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Looking Westward for Design Talent?
Over the last decade, India has undergone change like no other period in its 60+ years of Independence. Besides the lifestyle changes, the transformation of the physical realm is going ahead at a shocking pace. Metros as becoming megalopolii and small mofussil towns are now competing for the title of regional hubs. Infrastructure has not [...]
Missed Chances and Government Bureaucracy: Louis Kahn and Gandhinagar
Government intervention and babudom are nothing new to India. It has thrived for generations and continues to do so even today. Soon after Independance there was a massive movement to bring the country on par with the Westernised world. New cities and towns was part of that scheme and Nehru, India’s first prime minister took [...]
My Building Tallest
The late 90’s and the first decade of the 21st century can be rightly called the glory years of the Skyscraper Race. Countries tried to outdo each other in claiming the tallest skyscraper status. Before this boom, the Sears Towers in Chicago, USA held the claim for nearly 3 decades. All that went for a [...]
Indian Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo 2010 Disappoints
On May 01, 2010 the World Expo 2010 opened in Shanghai, China. Besides other things, its a venerable feast of architecture Countries have come out with their best architectural foot forward and some of the national pavilions are stunning examples of the contemporary architectural vocabulary of those countries. However all attempts to get a better [...]
The Need for Design Schools in India
India is fast becoming one of the world’s leading consumer of manufactured goods. Be it cellphones, sneakers, cars or home furnishings; Indians are lapping it all up. And the manufacturers of the world cannot ignore the fact that there needs to be a new design sensibility for this new client base. Jayashree Bhosale at Economic [...]
The Mumbai CBD Exodus
The following news article about the impending exodus of finance powerhouses from Nariman Point, the CBD of Mumbai; is not surprising. Infact, some would wonder why it took so long. Since the 90’s we have had proclamations from politicians wanting to make Mumbai the next Shanghai, Singapore or Dubai; depending on the flavor of the [...]
McKinsey and Company on India’s Urbanization
McKinsey & Company recently came up with a comprehensive report titled “India’s Urban Awakening: Building inclusive cities, sustaining economic growth”. The executive summary of the report is below. The entire report in PDF format can be read here. India’s urban awakening: Building inclusive cities, sustaining economic growth India has a young and rapidly growing [...]
India’s Urban Awakening
Warren Karlenzig at Green Flow makes some very valid points for India cities as they grow both in number and size. Some of the comparisons with China are pretty interesting, especially the one about planned phases of growth in national cities. Making the Cities of India More Sustainable Article by Warren Karlenzig at Green Flow [...]
Welsh Architect to Design Ancient Indian Temple
India abounds in ancient architecture. A lot of it is living, preserved and used by society in daily life. And not all of it is converted to museums and monuments. Now what happens when you want to build a new temple in a style that has gone defunct centuries ago? Well you try to find [...]
High-End Housing Booming Again
The world economic slump did not affect India as severely as it did other nations. And hence India is quicker on the upswing as things begin to move positive. Real estate is one marker on the state of the economy. And in the case of Mumbai it looks like the already inflated market is going [...]
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