: We must understand humanity better so that we can create an environment that is more beneficial to people. Buildings should serve people, and not the other way around. As there are plenty of modern materials, like glass, stainless steel, aluminum composite materials, eco-friendly materials, different wooden veneers, marble, granite, vitrified and earthy tile, materials which are local, or imported, We should redirect our energies towards envi- one has to consider the composition of materials ronmental architecture. Impossible does not ex- that leads to extraordinary clarity and finesse. ist in their lexicon Creativity is an essential part of architectural design, is Oscar & Ponnis take on their work. But even if creative work is a sensitive entity, we have to design in completeness, which contains technical and artistic elements. Designers have to solve technical and practical problems and express themselves artistically. That is why logic is also needed in architectural design. Oscar Concessao believes architects should redirect their energies towards environmental architecture. For him, architecture is the art of composing spaces in response to existing environmental and urban conditions to answer a clients needs. The building, then, becomes the resolution between its inner being and the outer conditions imposed on it. Architects must build up a consistent design philosophy, he says. This is the rudder for the boat. Overall, the approach to design should be imaginative, humanistic, inventive, technologically, oriented, yet with the handcrafters attention to detail.
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CAD-Computer Aided Dilemma Architect Tapan Chakravarty

The making of a drawing is an integral part of architectural practice and thus an essential part of architectural education ever since its inception and gradual evolution through time. With the computer displacing the traditional drawingboard in most design offices, the fraternity of architects, especially the academically inclined, is discussing the fallout of this almost confirmed change. The debates & arguments spanning the limits of pros & cons have flooded the corridors of design institutes not only in the country but globally around the world. Many designers insist to first develop/resolve the design through the time tested pencil-onpaper process; then proceed to the computer to transform the sketch into a drafted drawing through Computer Aided Drafting; and further apply graphic cosmetics to give sufficient currency to the drawing; that seemingly helps to makea-good-impression on clients.

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Once the drafted drawing is on the computer, various permutations & combinations of drawings can be extracted from the machine as per scale & layer requirements. The computer has Currently, in many architectural studios, the saved enormous time spent on repeated tracings, computer is used as an addition/extension tool enlargements and reductions of drawings that that tends to merely deflect the drafting exercise, are inevitable in any conventional architectural from the wooden board to the digital monitor. practice. The desktop computer technology has,

probably, reduced even the general size of the architectural drawing sheet in a silent response to the cost of printing/printer and the economic ease of electro/photocopying processes. The computer, with its many software, thus has become a necessary evil in every modern day architectural office. A potential employee most certainly has to be conversant with the computer, and its many software, in order to ensure employability. The computer is the modern day shoodra_ with whom one wishes to avoid an intellectual association but is forced to maintain a working relationship.

These digital migrants to the world of IT are constantly wary of the electronic gadget (the computer) that seems to perform somewhere beyond & somewhat besides their naturally trained expectations, instinct & habits. On the other hand, the students today, who join an architectural program, are quite comfortable with the mouse and the monitor screen. From quite an early age these digital natives have fiddled with the remote & the mouse as the numerous interactive games on the computer are handled by six year olds or less. Computer games and chatting on the net brings their thinking process incredibly & seamlessly close to the key-board and the mouse. This is something that can be rightfully equated to the practice by many novelists/authors who habitually type their best-sellers directly on the type-writer (and now on the keyboard) instead of first writing by hand the entire novel and then getting the matter typed on the machine. It is, after all, just a matter of getting used to a tool and is merely a sense that is born out of habit & practice, with little or nothing mysteriously inherent about it.

