PAPER I ‘CONTEMPORARY VERNACULAR’: In search of a context based architecture Habeeb Khan Architect Habeeb Khan, graduated in architecture from VNIT (formerly VRCE) in 1987 and went to the USA, where he completed his masters in architectural design in 1988 from University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. After his masters degree he worked in Philadelphia with Charles E. Broudy & Associates, where he was responsible for working and coordinating major retail design projects for retail giants like, GAP, Boyds, AnnTaylor, Banana Republic, Georgio Armani and Episode to name a few. After returning back to India he established his practise in Nagpur. In the initial years his firm Smita & Habeeb Khan Associates worked on, like any new fledgling firm, interior design projects. He was awarded the JIIA best interior Design award by the Indian Institute of Architects in 1998 and IIA-KAFF young architects award in 2000.After working on major interior design projects, he shifted his focus on architectural practise. Architecture is his first love. These days he works on major institutional & hospitality projects and exclusive residential bungalows. He has been involved in teaching since the beginning of his career. He has been taking guest lectures and engaging design studios in architectural colleges all over, apart from juries and examinations. He is an approved inspector and expert on the panel of Council of Architecture and is currently the Design Chair at Priyadarshini Institute of Architecture and Design Studies at Nagpur, where he is been responsible for overhauling of the entire educational system of teaching Design. His Design teaching revolves around sensitizing students towards their own heritage and roots, context and climate within the frame work of being contemporary. Keywords: traditions & cultural heritage, vernacular continuity, evolution of a language, contemporary framework The focus of the paper is the current contemporary architectural scene in India and the sorry state that we feel it is in. The loss of context, tradition and cultural heritage from Indian architecture constitutes the thrust area of this paper. Our architectural practice is an attempt at devising & implementing an architectural language assimilating the traditional and its context within a contemporary framework. This paper briefly deals with it and outlines the methodology to achieve the same. ______________________________________________________________________________________ PREAMBLE: The advent of i ter atio alis i post i depe de t I dia resulted i , like else here i the world, a systematic erasure of the local aesthetics & craftsmanship, for the machine, resulting in breaking of the link to the rich traditions & cultural heritage. This vital link produces an architecture that respects its people, culture, craftsmanship & climate while retaining a vernacular continuity. Lifestyles also underwent considerable change. Advent of new building materials and construction technologies gave rise to a new order of community development, building and city planning. These new models were not conceived on local climate or socio cultural order. The import 1 TAT-TVAM: VOLUME 01: ISSUE 01 PAPER I was senseless and the wisdom of the historic past was forgotten, resulting in a context-less architecture. The continuity of cultural heritage and the legacy of our tradition were lost in the new found imagery of a perceived new self-respect. The problem today is more severe. With the advent of communication systems and the Internet, it is very easy to find and visually see, may be virtual, alluring western models and architectural developments. This imagery has no rooting to their own heritage and tradition. This is the image of the outside world, which the younger generation carries with them. This alarming situation coupled with an irrelevant academic curriculum, helped develop a breed of architects whose main interest revolved around a real estate developer and a pastiche model of western imagery and iconography. The contemporary architectural scenario in India is a result of these impacts. PIC 1 & 2: Pastiche model of Western & Indian hybrid imagery THE NEED: There is an urgent need for evolving a language based on the rich traditions of the past and assimilating traditional Indian principles encompassing freedom & responsibility, creativity & common sense, continuity & growth, problem solving with creativity, aesthetic aspirations & construction technology, crafts & craftsmanship. Architecture should respect and bridge this gap between the past and the present. There is a need to pick up the threads that modernity severed, the need to reinvent a new and more responsive architecture, which will be a continuum of the vernacular, yet respect the time it is built in. We call this conti uu Co te porar Ver a ular . 2 TAT-TVAM: VOLUME 01: ISSUE 01 PAPER I It assimilates culture, climate, local craftsmanship & people within a contemporary framework. Continuance of tradition is not of a fossilized reintroduction of old forms, but on the contrary is a question of penetrating the underlying, generating principles of the past, realizing where they are relevant and irrelevant, and then transforming them into present modern day circumstances. This thought process is fundamental to Co te porar Ver a ular . Pre industrial architecture had the strength and nerve to serve the physical and spiritual need of a person, his family and the entire community. At the physical level it embodies centuries of learning with respect to climate, orientation, building material and construction techniques. At the spiritual level, the built-form conveyed total harmony with life style, its rituals, unifying sociocultural aspirations of the individual and the entire community. To achieve this physical and spiritual unity, due importance was given to nature and its laws. Lifestyle followed in consonance with nature and so did architecture. Respect for nature, concern for resources and conservation of energy was atural a d as refle ted i e er da s rituals, so ial a tio s a d, ut aturall , i their architecture. Architecture should see past as a series of layers, of inventions from the nomadic huts to the spiritual temples to the refinement of the Moghuls. It should also respect the colonial framework, although painful to national pride, but an essential part of Indian architectural identity. It should also encompass merging the spirit of the imported with the cultural ethos of our soil and embodies the travails of our climate, local material, craftsmanship and geography. The thought process for archite tural desig