Well,what d'you know? A trip I took to unwind on the weekend has become the starting point for my research. My professor, with whom I discussed last post's issue, had some very interesting points of view and answers to offer.
Does our need justify the hectic construction activity happening?
Is there really a need for so many new buildings? This is an issue that will require a thorough study and possible revamp of by-laws by civic and governmental departments.
Also, with dense urban centers becoming focal points of a livelihood for lakhs of people, construction activity is restricted to these heart-beat zones. Local construction material within that 500 mile radius is, thus, depleting faster. Settlements need to spread out to suburbs. Workplaces and residences should mutually co-exist in the same locations.
There's also a lot more to think about...LEED accreditations, the 'trend' that's caught on with getting a 'rating' for each building, analyzing the effectiveness of LEED...
Monday, 30 November 2009
Thursday, 19 November 2009
Rocks – There and Gone…
I think all natural landscapes are breathtakingly beautiful – anywhere in the world. The picture above shows one such scenic landscape I encountered on my trip with the Society to Save Rocks. Yeah, rockscapes have always attracted me with an almost magnetic force, I find myself drawn to them instantly, I love them. Having joined the Society as a member last year, I’ve enjoyed the opportunities I’ve had of exploring these interesting landscapes and understanding the ‘feel’ and atmosphere of the space they exude.
Our journey between the Orvakal Rock Park and Belum Caves in Kurnool was smattered by such scenic landscapes. Idyllic fields of soothing green against a backdrop of gorgeous rock formations and an angelic blue-grey sky.
Our journey between the Orvakal Rock Park and Belum Caves in Kurnool was smattered by such scenic landscapes. Idyllic fields of soothing green against a backdrop of gorgeous rock formations and an angelic blue-grey sky.
And…wear-worn, dust bathed trucks being loaded with mounds of quarried stone, men digging deep into the earth’s crust trying to claw out every cubic foot of building material that drives the construction industry (gasping for breath from a recession drowning, so I hear) and their homes.
Sustainable building is the key to a greener and better future, that’s the word out. Sustainable – using locally available materials for construction to reduce the carbon trail in the construction process and the functioning of the building, when complete. Most of the LEED Accreditation for green buildings awards points for the use of such locally available material. Well, a chance look at the ‘back-end process’, the engine turning the wheels, made me count my stars. I’m lucky to have seen and experienced this beautiful natural heritage. A few generations down the line might not even know of the ‘awesome’ hillsides of these fully weathered rocks that they missed, because I don’t think there’ll be anything left.
This was an aspect of sustainability I never thought of before. I’m all for sustainable architecture and construction. Use of local materials – yes. But what if we’re irreparably damaging and eating away natural landscapes and micro-ecosystems? What happens when all that silica-rich rock is quarried away? And is our construction really sustainable when all we’re doing is changing entire precincts of natural topography?
Commercialism will never cede, nor will our hunger to make profits out of thin air. Construction activity will always go on, ebbing and rising with economic upturns and downturns. What then is our solution for sustainable architecture and construction? – An architecture that is responsible both sides of the coin.
Friday, 13 November 2009
I was furiously searching away in my room the other day, when my eyes fell on a familiar sight sitting on my writing desk. This was something I hadn't seen in ages - a notebook covered neatly in brown paper with a 'label' at the top right corner; the brown paper slightly frayed at the edges of the book. It was my old English notebook from school! I pushed my chores out of my mind for the moment and sat down to look through my book. English Literature was one of my favourite subjects in high school and college. There were notes on Shakespeare's Hamlet that I'd jotted down during classes, essays I'd written for assignments, summaries of poems we were taught as part of our syllabus...and this piece of writing below (I used the empty pages of my notebook for a semester or two in Architecture school till it was full).
I wrote this in my second year at Architecture school as part of a documentation assignment and the reason I picked this out as a post is because it brings back a whole different set of memories and moods; different from my memories of the days of those lovely Shakespearean plays and Keats's poems.
My batch mate and friend in Arch. school, Maanasa, and me were part of a group that eventually broke up into smaller factions and pursued their own course for this assignment! So, here's the write-up I'd done...about seven years back!
"Owner nai hai memsaab, Bombai gaye, pata nahin kab lautenge", was the reply we got from the supervisor of 'Uttara', the house we zeroed in on for our Documentation. Standing at the gate looking dreamily at that curved driveway, the lush green rolling lawns and the simple yet striking house, we knew we would document this house come what may. Well, but here was our first hurdle. Owner out of town, supervisor's strict instructions not to let anyone in, no amount of sweet-talk working, what to do?
