Phenomenology , Architectural dissertation

UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNING Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University Kashmere Gate Campus, Delhi

RESEARCH PAPER, 2016-17

Phenomenological Analysis Case Study: Verma House in Jalandhar

Kriti Verma 03290701613 Fourth Year, 2016-2017

GUIDE Ar. Rajat Ray

UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNING Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University Kashmere Gate, Delhi

APPROVAL

Research Paper title: Phenomenological Analysis, Case Study: Verma house In Jalandhar The following study is here by approved as a creditable work on the approved subject, carried out and presented in a manner sufficiently satisfactory to warrant its acceptance as a prerequisite to the degree for which it has been submitted.

It is to be understood that by this approval, the undersigned does not necessarily endorse or approve any statement made, opinion expressed or conclusion drawn therein, but approves the study for the purpose of which it is submitted and which satisfies the requirements laid down by the Research Paper Committee.

Date: 16th May 2014

Submitted by:

Kriti Verma 03290701613 2016-2017

Guide: Ar. Rajat Ray

External Examiner

Research Paper Co-ordinators

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I express my deep gratitude to my guide Mr. Rajat Ray for guiding me through this dissertation, and made the completion of this research paper possible. His constant support, understanding, assistance and inspiration go beyond the obvious. His critical approach made me make amends for my lack of knowledge in theoretical inquiry.

One is highly thankful Mr. Mark Warner for patient reading of the work and a generous sharing of thoughts on the subject.

One is grateful to Mr. Sumant Sharma for vital encouragement and support.

And one can never forget the special hand of a friend, Rupam that was always ready to help me through tough times while writing the paper. Last but not the least my family for their constant encouragement, mental and financial support.

INDEX Particulars Sr.

No.

No. List of Illustrations

Aim Objective Limitation Methodology Hypothesis 1

Introduction

2 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4

How to read a space Romantic architecture Cosmic architecture Classical architecture Complex architecture

3.1 3.1.1 3.1.2

Experience of a space Conceptual feelings, Physical feelings Methodology based on conceptual feelings Methodology based on physical feelings

4.1 4.1.1 4.1.2 4.2 4.2.1 4.2.2

Case study 1 B.V. Doshi (personality and experience depicted in design) Early life Sangath Amdavadni Guffa B.V Doshi House

5.1.1 5.1.2

Case Study 2 – Authors childhood house -Inference

6

Conclusion

3

4

5

Page

Bibliography References Books, Articles, Unpublished work List of Illustrations

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Illustrations for Chapter 2 Fig1: The inward looking charcter of nodes of Connaught Place Source:Author Fig 2: The characteristic shape of the bounding space of the node at Patel Chowk, Connaught place sympathyse with the circular shape of the node, providing it a peculiar identifiable charcter.

Source:Author Fig 3:The enclosure by the complimenting building of DLF building and Park hotel, Connaught Place, Janpath,provide a contemplation space, a pause point where can orient himself.

Source:Author Fig4: an element, the chair, transforming the context Source:Author

Fig 5: The distortion of the cube at C, makes C the point of orientation of the object.

Source: Amit Gupta, 2000, Critique of the ‘Mask’ on the building front in contemporary Indian architecture, T.V.B School of Habitat studies, New Delhi

Fig 6: A legible front of the chair Source: Amit Gupta, 2000, Critique of the ‘Mask’ on the building front in contemporary Indian architecture, T.V.B School of Habitat studies, New Delhi

Fig 7: Secluded character of an open space (left) Fig 8: Lose of character of the open space with change in perspective (right)

Illustrations for Chapter 3 CASE STUDY 1: Fig9: Living room of Falling Waters by Frank Lloyd Wright Source: Architizer Fig 10: Colour wheel designed by Goethe in 1809

Source: Brainpickings, 2012, Goethe theory of colours Fig 11: small flight of steps leads one an enclosed part of the naturally flowing stream from the waterfall

Source: Architizer

Illustrations for Chapter 4

Fig 12: external envelop of Hussain Doshi Guffa, Ahmedabad Fig 13: Author’s interpretation of Hussain Doshi Guffa Source:Author Fig 14: Internal spatial connections within varied volumes, forming a vivid character Source:Archnet Fig 15: Nubian vaults, studio of Wissa Wassef Source:Archnet Fig 16: Water feature in F.L Wright’s studio, Taliesin West Source:Archdaily

Fig 17: elevation, Sectional elevation of Sangath depicting the form, internal volume and the interaction

of external and internal environment

Source:Archdaily Fig 18: sketch of the orientation and the cross plan of the house by B.V. Doshi Source: B.V.Doshi2012, Paths Unchartered Fig 19: Diagrammatic illustration of the cross plan concept and the s- shaped chajjas of B.V. Doshi’s

house, as draw by him and printed in his book.

Source: B.V.Doshi2012, Paths Unchartered

Illustrations for Chapter 5 CASE STUDY2: Fig 20: The abstract explains the memory of the author, while pushing the door, and entering into the safe and guarded shelter within, along with the urge to see the world outside.

Fig 21: imagery of the gate during authors childhood Fig 22: current iron gated entrance to the house Fig 23: The view of the front garden and the front façade of the house Fig 24: diagrammatic section through the external wall of the built envelop Fig 25: The parking lot (on the left) and the garden (on the right) Fig 26: The abstract depicts the conscious perspective of a child hidden in the memories and forms a tool expressing the oral perception.

Fig 27: sketch depicting the play of volumes Fig 28: View of the sky from the open to sky pause space at the junction of the main entrance path and the vestibule Fig 29: The main entrance door of the house lacks legibility Fig 30: perspective view after entering the house helps develop imagery Fig 31; Perspective sketch of parallel and perpendicular walls intersecting to create habitable spaces Fig 32;In the abstract depicts how the house made the author feel, instead of a literal depiction it is an expression of how she recalls the spaces, her childhood, the experiences, thus giving every space a shape, form, intensity, colour and texture depending on her memory of that space.

Fig 33: abstract of the chandelier in the living room Fig 34: kitchen, an important component of the character development for a house Fig 35; Here the sense of sight overpowers the sense of hearing. The perception of ‘out of sight, out of mind’ is visible in the authors perception as a child.

Fig 36; the abstract depicts how the space traced by the ear becomes a cavity sculpted in the interiors of the mind.

Fig 37: Initial plan of the house, depicting movement pattern Fig 38: Plan of the house after later additions Fig 39: framed view of the garden through the window Fig 40: Peculiar iron jalli on glass framed window, characteristic feature of the house Fig 41: Human mind holds onto certain memories, certain spaces which it can revisit, relive Moments which are immemorial, thus finding comfort in those spaces and memories.

Source:Author

AIM Decoding the physical manifestation of sensory architecture using the narrative imparted to the space by the designer. The research paper proceeds with on-site exploration to understand how exactly conceptual and physical feelings could be generated.

When we analyse a building only on the basis of its functionality we overlook the character of that space with which man identifies and orients himself. Thus the aim is to do an in-depth study of the experience of a space, which can be penned down in the form of a plot of activities unfolding in a dynamic environment.

OBJECTIVE A work of architecture has multiple layers which enable it to act as a whole. These layers function separately at individual levels and in totality as a complex whole.

Thus the individual character of each layer and their inter-relation is an important aspect of architecture. Thus the objective of this study is to understand physical manifestation of sensory experience generated by these layers of architecture.

Further, analysing these elements in particular designed projects to further understand the implementation of the concept of sensory architecture in the physical world.

LIMITATIONS 

The narrative of a space has no definite quantitative way of measuring its experience because the perception of every designer and the individual varies.



The transformation of these concepts from literature into physical spaces is difficult and the result is not guaranteed.

METHODOLOGY In order to understand the character of a space we need to be physically present in that space. Thus to gather first- hand experience of that space :



Firstly, based on the parameters of Genius Loci by Christian Norberg Schulz the space can disintegrated into different elements and the character these impart to that space can be analysed.



Secondly, understanding the theoretical foundation of elements of perception, with the help of phenomenology of architecture, which develop a relation between architecture and the experience by the individual through the writings of Juhani Pallasma, Norberg Schulz.



Thirdly, analysis of personal observation in phenomenological manner which can be achieved by developing a relation with the theoretical text.

HYPOTHESIS The character of a space affects the user who inhabits it. A home is an expression of architecture beyond just fulfilling the requirement of space, rather a container of the personality and the pattern of life of the individual and the family. It manifests taste, values, aspirations and fears, all in measureable form. Thus its design portrays the movement through the place; the routes one had taken through the house, a selfcreated randomness, disorder, only its inhabitants can comprehend.

Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION Over the years of education of being trained to think like an architect, we have gained or are in the process of learning to see, experience and imagine spaces, viz. the professional knowledge.