i Co te porar Ver a ular shall tra sfor traditional forms so that they are appropriate for the changing social order of the present. There is need to sense beneath the surface and search for the soul so that architecture has a certain timeless character, which fuses the old and the new, the regional and the universal. THE RESPONSE: From its very inception the thrust of our design practice has been to address with a proactive approach this felt lacunae in the architectural developments. It is an attempt at devising & i ple e ti g a ar hite tural la guage Co te porar Ver a ular” which attempts at restoring the broken link. 3 TAT-TVAM: VOLUME 01: ISSUE 01 PAPER I We feel the need to reinvent a new and more responsive architecture, which can be implemented by means of a thoughtful and innovative use of materials responding to climate, people, local craftsmanship, culture, geography and context while simultaneously respecting the modern needs, functions and technology available, with innovative & traditional construction techniques. It also means an innovative synthesis of modern technology with traditional yearnings-a synergy for a new language. Over a period of more than 20 years in practise we have arrived at certain methodology, which helps us achieve this synergy. We have christe ed these as THE COMMANDMENT“ : 1. Continuum of tradition. PIC 3: Continuum of tradition: Citrus Resort at Pench, M.P., India 4 TAT-TVAM: VOLUME 01: ISSUE 01 PAPER I 2. Imaginative use of traditional building techniques, space & volume. PIC 4: Imaginative Use of traditional building techniques, space & volume : Mahua Vann Resort at Pench, M.P., India 3. Recycle, reuse. PIC 5 : Recycle, Reuse : Mahua Vann Resort at Pench, M.P., India 5 TAT-TVAM: VOLUME 01: ISSUE 01 PAPER I 4. Innovation in finishes, materials & traditional building vocabulary. PIC 6: Innovation in finishes, materials & traditional building vocabulary : Mahua Kothi, Taj wildlife lodge at Bandhavgarh, M.P. India 5. Use of natural materials and an ecological approach towards them. Their intelligent use with respect to their nature, characteristics & limitations. 6 TAT-TVAM: VOLUME 01: ISSUE 01 PAPER I PIC 7: Use of natural materials & an ecological approach towards them. Their intelligent use with respect to their nature, characteristics & limitations : Van Villas, Celebration Resort at Kanha, M.P., India 6. Respect & rejuvenation of local people & their economy. PIC 8: Respect & Rejuvenation of local people & their economy : Village Chui, M.P., India adjoining our project at Kanha 7 TAT-TVAM: VOLUME 01: ISSUE 01 PAPER I 7. Respect for local climate, context & culture. PIC 9: Respect for local climate & culture : Priyadarshini Institute of Architecture & Design Studies, Nagpur, India 8. Respect for man and nature. 8 TAT-TVAM: VOLUME 01: ISSUE 01 PAPER I PIC 10: Respect for man and nature : Mahua Kothi, Taj wildlife lodge at Bandhavgarh, M.P. India 9. Non-industrial building methods. PIC 11: Non Industrial building methods : Baghvan, Taj Wildlife lodge at Pench, M.P. India 10. Reinventing and reintroducing traditional building construction techniques. 9 TAT-TVAM: VOLUME 01: ISSUE 01 PAPER I PIC 12: Reinventing & reintroducing traditional building construction techniques : J.D. college of engineering, Nagpur, India The range of projects handled in the studio is large; from institutes of higher education to nature resorts for tiger tourism to private residences. The scale & detailing of projects is thus varied on a wide spectrum. This has made the application of contemporary vernacular even more challenging. The process of implementation was not without hiccups; from convincing the clients, to enlightening the various consultants and educating the workman at site. The language is all encompassing & can be applied across many typologies very successfully, as demonstrated above. The built environs as a result of such a marriage of local materials, technology & contemporary vision is a humane eco friendly & sustainable habitat for our contemporary times. How this shall be done is a question practice & academics need to reflect upon and address quickly. The damage being done needs to be contained. 1. There is a felt lack of data in terms of proper and technical documentation of the vernacular in India. Systematic, extensive and thorough approach in mapping the entire vernacular and traditional architecture needs to be taken up and the data available dispersed. The methodology of the dispersal also needs to be discussed and debated, for it is important that the vast bank of knowledge that will be generated is available to practicing professionals and for pedagogical use across the country. 2. Another issue to help achieve this language is the incorporation of the same and its principles in the academic syllabi, to help the younger generation of architects, on whose shoulders lie the sole onus of containing the damage and changing the future course of action, to be sensitized to this language. Present academic syllabi, which are largely based on an imported and fragmented pastiche copy of western modules needs to be revamped. The research fraternity needs to rise up to this challenge and evolve a new system and framework for teaching. 10 TAT-TVAM: VOLUME 01: ISSUE 01 PAPER I 3. There is also a need to understand the dying arts, craftsmanship and construction techniques and preserve, restore and conserve them through extensive patronage and use. The craftsmen and their traditional vocational skills also need rejuvenation, while analysing and improvising them through advance contemporary technical knowhow. We endeavour to practice all of the above. The effort is very miniscule in comparison to the volume of architectural work happening in India. As a Head of Priyadarshini Institute of Architecture and Design Studies, I have incorporated the same in our academic curriculum as well. Even this effort is minute considering more that there are more than 200 colleges across the country. It is here that an effective synthesis and assimilation of academics, researcher and practice assu es i porta e hi h shall pa e a for e olutio of a e la guage: The Co te porar Vernacular”. REFERENCES: La g, J. etal . Ar hite ture & I depe de e-the search for identity-India 1880- : O ford and India, Oxford University Press Oli er, Paul. . D elli gs : Lo do , Phaido Jai , Kul husha etal . Ar hite ture of the I dia desert . I dia, AADI Giles, He r , ‘upert, Tillotso “teil, Lu ie . . “to es i the sa d . I dia, Marg Pu li atio s . Traditio & Ar hite ture -Palaces, Public buildings & Houses. Architecture Design Publication 11 TAT-TVAM: VOLUME 01: ISSUE 01