Sthapati 2011

With Special Thanks to

Mr. J . P . Agarwal Mr. I . M . Asthana Mr. Arghya Mazumdar Miss Neha Singh

Mr. Kumar Prafull Mr. Alakesh Dutta Mr. Gopal Mitra Mr. Vikas Lachhwani

Mr. C.N Raghavendran Mrs. Nithya Srinivasan

1 > Interviews

SSAPCouncil 2011

03 Architecture According to the Missile Man of India04 Words from Hafeez Contractor05 Interview with Sanjay Prakash

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CONTENTS

PresidentTreasurer

General Secretaries

Social & Cultural Activities Secretary

Wallpaper SecretaryMagazine Secretaries

Web SecretaryAlumni Secretary

Nasa Representatives

Unit SecretaryUnit Secetary Designee

Ankur ManchandaRavikanth Pamidimukkala

Ritesh JindalShashank Tiwari

Aayush Bhaskar

Sweeya TanguduSiddharth PasumarthyPiyush JaiswalSahil JalanAbhimanyu Abrol

Kaustubh KharePraveen Das

MAGAZINE TEAM

EDITING, COMPOSITION Siddharth Pasumarthy Piyush Jaiswal Sweeya Tangudu Ankur Manchanda

PHOTOGRAPHS

Ankur ManchandaMayank Choudhary

COVER PAGE

Tanay NigamAshish ChawdaAnkit Chaudhary

LAYOUT &

1 > Interviews

SSAPCouncil 2011

03 Architecture According to the Missile Man of India04 Words from Hafeez Contractor05 Interview with Sanjay Prakash07 Michel Rojkind Speaks

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CONTENTS

PresidentTreasurer

General Secretaries

Social & Cultural Activities Secretary

Wallpaper SecretaryMagazine Secretaries

Web SecretaryAlumni Secretary

Nasa Representatives

Unit SecretaryUnit Secetary Designee

Ankur ManchandaRavikanth Pamidimukkala

Ritesh JindalShashank Tiwari

Aayush Bhaskar

Sweeya TanguduSiddharth PasumarthyPiyush JaiswalSahil JalanAbhimanyu Abrol

Kaustubh KharePraveen Das

MAGAZINE TEAM

EDITING, COMPOSITION Siddharth Pasumarthy Piyush Jaiswal Sweeya Tangudu Ankur Manchanda

PHOTOGRAPHS

Ankur ManchandaMayank Choudhary

COVER PAGE

Tanay NigamAshish ChawdaAnkit Chaudhary

LAYOUT &

2 > Articles 3 > Projects

5 > Department4 >Papers

x = 3√(d/2 + √e) + 3√(d/2 – √e)x3 + bx2 + cx + d = 0,

x = 3√(2 + √–121) + 3√(2 – √

09 Downloading Heaven on Earth -Dr. V. Ganapati Sthapati

12 Architecture Journalism -Apoorva Bose Dutta

15 Walled in !! -Gita Balakrishnan

17 Kungfu...Jackie Chan...Tin Tin -Krush Dattani

19 A Renewable Energy Future -Ravichandra Sadhu

21 Red Said it This Way -Somnath Meher

23 Spaces The Modern Cities Need -Ravikanth Pamidimukkala

25 Housing For All.....a brief discussion -Kamal Kant Mudaliar

27 Experience of Digital Fabrication Lab -Vinod Rathore

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29 India bulls office, Shopping Complex - Avakash Kumar

30 War memorial, Panchatatva - Aaron David Mendonca

31 Transparence ‘10 -Ravikanth Pamidimukkala -Ravichandra Sadhu

32 Interiors -Ankur Manchanda

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48 ZONASA - A Flashback

50 Departmental Activites

52 Internship Experiences

54 Yearbook

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37 A Search of Sustainable Alternative concepts In Architecture -Dr. Abraham George -Miss Ann Abraham

42 The Vastu Purusha Mandala and The Anthropic Principle -Prof. Joy Sen

45 Application of The Principles of Environmental Psychology in Architecture -Prof. Haimanti Banerji

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> Poem - Filler Pages And We DESIGN.... -Vishesh Gupta

I am happy to know that the Students’ Society of Architects and Planners (SSAP) is going to

bring out Sthapati- Departmental magazine expressing contemporary and futuristic thoughts in the domain of built environment. Sthapati is a carefully nurtured portal where new views are always expressed, innovative ideas bloom and it triggers teamwork among the budding architects and planners.

In the times of intellectual interconnectivity driven by the force of globalization and emerging trends of socio-technical innovations, our students have outreached nationally and internationally with their current standings. They are exploring new summits from design competitions to internships abroad and from high-end placements to climaxes in professional endeavor. Prof. Vincent Scully once commented ‘Architecture is a continuing dialogue between generations which creates an environment across time’. In the same fashion through past-present-future, the sparkling ideas, dynamic concepts and meaningful works are revealed from the students’ community throughout the world. Our students of ‘Today’ are the brighter sculptors of ‘Tomorrow’. Department of Architecture and Regional Planning at Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur always extends cordial support to the students who untiringly strive for excellence and focus towards positive transformation with flowering of environmental geometry.The seeds of these promises only are epitomized in Sthapati.

Prof. Jaydip BarmanHead, Department of Architecture and Regional PlanningIndian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur

FROM THE HOD’S DESK

Sthapati provides a platform where the students of our department get an opportunity to exchange their ideas, express their creativity and take our system of education to a greater height. Students can participate here in order to crystallize definite proposals from stray thoughts which they may like to share with others. The magazine also reflects the kind of activities our students are involved in throughout the year – both as a part of their curriculum and outside it. This platform can be used very effectively to broadcast academic ideas in the Department.

The performance of our students in various academic competitions have kept the department active throughout the year.

They have also won the first round in the Archumen i.e. have become the zonal champions and are

now preparing for the national level fight to be held in NASA

This magazine is the outcome of tireless work and diligence of the editorial team. I congratulate them for their success and also their classmates who have been a constant source of support and inspiration for them.

I take this opportunity to thank all the sponsors who have extended their support.

We are all aware that Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur is celebrating the Diamond Jubilee year and I sincerely hope that our students will excel in all the emerging fields related to building design and planning in the coming years.

Prof. Haimanti BanerjiSSAP Advisor, Department of Architecture and Regional PlanningIndian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur

SSAP ADVISOR SPEAKS

It gives me immense pleasure to be a part of Sthapati in my final year. Over the years I have seen it growing and flourishing. With dedicated efforts from almost everyone inside the department, I can proudly say that we have always managed to achieve higher standards and define a newer set of challenges for the future.

It has been another successful magazine and we received a lot of great articles and interviews. Our tiny tots even managed to sneak into Dr. Abdul Kalam's vault and extract an interview.

I take this opportunity to extend my heartiest congratulations to both the Magazine Secretaries and the entire batch of second years who worked long nights to help them out. I would also like to express my gratitude towards all my batchmates and juniors for their valuable inputs, our alumni (especially Ms. Neha Singh) for their continuous and unfaltering support and to all our sponsors.

I feel extremely obliged to all my professors who with us have not only helped their contribution towards the magazine but have also given our confidence the necessary boost at each stage.

Lastly, I extend a heartfelt welcome to the Batch of 2016 and hope that they adopt and carry forward the rich tradition and culture of our department. I wish you all the best in your future endeavours and an enjoyable stay at IIT Kharagpur.

PRESIDENT SPEAKS

Ankur ManchandaPresidentStudents’ society of Architects and Planners (SSAP)

Wow! Sthapati is back again. Congratulations!

Department of Architecture, the name alone is sufficient for a reminder of the electric

atmosphere all round the year...Thursday clubs..night outs...delays..submissions...presentations.

Zonasa..treats and the never ending winning attitude. Amidst a pre-occupied schedule we have

always strung together like a family, and will always be like one.

You are not allowed to be an architect if you cannot dream and think in an innovative way to

make your dream come true. When we gave our first thoughts to this issue of Sthapati, we had an

inspiration and a motivation, to live the dream of bringing the vital experiences of some of the

distinguished architects of the country and a breath of fresh air in the out-of-sight dreams and

aims of the budding architects under the same cover. I sincerely believe this issue of Sthapati has

done justice to our initial thoughts and will set a standard for the future issues giving us a direction

for refinement and an inspiration to aim for excellence in the future.

Accolades to Magazine secretaries, for such a diverse collection of the magnetic articles from

distinguished personalities in varied fields. The magazine to be very true is the outcome of the

enthusiastic second years…kudos to the spons team I was closely associated with and the editing

team without whom the final production would have not been possible.

I wholeheartedly thank all the professors for their overwhelming support and helping us at every

step, and the constant reminders and much needed motivation by our loving seniors and my

precious batchmates without whom the quality and the quantity of the volume desired would

have been impossible.

With this issue, we attempt to reach our alumni all over the world with elevated spirits, bringing

them back along the memory lane of their very own alma mater, and stay connected to them with

stronger bonds, for years to come. We also welcome suggestions, criticism and contributions from

our readers in future.

Releasing Sthapati adds another feather to our success story this year and I hope this is just the

start of many more successes to come.

Architecture is all about dreams…if you stop dreaming…you stop thinking.

Proud to be an Archi.

GENERAL SECRETARY SPEAKS

Shashank TiwariGeneral SecretaryStudents’ society of Architects and Planners (SSAP)

“The thing always happens that you really believe in; and the belief in a thing makes it happen. “

– F.L.WrightCongratulations to the Sthapati team who have worked days and nights to make this issue possible.

Last year was a wonderful year for the people of SSAP as we hosted ZONASA. I would like to thank all my seniors; without their guidance it wouldn't have been possible and also the enormous efforts put by my batch mates and juniors for making it a great success. Students from our department have been excelling in different competitions, viz. Archumen, Transparence, ANDC, NASA trophies, etc. It has been an inspiration to the juniors.The department continues to be one family and will always be.My best wishes to this edition of Sthapati and hope the department reaches new heights every year.

GENERAL SECRETARY SPEAKS

Ritesh JindalGeneral SecretaryStudents’ society of Architects and Planners (SSAP)

Finally a colossal work done and done with the classic archi flavor in it... A lot of work, night outs, patience and here we are with “Sthapati” finally. It’s a great feeling when I hold it in my hands, a symbol of our department and a representation of all the things fruitful.

Last year was the first time I had stepped into this magical world, far away from home and was not quite sure if I could be a productive part of all this. We had seen our seniors conduct ZONASA and it was then that I felt the sentiments we

attach with all the activities done by us. Last years’ magazine was commendable and we had a responsibility to maintain standards .We hope we are successful but the journey to our goal was the best part of it. We managed to interview some very special personalities, which was a great experience. There were times of ups and downs which were backed by my ever helping batch and seniors who encouraged and boosted our spirits. Here I would like to mention two names who sat with me day and night and bore me. DON aka Piyush who was my partner/guide and Sweeya was always there to direct things and patch up everything. I am obliged to the professors who gave us the required support and confidence to bring the magazine out. Hoping that our archi family reaches new heights every year Piyush and I present to you “STHAPATI”.

MAGAZINE SECRETARYSPEAKS

Siddharth PasumarthyMagazine SecretaryStudents’ society of Architects and Planners (SSAP)

understanding the most intricate of human emotions and then creating a physical replica with a soul infused into it that resonates with the human soul. Such a piece is in true terms ‘A Piece of Architecture’, giving a feeling of God transcending down and making it his abode just as he does in the human heart.

As architecture students, we are always taught to zoom into the ‘nano-level’. This magazine which you are holding in your hand is symbolic of the ever- shining spirit of our department and the ‘typical tempo’ that pervades IIT Kharagpur . It was impossible for us to have not strived towards excellence and nurtured it in attaining a imposing look. That is why the time we spent in the pursuit of articles, compiling, editing, designing, sponsors calling and the other dimensions that came popping up with time, and to which we had to adhere to, was never marked by even the slightest tinge of frustration but by an unwavering indomitable spirit. What we envisioned was definitely very high and we have not been able to touch that line owing to many constraints. But I assure you that we gave our best shot.

And yes, how can I not thank the group involved. Without the synergy of seniors and batch mates toiling out for the two magazine secys, many things would have even been impossible to conceivei of- whether it was designing, editing or spons calling. And I cannot miss out on these two names, Special thanks to Siddharth Pasumarthy ( who had no other option perhaps :P ) and Sweeya Tangudu for their unflinching support. They made this tough journey a cake-walk, something to be etched in my mind forever.

Thanks to the entire ARCHI once again...And following the ritualistic manner of signing off- ARCHI KA TEMPO HIGH HAI !!!!!!

“God lies in the Details”. Indeed Architecture derives its sanctity from the keen eye it has for

MAGAZINE SECRETARYSPEAKS

Piyush JaiswalMagazine SecretaryStudents’ society of Architects and Planners (SSAP)

“ We thank all the professors for being a constant support and helping us at

every corner for making this magazine a huge success.”

interviews

“

”

The juxtaposed bricks of emotions,Held strong by rationality concrete,Columns of utility standing strong,

And running across them,The beam of stability.

Has started, in the mind,The construction of DESIGN...

Q. It is said that architecture is a profession that deals directly with human life and can shape a maligned society. How far do you agree with this statement? Architecture is a profession which can provide beauty to human life and human society as a whole. It can add value to the living space and promote clean green environment. It can make a country proud.

Q. What contributions can we as future architects make to the 'VISION 2020' ? India needs over 100 million dwelling units for middle and low income group families. Creating a unique model which can conserve water and energy will be a great contribution of the architectural community. They should also work towards waste disposal and conversion of waste into wealth in community living.

Q.Do you admire an architect personally? If so, can you tell us something about him that you liked, which could be inspirational for us? Adwin Lutyens is known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era. I stayed in Rashtrapati Bhavan and I like the architecture. Every student in architecture can learn a lot from this work. Q.It is said that modern architecture makes us shy away from our rich culture, do you agree with this? We have to concentrate on beauty at an affordable cost.

Q.Do you think that architects are bothered these days only about money;that they instead of raising their clients' life look just to satisfy their whims and draw money from them? This may not be true of all architects. The aim of each architect has to provide value for money for his or her client and also ensure the architecture merges with the environment.

Q.Very often while making career choices, people are guided by the pre-existing norms about a profession(which turn out to be wrong at times). Then after studying for 4 or 5 yrs they switch over to something else not benefitting the society from what they learnt. How do you think this haywire choice making can be avoided right at the +2 level? For making the right choice, the individual has to ask what profession he or she likes most and has the passion and tenacity to achieve excellence. If one is not able to find a specific answer, they can take the help of counsellor for advice. If this is seriously done, mismatch between what one likes, and what one lands-up in can be minimized.

Q.Is there any piece of architecture or any scenic landscape that you have become attached to after seeing it for the first time?If so, what makes it so special for you? Bahai Temple in Delhi. It is a beautiful piece of work which promotes peace and harmony.

Q.Finally, architect Mies Van Der Rohe said that 'God lies in the Details'. Do you think that this is true not just for architecture but for every petty thing in life.Your thoughts on this. God lies in the details is absolutely true. In any piece of work, if you pay attention to the details and ensure excellence, system will take care of itself.

‘’

Architecture can make a country PROUD...

ARCHITECTURE ACCORDING TO

THE MISSILE MAN OF INDIA

Dr. A.P.J Abdul KalamFormer President of India

On an online interview with Dr. A.P.J AbdulKalam we were able to gather his thoughts on architecture with a flavor of his own profession.

Here is an excerpt from his interview.

STHAPATI | 2011 | 3

Q. What inspired you to become an architect? I wanted to join the army. But as a youngster, I use to visit my uncle's office who was an architect. One day, even before enrolling for architecture, I was going through one of his window drawings. I pointed to one of his architects that the window will not open in its current form and pointed out the mistakes. Soon, my uncle realized I had potential in architecture and persuaded me to get into it. Q. Your comments on the profession of architecture having a gentle slope of success and not a steep one, as many say, and thus requiring immense patience to persist in it ? In any field, one needs to be patient. Just keep working hard, be honest and sincere in your efforts, success will be assured. Q. Are there some of the traditional elements of architecture which you have felt could be blended with the contemporary style? The courtyard style of planning is very relevant even today. I have used it in several projects like the Bharti Airtel corporate office in Gurgaon. The circular courtyard with its majestic water fountain forms the epicenter of the hub around in this plush office complex. The office blocks are safely encircling the courtyard with a high skylight, maximizing daylight and external view to its occupants. It ensures a controlled environment to work in, thus ensuring enhanced efficiency levels of its occupants.

Qclient on an architect's vision and aspirations. Today buildings are being created in participatory democracy and the architect has to deal with a multitude of sociological, functional, economical, political as well as technology, aesthetic and real estate issues all at the same time. My numerous styles are simply a response to the aspirations of the consumers and the market content. I sincerely believe that architecture is not for my own glorification and I can't thrust my thoughts on others. I believe in giving people what they are comfortable with, taking a cue

. The extent of influence of the government or

from their creative preferences.