Do you know where you are? Do you feel where you are?

Architecture provides us with these shelters, and these can be more than just rooms. Architecture is all about the act, the action taking place in that space and this act is the measure with which we measure the vocabulary of this concrete reality.

The feeling of immortality of ruins, of infinity around a water body, of freedom under starry skies and many more such emotions felt by man are immeasurable sensations, similarly architecture should stop quantifying spaces rather the ac performed must help the perceiver sense being alive in that enclosure.

In 21st century we as a civilization have lost the perspective of where we really are.

The experiential quality of hospitals, hotels, universities, galleries etc are shrinking day- by- day, and a commercial force has marked placelessness during current times.

Every individual has a vivid memory of the past and every space we inhabit is done so w.r.t the memory we have of a similar space. The emotions, sense of perceiving a space, orientation, user pattern etc are all diminishing as design tools, once mandatory to create spaces used by man to realise his reality and to bind himself to the current scenario.

Chapter 2 HOW WE COMPREHEND A SPACE? For us to be able to read a space, we need to be present in that space, absorb that space, not just creating a weak visual imagery rather experiencing the whole dramatics of that zone using our storehouse of memory, feeling and intuition. Thus fully decoding the whole language of the space we inhabit for that moment.

If we try to decode or even create a space based only on the quantitative measures then we lose the character, the language through which an individual interacts with his environment. Many counter argue that the form and the function are interdependent and shouldn’t be overlooked. There are even standard parameters for designing a space, for a peculiar function, based on this we allocate the areas, material, connectivity etc. But to overlook the relation between the space and its quality is grave injustice done to the space occupied by the building and not being able to generate the ‘being’ of that space.

Now every volume a man inhabits is read differently. Thus according to Christian Norberg Schulz this place where man exists, breathes, comes alive is imparted this essence by its relation to the context, the surrounding (space) and its bonding elements, thus the place acts a part and a whole (character). As a result the totality of these bounding elements varies with cultures, landscape, typology of construction, design detail etc. [1] Along with reading a space physically the psychic functions of an individual try to answer where he is, i.e. man needs to orient him and how he is, i.e. identification of space. These together lead to creation of concrete reality. We can identify with the space but can only orient ourselves if we know the point of view, the location from which we are perceiving the place else we are bound to be lost. This concept of legibility has been further researched by Kevin Lynch, in the Image of a City where he categorises the settlement into nodes, landmarks, edges, districts and paths.

Thus according to Schulz centralization, direction and rhythm are the basic elements of a space.

[1] Christian Norberg Schulz, 1979, Genius Loci: Towards phenomenology of Architecture, Rizzoli, New York, pg.

Man of a primitive nomadic nature needs a physical concrete world in order to connect himself with the surrounding which is projected on him and architecture provides him with this reality to dwell in and according to Heidgger it means to be at peace in a protected place.

(Make general visible). Thus architecture is not about creating spaces humans can just inhabit rather evolving spaces where man can ‘dwell’. Spaces (prepositions-sys.

Of relations under, over, before, behind) which make man experience its own presence, its own essence of being.

A place, a thing that exists is where all this action takes place. It is far more than an ambiguous location rather has to have a tangible structure (substance, shape, colour, texture) for man to perceive it. Architecture elements help him to perceive his environment in a certain way and even modify his experience. Like the threshold gives a sense of distinction between inside and outside, windows provide a unbroken continuity to man’s vision giving him a sense of shelter yet without objecting his connectivity with the environment- the view of the sky further instil in him the presence of the space between earth and sky and the essence of bounding provided to the earth by the skies. (nature and manmade, inside and outside) The image of a house is not just a shelter, it is the image of memory, imagination and presence. This enclosure gives man a space to think, to create, to prevent him from getting lost.

According to Christian Norberg Schulz every place must become a microcosm. [2] Ever since the primitive man started to create structures he tried to impart this quality of vitality yet permanence into his structures. Example the quality of permanence and strength of the mountains, rising from the earth towards the skies was incorporated into the Egyptian Pyramid. This massive structure visible between the vast expanse of dessert and oasis, defining the ‘edge’ of a settlement from the infinite expanse generating the feeling of safety within that confinement. We may even mention that they painted the domes and ceilings of their tombs and houses to generate the feeling of being guarded and connected with their ancestors and gods.

Then this singular structure was disintegrated into vertical and horizontal elements representing masculine and feminine qualities which were derived from plant forms, [2] Christian Norberg Schulz, 1979, Genius Loci: Towards phenomenology of Architecture, Rizzoli, New York, pg. 40

thus giving the essence of having been originated from the soil so as to protect the inhabitants. Thus any depiction of the Doric, Ionic and Corinthian columns takes ones imagination directly to the Roman structures and the peculiar language of these structures, followed by ones comparison to the original elements and these elements re-created have a certain effect of human mind. These recreated elements may or may-not have the similar influence on an individual. This effect varies with the scale, properties of these elements, human memory, every individual’s perception etc.

In the Medieval times the quality of space was judged by light that became an important element which provided the peculiar character to the space under consideration thus manipulating the source, amount of fenestrations, their location, and creation of shadows thus heightening the experience of that space. Along with light another natural element which could be manipulated in order to alter the experience is time; it is an additional dimension which alters mainly based on the movement, direction and rhythm pattern. Numerous techniques were developed to alter the dimension of time like focusing the journey on the structure as the ending goal of the process. Even the concept of rhythmic paths leading to the centre alters the experience of time in a space. Even the elements of the Hindu Temples, the nave, transept, altar and the concept of axis mundi all highlight the manipulation of the dimension of time.

Further even different types of ceilings inculcate different experiential qualities within a space along with manipulating the exterior like the dome and the vault.

Fenestrations and lighting source in the ceiling provide a different experience, of being enclosed in a confined space yet being inside and outside at the same time.

All these formulate the language of the structure of a place, then the first implication is that it needs to be bounded, its vertical and horizontal relation with the surrounding, its relation with

the environment and further the character of its

silhouette. Thus these manipulate how we experience the space in respect to its openness and spatial direction, the element of ‘presence’ in that space.

The language of a space can be created by juxtaposition and manipulation three dimensional volumes like a circular piazza with paths jutting out, or repetition of

certain elements creates an individualistic yet unitary character of that space example the character of Connaught place, Delhi.

Throughout the studio of urban design the city and its components have been discussed at length further extending into the discussion of urban form which intern become indicators of directionality, access, and habitat. Hence these markers fulfil the task of creating a; place’ in the city. On an urban scale the character of the inward looking nodes of Gol Market, Gol Dak Khana and inner circle act as the repeating elements thus creates a unitary yet individual character.

Fig1: The inward looking charcter of nodes of Connaught Place Fig 2: The characteristic shape of the bounding space of the node at Patel Chowk, Connaught place sympathyse with the circular shape of the node, providing it a peculiar identifiable charcter.

Fig 3:The enclosure by the complimenting building of DLF building and Park hotel, Connaught Place, Janpath,provide a contemplation space, a pause point where can orient himself.

Fig 2:

Fig 3:

The meaning and character making of any place goes far beyond the aesthetics of that place. Like the sense of a house with ridge beams resting on the posts has been instilled in mind as an image of security, of home. The sense of bounding by the vertical and horizontal depend on the form of the roof, which determine the general character of the built form. Even the use of different colour and material give a characterisation to the building.

We experience and design multiple spaces based on the essence they are going to hold and what character we want them to narrate, and how easily an individual present in these spaces can link his presence in that space to the narration the designer wants the space to claim.

Fig4: an element, the chair, transforming the context

The placing of a single wooden chair at entrance of a house can transform the whole space. Instead of just walking past, one can sit here, write, watch time pass by; spend time with one’s own self, thus transforming a transition zone into a useable space. The image itself narrates the character the space will hold for the user.

Fig 5: The distortion of the cube at C, makes C the point of orientation of the object.

The function of the chair viz. seating people itself denotes the legible frontage of the chair. Further, the boundary wall behind the object i.e. the chair denotes the access zone; hence the object can be located w.r.t the physical context. [3] Fig 6 : A legible front of the chair [3] Amit Gupta, 2000, Critique of the ‘Mask’ on the building front in contemporary Indian architecture, T.V.B School of Habitat studies, New Delhi

Thus function of an object, both denoted and connoted, are the basis on which the subject relates to the object. Similarly in architecture the act of entering a door is the marker of entering a built mass. The space association within the mass will further determine the type of movement within, thus weaving the spirit of the built mass. [3]

Further breaking down this whole experience of a city, and considering a single subjective space. The figure above portrays the hidden, secured feeling diagrammatically illustrated from the perspective of the user confined in it. She feels a sense of enclosure due to the massive foliage of the trees yet the space does not become overpowering or claustrophobic due to a framed view of the external context.

