The Abode of Peace

Alkananda Yeshwanth
(9th sem) 1MS07
Shortlisted entry for the Berkeley Prize Essay


Cancer - an all-pervasive and indiscriminate scourge. A tumour pays no heed to gender, social status, GDP, PPP or which side of Wall Street you occupy. We have all been affected by it in some way or the other, and it has undoubtedly and unfortunately, touched all of us. Coming from a country that now calls itself home to upwards of a sixth of the world’s population, it is my intention to study and hopefully contribute, through architecture, to that section of my community that medicine can no longer help.


The building I have chosen to study is a hospice for advanced stage cancer patients appropriately named Karunashraya – the abode of peace. Located In a suburb of Bangalore, it provides palliative care to its patients free of cost and without heed to religion, caste or social standing – usually issues of debate or divide in India. Designed by Bangalore based architect Sanjay Mohe, it endeavours to create a serene environment for quality care when cure is no longer an option.


Karunashraya sits in a green twenty acre campus in east Bangalore. On one of the hot afternoons that I visited the hospice, I had the opportunity to discover rare tranquillity in the middle of a dense urban setting. The entrance is approached from the south through a long, stone paved driveway that eventually leads to the reception that overlooks one of the three open courtyards. Moving further north, past the reception, one comes across the central design feature of the campus – the water body. Planned in a way that ensures that each of the four wards and all the private rooms overlook this water body, one gets the sense that the architect kept in mind the intense contemplation and reflection these patients go through in their final days. Composite stone and concrete masonry lends the buildings a sombre air, suited very much to the green environs. The sensitively designed wards, seating areas, nurse’s quarters, prayer and meditation rooms, all ensure the privacy and mental health of every inmate on the campus. 


The Bhagvad Gita tells us that “A gift is pure when it is given from the heart to the right person at the right time and at the right place, and when we expect nothing in return.” If these are words to live by, I can think of no purer gift to the community than Karunashraya. In a world where Medicare is a raging debate that is just as taxing to the strongest economies as it is to the third world, this building is representative of the humanity that seems to have been forgotten somewhere in the numbers and spreadsheets. Reflected in every aspect from its conception, design and everyday maintenance, Karunashraya is a working example of empathy and public consciousness. Through this essay, and eventually through my degree, I hope to affect a grass-roots change in this field that would result in the betterment of the community I come from and ultimately prove that I am indeed my sister’s keeper.

The Whole Nine Yards

~ Alkananda Yeshwanth
(8th Sem) 1MS07

What do the five years of architecture school teach us? We sit, week after week, year after year, encompassed by the four heavily embellished walls of our studios, hoping to learn what is called a “design process”. Slowly, when the smoothness of the drafting table comes to replace the comfort of a nightly pillow, we are made to understand that it is not that one flash of brilliance, that one ah-ha moment that leads to the making of an architect. It is when the proverbial 99% of perspiration meets that 1% genius over the inviting blank page that a design is born.

While we are gritting our teeth, bent over the table drafting that building construction sheet we do not see the point of, we must have the foresight to realize that what we are really doing is training our minds to pick up the details. It is what makes us who we are. At least, it should. When an architecture student walks down a street, it is the unfortunate truth that she notices the bonds in the compound walls rather than the attractive guy standing behind it; the ugly cornices and hideous facades of our neighbors houses bother us more than their noisy inmates ever could. 

It is our job to look at the big picture and say – Oh, there’s something off in that little corner, there. We are not a happy bunch – architecture school teaches us that. It is simply a harsher way of saying there is always room for improvement. No design is perfect. Thus, we strive to come as close to that evasive perfection as we can. In the process, we loose what laymen refer to as “a life”. Indicators arise. There are telling signs – by your third year, all your friends are architecture students; socializing, if any, occurs only between projects; a substitute for risqué jokes would be comparing cantilever lengths (on butter sheets, of course).