That was one big question mark and we definitely were not going to let this house slip out of our hand for cliched as it may sound it was 'different'. The elegance it exuded, that 'green' factor had a magical quality - a quality of attraction.
The Architect, of course, he could definitely help us. It took a lot of coaxing to make the supervisor disclose the name of the architect. A. Hasan came the answer - Arif Hasan. That was all we needed to propel us to the telephone directory.
"Be there by 5:00 pm", came the clear, deep and charming baritone of Mr. Hasan through the telephone receiver after giving us instructions on how to get to his office.
Mr. Hasan too could do nothing about our measuring the house as this was absolutely not in his hands. "But I can give you the plans, if that will be of any help", he said which almost made us touch the ceiling with joy after that dejecting news. Then came the other surprise, this house was featured in the 'Inside Outside' magazine in 1998. We scoured every book shop in the market to lay our hands on what we now consider a 'prized possession'.
The plans were the key which literally took us 'into' the house...
After which came an exhaustive description of the residence in an architectural context.
...Umm! Nostalgia feels good!
I wrote this in my second year at Architecture school as part of a documentation assignment and the reason I picked this out as a post is because it brings back a whole different set of memories and moods; different from my memories of the days of those lovely Shakespearean plays and Keats's poems.
My batch mate and friend in Arch. school, Maanasa, and me were part of a group that eventually broke up into smaller factions and pursued their own course for this assignment! So, here's the write-up I'd done...about seven years back!
"Owner nai hai memsaab, Bombai gaye, pata nahin kab lautenge", was the reply we got from the supervisor of 'Uttara', the house we zeroed in on for our Documentation. Standing at the gate looking dreamily at that curved driveway, the lush green rolling lawns and the simple yet striking house, we knew we would document this house come what may. Well, but here was our first hurdle. Owner out of town, supervisor's strict instructions not to let anyone in, no amount of sweet-talk working, what to do?
That was one big question mark and we definitely were not going to let this house slip out of our hand for cliched as it may sound it was 'different'. The elegance it exuded, that 'green' factor had a magical quality - a quality of attraction.
The Architect, of course, he could definitely help us. It took a lot of coaxing to make the supervisor disclose the name of the architect. A. Hasan came the answer - Arif Hasan. That was all we needed to propel us to the telephone directory.
"Be there by 5:00 pm", came the clear, deep and charming baritone of Mr. Hasan through the telephone receiver after giving us instructions on how to get to his office.
Mr. Hasan too could do nothing about our measuring the house as this was absolutely not in his hands. "But I can give you the plans, if that will be of any help", he said which almost made us touch the ceiling with joy after that dejecting news. Then came the other surprise, this house was featured in the 'Inside Outside' magazine in 1998. We scoured every book shop in the market to lay our hands on what we now consider a 'prized possession'.
The plans were the key which literally took us 'into' the house...
After which came an exhaustive description of the residence in an architectural context.
...Umm! Nostalgia feels good!
Saturday, 7 November 2009
Smelly Cat - No, Ginger Cat - Yes!
Today's post is about one of the two ginger cats I named this blog after! The day I created my blog, these two ginger cats, regulars on my neighbourhood's streets, were bullying my pet cat. Half my evening was spent in shooing them away and hence the 'inspiration' for my blog's name. Anyway, since they actually have a blog named after them I thought it fit to write about one of them, the one who's a regular house-breaker and nuisance-maker in my part of the neighbourhood. The other mans the southern part of my neighbourhood and is not seen as frequently in my part of town.
For starters - he will be referred to as 'The Ginger Cat' - is a burly, almost muscular looking tomcat. He has a light ginger coloured coat and white paws that contrast so strongly with his seemingly black and beady eyes. There's stealth in those eyes, and an aware alertness. Though he's quick and agile like the rest of his ilk, it just seems like his spurs have wings because he seems quicker, faster and stronger. But we all know why he seems faster and tougher.
He's my grandmom and mom's bane! Oh woe! he sneaks in and drinks up all the milk in the kitchen if they forget to store it away in the 'havadan' or the refrigerator. No, wait. He's the maid's bane too! She'd love to frighten him with her broom and gleefully shoo him away for all the extra work he causes. He always turns our garbage inside-out, spilling everything all over the clean stone floor. We once found some of his leftover meal that he was relishing on our staircase, the internal organs of God-knows which animal, eewwww!
I'm sure he's more than a couple of years older than my pet and loves to bully him around and get into catfights with him. He also loves sneaking into our house and polishing off my pet's cat food at every available opportunity. And then he runs with all his extra might, when we catch catch him red-handed.
There's not a house left in this part of my neighbourhood that he hasn't left his paw-prints in. The bakery, one house away is his favourite haunt, understandably.