Fig 7: Secluded character of an open space (left) Fig 8: Lose of character of the open space with change in perspective (right)

When the perspective changes the whole sense of identity of that space is transformed. The location, accessibility, and the unbarred view of the inhabitant antagonise the whole relation one establishes with the enclosure.

[3] Amit Gupta, 2000, Critique of the ‘Mask’ on the building front in contemporary Indian architecture, T.V.B School of Habitat studies, New Delhi

Further we can categorize the typology of spirit of a man- made structure on the bases of Christian Norberg Schulz’s parameters: 

romantic architecture



cosmic architecture



classical architecture



complex architecture

ROMANTIC ARCHITECTURE According to Christian Norberg Schulz this typology of architecture is defined by the richness, mystery, intimacy, blissful and variety, which originated due to the growth rather than the organisation. Due to this it does not have a rational outlook rather is quiet irrational and subjective. Especially the construction may appear illogical due to the repetition of members and flamboyant ornamentation.

Thus strong romantic spaces correspond to their environment and surrounding settlement w.r.t the proximity of the enclosures or its elements thus giving it an expressive atmosphere. Yet the inside outside relation is complex.

These structures become dynamic as the lines become a symbol of force acting in that space. Even the silhouette is wild.

The light here is used not to create easily legible spaces rather create a dramatic atmosphere. Along with these the use of colour is used to symbolise the local agglomeration of these structures as comprehensible in the pink city, Jaipur.

Thus romantic architecture is eminently local. [4] COSMIC ARCHITECTURE According to Christian Norberg Schulz his typology of architecture aims at necessity rather than creating an expression. It is a logical system, rational system meant to concretize general order. Like the verticals and horizontal elements are static, simple juxta positioning in order to manifest the general order i.e. the revelation of the hidden order, abstract presence of general order. In relation to the surrounding it [4] Christian Norberg Schulz, 1979, Genius Loci: Towards phenomenology of Architecture, Rizzoli, New York, and pg.42

remains open as it does not take the surrounding i.e. the microcosm into consideration. Example: Islamic Architecture It lacks a characteristic atmosphere, yet has a very clear visualisation of space. Does not promote sculptural presence rather prevent emphasis of volume by adding decoration.

Thus cosmic typology is being used in current times to concretize the economic, political and social structure of the society. [5] Maximum spaces concretised by architecture in the present time phrase are under this context. They rationalise space according to use pattern and juxtaposition them in order to maintain a legible transition zone.

CLASSICAL ARCHITECTURE The classical typology according to Christian Norberg Schulz is characterised by the concrete presence and the individuality of each element, where parts formulate a whole and vice versa, which gives man a sense of recognition and belonging. This order may be typological or geometrical. Light is further used to enhance the ‘plastic presence’ of these spaces with the help of light and shadow which models the form.

The Modern architects wanted to incorporate this ‘plastic presence’ in their work, where light and shadow were used to define the cubes, cones, spheres and cylinders without any ambiguity. Yet these plastic spaces had an abstract presence, the true concretization which brings these worlds together was absent the works of early modernist architects. Gautam Bhatia, in his critics about modern day Indian architecture styles narrates how the simply put up blank walls to enclose simple spaces and the roof acted as lid on these blank spaces. The only reason according, why the individuals connect to these spaces is because they were aware of them living in present times where historic references were hopeless and these places further protected them from becoming aware of the outer dishonest, aimless world they were inhabiting. But the character of these spaces further instilled in them this character of roaming aimlessly. [6] [5] Christian Norberg Schulz, 1979, Genius Loci: Towards phenomenology of Architecture, Rizzoli, New York, pg.

[6] Christian Norberg Schulz, 1979, Genius Loci: Towards phenomenology of Architecture, Rizzoli, New York, pg.

45,46

Gautam Bhatia thinks that The Villa Shodhan, by Le Corbusier sits in total isolation away from the beggar ridden streets of the city. A massive volume hidden behind purple and yellow flowers and trees, a shadow suggests that a massive mass in near. A wall pivots marking the entrance of the house. Once inside the house breaks into slabs and floors, with walls running cutting the space and then vanishing directing the view towards the garden, pool etc. Along with windows, slits in walls and skylight in ceiling acting a link between inside and outside and bedrooms opening onto terraces, staircases dropping out of free form roofs and enormous cutouts in vertical facades. [7] COMPLEX ARCHITECTURE To Christian Norberg Schulz this type of architecture is inter related to basic categories of natural understanding, they help us to interpret the spirit of that manmade place. Thus man needs to concretize space in order to identify with that space. [8] This character is identifiable as different cities; houses are contrasting to the other depending on the light, weather, social conditions etc. This is even perceptible in paintings of different cities vary according to the colour used, moods depicted, type of brush strokes used by the artist.

Example: it’s easier to feel at home in foreign structures rather than in foreign landscapes, because the species of flora and fauna vary all around the globe but man made buildings more or less remain the same, and hence man can easily adapt to this change.

In the Indian context the town of Vrindawan, Varanasi etc have their characteristic presence in the urban fibre of the nation. These stand as independent entities which hold the power to consolidate a unified and contrasting presence. One does not feel alienated in these cities yet undergoes a phase of detachment, a city where everyone is bound to eat vegetarian, attend the temple service, pretend to live in humility and follow numerous other unsung norms of the city.

[7] Gautam Bhatia, 1994, Punjabi Baroque, New Delhi, pg. 48, 49 [8] Christian Norberg Schulz, 1979, Genius Loci: Towards phenomenology of Architecture, Rizzoli, New York, pg. 47, 48

Chapter 3 HOW WE EXPERIENCE SPACE Architecture is a way of creating and transforming spaces, and it cannot be performed in isolation. The emotions, sense of perceiving a space, orientation user pattern etc all vary w.r.t the user. Further these feelings can be generally categorised into two types, viz. conceptual and physical.

CONCEPTUAL FEELINGS Conceptual feelings are not derived from sensory experience of any organ. These are stored in the human body and are transferred from a past stage to the present.

Hence perception of the built form is a legacy of the past felt in the present. Under such conditions the past emotion, knowledge, memories dominate the perception of the present. [13] PHYSICAL FEELINGS Physical feelings are derived from the sensory experience of the immediate environment. The mind is not provided with the time to think, judge and contradict the emotions felt. The objects are present in the same dimension as the inhabitant, and their origin, transformation and derivation are not influencing the current environment.

Thus space creation has always been in context to the one inhabiting it. The whole spectrum of emotions man experiences varies with space he is in, thus a concretised enclosure can transform human experience while being dependent on the perceiving ability of the user. Thus designing enclosures should be in context to what typology of character we want to impart to the space. Consequently, different layers of ‘being’ of man will respond to the layers of the enclosure in varying degree, and hence he will identify himself with an enclosure depending on the experience he went through.

METHODOLOGY BASED ON CONCEPTUAL FEELINGS Based on the above explorations, a certain set of categorisation can be stated for further exploration of space and the physical feeling generated by these. The following are to be referred while carrying out the future explorations of space: 

space in memory of



space where death lives



space of the past still present



space as a static



space as dynamic



space denotative



space of solitude



space of anxiety



space as absorbent



resistant space



space as retrospective



space of denouement [9]

Spaces absorbed in symbolism have been treated as a separate category of defining the experience, and hence have not been explored in this research paper.

(1) Denoted function: the actual use of the object.

(2) Connoted function: refers to the symbolic capacity of the object, example: the Rashtrapati Bhawan acts as the seat of power.

[9] Prerna Kalra, 2000,’Purana Ghat, Jaipur’, T.V.B School of Habitat studies, New Delhi

METHODOLOGY BASED ON PHYSICAL FEELINGS As Juhani Pallasmaa said, “Everything of architecture is multi-sensory, quality of matter, space, scale are measured equally by ear, eye, nose, skin, tongue, skeleton and muscles. Architecture strengthens ones sense of being in the world, essentially giving rise to a strengthened experience of self”. [10] In this sense, his approach to perceiving a space originates from what he calls ‘sensory architecture’ (Haptic experiences) where an individual processes the building ‘nearly’.

It is man’s primary nature to experience life and derive meaning and purpose; similarly it is the motive of a space to impart this meaning and purpose to the onlooker. Thus man interprets the language of architecture created to satisfy something more than his basic need, something complex, intellectual.

From the very time of birth the human mind starts perceiving the space it have just been brought into and soon enough it starts retaining certain part of the experience, converting it into memory. Along with that it uses its other senses and attaches a certain emotion, feeling, an adjective to how a certain place, space, material, colour, shape etc felt during that instance and further it carries on with that while adding and subtracting to this storehouse of earlier logged information.