Are these worthwhile sacrifices? Is getting an A on that last jury worth giving up a personal life? Hopefully, when we are standing on the edge of our first foundation pit, watching our dreams take life and come to quite literal shape - it will all be worth it.

Constraints can be a great thing for design

~  Madhuri Braganza

    Vindhya U (6th sem) 1MS08
    Extract from the Journalism Trophy Entry 2010
    

Constraint: The state of being restricted or confined within prescribed bounds. 

Is that a bad thing?  All of us, as architects, face constraints while designing. It may be population, space, economy or site features. But do we look at it as a guideline for design?

Constraints definitely enhance design. Designing around constraints may further enhance the process, if the designer does his creative best.  As Earnest Rutherford rightly said, “We haven’t got the money, so we’ve got to think.”

Constraints create things we haven’t thought of  yet. Without constraints, we may not know where to begin! Too much freedom can even turn out to be a bad thing. For example, without a time constraint no work would be completed, in fact, some of the best ideas pop up in a time problem. Constraints don’t have to be looked upon as boundaries or limitations- they are the rules of the game! This makes designing, an exciting challenge!

Laurie Baker, in his work, makes use of locally available material judiciously, thus bringing out the character of the material. He also worked out creative openings for ventilation in warm humid areas using brick; he avoided the use of energy-intensive materials and therefore, wastage was minimized. His works were low-cost, beautiful and sustainable. If it were not for natural and manmade constraints, his designs would not have flourished so. Frank Lloyd Wright too, used constraints to improve his design of the famous Falling Waters. He chose his site because he knew the importance of using constraints in developing good design. He chose a waterfall, and built a masterpiece. It is said, ‘Necessity is the mother of invention’; Eskimos built igloos, given the material and climatic constraints.

 When effort is made to go beyond the most obvious or simplest solutions, deliberately keeping in mind the constraints and how to overcome them, design can be beautiful. Without constraints, not only would designing be a bore, but it would also be a long drawn and never ending process. Perfection cannot be attained before flaws are recognized. This brings us to the fact, that problems worthy of attack prove their worth by hitting back. 

Art in Architecture

~Anu Pallavi
(4th Sem) 1MS09

Art is an unavoidable element in the architecture of any time period. its role is so pivotal that architecture without the influence of art is next to impossible to find or create.

art was a major form of expression or story telling even to the cave-man, who only after a considerable amount of time, learnt to converse, invent and use language; let alone build.

 Since man started to build, we see the undeniable influence of art in all man-made structures, right from the pre-historic caves to subterranean dry stone huts to the stone-henge monument. what we can attribute to art here, is the way man has used available material to sculpt a suitable shelter, and to create progressively geometric patterned dwellings and ritual sites.

in a similar chronological order, each historic event and era in mankind’s history and efforts to build reminds us of how much we intermingle art in our architecture. the great temples and tombs of the egyptian civilization gain their glory not without the incised relief, projecting ornaments and hieroglyphics to adorn their monumental walls. not to mention geometric shapes used in a judicious composition in pyramids, etc.

 the following eras in civilization equally demonstrate that structural visual communication was not effective when devoid of artistic touch. this is evident because the human mind is not stimulated or inspired by monotony as in the case of the purely functional development of the indus valley. in fact, lack of encouragement to artisans may even have caused great internal turmoil leading to downfall of such an advanced settlement.

the ziggurats, palatial forts and grand entrances of the mesopotamian era, the temples and theatres of the hellenistic kingdoms, the roman temples, basilicas, etc., are all radically different in their own ways and suggest that as architecture has evolved, so has art that has made it so unique.

 literature, warfare, religion, beliefs and culture have all expressed themselves purely through art in architecture of a place.

