An architect should function as a blend of a craftsman and an artiste

Architecture of the future Something i wrote for a topic - "Architecture of the future" ... Jan 2007.

Architecture is to make us know and remember who we are. Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe

The past is never obsolete. Neither is it dead. It always lives on albeit changing in form to suit the context. There is a constant metamorphosis of what was, to what is and what will be.For instance, sky gardens, or terrace gardens are no new invention. They have been a feature since the “hanging gardens of Babylon.’ When abundant land was available, there was no need for such a feature. Now, when there is so much pressure on the land, high-rises becoming the order of the day, terrace gardens have become inevitable, to get a whiff of fresh air in the concrete jungles of today.

Heredity is a strong factor, even in architecture. Necessity first mothered invention. Now invention has little ones of her own, and they look just like grandma. E.B.White

The Industrial revolution brought with it mass productions, large scale standardization and new building types. It changed the way spaces were perceived and the way buildings were built.The new industries required large span structures that led to innovation in the building techniques. Building sensibilities in terms of human values and scale were modified in accordance with the building type. There was a virtual coup in building and construction.

Modern Architecture has its validity in terms of technology and industry in the West. However, when the same theme was indiscriminately applied in the regions where no such conditions existed, especially in the colonies of non-industrialized regions whose expected and forced role was to provide raw materials, and at the same time provide a market for the industrial products of the colonial masters, the confusion and misunderstanding caused by the new products was considerable.

Modern Architecture was handed down to and accepted as advanced by the non-West. There was no reflection of the vernacular, although many of the pre-modern colonial styles paid due respect to local climatic conditions and resulted in interesting hybrid, technically sound solutions.Global and Local, informationalization, economic and financial systems, science and technology, consumer-oriented life style etc. are basically challenging masses of waves which will only grow with characters of inevitability. This requires conscious, strong-willed and persistent efforts on the part of the local community and individuals. Otherwise the local paradigm will not survive, community may disappear, and individuals may be engulfed as mere molecules in the global picture. However, the tension between global and local, the challenge and response between them is a potentially creative process, which could open a new horizon towards the future – the GLOCAL approach.

THE VERNACULAR SKYSCRAPER: The 'vernacular' is a localised phenomenon, growing organically out of the soil, whereas the modern high-rise is emerging as a 'global-tradition'. Human aspirations as well as the myriad variety of building materials available today have transcended political boundaries and assumed a 'global' form. Even if it is possible to design a 'vernacular' skyscraper, it is necessary to consider the aspirations, needs and concerns of the 'global' citizen. If a rash of skyscrapers in its present form were allowed to grow uncontrolled in urban soils around the globe, it would lead to a homogenization of the urban landscape, killing the cities and their glorious cultural history..

A vernacular skyscraper is the absolute need of the hour, where local sentimentalities and aspirations have been accounted for, while catering to the ‘global’ citizen.Until Modern Architecture conquered the world, architecture was mostly rational, functional, hence resource conserving and energy saving in the local climatic context. Architecture embodied the local characteristics or a place. It was a fruit selected through the long process of trial and error, of evaluation by the eyes of aesthetic value judgment existing in the local culture. Hence, vernacular architecture, buy its nature, had built-in sustainability, both physical and cultural.

In other words, architecture is not a simplistic product of physical engineering, but also it should have beauty and something metaphysical which could work on human soul. An architect should function as a blend of a craftsman and an artiste, not as a mere craftsman. Significant advancement in the field of Information Technology has also brought about a change similar to the one caused by the Industrial Revolution. The world has shrunk. People spend more time with their computers than with other people. With the click of the mouse, one can now pay bills, shop, learn, play, bank, book tickets and do much more – something that was unfathomable until ten years ago. It has reduced human interaction to a minimum.

Technology has indeed made the world a smaller place, but by bringing continents closer, but pushing neighbours further apart. It is now easier to see a person half-way across the world than have a face-to-face conversation with your next door neighbour. What significance do the “public spaces” have today? What used to be parks and markets have today become multiplexes and malls. Architecture has to keep re-inventing itself and taking on new forms to keep up. New development brings with it new materials, new building types to make these materials and newer buildings to use these materials. But basic human values and functions will never change. As long as man continues to eat, breathe and sleep, architecture, as we know it today, will retain these characteristics.

Merely Vitruvian theories will not help constitute the ideal virtual world. It must be complemented by certain more aspects of human and social values and the immeasurable functional aspects. The virtual is only an extension of the real. The virtual exists where the real does. Designing of multi-functional spaces will become the order of the day, where each person will be a cocoon and human interaction will be reduced to a minimum. With a reduction in space requirements with technology, multi-functional devices, burgeoning population, escalating land value and near-total breakdown of infrastructure in all major towns in our country, the future is left to what we imagine………or choose to imagine. The choice is ours. Posted by Jyotsna at 11:07 AM 0 comments Labels: authored article Sunday, April 15, 2007