Q. You wrote an article on 'The Future of Cities'. Is there any city which comes to your mind as a potential future city complying to all aspects of sustainability? In India we still have a long way to go, the sustainability aspect is recent and still a tad uneconomical at the construction stage. Government intervention is needed for a city to comply all aspects of sustainability. Q. The most satisfying work of yours Hiranadani Township, Mumbai but I believe the best is yet to come. Q. What should an architect expect from his life, given that he is said to have a huge responsibility of molding the society? I believe living in the present. Hence my architecture is for now, instead of forever as forever is composed of many nows. An architect's work should symbolize the state of the present-adapt a universal language, construction speed and conspicuous consumption. It has to reflect the times we are living in instead of thinking of the past or the future. Q. Your message for the students

As an architect, I have always believed that ideas

should come out of real rationale. I have refused to

be bound by any one set of beliefs. According to me,

the chase for a singular style is in conflict with the

present era where belief is often inundated by

exponential change. My designs are usually a direct

response to the needs of the client. Thus my

approach is responsive to today's values and allows

for a variety of expressions in concern with

contemporary society. Whether you call it

commercialism or popular culture, It is important to

acknowledge every client's distinct ideas and

desires in my every design. I would have never been

successful had I thrust my believes on my clients

who nowadays are so knowledgeable and well

traveled.

WORDS FROM HAFEEZ

CONTRACTOR

An online interview with Ar. Hafeez Contractor gave us insights about his thoughts on

architecture.

STHAPATI | 2011 | 4

What in your opinion is the greatest opportunity and challenge for green buildings?

The greatest opportunity is simply that such buildings are the future and conversely, the challenge is that, in that they are the future, they tend not to be the present. The way the world builds itself today and the way the industrial world is structured somehow assumes that indefinite exponential growth is possible. As the industrial paradigm transforms into a sustainable one, green buildings will become increasingly mainstream.

Green buildings are challenging in terms of initial capital costs and the lack of incentives and supports from the government. Do you see any other holistic challenges?

I don't think this is a fair statement! Incentives and supports from the government can be misused, cause 'addiction to a technology or end up in perverse incentives. I am personally quite happy to go green while remaining rooted in the marketplace.

One of the greenest buildings in India is M K Gandhi's adi kutir at Wardha. Not if measured through the industrial lens of rating systems, but in many other ways. It will become increasingly easy to build green without extra cost as the economy transforms to allow new engineering of not an antibiotic but a symbiotic kind, to be used to design buildings and systems. This is thus a temporary problem. In 1980 when I began my practice we needed to incentivize solar hot water systems, but now they are mainstream.

What are the holistic challenges, though?

These are deeper than we may imagine. It seems clear that the world can no longer aspire for all of us to become equal to the level of demand of the US today, even with increasing levels of efficiency in converting energy and materials into useful products and services. So we have to re-jig our world to become not just much more efficient, but much more sufficient. This is stated by the paradigm called “Factor Four: How the world needs to demand half the stuff for well-being and use half the resources to produce these products.” (freely paraphrased). Every year we need a factor increasing from four if we are to survive on a healthy planet. That is not an easy challenge to meet.

What concrete measures can the government take to promote green technology and facilitate the green industry to set up shop here?

Nothing much in the marketplace, just set good enforceable standards and minimum regulations, provide ratings, even give some minor (but logically computed) fiscal incentives.

The government can remove externalities from the costing of utilities, or provide equivalent support to conservation. Allow a business environment where service companies (e.g. Energy Service Companies) to flourish.

Sanjay Prakash, an architect with a commitment to energy-conscious architecture and eco-friendly design in an interview with Padma Ramakrishnan gets to the heart of the matter on green buildings.

His area of practice and research over the last 25 years includes passive and low energy architecture, hybrid air-conditioning, autonomous energy and water systems. Excerpts from the interview

STHAPATI | 2011 | 5

The Maharashtra government has announced it would allow only eco-friendly buildings and would also grant additional FSI for such buildings. Are these only statements or should the government in your opinion do something more concrete to support the green building movement. What in your opinion should be the proactive measures on the part of the government?

I cannot comment on the level of commitment of the Maharashtra government, but this has been fomenting for some time now. I have already said (earlier answer) what government can do to encourage 'green' building practices. As far as developers are concerned, they are naturally (and understandably) conservative and will change only when they find buyers for new products. Many are toying with trials of new offerings (affordable housing, mainstream green offices, and cogeneration utilities) and the marketplace is quite able to bring the right valued product rise and become mainstream in the process. It is happening, and has a natural time of dissemination.

Leed Gold rated buildings are said to be five to seven per cent more expensive than conventional buildings? How do you think developers would be ready to incur these extra costs?

They won't be, without market transformation (which too will happen). LEED ratings are somewhat mostly a rating about eco-efficiency (that is, assuming that consumption is a given and then doing it efficiently). It handles only the tip of the iceberg. Developers won't incur extra costs unless they are demanded by buyers by giving premium rents or capital values. This is not happening for LEED buildings. LEED is a voluntary rating and often valued only by a global tenant, if that.

More significant in this area is to watch out for application of mandatory codes like ECBC (Energy Conserving Building Code of India) which specifies the minimum standard of efficiency that any new building with a certain size of power meter has to meet. It is not yet mandatory, but soon will be.

If you design correctly glazed and coloured buildings, you will be able to be ECBC compliant with practically no extra cost! And if you don't want to apply your mind or want to buy the glamour of glass and metal, you will pay extra for it in high performance glass and insulation, that's all.

All ECBC compliant buildings will therefore meet a minimum standard, much more useful than a few buildings voluntarily aiming for a LEED certification.

Or watch out for BEE's star rating system for all commercial buildings (not just new ones) which can be as successful as the Refrigerator and AC star rating schemes in changing user behavior as it will rate a simple, real, measured performance and not a future promise.

How are developed countries addressing the challenge of creating more green buildings ? Are they also faced with the issues of expensive raw materials ?

I need to kind-of duck this question! What expensive raw material? When in the 1950s we built only brick and lime buildings, cement was considered an 'expensive raw material,' which became adopted as its benefits disseminated in the marketplace. Cement and steel are mainstream today, and buildings built with them are simply baseline (they are not considered expensive though they are, compared to say a 'Laurie Baker' building). The primary technique for anyone wanting to reduce structural cost is to reduce these materials, but in no way are they seen by the building industry as an expensive raw material. The same will happen to these so called expensive materials you are mentioning (What are these? Insulation? Double glazing? They pay for themselves many times over in the life of the building).

STHAPATI | 2011 | 6

His perpetual energy is infectious. He exudes a flair for creativity and possesses an exuberant genius to agitate resolute structures around him. His vivacious presence in the office makes the otherwise tiring twelve hours shrink. He is enduringly animated, wears a smile and contains peace. Yes he talks, and a lot, and when he does that, people shut-up and listen. Michel Rojkind was born in 1969, in Mexico City. From 1987 to 1999, he was a drummer in Aleks Syntek's band La Gente Normal and studied architecture in Mexico City's Universidad Iberoamericana. After working independently for several years, he established Adria+Broid+Rojkind (1998-2002) with Isaac Broid and Miquel Adria. In 2002, he established Rojkind Arquitectos, an independent firm recognized as "one of the best ten Design Vanguard firms" by Architectural Record in 2005. More recently Michel has been short-listed to participate in several large scale international projects, in Canada, Kuwait, China, Dubai, Singapore and Spain. In addition to being a regular contributor to several international architectural and design publications, Michel has served as an editor of the technology section of 'FWD', the international architecture journal. He has held several visiting professorships at many universities across the world. Rojkind Arquitectos were awarded the International Architecture Award (2008) and were nominated for the Ordos Prize, China (2009), twice for the Marcus Prize, U.S.A. (2007, 2009), twice for the Iacov Chernikhov Prize, Russia (2006, 2008), and the British Museum Award (2008).

There couldn't be a better incentive for me to cross the long 10,000 miles than to spend six inspiring months surrounded by such creativity and innovations. Towards the end of my semester long internship in his office, I sat with Michel to talk about design, his journey so far and life in general. I hope you enjoy reading the following excerpts as much as I enjoyed the talk.

Me: Forty and famous. Not so usual for architects, who usually taste such fame in a later age in their lives. How did this come by?

Michel: My career as an architect took a slightly different course from the usual… after having my firm for a bit I partnered with two very senior architects, Isaac and Miquel, who were a generation older than me. Teaming with them sort of made me skip generations. The important thing is to be consistent with your ideas. It does not matter how much work you do, what matters is the constancy in the power of ideas behind your design…how you think and engage architecture in solving the problems of the everyday life. I feel lucky being 41 and having this recognition as an architect…I feel as if I just started, although, we have done a lot of work. I feel you never get to a place... it's never like “yeah! I made it”… you are constantly changing, evolving and learning from your mistakes and improving...I hope I never get there where I say “I made it”...it's about making it every day...it's only the day I die that I'll know what I left behind.

Me: Having enjoyed two creative careers in the field of Music and Architecture, what's your understanding of creativity?

Michel: Firstly, it has to do with questioning...it's like how kids think, “why does this happen? How does this work?” like I see my six year old daughter, who has this fresh perspective to look at the world, “daddy, why does it rain? Where is the Sun coming from? Why are the flowers this color?” It's a fascination towards life, like a kid. That is how I want to feel and perceive this world and ask all these questions all the time -how does a city work? What can I do to make it work better?...You need to be an explorer, experience seeker, you need to strive for thrills. In stead of seeing negativity, you should see solutions to those negative things. In a creative process you have to have fun, if you don't have fun, then you are not doing it right, you are doing it for the wrong reasons like money.

Michel Rojkind and how he drummed his way into Architecture

Michel Rojkind Abhirajika Agarwal, 5th year speaks out on his experiences with architecture as he unveils his adventures in his career and his passion for the profession.

in a personal interview with

Me: You were a part of a successful band. What led to this unusual transition from music industry to architecture?

Michel: You know, I didn't see it as one or the other. It's funny, because most of my friends used to ask "which of them was the hobby". I said "there is no hobby". Both were very serious to me. For instance, I knew that at least my way of seeing it and perceiving it would not last forever. I did not see myself growing old playing the drums. I do see myself growing old being an architect, which is very different. It's not that I don't enjoy music enough to grow old playing music, but at least in Mexico City all my friends that have been playing for the longest time - sometimes it's a bit sad to see them maybe in a bar not doing the music that they want to because no record company wanted to sign them anymore, and the more successful ones are producers or in the record industry. Which is great, but I think it was a phase in my life - it was great to be in a band for 12-13 years, to have 4 albums, cutting records, to have videos on MTV. It was fun, but it is a cycle. But it's ok, it's over. What next? This is the idea we were talking about in the beginning, that, to me you never make it to anything. It's a constant chain of things that happen in your life that make you who you are. I didn't want to live off my successful years as a musician saying "hey, I was a successful musician!”. That was my past, and it's great, it forms who I am. But now I do things this way because I had this past, which is great. And the transition from music to architecture was not difficult at all, because it's again creative expression. You create in a different way, you don't create music, you won't write lyrics, but it's an exercise of thinking. And the process of creating new things is what drives me. When I was in the band, I used to love getting together with the film directors to do videos, and with the graphic designers to do the album covers, and was always surrounded by creative people which was also something that I think I brought here to architecture - that everything is collective and multi-disciplinary. It's a team process, it's a team game. From the workers in the construction site to the guys here in the office to the client to the collaborators - sociologists, ecologists, landscape designers - it's a team process. To me, it's a little bit like jamming.

Me: Do you believe in architecture for aesthetics?

Michel: No, Not at all. It has to be functional. If it's not functional, you're in the wrong career. First of all, you solve a problem for somebody. Somebody calls you because they have a problem - somebody wanting a house is a problem. What kind of house? Who is it for? You solve functions/problems. You're designing to make a better space/place for people. First you solve the function. Secondly, you want to express something. You can express the function - functionalism in different times, modernism sometimes. In my head, it's not one or the other, I don't like formulas. I like that the project expresses who my client is about, what the most important thing of the project is about. It's a mix of ingredients, like geographical location, budget, construction time, if the client is extroverted/introverted. How does he want his family to live? How does he see

his life with his partners? All these aspects drive what the project is about.

Me: Is there any particular design approach that you employ?

Michel: We try to stay away from formulas. There are processes. There is a certain process - we analyze, we try to design strategies to be able to design buildings. Who is the client? What is he about? How does he want to project his life either in his company or in his house? What does the city mean to the project on an urban scale? All these aspects that are behind the problem are mainly the basic part of where you design. To me these are more important, the problem you will solve. But, it's very different to solve a program when somebody is very introverted, compared to somebody who is very extroverted, who would want to be around his neighbor, etc. If you don't get to know the people you're designing for, you're missing a whole lot of important things to design the project from.

Me: That's a very interesting outlook actually. What is it that makes your architecture unique?

Michel: We don't have filters. We are not afraid. We tend to not be afraid of taking risks. We know how to calculate risks -financial risks. We do not like to feel insecure about taking risks, but we take risks, and every project is a new experience. We like the vertigo feeling of jumping up in the air. But we know we have a parachute. It's not like we're crazy and are going to jump off a building. I think our architecture expresses that we have a good time, have fun during the process of the project. Architecture is a difficult career, it takes really really long to build architecture. You can be in a project for year and years and years, and it could not get built. If it takes so long to build, you have to have fun, you have to enjoy the project. You have to really love the designs that you're doing to really get involved in the process of construction. Otherwise, you just land up with all these projects that you're not proud of having. Now we're happy that clients come to us because they know that we push them a little bit to have this type of exchange of "ok, let's do your project, but let's do something in return for the city", you know? For instance, the chocolate museum - nobody calls to do a museum. They call us to do a competition for kids to go visit the chocolate factory. Once we got there, we found out that there was a huge opportunity and we proposed (after research) to do a chocolate museum. Chocolates was first discovered by Aztecs and used as an exchange and was taken away by the Spaniards, and brought back as sweets as we know it today. If it's a Mexican thing, why not have a chocolate museum? Why not convince Nestle to do an exchange and give back to the city a chocolate museum. And this is what we try and do with most of our projects. What's the giveback? This high rise that we're doing in Reforma, the client wanted

to build everything, even the small street at the side (Manchester street) which is a closed street. We convinced him to buy the lot in the back and to open it to connect it to the back part. Reforma will be connected to Tokyo (another major street). It's being left it without construction, to make a pedestrian run, which is giving back to the street a commercial area. It was a 4 month long argument with the client, but he finally committed to give that space to the people. The more such givebacks we do, the happier we are. What does he give back in return? To me, that's more important than talking about sustainability in the conventional sense. Social sustainability is important to me. We need the right balance. I hate the certifications and I hate architects who brag about the number of certifications they have. To me you have to do it because it's ethically and morally correct to do that, not to brag that you're a nice human being. You shouldn't be getting a certificate for doing something that you're supposed to anyway. It's like getting a certification for being born.

Me: Leading to my next question - do you think there are offices today that just take such projects for the sake of it rather than actually believing in the cause (green).

Michel: It's a greenwash (laughs). It became a business and everybody talks saying "I have a LEED building". I have seen people pay bribes to have green buildings when they're not green buildings. How can you have a green building if you have 4 glass facades and you need AC to cool? There are some absurd things - you really have to understand the basics of orientation, the basics of how to grab natural ventilation, of how to recollect water. You do it because it's the right thing to do. I'm really happy that some countries are making it a law now. It's not an option. It's going to be a law, and it will be a law in all other countries. Either you get a structure that works for the building, or it doesn't get built. Either you have parameters of sustainability that will be regulated, or it doesn't get built. I hate this whole media hype that everybody is green. Come on, that's bullshit! I can tell you incredible things (sustainable features) that high rise in Reforma will have, but it won't make the building better - it's an obligation to have it. We reuse the water,

we have a lot of energy issues on the building, but as much as we wanted to take it, we still don't have infrastructure in our city to have buildings that give back a lot of things to the city. How many gallons we give back to the city? - There's nowhere to put that water. If I tell the government, "where do I reinject the water?". They say "drainage". It's clean! I can't throw it in the sewers! Well, I can send some pipes and trucks to pick up the water. Are you crazy? We're gonna have a building and we're going to have these trucks! There's no infrastructure in our city at the moment that can take harvested water, electricity and all these things which will be there in the future. To me, we have to stop talking about self sufficient. What are we doing for others? When will that time come when my building is capable of producing resource and are able to give back? It's not only projects as independent elements connected to the city, but how do they really connect? How do they root to the city? Even from the smallest scale, how are you able to really interact or interconnect with the city?

Me: What do you think is the future of architecture? These days we see a lot of computerized design tools for instance. Where do you see this going?

Michel: I don't think the future has to do with the technology applied. I think it has to do with being stricter about where we have to go as societies - technologies are tools to implement them. I think the most important thing to start with is "what do we want from cities? How do cities need to evolve? How does infra need to evolve? How does public space need to evolve? How do we interact with cities today and how will that change? Once we understand the directions of how we want cities to evolve, then we implement all the technology. Computer aided design, etc. Architecture will exist even if there's no technology - it predates technology. We love thinking about the future on the technological level, but that's not what's more important to us. We think that the arguments and discussions will be about more important decisions of collaborative teams, as collaborative efforts.

Me: What is your advice to the hordes of architects trying to make a unique identity for themselves?

