Nurturing a technological and Socially relevant practice through the pandemic – Takbir Fatima, DesignAware

DesignAware

DesignAware has been working with tech-based design methodologies since their founding year, thanks to the team’s background in technological awareness related to architectural design. The studio experienced a multiplied impact due to the floods in Hyderabad during the pandemic. The lockdown and the post-flood situation has spurred the team to rethink their practice strengths and equip more resiliency. This direction has also pushed the team to nurture their studio practice itself as a physical entity, in addition to their successful initiatives in educational and socially relevant projects.

Financial prudence and savings to keep the salary flow active – Aakruti Architects

Aakruti Architects

Aakruti Architects had witnessed their inherently hands-on approach being hampered by the lockdown, along with the delay of work processes. The studio had planned cost-cutting measures personally and for their studio to ensure an unaffected salary flow amidst the waves of lay-offs and reduced income. Safety and stability of the studio’s team was the top priority for Aakruti.

Safety and good health, both physical and mental, was our priority during the pandemic. – Santhosh Shanmugam, Shanmugam Associates

Santhosh Shanmugam

Shanmugam Associates has been long-sustaining as a mainstream architectural service provider, with a focus on core design methodologies. The team found their contingency plans to lend a helping hand during a stoppage of work and life during the pandemic. The back-up for identifying renewed inspiration for the team and their workflow was given by the contingency plans.

Balaji temple at Andhra by Sameep Padora and Associates

Balaji Temple at Andhra Pradesh by Sameep Padora and Associates has achieved a very sophisticated level of abstraction: Praveen Bavadekar

Praveen Bavadekar

The following critique for the Balaji Temple at Andhra Pradesh, an award-winning project designed by Sameep Padora and Associates, was shared by Praveen Bavadeker. Praveen Bavadekar is Principal at Third Space Studio.
The Balaji temple in Nandyal explores and abstracts the long tradition of the temple typology in India.

The architectural philosopher Andrew Benjamin wrote that every act of design was an act of repetition and that architecture is about exploring what not to repeat. This building too repeats or emulates certain tropes of the Hindu temple so that it is recognisable as a temple yet it doesn’t replicate those tropes but rather breaks them down to constituent parts to then again reconstruct it.

Architecture Practice Strategies During the Pandemic 2020

Varun Kumar

The paper titled “Practice Strategies During The Pandemic 2020”, has a focus on the younger and emerging practices alongside a few established senior ones, in the major metros of Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi and Hyderabad in addition to tier II cities too. The article aims to highlight the globally and nationally unexpected economic boot camps into which Indian architectural practice found itself due to the unfortunate outbreak of COVID-19.

Calligraphic Poem on IIM Ahmedabad, by H. Masud Taj

H Masud Taj

H Masud Taj’s poem and calligraphy, and excerpt from his interview to the Indian Express.

IIM Ahmedabad: Averting an imminent historic catastrophe, Dr. S.S.Bhatti

Dr S.S.Bhatti

Buildings in Louis Kahn’s IIM Ahmedabad Set to Be Demolished” is the caption of the eminent architectural historian William Curtis published on December 23, 2020, in Architectural Record. He has done an insightful analysis of the problem and written a persuasive piece to dissuade the authorities concerned from their suicidal resolve. For me, the heart-rending news highlights a glaring irony.

Menhir – Xian train station, at Xi´an, China, by Claudio C. Araya

Claudio Araya

Menhir – Xian train station, at Xi´an, China, by Claudio C. Araya

Tribute to Architect Kuldip Singh, by Shobhana Menon

Shobhana Menon

Kuldip Singh architect – the name immediately conjures up visions of two iconic Delhi buildings designed by him to most people – Palika Kendra on Sansad marg and NCDC office building on Siri fort road – not realizing that he and his work were much more than these two buildings.

