Category Archives: Essays

[TML] The Takshila Lecture on Architecture and Society

To mark the opening of the 2018-19 cycle of The Merit List, The First Takshila lecture on Architecture and Society was delivered by Prof Neelkanth Chhaya on August 14, 2018. The lecture was followed by a dialogue with Bijoy Ramachandran and an interaction with the audience.

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ARCHITECTURAL EDUCATION: A ROAD MAP TO REFORM

In a curated series on archival texts, views, discussions and comments on the state of architecture and design education in India, Prem Chandavarkar assesses the state of architectural education and the role of the Council, the practice and the institution in an increasingly urban India- outlining his thoughts on an appropriate paradigm for an architecture school and the urgency for a competitive standard of excellence. 


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TRIBUTE: Hasmukh C. Patel, (7 December 1933 – 20 January 2018) by RIYAZ TAYYIBJI

Riyaz Tayyibji writes about the significance of the work and legacy of Hasmukh C. Patel remembering him for his unique oeuvre and his ability to design humane spaces of delight.  


For the last decade and more, I have called a place designed by Hasmukh C. Patel; ‘Home!’

My apartment is on the ‘4th Floor’, which happens to be the eighth level, as each apartment is a duplex with rooms organized around a double height living room. A large balcony overlooks a public park and a sculptural stair physically connects the rooms. There are days when we forget we are living seventy feet above the street- there is something grounded about the way the apartment works. Our children often refer to our lowest bedroom as ‘the basement’. There is no sense of disconnection, no sense of the typically isolated
apartment. This is not a ‘flat’ that is born from Continue reading TRIBUTE: Hasmukh C. Patel, (7 December 1933 – 20 January 2018) by RIYAZ TAYYIBJI

School Without Walls

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. 


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Humanising Architecture by Sandeep Virmani

In this transcript of a lecture presented by Sandeep Virmani of Bhuj-based Hunnarshala Foundation at the Z-Axis Conference 2016, he talks about the inclusive process of design and planning at Hunnarshala which hinges on the idea of human resource as the fountainhead of all building activity.

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