Michel: To follow their instincts, their own way of doing things. To not be discouraged and intimidated by anything out there. One of the important things is this - never compromise. Never do a design because you need the money. Then do something else. If you need the money, work somewhere else that will give you the money so you can make what you want. if you start doing architecture that you don't like to get money to the office, then you'll be stuck doing bad architecture your whole life, and you'll be sorry, you'll be in a place where you don't want to be.

Nestlé’s chocolate Factory, Mexico City

Me: About India - how do you connect to India?

Michel: I've only visited India once, and it blew my mind. It's an incredible fascinating place. I love chaotic places - India is one big chaotic place. I love that even though it's chaotic, everything coexists. It's a little bit like Mexico. It's chaotic but everything finds its place and interact, more so in India. You see people smiling more, glow in their eyes, there are bicycles, pedestrians, cars, trains. Everything is there at all times. This incredible flavour that you have - history, spirituality, food, flavours, colours, smells. It's an exuberant place to be to get inspired by a lot of things,

to re-question how to do thing. I love these type of cities that are really chaotic, because you're challenged to think all the time. If you're in places where everything worked and was really nice and beautiful and everything was really structured - what would you think about? Everything has already been thought out, isn't it? You know what time you have to go to work. What bus comes at what hour? Here in Mexico and in India, things don't work as they should. You have to rethink and see a way to redo it.

High Park, Monterrey

Nestlé Application Group QuerétaroR432

Skyscraper

Tori-Tori RestaurantFalcon Headquarters, Mexico City

Torre Absolute

Mississauga,Canada

Nestlé’s chocolate Factory, Mexico City

articles

“

”

Each effortless rise of a step,And the tread being a bed of comfort,The ornamental balustrades of luxury,

And running across them,The railing of anthropometry,

Has risen, in the mind,The staircase of DESIGN...

“ Housing Architecture and Vaastu Vedic Science in a Nutshell”

E=mc^2 “VAASTU REVA VAASTU”

“To live in harmony with subtle and gross nature is the aspect of Vaastu based building architecture leading to

peace and bliss in mundane life. This ensures extension of life span while living in the mundane world.”

Dr.V.Ganapati Sthapati, the Doyen of Indian Vaastu Shastra, hails from a rich lineage of traditional Sthapatis (traditional designers, builders and sculptors – 3 in one) who had their origin in the land of temples, namely Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. Imbibing the heritage of his forefathers, Dr.Ganapati Sthapati has dedicated his life and works to the revival, enrichment and promotion of this indigenous culture of India. The dedicated service rendered by Dr. Sthapati, has drawn the attention of the East as well as West to the existence of a unique and unexplored science of time and space, light and sound, on which the Indian Vaastu and Vaastu related architecture (of spiritual nature) are anchored. The Indian government conferred the Padma Bhushan on him in 2009.The world lost a great soul on September 6 2011- the day of his demise.

1.Intellectual Capital of India:I remember vividly that whenever our beloved Nehruji visited Madras, he used to speak of Madras as

the intellectual capital of India. I am very fortunate to see such a group today all over India.The Subject, I have chosen to present today to students of Bachelor of Architecture is indeed

enigmatic and mystic, the elucidation of which , I have been telling my friends and great men as “ Supra Nano Science and Technology of Mayonic Origin”. Mayan is the author of this Supreme Science, born of Kumari continent. Mayasabha in the Mahabharata is covering his sojourn on the Earth , propagating his Scientific principles. He is therefore called the Viswakarma of the terrestrial world. I would say that Mahabharata is only meant for narrating his skill building architecture and Sculpture.

I am submitting a quint essence of Nano Science and Technology, of course an overview- a moderate writeup for you to study and adhere to.

2. Definition of Vastu and Vaastu- As also SpaceLet me define the two important terminologies- “ Vastu and Vaastu”. As I happen to be a builder,

designer, sculptor, researcher, author and publisher of this enigmatic and mystic science, I have to say a few words, on this technology with authenticity. The word Space is not place or location. It is energetic Wave Patterns, gross and subtle.

The vaastu deals with an array of concepts, right form the day of origin, till date. The concepts are:Energy and Matter. We have four important spacesTime and Space 1. Celestial SpaceRhythm and Form 2. Terrestrial spaceNaama and Rupa 3. Inner Space (jeevataman)

4. Built Space ( Housing Architecture which we architects create)

Let me also say at the very outset, about the literal meaning of Vastu and Vaastu.Vastu here means Energy and Vaastu means Matter. The forces of Energy and Matter combine to

give a product called today as architecture. It is a Mathematical term and Form. Architecture is defined as the Zenithal Achievement of Mathematics by Indian Mayan, where as Dr. Percy Brown, a professor of Architecture in Calcutta University, defined it as a matrix of civilization. My definition touches the very primary source while professor’s touches the physical evolutionary process of material civilization. It means womb of civilizations.

But recent Scholars opined it as Sacred Geometry, understanding the mystic Geometrical or Transitory or Temporal nature of material forms, evolved out of the mathematical formula E-mc^2

DOWNLOADING HEAVEN ON EARTH

-Dr. V. Ganapati Sthapati

STHAPATI | 2011 | 9

3. Energy turns into Matter:Please look at the design below which is illustrative of the energy metamorphosing into basic

patterns of architecture, namely square, octagon and circle in two dimensions but tri-dimensionally they are cuboids- self spinning.

VAASTU PURUSHAN COMING DOWN TO EARTH

This is equal to E-mc^2, meaning Vastu reva Vaastu, “Energy metamorphoses itself into Matter.” This is the theory of Self-manifestation, Self-multiplication due to Self-Spins.

4. Sacred Geometry:“The Fundamental nature of the material world is knowable through its underlying patterns of wave

Forms.”Both our organs of perception and the phenomenal world, we perceive of form and

proportion.Therefore when many ancient cultures chose to examine reality through the metaphors of Geometry and Music( music being the study of the proportional laws of sound frequency) they were already very close to the position of our most contemporary science.

“The point of view of Modern ‘Force-Field’ theory and Wave mechanics correspond to the ancient Geometric-harmonic visions of universal orders as being an interwoven configuration of Patterns.”

Robert Lawlor quotes Bertrand Russel in this connection as saying “what we perceive as qualities of Matter are actually differences in periodicity.” - Sacred Geometry by Robert Lawlor

5. Secret Doctrine E=mc^2Gross Elements- Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Sky.Subtle Elements-Sound, Light and Time. Beyond TIME?What is beyond Kaalam? Empty Space-Space of Nothingness- Zero Space- Vaccum-

Soonyabaram. But it is a space of everything in this world.

6. Soonyabaram is filled with perfectly Cubical atoms:

STHAPATI | 2011 | 10

7. Heaven on Earth:Point, Line, Linear form- limited to organic form full-fledged( configuration) final structure( all built

of points and lines).

SKETCHES INDICATIVE OF SPATIAL GROWTH

THE FINISHED BUILDING

When the pure and free energy surrounding the Earth is surrounded by a four-walled structure called building, the building so formed becomes a living organism, breathing in and out. Everything is animated. Nothing inanimate exists in this Universe.

8. Poetic Structure: Verbal or Oral structure: Word, Letter, Meaning , Metre and Aesthetics. Panchasheelam or

Pancheekaranam.

9. Poetry, Dance , Sculpture and Architecture:The same poetic formula is extended to Music, Dance and building (Sculpture included). Emanation

of two fold (Dvaidic) God forms.

END PRODUCT OF NAAMA AND RUPA :

VAASTU PURUSHAN (SIVA) VAASTU PURUSHAN (VISHNU)

Yet Vaastu Shastra is a Secular science, not Religious.But at the same time material objects are all spirit-centric and hence go by the name Spiritual

Science. Every building should govern three aspects- Bhogam, Sukhadarsham and Ramyam. Please examine whether your home possesses all the three aspects (Adequacy of Space, Virtually Attractive and Spiritually Satisfying). This must have been the curriculum of erstwhile Nalanda University.


ARCHITECTURAL JOURNALISM –

THE PATH LESS TRAVELLED

Ar Apurva Bose Dutta

ng.

Architecture as a profession has many

derivatives – Interior Designing, Urban Planning,

Landscape, Conservation etc. And soon, another

derivative called 'Architectural Journalism' will

receive its much due acknowledgment. The first

elective of the subject in India was introduced way

back in 1985, the first magazine in India covering

architecture - 'Marg' was published way back in

1946; hence one is compelled to wonder why the

subject didn't take off – was it the 'novelty' that

scared people to plunge into it or was it the

conventional path of 'sticking to hardcore

architecture' which restrained them from diverti

It is hard to believe that no one cares about the

'architecture' profession enough to write about it –

what maybe lacking is the language for talking

about the built environment, the void that is filled by

the subject of 'Architectural Journalism'.

All said and done, today not only around

10-12 colleges in India offer this as an elective,

simultaneously the number of architectural/interior

magazines and websites have ameliorated;

seminars and workshops for the subjects are being

held, awards are being constituted to applaud the

professionals connected to this field. The curiosity

amongst students (from the architectural and

media background) and professionals has

increased manifolds leading people to sit up and

take notice of the field. Though when all these

aspects are compared to other countries in the

world, one does find India lagging far behind in

architectural journalism. But keeping in mind the

way architecture has become a connotation of our

beliefs, it is but obvious, that there is so much to

write about, so much to analyse and appreciate in

design. Though my profession got flagged off by

being an architectural journalist, (in spite of getting

advised to work in hardcore architecture for

sometime), I realise it was the profession which

exposed me to sections of architecture which I

might not have been fortunate enough to witness

had I been working in an architecture office.

A month back I was asked to deliver an

oration on Architectural Journalism in one of the

premium journalism institutes in India. It did take

me by surprise that inspite of being from hardcore

journalism backgrounds, the students wanted to

know so much about the subject, felt so strongly

about writing on architecture and already had so

much information on this upcoming field. Then as

professionals from the architectural background, I

think we have an added responsibility on our

shoulders - to not only be able to design projects

but also be able to communicate about it for the

world to know.

Bangalore-based architect Apurva Bose Dutta is an

architectural journalist. After graduating in Architecture from

Chandigarh College of Architecture in 2005, she went on to

do a diploma in Freelance Journalism from UK. Having

worked previously with Architecture+Design and Indian

Architect & Builder, presently she writes for various national

and international architectural and interior publications .She

is the recipient of the “A3F Award in Architectural

Journalism” instituted by the A3 Foundation for the year

2009-2010 and has also been awarded for “Creative

Excellence in Architectural Journalism, Oct 2010”.


Architectural journalism in India is still very

'descriptive'. There is a need to incorporate a

discussion from one's side and raise an opinion. The

editorial voice about the experience is important and

the voice needn't be for a building only, it could be for a

material, for a trend in architecture, for a structure or for

an architectural event. Buildings or for that matter

architecture doesn't have to be appreciated always.

Writing somehow continues to feature near the

bottom in the list of vocations as regards to money. I

guess it remains the same with architectural journalism

if you compare it to gigantic salaries fetching

professions like Management, Medicine etc; but

somehow it surely doesn't feature in a list of vocations

which doesn't pay. The initial pay is always

unsatisfactory but maybe what a beginner deserves. It

is then left to the beginner with what passion he or she

can thrust one's self into the subject – awareness of

what is happening all around in terms of architecture,

reading through magazines and books on design,

having a sharp eye and looking around to see the new

trends, a proactive attitude and good networking, a

piece that is objective, the ability to interpret on paper

what you see on site is what a good architectural

journalist should have. Based on an architect's

concepts and one's own judgment, an architectural

journalist gives birth to a piece. Architects do have lots

of patience to concept out a project, see through its

construction and wait for the building to spring up.

Sometimes what is on paper might be different from

the final output which could at times be attributed to

the architect and at times not to him too. Thus while

writing, it's healthy to abstain from being cynical and

too opinionated.

Architectural Journalism also becomes quite

important since the vocation of architecture continues

to produce so many fascinations which renders

everyone incapacitated to visit these architectural

delights personally. In this sense, a write up might not

be able to substitute for the experience of looking at

the building ourselves, but it does teach a thing or two

that we ought to know that helps to keep us grounded

to the field of architecture. One realises that

architecture doesn't stop on the 'making of buildings',

but it does take other forms (as the extension of

architectural practice) in the form of architectural

writing, architectural research and education.

I find a major difference in the approach of

students now towards the subject than what it was 5-

6 years back. A lot of appreciation should also be

showered on the organisations who are trying to

bring back the subject. It's nice to know that NASA

itself holds an architectural journalism competition for

its students. Even the Build Today Awards by the India

Today Group are definitely seeking a journalism

attitude in architectural students in India. I happened

to attend the south leg last year here in Bengaluru and

I was quite surprised to find the difference in students

today – they were more enthusiastic, more

knowledgeable, had a keen sense of learning - even a

first year student was able to rattle off concepts which

we would have taken a few semesters to understand.

“”

The discipline of writing something down

could be the first step towards making it

happen. Writing is all about

expression...about letting one's own opinions

reach everyone else.

Lee Iacocca


Questions pour in my email inbox almost

every second day - from students and seasoned

architects too, not only from India but all over the world

where architects who have been into practice for as

long as 25 years now want to switch to architectural

journalism. It's exhilarating to see people open up to

this field. Even seasoned architects are of the view that

it's important for people to branch out as well as much

important is it to have good journalists to talk about

architecture.

Is architectural journalism only for people with

an architectural background? I am asked this a lot of

times. Well, where at one level the correct reading of

architecture and the decoding of the creative

principles of the architect is very important (which I

would definitely like to believe that someone with an

architectural background would do better), but then

what about the numerous number of critics that the

world has had who are not from an architectural

background – I believe the passion to learn something

needs to exist and then everything else falls in place.

The purpose of architectural journalism like

other journalism is a tad different. Infact, a lot of talks

going on in abroad point to the fact that 'criticism' or

'journalism' should happen at the concept stage of a

project which can help in making the building better,

instead of talking about a building which is already built

and which can't be pulled down. Through architectural

journalism, one of our motto is to acquaint everyone

with the kind of architecture that is happening and two,

to increase the society's demand for a good design by

educating and making people more critically aware, so

that the next building takes into account the previous

building's pros and cons. Also, the subject helps in

bringing forward the voice of the common people, thus

making architecture more accessible to them.

As far as topics are concerned, right from

covering buildings, architectural journalism includes

articles on materials, new trends in architecture,

architectural photography, design related event

coverage, research based articles, interviews and

profiling of people related to design.

The scope of the profession doesn't stop

at writing for magazines or websites directly

related to architecture, construction and interiors.

There are trade magazines, academic

magazines, popular journals (which might not be

related to architecture but feature design articles).

Today you have specific journals catering to

sustainability, green buildings, landscaping,

energy efficiency, and construction. People are

taking to blogging in a huge manner which has the

advantage of being able to reach its readers faster

than the monthly magazines. One can work as the

in house writer for different architectural and

product firms. One can venture out into book

publication, think of making architectural

documentaries, become an architectural editor,

get involved with organisation of design events

(which the exposure to the subject helps) and be

able to address audiences on the research based

articles one has penned down.

The need of the hour is to start a society

for the architectural journalists in the country. The

few handful of them, when meet will be able to

voice the field in a larger and wider scope. They

can definitely help in getting out more concrete

design magazines and raising the bar of the

existing publications. Communication is a vital

part of architecture, hence writing (which is known

to one of the most creative forms of

communication) needs to be rethought and

introduced in the syllabus. A thorough need of the

day is also to get the course regularised so that no

one is left groping in the dark trying to discover the

contents of the subject.


My childhood was spent in Hyderabad where we had some

very good friends who would make their yearly excursions to

Pakistan to spend time with their relatives who were living

there or to attend festive occasions like family weddings. As a

10 year old, I would be enamoured by their stories about a

land that we knew so little about, except for our perceptions

fuelled by political situations or by what we read in

newspapers and magazines. To me, the country of Pakistan

was shrouded in enigma with dichotomous images before

me. After I became an architect, I had an opportunity to

participate in the organisation of a convention of PIPFPD –

Pakistan India People's Forum for Peace and Democracy at

Bangalore. This experience made me veer away from the

common perception and allowed me to continue to believe in

my childhood impressions.

In October 2010, a dream visit to Lahore became a reality

when I was invited by the Institute of Architects Pakistan to

host Archumen, our quiz on Architecture at National College

of Arts Lahore during the Students' Jamboree of The Asian

Congress of Architect (ACA 14). Despite forebodings

expressed by many well-wishers, there was no way that I

would have missed this trip. Nonetheless it was with some

trepidation that I landed in Lahore after a 45 minute flight from

Delhi. I was more relieved than disappointed when I realised

that Lahore was similar to Delhi in many respects and it did

not seem like visiting a new country at all. This was a trip that

will always evoke many fond memories for all the new

friendships that I made and mental boundaries that many of

us transcended; for the hospitality that Lahore is famed for;

for the sense of déjà vu that I felt at so many sights that we

encountered during our week-long stay.

It was on the fourth day of our stay that a walking tour to the

walled city (Androona Shahar) had been arranged for the

students. The Principal of National College of Arts, Fauzia

Qureshi, and Chairman of the Board of Architectural

Education of Pakistan, Ar.Akeel Bilgrami kindly arranged for

me to join one of the groups. The student delegates who were

close to 500 in number, were divided into different groups and

each group explored a designated portion of the walled city

with an expert guide and they put together their picture

of it the next day for all to see.