To support the above theory we take the case of Peter Zumthor who talks about the knowledge of architecture which he gathered over the years without even making an additional effort. Further he elaborates on the vivid memory of his aunt’s house he visited

as a child, the door knob, the wooden steps leading to the front door and

the peculiar smell. Further he stresses on the strong imagery of the experience of the kitchen, with its natural lit walls felt as if it was the only room the house which had sufficient light and thus how he still uses this experience to inculcate a certain language in the spaces he designs.[11]

[10] J. Pallasmaa, the Eyes of the Skin: Architecture and the Senses (London: Academy Editions, 1996), p. 28 [11] Peter Zumthor, A Way of Looking at Things, Lecture, November 1988-ARC Southern California Institute of Architecture, Santa Monica

This character cannot just be evoked in a space rather provided to it with the use of certain materials. We need to be aware of the dialogue each material will evoke i.e. its acoustic quality, smell, tactility and the visual impact. Thus every material will add to the language spoken by the space. Thus further we can use these based on the relation we are to create between the two which elates ones experience similar to that of music, literature or painting. Further the language of a building also depends on the dialogue with its location, it belongingness with the people, the past, the site and its growth with time. Thus architecture has to own a space where it is marked and help it become root for life. These elements cannot exist in isolation they are part of the whole space and further they define the whole, therefore collaboration is necessary among these parts to maintain integrity, a common language while still being fluent in their peculiar mother tongue.

But sometimes this experience becomes overpowering for the individual, further deteriorating the quality of space. Thus this depends on the perception of the designer, the observer, and the objective for which the space is being designed.

Spaces where the object it holds needs to be more impressive than the space there it needs to act as a background, a container which absorbs the tap of the feet on the floor, a snort of a sleeping child or the rattling of windows by the wind.

VISION The very initial perception by which we form the first impression of any place is the visual image of that place. The appearance of any place is enough to encourage or discourage an individual’s interest in that space as it enables us to formulate a perception, a form, and an enclosure. But the day to day increasing prominence being given to vision is causing the suppression of other senses. Thus various sensory experiences from art and architecture are disappearing, putting man into a state of isolation, desolation and detachment. While modern architecture is designed giving prominence to imagery, our modern world is becoming an unending bombardment of images. With the increasing sense of detachment and alienation the sense of ego increases thus further distancing and detaching one from its surrounding. As the participation of our senses is decreasing while designing and experiencing spaces, thus further they are becoming flat and sharp edged. The primitive man constructed spaces in accordance with movement pattern and space requirement by human body to dwell, like the mud houses, similar to the construction of nests by birds.

But the architecture is losing its aura, further being transformed into a commodity. This encapsulates man into the boredom shielding him from the reality of his existence.

Visual imagery can be more than just flat, static depiction, which is transforming it into an endangered art form. Architecture should support the visual imagery, like while painting the artist does not draw a hut; he paints a home, a shelter, while the landscape and the street respond to the character of that house.

A similar narrative is written in ‘All the Light We Cannot See ‘by Anthony Doerr where his protagonist is blind and his father makes miniature models of their city, Saint Malo but she exclaims that even though the model of his has every building, path, node and landscape yet it bears very little resemblance to the real world. ‘The real one presents an amphitheatre of noise and fragrance’. [12] She feels lost and disoriented in the real world cause it’s not just made of stagnant structures rather of the smells of castor oil, bread, camphor, roses accompanied by traffic and in winters these change into odour of chestnuts wile in summer the space is inhabited by sleepy conversations and dragging on metal chairs.

Thus even if we use are to design visually appealing spaces they need to go beyond just a weak visual imagery. They need to appease the hungry soul and the bored human heart.

Example the Falling Water/ Kaufman house by Frank Lloyd Wright Fig9: Living room of Falling Waters by Frank Lloyd Wright

The Pottville sandstone used by F.L. Wright for flooring is textured in way that along with feeling the surface of the reddish yellow stone, visually the flooring looks like water with crashing waves on the surface. This magnificent flooring compliments the setting of the house on the river and the surrounding landscape thus using manmade materials to connect the indoors and the outdoors.

[12] Anthony Doerr, All the Light We Cannot See, Forth Estate. London, 2014, pg. 35

HUMAN BODY The human body is the centre of any man-made creation. Thus architecture needs to support the existence of man, catering to its different sense while experiencing a space. ‘I’m the body’, said Gabriel Marcel, but ‘ I’m the space, where I am’, claimed poet Noel Arnaud.

A marvellous piece of architecture communicates with body of the human, even after centuries of its creation. The Red fort, Hauz Khas still holds this ability, while the modern day structures lose their dialogue within a few years, or worse they have none.

SHADOW In any art form shadow is the protagonist. The depth of building, the form of the volumes, the minute texture of a surface all come out with the shadow created by a mass and on an individual surface. Man feels more relaxed and at ease during twilight, in dimly lit spaces therefore they control the lighting of restaurants allocating the space a particular character.

The aura of a dimly lit street with old houses lines along the edge has an enchanting character to it. Darkness creates solidarity, helps man to be free from judgements, help him be confined in his own thought and thus strengthen the power of spoken word.

Example: the minute craftsmanship of the jalli’s at Taj Mahal help to create the enchantment because every single jalli is chiselled in a way that an intricate shadow is created within each jalli.

COLOUR Colour has a psychological and physiological effect on human organisation, based on both visual and non-visual basis. The assumption that colour and light are only visual factors; properties of the object are false delegations, rather along this they have a sensory phenomenon, based on our experience, visual memory and the true appearance of that colour. The modern day definitive use of colour is based on their visual appearance, ‘objective view’ but over the years man has used these to be able to orient him in this world and identify with things in varied circumstances.

‘The eye has evolved to see the world in unchanging colour, regardless of always unpredictable, shifting and uneven illumination.’ [Osborne R, lights and pigments, London, John Murray, 1994] We cannot even imagine a world without colour; such a place will end us running in a maze trying to find our territory on this map. Thus colour acts a mark of identity for cities, cultures, and an act of expression by man. The collective identity of a place can be imparted to it due

to the colour used in the buildings example Jodhpur, or the coherence of that space due to the peculiar colour of the stone used to build these structures which is present in the vernacular architecture of India. The usage of these colours beyond their original site formulate disposition of that colour.

The German poet, artist, and politician Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, in 1810 published the Theory of Colours, which enlisted the nature, function and psychology of colours.

Fig 10: Colour wheel designed by Goethe in 1809

YELLOW In its highest purity it always carries with it the nature of brightness, and has a serene, gay, softly exciting character.

This colour is the closest to light. But different gradations of this colour will give varied experiences. The faint versions of this colour, as it appears on the mitigation of light by semitransparent mediums or faint reflection from white surface is placid, aggregable and gladdening.

But a further stronger and bold content of yellow generates agitation, a disagreeable effect.

For example the obnoxious smell of sulphur and the colour yellow give it a disagreeable quality. This colour when reflected from the surface of a course texture, the strong appearance is allured.

RED-YELLOW The red yellow becomes a more powerful, intense yet little subtle, holds attention yet soothing like the glow of fire.

The red-yellow gives an impression of warmth and gladness.

YELLOW-RED More on the active side the colour of healing, drawing focus, excitement while being counted on the darker shade of palates. Mainly used in the paintings, interiors and temple flags etc.

The high energy of the colour can sometimes be very dramatic, and disturbing like the colour of the scarf on a winter day.

It produces an extreme excitement, and still acts thus when somewhat darkened.

BLUE The wide ranging palette of blue varies from peace, solidarity, excitement, repose to negation.

This colour has a peculiar and almost indescribable effect on the eye.

It seems to have originated from the whiteness of light, yet seems to dissolve into the darkness of night. It is colour of something cool, of shade thus instead of generating agitation it draws something from inside us, like the background of mountains, something distant.

Rooms in blue appear larger yet dull. Little darker shades of blue give a royal, elegant look to a space but along with darkening the atmosphere.

RED-BLUE It has the calm, depth, melancholy of blue along with the agitation, and restlessness of red.

Yet one is forced to find a rest to this colour.

It may be said to disturb, rather than enliven.

BLUE-RED An impatient colour which is royal and draws attention.

A defined character yet agitates the being.

RED The effect of this color is as peculiar as its nature. It conveys an impression of gravity and dignity, and at the same time of grace and attractiveness.

The deeper shades draw attention, alarm, helps ones senses of being present thus is used in restaurants etc. While the lighter shades have a certain dignity, awe, yet something sacred and fearful example it’s used in Chinese culture and interiors.

This quality of red is visible in the red sandstones used in the structures by the Mughals.

GREEN The amalgamation of yellow and blue, two prime active colours result in the colour green. It’s the colour of result, fertility, absolution and equality.