In other words, presentation becomes synonymous with rendering skill. A well drafted drawing with laborious rendering is the hallmark of a good final submission in most architectural schools and a product of this kind is unabashedly admired by all. The perceived need for an architect to be a skillful artist, rather than an innovative designer, is at the root of such a reaction, response & behavior. Here too, the computer has intervened, by providing all with easy skill applications, through numerous graphic software littered in the real & virtual space. The perfection in line-work is now the work of the computer and so are the techniques of rendering. This has snatched away the skill of the hand from the conventional artist amongst architects. With the not so refined clarity in processes of either drawing or graphics, the conventionally trained architects find themselves inadequate to produce a competent enough drawing on the digital machine. Subconsciously perhaps, they tend to see the computer applications as a rival to their trained hand-skills, contradicting age old beliefs & conniving conflicts, to eventually take a severe stand to brand it a culprit against all personal inadequacies. ...

Is the distance between the pencil and the mouse, as perceived by many architects, really/ truly there? Or is the distance between the pencil and the mouse simply a matter of the infamous generation gap? ... More so than otherwise, the senior/elderly practicing architects (the influential know all) completed their architectural education at a time when computers were virtually unknown or at least unavailable in the country; and most are The aesthetic aspect of an architectural drawshy of the magic machine to this day. They were trained to think through the traditional practice ing is oh-so-often attributed to the quality of line-work and finesse of rendering. The graphical anatomy of a drawing is agreed to be the reflection of a designers mind and a clear mind is obviously expected to make a clear drawing while a skilled hand adds punch to it. Like an old jungle saying this becomes an essential part of architectural education and training. The irony is that much time and energy is spent in refining the skill of the hand while far less perhaps or little is done to develop & evolve the clarity of the mind; the unflinching belief being that a clear hand will eventually rub on to make & sustain a clear mind. The theory, though, seems to work on a few students alone and quite probably by sheer chance rather than by deliberate design.
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the direct linear physical contact of brain-to-hand-topencil-to-paper is truly the eternal circuit through which successful design evolves
A line drawn on paper by moving the pencil/ pen over it may not necessarily be different from the line drawn on the screen by moving the mouse/stylus on a pad. The difference, if there at all, is the same as that for any product/object made by hand to a similar product/object manufactured with the help of a machine. In fact, the observation that many designers, possessing a good hand for drawing, often make a good Computer Aided drawing too, demonstrates that good drawings can be made by using any tool. It is the person behind the tool that actually matters and it is the sense of drawing rather than the tool or technique adopted that eventually makes a good drawing for purposeful communication.

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The computer is the modern day shoodra with whom one wishes to avoid an intellectual association but is forced to maintain a working relationship

Eventually a presentation drawing tends to be an exercise in the making of a work of art rather than an exercise in the process of effective communication.

Most traditionally trained architects are of the opinion that the drawing-board & pencil combination must not be done away with. It is a common perception that the thinking process in design is catalyzed through the application of pencil-to-paper and the direct linear physical contact of brainto-hand-to-pencil-to-paper is truly the eternal circuit through which successful design evolves. This circuit is vehemently perceived being somehow different from that of brain-to-hand-to-mouseto-..?..-To-monitor circuit. The wiry/wireless link between the mouse and the monitor, perhaps, is the nebulous area that many designers find difficult to cope with. Add to this the size of the monitor screen and you have a world of difference in Design and its development/resolution occur perception and a huge problem of acceptability & happen in the mind. The drawing, on paper or at hand. otherwise.