I was fortunate to join the group that commenced the

exploration from Lohari gate along with Ar.Sajjad

Kausar a walking repository on the history of Lahore

and the walled city. The walled city of Lahore, like most

walled cities in India was punctured by 13 gates, many

of them bearing names based on the direction that

they faced or the kind of people inhabiting its vicinity.

Lohari gate got its name from the iron-mongers and

blacksmiths who made this area their home. The

entire extent of the walled city of Lahore is around 200

hectares and has a population of around 200,000. The

history of the city, the different kings who ruled, the

droughts and the famines all determined the direction

of its growth.

The walk through the meandering streets sprung

surprises constantly. A street that we thought was

ending in a dead end would suddenly turn into another

narrow lane and the journey would continue. The

flavour of the streets kept changing because of the

architectural styles and the shops decorated with

different goods to sell, the commercial areas giving

way to residential ones, streets broadening into open

spaces with trees, all happening within the distance of

barely 2 kilometers. All the buildings were two to three

GITA BALAKRISHNANOWNERETHOS INDIAspeaks on her visit to Lahore.

WALLED IN !!


storeys high and in various states of disrepair. Exquisite

jharokhas in wood, jaalis, brick arches all served as

reminders of the different eras gone by. Sajjad would

intermittently point out casually that the building before

us had Sikh elements in its architecture or narrate a bit of

history about another building and that would have all of

us devouring the details of the building in question

greedily. We noticed that Sikh architecture displayed

exquisite detail, austerity and flowing lines.

The highlight of this walk was the marvellous Haveli of

Nau Nihal Singh who was the grandson of Maharaja

Ranjit Singh. Nau Nihal's father, Raja Kharak Singh was

the eldest son of Ranjit Singh. Kharak Singh could not

hold the empire and Nau Nihal Singh had to take matters

into his own hands at a very tender age. He was in line to

become king but died an early and unfortunate death in a

building collapse. This building now houses a school and

a college for girls. It faces an open court where a giant-

sized charpoy, known as the djinn's cot, can be found.

Local legend has it that anyone who sits on the djinn's cot

will be haunted by the djinn in his or her dreams!

Our walk ended at the Heera Mandi which was the area

where classical dance and mujras were taught and this

was inhabited by the prostitutes and the nautch girls until

a few decades ago. This area, which is in the North-west

corner of the walled city, was named after Heera Singh,

the son of a minister in Ranjit Singh's court. The area

today, especially during daytime, is known for the

different kinds of food it rustles up. The other group that

explored this area got to spend time at Cuckoo's Den,

the den of Pakistani artist of renown, Iqbal Hussain.

Cuckoo's Den is a museum and restaurant adjacent to

the Badshahi Masjid and Iqbal Hussain has spent the

previous decades becoming the champion of Heera

Mandi's under-classes through the power of his art. I did

not want to be left behind and I visited Cuckoo's for

dinner the next day and spent a few moments with Iqbal

too.

So this was a reconnaissance of our walk through the

walled city of Lahore. We watched with great

amusement when examples of the earliest dumb

waiters, vessels hauled up to different floors with

rope and pulley system, were operated to

transport goods from the lower floors to the upper

floors. I found myself wondering if the Delhi

Darwaza at Lahore's Androona Shahar would

once again open its doors for those who wish to

visit Delhi and will it allow those wanting to come

through without the current restrictions? We were

nostalgic when we saw the almost-forgotten

courtyards within homes being used to their hilt.

We were ecstatic when we saw some beautiful

buildings; we sighed when we heard that attempts

were being made to salvage the reminders of the

erstwhile times which often ended up as fighting

losing battles with the much stronger efforts to

“modernise”. But then, does not all this sound

familiar?! Not only are the streets, the buildings,

the city of Lahore similar to those back in our

country but so are the problems, the situations

and the people!


KUNG FU..JACKIE CHAN..TIN TIN - by Krush Dattani, 5th Year

Krush: Hey, Have you heard about Kung Fu Fighters- Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan!

Pasumarthy: Since childhood I've been watching their movies, just to see their exquisite way of moving and

flying.

Krush : Now if I tell you about a fight over Feng Shui/Vaastu, which sounds quite similar to Jackie Chan's

adventure series but can we imagine the big guns fighting over it, architecturally!

Krush : I posted it on facebook too which of course was a hit. I got 3 likes! (only :P)

Pasumarthy: Do I have to publish this!

Krush: Can I make it sound like Tintin Adventures, please ???

Krush: Okay, Let me begin it in this way.

Once upon a time in the skyline of Hong Kong; Bank of China wanted to paint a landmark. So they called Mr.

Pei. Mr. Pei gave them a bamboo shoot in return, metaphorically. 1990 was the year bamboo shoot crossed

1000 ft mark. But not everyone went happy with this sapling taking shape. Of course beauty gets the best

appreciation but it costed well enough too.

If I put this question like, what comes first to your mind when you see one of the great masterpiece

architecture, I M Pei's Bank of China Tower, Hong Kong?

rdIn my 3 year studio, i was in love at first sight with the form- its innovation in structure, the steel cross beams

which are visible from outside, as if painted in an art deco style in the skyline of Hong Kong. And it was also

one of the tall skyscrapers (315 m), the first from Asia to break the 1000ft mark. I was fascinated by the

beautifully carved tall buildings.

Now when I noticed its neighbour structure, Lord Norman Foster's HSBC Tower?

Pheww! I felt a pinch in my heart again. But this time I watched her quite closely, again a skyscraper (180m)

but an ultra modern building. Theoretically its modular design enables it to be dismantled and moved. Not

surprising enough, Foster and Partners have always been giving their best on innovation, say in structure or

style or details. You can see Building the Gherkin, London (you can find a documentary named on this,

Gherkin changed London's Skyline, a lot, again Lord Foster's Work).

Whenever I used to cross this street (Central Street Hong Kong) I would ensure that I clicked at least 2-3

different angles. Both of the buildings' unique structures make them illuminate in a unique way in the night

skyline. Little did I know about the rivalry of these two structures, or any possibility of such clash which might

even exist between a beautiful building and an ultramodern piece of architecture and engineering?


Examine this picture and then answer if the BOC

tower looks like a knife with a sharp edge towards

its neighbor? Or if the two canon gun structures

mounted on the top of HSBC are noticeable.

Some of the Feng Shui believers and experts say that the sharp edges of the building seems to impact its

surroundings, in terms of negative energy. The critique does not just end here, the sharp edges pointing

towards the Government Building in its front and other edge towards the existing HSBC Tower (constructed

earlier) were criticized to impact the then deteriorating political and economic conditions of the institutions

homed in the neighboring architecture. Rumors even floated that HSBC filed a lawsuit against BOC on this

issue. The problem eventually was sorted out with the intervention of Feng Shui experts by placing other

energy elements like water and earth around the buildings, following counteract mechanism. But some of

the experts went too far, I must say, for HSBC Tower when they put two canon structures on the roof top.

It was indeed a shock than a surprise that despite so

much talk about great architecture, it surrounds criticism

over beliefs. I could not just imagine if Lord Foster was

consulted to put such huge canon structures over its top

which is definitely visible from many skyline view points

or if he was consulted what his first reaction would have

been, given the cultural differences. On the other side I M

Pei, a Chinese-American architect for I know is famous

for his style of taking inspiration from natural elements to

give a modern shape with his contemporary method.For

the BOC Tower, he drew resemblance from bamboo

shoots. Critics have been always harsh on his design,

masterpieces each one of them, but such controversies

over belief on design would also have been unexpected.

Nevertheless the elements which are put to counteract the negative energies are like green murals in the

urban scape. Otherwise where can a fish pond be seen as a part of landscape under such huge structures and

that too in a tight situation of land in Hong Kong. But, we are Asians.

Pasumarthy (after 3 days): Krush, this is going in the magazine right away but any disclaimer?

Disclaimer: The content of this article is merely an observation of an artist, and not to hurt any sentiments or

belief of a region. Observations have been depicted through personally taken pictures, and otherwise credits

mentioned.

courtesy: panoramio.com courtesy: e-architect.co.uk


A RENEWABLE ENERGY FUTURE –Need of the Hour!

th -Ravichandra Sadhu, LEED® AP BD+C (5 Yr. B.Arch.)

The current trend of generation and usage of energy is not sustainable. Our

Main fuel resources – oil, coal and gasare finite natural resources and we are

depleting them at rapid rate. Furthermore they are the main contributors to

climate change and the race to last 'cheap' fossil resources will evoke

disasters for the natural environment. In the developing world, regional and

local desertification is caused by depletion of fuel wood and other biomass

sources which are often used very in-efficiently causing substantive indoor

pollution.

While most of us take energy for granted as a basic right, one-fifth of the

world's population still has no access to electricity – drastically reducing their

chances of getting an education and earning a living. As energy prices

increase, the world's poor will continue to be excluded. Even if we assume

that the fossil fuel supplies were infinite, we would have another compelling

reason for an urgent switch to renewable energy: climate change. Hundreds

of millions of people worldwide are already affected by water shortages, crop

failures, tropical diseases, flooding and extreme weather events – conditions

that are likely to be worse by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases.

Switching to a fully renewable energy supply by 2050 is achievable, but there

are challenges to overcome. Around the world, people are taking steps in the

right direction. In 2009, China added 37 GW of renewable energy, bringing its

total renewable capacity to 226 GW – equivalent to 4 times the capacity

required to satisfy the total peak electrical power consumption of Great

Britain or twice the total electric capacity of Africa. In Europe & US more than

half of all new power capacity installed in 2009 came from renewable

sources. Currently more than 30 million households have their own biogas

generators for cooking and lighting. Solar water heating is used by 70 million

households around the world. Wind power capacity has grown by 70% and

solar power by massive 190% in last 2 years (2008-09). During the same

period total investment into all renewables has increased from about $US

100 billion in 2007 to more than $US 150 billion in 2009.

Moving to fully renewable energy future by 2050 is a radical departure from

humanity's current course. It is an ambitious goal but not an unattainable

utopia. While ECOFYS, one of the world's leading climate and energy

consultancies demonstrates that it is technically and economically feasible to

supply everyone on the planet with the energy they need through renewable

sources.Although significant investment will be required, the economic

outlay is reasonable, with net costs never rising above 2 % of global GDP.

In the study, ECOFYS has takeninto account each renewable resource over

all potential, current growth rates, selected sustainability criteria, other

constraints and opportunities such as variability of wind and solar sources.

“SWITCHING TO RENEWABLE ENERGY ISN'T JUST THE BEST

CHOICE. IT'S OUR ONLY OPTION”

ECOFYS postulates that in 2050, energy demand is 15 % less than in 2005.

Although population, industrial output, passenger travel and freight transport

continue to rise as predicted, ambitious energy-saving measures allow us to

“THE 'WHO'

ESTIMATES THE

CLIMATE CHANGE IS

ALREADY CAUSING

MORE THAN 150,000

DEATHS A YEAR”

“IF EVERYONE

CONSUMES AS

MUCH ENERGY AS

THE AVERAGE

SINGAPOREAN AND

US RESIDENT, THE

WORLD'S OIL

RESERVES WOULD

BE DEPLETED IN 9

YEARS”

“CURRENT

RENEWABLE

SOURCES

ACCOUNT FOR

ONLY 13% OF THE

WORLD'S ENERGY

PROVISION”


to do more with less. Industry uses more recycled and energy efficient

materials, buildings are constructed or upgraded to need minimal energy for

heating and cooling and there is shift to more efficient forms of transport.

HOW CAN WE DO MORE WHILE USING LESS ENERGY?

In every sector, there is huge potential to tap higher efficiency levels, Solutions

already exist that can deliver the massive energy savings we need. The

challenge will be in rolling them out on a global scale as soon as possible.

For instance making new products from recovered aluminium instead from its

ore cuts total energy use by more than two thirds, Producing smaller cars

reduces both the need for energy-intensive steel and their fuel consumption,

We can reduce heating/cooling needs of buildings up to 60% by insulating

walls, roofs and floors, replacing windows and installing ventilation systems

that recover heat.Actions to be considered such as:

- We must introduce legally binding minimum efficiency standards

worldwide for all products that consume energy, which should be

monitored & strengthened regularly.

- All new buildings should aim towards near zero energy use, equivalent

to 'Passive House' standards. Retrofitting rates must increase quickly

to minimize energy usage in existing buildings.

- Shifting taxes toward products and automobiles that use more energy

will help to steer demand toward more energy efficient alternatives.

- Substantial investment is needed for public transport. Sustainable and

public transport modes for all distances, particularly for rail based

transport must be made cheaper than road & air borne traffic.

- Countries with advanced renewable energy technology should share

their knowledge and expertise with developing countries.

- We need investment into smart power grids to help manage energy

demand, reduce wastage and allow for a significantly higher

proportion of electricity to come from decentralized sources.

- P e o p l e

everywhere

should install

any effective

m i c r o

g e n e r a t i o n

and energy

e f f i c i e n c y

m e a s u r e s

t h e y c a n

afford in their

own homes,

communities,

a s s u m i n g

these make

environmenta

l & economic

sense.

- A s

ind iv idua ls ,

we need to

make more

c o n s i d e r e d

choices about

food we eat,

the transport

we use and

other lifestyle

factors that

i n f l u e n c e

global energy

use. Public

policy should

help to guide

t h e s e

choices.

The Challenge now is

to ove rcome the

clamour for short term

profits and recognize

l o n g - t e r m

opportunities. A better

understanding of the

impact ofour choices

will help us move

toward a fair and fully

renewable future.

“IF 0.3% OF THE SAHARA DESERT WAS A CONCENTRATED SOLAR PLANT, IT WOULD

POWER ALL OF EUROPE”

“IF WE COULD CAPTURE 0.1% OF TIDAL ENERGY IN OCEAN, IT WOULD SUPPORT THE ENERGY

NEEDS OF 15 BILLION PEOPLE”

“THE GLOBAL COST OF LIGHTING IS $ 230 BILLION PER YEAR, MODERNIZING WASTEFUL

TEHNOLOGY WILL SAVE 60%”

“GEOTHERMAL ENERGY IS CAPABLE TO PROVIDE 10 TIMES THE CURRENT GLOBAL

ENERGY PRODUCTION”



Red said it this way. -Somnath Meher, 5th year

Disclaimer: This article is a perspective taken on things and situations over time. I, by no means, bear any better stance on it than any of you reading this right now; and for that matter, might as well be lacking on certain ends. But this is a humble attempt to present my side in the best way that I can, as I continue to still grow and learn, with all my fallacies.

------------------------------------------

“These walls are funny. First you hate 'em, then you get used to 'em. Enough time passes, you get so you depend on them. That's institutionalized.“

One fine night you stand under that iconic tower with neon lights flickering over those bold letters, and wonder, if it has all been for real. Since that fascination with an odd IIT t-shirt wearing chap down the multiplex, till years later you see yourself in the mirror trying to have that knot set right. Still remembering the time you bought that long lost cycle from tech-market, the first laptop, the new cellphone, and the whole stack of paraphernalia carried from home to start a new life up this place. Being put in a jungle, far from all human civilizations, you eventually learn the rules of the land and start identifying the tribe till oneday you begin to belong to the same.

There’s this small world of its kind that you define within this place. It lives a life with you, and you watch each other grow, mutually leaving marks in either’s core. A journey with a much celebrated onset and course unknown, yet completely worth the ride.

“Get busy living, or get busy dying.”

And in this ride, you find a niche for yourself, one that you identify with and one that defines your being. You know you have lived it walking down that lighted boulevard, staring at the beautiful bend down the far stretch. The stretch that pretty much defines the circle of life for many of us; a story told from lights on to lights off. You know you have lived it savoring that Special Chai down Tikka’s over cancelled Lab hours. Or even sipping that cup of coffee for ages by 3 am in Eggies to hold on to the pretty company. Thingsthat have always been there to ones that will be there to stay. Having witnessed the transition from the age of insomnia nourished breakfasts at Cheddi’s to the age of frivolous evenings at CCD.

A series of many ‘firsts’ and ‘lasts’ that evolve out of this place. A change in times from saving Shaan’s collectors’ music-disc gifted back in school to saving that priceless ticket to Bob Dylan’s concert with a host of memories therewith. The time marked by walking in as a starry eyed boy till you walk out as a man fathomed to take the world. And you know you have lived it in there when you‘ve done everything they say ‘you should’, to you think ‘you could’. For you would never be 18-21 again to be able to blow it all up thin air.

“Same old shit, different day”

In a different world beyond these walls, you realize the pride that your parents derive on your existence over their tea-time office conversations. The odd expectations from that distant relative, to the cousin who’s fed up of being told to be you someday, or even the neighbor who suddenly acts over friendly upon dentifying your alma mater. But somehow down within, you know it’s much beyond the whimsical marque you are adorned with, the significance of this phenomenon called Kgp in all its entirety.

You are not called a Kgpian for you get the prized degree out of this damned place; you are called a Kgpian because you have gone through its damned life. The culture, the institution and the rituals that form a part of the folklore; some good, some bad, some being under the ‘don’t know don’t tell’ decree.A system that drives as much of rigidity to comply with it, as it inspires liberty to break out of it, thereby depending on the individual to choose for himself. And Kgp gets to identify its own heroes either way.


“Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.”