The beholder has neither the wish nor the power to imagine a state beyond it. Hence for rooms to live in constantly, the green colour is most generally selected.

ACOUSTICS Man relation to his environment is largely affected by the typology of sound of the space he inhabits. Sound helps us modulate the quality of a space, a deafening silence makes man anxious in a space, while the sound of evening prayer on the steps of Jama Masjid create special place the memory of man. Personally I relate the sound of morning birds to being present in the ruins of a monument. Thus every space has a voice of its own, but in the modern times these ‘ours ears have been blinded.’[13]

TOUCH Man uses hands as the most primary body part in order to feel any surface, feel the quality, temperature, the movement of the surface etc. The human hand has a memory of its own, This tactile sense connects us with our surround. Our skin can immediately tell the difference between temperatures with great precision. In my personal bank of memory I have a varied sensation of the shade provided by a massive tree, lying unrecognised in the massive complex of the Purana Quila. While walking barefoot on the grass wet with dew during sunrise, the healing warmth of the sun travels through one’s body helping one feel the breathing of the earth.

Fig 11: small flight of steps leads one an enclosed part of the naturally flowing stream from the waterfall

[13] J. Pallasmaa, The Eyes of the Skin: Architecture and the Senses (London: Academy Editions, 1996), p. g.

51 para. 3

The element of sound, touch and scent has been magnificently portrayed by F.L.Wright in the Kauffman house for example a small flight of steps leads one an enclosed part of the naturally flowing stream from the waterfall.

SILENCE TIME SOLITUDE A well enriched piece of architecture, enables man to feel his presence, helps him become aware of every breath he takes, allows him to experience the slow, healing quality of time.

At the Hauz Khas fort the openness of the colonnades, the presence of the enclosure in the domed pavilion, brisk movement from the upper tomb too the lower cell’s and the vastness of the unbroken view of the lake impart the strength to the structure due to which the whole urban settlement sprang up along it. The whole walk along the market with the fort as the resting destination, which in its silence is alive, gives an unexplained realisation of time.

SCENT Every individual can tell the scent of his house, to his grandparents’ house, to an old isolated house, to a newly painted house, a house by the sea, a house with the freshness of the mountains. The most prominent memory of a space is by its smell.

A dilapidated, isolated house has a peculiar scent, of its inhabitants under the scent of the dust and the rusting objects, who abandoned the house yet the house couldn’t let them go, thus holding the nostalgia of life that was still present.

TASTE Man can even connect his vision to his taste. Some colours, textures of stone, wood delicately evoke a sensation of taste in human body.

MEMORY We remember with our body as much as we remember with our brain and nervous system.

A writer never writes from the brain he takes his body with him. Thus architecture has to act as the concrete reality where man meets the world, along with becoming aware of his presence and role in the structure of this multi dynamic dimension.

Chapter 4 CASE STUDY 1 The character and language of a piece of architecture portrays the life experiences and Ideologies of it’s architect.

Balkrishna Doshi Early life The personal life of an architect influences his perception of space and how he imparts a language to that space based on the memory, experience and knowledge of that architect. B.V. Doshi was born in a modest joint family in Pune, his mother passed after his birth and his father had a furniture business. Looking for an outlet for his emotions he started doodling, maintaining a journal and drawing. Having grown up in traditional Indian family virtues like forgiveness, sharing, tolerance and reverence became a part of his nature, along with understanding the importance of community living,. Which later become visible in his ideas of space and typology of design.The house where he grew up was adjacent to the furniture workshop, and was always undergoing a dynamic modification in order to accommodate the needs of all the inhabitants, yet he vividly remembers the permanence of the kitchen, dining and prayer room. This later influenced the design of his house in Ahmedabad.

His professional life took a rather strange turns from J.J. School of Architecture, to 35 Rue De Sevres, to Chandigarh and finally to Ahmedabad, offering a varied palate of experiences ranging from art, economy and politics.

His uncle in law played an important role in his life as he opened the vast world of imagination and fantasy through the epic stories, scriptures, mythology, festival and ceremonies which became a prevailing factor in his life. Further the epics like Mahabharata and Ramayana exposed him to characters like Karna which made him aware of the concept of life, death, responsibility and karma.

Further in his autobiography he himself tells a story from the vastushastra, between King Vajra and Saint Markandeya which clearly demonstrates how literature, painting, dance, music, poetry, art, and how they are interrelated with our tradition.

As B.V Doshi said ,‘A building is created out of memories, associations, sounds, forms, spaces and images and many other related and unrelated encounters.

Through these he reconstructs his image to connect to the world around.’[14] Thus he originated his own style something multi-layered, every layer rigid yet loosely woven story, each having its own function. Further his experiences around the globe helped him find balance is his work, combining the east and the west.

His designs incorporated his philosophy of the presence of a space, i.e. every space an individual inhabits must help him discover his own self and the space in its own being, thus awakening every cell in the body and manifesting into an experience that every individual takes along. Based on this journey and thought process the works of B.V. Doshi became a trademark, each embodying the essence of his way treating a space.

AMDAVA NI GUUFFA/HUSSAIN –DOSHI GUFFA, Ahmedabad “I often recall and think about the tales from epics…some tales find a place in my life and work”, reclaimed B.V Doshi while talking about the concept of Amdavad Ni Guffa based on the epic of Kurma avatar, the tortoise. [14] The Amdavad Ni Guffa marked a period of evolution in Doshi’s lifetime; he played with the form technique of construction, design of roof, surface of walls. Further the works of Hussain adorned the evolutionary concept of the Guffa. The character of the space continuously changes due to the movement of the sun and yet the placement of entrance and exit connected it with the outside world. Thus creating an experience which captivated even time.

To heighten the experience of this place Doshi attached the concept of the Guffa to the form of Vishnu’s Kurma avatar. Further Hussain painted the King Cobra, Vishnu’s Sheshnag connecting all domes as if holding the earth in its place, but a headless cobra ending in a black mosaic.

[14] B.V. Doshi, 2012, Paths Unchartered, Vastu Shilpa Foundation, Ahmedabad, pg.

Today the Guffa hides a spiritual experience surrounded by the coffee shop, office, gallery and an amphitheatre thus forming a civic complex, where families spend a leisure time pondering over the cobra coiling around the domes. But this experience changes with the time of the day it is experienced in, personally I visited the Amdavadni Guffa during night, the inside was artificially lit just not expressing the use of the skylights and making M.F. Hussain’s cobra invisible, thus what did I experience when I did not see what all was ‘meant’ to be seen in that space.

Fig 12: external envelop of Hussain Doshi Guffa, Ahmedabad

Abstract by Author to understand conceptual and physical feelings generated by space.

Fig 13: Author’s interpretation of Hussain Doshi Guffa

EVOLUTION OF DESIGN OF SANAGTH, Ahmedabad Sangath in Gujrati means ‘moving together.’ Thus Sangath as a project is the culmination of all the dreams, aspirations, wisdom, learning and philosophies of B.V Doshi. Here he incorporated his multi-layered world into a concrete reality.

To B.V Doshi life wasn’t about reaching a goal, rather it was a flow , something dynamic, an elixir that flows through us, all we need to do is give it the freedom to move, to express. Thus for him Sangath was the physical manifestation of this joy flowing through us.

For him it holds the essence of his experiences from his childhood, as a motherless child he didn’t own material belongings and resolved to live like a wanderer. This vow remained with him even while he started the construction of Sangath which materialised with borrowed money. Till now he neither owns his residence nor his office, somewhere this gives these spaces the freedom that they originally belong to where they are and to the flow of life through them, not to a mortal human. Thus it gives the space the essence, the character of a patient listener.

In Sangath Doshi immortalised the freedom from space and time. While his early visit to Kailash Temple at Ellora he was taken aback by the strong independent presence of the space which ignited every sense of an individual, claiming that the character of the place was as if the stone itself commanded to undergo this salvation, to be able to one day stand in all this glorified form. The columns of Ajanta caves are not vertically aligned with the floor thus it further immortalised the character a place can imbibe once there is the freedom and the courage of expression similar to that of Sagrada Familia by Antonio Gaudi where the depiction of a tortoise carrying the load of the structure moved Doshi. Thus enabling him to understand the varied typology of languages that are used to express the same meaning. That life is how one deals with it; it’s all about being dynamic and flowing with the river of life.

Sangath became the physical manifestation of the joy he had felt as a child in their Pune house, and his father’s furniture workshop. Thus it became like a living being, the ceiling, floor and walls all flowed into each other as a unified whole, like a portal

for life giving energy. While designing Sangath Doshi was moved by the teachings of Gita, it wasn’t just building a structure which looks like a building rather of coming alive once someone was inside the complex.