Architecture Education in India needs Reform COA way Architect Rajendra Kumar, New Delhi
Architecture Education is the process of making architect. I believe that architecture co-evolves with other subsystems of society like the economy, politics, the mass media, science etc. In this coevolution innovative architecture can be as much a catalyst for progress as innovations in science, the mass media, or in the political system. However, I doubt if the invention of other worlds as arenas for imaginative design is the way to achieve this. I believe that architecture has its own, unique societal responsibility and competency. As such it should be sharply demarcated against other competencies like art, science/engineering and politics. In my memory, I have met with few very good architects who had not taken formal education in architecture but they have excelled in profession. In recent years Architecture Education in India has undergone many changes and in my opinion if it continues goes like this. Its not far, that we will witness flood of architects, who are not equipped enough. I feel myself very fortunate that I studied my first level of architecture education in CCA, Chandigarh. This institute plays very important role in shaping architect in me. During my tenure of study abroad, I have realized the different aspect of and methodology of architecture education. If teaching has any purpose, it is to implant true We have very few architecture institutes in Ininsight and responsibility. Education must lead dia which has its own philosophy of architecture us from irresponsible opinion to true responsible Or institute has patronage of some master archijudgment. It must lead us from chance and arbitects. CEPT, Ahmadabad is extreme unique examtrariness to rational clarity and intellectual order. ple of Architecture Institute because of patronage of senior professionals of industry. Being CCA, Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe Chandigarh brain child of great Le Corbusier and whole city of Chandigarh has Le Corbusiers impact on citizen, so as on students of Architecture in CCA.
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I consider the best schools to be a crucial part of the avant-garde segment of the discipline charged with the permanent innovation of the built environment. It is here that systematic research and serious design experiments can be conducted in ways that are more principled and more forward looking than would be possible within professional practice on the basis of real commissions. Academic design research allows designers to select and focus on specific aspects of the built environment, and abstract from other aspects. We need to go beyond of conventional way of professional education and we should know that architecture education needs creativity and creativity cannot be taught, rather is to develop. Design process in architectural studios should be based on some small-small well defined projects during the semester and on final project at the end which is ill defined and enlarger scale Experiences show that students were being worried about their grades insofar as they wont attend in discussions if they think their comments will be affect grades. They also being worried if small negative comments or finding fault founded in their project thats makes lose other statements.
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In this regard, the role of COA is very important to regular monitor education and also for professional. At present, our COAs curriculum has always contradictions with concern University syllabus. Do we follow COA pattern? Or we go University syllabus. And in most of Indian Architecture institutions has very hard experiences of dealing both organizations and end up system with the syllabus and teaching methodology which is not equal in all over India. In fact the teaching system and methodology varies from University to University and from State to State. Presently more than 300 institutions are imparting training in architecture across the country. The standard of education in the institute is monitored by the Council of Architecture (Minimum Standards of Architectural Education) Regulations, 1983. The body also decides up on, the requirement of eligibility for admission, course duration, standards of staff & accommodation, course content, examination etc. Since, COA is unique body of architecture profession, why cant we have architecture education governed by COA and full control by council. In this case, the role of COA is very important and insurance of equal level of architecture and education all over India.

The 'wall house: one to one' is a full-scale building I first met Kundoo in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, initiated by india-born, australia-based Architect as part of the Global Studio think-and-do-tank Anupama Kundoo. based upon a project con- academic program in January. Bringing together structed in 2000 in auroville. over fifty inter-disciplinary students and design professionals from across the globe, we worked 58 days, 448 hours. 140 bags of cement, 30 with the residents of the old and new cities to imtonnes of brick. 7 Indians, 10 Italians, 20 Austral- prove the built urban environment. ians. And unsurprisingly, not enough sleep! This was Kundoo was a guest speaker at the programs my unforgettable, behind-the-scenes experience conference and I was captivated by her passion of creating Dr Anupama Kundoos Wall House One in sustainability and genuine advocacy for social to One at the Venice Biennale. inclusion within architecture. She emphasised the need for green design with long-term outcomes As a first-year architecture student at the Uni- that would be accessible to everyone. In particuversity of Sydney five years ago, I first heard of lar, she stressed that sustainable architecture rethe Venice Architecture Biennale through a stu- quires the understanding and re-interpreting of dent studio competition. The national prize was traditional design, materials and skills. attendance at la Biennale di Venezia, a biennial festival showcasing architects in the forefront of Since working in the settlements of Bhopal creative thinking and innovation. This interna- this year, I had kept up with Kundoos work with tional gathering is the worlds most prestigious, keen interest, especially her recent appointment important and influential on the architectural cal- to Australia as senior lecturer at the University of endar and I knew every one of the architects that Queensland. After meeting her again back home, I had been inspired by from my university studies I was offered to be a part of her installation team would attend. Now, unfortunately my team went in July. Kundoo had been invited to display her as far as being national finalists in the competi- work at the international architecture exhibition tion, but I have had a yearning ever since to travel of the Venice Biennale by its curatorial director, to Venice and be involved in what could only British architect Sir David Chipperfield. This year, be described as an architecture students dream the theme of Common Ground resonated with event. Kundoo, who understood the inclusive power of architecture extending traditional boundaries of I rarely use the term once in a lifetime but my geography, culture, disciplines and ideas. experience this year was exactly that. Not only did I attend the 13th Venice Architecture Biennale, Unlike the national pavilions, which showcased but I had the opportunity to contribute to the the latest architecture from each country at the