And with either way the choices made, at the end of the day you learn. And this learning being a continuous process is there to stay. The intellectual and emotional maturity that dawn over the half a decade helps you earn a respect for yourself, thereby discovering yourself in your entire elements.

You understand you no more belong to a place. The home you left having have packed for Kgp has indeed been left long behind and it’s there to be, as you would move on. To find a space of your own enroute being a global citizen with the surge of excitement to explore the world, its people and places; and on an even broader perspective, to explore LIFE in general. The start and the zeal for it is what this place gives you, and you realize there would be no stopping after that.

At the end of the day, you know it’s more than just standing in the hurdle screaming your lungs out to the glory of all that it’s been about; with all due Tempo.

“I find I'm so excited, I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope.”

And you know the three words we all are going to etch on the odd beam of our rooms, as we take leave. As someone once put it, “There are no legends in Kgp, only myths.”

- The only guilty man in Shawshank.

Spaces the modern cities need- by Ravikanth Pamidimukkala, LEED AP BD+C, 5th Year

Valuing the sacred:

Through centuries, man has been worshiping

anything that has helped him in his survival or has

made him feel better. He either utilized them for his

benefit or valued them as important entities. These

entities were either physical objects or virtual

beliefs or even imaginary ideas sometimes. The

later generations respected these entities that

sustained through time, with or without any

knowledge of their evolution, as valuing them have

become traditions by then. They dictated an

individual's behavior which helped in building a

culture, but arguably have reduced the

significance of individualism and free thought.

Sacredness may therefore be defined as such an

entity which promotes these traditions and at the

same time values an individual's ideas

emphasizing on free thought, thus shaping a

sustainable society.

However in today's world, one may argue that the

term sacredness is often associated with religion.

The problem arises when one associates

sacredness to religion rather than with the entities

or values that define the religion. This very naive

attitude and misinterpretation of sacredness is the

prime reason for extremism. In today's global

scenario, cities have a major role to play in dealing

with extremism.

Composition of communities:

Generally, a city's composition has communities of

like-minded people sharing common interests or

activities. This idea is quite efficient in terms of

promoting culture, economy and many other

attributes a city needs. However, every such

community lacking diversity becomes either an

aggressor or a victim in a case or an act of

extremism associated directly or indirectly with

these communities. The damage caused by such

incidents may range from verbal conflict to

vandalism and even loss of life. The 2002 Godhra

riots in Gujarat is one such example where

communities were directly identified based on

religion and attacked, although they had no role to

play in the incident.

A City's role in dealing with extremism:

It would be quite impractical to frame regulations

dictating a community's composition as it would

oppose the fundamental rights of the citizens

and lead to discrimination by the state.

Moreover, framing such regulations is impractical

as conflicts may vary from time to time and also

such an act hinders the economic and natural

growth of the city. Rather, a case specific,

comprehensive and detailed study of the city, the

population composition and the reasons that may

lead to conflicts between groups within the city

must be studied. Conflicts of the past that have

relevance in the present scenario must also be

taken into account. After collecting the data on the

list of conflicts, they have to be prioritized. Conflicts

that may lead to vandalism or violence shall be

given highest priority. Then identify the

communities that either becomes the aggressor or

the victim during such conflicts

Dealing with the Aggressor and Victim

communities:

The state has a major role to play in dealing with

conflicts. Long term solutions must be thought of

rather than settling issues on a temporary basis.

Spaces must be included within these

communities that convey the message of

sacredness and harmony. The prime motto of

including these spaces is to induce diversity within

communities, so that in case of a conflict,

communities are not singled out and attacked.

These spaces must minimize cultural intimidation

and emphasize on engaging members from both

the aggressor and the victim communities to create

a positive environment for interaction; for

interaction is the only way to understand and

exchange each other's practices and beliefs.


What exactly are these spaces?

These spaces are case specific, inviting people

from both the conflicting communities. A detailed

study of the historical, cultural and socio-economic

factors of these communities may help in identifying

certain features that aid in promoting interaction. It

can be a community space or a performing arts or a

case specific space having activities that will

entertain both the conflicting communities.

What eventually must happen is that these

communities get interlaced and not interloped

amongst themselves, diluting their conflicts and

forming a larger diverse community.

IN THE LAP OF NATURE LIES THE TEACHINGS OF HARMONY



HOUSING FOR ALL........a brief discussion - Kamal Kant Mudaliar, 5th year

“Dedicated to the service of the nation”, hackneyed isn’t it? It’s true that the statement is clichéd and one might wish to skip the content below expecting the same controversial discussions and debatablearguments. Hence I find it important to make it clear at the very beginning that this written matter has no such intention and is rather an attempt to expose the blooming young talents in the profession of architecture and related fields to the responsibilities and the unexplored potentials associated with theaffordable housing sector, which is the latest buzz in the real estate development industry.

The current scenario:

In the past few years with rise in employment in the urban areas a huge drift of population towards these urban centers has taken place, which is continuing at an ever growing rate. With this urbanization several problems have mushroomed most of which we are all familiar with and inadequate housing being one of them. It is estimated as per the current five year plan that the country needs approximately 24 million new houses with the major share of it in the affordable domain. The situation gets worse with the requirement being predominant in tier I and tier II cities where the cost of construction as well as the land price is skyrocketing. As per rough statistics a household’s affordability towards their purchase of house is considered approximately as five times their annual income, and in case of purchase on borrowings, the installments (EMIs) towards the same should ideally be limited to 30-40% of their income. But with present combination of choices and availability, it is simply not feasible to reduce the existing gap between housing supply and demand.In the past decade we have encountered a tremendous growth in the housing sector with numerous developers venturing into the market and with few of them becoming brand names and are on the lips of city dwellers. This growth has filled the market with varied range of products .But unfortunately it has been observed that the buyers of these products, most of them being highly priced constitute a huge number of speculators or investors rather than the end users. And with the current dynamics of the market, which includes the constant rise in cost of borrowing the current scenario seems to be “surplus of high priced or premium products with no buyers”, commonly called as “Bubble” in the real estate sector. Also, with the current high price- high margin practice supply in the affordable sector, which is for MIG, LIG and EWS have faced a severe shortage giving rise to unhygienic conditions of settlements; the slums of the cities being examples of the same.The government of India is putting in constant effort to mitigate the situation by coming up with different housing schemes and has established dedicated assisting bodies like HUDCO, BMTPC, NHB etc .Apart from these it has also introduced and provided guidelines for various modes of development like Public Private Partnership (PPP) and Joint Venture (JV). The government has also introduced changes in policies to stimulate growth, some of them include, increase in the share of construction lending in banks’ portfolio, lowering of interest rates, liberalization in regulations and introduction of FDI(Foreign Direct Investment) in housing sector. Motivated by all these and forecasting profits from the low margin-high volume attribute of affordable housing, several well known Developers like UNITECH, TATA Housing and others have ventured into this sector and have been successful. Unfortunately despite all these efforts the circumstances have not shown sufficient improvements and there is a need to rethink upon: where are we lagging and by how much?

Our role and benefits:

We all grow up and choose diverse career options, and with whatever choice we make, we become responsible citizens; responsible to the society and to the nation too. As the government and developers are coming up with various business models, financing options and as well as innovations in other related aspects trying their best to reduce the demand-supply gap; we architects, being closely associated to the sector and being one of its integral inputs also share equal responsibilities. We are all aware of the ever-rising land prices and cost of construction. Also from our knowledge of the present day settlement patterns and the trend of housing developments, we have learnt that one of the basic functions of houses which is encouraging social interactions and establishing neighborhood relations is getting suppressed. The busy schedules of urban life and multiple member employment coupled with the high-rise developments with units designed optimizing the space have reduced the interaction levels between the neighbors substantially.


Thus, it is evident that these mass housing developments need revolutionary changes in terms of space & services planning, units & shared space design, construction materials & methods and other factors involved. Only with a proper co-ordination between these participating factors can we make the final product affordable and at the same time having acceptable standards and qualities. As there is a need to break the barriers and to go unconventional, innovation must be made in designing each unit and also structure as a whole, which not an easy job considering the fact that affordable housing comes with lot of constraints. Thus, developing affordable housing while being challenging to the developers, is also challenging for architects and engineers.

Affordable housing which was ones seen as a low margin business with very less scope of profit making and was considered as housing for the economically weaker section(EWS) and the poor has changed in scope and definition and is now applicable to practically all economic strata. While the government is normally seen to be involved in development of housing for the EWS, the private sector is majorly involved in development of housing for the middle income group (MIG) and the lower Income group (LIG). As the sector has a huge unmet demand the developers and other key-players, which includes the designers too, have turned to the sector and are utilizing its high volume-low margin nature for profit making.

It’s high time when the creative brains fueled with knowledge came forward and exploit their experience and expertise to develop quality viable solutions which could serve as examples for the coming years in the affordable housing sector …….

Disclaimer: The content of the article is based on my level of knowledge and understanding of the facts, and might possess immaturity. Opinions, views and ideas are always welcome and can be sent to the e-mail addresses mentioned below.

Kamal Kant MudaliarB. Arch. (5th Year)[email protected]

Abstract

At Design Fabrication studio conducted by Prof. Shinya Okuda, emphasis has always been majorly on the key concept of Form Follows Performance. The project is developed using aspects such as 3D modelling, simulation, digital fabrication and physical assembly and its testing. Studio is engrossed with Fabrication in Architecture field, especially how latest ascent of Digital Fabrication technologies help to achieve sustainable contemporary architectural design. Idea is to demonstrate a language of Sustainability in terms of its economic construction, environment conscious, low footprint, happiness and inspirational form of art.

Summary

Studio project was cited at National University of Singapore which is designed on a hilly region called Kent

ridge campus. Design problem was to build an extension of a rectilinear form of School of design &

Environment (SDE).

After site analysis, foremost thought was to break the ennui of linearity. In fact studio's demand was to obtain

form through digital tools and evident based design, so different permutation & combinations were

considered. First proposal was given as a notion for Vertical Studio which future architectural aspirants are

fanatical for. Another thought was to express student's veiled endowment. Main intention was to provide

students with a dynamic environment in which they will strive for their best. I anticipated an unwavering vibrant

structure in between two linear buildings to break repetitiveness. Plunge was to blend it with the studio

requirement as performance and fabrication of intricate forms. Integrate performance in dynamic form, which

can be paradigm to architectural aspirants as well others. In general, Architecture stands for innovation and its

implications, which carries human & natural dimension.

Structure was the initial criteria of the project which provided us with a path to follow. I chose to illustrate the

domain of cantilever and achieve maximum distance with overall stable structure. Target was to achieve max

performance with economic construction, reduce thermal load through inventive fabrication. I started with the

principal form of hyperbola structure which is considered as most stable dynamic form because of its

balanced Centre of gravity and subsequently shifted upper mass and its CG to one end till site ending. The

purpose of deforming was to achieve self shading, swot cantilever and transfer performance.

EXPERIENCE OF DIGITAL

FABRICATION STUDIO - by Vinod Rajput M. Arch, DTS 1st year.


ParametersMaterial=Concrete(high density)Thickness=150mmElement Type=plateBoundary Condition=FixedMeshing With Mid Plane For Fast Processing

MODELLING+SIMULATION+OPTIMIZATION

After the deciding the form and basic structure next step was to ensure performance through fabrication of physical model. Structural simulation with optimized material and study of solar penetration.

Previous study reflected results on envelope as more solar penetration on facade and quantity of facade

panels in hundreds. Every discussion with the tutor made us more specific in our goal & move towards a path

that is more effective in reducing solar penetration and achieving a more identical integer of facade panels.

Doubly curved surface had its complication in optimizing the number of panels to achieve economical and

sustainable development. It was solved through the extrusion of facade panels in different way. Each

extruded floor plate in a conical direction (upward & inward). Upward extrusion provided more equal number

of panels (16no.s) instead of inward. Subsequently, simulations quantified less penetration of solar radiation

on facade. Cantilevered structure consists of Mesh hyperbola within deformed hyperbola which was

interwoven mesh structure, consists of multiple steel L-sections. Different materials like Foam, Cardboard,

3d printer model, CNC wood, acrylic were tested before going to the final step.

Final model came up with cardboard only, which symbolized performance in design with low energy, self

shading, optimum material usage and modular construction system. Mesh structure consisted of multiple L-

sections which could be easily assembled and disbanded on site, which direct toward design for

deconstruction. Basically it is a flexible layer of crisscross structure inside the building. Please refer to images

for its detailed assemblage.

I proposed a modular construction system to ensure heedful use of resource management. Idea was to use

locally available materials (steel L-sections and its components) and low embodied energy material

(low emitted facade panels). L-section of steel would be induced in hyperbolic structure core, which can

easily be available through the harvest map of Singapore and easy to recycle and reuse. Apart from material

aspect, exposed atrium and bended silhouette of building also helped to create micro-climate. Subsequently

it would come up with a more self shaded environment and would lead to human comfort & low thermal loads.

Horizontal stripes of modular concrete slab would be placed on this steel core, which helped to reduce time of

construction as well as labour. Sixteen optimized coded panel would be effortless to obtain and

uncomplicated to install.

I would like to acknowledge that additional DFD strategies could help more to achieve highly organized

building components. Finally project culminates in a tranquilized environment with multiple performance

targets, which has been achieved academically. I must articulate that prosperity can be accomplished by

applying varied sustainable strategies to building.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Digital fabrication studio by Shinya Okuda

Green building bible volume one by Keith hall

www.dfabnus.wordpress.com


projects

“

”

The existence of an ecological skylight,The frame, mullion and transom of aesthetics,

The perfect placement to comfort the eye,And running across them,

Curtains preserving privacy.Has been conceptualized, in the mind,

The fenestration of DESIGN…

Avakash

BACKWATERSKERALA

for Transparence 09>

SHOPPING COMPLEX@Yale University>

HEADQUARTERSfor Indiabulls >


Aaron

in his third year....

Panch

tatva

the polymer planet

WAR MEMORIAL

ELEVATION

NIGHT VIEW

<

<

<

< CONCEPT


Ravikanth &Ravichandra

Shortlisted for

Design of an International Convention Centre at a site given in

Mumbai.

GROUND PLAN

RENDERED3D VIEWS

>

>>


Ankur

INTERIORDESIGNING<

CHIAVE

Project during intern.

The handle used to push a door open provides a flat surface at the curve of the lever as a thumb rest. The lever used to pull the door closed is the same hexagonal profile, albeit rotated by thirty degrees. This rotation offers a vertical furrow for the forefinger.

INTERN PROJECT<

in his fourth year....


papers

“

”

Formation of a spiral helix of feelings,

Enclosed by the cubical cuboids of wisdom,

Each sand grain oscillating slowly,In the hourglass of experience,

And running across them,The Teacher’s Hand- of Guidance.

Has been created, in the mind, Something Divine,

The soul of DESIGN...

PAPERS

A SEARCH FOR SUSTAINABLE ALTERNATIVE CONCEPTS IN ARCHITECTURE

Dr. Abraham George

Miss. Ann Abraham

The need for finding long-term Sustainable design and development solutions; which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, that warrant continuing human existence and well-being is most compelling in these days of depleting resources and catastrophic climate change. Site development, from the beginning, and construction in all stages influence and induce change in indigenous ecological characteristics. So too, the influx of construction equipment and personnel onto a building site and process of construction itself disrupt the local ecology. Manufacturing, procurement and processing of materials impact on the global as well as environments. Completed buildings, in operation, inflict sustained impacts on the environment, far and wide. Buildings increase the combined impact of built forms on the global ecosystem which is made up of inorganic substances, living organisms, and human beings. However, if sustainability could be achieved with the right sympathy to the nature, then most of these problems could be mellowed down and a proper balance in the whole system could be achieved. Therefore, exploration into all possible alternatives over and above the traditional models is crucial for the healthy coexistence of man and nature. Sustainable architecture describes the fact that we receive what we need, from the nature.

Sustainable architecture, then, is a farsighted positive response to awareness that everything we need is received from nature,

not a prescriptive formula just for our survival (1). In other words, the goal of sustainable design is to find architectural solutions that warrant the well-being and coexistence of

constituent groups (2). It is the responsibility of architects to reduce the use of nonrenewable resources in the construction and operation process of buildings in an effort to protect the

resources and to preserve these for the future generations (3). Natural and manufactured resources, as is seen, are in a continuous flow in and out of any building which begins with the production of building materials, continues throughout the building's effective life sustaining intended functions. A sympathetic attitude from architects is extremely important as they interact primarily with users and environment in the establishment of a harmonious, healthy and sustainable built environment. Hence, understanding the above objectives which embodies a unique set of intentions is important to develop a more thorough understanding of the designer's positive interaction with the environment.

Energy efficiency, primarily, has to be achieved through the overall built form design, incorporating the principles of energy efficient design in orientation, organization of spaces, form of building, materials of construction particularly glazing, improved technology and intelligent building systems. Post occupancy studies in India and abroad reveals that while overall energy saving is achieved the built environment generated are often negatively impact the users. For instance, lowering of lighting levels and use of low-quality

luminaire like certain CFL produce health hazards defeating the very basic intention of healthy and sustainable designs.

