VOL 26 (10)
JUNE 2013
` 200
MUMBAI
INDIAN ARCHITECT & BUILDER
In Conversation Pradeep Sachdeva, Pradeep Sachdeva Design Associates Architecture Samode Safari Lodge, Bandhavgarh: Pradeep Sachdeva Design Associates Primary Healthcare Centre, Dharmapuri: Flying Elephant Studio The Future Kids School, Hyderabad: Kruthica Book Review David Adjaye: Authoring: Re-placing Art and Architecture Space Frames Digging Deep: Ashraful Awal (Mishuk)
Image Š courtesy Flying Elephant Studio l Manoj Sudhakaran
Ethos Crossing of Cultures
VOL 26 (10) | JUNE 2013 | ` 200 | MUMBAI RNI Registration No. 46976/87, ISSN 0971-5509 INDIAN ARCHITECT AND BUILDER
EXPLORE
26 CURRENT
Chairman: Jasu Shah Printer, Publisher & Editor: Maulik Jasubhai Shah Chief Executive Officer: Hemant Shetty EDITORIAL Assistant Editors: Maanasi Hattangadi, Ruturaj Parikh Writers: Rashmi Naicker (Online), Shalmali Wagle Editorial Co-ordinator: Parikshit Vivekanand Design Team: Mansi Chikani, Prasenjit Bhowmick, Kenneth Menezes Event Management Team: Abhay Dalvi, Abhijeet Mirashi Subscription: Dilip Parab, Deven Arora Production Team: V Raj Misquitta (Head), Prakash Nerkar, Arun Madye Head Office: JMPL, 210, Taj Building, 3rd Floor, Dr. D. N. Road, Fort, Mumbai 400 001, Tel: +91-22- 4213 6400,+ 91 -22-4037 3636, Fax: +91-22-4037 3635 SALES Brand Manager: Sudhanshu Nagar E-mail: sudhanshu_nagar@jasubhai.com MARKETING TEAM & OFFICES Sales Co-ordinator: Christina D’sa E-mail: Christina_dsa@jasubhai.com Mumbai Parvez Memon 210, Taj Building, 3rd Floor, Dr. D. N. Road, Fort, Mumbai 400 001, Tel: +91-22- 4213 6400,+ 91 -22-4037 3636, Fax: +91-22-4037 3635 Email: parvez_memon@jasubhai.com Delhi: Preeti Singh / Manu Raj Singhal 803, Chiranjeev Tower, No 43, Nehru Place, New Delhi – 110 019 Tel: 011 2623 5332, Fax: 011 2642 7404, E-mail: preeti_singh@jasubhai.com, manu_singhal@jasubhai.com Gujarat: Parvez Memon Mobile: 09769758712, Email: parvez_memon@jasubhai.com Bengaluru/ Hyderabad: Sudhanshu Nagar Mobile: 09833104834, E-mail: sudhanshu_nagar@jasubhai.com Chennai / Coimbatore: Princebel M Mobile: 09444728035, 09823410712 E-mail: princebel_m@jasubhai.com
Au courant updates on events, exhibitions, competitions and news.
30 PRODUCTS
Objects and details designed for architectural settings from across the globe.
36
IN CONVERSATION
Relevance & Responsibility
Pradeep Sachdeva, Founder & Principal of Pradeep Sachdeva Design Associates,
emphasises the need for sensitive and contextual architecture while
balancing tradition and the contemporary in a design, in a stimulating
dialogue with IA&B.
40
CONSTRUCTION BRIEF
and Management
Student Housing for Integrated Institute for Learning
The various combinations of open spaces are skilfully shielded from Delhi’s
extreme climate in the compact modules of the Student Accommodation for the
Integrated Institute for Learning and Management designed by Morphogenesis
in Greater Noida.
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PRITZKER ARCHITECTURE PRIZE
Exploring the purity through innovation in Toyo Ito’s broad spectrum of work
in the wake of him being honoured as the 2013 Laureate of the prestigious
Pritzker Architecture Prize.
Obliterating the Obvious
50 ARCHITECTURE Idylls of Context
As a derivative of the context, the Samode Safari Lodge designed by
Delhi-based Pradeep Sachdeva Design Associates establishes a sense of
Pune: Parvez Memon Mobile: 09769758712, Email: parvez_memon@jasubhai.com
belonging while creating a contemplative ambience for its guests.
60
Poetics of the Ordinary
Printed & Published by Maulik Jasubhai Shah on behalf of Jasubhai Media Pvt. Ltd (JMPL), 26, Maker Chamber VI, Nariman Point, Mumbai 400 021
Order and simplicity manifests as a singular gesture within the fragmented
form of the Future Kids School in Hyderabad by Ar B C Sudhir Reddy, Kruthica.
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Negotiating Contraries
A ‘building within a building’, the Primary Healthcare Centre in Dharmapuri by
Flying Elephant Studio blends the two factors of functionality and context
while drawing from a conventional outlook.
