[ ] BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

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1 [ ] BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

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4 [ ] Behind Closed Doors, 2015 // Editors / Aniket Bhagwat / Samira Rathod // Book Design / Anjani Parikh // Published / Spade India Foundation

5 SPADE: a forum that looks into the state of design in India, aiming at garnering insights towards architecture from unfiltered standpoints. It is a space for deliberation that attempts to question contemporary architectural thought, and in doing so, invites introspection and explorations across fields. Accompanying this book is a short film based on the Architects Retreat.

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8 The Architects Retreat was held on February 22, 2014 at the Yacht Club, Mumbai. It started at 9.30 am in the morning and ended in the evening at 6.00 pm. Through the day the assembled architects made short presentations on: Practice Practice & Patronage Practice & Structure Practice & Technology Practice & Communication Practice & Academia Academics Academics & Pedagogy Academics & Teaching Academics & Learning These were debated and recorded. This book is an account of that day. Prior to this day, about 10 months in advance, we debated names and finally decided on those whom we would invite to the retreat. They had to represent a large mix of attitudes and approaches to work, had to have a certain clear and continuous work accomplishment, represent a cross section of age groups, have inquisitive and academic bents of mind, be passionate about what they did and above all had to be well meaning, positive and honest; and had to be

9 people who did not posture, or as less as its possible for a breed of architects. That is how the 16 architects got invited. When you look at the group, it s clear that they are representative of the larger community. While it is a fact that they took up the invitation, spent months developing and honing their thoughts, it would be wrong to assume that their concerns are unique. Far from it. The topics debated occupy all of our minds almost always. The concerns that were discussed are daily fare; the world of architects in India discusses, toils, laments and celebrates them each day; over dinner, in classrooms, in offices, every moment of their life. And continues ARCHITECTS RETREAT to discuss, and we are mostly unable to break the vice-like grip they exercise and the sense of déjà-vu that accompanies them. Sometimes not so honest, at others plainly so, or not well considered, these discussions often befuddle the mind, and shroud it with clouds. Practice and Academics, with the only desire to effect change; imagine a new tomorrow, for the student, the young and old architects and for the profession. And that s what I find truly valuable. The essays are derived from the transcriptions of the recordings done on that day, and printed with minimal changes; and in most you will sense the excitement, the heady optimism, the dry cynicism and the humor in what seems like conversational tones, but are filled with deep insight, hope, anguish and thinking that is precious; has the ability to allow us to think of a better way of navigating our profession, and better ways of celebrating it. Beyond the many seminal questions asked; at the core of them all is the fact that this effort was to better articulate, our essential meaning and identity as architects in India. In the end, with what is said, and the many gaps left to connect and fill, with tantalising directions often not clarified, the book we hope, builds a world of cohesion- one that is worth reflecting upon and acting upon. The following pages should help in some parts, dispel that. This is probably the first time that such a gathering has happened in the country, a group of architects met formally, in a tight room talked and discussed about issues of [ ANIKET BHAGWAT]

10 [ THE SPEAKERS ] Rajeev Kathpalia is involved in Architecture, Urban Design and Planning projects throughout India. Besides running an acknowledged practice that is the recipient of several international and national awards and honours, he has been teaching for over 25 years. He is a member on the Board of Studies of several Urban Design faculties in India and has been a visiting Faculty at CEPT University, Ahmedabad and The School of Planning and Architecture s Urban Design Program, New Delhi. He is also the Director and Trustee of the Vastu Shilpa Foundation a not-for-profit research organization in environmental and Habitat Design. The Foundation s research has dealt extensively with slums, squatter settlements, relevant standards for these and low cost housing. Mahesh Radhakrishnan is the founder of a small architectural practice with a long name - MOAD - The Madras Office for Architects and Designers. Mahesh was a research scholar at the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation in Germany. Ashish Bhalla is a co-founder and Managing Director of the Viridian Group, with a vision to seek a new paradigm for Indian architecture and planning. He completed his Masters in Urban Design from the University of California Berkeley and is also a co-founder for Future Institute. Rupali Gupte is an architect and urbanist practicing in Mumbai. She has a Masters degree from Cornell University. She is currently core faculty at the Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute of Architecture and Environmental Studies (KRVIA). She is co-founder of CRIT (Collective Research Initiatives Trust) and SEA (Society for Environment and Architecture). She is interested in contemporary urban conditions and their inter-disciplinary investigations. Sudipto Ghosh is a partner of S.Ghosh & Associates; their work establishes sound design principles and prides themselves with several awards and prestigious commissions.

