January 07, 2016 | 01:30 pm

An ambitious exhibition in Mumbai looks at the state of the profession – and offers a prognosis of its future

Historically, the profession of architecture in India has been driven by individual firms –or practices, as they’re known in the profession. Under patronage of various kinds, from the state to the resource-rich individual, architects have sought fulfillment. One criticism that may legitimately be leveled at the architectural profession in India is that it has rarely looked beyond itself, critically examined the ecosystem it operates in or has actively been informed by disciplines outside of architecture.

An exhibition titled “State of Architecture: Practices and Processes in India”, which opened in Mumbai’s National Gallery of Modern Art on Wednesday, is conceived both to address and redress this criticism. A profound dissatisfaction with the state...

Art India, September 2016 Volume XX Issue III

Anuj Daga dwells critically on a show that tries to map the state of the built environment in India

“What do we exactly exhibit when we exhibit architecture: should we be satisfied to exhibit photographs of buildings and sites, or should we aim to put whole buildings or, if that is not possible, fragments and models of them on display?” These preliminary questions from the symposium ‘Exhibiting Architecture: A Paradox’¹ can appropriately initiate a discussion into the curation, agency and politics of The State of Architecture (SOA) exhibition at the NGMA, Mumbai. Organized along with talks, allied exhibitions and art events spread over three months, SOA attempted to draw the attention of the public to ‘practices and processes of architecture’ in India. To elaborate upon the initial inquiry for SOA, one may pose further, what is the...

Suprio Bhattacharjee | Tekton Volume 3, Issue 1, March 2016

Abstract

The recent exhibition ‘The State of Architecture’ held at the NGMA, the-National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai, from 6th January to March 20th 2016 offered an insight into the evolution of architecture in the country since independence with a specific focus on the last two decades. What is evident is the diversity of expression within the production of architecture over this period. The curators of the exhibition consciously avoided any kind of critique of the works exhibited - although one can say that their selection of the works of significance from the past twenty years in itself sets the tone of what in their minds the future of architecture in the country needs to be. Taking this as a trigger, this essay seeks to investigate the broad range of expressions evident in the projects displayed by exploring the...

26 April, 2016 | By A Srivathsan

In an age of rapid industrialisation, rampant construction, a networked economy and state indifference, meaningful architecture in India is elusive

Since Independence in 1947, democracy, development and the economy have been the driving agendas in India. After seven decades, the country has undergone profound political and socioeconomic changes. Over the last twenty years, since it adopted liberal economic policies, India has witnessed a pivotal acceleration in growth and more is in sight with current figures indicating that it may well outdo China. In this story, cities are not the backdrop, but the subjects of transformation with the country taking a decisive urban turn. Opportunities to build abound and the proliferation of architecture schools (423 in total) and the presence of international design firms scouting for work attest to this. All this...

Yashada Wagle - 30 March, 2016

how recently concluded exhibition & potpourri of events it brought along, made for a crucial backpack for the young to step out with

The State of Architecture: Practices & Processes in India, the ten week long Exhibition, which was held between 06 January - 20 March 2016 at the National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai, presented an extensive compilation of the scenario of contemporary architecture in India, from the post-Independence period to the present. Through the meticulous study that it put forth, curators Rahul Mehrotra, Ranjit Hoskote and Kaiwan Mehta brought about an immense omnibus, that the profession, at large, was in dire need of.

Amid all of the brilliant documentations and reports that have been written and/ or spoken of, of this quilt of events the architectural fraternity largely benefited from, here’s a little light on how enriching this...

DRAWING

banganga _ caretaker’s homes in a crematorium
bengaluru international centre _ building as an olfactory shield

tvm house _ mother’s demands for a house (additions - staircase corner/ ironing board corner, design sewing machine table, shoe rack on entrance porch, reconfigure study room, additional storage in master bedroom, layout family photo wall, living room table redesign, electrical plan audit with provisions for solar and wind energy use, outdoor plumbing layout, rainwater harvesting, terrace garden, acoustic redesign, waste management)
ktm house _ uncle’s demands for a house (brief - repair and upgrade, refurbish house furniture, family grave stone redesign)

dehradun 01 _ community housing and ancillary facilities, uncle and friends’ demands for a house
dehradun 02 _ convention centre, building in a landscape

unesco bamiyan _ exhibition space accommodated in a...

Colour In Storytelling

Composition In Storytelling

How Does an Editor Think and Feel?

Satoshi Kon - Editing Space & Time

Snowpiercer - Left or Right

Wolf Children (2012) - The Lateral Tracking Shot

Drive (2011) - The Quadrant System

The Bad Sleep Well (1960) - The Geometry of a Scene

Breaking The Rules - The French New Wave

In Praise of Chairs

A Brief Look At Texting And The Internet In Film

So, What exactly is the difference between RGB and CMYK?

What is Bleed?

The importance of outlining fonts

How to setup artwork for print

How Offset Printing Works

by VIDYADHAR K. PHATAK
sourced from Revisioning Mumbai, Conceiving A Manifesto for Sustainable Development A Collection of Papers/ Presentations edited by Vimal Shah & Pankaj Joshi. Published for The Asiatic Society of Mumbai by Promilla & Co., Publishers | Bibliophile South Asia, Dated 2010

PAGES 98 - 106

The present controversy about the use of the mills’ land in Mumbai raises generic problems/ fundamental problems of the changing economy of Mumbai and the spatial planning response to such changes. In this paper therefore I intend -

• to briefly recount how the economy of Mumbai has reflected spatial planning, particularly since 1970
• to review the ability of spatial planning to participate the changing structure of the economy for long-term plans, and
• to propose the change in spatial planning practices that would improve the response mechanism

REGIONAL PLAN 1973
I begin by the...

Dear Friend/ Comrade and Saathi,

As you know I have been working with YUVA for 5 years. I’m writing you inform you that I will not be continuing in my official post within the organization. This was a very difficult decision for me to take, but I feel the need to pursue research in issues related to inclusive urban planning and poverty.

Since 2011, I have gained and learned tremendously from my engagement in YUVA and the various campaigns that I have been associated with. I want to thank you all, who have directly or indirectly worked with me and helped me learn.

Needless to say, I will be working and collaborating with the various movements and on-going campaigns in Mumbai and beyond, and this transition is merely a role change.

I hope to be associated with you in the coming days and years, in different roles, capacities and responsibilities. If you ever want to get in touch...