Strategies for conservation of water may be made by the use of intelligent and improved water supply and sanitation systems, introduction of intelligent water management and control, change of life habits, and the use of intelligent design and detailing. Water recycling is important and every built form design shall include water recycling system in order to reduce consumption of treated water. Equally important is water harvesting from roof top and paved areas for the use for supplemental requirements. So too, water replenishing is central to water management. Learning from nature is important at all these, in order to remain in sympathetic mode.

Material conservation focuses on every particular resource necessity for building construction and operation. Procurement, production and transportation of materials consume energy which is embodied in these. Consumer goods flow into the building to support human activities. All of the construction materials, in the end, are outcome raw materials or waste, either to be

recycled or dumped in a landfill (4). Strategies for material conservation include intelligent form design, stringent area and space requirement calculations, effective management and use of technology in the performance of intended functions. Further, every attempt shall be made to avoid wastefulness through efficient planning and detailing. It is worthwhile considering appropriate legislation for levying tax; luxury or green, on buildings that exceeds the material and energy limits prescribed.

Recycling; for future different uses

Direct reuse; increase number of reuses

Reduction; in material consumption and generation of

pollution

SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE

Protection of Resources

Life Cycle Designs

+

+

Livability Design

Figure 1: Framework of concepts and strategies for sustainable architecture

Intake:

A.

Construction;

Building Materials,

Ground Water, Energy

B.

Operation

forms; Fuels and other of energy, Water, Consumables Environmental; Solar radiation, Wind, Rain

C.

Demolition

Outcome:

A.

Waste materials, debris, dust, smoke, sound

B.

Combustion by -products, Polluted air, Solid waste, Liquid waste; Grey and waste water

C.

Debris and waste for dumping

Figure 2: The input and output streams of resource flow


Intake resources flow into the building as input to the building ecosystem while Outcome is resources that flow out of the

building to the ecosystem (2). It is important to minimize the impact of a built form on its local ecosystem. The totality of neighborhoods, cities and entire geographic regions can reap the positive benefit from harmonious and complimentary planning on all fronts of resource, energy and pollution. Such a coordinated effort leads to an appropriate urban environment accommodating the specific needs of its context. Needless to state that sustainable design shall offer human comfort; both internal and external, in the interest of individuals and the nation at large. However, in post occupancy studies it is revealed that the benefits mostly are in terms of energy efficiency which is achieved through better awareness and understanding generated even in the operating and maintenance personnel.

NEED FOR ALTERNATIVE CONCEPTS

It is important to understand the limitation of traditional design models to generate unique built forms that meet the requirements of sustainable designs. Mostly, the inherent inability in the traditional models is manifest by way of stereotyped thinking which leads to no atypical designs. It is worthwhile to ponder the words of Albert Einstein “We cannot solve the problems by the same thinking that created them”. Due to the lack of novelty in conceptualization and approach, such designs offer very little scope for optimization and lowering of energy and resource consumption. This problem of stereotype could be resolved creatively by a search for alternate models in designs. Nature, at this juncture, presents itself with harmonious designs that are sustainable, self-supporting and self organizing. Solutions that are found in the harmonious natural systems are always in evolution, perfecting and adapting to their contexts. Thus, what is seen today has been working over billions of years for evolving a reliable and sustainable model. Adoption of these evolved models in human designs would facilitate the making of future systems better sustainable; environmentally, ecologically and economically. Hence, Biomimicing reveals itself as a fine model to follow in the generation of alternative sustainable design solutions.

BIOMIMICRY

Biomimicry is a new science that studies nature's best ideas and principles and imitates these designs and processes to solve human problems. In other words Biomimicry leads to

innovations inspired by nature (5). Though some of nature's basic configurations and designs can be copied, most ideas from nature are best adapted when they serve as inspiration

for human-made designs and productions (6). Adaptation of natural systems and organisms has facilitated better understanding of related phenomena and principles in the design of novel designs, devices with better features and capability. For example, the cell-based structure that is the building block of biological systems has the ability to grow with fault-tolerance and self-repair. With the adaptation of Biomimic structures based on nano-technologies, such designs and devices are possible in human -made designs, but not with traditional materials and processes. On a different level, there exists the evident, inspirational link between the design of tongs and bird's beaks. The same inspiration is evident in the foldable hand-held fan design and the peacock feather display; a magnificent attempt to impress the female.

One of the important features of nature is its evolution by responding to the system needs and generating solutions that work. Nature remains in an open, dynamic system establishing balance and continuous refinement in all its productions. Each of the successful natural creation that passes to the following generation has to withstand the test of survival, establishing the best fit for the following generation. Nature's laboratory through evolution generates information that is coded in genes and transferred to the following generation through the process of self replication. Nature thus, is perfecting models worth copying and inspiring novel engineering methods, processes, materials, algorithms, and designs. In a similar way production of designs and the elements and their organization in the design produced shall remain in a continuum of evolutionary changes, permitting adaptation and attainment of the best fit. Mimicking of nature may be done at various levels beginning with the full and complete appearance of the natural system to its every system detail. On the other extreme, natural models are interpreted and transformed in the making of human-made designs. Such mimicking of life-systems demands the full capacity and intelligence of humans. Biomimicry can thus, revolutionize the very essence of modern day building concepts, influencing building design and architecture and making it more sustainable, more of 'nature', producing concepts, designs and products that are more environment-friendly, with enhanced strength, is the essence of Biomimicry. Bio-harmonious design harmonizes the built environment with the natural environment in a more wholesome manner, allowing the built forms to 'sink in' with nature, in all its beauty and fullness.

PRINCIPLE OF 3Ms

Model

Accept nature as the standard and imitate its system designs, processes and strategies at any level as deem fit, to live sustainably. Investigations of such natural systems reveal the details of system composition and their organization at the general level and the details of elements, processes and strategies at the specific level. Biomimic designer has the freedom of choice to operate at the level of optimum advantage, in tune with the technological capabilities and resources available.

Mentor

Nature is the finest teacher and mentor for the designers of all the times. Genius designers like Leonardo da Vinci, mathematician Leonardo Fibonacci to architect F. L. Wright have looked to nature for inspiration, ordering and performance of their

productions (7). Learning from the vast 3.85 billion years of research experience gained through the nature's lab and evolutionary process would immensely

benefit the future designers (8). One has to be, therefore, intelligent enough to understand, interpret and adopt the nature's time-tested, creative and sustainable solutions and ordered processes for sustainability individual built forms or in collective urban forms.


PAPERS

Measure

Biomimic designers view nature as an ecological and sustainable standard and accept what it does. Nature with its organisms maintains sustainability and survival through constant adaptation and satisfying of just needs without causing congestion and contamination. Unlike organisms, humans plunder the nature for pleasure and satisfy their greed, causing imbalance and violent repercussions at times. Human adaptations rarely follow biological laws; instead, attempt to change the very constraints that force their own adaptation. Hence, the antithesis of biological laws is prescribed in the industrial, financial and civil systems. It is worthwhile to recall the statement of Mahatma Gandhi “The nature has enough to satisfy our need but not greed”. It is therefore, imperative for a Biomimic designer to comply with nature's standards in the maintenance of sustainability and adapt to the forces of natural transformation rather than aggressive living.

GOAL

Biomimic designs imitate life systems that learn, grow and adapt incorporating continuous feedback, inheriting innovation and refinement for effecting evolution and the best fit.

SEVEN POINT STRATEGY

Optimize rather than maximize

Natural systems are programmed to optimize, never maximize their system output. Every natural system and corresponding elements are designed to be multifunctional in design thus enhancing versatility of design and avoid multiplying need for specifics. A visible example is human hand. Versatility further, reduces consumption of resources and inconveniences. Further natural systems exhibits extreme 'form to function' fit.

Act independently

Natural systems are self reliant with no need for dependence at all levels of production consumption and disposal. Natural system is equipped for recycling all materials on expiry of useful life and turns waste to food. On the contrary, waste production is inherent to all human productions chocking every disposal system. Adopting the natural position of 'waste to useful stuff' would inspire Biomimic designers to generate individual or collective built forms that would facilitate useful spaces that are re-transformable and avoid the need for fresh raw materials, other resources and energy. A Biomimic design shall therefore, enable independent performance, foster cooperative relationships and facilitate retransformation. Often built forms meets with the need

for self organizing and remain in balance. A simple example is a corporate building designed for a specific set of functions faces the need to get transformed to house altogether different set of functions and users due to changes in economy or other formative forces in order to stay fit. If a built form is designed to be rigid without any scope for readjustment in an effort to be transformed in self organization, it leads to unfit and extinction. Cases of demolition of high-rise apartment buildings that fail to generate acceptable living conditions within and exterior environments endorse the necessity for self organization and retransformation when situations call for it in an effort

to maintain balance and harmony (9) (10).

Manufactures own needs

Traditional models do consume but never produce for the needs it has; be it energy or any other resource. Whereas, through Biomimic designs many if not all of the needs of a built form may be generated fully or partially. Power for example, to be generated by alternate means by creatively using wind, sun or even geothermal, multiple use, involvement of human and animal power or the like in an effort to meet the built form needs. A built form in isolation could be used to tap the wind energy by way of its aerodynamic design and integrated wind turbines. Similarly, built forms could be designed meticulously to tap solar energy; both passive and active, through passive and appropriate courtyard designs or photovoltaic integrated designs. Developments in material science and photovoltaic designs present the designers with transparent thin film options amounting to sustainable and creative built forms. At city level collective built forms of cities could be creatively composed to generate self shading, light and ventilation within and around with appropriate reradiation specified, in an effort to counter the increased energy demand resulting from heat island formation and ill-lit designs.

Imbibing the lesson of consuming what is made by own, locally not brought from elsewhere, Biomimic designers have to begin with the use of locally available and self generated resources, rather than using those brought from afar, at higher cost and energy consumption. Preferring to be in harmony with nature and the context of design would immensely benefit Biomimic designs.

Figure 8: Golden spiral; Adaptation of natural pattern: Flooring

design, Pyramid of Gizeh, 4700 B.C (26)


PAPERS

Cyclical processes over linear

Traditional models of designs are inherently linear and additive in nature. Linear additive models have proved to be ineffective with larger consumption and wastage of resources at all stages of built forms, beginning with erection through operation and maintenance, leaving behind wastage and byproducts. On the contrary, cyclic processes tend to be inherently effective and efficient at all levels proving to be naturally sustainable as in the example of falling leaves turned in to fertilizers for the tree through biological involvement.

In the evolutionary Biomimic designing feedback loops are inevitable. These loops are to be effectively incorporated in the continuous refinement of the process resulting in better designs. In doing so the natural cycles; Carbon cycle, Water cycle and Seasons, are to be honoured for maintaining sustainability.

Durable and Tough

Biomimic designs are to be as durable and tough in tune with the diverse natural law to be 'operating at low-risk' as in the preference for a forest against a single agricultural crop. In such a rugged system each of its components systems shall be complimenting one another.

Decentralized and distributed

Nature operates at surplus mode having back-up maintained operational and maintains itself even in the failure of a component system. Multi-supported design increases the operational reliability and earns credibility.

· Identify the real challengeo What do you want to “do” (not “make)? Be

open, rational and creative. Learn inquisitiveness from kitten!

· Interpreto Identify the functions / purposeo How nature does perform function?

· Discover Nature's Geniuso Go for a walk outside and observe

and brainstorm. Look for the precious stones!

· Abstracto What patterns and principles work

for your problem? Be creative and prudent.

· Emulate or Imitateo Play and designo Brainstorm and converse

· Evaluateo Revaluate and Re-Imagine the

design deeper and rigorous each time with holistic thinking in order to solve the entire problem. It might be necessary to redefine to solve the problem as a whole, not in parts.

Formula for sustainable future

Intellectual Capital + Nature's Genius = Innovative, Sustainable solutions

If we are limited, it is by our own dreams! Therefore, dream great and be a B Beautiful Biomimic.2;

CONCLUSION

Concepts and strategies aim to generate sustainable architecture which is the need of the hour and vital to the existence of life forms on earth. Ecologically sustainable architecture shall in application and end result bring forth healthy and sympathetic built environments that nurture human life and wellbeing. Contemporary approaches in sustainability lack a real concern for the unique survival and special needs of the context and its real users. Further, it is important to understand the limitation of traditional design models and look for better alternatives including Biomimicry.

Though sustainable architecture can be achieved primarily by reducing the consumption of materials, energy requirement involved both directly and indirectly and the generation pollution, the generated built environment shall not be impacting human beings negatively. Architects have a greater role to play at this important issue. Engineers have an equally important role in the design and selection of optimized systems; mechanical, electrical, transport and disposal, which are vital for the efficient performance of the built forms.

Added thrust is to be exercised in regard to the generation of environmental awareness and the design detailing and practice for sustainability in order to achieve this vital responsibility we owe to the posterity and ourselves. Education in architecture and allied fields shall impart rigor and soundness to design professionals engaged in the design, production,

operation and reuse of built forms (11). It is also important to accept the relationships and interconnectedness within the ecosystem and the built


PAPERS

forms that designers develop. It is the vital responsibility of architects to find creative design solutions that facilitate well-being and harmonious coexistence of organic and inorganic

groups (12)

There is inherent inability in the traditional models and stereotyped thinking leads to no atypical designs. The problem of stereotype could be resolved creatively by alternate models wherein mimicking natural systems holds great potential. In this creative endeavor, Biomimicry shall be explored to its full measure and in all its possibilities. Natural systems are always in evolution, perfecting and adapting to their contexts over billions of years. Adopting the natural models through Biomimicing facilitate the making of future systems better sustainable. The principle of 3M and the Seven-point strategy is elucidated in generating Biomimic designs. Further, the Biomimic thought process is illustrated in evolving a formula for sustainable future.

Training in architectural design shall inspire the students to learn from the nature's genius; in observing, understanding and interpreting nature's designs and systems. It is beneficial to involve the designers in the study of nature by way of multimedia productions, graphic creations and literary write-ups. Deeper involvement generates better understanding and appreciation of nature and its designs in the designers and inspires them to create naturally sustainable designs.

REFERENCES1. Bergen, S.D., Bolton, S.M., Fridley, J.L. Ecological engineering: design based on ecological principles. USA : ASAE Annual International Meeting, 1997. 975035.

2. Kim, J-J., Rigdon, B. Sustainable architecture module:

Introduction to sustainable design. [http://www.umich.edu ]

s.l. : National Pollution Prevention Center for Higher

Education, 2000.

3. Demonstration intelligent building - a methodology for the

promotion of total sustainability in the built environment.

Kua, H.W., Lee, S. E. s.l. : Building and Environment, 2002,

Vol. 37. Page: 231-240.

4. Overview of building construction waste and the potential

of materials recycling. Federle, M.O. 1, s.l. : Building

Research Journal, 1993, Vol. 2. Page: 31, 31.

5. Biomimicry Institute. [Online]

http://www.biomimicryinstitute.org.

6. Bar-Cohen, Yoseph. BIOMIMETICS-Biologically Inspired

Technologies. 6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300,

Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742 : CRC Press, Taylor & Francis

Group, 2006. 978-0-8493-3163-3.

7. R.Knott, D.A.Quinney and PASS Maths. The life and

numbers of Fibonacci. Plus magazzine. [Online]

http://plus.maths.org/issue3/fibonacci.

8. P, Lowman. Long Way East of Eden: Could God Explain

the Mess We're In? UK : Paternoster, Press, Milton Keynes,

2002. pp. 1–390. 1842271083.

9. Jacobs, Jane. The Death and Life of Great American

Cities. s.l. : Modern Library; First Edition. first modern

library edition, 1961. pp. 1-624. 978-

0679600473.

10. Newman, Oscar. Defensible Space; Crime

Prevention Through Urban Design. s.l. : Macmillan Pub

Co; 2nd Printiing edition, 1973. 978-0020007500.

11. Celebi, G., Aydýn, A. B. Architectural

responsibilities within the context of sustainability,

Proceedings,. Trabzon : Livable Environments &

Architecture International Congress, 4-7 July 2001.

Page: 140-146.

12. Yeang, Ken. Designing with nature: The ecological

basis for architectural design”. New York : McGraw-

Hill, 1995.

13. Creating competitive advantage by using

environment-friendly building processes. B, Ngowi A.

3, s.l. : Building and Environment, 2001, Vol. 36.

Page: 291-298.

14. Sustainable development and the construction

industry. Spence, R., Mulligan, H. 3, s.l. : Habitat

International, 1995, Vol. 19. page: 279 -299.

15. Environmental Discourse and Conceptual

Framework for Sustainable Architecture. ÇELEB, Gülser.

1 (P. 205-216), Ankara, Turkey : G U Journal of

Science, 2003, Vol. 16. ISSN 1303-9709.

16. Andrew, S.J. Sourcebook of sustainable design.

New York : Wiley, 1992.

17. American Instýtute of Architects. Environmental

Resource Guide,. New York : John Wiley &Sons,

1996.

18. Curran, M. A. Environmental life cycle assessment.

New York : McGraw-Hill, 1996.

19. Burall, P. Product development and environment.

London : The Design Council,, 1996.

20. Objectivess and challenges of sustainable design

and construction. B, Dimson. 2, s.l. : Industry and

Environment, 1996, Vol. 19.

21. Papanek, V. The green imperative ecology and

ethics in design and architecture. Singapore : Thames

and Hudson, 1995.

22. Development, World Comission on Environment

and. Our common future. London : Oxford University

Press, 1987.