11 Sanjay Prakash is an architect with a commitment to energy-conscious architecture, ecofriendly design, and people s participation in planning, music and production design. His name and work is mentioned in the twentieth edition of one of the main reference works in architectural history, A History of Architecture by Sir Bannister Fletcher. Samira Rathod is the founder and Principal of Samira Rathod Design Associates (SRDA). She completed her Masters in Architecture from the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign in She is editor of SPADE, a biannual design magazine and supports a research-based offshoot of the same, SIRCLE: Spade India Research Cell. Rohan Shivkumar is an architect and urban designer based in Mumbai and is the Deputy Director of the Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute for Architecture and Environmental Studies (KRVIA). He has studied at the University of Maryland, USA for his Masters in Regional and International Studies in Architecture. Aneerudha Paul is an architect and an urban designer based in Mumbai. He completed his Masters of Architecture from the School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi. He is the Director of the Kamla Raheja Vidyandhi Institute for Architecture and Environmental Studies (KRVIA), and is a member of the Dadra Nagar Haveli Planning & Development Authority. Meghal Arya is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Architecture, CEPT University, and a partner in Arya Architects. She has numerous publications to her credit.

12 Bijoy Ramachandran is an architect and urban designer based in Bangalore. He is currently a partner at Hundredhands. Bijoy has a Masters degree in Urbanism from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Soumitro Ghosh is an architect based in Bangalore whose practice bridges working on projects for realization and teaching. His works have been part of the Phaidon Atlas of Contemporary World Architecture. He contributes to groups involved with urban issues and public spaces. Kiran Kapadia is an architect and urban designer. His concerns include the changing nature of architectural practice in India in response to global scenarios. Kaiwan Mehta is an Architect, Author and Urban Researcher. He is presently the editor of Domus India, the Jury Chairman of Akademie Schloss Solitutde, Germany and the Course Director for Art, Criticism and Theory at Jnanapravaha, in Mumbai. Sonal Sundarajan is a full time teacher at Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute for Architecture and Environmental Studies (KRVIA) and is involved in research projects in the Research and Design Cell of the Institute.

13 Suparna Bhalla is Principal at Abaxial Architects, a design firm in New Delhi. She was a regular columnist with the Business Standard, and is on the Editorial Board of Green Life magazine. She completed her Masters in Architecture from University of California Berkeley and is also a co-founder of Future Institute. Vijay Arya is a principal designer and partner in Arya Architects, a firm with a focus on public architecture. He did his postgraduate studies at the Aalto University, Finland. Aniket Bhagwat is Principal at M/s Prabhakar B. Bhagwat, India s leading and oldest landscape design and environmental planning firm. Aniket has taught actively since 1985; and lectures across India extensively. He is a co-editor of SPADE a bi annual design magazine, founder of LEAF, which does research in landscape design, co-founder of ISOLA, a professional body for landscape architects and a co-founder of Future Institute, which is engaged in urban research. Naresh V Narasimhan is a practitioner and leader with over 27 years of experience in architectural design; best known for his association with Venkataramanan Associates an award winning architecture firm that saw a meteoric rise under his leadership. He continues to make far-reaching contributions to urban development, in his multiple roles as an urbanist, activist and a creative entrepreneur.

14 [ CONTENTS ] [ 2] PATRONAGE [ 20] STRUCTURE [ 36] TECHNOLOGY [ 50] COMMUNICATION Rajeev Kathpalia [ 4 ] Mahesh Radhakrishnan [ 9 ] Case Study [ 12 ] Soumitro Ghosh [ 15 ] Case Study [ 16 ] Discussion [ 18 ] Kiran Kapadia [ 22 ] Bijoy Ramachandran [ 25 ] Ashish Bhalla [ 26 ] Case Study [ 30 ] Discussion [ 35 ] Naresh Narasimhan [ 38 ] Vijay Arya [ 44 ] Sanjay Prakash [ 46 ] Discussion [ 49 ] Samira Rathod [ 52 ] Architectural Drawings [ 54 ] Meghal Arya [ 56 ] Mahesh Radhakrishnan [ 59 ] Discussion [ 61 ] PRACTICE 1-81 ACADEMICS

15 PRACTICE ACADEMICS [ 64 ] Sudipto Ghosh [ 69 ] Case Study [ 72 ] Rupali Gupte [ 77 ] Suparna Bhalla [ 81 ] Discussion [ 86 ] Aneerudha Paul [ 92 ] Soumitro Ghosh [ 96 ] Naresh Narasimhan [ 104 ] Rohan Shivkumar [ 110 ] Meghal Arya [ 114 ] Sanjay Prakash [ 117 ] Bijoy Ramachandran [ 118 ] Discussion [ 119] Post Script 1 / Kaiwan Mehta [ 124 ] Post Script 2 / Sonal Sundarajan [ 62] ACADEMIA [ 84] PEDAGOGY [ 102] TEACHING [ 112] LEARNING