I was captivated by Kundoos passion in sustainability and genuine advocacy for social inclusion within architecture

architecture and engineering students from the University of Queensland in our own apartment, learning Italian from the talented students of the local Venetian university, Universit Iuav di Venezia, and drinking Chai (tea) with the affable Indian craftsmen many of whom had never travelled further than their own Auroville community.

We were located in the 900-year-old Corderie, the naval ropes factory within the Arsenale, which was the former Venice shipyard and armoury. This proved to be a major problem with the weight of our house not being able to be supported by the floor. And it didnt help with Venice being on water. It meant that the first week of construction Biennale, the international architecture exhibi- were spent creating timber spreader frames on tion is reserved for the very best in the profession. the ground to spread our buildings point load. As Not only did Kundoo exhibit alongside architec- an architecture student, the challenges we faced tural superstar like Zaha Hadid, Norman Foster, with the numerous real-life site and design conJean Nouvel, Peter Eisenman and Renzo Piano, straints were extremely exciting. Chipperfield had described her Biennale proposal Led by Australian architect and academic Dr Mias the centerpiece exhibit. chael Dickson, I was given the task of creating the Wall House One to One is a 1:1 scaled replica raised platform of the living spaces. Using timber model of Kundoos original house in Auroville. batons, we created the structure that would hold The building is recognised for the technological the ferrocement floor panels on top. These panels and spatial innovation, incorporating low-tech are created by casting steel chicken wire into cesustainable materials and traditional labour tech- ment sheets and have similar properties to reinniques. However, it was most exciting that we forced concrete but on a smaller scale. My use of were displaying a building within a building in the power tools had dramatically improved over fact, to have actual architecture at the architec- the four weeks of construction. I was extremely satisfied with what I had accomplished. ture Biennale had never been done before. In addition, it was encouraging to work with Kundoo. She embodies unbelievably creative zeal and energy for architecture and people. Describing her project and its relationship to Common Ground, she aimed to physically translate her actual house into the context of the exhibition space. It was about the connection between old and new as well as the collaborative experience between Australians, Indians and Italians. The handmade Indian clay bricks of the installation also And in between sweating on-site and learning merged with the striking heritage-listed Venetian new skills in timber and brick construction, the brick columns of the Corderie. In her own words, cross-cultural collaboration between our team it is seamless and integrated, the Indian brick was a definite highlight. It was great living with and the Venice brick the architecture is one. I didnt have any prior expectations of what I would do in Venice, especially because I had rarely used power tools before, let along help with building a whole house. However, all of a sudden, I was no longer an architecture student but a labourer and construction worker. Indeed, I had learnt more about architecture during the time spent with this real-life project than compared with my whole architecture degree!
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Building common ground at the Venice Biennale William Chan Faculty of Architecture, Design and Planning The University of Sydney

