state review 01 _ in retrospect | the state of architecture
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 experience was, for the enormous community of students of architecture and young architects, alike.
Three Decades and thereafter #
The last holistic collation on Indian architecture, had taken place as long as thirty years ago.
Post the imposition of the National Emergency (1975-1977), the Nation struggled with a dilemma between bringing its traditions to the fore and keeping up with the idea of Modernity.
The Festivals of India (1983-1986 A.D.), an exhibition on the Indian arts and culture, is said to have been an elegant expression of the aforementioned scenario. Organised by cultural administrator Pupul Jayakar, it traveled over Britain, France, Japan, and the then USSR. A part of this magnanimous venture, was Vistāra (1986 A.D.), an exhibition curated by Charles Correa, a name in Indian architecture, that needs no introduction.
The State of Architecture, although having been launched for an entirely different purpose— another target audience, altogether— reflects upon, and respects the vital landmark of an event that Vistāra was.
The Zones #
To give a broad overview of what the Exhibition actually displayed, here is a brief insight on the zones it was presented under.
The State of the Profession: This section put forth a statistical analysis of the practices and pedagogy in the field of Architecture, in India. Through an impactful juxtaposition of data from the Council of Architecture, it sent across facts that are essential indicators of the state of the profession in the country. It featured a larger-than-life timeline of events, mapped from the year of establishment of Sir J J School of Art (1857 A.D.) to the present times, putting forth quantified information via effective graphics, on aspects like the role of women in architecture, systems of recognition for architects, the framework of the real-estate business and the construction economy, to name a few. This zone also celebrated the significance of architectural publications; with its spread of magazine and periodical covers, and a timeline commemorating books as archives.
Nation-Building Experiments: This segment held a grouping of relevant events from 1947 to 1975 A.D. The timeline began with the birth of Independent India, and progressed with the happenings in the Nehruvian State. It threw light on how, in the wake of Independence, the nation was left with a splintered society, and a National Image to build. It was then, under the principles of the Nehruvian State, that massive projects in the public sector were undertaken; and their commissioning to architects from overseas, was brought about.
Encountering Growth: Denoting the beginning of the year of The Emergency (1975 A.D.), which marked the end of the Nehruvian State, this section explained how, by then, Indian architects were faced with the aftermath of a dilemma between Tradition and Modernity. Promotion of development, with simultaneous preservation of the productive aspects of India’s cultural legacy, was undertaken.
A Diversity of Directions: The start of the nineties brought with it economic liberalization in India. During this period, architects found themselves in the realm of what the Exhibition termed the ‘Post-Modern’ or the ‘Post-Historical’. Tradition was revived through vernacular architecture and heritage conservation, and its responses to region-specific contexts and concerns. Architectural practices, here onward, diverged. While some rejected there ever being an equilibrium between Tradition and Modernity, taking a counter-modernist path; others broke out of it altogether, establishing alternative practices to cater to the needs of the legitimate users of the built form.
Charting Vectors: This section, acknowledging challenges faced by architects of the early 21st century, presented an intricate curation of over 80 projects by contemporary Indian practicing firms. It also compiled lists of projects categorized under the nature of the approaches they appeared to have taken. The categories ranged from globally engineered creations to alternative practices striving for sustainability; also shedding light on regionally embedded as well as counter-modernist approaches.
The Backpack #
The Exhibition, and the string of events woven within its duration, proved to be crucially beneficial to students of architecture as well as young architects.
A majority of the members from this community having been born around the Nineties; the initial two-third happenings of the timeline that it presented, having taken place before their birth, have been unaware of this context. It gave a thorough insight into the past— the history of Indian Architecture post the Colonial Era is rarely touched upon in the academic curricula.
Putting things in perspective, by comprehensively co-relating each milestone with the corresponding happenings of the social, cultural and political scenarios, the Exhibition analysed architecture in India over the past sixty eight years; all the way to 2015.
‘Charting Vectors’, an unbiased database, promises to be a firm guideline (pun intended) , with respect to the design approaches it enlisted as well as its insight on the diversity of possibilities that architecture in India has, to offer.
Not just via the enormous resource of the information it opened up access to, but the State of Architecture enthralled its viewers with its brilliant techniques of presentation of the same, as well. It furthermore enhanced and emphasized the relevance of research in the field of architecture. By virtue of the aforementioned aspects, it has brought to the fore, the multifaceted nature of this profession.
The plethora of events that this exhibition was associated with; keynote lectures, talks, presentations, and discussions, replete with the publications that were released during this period, made for a complete anthology to those who got to be a part of it, and a fitting tribute to the significance of the profession to the society. A portion of the same was the Concluding Conference, a two-day event featuring the works of eminent architects from all over South Asia, and discussions over the same. It was here, that the spectrum of the scales of projects that the architect has to operate amid— from the macro to the micro— was delved into, in great depths.
The State of Architecture: Practices & Processes in India, thus, wasn’t a mere ten-week long milestone in the legacy of the profession in the country, but an exceptional launch-pad that should spark many a discussion as to where we’re headed, and what lies ahead of us. Congratulations to the curators, the supporting organizations, and to the entire team tirelessly involved in the making of this exhibition, for which, we, not just as elements of the architectural fraternity, but as citizens of India, need to be grateful to.
the text is archived as part of a project assembling various documents produced during and as a reaction to the Exhibition titled THE STATE OF ARCHITECTURE, PRACTICES & PROCESSES IN INDIA | 6 JANUARY - 20 MARCH, 2016, NATIONAL GALLERY OF MODERN ART, MUMBAI