Kolkata: Sudhanshu Nagar Mobile: 09833104834, E-mail: sudhanshu_nagar@jasubhai.com
Printed at M.B.Graphics, B-28 Shri Ram Industrial Estate, ZG.D.Ambekar Marg, Wadala, Mumbai 400031and Published from Mumbai - 3rd Floor, Taj Building, , 210, Dr. D. N. Road, Fort, Mumbai 400 001. Editor: Maulik Jasubhai Shah, 26, Maker Chamber VI, Nariman Point, Mumbai 400 021 Indian Architect & Builder: (ISSN 0971-5509), RNI No 46976/87, is a JMPL monthly publication. Reproduction in any manner, in whole or part, in English or any other language is strictly prohibited. We welcome articles, but do not accept responsibility for contributions lost in the mail.
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BOOK REVIEW
David Adjaye: Authoring: Re-placing Art and Architecture
Through a compilation of interviews, essays, archival material and discussions
of three studios at Princeton School of Architecture, the book presents a
renewed stance on art and architecture while touching upon its extensions in
education, design representation and urbanism.
80
SPACE FRAMES
In this edition of Dr. Mathew’s Space Frames, Bangladeshi photographer
Ashraful Awal (Mishuk) offers a heart-rending portfolio of the struggle
involved in the life of stone mining workers of Bholaganj mines.
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ETHOS
Crossing of Cultures
Crucial to the understanding of Indian architecture is the phenomenon of
cross-pollination of cultures. In this issue, we explore the powerful ideas that
emerge from this juxtaposition of consistent exchange and dialogue.
Digging Deep
Printed & Published by Maulik Jasubhai Shah on behalf of Jasubhai Media Pvt. Ltd (JMPL), 26, Maker Chamber VI, Nariman Point, Mumbai 400 021. Printed at M.B.Graphics, B-28, Shri Ram Industrial Estate, ZG.D.Ambekar Marg, Wadala, Mumbai 400031and Published from Mumbai - 3rd Floor, Taj Building, 210, Dr. D. N. Road, Fort, Mumbai 400 001. Editor: Maulik Jasubhai Shah, 26, Maker Chamber VI, Nariman Point, Mumbai 400 021. Indian Architect & Builder: (ISSN 0971-5509), RNI No 46976/87, is a JMPL monthly publication. Reproduction in any manner, in whole or part, in English or any other language is strictly prohibited. We welcome articles, but do not accept responsibility for contributions lost in the mail.
EXPLORE
36
Relevance & Responsibility With understandings, that balance traditions in design with the contemporary, and spaces, meant not just for sight but for the senses, Pradeep Sachdeva, Founder & Principal of Pradeep Sachdeva Design Associates, reveals the necessity for sensitive and contextual architecture in the country and stresses on the responsibility of the profession to develop well-integrated urban environments, in conversation with IA&B. Images & Sketches: courtesy Pradeep Sachdeva Design Associates (PSDA)
Pradeep Sachdeva initiated his practice, Pradeep Sachdeva Design Associates, in the early 1990s as a small design studio, working mainly on domestic projects. Today, the practice has architects and designers involved in a wide range of projects, from the design of a chair to the redevelopment of a street. With strong ethics of extensive research, sensitive vocabulary and environmental relevance, he is popularly recognised for Dilli Haat and Garden of Five Senses in Delhi, and is responsible for pioneering work in the planning of public spaces and streets in the country. IA&B: Your buildings, in a way, seem to suggest a certain need for simplicity in ‘complex times’. Can you tell us more about this approach? PS: The parameters concerning building design in our age are very large. Apart from physical planning and space organisation, engineering, building regulations, economic and financial considerations etc, you have to factor in aspects of climate, environment, energy, art, and cultural, sociological and historical issues. It is a complex process – putting together all this data and using it in the design of buildings and spaces. It requires teams of skilful people. Often this complexity makes some of our more literate designers obfuscate basic issues and shroud the project with unnecessary jargon. This often leads to completed Indian Architect & Builder - June 2013
in conversation projects that do not serve the original intent and requirements properly. In my opinion, we should first identify the core issues and allow the design to emerge from that, and deliver simple and elegant solutions; a Zen Master approach – get rid of any unnecessary baggage! IA&B: You have previously stated, with reference to your architecture, “The only thing that matters is people. Nothing else matters.” Can you please elaborate on this? PS: I did not mean to be taken literally on that; and it should be seen in the context of architects focussing on design to create iconic symbols for personal glory. Also, in the context of building designs that are driven purely by commercial interest and greed. Buildings should fundamentally be designed keeping in mind the people who are going to use them; and this should be interpreted in a holistic, eco-system sort of a way. A focus on people should also include a focus on land, water and air. It should also imply a concern for other living things, the flora and fauna of the place. IA&B: Architecture as a field involves several diverse segments of interest. What, do you think, defines your niche in the profession? PS: I would not like to be characterised into a niche, but I’d say that whatever we have done, we have tried to be contextual. The relevance of the design has to be intrinsic, not extrinsic – it is not something we impose on the surroundings; and it definitely has to respond to more than merely a physical dimension. It has to reflect a society’s ideas at that particular point of time. In that sense, the effort we put in to achieve this understanding, before we get to the designing table, the amount of research we do before we begin the actual planning and drawing, that’s our real strength. One example I could give to illustrate this is The Garden of Five Senses in New Delhi. Everything we did there, from the selection of plants to the type of stonework to the installation of sculptures – it was done with minimum invasion to the original rocky outcrop. Our idea was to enhance its naturality, not convert the scrubby Aravali landscape into someone’s idea of a Moghul garden. Over the years, this approach has evolved into a search for a design language which is appropriate for this diverse country of ours – something underlying the whole process, a unifying element. IA&B: In your 20 years in practice, what are the major changes contemporary architectural practice has
The Garden of Five Senses, Delhi.