Most fascinating to me was understanding the low-tech systems behind the design, including the creation of the rammed-earth wall from Indian soil. Other innovative concepts included using traditional terracotta pans native to Auroville as coffered ceiling waffles. The most exciting upcycle of material, however, was the use of terracotta pots in the main feature of the building the innovative terracotta barrel vault. Using clay pots which have been hand-crafted individually, Kundoo has invented a new structural system. By stacking these pots on top of each other, they create a self-supporting arch. Amongst the intensity of the build, a chance moment allowed me to speak to the Biennales Assistant Director, renown architecture critic Kieran Long. He had been visiting the site daily to inspect progress and commented that the construction of the Wall House stood out in the preparations ahead of the Biennale. Just seeing a building being built inside a building, seeing the bricks next to these bricks seeing that effort, it is breathtaking that was a wonderful moment, he described. We knew what she wanted to do but we couldnt have possibly anticipated the experience of seeing it.

Like many design projects, however, not all goes to plan. Six temporary steel poles were placed underneath the ceiling to temporary hold the pots while they were stacked. As the poles were removed, one row of pots began to twist. Pots started to crack and then they dramatically smashed onto the ground. The collapse of the vault was a definitely disappointing setback, as we were only one week away from opening. But as students, we leant eagerly from what had happened by discussing with the site architects and engineers from Australia and Italy. Despite not having enough pots left, we salvaged as much as we could and had to rebuild with the supports remaining in place. One of the students from Australia, Alexandra Kelly, said it was interesting to witness how this structural element was rebuilt, and how the problems surrounding the vault were managed and resolved on site, especially because this type of vault had never failed previously. I felt excited because I was working outside the bounds of a university laboratory, on a model that was not idealised or perfect, but still within a safe framework where the theories I had learnt at university were of paramount significance ,she said. In architecture, I have understood that the design process, the making, is crucial and sometimes even more important than the outcome. This was exactly the case in this project. We never ended up completely finishing the building, but the exposed structure is representational of what could have been. It inspired the 178,000 visitors with their own creativity and imagination. It is architecture in progress that celebrates the process of thinking and creating. In fact, Wall House One to One did not cease to amaze the visiting architects, students and even critics alike. Myriad international architecture journal and news articles highlighted Kundoos project. Most notably were the Wall Street Journal and New York Times, where in between the unforgiving criticism of other exhibits, ours was de-

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Kundoos original house in Auroville is recognised for the technological and spatial innovation, incorporating lowtech sustainable materials and traditional labour techniques

most easy to admire installation and gems in the rubble. Perhaps the biggest praise directed at Kundoo came from the very top: You were a real star of the biennale, not only for your idea but for your spirit and enthusiasm, you taught us all a lesson, and it was an honour to work with you. I am happy that your efforts have been well understood by visitors, I have heard many compliments, stated most impressed Chipperfield as Director. Personally, this journey is one that I am thoroughly grateful for. My involvement has developed my academic and professional capacity within architecture and I am proud to have been able to achieve beyond my comfort zone. I have gained a realistic understanding of designing for and working at a one to one scale on site. This invaluable practical experience has enhanced my skills of transforming drawings into a building, increasing my abilities in pragmatic design technique. I have witnessed innovative technical principles of sustainability concepts and the relationship with structural and civil engineering.

Even with the tricky issues we faced, the heavy physical workload and the lack of sleep, it has been an absolutely rewarding opportunity. This has opened my eyes to the exciting world of architecture and I feel prepared with my career within the architectural profession. Everyone loves a success story, but despite the inevitable challenges and last-minute problems, it is how we use our creative problem-solving skills as designers to overcome failure that I love and have learnt from the most. Our approach to Common Ground wasnt just an exhibition it is architecture that combines time, history and culture. It is architecture that breaks boundaries, both geographically, ethinically and linguistically. It is architecture that epitomises making and process though inter-disciplinary collaboration, team work and learning. Many architects find common gound within the design process of architecture. But for me, it is humbling to have had the first-hand experience of helping build common ground.

