Architecture
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 [...]
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 [...]
Tesco Sends Design Work to India
Architectural services being outsourced to India is not a new phenomenon. However it usually brings about a lot of negative press in the country from where it is being outsourced. British retail giant Tesco is outsourcing preliminary design and surveying to architects in India. The article below in Building UK, raises concerns about lost opportunity [...]
Mario Botta in India
Swiss architect Mario Botta needs no introduction. His work around the world speaks volumes of the master architect. And his projects in India for Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) are a continuation of his excellence in the field. Mario Botta: Swiss architect who designed TCS offices By Ishani Duttagupta & Neha Dewan, ET Bureau For well-known [...]
When style was substance: Mumbai in the 1930s
Urban housing these days has increasingly become a matter of “lifestyle.” By Ashoak Upadhyay / Business Line Builders do not erect an apartment block or two; they build cities within cities; rows upon rows of residential towers peppered with landscaped gardens, swimming pool, jogging track and clubhouse. The customer does not come home simply to [...]
Balkrishna Doshi Rues Lack of Ideas
Poverty of ideas and a lack of social commitment in many of India’s contemporary architects could leave us with no skyline we can call our own two decades from now, fears visionary architect-planner Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshi. “What will happen to our cities after 20 years? We have no public realm, no urban development, no museums, [...]
The Egg Comes to Mumbai: James Law and Cybertecture
Bindu Gopal Rao speaks to James Law, known across the globe for cybertecture. After the Pad Tower in Dubai, he is now coming up with a cybertecture egg in Mumbai, a unique project built without a single column. “My career has been nothing less than an adventure,” declares James Law, Chairman and Chief Cybertect of [...]
Bobby Mukherjee : Sad State of Indian Architecture
Indian architecture scene is sad, rues Aamby Valley architect By Shilpa Raina for Thaindian. He is the man who recreated the luxurious living experience of America’s Beverly Hills with the famous Aamby Valley project in Maharashtra. But Bobby Mukherji believes that post-independence Indian architecture has little to be proud of. “We have shown people enough [...]
Remembering the Howard Roark of India: Nari Gandhi
It was not his surname that prompted Nari Gandhi to wear khadi. He embraced the fabric because it was self-reliant, natural and allowed easy breathing. Just like the 30-odd structures built by a man who is often called the Howard Roark of India. Gandhi–one of the four Indians to have appretinced under the legendary American [...]
Moshe Safdie to under take beautification of Golden Temple surroundings
CHANDIGARH: Internationally acclaimed US based architect Moshe Safdie, who had successfully accomplished the most prestigious project of Khalsa Heritage Centre (KHC), Sri Anandpur Sahib would soon undertake the beautification of the surroundings of Golden Temple (Sri Harimandir Sahib) along with the corridor project (Galiara) around the holy Golden Temple at Amritsar. A decision to this [...]
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