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witnessed? How have these changes impacted architecture in the country? PS: What hasn’t changed in the last 20 years?…the opening up of the Indian economy, its deeper involvement in globalisation, huge technological advances, surging incomes in urban India. It has impacted everything, and certainly, architecture. Change has been as rapid as in most other fields. For one, so much work, including how we produce designs in our studios, is now technology driven. For me, the most remarkable change has been the availability of information, both in terms of quantity and quality of content as well as the speed with which one can access it. Internet has made it almost instantaneous. Communication, e-mail, skype and more advanced methods, has completely changed the way we work. I love this aspect of change. However, there are some things about this that I do not like. The impact on our built structures in the last two decades appears more negative than positive. A lot of new buildings are not designed for our climate and context. It seems to be a case of information overload. We have to remember that technology delivers better tools for better design; it is not a substitute for design skills and ability. IA&B: How, do you think, is context important to the development of architecture? PS: I feel context is very crucial, especially for architecture in the developing world, especially in cities that are evolving into megapolises, with 15 million-plus populations. It is all very nice to design award-winning buildings or borrow highly-futuristic concepts from the West, but what really is needed is common space for heterogeneous populations: rich-poor, urban-rural, skilled-unskilled, and educated-illiterate. Too much new architecture caters to only the first half of these labels. IA&B: The concept of the ‘Dilli Haat’ has received tremendous appreciation. Can you describe the importance of culture in the success of architecture and of architecture in the stimulation of culture? PS: Dilli Haat evolved from a situation that was both time-specific and space-specific. If I were asked to do the project today, something totally different might come up. At the time of its conceptualisation (1992), a lot of traditional hangouts in Delhi had
Dilli Haat Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi.
Indian Architect & Builder - June 2013
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Plazas at Emporia Complex Baba Kharak Singh Marg, New Delhi.
become decadent, nothing new had yet replaced it, and a younger, more demanding, population was emerging. Suddenly, space was available, a covered-up storm drain near INA Market. Everything just fell into place. And, today, Dilli Haat is spawning imitations! IA&B: In a conservation project, you transported an entire 300-year-old house from Trivandrum to Gurgaon. Can you tell us what influenced this tactic and how ‘contextual designing’ still remained relevant? PS: This was something I did on a whim. The house was the family home of a friend who now lives in Boston; he was finding it difficult to maintain it. He did not want to sell it for he feared the buyer would cannibalise it to make door frames and such. The wood perhaps was worth more than the structure. The house was a small jewel and, at that time, it seemed perfectly logical for me to buy it, dismantle it, truck the pieces here beam by beam, floorboard by floorboard, and then reassemble it. I told you earlier about this search for a universal design language and I sensed this was something which would lead me closer to the answer. Some quests are forever and each halting stage is a step closer to the ‘truth’.
Sketch - Redevelopment of Jama Masjid Precinct.
Indian Architect & Builder - June 2013
Sketch - Streetscaping Bhishma Pitahahma Marg, New Delhi.
IA&B: The Jama Masjid Precinct in Delhi is a rather complex urban setting. Can you tell us the challenges and the opportunities that you noticed there in terms of urban renewal? PS: Historically significant spaces which are organic, present a tremendous challenge for urban landscapists. Continually populated for centuries, these spaces grow unregulated and unplanned. The very dynamism that ensures the survival of its population leads to the decay of its physical structures. For us, the challenge to create a sustainable urban environment, which would not only be physically and socially equitable but also be in sympathy with its historical grandeur, was stimulating. Not only would it be the first of a kind, it could be the model for renewal projects in other cities. IA&B: You have previously stated, ‘Architecture has never been simple, no matter how much we try to simplify it.’ Can you please elaborate? PS: Let me give you an analogy. Close your eyes and imagine Sachin Tendulkar playing a cover drive. It seems so simple, right?
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Samode Haveli Swimming Pool.