Architect Sandeep Khosla Bangalore Versatile, Innovative, and Adventurous

Khosla Associates is a leading Architecture and Interior Design firm in Bangalore, India. The Principal Architect and founder director Sandeep Khosla studied architecture at Pratt Institute, New York. He then returned to India and worked as an associate with architect Charles Correa in Mumbai before establishing Khosla Associates in 1995. Amaresh Anand as an associate joined Sandeep in the year 2000. Khosla Associates distinct style of tropical residential architecture uses local materials and concepts, but reinterprets them with an innovative and contemporary design sensibility. The firms interest in global/local trends in fashion, lifestyle and design is reflected in their varied palette of interior projects such as MTV, Nike, Touch, Roxy, Shiro and Carbon. Khosla Associates Arts and Media Centre at the Doon School and Cliff House Kerala were on the 2011 Shortlist at the World Architecture Festival (WAF) Barcelona. The Arts and Media Centre was also on long list at the World Architecture News (WAN) awards and the Cliff House was the winner of the best private residence at the CNBC Credai awards 2010. Sandeep Khosla was picked by India Today magazine as one of the fifty men and women under the age of 35 from various fields of enterprise who are poised to be leaders of tomorrow, by Home Review magazine as one of Indias eight leading designers and by Construction World Magazine as one of the countries top 10 architects. He was also part of a select group of designers invited by the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), London in 2004 to show the firms work. Wallpaper magazine (UK) listed Khosla Associates in 2011 as one of Indias 10 most innovative architectural practices. The work of Khosla Associates is featured regularly in important Architectural and Interior publications from around the world.
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American-Indian architect and planner born in the United States in 1942. He studied urban planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and architecture at Harvards Graduate School of Design, where he later taught (196972). On the invitation of B. V. Doshi, in 1971 he resigned from his tenured post at Harvard and shifted to Ahmedabad, India as a Ford Foundation Advisor to the Ahmedabad Educational Society, where he founded the School of Planning. In 1976 he shifted to Pune, India, where he founded the Center for Development Studies and Activities. In 1983 Benninger wrote the Theme Paper for the United Nations Commission on Human Settlements 1984. In 1986 he was engaged by the Asian Development Bank to author their position paper on Urban Development, arguing successfully the case for extending financial assistance to the urban development sector. Benninger is on the Board of Editors of CITIES journal (UK), and on the Board of the United States Educational Foundation (Fulbright Foundation) in India. He is a Distinguished Professor at the Centre for Environmental and Planning Technology University, Ahmedabad, and on the Board of Governors of the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi. Benningers best known architectural works are a cluster of academic and educational campuses in the mountainous region between Mumbai and Pune in India. These include the Center for Development Studies and Activities, the Mahindra United World College of India, the Samundra Institute of Maritime Studies, the YMCA International Camp, Nilshi, India, the Kirloskar Institute of Advanced Management Studies and the International School, Aamby. The Centre for Life Sciences, Health and Medicine in Pune is a radical departure from his earlier work.[5] Other important works are the Kochi Refineries Corporate Headquarters in Kerala, the Alliance Francaise in Ahmedabad and SOS Childrens Villages in Kolkata and Bawana outside of Delhi. The new campuses for the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta and the College of Engineering, Pune are nearing completion.
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Christopher Charles Benninger is an