Can Waste Bring Communities Living in High Density Vertical Slums Together?-A Photostory by Bhawna Jaimini and Natasha Sharma

Curry Stone Design Collaborative

Natwar Parekh Compound is a public housing neighborhood in the east of Mumbai inhabiting people from slums across the city. With tightly packed grid of 61 buildings on a 5 hectare plot, the density of Natwar Parekh Colony is around 4500 people/ha (Density of the most populated city in the world, Dhaka, is 550 people/ha). Open spaces make up less than 18% of the site area, none of which are usable for any recreational or community activities, keeping residents limited to their 225 square feet apartments. – Photostory by ‘Bhawna Jaimini and Natasha Sharma’

“What good is Public Transport?” Article by Jude D’Souza

Jude D'Souza

Among the few things that this pandemic has been good for, the highlighting of the value of public transport in our country should count as an important one. At the start of the pandemic, the utter horrors in the scramble of migrant workers to their hometowns and villages, as the railways and intercity bus services were shut down, showed that cities and villages are held together primarily by public transportation services. – Jude D’Souza

Central Vista Redevelopment - Rahoul Singh

Off The Cuff: Have We Lost Our Vista? – Interim Thoughts On A Work In Progress – Rahoul B. Singh

Rahoul B. Singh

As a nation we are about to embark on democratic India’s most symbolic project – the re-development of New Delhi’s central vista. The central vista and it’s precinct is approximately three kilometre long and stretches from Rahstrapati Bhawan on the west to India Gate on the east. The redevelopment of this tract of land and other land parcels adjoining it will cost the exchequer upwards of Rs. 20,000 crore and is being undertaken to commemorate 75 years of India’s Independence in 2022. Other objectives of the project include increasing the productivity and efficiency of the government and expanding and improving the quality of public space that falls within its immediate precinct. – Rahoul B. Singh

Centre For Research and Development of Indegenous Technology, at Karnathu village, Himachal Pradesh, by Bhavesh Masand

Bhavesh Masand

From the city bar, as a drunk man returns home, he’s faced with unusual difficulties reaching home this time. During the course of his journey, he sensed his house keys slipping from his pocket in the dark highway, nonetheless he continued haltless. On arrival at home, he’s frantic in search of his lost keys to which his friend enquired- “why are you searching the keys in this light while you know it slipped on the highway?” To which the drunkard responds – “ Because this is where the light is, crazy!” – Bhavesh Masand

Are buildings the new killing fields for birds? – Peeyush Sekhsaria

Peeyush Sekhsaria

Peeyush Sekhsaria an Architect by training, interested in the interface of design and bird conservation tells us how following simple principles while installing glass or other reflective surfaces in your homes, you can greatly reduce the chances of bird collisions. Read his article below.

Architects – Is your glass bird friendly? – Asmita Patwardhan

Asmita Patwardhan

Birds often see the reflection of trees and the sky in glass windows, balconies and fly into them. Studies show that many million bird deaths occur annually in the United States due to such collisions. Although in India many of us have come across such incidents, the scale of this matter is not properly studied or recorded. – Asmita Patwardhan

Thoughts, views and Ideas on architecture

Nurturing a technological and Socially relevant practice through the pandemic – Takbir Fatima, DesignAware

Financial prudence and savings to keep the salary flow active – Aakruti Architects

Safety and good health, both physical and mental, was our priority during the pandemic. – Santhosh Shanmugam, Shanmugam Associates

Balaji Temple at Andhra Pradesh by Sameep Padora and Associates has achieved a very sophisticated level of abstraction: Praveen Bavadekar

Architecture Practice Strategies During the Pandemic 2020

Calligraphic Poem on IIM Ahmedabad, by H. Masud Taj

IIM Ahmedabad: Averting an imminent historic catastrophe, Dr. S.S.Bhatti

Menhir – Xian train station, at Xi´an, China, by Claudio C. Araya

Tribute to Architect Kuldip Singh, by Shobhana Menon

Can Waste Bring Communities Living in High Density Vertical Slums Together?-A Photostory by Bhawna Jaimini and Natasha Sharma

“What good is Public Transport?” Article by Jude D’Souza

Off The Cuff: Have We Lost Our Vista? – Interim Thoughts On A Work In Progress – Rahoul B. Singh

Centre For Research and Development of Indegenous Technology, at Karnathu village, Himachal Pradesh, by Bhavesh Masand

Are buildings the new killing fields for birds? – Peeyush Sekhsaria

Architects – Is your glass bird friendly? – Asmita Patwardhan

Ideas in your inbox

ALive! Perspectives

We Are Hiring

Thoughts, views and Ideas on architecture

Ideas in your inbox

ALive! Perspectives

Featured Publications

We Are Hiring