Everything is in the right place when the ball comes along, the bat meets it full face, and off it goes, screaming to the boundary. There is balance, there is symmetry, there is elegance; it seems so simple. Now try doing it. The thing about good art is you never see the effort which has gone to build the technique that can deliver it. You only see the end product. IA&B: Native art appears to find its place in many of your projects. How, according to you, is place-making important to your approach? PS: I strongly believe that place-making is the key to a convivial city. Many of our projects are anchored in the concept of placemaking; spaces in the public domain that people can enjoy using. This is a personal passion – to work around (mainly) urban spaces and transform them through simple, durable and inexpensive interventions to ‘places’. Often these are technically easy to design and implement. The challenge usually is dealing with the city authorities to cut through the layers of red tape and get the projects off the ground. We have worked closely with local craftspersons and artists in our projects. Their contribution to the projects helps the projects gain a local identity and character. They are a vital part of our culture and require increasing patronage or else the art forms will die forever. Once lost, they will be nearly impossible to revive. IA&B: You have tremendously emphasised on street-scapes and riverfront developments through your work. Can you give us a general reflection on the situation and need in Indian cities? PS: Let me answer these two questions together. In the past decade or so, towns and cities all over India have grown tremendously. Small settlements alongside national highways have become towns, small towns have become bigger towns, and big towns have the populations of cities…Yet, urban infrastructure remains what it was before the boom started. People are becoming richer monetarily, but they are poorer environmentally. The reason for this is the neglect at every stage not just of building bye-laws but the whole concept of public space and urban design. Wherever we have taken up street-scaping and riverfront development projects, be it Nanded or Guwahati or the areas around DDA headquarters in Delhi, the primary objective has been to make public space more friendly to its inhabitants. I feel that all architects, not just those working in the public realm, should be aware of this. What they build does not stand in isolation, it is a part of something, and they can contribute to making
Samode Palace Swimming Pool.
that ‘something’ significantly better. Let me add that design of equitable space on streets is a very important need of the moment for India. Improved walkability, safety, provision of infrastructure for non-motorised vehicles and including hawkers, as part of the design is a key requirement. We have neglected the design of our urban spaces, a large part of which is streets, for too long. Mindful design interventions will change the face of our cities. There is money, which is being spent, yet not through appropriate and contextual design and planning. A strategy on our urban streets can make them the most exciting in the world, especially keeping in view the rich legacy of street culture that we possess. IA&B: Lately, globalisation has come under severe criticism for homogenising architecture. What are your views on the same? PS: I am inclined to agree but with a qualification. It is very important to be aware of the work going on in any part of the world, to see its relevance at both the local and the global level. The key is to make the distinction and also have the insight to understand how well it can be adapted for domestic purposes. Throughout the developing world, people in urban areas have similar problems. It would make sense to see what solutions local architects are coming up with. It is not doing what was done in Beijing during the 2008 Olympics, when Hutongs were demolished, or in Rio de Janeiro, where to prepare for the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games, Favelas are being sanitised. IA&B: Lastly, in contemporary India, whose work you most appreciate? Any specific work/architect? PS: This country is full of inspiring work all over. Many young architects are doing brilliant work. I do not think I can name one single person. The contemporary architecture in India sort of begins with the Golconda Guest House in Pondicherry and it still remains a great example. The traditional buildings in Kerala are so modern in their approach. The times require a whole new approach to how we build and looking at some of the simple and elegant buildings across India remains a great inspiration on building with minimum resources.
The works of Pradeep Sachdeva Deisgn Associates (PSDA) is chronicled in this issue in the article titled ‘Idylls of Context’ on page 50. Indian Architect & Builder - June 2013
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Obliterating the Obvious
The abstract ‘Steel Hut’ at the Toyo Ito Museum of Architecture, 2006—2011, Imabari-shi, Ehime, Japan. © Daici Ano Indian Architect & Builder - June 2013
The architecture of Toyo Ito, 2013 Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate, is purged of all that is apparent in a building through a relentless process of improvisation, elevating the art to its purest state of existence. Text: Ayishwariya Balagopal Images: courtesy The Pritzker Architecture Prize
pritzker architecture prize
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T
oyo Ito’s experimental works are but a reminder of his innovative inventions setting new boundaries for the future of architecture. His designs, each a manifestation of form and concepts conceived with a sense of innocence is truly an encouraging thought for many young architects. As Evolution involves the elimination of the inessential, Ito’s architecture has evolved through time from the opacity of the Aluminium House and the White U (house) into an ethereal presence of advanced tectonics. The concept of evanescence in his design attempts to eliminate the obvious in a building to transpire into projects like the Tower of Winds where the perforated aluminium skin seemingly dissolves into the light or the transparent façade of the Sendai Mediatheque where the interior spaces visually merge with its surrounding. Ito’s future projects seem to bear traces of his work from the past. His endeavours are calculated and cautious as he introduces his latest inventions through smaller projects, attempting them later at a larger scale while preserving the true essence of the design. The minimalist outline of the ‘Silver Hut’ house translates into the Tama Art University Library and exists without usurping the entire volume into opacity, while a replica of the ‘house’ can be seen in the Toyo Ito Museum of Architecture. The structural skin with irregular gashes of the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2002 translated into the facade for the TOD’S Omotesando Building in Tokyo. Indian Architect & Builder - June 2013
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Poetics of the Ordinary
The planning of The Future Kids School is a clustered complex of different masses delineated in the same architectural language.