The whole journey through Sangath is as if an individual is walking inside a temple towards the sanctum sanctorum, the just adequate proportions, heavenly lit space through the glazed vaults, steps leading further and further inside the earth and the Doshi’s private office placed higher than the surrounding work areas, all gives it an individualistic character. The scale and the proportion of the structure where highly influenced from the houses in Manek Chowk, which were hardly 180 to 240 cm wide thus giving a feel of whole ness and holding the senses of a person.

Fig 14: Internal spatial connections within varied volumes, forming a vivid character

Externally the heavy base of the structure and the vaults give it the language of a temple base bound strongly between the earth and the skies. It’s unbroken flow into the landscape, and water channels running along the descending vaults help it merge with the site, forming a peaceful scenario for the onlooker.

Doshi wanted to experience life inside his studio, and light was the basic phenomena which can be easily manipulated to alter the experience inside any type of space.

This was facilitated by the use of normal windows in the walls, through skylight and direct penetration of light through flat roof using glass bricks.

The present language of the space owes a lot to the experiences and memory of Doshi. The final concept of Sangath developed from the studio of sculptor Wissa Wassef, with its centenary vaults and Nubian vaults was a place that housed celebration, creation and life.

While sitting in the dark hours, solitude takes over human heart and that instance one can hear the sound of birds, insects, universe and marvel at the vastness of space. This character Doshi attached to the presence of vaults and further used them in Sangath.

Fig 15: Nubian vaults, studio of Wissa Wassef

Along with this the pool inside the complex was inspired by the water feature in Frank Lloyd Wright’s studio in Taliesin West

Fig 16: Water feature in F.L Wright’s studio, Taliesin West

Fig 17: elevation, Sectional elevation of Sangath depicting the form, internal volume and the interaction of external and internal environment

Home is the embodiment of self; hence the philosophy of B.V Doshi is evidently visible in his own home.

The house centrally has four columns and a cross plan enclosed by the periphery walls. These columns encapsulate the space yet give a fluidity connecting spaces beyond the functional need of that area. This further influenced the design of the house he planned for his daughters.

The ‘S shaped’ chajjas acted as vertical light sources with overhanging boxes, this gave a quality of lightness to the space, borrowed from Manorama Sarabhai’s house.

The mezzanine provides spaces for library and bedrooms, thus giving the space the fluid character of a one story house, giving it the experience of a traditional Pune house.

The house was modified numerous times yet the kitchen and prayer room always remained the centre of activity, holding essence of permanence giving importance to these spaces.

Fig 18: sketch of the orientation and the cross plan of the house by B.V. Doshi

Fig 19: Diagrammatic illustration of the cross plan concept and the s- shaped chajjas of B.V. Doshi’s

house, as draw by him and printed in his book.

Chapter 5 CASE STUDY 2 CHARACTER OF AUTHORS RESIDENCE One just does not walk into a structure and call it a home. The enclosure one relates to is where one can dwell. Everyone uses the space of their own house with respect to the feeling that space generates or helps express. How that space helps their personality, and how easy or difficult is for a person to feel a specific way in that particular zone of their house. It refers to their ‘being’, and how their existence is supported by the enclosure created by this structure, and how well all while maintaining their individual dimension come together and gather in this space and state of being.

The use of every space is based on what function needs to be performed, which is further dependent on which space facilitates the comfort for that function excluding whether it is designed for that function, along with the past experience of that space.

The phenomenological definition of a house is based on the act of experiencing the space where the action and occurrence take place, along with its whole dynamism and structure.

At an urban scale the houses surround a community park. This can be considered a basic prototype which is further repeated multiple times in close proximity. But if one tries to abstractly locate the house, it lacks an eye-catching image. Within the neighbourhood every house stands with an audacity irrespective of its neighbour.

Thus there is no united spirit in the neighbourhood.

Thus analytically every private property opens into a semi- public gated space facing the public realm, hence forming a hierarchy of movement pattern. But at the micro level the architecture of each private residence neither holds a collective spirit nor does it support a strong individualistic character.

Every structure holds a presence which is encapsulated by the bounding elements.

The building envelop becomes externally the most visible segment of the spirit capsulated by the walls.

White, dwarf height Guarded her fortress Day in, day out She could swing on its shoulders Years rolled in, years rolled out Replaced by an ostentatious one Suddenly It wasn’t a home It’s just a house Fig 20: [Space in memory] The abstract explains the memory of the author, while pushing the door, and entering into the safe and guarded shelter within, along with the urge to see the world outside.

Fig 21: imagery of the gate during authors childhood

Fig 22: current iron gated entrance to the house

The tactile experience reads the weight, the touch, texture, temperature and density.

Similarly Juhani Pallasma exclaims the significance of tactile sensation over vision, “I cannot remember the appearance of the door to my grandfather’s farmhouse in my early childhood, but I do remember the resistance of its weight.” [15]

The human body has a memory, and it is stored as the sensations stored by the body. ‘The door knob has the sensation of a handshake with the space’, similarity the gated entrance of the house is always a prominent memory etched in the minds of the inhabitants.

We perceive the world with our body as the centre, thus the presence of the gate is with respect to the how the body felt while the gate was moved, remembering the experience of sense of gravity and tension.

[15] Vibha Kukreja, 2009, Authenticating Architectural encounter, Sushant School of Architecture, Gurgaon, Haryana

Fig 23: The view of the front garden and the front façade of the house

Fig 24: diagrammatic section through the external wall of the built envelop

The red exposed brick walls would have been a monotonous and unpleasant feature without the massive niches which house the windows along with the characteristic jalli work.

[Space as dynamic]

These extensive full length windows embedded in these niches with overhead chajjas are shaded throughout the day, and their placement gives the house a sense of enclosure and privacy, while the floor jutting from below transforms into the lush green front garden, thus providing a definite frontage to the site.

Adjacent to this the massive hollow void which runs along the depth of the house, functionally labelled as the parking area, and provides the spatial direction towards the main entrance of the house.

The outer form is a basic cuboid, with numerous internal cuboids, with a few caving in and few jutting out. The unbroken length of the house gives it a prominent façade and a collective spirit holding the space together. Envelop holds the windows which provide natural light thus concretising inside-outside relationship.

Fig 25: The parking lot (on the left) and the garden (on the right)

Giggles, badminton shuttles bouncing of the walls Gardner’s, stray dogs resting in the garage Flying chappals to crying siblings always available in the front yard Bruised knees, broken elbows jumping from the neighbours walls She now prays, may the chaos deafen this obnoxious calm

Fig 26: The abstract depicts the conscious perspective of a child hidden in the memories and forms a tool expressing the oral perception.

Fig 27: sketch depicting the play of volumes

The quality of time has always been an element which can transform the space under consideration. Architecture should enable man to feel the stillness, the passage and healing of time. The past has ended, and every time we think about it, we recall the last memory we created of that space, and the future is pure imagination thus the present we live is in a constant tussle with the past we have lived and a mark for the future we want to create.

In front of the main entrance of the house, is an open to sky void in the built mass. An individual walks the longitudinal distance up to the main entrance door; this transition zone and the vestibule of the built mass are linked by this open to sky pause space, which provides a strange experience of being inside yet not fully present in the enclosure.

Another major act which has forever marked the imagery of entering ones house is crossing the threshold.

Fig 28: View of the sky from the open to sky pause space at the junction of the main entrance path and the vestibule

The word threshold itself creates the image of wooden shutters, with a wooden chaukhat, an iron bolt along with act of passing through this microcosm of transition.

A single 100mm step, with wooden door, along with a framed window into the corridor itself marks the characteristic entrance of my house.

Fig 29: The main entrance door of the house lacks legibility

Fig 30: perspective view after entering the house helps develop imagery

Fig 31; Perspective sketch of parallel and perpendicular walls intersecting to create habitable spaces

For the first instance one step into this vestibule one feels a sudden blackout because eyes take time to adjust from the stark contrast of bright sunlight to little less bright interiors. Slowly the eyes start registering the marble clad staircase on the left, the stark white wall on the right, as a prominent easily legible space it forces you to walk fast leaving this area to enter into the living area.

Once inside the living room one orients himself accordingly, acting as the centre it has the energy which concentrates all the movement and agglomerates it in this space.

A basic hollow cuboid with spatial forms attached to it. This cluster functions on the basis of the close proximity of all the forms and elements, thus developing an interdependent spatial relationship.