23. Conservation of energy and natural resources by

recycling building waste. Thormark, C. s.l. :

Resources,Conservation and Recycling, 2001, Vol. 33.

Page: 113-130.

24. Osso, A., Walsh, T., Gottfried A., Simon, N. L.

Sustainable building technical manual. New York :

Public Technology Inc., 1996.


PAPERS

The Vastu Purusha Mandala and the Anthropic Principle:- Complementarities and Convergence

Joy Sen, PhDAssociate Professor

Department of Architecture and Regional PlanningIndian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur

'It is probably true quite generally that in the history of human thinking the most fruitful developments frequently take place at those points where two different lines of thought meet.'

Werner Heisenberg

'Built environments have various purposes: to shelter people and their activities and possessions from the elements, from human and animal enemies, and from supernatural powers; to establish place; to create a humanized, safe area in a profane and potentially dangerous world; to stress social identity and indicate status; and so on. Thus the origins of Architecture are best understood if one takes a wider view and considers socio-cultural factors, in the broadest sense, to be more important than climate, technology, materials, and economy……In traditional Indian architecture: space, time and matter are manifestations of the creator; material space and material things make visible ideational spaces. For the archi tectural environment, th is has three consequences:

1. It stresses limits of control: one changes oneself rather than the environment. Thus, building – which is a major modification of the environment – requires rigorous adherence to the appropriate cosmological model and also requires stress on ritual purity.

2. The cosmological model emphasizes the center, and centrality is most important socially and architecturally.

3. Ideational space can only be made manifest through symbols. Space is transformed by symbols and rituals so that the divine is made visible, and architecture is called 'Vastu Sthaptya Vidya.'

Amos RapoportCultural Origins of Architecture

l

The present article brings under 'one-fold', two apparently different ideas. One, an abstraction as hailed by the Ancient Yogi-Philosophers of India called the Vastu Purusha Mandala (VPM). And two, the idea of the Anthropic Principle (AP) as highlighted by scientists from the Modern Scientific west. Interestingly, the two are highly complementary, and they share something very special in common, which is the very 'spirit of humankind', - a witness to and a participant within a built-environment that is designed

for evolution, innovation, and creative leap. The first part of the article forwards a brief on the idea of VPM. The second part presents a review of the anthropic principle, with finally, a concluding note on their commonality and convergence.

The Mandala: The symbolic and psychic essence

The Mandala is a sacred diagram meaning a 'circle'. When first, within the components or levels of interaction at a particular level, and then within the linkages between various levels, a harmony is gradually reached, then such an ideal harmonious inter-linkage representing the entire hierarchy of levels is called the Mandala.

Strictly speaking, the word Mandala means 'Circle'. It is generally represented as a complex pattern of drawing. Throughout ancient Asiatic civilizations like India, China and the ancient Near east (mainly Persia), Mandala has been depicted as an ideal concept of Order, both at the Universal (also known as macrocosm) and the individual (also known as the microcosm) planes and also in terms of the inter-relationship between the two. Mandala has traditionally maintained an ideal connection between relative states or strands of energy systems. If these strands are seen separately it may be a Chaos and if seen in conjunction like the concentricity of strands centering a common origin then it is the state of ideal Order.

PART ONE

The Altar: a physical expression

The idea of VPM originated from the Vedic Altar. The Vedic Altar is an external symbol of sacrifice. It is the designed instrument or environment (Yantra: Rig Veda: 1.34.1) through which a sacrificial offering of the personal-individual is forwarded towards the realization of the universal – the eternal and the impersonal.

The Vedic Altar is the integrity of three levels, namely the personal-individual (the anthropo-morphic or rupa), the universal (the Cosmo-morphic or arupa) and the beyond, which is the impersonal (the amorphic - beyond). In other words, the first is the Purusha, the individual spirit; the second, the framework of cosmic space, the vastu; and third, the circuit or network of all-embracing energy, absolute – the Mandala.


PAPERS

Squares and circles are the basis of VPM. It is thus said:

'Although Vastu may have varied shapes to suit specific design situations, the square is the most preferred shape of the mandala in vastu-shastras. Mythologically, square is the shape of VAJRA, the weapon given to Indra by Viswakarma-Twastha. Earth is described as four-corned. The square fire-altar is another sanctified form of this shape. The square may be microscopic in size in case of minute ornamental patterns or macroscopic in magnitude as in city layouts……A square may be defined with reference to two axes (orthogonals). One of the axes is W-E line the Brahmasutra and the other S-N line the Yamasutra…… The diagonal lines (Karnasutra) indicate the corner directions……the set of orthogonals and diagonals give intersection points called Marmas. The significance of the marma lies in the fact the they are considered as sensitive spots which must not be hurt or interrupted (vedha) by any construction. ……the concept of marma and the restriction on the marma-vedha is partly technical and partly mysterious.'

Balagopal T. S. Prabhu and A. AchyuthanChapter Eight

A Text Book on Vastu Vidya

Ultimately, the role of designed environment and designer's spirit is in unison, seen in harmony, which is the basis of the VPM. So it is with the Anthropic Principle (AP). The next part reviews the AP.

PART TWO

The Scientist's Anthropic Principle

Stephen Hawking (1993) in his book 'Black Hole and Baby Universes' have set defined 'the anthropic principle', which is said, 'Things are as they are because we are'. There are two great thinkers who promoted this idea a century back. They are Poet Rabindranath Tagore and Scientist Albert Einstein.

The Tagore-Einstein dialogue on the Anthropic Principle

In 1930, Poet Rabindranath Tagore (T) and Physicist Albert Einstein (E) had a discussion, which is closest to the anthropic principle. We present parts of that historic dialogue.

Einstein: There are two different conceptions about the nature of the Universe: a) The world as a unity dependent on humanity; and b) The world as a reality independent of the human factor. Tagore: When our universe is in harmony with Man, the eternal, we know it as truth and we feel it as beauty.

Einstein: This is purely a human conception of the universe.Tagore: There can be no other conception. This world is a

human world - the scientific view of it is also that of the scientific man. There is some standard reason and enjoyment, which gives it truth, the standard of the eternal man whose experiences are through our experiences.

Einstein: Truth, then, or Beauty, is not independent of Man?Tagore: No.

Einstein: If there would be no human beings any longer, the Apollo of Belvedere would no longer be beautiful?Tagore: No…………….there is the reality of paper, infinitely different from the reality of literature. For the kind of mind possessed by the Moth, which eats that paper, literature is absolutely non-existent, yet for Man's mind literature has a greater value of truth than the paper itself. In a similar manner, if there be some truth which has no sensuous or rational relation to human mind it will even remain as nothing so long as we remain human beings.

Finally two great minds were in perfect agreement on a world view as a unity and dependent on the human perception.

Timothy Ferris talks about a gradation of anthropic principle. Ferris says that 'nowadays the anthropic principle comes in three flavors - weak, strong and 'participatory'.

· The weak Anthropic Principle (WAP) simply states a minimal or limited human development that allows the emergence of life.

· The strong version (SAP) goes further: it declares that the universe must be constrained so as to allow for life or the universe must be such as to admit the creation of observers within it. In other words, if there are no observers, then there are no universes. So human perception becomes predominant.

· The participatory (PAP) is principally due to John Wheeler. It emphasizes the role of Quantum observer-ship in resolving potentiality into actuality and at tempts to construct a new conception of the universe as observer-dependent. On this Hawking further adds that the Anthropic Principle can be given a precise formulation, and it seems to be essential when dealing with the origin of the Universe.


PAPERS

CONCLUSION

As Werner Heisenberg had said: 'It is probably true quite generally that in the history of human thinking the most fruitful developments frequently take place at those points where two different lines of thought meet.'; Accordingly, when the two apparently different concepts of the VPM and the AP are integrated, a fruitful realization emerges. It is the realization once hailed by the Ancient Indian poet-seers, and recognized later by Greek Philosophers like Protogoras, who had said 'Man is the measure of all things'. It is the old Milesian idea of the unity of the Microcosm and the Macrocosm that Leonardo Da Vinci had later celebrated promoting Renaissance in Europe.

The present article has just initiated the idea – the wisdom of convergence. To the flying insect, a Moth, it is only a crumpled piece of paper, a source of food, from whatever book it may be; but to the conscious elevated human mind, the paper has written lines written on it which is perhaps poety, having the experience of delight, i.e., rasa or aesthetics. That creative delight, that delight of experience is Tagore's Anthropic Principle to which Einstein agreed. Decades later, it was expanded by Stephen Hawking and others amidst our own times. But in the ancient Indian language of architecture per se, it is the Vastu Purusha Mandala. It is a conscious circuit that in embedded in our designs of innovative environment and also in our conscious passionate experience as designers-participators, as realized and reinstated, say in the words of architect Louis I Kahn.


PAPERS

Historically, it has been the role of architects, planners, and

designers to interpret the needs, wishes, and capabilities

of those who will use their buildings. Today, a need has

been felt for specialized behavioral sophistication in facility

design to properly determine functional and ergonomic

requirements and to translate them into the language of

design and ultimately into bricks, mortar, and operating

practices. The subject which deals with all these issues is

known as “Environmental Psychology.”

The first significant findings regarding this interrelationship

between environment and human behavior can be traced

back to the research work by environmental psychologist

Roger Baker (Kansas 1947). It has been hypothesized

that environment influences behavior at several levels.

Immediate behavior is a function of the settings in which it

occurs. For example, the arrangement of furniture in a

room influences the way in which people in the room

interact. The personality of people in a country is shaped

by the nature and type of environment to which they are

subjected for long periods of time. This is quite natural that

a few categories of buildings will have greater influence on

human behavior where more number of people of different

types spend some time or which are used quite frequently.

Till date, main focus in the field of environmental

psychology for building design had been on measurement

and evaluation of thermal conditions, light, sound, and

contents of indoor air quality. But extensive research is

required involving a wider range of activities and

responses that may require more complex explanations.

Methods should include observations, interviews, and

activity or behavior mapping as tools for understanding

behavior of people in a practical situation and for

determining user preference or attitude.

The basis for such research is the concept of behavioural

realism, which is based on the premise that as a display

better approximates the environment it represents, an

observer's responses to stimuli within the display will tend

to approximate those which he or she would exhibit

in response to the environment itself. To procure

behavioural realism, it is required to present a

sensorial r ich and perceptually realistic

environment that would facilitate natural interaction

between the user and the environment (as well as

objects in it). Through the use of advanced software

in the field of 3 – D modeling and rendering, it is

expected that 'the ultimate representational system

would allow the observer to interact “naturally” with

objects and other individuals within a simulated

environment or “wor ld” , an exper ience

indistinguishable from “normal reality”.

Every human being is a personality determined by

the micro-environment in which he or she grows up

& lives. The environment could be stimulating, a

source of orientation and security and at the same

time an enemy in case it has many barriers. The

behavior of a human being is the external

manifestation of his inner state of affairs.

Behaviorists describe the behavior of organism as a

variable dependent upon the factors, which affect

the organism from outside (stimuli). If a person is

stressed the effect can be seen in the way he

behaves.

The Interactional Model of Behavior has been

represented in Kurt Lewin's (1951) equation, which

states that behavior is a function of both person and

environment. The relative ability of personal and

environmental variables to predict behavior will

depend on the specific environmental variable

studied or the particular individual characteristics

sampled. In other words, ideally there should be a

system of balance between the needs of a person

and the immediate environment. If the environment

is unable to respond to the requirements of the

users they get stressed.

Application of the principles of Environmental Psychology in Architecture – role of Virtual Environment in

Environmental Simulation

Haimanti Banerji

Associate ProfessorDepartment of Architecture and Regional Planning

Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur


PAPERS

However 'Stress' is a difficult concept to define, mainly

because it means different things to different people.

Goetsch and Fuller (1995 cited in Gross, 1996) have

perceived in three ways: - stress as a stimulus; stress as

a response; and, stress as interaction between an

organism and its environment. Lazarus (1966 cited in

Gross, 1996) says that individuals differ in what they see

as a 'stressor'. There exists a transactional model of

Person-Environment (PE) stress which is intended to

describe stress as a part of the complex and dynamic

system of transactions between an individual and his/her

environment. This PE model states that the individual's

background and capability should be matched with the

demands of the environment (Karasek and Theorell,

1990). With the help of knowledge in Environmental

Psychology, one can design, manage, protect and/or

restore environments that enhance reasonable

behavior, predict what the likely outcome will be when

these conditions are not met, and diagnose problem

situations. The built environment affects the attitude and

behavior of people through the processes of sensation,

perception, and cognition. It is a proven fact that stress

increases person's responses to the environment

(Danielsson, 2005). The physical environment can

reduce or modify the environmental stressors to affect

people's attitudes.

According to many environmental psychologists, much

of the research in this field should involve naturalistic

studies of behavior in environments and settings chosen

for study. These are likely to be outside the laboratory,

since environmental effects on behavior are important.

However, for a variety of reasons, researchers are often

not able to do field study. The appropriate settings may

not be available, the logistics of doing a field study may

be too great, or sufficient control may not be attainable.

This is why many researchers employ environmental

simulations. By simulating the essential elements of a

naturalistic setting in a laboratory, one increases

experiential realism and external validity, while

experimental rigor is retained.

Virtual environments have the potential to become

important new research tools in environment behaviour

research. Virtual Environments (VEs) have matured

considerably in the past decade although there

still is a diversity of technological problems to

overcome. A VE is an artificial world, created with

computers, which can give the observer a sense

of 'being there' (presence) in the environment.

The artificial world can be presented visually on a

desktop display, a head-mounted display, or on

one or more projection displays, sometimes

combined with (spatialized) audio, haptic

feedback and sometimes even scents or thermal

cues (Ellis, 1991). With the development of these

types of media, the potential to provide viewers

with an accurate representation of non-mediated

experience has increased significantly. These

mediated environments are thus able to provoke

responses and behaviour similar to those

portrayed in real environments (Lombard, 1995).

The capacity to generate highly realistic

simulations has prospered with increasing

computer power and sophistication in rendering

algorithms. Consequently, computer simulations

of environments (CSE) are now indispensable

tools for many professionals such as architects,

landscape planners, environmental researchers

and so on.

An Immersive Virtual Environment (IVE) is one

in which the user is surrounded by the VE. There

are two usual implementation of IVE. The first of

these involves placing multiple projection screens

and loudspeakers around the user. A popular

method involves back-projecting the computer-

generated visual imagery onto translucent walls

and floor of a moderately sized cubical room in

which the user is free to move. The shutters and

glasses are provided so that there is a

stereoscopic simulation and the users see the VE

not as projection but as solid 3 – D structure within

or outside the cube.


PAPERS

The second and more common implementation of an IVE involves the use of a Head-Mounted Display (HMD), used in conjunction with a computer and a head tracker. The head tracker measures the changing position and orientation of the user's head within the physical environment, the information that gets communicated to the rendering computer. Within the computer, a 3 – D representation of the simulated environment is already stored in. Based on the position and orientation of the user's head, the computer generates visual and auditory imagery to the user's HMD. The HMD consists of earphones and video displays attached to a support worn on the head. Virtual or “spatialized” sound is created by using special purpose hardware and software that generates signals typically presented by earphones. The result is that the user hears sound appearing to emanate from surrounding auditory space.

In the typical IVE implementation using an HMD, the

user is visually isolated from the real environment.

Augmented reality (mixed reality) avoids this isolation

by permitting the user to see both the real

environment and the virtual environment. The area of

visual space perception has benefited and will

continue to benefit from the use of IVE technology.

One important reason is that in comparison with more

conventional 3 – D computer graphics displayed on

desktop CRTs, a HMD can provide the user the

perceptual experience of being inside a large scale

environment. It has also been established that IVE

have no role in phobia desensitization.

No mode can completely match the perceptions

created by the actual environment. But there are

reasonable studies already conducted in this field

which says that an environmental simulation should

evoke a similar set of responses as would a direct

experience of the same environment. CSE's are

acceptable to most people as understandable and

sufficiently informative 'portrait' of an area and its

main characteristics, even though they are quite

aware of limitations if compared to the information

provided by a video or an actual site visit.

References 1. Appleyard, D. & Craik, K. H. (1978). The

Berkeley Environmental Simulat ion Laboratory and its research programme. International Review of Applied Psychology, 27, 53-55.

2. Bechtel, Robert B. and Churchman Arza

(2002), Handbook of Environmental Psychology, John Wiley & sons, inc., New York

3. Danielsson, C., 2005. Environmental stressors and their effects on health, creativity and interaction, [online] Available f r o m : http://qhr.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/15/4/502.

4. Ellis, S. R. (1991). Nature and origin of virtual environments: a bibliographical essay. Computer Systems in Engineering, 2, 321-346.

5. Evan Gary. W. and Mc Coy. J.M., 1998. When Buildings Don't Work: The Role of Architecture in Human Health. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 18, pp. 85 – 94.

6. Groat, L. and Wang, D., 2002. Architectural Research Methods. USA: John Wiley and Sons.

7. Gross, R., 2001. Psychology: The Science of Mind and Behaviour. London: Hodder and Stoughton

8. Lewin, K., 1951. Field theory in social science. In D. Cartwright, ed. Selected Theoretical Papers. New York: Harper & Row.Lombard, M. (1995). Direct responses to people on

9. screen: Television and personal space. Communication Research, Vol. 22 (3), 288-324.