Architect Christopher Charles Benninger Pune Architecture is a curious craft

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Benninger was recently awarded the Azim Premji Achievement (2006) that was conferred in May University in Bangalore and the Bajaj Institute of 2007 by the A+D and Spectrum Foundation. Technological Studies in Wardha where he has built the Bajaj Science Centre. Over the past seventeen years, six Indian architects have been honoured with the Great Masters In April 2010, Professor Benninger was awarded Award, and in 2007 Professor Benninger became the Architect for the Decade Award for his contri- the seventh awardee. Over several years he was bution to the profession of architecture over that recognised as one of the top ten architects in period. Over the past four years, on three occa- India by Construction World Magazine. His firm, sions, the Indian Institute of Architects has hon- Christopher Charles Benninger Architects, has a oured him with the award of Best Public Building team of thirty-five professionals with studios in of the Year for his designs of the Centre for Life Pune and Thimphu, where he is designing the Sciences, Health and Medicine, the YMCA Inter- new Capital Complex. He has associated a group national Camp, Nilshi, India and for the Samundra of technical consultants in New Delhi, Mumbai, Institute of Maritime Studies. The design for Su- Bangalore and Pune in the areas of structural, serzlon One Earth has been honored by the Archi- vices, landscape and interior design. CCBA offers tects, Engineers, Surveyors Association of Pune as comprehensive architectural services from design the Best Architectural Work in the City in 2009 and through supervision. In recognition of his contriit was recently named the Most Sustainable Build- butions to the architectural and planning profesing in India, in a national competition. It is a LEED sions in India, Christopher Charles Benninger has Platinum and Five Star Teri Griha building. Chris- been honored as the first recipient of the (RED) topher Benninger is currently the sixth winner in Recognition of Excellence in Design Award (2006). India of the Golden Architect Award for Lifetime

The International Copper Promotion Council (India)

Copper has been used since times immemorial as a metal that can add grace and luxury to the interiors of palatial homes and forts. In addition to its energy efficient properties the red metal is also green; since it is 100% recyclable. Architects and interior designers have realised the endless possibilities of copper and have begun to use it to stunning effect in wall fixtures, furniture and accessories. Copper has becoming popular with designers and are using it in interesting and innovative ways. Copper and its alloys, such as bronze, are favoured for their aesthetic appearance both as decorative items around the home and in artwork for indoor and outdoor public spaces. Internationally various sculptors and designers are using copper as a medium of expression. An ancestral material with a powerful visual identity, copper has achieved an eye-catching position in the contemporary design scene over the past years. More and more designers are rediscovering the aesthetic potential of the red metal, the way it plays with light, and the manufacturing possibilities it offers. Its malleability and ductility vastly increase choices in terms of aesthetics and form and, as it is extremely durable and 100% recyclable, it appeals to a growing number of creators in this age of eco-design. Interestingly, copper has also become a rage as a colour tone. Light fixtures in the copper range provide a mlange of the extremely contemporary and traditional variants. Hammered copper can also be seen in photo-frames and decorative lamp bases, while copper insets find use in flooring design as well. Today, some of the worlds most distinguished architects are using copper because of its unique combination of natural, technical and aesthetic properties. Some examples of Copper and alloys in contemporary design are as follows: About ICPCI:

Advertorial
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The International Copper Promotion Council (India) is a member of Copper Alliance and the Indian arm of the International Copper Association, the leading not-for-profit organization for the promotion of copper worldwide. ICPCI is driven by the same objective as that of its parent organization, which is to defend and grow markets for copper based on its superior technical performance and its contribution to a higher quality of life worldwide. ICPCI contributes mainly through its catalytic role, accelerating changes and transforming the long-term markets for Copper in a sustainable way through its major initiatives such as electrical safety and energy efficiency. ICPCIs activities foIn furniture, copper strips and inlays are increas- cus on helping end users to better understand and ingly being used as design elements. They add an appreciate the positive attributes of copper. www. interesting and attractive touch to the otherwise copperalliance.org customary wooden furniture. This versatile metal is also being used for fountains and waterfalls be- International Copper Promotion Council (India) cause of its patented look. Mumbai Head Office 302, Alpha, Hiranandani Business Park, Powai, Copper is an ideal choice for landscape lighting Mumbai 400076 India since it adapts well to climatic conditions over a period of time, and in a manner that only serves +91 (22) 66937989 Phone to accentuate its beauty.

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Parul Taneja

Sharad Dhuliya

Anushri Singhi

Mandeep S. Dhillon

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Aviral Sinha

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55th Annual NASA Convention Jan 25th-29th 2013

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