Understated, a singular gesture despite its splintered massing, true to its context, site and materiality, The Future Kids School in Hyderabad by Ar B C Sudhir Reddy, Kruthica principles an ordered and disarmingly simple experience to contain a progressive educational programme. Text: Maanasi Hattangadi Images & Drawings: courtesy the architect
There’s a little child frolicking through corridors & courtyards, a little child hunched away in the corner with a lunchbox, a child staring out the same windows through his early life. The space enveloping him will remain as a background to these timeless experiences; a space witness to his growth; a space contributing to shaping it. The tools and vocabulary of institution design move beyond the basic planning principles of architecture to lead explorations of the ‘campus’ as environments of cultural nurturing and freedom, as transition spaces of learning emancipation. Ar B C Sudhir Reddy of Kruthica locates them within a quasi-contemporary sectional idea of inclusive cohort of spaces defining The Future Kids School. Off the grid in the burgeoning suburbs of Hyderabad closer to the expressway, The Future Kids School is set in a freer urban Indian Architect & Builder - June 2013
landscape dotted with an occasional cluster of neighbouring buildings. The set of buildings hugs a notional corner of the 2.36 acre site; its architecture subjective to the premise of the institutions values, simplicity and honesty of materials, instilling a functional and well-built, if slightly stolid presence. Unlike the landscape’s open demeanour, one enters into a rather fortressed gate and the introverted character continues on. The thoughtful composition of permeable areas was cultivated in response to the client’s aspirations of a low scale campus that provides education from Grade 1 to 10 combined with open spaces for various activities. The planning over 41288sqft built-up area was curated in two phases; Phase I comprised the construct of Administration & Primary Blocks of 10908sqft, Mid & Senior Level Blocks of 14781sqft, Dining Block of 7739sqft and the Cultural
architecture
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SKETCH: CONCEPT PLAN
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MASTER PLAN Indian Architect & Builder - June 2013
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Block of 7860sqft was realised in Phase II. Stark boulders border the premises. They build upto an aesthetic, a silent recognition of the context. They surround the pockets of architecture betraying its latent potential for co-existence with the context. An idealised environment, there is a substantial shift from the two metre wide road from the entrance to the Dining Block to the secure pedestrian connection that negotiates in the internal areas.
STUDY MODEL
With stress on functionality, comfortable scales, a material expression rooted in the context, the design is of simplicity.
The existant natural elements like the boulders conribute to the aesthetic. Indian Architect & Builder - June 2013
The simple elevation of the Administration & Primary Block, excised with louvered windows in green lending the sense of drama, beckons as a placid entrance to the main buildings. The lines follow a linear, long and the minimalistic disposition. Classrooms are an archetype acknowledging the scale of the users with specific interventions in furniture selection and window sill heights. Outside, crisp details abound come back to the way people and natural elements occupy and interact with each other; a tall boulder
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ADMINISTRATION & PRIMARY BLOCK: FIRST FLOOR PLAN
SKETCH: SECTION
1½ "
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ADMINISTRATION & PRIMARY BLOCK: GROUND FLOOR PLAN
cleverly mounted in a shallow water body & safeguard railings, clear glass frames that run full length along the two storeys in some parts, etched patterned cement floorings and a lively green plant curtain creeping up one of the walls. A diagonal connection stretching across to the other primary classrooms orients two triangular courtyards within this block. Each building unit caters to the componentry of classified education – Primary, Mid and Senior. The scalability of the units also reflects aspects of the topography and each block differs as a complex of two and three storeyed buildings. There is a sense of porosity and openness; it is not a separation of buildings in the strictest sense but a suspension of scales. In the cohesive whole,
ADMINISTRATION & PRIMARY BLOCK: TYPICAL WALL SECTION
the architects embody a casually layered strategy wherein the sequence and relationship of the user is the identifiable factor. A series of steps lead the subtle transitions between building units. The familiar gesture of an open courtyard greets one at the mid-school level and it changes and gradually descends as a common communal space of the senior level block. Further on, a corner earmarked for future extension is accounted for. The design takes advantage of the stacked strata to create unexpected pauses like seatings ringed between columns along classrooms and a simple sculpturesque frame protruding out from the central staircase. Muted colours, terracotta murals and planted shrubbery enliven the communal spaces. The Dining Block at the other end of the site reinterprets the massing language as a longitudinal mass Indian Architect & Builder - June 2013
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The walls are finished with lime wash with a rich contrast accentuated by the green louvered windows.
Patterned cement floorings and the partially enclosed corridor spaces in the Administration & Primary Block.
The porosity and connectivity in the design framed through connecting courtyards and corridors.
The classrooms responds to the scale of the users in terms of furniture and sill heights.The continuous vent at eave level and operable louvered self-shading windows ensure ample ventilation and light.
with a double-heighted lacuna allocated in the interiors. The second point in the client’s agenda which the architects have manipulated beautifully to craft the project’s identity verged on being an environmentally conscious, cost-effective construct. “The design,” says the architect, “attempts to transcend beyond resolving the major concerns mentioned above to create an architecture that offers a delightful spatial experience to the user.” The context responds to the form of the architecture and so does the architecture. While the straight lines defy the premise, the articulation of each material is a selective process. Indian Architect & Builder - June 2013
A boulder mounted in a shallow water body in the courtyard of the Administration & Primary Block.
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Passage
Class Room
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The Mid & Senior Block have a connecting entry lobby and align with an elongated common courtyard.
MID & SENIOR BLOCK: SECTION CC
Class Room
Staff Room
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There is a sense of porosity and openness; it is not a separation of buildings in the strictest sense but a suspension of scales.