medieval artists depended on elements of the classical (roman), early christian, and barbarian art to give character to their buildings. their artistic media included fresco, mosaic, sculpture, manuscript illumination. the most important contribution of art in this period is the use of roman forms and styles including a proportional portrayal of the human body and impressionistic presentation of space. motifs and iconography assume importance now. romanesque, followed by gothic styles depict the dark ages as design evolved and verticality of churches increase. ecclesiastical architecture evolves similarly with advancement in baroque art and sculpture that adorn international museums and cathedrals presently. use of material such as marble, glass, etc., have also added new artistic dimensions to architecture.

 the renaissance style places emphasis on symmetry, proportion, geometry and the regularity of parts as they are demonstrated in the architecture of classical antiquity. orderly arrangements of columns, pilasters and lintels, as well as the use of semicircular arches, hemispherical domes and niches and replaced the more complex proportional systems and irregular profiles of medieval buildings.

indian art and art of the far east suggest strong religious convictions of the people. every architectural element from pillars and stupas of buddhist era, capitals, temple shikaras, domes of the islamic style, mausoleums, gopurams or vertical spires, are all saturated with rich sculpture and religious forms indicating idol worship, deity glorification and cultural symbolism indicating all these existed simultaneously and influencing architectural heritage greatly.

neo-classical architecture is again greek-revivalist and is robust within the limits of romantic sensibilities.

modern day art includes abstract and figurative expressionism, art deco, pop art, funk art, cubism, post-modern art, cyber art, street art, graffiti, and classical realism which have concurrently reflected in architecture. 

Architecture Identity for India

~Aishwarya KA 

(4th sem) 1MS09

Indian Architecture is based on its society, religion and customs. India is known for its diverse cultures which includes art and architecture. From the Indus civilization to the outstanding Taj, Indian architecture has always been greatly appreciated. The recently built Akshardham Temple has also received a lot of positive criticism worldwide. Architecture in India has been evolving constantly; as a result it is hard to connect it to a single entity.  Architecture for “India” becomes hard to summarize. The search for identity continues.

Architecture of India has many branches spreading from a single tree. Diversity is obvious because of its constant invasions throughout history. Each community or area in India is known for its own style and customs. The temple construction from south India varies so much from the north that it is hard to say they are from the same country. Muslim and Buddhist architecture also varied from place to place to suit the climate and culture. India doesn’t particularly have a “vernacular architecture” of its own because each place has its own local style.

India on one hand wants to revive its rich historical past which has been varying due to outside influences from Arabs, Persians, and Mughals.etc and is accepted by all Indians without any predetermined conclusions. On the other hand, India wants to set up itself as a growing nation with its head held high and walk with flamboyance.  This conflict puts in the country in confusion. The traditional old or the innovative new?

Urban development in India has risen rapidly over the past few years. The construction of many IT parks, office buildings, and tall apartments have come up such that cities are expanding in all directions.  The use of foreign technology is used a lot in the day to day construction process. Urban architecture is also influenced by overseas cultures. The shingles from Tibet, the columns from Greek and the verticality from gothic can be seen in various buildings throughout developing cities in India.

While the influence of other cultures progresses in cities, traditional architecture remains in the countryside. The buildings in rural areas vary from mud-plastered to reed thatched to timber framing according to the setting. For example, Rajasthan has architecture ongoing from its root which is a prominent symbol of the state. It strengthens the culture and customs and adds to the incessant necklace of India’s diversity. 

India being a newly independent nation and developing country, it would be reckless to stick to the past and not accept new technology which is accepted globally. Architecture & construction has seen new advancement in terms of technology and ecology over the past few years. The lifestyle change amongst the populace in India brings new requirements for designing every day. The growth and advancement of our country shows that we must actively participate in the technological trend that’s creating currents across the world. It is for this reason that, even in the most conservative country such as India, architects are designing buildings that are globally accepted.

Architecture in India can have many faces to itself; what is presently constructed is not a single idea or concept, but a blend of the past with the technological advancement of the world. The past and the present are juxtaposed. While it is obvious for India to have countless ideas, it is also shows an edge of astounding styles of construction. Indian architecture might be haunted by the past, but it has achieved an independence of spirit while staying part of the global network.