I have to narrate this one incident though. Spending an evening on my terrace, as usual, I spotted the ginger cat in the street that hugs the wall of our house. He was purposefully walking toward the little gap in our gate through which he would then make his way in. Out of nowhere, a dog jumped right in front of him blocking his path. Both of us - the ginger cat below and me on my terrace above - were stunned at the suddenness of it all . Legs drawn slightly apart, face focussed on its prey, the dog was ready to give the ginger cat the chase of his life. I picked a tiny stone and was just aiming to throw it and distract the dog when a passer-by on the street shooed away the dog on seeing the scene and walked by. A second's reprieve was all he needed and the ginger cat was gone. Phew!
There are bullies to bully the bully!
But even so, I was relieved.
The pesky thing still comes by everyday and is up to his usual nuisance, but then, where'd be the variety in our mundane lives without the ginger cat?!
Is he a fighter and a survivor?...heck, no! He's the King of the Streets! All Hail the Ginger Cat!
For starters - he will be referred to as 'The Ginger Cat' - is a burly, almost muscular looking tomcat. He has a light ginger coloured coat and white paws that contrast so strongly with his seemingly black and beady eyes. There's stealth in those eyes, and an aware alertness. Though he's quick and agile like the rest of his ilk, it just seems like his spurs have wings because he seems quicker, faster and stronger. But we all know why he seems faster and tougher.
He's my grandmom and mom's bane! Oh woe! he sneaks in and drinks up all the milk in the kitchen if they forget to store it away in the 'havadan' or the refrigerator. No, wait. He's the maid's bane too! She'd love to frighten him with her broom and gleefully shoo him away for all the extra work he causes. He always turns our garbage inside-out, spilling everything all over the clean stone floor. We once found some of his leftover meal that he was relishing on our staircase, the internal organs of God-knows which animal, eewwww!
I'm sure he's more than a couple of years older than my pet and loves to bully him around and get into catfights with him. He also loves sneaking into our house and polishing off my pet's cat food at every available opportunity. And then he runs with all his extra might, when we catch catch him red-handed.
There's not a house left in this part of my neighbourhood that he hasn't left his paw-prints in. The bakery, one house away is his favourite haunt, understandably.
I have to narrate this one incident though. Spending an evening on my terrace, as usual, I spotted the ginger cat in the street that hugs the wall of our house. He was purposefully walking toward the little gap in our gate through which he would then make his way in. Out of nowhere, a dog jumped right in front of him blocking his path. Both of us - the ginger cat below and me on my terrace above - were stunned at the suddenness of it all . Legs drawn slightly apart, face focussed on its prey, the dog was ready to give the ginger cat the chase of his life. I picked a tiny stone and was just aiming to throw it and distract the dog when a passer-by on the street shooed away the dog on seeing the scene and walked by. A second's reprieve was all he needed and the ginger cat was gone. Phew!
There are bullies to bully the bully!
But even so, I was relieved.
The pesky thing still comes by everyday and is up to his usual nuisance, but then, where'd be the variety in our mundane lives without the ginger cat?!
Is he a fighter and a survivor?...heck, no! He's the King of the Streets! All Hail the Ginger Cat!
Monday, 2 November 2009
How right were Davies and Keats!
...You turn your face skyward and let the orange setting sun glow off you. Far in the distance, the horizon is swathed in a heavenly twilight and the clouds that seem to converge into the setting sun are bright like burning embers. The crowns of the two coconut trees in the foreground are silhouetted against the glorious radiance. As you step back and take in the whole scene you know, this is it.
This one moment, this microcosm of space and time is the world of your dreams, the grass on the other side, a sight to behold and sigh with a hopeful joy.
'...What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
...No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance...'
Saturday, 31 October 2009
Undergrad Architecture Thesis - the last leg of bootcamp!
To continue my last post's theme, here are some interesting statements by jurors of Design Thesis '08-'09 that I picked up in their open discussion with undergrads. There's a whole lot to learn from these one-liners.
"Architecture education is experience, exposure, interaction."
"Architecture education is experience, exposure, interaction."
-Ar. Shridhar Reddy
"Marry the building and landscape...design within the ecosystem...the city is the landscape-artifact created by humans..."
-Ar. Narasimham
"Conceptual clarity, thematic strength..."
-Ar. Venugopal
"You should be proud of your thesis 20 years down the line."
- Ar. Shridhar Reddy
"Your design should stand up to any jury."
-Ar. Shankar Narayan
"Use your faculty of judgement. A juror is not the object of your thesis, your convictions are."
-Ar. Venugopal