Category Archives: Studio

Architecture, Contemporary Practice, Interviews, Praxis, Projects, Studio

STUDIO: KSM ARCHITECTURE

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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 about space-making.

In this edition of the STUDIO series, we enquire about the processes, approaches, work ethics, and the trajectory of a long-standing Chennai-based practice KSM Architecture led by Sriram Ganapathi and Siddarth Money.

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Architecture, Design Thinking, Dialogues, Drawing to Find Out, Interviews, Studio, Visual Culture

DRAWING TO FIND OUT [05]: SHUBHRA RAJE

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Shubhra Raje, principal architect of shubhra raje_built environments closely engages with different drawing practices within her studio. By excavating and analysing visual material in Shubhra’s studio, we attempt to decipher the draftsmanship cultures, their relationship with the design process and the way in which they inform her practice.

Images and Drawings: Courtesy Shubhra Raje
Author: Vedanti Agarwal
Curation and Film: Matter.

Shubhra Raje’s practice emphasizes the act of drawing as a means of critical thinking. Her rigorous drawing habit traces back to schooling years at CEPT University, where drawing by hand was ingrained in the academic rigour. However, her perceptions on the necessity to draw as a mode of thinking (as against drawing to represent) evolved through learnings during her time at the Cornell University. Representational drawings command a style that is conscious of its viewers. Design-thinking drawings are undisturbed collaterals between the engaged hand and the searching mind, oblivious of another eye. The scale of Shubhra’s practice enables her to engage with all stages of drawing in the design development process.

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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, Design Thinking, Projects, Site Visit, Studio

B.S. Abdur Rahman University by architectureRED

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With our cities growing at an incomprehensible pace, reformative delineations negotiating our built fabric often manifest into dense, ad-hoc environments with rocketing skylines and misplaced
socio-cultural semiotics. Responding to a consequential influx, the revival of B.S. Abdur Rahman University by architectureRED presents a case of place-making that attempts to restore an institutional culture by thriving on the nitty-gritty of a radically transformed, peripheral Chennai. Continue reading B.S. Abdur Rahman University by architectureRED →

Contemporary Practice, Praxis, Studio

Peoples Architecture Commonweal, Chennai

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Towards an informed architecture and building practice.

The present day ‘modern’ distress inflicted by ‘innovation’ offers only a fleeting escape amidst architecture that cannot be distilled and built environments that cannot be differentiated. This yearning for a mature, viable society may be met by reclaiming lost responsibilities of unveiling the grammar of traditional practices. Exploring the scope for a radical reorientation of the profession, I recently spoke with Architect Sudhir Kumar to get an insight into the studio’s core concerns which find expression through architecture, research and civic engagement projects.

Based out of Chennai since 1991, Peoples Architecture Commonweal is a coalition of a small group of architects, led by Sudhir Kumar. The studio is invested in the exploration of cultural practices through insights offered by an evolutionary approach towards architecture. Guided by the study of instinctual older approaches to planning, design, and building that are free from the restraint of technological trends, architecture is seen as a means to build more equitable communities by supporting craft and other livelihoods embedded in their local contexts. Continue reading Peoples Architecture Commonweal, Chennai →