Mid School
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6'-0" Wide Passage Cultural Block CC'
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MID & SENIOR BLOCK: FIRST GROUND FLOOR PLAN Indian Architect & Builder - June 2013
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Appropriation of the extremely restrained material palette rests on this effort and all the systems of planning – structural, material and environmental - conform to this approach. The structural framework resorts to a system composite of RCC coupled with load-bearing fly ash brick masonry walls. The surfaces were unfinished and exposed to maintain the raw and rustic outlook; only the brick masonry walls were painted in lime wash.
The construct is planned based on the topography.
The structural system is composed of RCC coupled with load-bearing fly ash brick masonry walls.
Regulated passive solar control methods enrich a comfortable thermal and spatial experience. Instead of fixated windows, painted cement boards anchored to MS framework are improvised as operable louvered self-shading windows that filter in a softened light, minimised glare and a continuous air flow. Sensitive to the climatic conditions of the region, the design benefits from an unfettered access to light and air owing to a double-layered Mangalore tile on roofing of RCC and steel, positioned above a vent at eave level that enables air movement at ceiling level and locally-fabricated windows. The overhangs extending from the roof, outset spaces like verandahs, the porosity of the built fabric, courtyards are sympathetic details to counter the heat gain. Consciously, usage of tempered glass has been restricted to lesser than 5 per cent of the window area and only where transparency was required. The architects also mention that the ‘site planning ensures storm water runoff is intercepted at regular intervals to enrich the sub soil moisture content.' These resolved concerns overlaid with use of locally available materials, maximisation of craft-based work and balancing the spirit of the site and context with minimal interventions contribute to the modest sensibility and authenticity of the architecture. The tactility is calibrated to amplify both the experience and the utilitarian prospect. Whether it is the gravel or brick paved paths in the external areas, the cement & terracotta floorings or the exposed wall finishes, the design combines artistry and technical acumen. The propensity of colours, the white punctuated with the lime green windows and vibrant blue doors, contrasting with the dull red of the Mangalore tiles and standing out from the sheer materiality of exposed finishes, unexpectedly casts a peaceful temperament and indirectly lightens the form. The effect of all these layers is both pragmatic and poetic.
Elements like seating spaces within the columns add to the thoughtful curation of the design.
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A familiar gesture of an institution is staged as a progression from frame within a frame; as a constellation of fragments. Within this fragmentation – of individual spaces, elemental nuances, and objective manifestations – one is made aware of the multitude of decisions informing the project on a micro and macro scale. Graceful to the very core of its execution, the materiality is sincere, in constant interaction and awareness of its surroundings. The architecture fundamentally poses as a common edge for the environment and the subject - its humility and humanness summarising as the threshold of approachability for the children. The manifest dealing of materiality, and thereby contexts, inscribes itself into layers of diverse interactions eloquently. To borrow the words of the architect Kazunari Sakamoto, it’s a sensibility that privileges the poetics of the ordinary.
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B'
Open Below
Dining Hall
Pantry
Store
C
Entrance Lobby
Dining Hall
DN
UP
4'-6" Wide Passage
DN
Hand Wash
Wash Area
DN
Store A
B
DINING BLOCK: FIRST FLOOR PLAN A'
B'
S T A G E BACK STAGE DN
Dining Hall
Pantry Store UP
DN
Wash Area
DN
Entrance Lobby
Cold Store
The Dining Block is a linear block with a double-heighted space within.
DN UP
4'-0" Wide Passage Dish Wash Area
Hand Wash
Gas Bank A
Electrical Rm DN B
DINING BLOCK: GROUND FLOOR PLAN
Terrace
Dining
Dining
Kitchen
Pantry
Dining
DINING BLOCK: SECTION AA'
Water Tank
Terrace Lobby Dining
Entrance Lobby
Dining
NOITAVELE HTRON - C
DINING BLOCK: FRONT ELEVATION
FACT FILE:
SECTION BB'
Elect Rm.
DINING BLOCK: SECTION BB'
Project : Location : Principal Architect : Associate Architect : Design Team : Initiation of Project : Completion of Project : Cost Estimate of Project : Structural Engineer : Civil Contractor : Electrical Contractor : Plumbing Consultant : Plumbing Contractor: MS Works : Landscape Architect :
The Future Kids School Hyderabad Ar B C Sudhir Reddy, Kruthica Ar Pardha Saradhi Kalyan Ramaram, Mohammed Irfan Ahmed April 2005 June 2011 ` 4.2 Cr Mr Bala Bhasker Phase I – V R Constructions Phase II – K B S Constructions Prabhakar Mr Sanjay Bhilari Phase I – Reddy Engineering Phase II – Ashwin Reddy M/S Conduce Engineering Ar Srivatsa
SECTION AA'
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Negotiating Contraries A ‘building within a building’, the Primary Healthcare Centre in Dharmapuri by Bengaluru-based Flying Elephant Studio effortlessly assimilates the two crucial parameters of functional essentials and contextual rationales through specific hybrid elements, born from conventional concepts and an ingenious attitude. Text: Shalmali Wagle Images & Drawings: courtesy Flying Elephant Studio | Manoj Sudhakaran
Set in a rural expanse, the facility serves the marginalised sections of the society. Indian Architect & Builder - June 2013
architecture
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he continuity of tradition and novel departures from conventionalism – architecture has, for long, oscillated between these two opposite poles, with balanced arguments for and against the validity of each. The fact remains that familiarity coupled with high levels of innovation have led to many a brilliant moment in history; from the development of matchless cave temples in Ajanta and the selective Roman borrowings and adaptations of the Greek orders, to Le Corbusier’s Modulor system of proportions and Charles Correa’s contemporary interpretations of traditional ethics. It is indicative of history that pure invention in architecture is rather rare, and originality more frequently demonstrates itself in the purposeful adjustment of recognised formulas.
