Towering Great Heights

Sydney has the Opera House, Paris her Eiffel Tower and New York the Chrysler Tower, is India Tower going to be Mumbai’s iconic architectural piece.

Well Mumbai’s skyline has not looked so iconic and “green” until American architects FWFowle are designing an

FXFOWLEs India Tower centers on creating an iconic residential mixed-use building within Indias emerging new economy. The 301-meter tower is informed by distinctive indoor/outdoor environments and the desire to optimize the panoramic views of the surrounding landscape. The towers rotated form emerges in response to the buildings functional requirements and its mixed-use program - which changes with each twist of the structure. This circulation pattern separates retail, 5-star Park Hyatt hotel and service apartments and long  lease  duplex penthouse condominium apartments within a sustainable network of green roofs and hanging gardens; creating a singular, extraordinary building that, when completed, will be the tallest  and greenest - building in India.

Stepping into Tradition

Photography proves a fantastic tool to take us back into times and traditions which we may have forgotten and abandoned. British photographer Richard Cox is indeed a magician who brings a fantastic collection of images through a touring exhibition titled Subterranean Architecture, Stepwells in Western India. Due to open in September 2008 at Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre, Wales, UK, the exhibition documents step wells and their significance and contribution to the subcontinent’s unique architectural heritage.

Known as vavs or baoris, these stepwells were built about twelve hundred years ago in the dry and arid western regions of Gujarat and Rajasthan. According to Morna Livingston, author of Steps to Water: The Ancient Stepwells of India

“The grandest period of stepwell construction spanned half a millennium–from the late eleventh through the sixteenth century–dotting the countryside with exquisitely embellished public monuments, the most extravagant of which is the Rani ki Vav, or Queen’s Stepwell, at Patan, Gujarat.”

Featured in the above image is the Chand Baori located in Abhaneri, Rajasthan. One of the oldest and deepest wells in India; the Chand Baori sits next to Harshat Mata Temple, comprises of several hundred zigzagging steps steeply descending 11 storeys deep. The result is an impression of geometric friezes carved out of yellowish brown stone laid out against the horizon. On one side of the well, constructed are covered verandas supported by ornate pillars overlooking the steps.

These stepwells provided water storage facilities for drinking, irrigation, washing and bathing purposes. Apart from these primary facilities, these stepwells became areas where passers by could cool. Stepwells also became places where people worshipped the Hindu Gods.

Richard Cox describes their use, “During their heyday, they were a place of gathering, of leisure, of relaxation and of worship for villages of all but the lowest castes. Men gained respite from the heat in the covered pavilions, while the women had a rare chance to chat amongst themselves while drawing water for their families.”

Morna Livingston explains about stepwells in a socio-architectural context, “Owing to its delightful qualities and lucid design, the stone stepwell remained the state of the art in Indian water management for more than a thousand years.”

 

Bookly Treasure

I happened to stumble upon this wonderful oddly titled book Eckart Muthesius 1930. Der Palast des Maharadschas in Indore. Architektur und Interieur / the Maharaja’s Palace in Indore. Architecture and Interior that recently made its way into the racks of RMIT University Library. The book is a fantastic collection of images and drawings by German architect Eckart Muthesius (1904-1989) for the royal commission of the Holkars’ Residence in Indore (Manik Baugh).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Palace is an outstanding early example of experimental International Style architecture and interior design in India. Commissioned by the keen Maharajah of Indaur (Indore), Yeshwant Rao Holkar II to German-English architect Eckart Muthesius, the building today stands as the office of the Chief Commissioner, Customs, Central Excise and Service Tax.

Eckart Muthesius’ designs drew inspiration from various influences, which included his father Hermann Muthesius, an architect, diplomat, writer and deep admirer of the “English house” as an architectural genre. Secondly, Muthesius’ godparent and one of the principal propagators of the English Arts and Crafts movement, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, who also was an early stimulus for the young Muthesius.

A Graphic Avatar

Seahorse (Warehouse A), Mumbai, India - © Planet 3 Studios Architecture Pvt. Ltd

Planet 3 Studios have done their bit by injecting a new life into the abandoned cotton mills of Mumbai with their playful textile-motif inspired retail warehouse designs.

These derelict mills lay spread in the central part of the burgeoning metropolis and exist as the stark reminders of colonial and pre-independent India. Nevertheless they provide a great opportunity for creating adaptive re-use spaces.

Interestingly enough Planet 3 Studios, as contemporary representatives of Indian architecture, seek inspiration from India’s rich variety of motifs and textile designs and work with an intuition to use bold colours.

A marriage of graphic design and architecture is clearly demonstrated in the Seahorse Warehouse. The interiors are a splash of all the brand colours - bright reds, white and blue with the wall featuring embroidery patterns cut-out in plywood. These designs are mapped onto the façades of both the warehouses, thus bringing the playfulness all throughout the buildings and in line with the aesthetics of Planet 3 Studios. They dub their aesthetics as “designs that promote energy, vitality, communication and help improve work or living environment.”

According to the designers, their “solution defers to the historical context by retaining and revitalizing intricate metal and woodwork.” They recall their design process during which they wanted to retain a tree that sat on the site. The tree in all tragedy was cut down by the contractor. As a result, the designers invoke the tree by affixed plywood cutouts on the ceiling and the walls. Having liked the “graphic quality of the tree stencil blocks in ACAD,” they simply replicated the designs onto the elevation and the plan. The design of these warehouses’ makes great use of natural light with its numerous skylights, while artificial lighting is judicially utilised for retail displaying purposes.

Design Team: Santha Gour Mattoo, Hina Parmar, Kalhan Mattoo, Kanwaldeep Kapoor.

Via World Architecture News

A Glassy Debut

Copyright of BDS

Indian architectural firm Building Design Studios have made their debut into their first ever private residential experiment with the Glass House in the southern city of Chennai. Located in Adyar, an affluent suburb of Chennai, the glass and steel structure will generously house four bedrooms, living/dining and service spaces.  A separate building contains a club house which incorporates a gym, pool, steam and games room. According to the architects, the house is built with a “very minimalist approach to the design while respecting the principles of Vaastu Shastra.”