All posts by Matter

Architecture, Contemporary Practice, Interviews, Praxis, Studio

STUDIO: BetweenSpaces

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Studio culture – as with all manifestations of the human intellect – is the embodiment of a pattern of work that nurtures the craft of building. Architecture workspaces are especially readable in this context as architects are, in this case, designing for themselves. With every workplace as distinct and specific as the work it produces, the people who design and work in these environments reveal their ideas in the space. 

In this first edition of the STUDIO series, we enquire about the processes, approaches, work ethics, and the trajectory of a young, Bengaluru-based BetweenSpaces led by architects Pramod Jaiswal and Divya Ethirajan. Continue reading STUDIO: BetweenSpaces →

Architecture, Contemporary Practice, Dialogues, Interviews, Praxis

Architects on Architecture : GRCA: Gaurav Roy Choudhury

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In this edition of ‘Architects on Architecture’ series, we speak with Gaurav Roy Choudhury of GRCA about his influences, practice, design thinking and pedagogy, and engagement with the discourse of architecture in India today.

Continue reading Architects on Architecture : GRCA: Gaurav Roy Choudhury →

Architectural Education, Architecture, Discourse, Education, Essays, On Education

School Without Walls

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In a curated series on archival texts, views, discussions and comments on the state of architecture and design education in India, Professor Chhaya critically questions the idea and role of an institution in an increasingly multidisciplinary design world, outlining his thoughts on a desired model for an architecture school and the values associated with the same. 

Continue reading School Without Walls →

Conservation, Contemporary Practice, Design Thinking, Places, Projects, Visual Culture

Houses of Mylapore

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A public initiative, Houses of Mylapore intends to generate interest and involvement of the community to harbour an awareness about the preservation of a transient past – the cultural and architectural ethos of Mylapore – through Heritage Walks, installations, souvenirs and other activities.

“The challenge here,” explains Tahaer Zoyab of Chennai-based Triple O Studio, one of the co-founders of the Houses of Mylapore initiative in a televised interview, “is that not too many people associate an individual house as a heritage building so that is a notion that we have been trying to change through this project itself.”

Since November 2015, Tahaer and his partner, Anupriya Subbian have directed a part of their studio’s efforts along with several other volunteers to an ongoing endeavour of documenting and thereby, preserving the eclectic suburban fabric of Mylapore.

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Architecture, Conservation, Contemporary Practice, Design Thinking, Discourse, Essays

What is Heritage? – Prem Chandavarkar

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In context of the recent demolition of the Hall Of Nations, Prem Chandavarkar observes that the lacuna in understanding the definition and the meaning of heritage will lead to the loss of many valuable buildings that belong to our recent past.

A couple of weeks ago, the Hall of Nations, an exhibition hall in Pragati Maidan in New Delhi, was demolished to make way for a new convention and exhibition centre. The building was a rare example in the world, and the only one in India, of a space frame built in reinforced concrete.  Completed in 1972 and designed by architect Raj Rewal and structural engineer Mahendra Raj, it was widely recognised as one of the icons of a period of modern Indian architecture that started in the 1950s and continued till the 1980s. This was an era that centred on India’s desire that the potential of her newly won freedom should offer the country a new modernity, and the cutting-edge architecture of that time, produced by the first generation of post-independence architects, was a significant and powerful representation of this quest. Continue reading What is Heritage? – Prem Chandavarkar →