Every spatial configuration has a pattern; similarly on site the mass has an orthogonal grid linking independent zones. The entrance flows into the living room, earlier this was marked by an entrance wooden frame door which was later taken down, now the visible beam still frames the entrance. Once inside the white walled and white vitrified tiled living room gives a spacious feel. Too many doors opening into one place, the kitchen, drawing room, three bedroom doors, door to the veranda and the main entrance all flow into this space. Throughout the day it the active zone for all the household help performing their tasks in this area. This space is the transition zone, people flow in and out, even though it houses the heavy wooden carved dining table, still it is never used. Thus the phenomenological binding character of the dining table is absent. The frosted window of the pujja room also overlooks into the living area, thus giving it openness, a break from the monotonous periphery of white walls without any windows. A massive rosewood cupboard stores a vast collection of crockery kept on display at the far end of the living room yet along the alignment with the main entrance and wooden seating furniture is placed on coarse decorative carpet, all this adds to the pompous attempt to fill the irreplaceable loneliness of the space.

[Resistant space] The single living room is extended into connecting zones by orthogonal walls, which control the horizontal movement pattern,

Fig 32;In the abstract depicts how the house made the author feel, instead of a literal depiction it is an expression of how she recalls the spaces, her childhood, the experiences, thus giving every space a shape, form, intensity, colour and texture depending on her memory of that space.

[Space as absorbent]

She liked the living room when it was sunny It reminders her of summer Lazy afternoons Serendipity Cupboards around the house hoarded useless things Batteries, crayon, envelops, cards Coins, rocks, cables, bubble-gum jars Every time you walk You stumble upon a forgotten shoe or sock The dining table sat in the centre Dejected Couldn’t bring the family together Bedrooms rejoiced over its plight Children giggling inside A mother’s rhyme Filled the little corner of an insecure heart All way back in time When life was about Dream, memories and rhymes Stubborn Hated the smell of ‘tadkas’, odour of utensils, shouts of pressure cooker In vain, ran around Trying to hide

Fig 33: abstract of the chandelier in the living room

Fig 34: kitchen, an important component of the character development for a house

Along the entrance of the living area and the landing of the staircase is the sliding glass entrance to the massive sitting area marked by an unplanned and tasteless placing of heavily carved furniture along the periphery and a massive chandelier in the centre, a clear indication at the obnoxious attempt to portrait the image of wealth and grandeur. Apart from this failed attempt this space comes alive due to the full length window on the southern and eastern wall. Thus it is bathed in crystalline light.

In stark absence of artificial lighting this space glows with sunlight filtering through the fabric of the embroidered curtains washed on the wooden flooring and the white walls. In this instance the uncanny massiveness of the room is overtaken by a healing presence, an enchantment which dulls your senses. Yet this massive living room is not used every time an individual walks into it. On the seating next to the entry is more frequently used. Here one finds seclusion within the enclosure of the house.

A house is not just a shelter, when you long for a cup of coffee you tend to associate with the kitchen, most active zone of an Indian household. The flavour and smell of ingredients dissolving in the air against the white walled, white veneered cabinets and burgundy chipped brown counter tops. The outer periphery is lined with working counters, and only the central space is the real useable, walkable space.

The south facing windows with overhead chajjas provide diffused light imparting it a lightness and openness.

The functional definition of the bedroom doesn’t tell one about the way the use of a bedroom is different from each other, how the level of comfort of every room varies with the slight change in the natural and artificial light, the orange colour of the authors childhood bedroom wall is still embedded in her memory, even though the room and the function of that room are not the same anymore, and how still this is the first space one runs to as soon as they arrive home, it holds the quality of a sanctum.

fig 35;

Outside her room’s window Under the climbers shade they sat While elders took their afternoon nap Same window housed The cooler every night Which dampened the air Its shrill melody became her lullaby

[Space where death lives] Fig 35; Here the sense of sight overpowers the sense of hearing. The perception of ‘out of sight, out of mind’ is visible in the authors perception as a child.

Lubb-dubb lubb-dubb, raced their hearts Little feet ran up the staircase Safe from elders prying glance Door led to the world of dragon slayers and pretty lies

The ‘madari’ always knew his spot Visible from the window, they never missed a chance Raced the squad downstairs To witness the monkey dance The sense of sight is always related to the sense of presence by a child, thus once out of sight, is out of mind. Therefore the most secluded areas of the house eventually become the centre of activity for children.

The solidarity and transparency of any space makes it isolated, or act in totality with the enclosure. Thus openings help concretize the inside- outside relation, the light entering through these openings determine the character the space will manifest.

Fig 36; the abstract depicts how the space traced by the ear becomes a cavity sculpted in the interiors of the mind.

Fig 37: Initial plan of the house, depicting movement pattern

The construction of the new bedroom altered the experience of the already existing space. The better special quality of it binds the user thus making the use of the other spaces less frequent.

Fig 38: Plan of the house after later additions

All these dynamics of usage, transformation and creation act as a link between spaces, thus the above mentioned acts make these spaces interdependent thus influencing the functionality and quality.

Bedroom A is used as a personal living room with the television, bed, wardrobes, white board and adjoining washroom door. This multi-purpose place is inviting due to the dynamic activities of this area, the white walls and chestnut brown flooring and wardrobes thus the character of this zone is very active and binds the movements and occurrences. Even though it is not overpowering yet one never finds rest in this space as it is functionally too dynamic.

This space very skilfully incorporate the complexity of all the years of inhabitation by the occupants, thus becoming a spatial memory, where the stoic old carved wardrobe fuse with minimalistic bed and cabinet adorned by a profound false ceiling.

Fig 39: framed view of the garden through the window

Fig 40: Peculiar iron jalli on glass framed window, characteristic feature of the house

The wooden flooring flows into the adjoining bedroom, manifesting a completely different character held in their confinement by a single sliding door. The wooden door marks the definite act of entering a private zone.

The massive wooden framed window on the eastern wall, facing the garden is further overlooks the parking lot and the main entrance gate of the house. The wooden framing is a subtle expression of looking at the external world from a guarded interior private space, maintaining the tension between the interior and the exterior while flooding the room with bright sunlight. Sitting inside this furnished white box, one is tempted to look out of the window, thus personally thus sitting cross legged on the wooden floor, facing the window gives one the perfect zone to focus, explore, secure yet not becoming overpowering.

Whenever one returns home the light inside this room is the first physical indication of somebody waiting, thus it’s the expression of returning home.

[Space of solitude]

These peculiar Iron grills encase every glass window of the house, thus have become a characteristic yet unnoticed feature of the house.

‘Light in the window of the home is a waiting light’ as Bachelard has observed.

Internally this space is the farthest from all the other areas of the house thus connecting while still keeping it secluded from the house activities and the outside world. The two bedside tables maintain the symmetry of the room while adding to the minimal storage space required performing the act of storing possessions and valuables. The phenomenology of architecture is a verb rather than being a noun. It is the act of approaching the entrance rather than the façade, the act of entering rather than the door and the act of eating around a dining table rather than the dining rooms location are what add value to the space of a home. Without these any house is just another building.

Voices of the night lulled her to sleep Chowkidar dragging his stick on the streets Mother sitting on the beds edge A folk-lore, she recited every night The dark walls of the room came alive While a street bub flickered Lurking away in time Fig 41: Human mind holds onto certain memories, certain spaces which it can revisit, relive Moments which are immemorial, thus finding comfort in those spaces and memories.

[Space of the past still present]

Too dependent on the vision, the modern generation has lost touch with the quality of space is dependent on the sensations of sounds and colour in that place. The author vividly remembers how her parents narrated a story to her every night. Words are conscious perceptions by a child hidden in her memory. Similarly, in phenomenology every colour creates a different sensation; moreover the memory of a colour recorded by a child is stored and later projected onto future encounters.

The use of a space also depends on the relation of the individual to the inhabitants of that space; one’s who physically inhabit it. This defines the freedom and comfort absent in the north western rooms of the house. Even though that bedroom is the most extensive, flow of spaces better and a characteristic space available for every function like the puja room with frosted room overlooking into the dining space and the ventilators opening into the veranda is well lit peaceful space yet the tensed relation among the family members further stresses the comfort level in that space.

Thus the house acts as a microcosm which itself has bifurcated into different zones varying with the comfort level experienced in each room.

INFERENCE The building codes and bye laws do alter the way houses are designed in cities and over the years a whole new system of modern architecture has emerged which are inward looking, still they lack a unifying character recurring in traditional houses.

Even though the living room is the central space of the house yet the functions performed by it are only adopted because it’s massive enough. The averagely high ceiling acts as a module which holds but does not do justice to the function it performs.

The house follows a linear procession, but this flow lacks a consolidating and fulfilling approach. Consequently, the front garden, though visible through glazed windows is physically accessible only through the main access, the design recaptures the openness of outdoor spaces, while it keeps one in captivity.

Thus the design provides for basic functions of a house but does not fully acknowledge the character it should encapsulate.

Chapter 6 CONCLUSION Stay still, become quite, and let the agitation inside one’s body fall silent. Now allow the backdrop to come alive. The sound of the rotating fan, wait! What if we segregate the sound of the rotating fan from the sound of the blades cutting the air. The sound of the object is what humans identify, categorising every conceivable experience, fitting them into boxes to approve their own existence.

