080 Transform - Contemporary Architecture in Bangalore: Exhibition & Events
October 10 to 26, 2008
Only an informed city can shape itself better. Find out how Bangalore is shaping up at 080 Transform, a unique presentation of the emergent architecture in Bangalore, conceptualised and curated by InCITE. Complementary events include Design Dialogues, Design Walks and Meet the Architect Sessions.
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Having been interested in calligraphy, I decided to visit the Ethos Art Gallery that has come up in Jayanagar, and look at the work of Poosapati Parameshwar Raju, a calligraphic artist from Hyderabad.
Calligraphy has a long association with Islam and is less often practiced in the Hindu idiom. But Parameshwar has done a fine job of it, demonstrating a skilled command over the use of his nibs and pens.
There were several works on display, mostly done in red ink, and they have been chosen from eight series, starting from mythology, with thems such as Ganesh, Shiva, Narasimha, Om and so on.
The vowels of the Devanagari script are also treated in a variety of designs and forms:
At the Karnataka Road Transport Corporation bus stand last week, I noticed this strange sight:
The pot was not there to provide a home for birds (in fact, I would say that pigeons and crows rate as pests and are not encouraged there) and it was upended in a net, so that the opening of the pot faced down. I could not find anyone who could give me a reason why it was suspended from the roof of the bus station. Any explanations, anyone?
This is the Airtel office on Bannerghatta Road, near the Jayadeva flyover. True to the “modern” trend in architecture, the facade of the building is all glass; but look at the effect on the inside.
Since one entire wall is glass, the afternoon/evening sun pours in through it.
This is all very well for cities in cold countries where sunshine is a rare commodity, and buildings need to be heated. But here, where the mercury yesterday was at 34 degrees Celsius, it meant a huge volume of space where things were very uncomfortable.
Here are the staff, who have to sit facing the hot and intense sunlight throughout the afternoon:
The customers also have to sit in the sun, but at least they have their backs to it..and they are there for far less time.
The Airtel office is air-conditioned; I can also guess at the amount of energy and electricity it must be taking to cool down the space heated by the glass design of the building.
The architect who designed Jal Bhavan (it’s the building in the dead centre of that map, next to that “pleated” building) has said that glass is a bad material for architecture in India; it heats up the inside of the buildings, which then have to be cooled down at enormous cost in terms of electricity/energy.
Having been in the Airtel office, I would tend to agree.
If this were modern art, I’d forgive the designer for going all over the place in terms of linear logic. I’d also forgive him (or her) for trying to make a 3-D puzzle for the bored passer-by.
I do hope I’m not sounding over-critical on an issue that could be a creative detour that wants to have an identity of its own. Creative expression, perhaps, that breaks the mould of narrow, limiting thinking. A bold departure, from design that has predictable guidelines.
In case you haven’t seen this building, it’s half-way down St Mark’s Road - at the turning into Vittal Mallya Road.
I’d really like someone to give me a perspective on this.
‘Old is Gold’ may not apply to the construction industry. Here the old has to let the ‘new’ take it’s place in the modernization ambit…
Here is a famous landmark building on MG Road getting reconstructed, the old structure was quite stylish as seen by the arches of designer corners that once used to hold tapering wooden roof….
When we say, “designer”, we generally seem to think only of clothes or cars…but design is a part of everything around us, and it is a joy to see excellent design.
Most staircases I know are NOT wheelchair-friendly. Some are…with awkward ramps and ugly railings….
But here’s a fantastic set of stairs where the wheelchair access just blends into the steps themselves, and is so unobtrusive….
I don’t know who designed this…but what a neat,elegant design it is! Definitely shows lateral thinking…
I was taken on a conducted tour of the Infosys campus; the guided tour was a thing of art, perfectly designed to show off the various facets of Infosys. We had an excellent guide, too; I will be posting all about the tour on my personal blog.
But what really intrigued me was the incredible variety of architectural styles on the campus. I documented some of the buildings….there are 26 of them spread over the campus.
Here’s the newest of the buildings, where the Communications Centre is housed, with a state-of-the-art recording studio
:
And here are two other buildings, one reminiscent of Egypt, and the other a brand-new concept:
Here are some more of the buildings that I saw…
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Lalbagh, the beautiful garden that is one of the lungs of Bangalore, has some beautiful structures in it; the most famous one, of course, is the Glass House, made in the fashion of the Crystal Palace.
But just beyond it is the equally lovely Bandstand, pictured here:
During the British Raj, when the British families used to “promenade themselves” or “take the air”, there was a band playing, standing under this structure, and serenading visitors with the music.
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Visvesvaraya Tower
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