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When it comes to healthcare, we live in two Indias – the country that assures excellent medical care to its upper and middle-class citizens and tourists, and the one in which a majority of the population suffers a state of limited or no access to quality care. Statistics indicate that more than two-thirds of India’s health centres are located in urban areas, almost inaccessible to rural India. More than 65 per cent of the population has inadequate access to Western medicine and the rural poor rely predominantly on alternative forms of treatment. Even within those available, a noticeable percentage suffers from inferior standards of arrangement. These are facts, and known ones at that. But, at what point, in these dismal pangs of reality, can architecture make a difference? Indian Architect & Builder - June 2013
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In a premise set within interviews, essays, archival material & the agenda of three studios undertaken at the Princeton School of Architecture, the book examines and questions the notions associated with art, architecture and thereby its extensions in education, design representation and urbanism.
Cover.
Back Cover.
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n an extensively structured volume, David Adjaye: Authoring: Re-placing Art and Architecture asserts ideas – exploratory and refined – within the juncture of art and architecture. Through conversations, images, essays and well-placed images of works and projects, and outcomes of three studios taught by David Adjaye along with MarcMcQuade, in collaboration with three eminent artists Matthew Ritchie, Teresita Fernandez, and Jorge Pardo at the Princeton School of Architecture, the narrative challenges the existant presumptuous relationship between art and architecture. The book presents a critical outlook in a measured discourse. It opens with a comprehensive conversation between Marc McQuade and David Adjaye in which they interrogate the aspects of architecture in “translating the building requirements beyond the need of the clients” and the failure of architectural education in teaching the students this and the explaining the fundamentals of “why the collective memory is so important in defining place and space and time and culture.” “Adjaye came to architecture relatively late, by way of an art education, immersed in the heterogeniety of contemporary art production. […] His collaborations are based not so much on the friction, or tension, between different disciplines as they are on an awareness that both sides of collaboration are working on similar issues from different perspectives.,” writes Stan Allen, Dean of Princeton School of Architecture in the second essay of the book ‘David Adjaye’s Expanded Field’. The essay is not just an introduction but goes on to figuratively elaborate on the impact of large multinational corporations on architecture and cities and how David Adjaye “understands that architecture and cities, unlike painting and sculpture, gain force precisely through their rootedness, their fixity in place.” Having set this premise, the reading is divided in four informal sections – De-authoring systems: Matthew Ritchie, Co-authoring atmospheres: Teresita Fernandez, Re-authoring communities: Jorge Pardo – the former three composed of interviews, essays and archival material and the fourth – New Jersey/Gowanus/Yucatan comprising of the studio outcomes. The sections presented in these groups alternate between tools of Indian Architect & Builder - June 2013
Scans from the book. (above & right)
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Coherent in its investigative approach towards scholastic growth, it examines the beneficial outcomes and unintended consequences of an open-ended brief.
critique and reflection as introspective accounts of each artist in conversation with David Adjaye and Marc McQuade, a compilation of their work and essays written as shrewd observations and anecdotes by Sanford Kwinter for Matthew Ritchie, Dave Hickey for Teresita Fernandez, and a dialogue between Alex Coles and Jorge Pardo. Also, interspersed within the sections, glimpses of Adjaye’s work emphatically develop as stronger concept frameworks when placed in the context of these analytical topics. The pages vary tactically as elegantly frugal or glossy interventions and as a thoroughfare of many elements, it will become a consistent reference for ideological pursuits. Coherent in its investigative approach towards scholastic growth, it examines the beneficial outcomes and unintended consequences of an open-ended brief. It grows as a continuum of an idea instead of being loosely connected as episodes whether arguing out the ‘innovative’ radical inquiries adopted by architects, or the expression of material or form to reframe a concept. Ranging from representation to the scaling of their site, the compositional modes formulated by students in their work are reflective of a paradigm shift in the methodology of teaching. This acts of self-reflection, crystallised into text, triggers a line of thoughts both of ideological and aesthetic persuasions. As an extraordinary take on individual thinking, it evaluates and hints at a spectrum of rhetoric – design methods, education programmes, the interregnum between the conceptualisation and formation of cities today, the state of creativity and social ambition.