10. Lombard, M., & Ditton, T. (1997). At the heart of it all : The concept of presence. J o u r n a l o f C o m p u t e r M e d i a t e d Communication, 3(2).

11. Kaplan, R., Kaplan, S., & Deardorff, H. L. (1974). The perception and evaluation of a simulated environment. Man-Environment Systems, 4, 191-192.

12. Kaplan, R. (1993). Physical models in decision making for design; Theoretical and methodological issues, in R. W. Marans & D. Stokols (Eds.), Environmental Simulation; Research and Policy Issues (pp. 61-86). New York: Plenum Press.

13. Karasek R. A. and Theorell, T., 1990. Healthy Work. New York: Basic Books

14. Loomis, J. M. & Blascovich, J. J. (1999). Immersive Virtual Environment Technology as a Basic Research Tool in Psychology, Behavior Research Methods, Instruments and Computers, 31(4), (pp. 557- 564). USA.

15. A research report on “Virtual environments as research tools for environmental psychology: A study of the comparability of real and virtual environments” by Yvonne A.W. Slangen- de Kort, Wijnand A. IJsselsteijn, Jolien Kooijman and Yvon Schuurmans, Eindhoven University of Technology.


PAPERS

ZONASA 2010 - a flashback

Preparations for Zonal NASA Convention 2010 kicked off with the commencement of the academic session 2010-11. This time too, the fervour, the anxiety, the ‘tempo’ was at its maxima. But the goal was not winning. This time we had a greater responsibility to fulfil. IIT Kharagpur, one of the oldest architecture colleges in the country and one of the founding members of National Association of Students’ of Architecture, had taken upon itself the daunting task of hosting ZoNASA 2010 for Zone 4. It had been a long wait for 6 years and although the momentum only gathered in the month of July, the gears had begun to move a long time ago. This was a show where not even the slightest of callousness could be afforded. IIT Kharagpur had in the form of a wonderful state the art infrastructure, a far-fetched reputation and a large pool of illustrious alumni, all the possible back-ups to give to its department of Architecture and Regional Planning.

ZoNASA has always been an endeared occasion for an architecture student. It is not just a fest. It is a grooming platform for the budding architects, where not only is learning from the studio shared to evoke an atmosphere of creativity, innovation and fun. It is also an exhibition of knowledge beyond the studio, in the real world, for passing on to the architects of tomorrow . This year, ZoNASA is all set to be bigger and better than ever before, with a host of new events and competitions waiting to be launched, which would cover diverse areas from Technical to Cultural and even Online.

The fest was a three day extravaganza from 3rd to 5th September 2011 - an amalgamation of events of various genres ranging from architectural design to fine and allied arts and even literary and dramatic events. No matter what talent lay in a person, we had a challenge awaiting him to tap his resources. There was Main Design, Landscape Design, Interior Design , Product Design and the other Formal Events. With these were the Informal and the Casual Events, ensuring that there is no sacrifice on the aspect of a fest. At the end of the show, you could not help saying that you had taken your deepest plunge so far ,in your college life, into the world of architecture.

With eleven colleges ready to sweat it out for the prestigious trophy, the fest kicked off on a sparkling note with the batteries getting charged to the full from an electrifying choreography performance by our department’s first years and a wonderful dance rendition from the Technology Dance Group of IIT Kharagpur. The sizzle in the air at the end of the night clearly was going to stay for the next three days.

Adding to the flavour was the theme for ZoNASA 2010 : TATSAM-TATBHAV. An interplay of the source and the derived is one of the most profound ‘mantras’ in the field of architecture, where inspirations can be abstracted form diverse origins- form a petty termite hill or a bird’s nest to the spiritual qualities of Light and Sound and the myriad colours.

It was an experience for us to cherish because for many it was a one time opportunity of conducting such a big event and successfully maintaining its grandeur. Our department is regarded as the most vibrant and an ever-active department in IIT Kharagpur. It was truly exemplified in those 3 days with almost everybody associated with the department sucked into a hectic schedule and constantly running hither and tither to ensure that not even the slightest of hitch occurs. No doubt we would not have dared to conduct this event if it had not been for our wonderful seniors and professors.

Nothing can match the satisfaction felt after seeing your guests satisfied. ZoNASA 2010 culminated into a bigger success than we thought it would be. Those were days that are still etched fresh in our memory . Everything attached with ZoNASA 2010 , the pleasant and the not so pleasant memories alike, bear a special charm now.

With the role of a host performed, we are now raring to go all guns blazing at ZoNASA 2011. Get ready CET Bhubaneshwar !!!


Zonasa 2010G limpses

of

W INNERS

BIT MESRA

CHOREO

ARCHUMEN

DepartmentActivities

NASA

2011

FAREWELL

2011

FRESHERS’

INTRO

HOL I

CELEBRAT ION

Yoarchi !!!

ANKUR MANCHANDAEcker Architekten, Buchen, Germany

I underwent my training at Ecker Architekten, Buchen, Germany. I was heading all the 3D and rendering related

work in the office and my work involved continuous update of the 3D work in coherence with the development of the

plan so as to find any problems in real time construction and to tackle any conflicts henceforth. I also made their first

ever V-Ray Manual so that my knowledge could be transferred to their upcoming interns. There were 4 projects in

which I had a considerable share of contribution. They were Eckenberg Gymnasium, Designboom Handle Design

Competetion, Sonnengarten - Old Age Home, Haus Galm and Haus Göbel. When I look back at the office

environment, the exposure of which is absolutely indispensable as a part of the academic curriculum, i realize that it

was truly an amazingly hard yet adventurous journey, challenging my potentials and pushing me further and

further. I feel my understanding of architecture too has changed a lot.

SUDHIR BOMMUARUP, Singapore

I interned at ARUP, Singapore. My work dealt with Sports Architecture & Building Envelope Design & Engineering

and the project I was involved in directly was Singapore Sports Hub. It was a remarkable professional experience I

gained as I got an overview of the practical scenario of getting to work in multi disciplined fields-Sports, Facade,

Environmentally Sustainable Design, Lighting, Energy Analysis and Structural Detailing. The work atmosphere

was excellent- extremely encouraging and supportive. After this experience, all that I would give to my juniors is

that We must make best use of our technical skill set that we gain in IIT and use it in the fields of Archi and related.

That is what the industry is looking forward for.

MEGHA CHAMARIADennis Lau and Ng Chun Architects, Hong Kong

I worked with Dennis Lau and Ng Chun Man Architects and Engineers, Hong Kong. Work was fun midst tough hierarchical

office system. I was assigned directly under one of the directors who had his own way of getting the work done. He used to

interpret client's demands whenever he/they wanted a change, and I would come to his rescue to execute it given my little

knowledge on recent software. The projects I was involved in were all in different stages of design and construction I got a

fair idea about the kind of Architecture practiced in Hong Kong and China- Skyscrapers, Tall Towers, Commercial

Establishments- And all futuristic. When I look back at those six months, i feel that i gained my confidence back in

Architecture after that wonderful period. Apart from work this internship gave me to explore the little Indian Town in China

and i must say that we are all asians. Would you believe if I say even they perform 'Bhoomi-Pooja" before construction but

celebrate it with Pork-Chop. The work environment was stressful at times, spiced with the whimsical nature of bosses, but

that's what professional life is all about. Work flow wasn't different from a studio assignment. Client->Boss->Library-

>Google->Seniors->Desktop->Boss->Client. But that is the way.


INTERNSHIP eXPERIENCE

PRIYANKA RAJUNID, Ahmedabad

I interned under Prof. PRK Rao, Furniture and Interior Design department at NID, Ahmedabad. My works there was to initially provide a detailed documentation of a furniture prototype developed by students at NID and design and build a piece of my own. I worked with a Danish Cow Horn Chair, a classic by Hans J Wagner, in the process understanding the Danish design principles, seating ergonomics, furniture detailing and joinery. Interacting with the students and faculty from all fields of design and the work environment at NID was inspiring.

AAKASH SAXENAHarvard Graduate School of Design, Boston

I went to Harvard Graduate School of Design for my summers. I learnt a lot during my 6 weeks of internship about types of spaces, forms, development of forms and spaces through rigorous discussion between students and professors. I did 3 design projects. One was a basic introductory one about the spaces and how space can be interpreted. Projects were in their gradual increment of complexity with the third one to be the lengthiest one. I found that doing many projects at a time is a waste of time but doing a single project and taking it to the research level makes you learn a lot. I knew a little about parametric analysis but there i saw real time projects on those principles of parametric design and actually i got affection for it and also liked the idea of how a design will look if there are fewer constraints into it. With a really well-equipped library and a highly advanced computer lab, Harvard has an unimaginable stock of resources to offer if you can grasp it. I look forward to go to Harvard Graduate School of Design again for my further studies.


INTERNSHIP eXPERIENCE

AKHILA ADUSUMILLIClark Llyod designers, Hyderabad

I worked as a trainee architect at clark Llyod designers pvt ltd from the period my-July 2011. I gained practical knowledge and experience on the job situations. I had to do quick submissions with only a little guidance and preference. I also got an opportunity for a presentation and we had won the bid. Cost estimation with the contractors was one important thing which I learnt. I mostly worked with landscaping, tile-designing, interiors, sketch-up box models and photoshop presentations. I learnt to manage my work in a professional environment.

YearBook

Krush DattaniCONTACT - [email protected] PLANS - Design.Build.Marry ;) ADVICE - always keep clarity in what you think, say and do, you will get through whatever you plan. PUNCHLINE - dost! itna toh banta hai...

Megha Chamaria

CONTACT - [email protected] PLANS - Design.Build.Marry ;) ADVICE - whatever it takes, stay happy!PUNCHLINE- assam se bomb girega tere sir pe!

Konda SriharshaCONTACT - [email protected]

FUTURE PLANS - looking for a Highly paid - Peace Maar JOB

ADVICE - No matter how GIFTED , You alone can't change the world.

PUNCHLINE - hmmm.....

Surya Bhargava

CONTACT - [email protected] PLANS - only plans ? no Sections and elevations ?ADVICE - It's not who you are that holds you back, it's who you think you're not.PUNCHLINE - sala mere saath hi aisa kyun hota hai , abey chal cricket khelte hai , abey patte khelega?

Kamal Kant Mudaliar

CONTACT - [email protected] FUTURE PLANS -To be on the Forbes list ( too much right?)....

ok then, for now get a job........ ADVICE - 1) Your decisions decide your destination, take them wisely

2.) Believe in yourself more than in anything else, never lose hope and yeah...DREAM ON....

PUNCHLINE - simple sa funda hai boss...maza to aayega....

Jyotika GuptaCONTACT - [email protected]

FUTURE PLANS -Lets see :) ADVICE -Always believe in what you do

PUNCHLINE -CCD chalo!! :P

Guj

juM

udduPa

nduTika

Sury

aC

ham

adi

a

Archilliesbatch of 2012...

. Ravichandra Sadhu

CONTACT - [email protected] PLANS - Life is small.. I tend to keep it 'Simple'

and 'Balanced' ADVICE - Be sincere in what ever u do...

"Keep it Low.. Rock the Show" !PUNCHLINE -abey mazzaq chel rehe hai kay

Avakash Kumar

CONTACT - [email protected] FUTURE PLANS -Time will tell

ADVICE -Anything and everything you do should be from the heart PUNCHLINE - abe muddua ko nahin leke aaye be , koi matlab nahin banta

hai, sar phat raha hai , "matha na kharab karo, kehe de rahe hai"

Sonam Raghuwanshi

CONTACT - [email protected] PLANS - to be happy and satisfied! ADVICE - Live Life Without Regrets!PUNCHLINE - 3H: Hurrr!!, Hadd hai..!!,Horrible!!

Sudhir Bommu

CONTACT - [email protected] FUTURE PLANS -One or two years of work

and then a masters ADVICE -Dream big-

PUNCHLINE -Abhey!!!-

Shalu Mitruka

CONTACT - [email protected] PLANS - EntrepreneurADVICE - Always feel , u wear an invisible Crown !!!!PUNCHLINE - Mein miss universe hu :DDD

Ravikanth Pamidimukkala

CONTACT - [email protected] PLANS - A career in architecture and allied fieldsADVICE - Live your passion and success shall follow.PUNCHLINE - I'll tell you one thing...

Mous

iSa

alu

Pam

mi

Sadhu ra

Bom

mu

Gaali

Prashant Kumar Aanand

CONTACT - [email protected] PLANS - OOPS

ADVICE - Plan according to your goal, act according to the situation.

PUNCHLINE - mere ko sab pata hai ....he he he

Lukka Shiva Chetan

CONTACT - [email protected] FUTURE PLANS - Still driftingADVICE - PUNCHLINE - i have a point , anybody for kolaghat

never say no to anything twice :) (18 till I die)

Thulasi J NambiarCONTACT - [email protected] PLANS - Never let any rule define you, and don't underestimate the beauty of existence, for living is the happiest thing.ADVICE - To see the world in a grain of sand, and to see heaven in a wild flower, hold infinity in the palm of your hands, and eternity in an hourPUNCHLINE - chalo nescafe chalte hain.

Somnath Meher

CONTACT - [email protected] PLANS - To watch sun go down the Caribbean coast with Corsican wine in one hand, a beautiful companion in another, some music, lot of smiles, and lose all track of time and world as the evening breeze strikes across the face.ADVICE - There are good things in life, there are not so good things in life, and then, there is life. Make the most of that last bit.PUNCHLINE - Arri Saala

Abhirajika AgarwalCONTACT - [email protected] PLANS - time will tell..ADVICE - believe in what you understand.PUNCHLINE - .. umm..I don't know.

Adhithi Shwetha AadhiCONTACT - [email protected]

FUTURE PLANS -Where the winds take and the waves push..! ADVICE -know urself..!

PUNCHLINE -mujhe ghar jana hai!

Ankur Manchanda

CONTACT - [email protected] FUTURE PLANS -to learn about my future

ADVICE - try to flow with the system not against it and start working now instead of waiting for the right time

PUNCHLINE -accha kaam karna hai be, bhak saala

Lukk

aThu

laSS

iJika

Som

uO

dhithiG

.O.D

Cha

cha

Amar Deep GuptaCONTACT - [email protected] PLANS - Writing/AcademiaADVICE - Despise everything which merely instructs you without increasing or immediately enlivening your activity, and realize your actual stronghold as an individual by experimenting with the avenues within and beyond the campusPUNCHLINE - I will not miss any of the classes from now on, sir.

Shilpa Sinha

CONTACT - [email protected] FUTURE PLANS - 1st...2nd.. 3rd...till infinity....Can give you only the

total number, other details are top secret. Sorry, cannot disclose in here :haha

ADVICE - 1. Fake it till you make it! :) 2. Stay happy n LOL often! :D 3. Whatever happens, make best of it! ;)

PUNCHLINE -mujhe sona hai yaar...tempo nahin hai yaar

Akanksha SwarnimCONTACT - [email protected]

FUTURE PLANS -Job ADVICE -Do whatever you love! & Love whatever you do

PUNCHLINE -Aaj tu bahoth achchi lag rahi hai!! <a big smile!>

Archilliesbatch of 2012...

Bachp

an

Sarnim

Sinhaji

EDEN CITY GROUP -a Vote of thanks

About Eden City Group:

The Eden City Group has been formed with an objective to develop quality infrastructure and real estate projects. Based out of Kolkata, India, the corporate office of the group is present in one of Kolkata's landmark buildings - The Metropolitan Building. The Eden City Group has its foundations in five companies and SPVs that have various realty projects in their anvil. They are:

1. Eden Realty Ventures Pvt. Ltd.2. Eden Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd.3. Eden Real Estates Pvt. Ltd.4. Eden Infraprojects Pvt. Ltd

. 5. Bengal Salarpuria Eden Infrastructure Development Company Pvt. Ltd.We at Eden City Group strongly believe in extending total quality at the most granular level of each individual project. Each project incorporates the most arduous standards of material and construction quality in order to endow it with once-in-a-lifetime investment value.

A window waiting for eyes to look across the distance. A park bench dreaming of the lovers who will hold hands there. A light reaching across time. A space, which lives and breathes. Which creates its own memories. Living space that deserves to be treated and developed with respect. Our envisioned world is finally about to herald upon this Earth. Eden City is a sizeable housing project in South Kolkata, funded through Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Located at Maheshtala, approximately 800 m from Nungi Suburban Railway Station and 12 Km from Taratala Junction ,The project is being developed through Public Private Partnership model with Maheshtala Municipality. London Based REIT Asset Management is the FDI partner in the project.The project is spread over 22 acres of land with high rise buildings that include several G+7 & G+15 towers and comprise a total of 2188 MIG & HIG flats. All apartments would offer 2 to 3 bedrooms. The sprawling complex will also have a residents’ club with swimming pool, community halls, children’s play area, landscaped garden and a 78% open space.

We understand the value of your hard earned money. No wonder we have an immaculate eye for refinement - breathing space into thousands of lives in Eastern India. And put care and concern into each and everything that they build.

Metropolitan Buiding,7, Jawaharlal Nehru Road, Kolkata - 700013, India

Phone : + 91 33 66054100, Fax : + 91 33 22289805

Sthapati 2011

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