Architecture. Space. A place It goes beyond four walls, fenestrations and built up area. To be, to dwell, to inhabit the user the user needs to become aware, and hence every space comes alive, and architecture has always been a medium through which this process manifests itself.

Firstly, developing a character, the approach, massing, modification, lighting, form, degree of enclosure becomes the first visible image of a mass. Further the senses respond depending upon the intimacy with the space. Hence, we observe that the language developed by an architect will become manifested in the experiential quality. Example: Ronchamp chapel by Le Corbusier v/s Church of light by Tadao Ando. Thus Gestalt Theory comes into play; hence we develop a language for the peculiar space.

Gautam Bhatia in his book Punjabi Baroque has criticised the Indian mind-set towards architecture. Throughout the context he claims that the typology of architecture he has adopted or the type of buildings he has designed were never his intended designs rather these were influenced by the mind frame of the different strata’s of Indian population according to them what a space was meant for, how the size of the rooms depended on the grandeur and unnecessary luxury they were used to symbolise, how the façade of a Punjabi house was inspired from the classical roman architecture because for him the image the house projected was important rather than how the space was experienced.

While designing the house of Harry Mehboob he himself is perplexed by the unthoughtful use of land the client wants designed, symbolising the lavish wastage of land just to depict the wealth and the spending freedom exercised of the owner.

Contrary to this when he designed the house of the Bhatia brothers the clients themselves wanted to incorporate spaces and experiences which reminded them of their ancestral home and while being three separate houses yet it held the quality of collective living, as they could easily walk into each other’s physically connected houses. But the façade they desire was inspired from Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s house in Virginia, the classical balustrades, roman arcade, and church windows with the havelis door. Thus imagery his mind had attached to was rigid and could not be easily erased thus he infused this image onto his own house irrespective the experience this type of design created.

Further Gautam Bhatia critically categories the type of architecture Indian population uses to design their houses into the following; Punjabi Baroque with ostentatious ornamentation, out of place grandness, Bania Gothic with the tasteless planning and obnoxious interiors, Early Halwai with ‘borrowed diverse style, streetscape of Jaisalmer, window and ornamentation done at will’[16], Marwari Mannerism where one can ‘imitate a column from medieval Europe and bracket from a Jaisalmer Haveli’ [17] and Sindhi Hacienda creating a ‘false impression of usefulness’ [18].

Thus the streetscape of India ignores thy neighbour. Thus the modern urban architecture of India has lost a character which was initially present from example in the pol’s of Ahmedabad, wood framed houses of Srinagar, talking streets of Tamil Nadu etc.

The information from the case studies further strengthens the idea that a modern India’s neighbourhood does not hold a collective character. Every house is individualistically designed by the owner as a medium to fulfil the childish rant and imaginary concept of a house which he cooked up over the years. The client sees the opportunity to design his house as his lifelong ambition to encapsulate every architectural feature he has seen in his life, forgetting to provide the sensory quality to these spaces. And thus every house in the neighbourhood is in an unsung rivalry

[16] Gautam Bhatia, Punjabi Baroque, Penguin Publishers. New Delhi, 1994, pg. 66 [17] Gautam Bhatia, Punjabi Baroque, Penguin Publishers. New Delhi, 1994, pg. 69 [18] Gautam Bhatia, Punjabi Baroque, Penguin Publishers. New Delhi, 1994, pg. 70

to dominate the streetscape, to grab the attention of the passer-by for the millisecond he had laid eyes on the house. Thus the public spaces get affected and end up becoming unsafe, neglected, lose the primary experiential quality and become dull transition zones, losing any character they were designed for.

But when we strip a building off its exterior language then what is the ‘thingness’ in architecture which holds man captive?

Human brain has a vivid memory, gathering, collecting, storing, rejecting, remembering and all this forms a very complex set of patterns, which influence how an individual responds to space, colour, proportion etc. Hence Case study 2 observes how the author recollects the memory of space of her childhood house and the spectrum of emotions similar spaces generate.

The earlier mentioned text talks about how the life experiences and personality moulded the characteristic typology of architecture practised by B.V. Doshi, and how he incorporated an experiential quality by playing with heights, levels, colours, textures, light, water feature, open built relation and further by adding conceptual narration to how the whole journey through the structure unfolds.

Along with this he used symbolism in the form of elements like vaults which he had earlier appreciated at the studio of sculptor Wissa Wassef, and had attached the act of lively village life transpiring in the refuge of these vaults, and hence used these similar vaults to re-create the lively imagery. Thus Sangath summed up into a characteristic piece of architecture.

Similarly Vernacular houses were designed keeping in mind the activities to be performed, sun path and when will sufficient natural light will be available to perform that task, maintaining a link between the outdoor and indoor and understanding the permutation and combination of public and private spaces thus influencing the movement pattern. With the advent of modernism, houses design in the spirit of modernism respected the idea of experience of a space, but they rationalised the space into clear cut defined line, clear facades just to provide a more than average living condition for everyone. But in this fashion of designing the personnel quality of

a space and symbolism attached to it has gradually depleted ending into the sellable commercialised style of architecture.

Today we feel disoriented in the modern day structures. Indian architecture has just become a marketable commodity [19]. ‘Form follows function’ was an important approach towards design but this is not the only way of designing. Adding a character, an experience, a decipherable element more than just symbolism and imagery is what helps man bond with that space and hence stays in one’s memory as it has enriched every sense and comfort for man. As the case studies depict that the use of a space depends more on the experience w.r.t. to the sensory need of the individual rather than the function that space was designed to provide. Soon or later man will modify the space in accordance with how it makes him feel and thus will alter the use of that space. Example boundary walls and rooftops are used as seating spaces, while ‘designed’ seating areas remain desolate, staircases are used as reading spaces etc.

Thus man cannot inhabit a house which ask him who are you? And what do you want? hence forcing him to leave as soon as his task is over. Rather he will live in spaces which let him be, where comfort, freedom and safety are encapsulated.

Further spaces enriched with the experience of being alive, which let his sense feel without making him uncomfortable. Like a single fin could control the distribution of light inside a single room, thus different segments offer different experiences and have a different character.

As Italo Calvino said ‘I could tell how many steps make up the street rising like stairways, and the degree of the arcades’ curves, and what kind of zinc scales cover the roofs: but I already know this would be the same as telling you nothing.[19] Hence the character, legibility and experience of a space make it come alive and user respond to these, therefore a well-designed space is the one which holds the sensory needs of the user, and will invoke a different response from the user than spaces which lack character. Thus architecture should take a step beyond just designing average generalised living conditions, and be more users specific.

[19] Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities, A Harcourt Brace and Company. New York, 1974, pg.

REFERENCING BOOKS Christian Norberg Schulz, 1979, Genius Loci: Towards phenomenology of Architecture, Rizzoli, New York J. Pallasmaa, the Eyes of the Skin: Architecture and the Senses (London: Academy Editions, 1996) Punjabi Baroque, by Gautam Bhatia, Penguin Publications, New Delhi, 1994 Paths Unchartered, B.V. Doshi, 2012 Kevin Lynch, Image of a city Peter Zumthor, A Way of Looking at Things, Lecture, November 1988-ARC Southern California Institute of Architecture, Santa Monica B.V. Doshi, 2012, Paths Unchartered, Vastu Shilpa Foundation, Ahmedabad, Anthony Doerr, All the Light We Cannot See, Forth Estate. London Kevin Lynch, Image of a city Juhani Pallasma, Architecture and Concept of Home Calvino Italo, Invisible Cities Pattern Language, Christopher Alexander

ARTICLES thearchiblog.wordpress.com/2012/04/07/sangath-ahmedabad-b-v-doshi/

home-review.com/2012/03/naturally-green/

arts.columbia.edu/laboratory-literary-architecture-workshop-matteo-pericoli

thehindu.com/features/magazine/gautam-bhatia-on-the-need-to-create-a-vibranturban-culture/article8422618

archdaily.com/781043/italo-calvinos-invisible-cities-illustrated

openculture.com/2015/02/invisible-cities-illustrated-calvino

ekostories.com/2015/06/21/italo-calvino-invisible-cities/ Matthew li, 2016, ‘Every Building Tells a Story: Guide to architecture through Anime’, Architizer,

UNPUBLISHED WORK Prerna Kalra, 2000,’Purana Ghat, Jaipur’, T.V.B School of Habitat studies, New Delhi Amit Gupta, 2000, Critique of the ‘Mask’ on the building front in contemporary Indian architecture, T.V.B School of Habitat studies, New Delhi

Vibha Kukreja, 2009, Authenticating Architectural encounter, Sushant School of Architecture, Gurgaon, Haryana