The Iron City / Matthew Ritchie / 2008
FACT FILE: Book : David Adjaye: Authoring: Re-placing Art and Architecture Edited by : Marc McQuade Publisher : Lars Muller Publishers Language : English ISBN : 978-3-03778-282-8 Reviewed by : Maanasi Hattangadi Indian Architect & Builder - June 2013
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Digging Deep In this edition of Dr. Mathew’s Space Frames, Bangladeshi photographer Ashraful Awal (Mishuk) captures empathetic frames from the life of stone mining workers of Bholaganj mines to present the truth of the industry. Text & Images: Courtesy Ashraful Awal (Mishuk) l Profile Image: Tanvir Murad Topu Curator: Dr. Deepak John Mathew (dr.djmathew@gmail.com)
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holaganj in Sylhet district, Bangladesh is the largest supplier of stones (especially boulders & pebbles). When the river Piyain dries out in winter, the rise of new land leads the miners there to dig big quarries and unearth stones. However, most of them are land grabbers who are mining in an improper way which actually is destroying the natural course of the river. Being a mountainous river, Piyain carrying a noticeable amount of stones each year is not the case anymore. The quantity of carried stones by the river is on a steady decline.
Indian Architect & Builder - June 2013
Due to the high industrial demand of stones, the diggers are so desperate that they collect stones even from the no-man’s land and some parts of India as well. More than 50,000 labourers work temporarily during the mining season for six months. Most of them have migrated from different parts of Bangladesh. Traditionally, stones were collected manually but recent uses of hydraulic excavators with more than three cylinders are not only damaging the layers of soil but are making many workers jobless.
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Ashraful Awal (Mishuk) Ashraful Awal (Mishuk) is a documentary photographer, born and brought up in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He is a faculty at Pathshala - South Asian Media Academy. He started photography when he was a student of Computer Science. After finishing his degree, he started doing MBA in the University of Dhaka but his passion for photography drove him to join Pathshala - South Asian Media Academy. In 2010, he completed his graduation in Photography from the institute. His mentionable works include “Sarankhola: Life after SIDR” and “Stone Mining in Bholaganj”. His work has been featured in Nordic Light 2009, an International Festival of Photography in Norway. He currently is working on the underground sub-cultures in Bangladesh emphasised on the elite youths’ lifestyles which contradicts with their conservative society.
Space Frames investigates issues of architecture and environment through the medium of photography. To contribute, write to us at iabedt@jasubhai.com or to the curator Dr. Mathew at dr.djmathew@gmail.com. Indian Architect & Builder - June 2013
June 2013: Digging Deep Indian Architect & Builder Magazine
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Crossing of Cultures Conflict, Confluence and the Architecture of Pluralism
India is an ancient civilisation; a young nation. Crucial to the understanding of the architecture of India, is the inevitable phenomenon of cross-pollinations of cultures. The history of India is enriched by an incredible array of influences: its architecture, unique to itself, has been representative of global ideas that inherently belong here. In this constant juxtaposition of paradigms, we find our identity. Indian Architect & Builder - June 2013
[1] – The Bedsa Caves are two main Buddhist cave types – the ‘chaitya’ (U-shaped prayer hall), with a large stupa, and the ‘vihara’ (columned monastery) – which together represent a preliminary articulation of Buddhist sacred space.
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[2] – The Kailashnath Temple, among 34 Buddhist, Hindu and Jain structures collectively known as the Ellora Caves, is burrowed in a 2km long basalt cliff. A two-storeyed gateway opens into a U-shaped courtyard with a columned arcade and sculptures of various deities. [3] – A later addition to the Ellora Caves, the temple is a tall pyramid-like structure reminiscent of a South Indian temple. As in traditional Shiva temples, the shrine is complete with pillars and gathering halls, and an enormous stone ‘lingam’ at its heart.
The Buddhist caves across India are ideological expressions of the first philosophical encounters between the faiths of India and crystallisation of a formal religion.
The architecture of India has never been static.
[1]
The roots of these faiths have grown over vast stretches of time - intersected by events of conflicts and superimposed by confluences contributing to a hybrid identity.
[2]
Carved from stone and reduced from the mountain, the Buddhist caves serve as conceptual models for multiple subsequent beliefs, thus giving built models of organisation to the religions of India. Eventually, the forms that manifest the idea of reductive architecture change and resemble the essence of a new culture; a new diagram. The myths - subconsciously internalised to the state of permanence - continue to linger. Development of craft and technique reinterprets the way we perceive divinity.
And again, as multiple adherences coexist, so do the adhered; not just in sanctums but also in understanding. The ‘chaitya’ and ‘vihara’ types served as paradigms of attainment, development and propagation of knowledge – a space where meditation and learning become simultaneous and inseparable ideas. The Great Stupa, Sanchi
Bedsa Caves, Pune District
Other Monuments, Sanchi
Shunga
Mauryan
[3]
Kushan
Ellora Caves, Aurangabad Gupta Vakataka
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Rashtrakuta
Chalukya
Pallava
Satvahana
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The Kailashnath Temple, Ellora Pratihar Harsha
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Birth of conscience and rise of thinkers. Early Buddhist Style.
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Rise of the Guptas in the North. Buddhist Architecture.
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Rise of thinkers (Buddhist, Hindu and Jain). The Rashtrakutas. Early Rock-cut Architecture. Dravidian-Pallava Style.
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