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Showing posts from December, 2021

ARCHITECTURE AND HILLY AREAS

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Buildings in hilly regions are the major challenge for architects. The building and the construction have to be structurally strong enough to resist the topography and frequent seismic tremors and also bear the load of the building and as well as the building should be aesthetically attractive for tourists. According to the topography and requirement of the building, design, and planning plays a major role.  Some of the design approaches to be taken care of are settlement patterns, materials used in various spaces, open interactive spaces, sloping roofs, interior designs (rooms), retaining walls, etc. No doubt that the concrete has many advantages like strength, durability, weather resistance parameter and has been accepted as better construction material and has completely outdated the vernacular techniques and materials. But due to a lack of proper guidelines about the use of materials and techniques, may lead to enormous loss of life and property in the wake...

Ancient Indian Architecture and Modern-Day Significance

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India has, for ages, been a confluence point of many different schools of architecture. From the majestic Rajput forts to the sky-high south Indian temples and from the epitome of beauty Taj Mahal to the intricate cave temples of Ajanta and Ellora, the opulence of Indian architecture is mind-boggling. The South Indian temple architecture enjoys a unique position among the various architectural styles found in India and elsewhere. Indian architecture, especially ranging to Vedic ages, has evolved over the centuries from simple rock-cut cave shrines to massive and ornate temples which spread across the Indian sub-continent and beyond, forming a canonical style. Careful practice of harmonious geometry, precise symmetry, and rock carving is observed in all ancient structures.  Ceiling Ranakpur Jain Temple The first materials used were wood and terracotta, but architects gradually moved on to brick and stone, especially sandstone, granite, schist, and marble. No mortar was used in the o...

The myth of ‘We don’t have buildings nowadays like we used to’

"We just don't build buildings like we used to."  Sometimes it’s a comment on quality—an assertion that houses aren’t as durable today as they once were—and sometimes it’s a comment on style—a belief that we don’t build houses that are as timeless, tasteful, or beautiful as they used to be. It’s something we say to defend the types of houses we grew up in or dream of someday living in.   I t’s a statement that contains some truth, but it also misses crucial context about the material conditions, functionality, and style trends of the past.   When comparing today's buildings to yesterday's, it's important to consider labor, production, and technology. Often, when people say that how old buildings are better than new buildings and how they are still intact,  they invoke a change like labor: The buildings of yesteryear were built by “skilled craftsmen,” and today’s houses are built by “unskilled labor.” There’s not much difference between how we built popular spe...

Evolution of Architecture with COVID-19 Breakthrough

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With the outbreak of COVID-19 and its massive impact on the entire world, the carousel of Modern Architecture ought to see fluctuations. The dimensions of human resilience and public health can not be compromised. Practicing flexibility across public-facing, educational, cultural, and corporate edifices shall be a solution. Fundamentally, disease-resilience will be a priority in modern design. Architects will have to practice a spectrum that is affordable and accommodative. The functioning of tactical and programmed methods to platform strategic alterations will be a prime step-stone. Educational institutions are centers of holistic development. They are multi-focus buildings catering to – academic, physical, mental, health, and nutritional facilities. While areas like cafeterias and auditoriums are massive hotspots, negligence can’t be shown even in less-crowded areas. Subsequently, food delivery passages can be built with enough distancing area. Modular classrooms or pod-structur...

SMALLER SPACE, GREATER UTILITY

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We live in a time where the population density is constantly increasing, due to which, urbanization is taking place in most of the land all around the globe, even so, it's necessary to have arable land and land for forests. Consequently, the difference between required and available land is also increasing.  As a result, people have started to expand vertically instead of horizontally. Earlier, houses used to be sizeable with gardens and lawns however at present the number of high-rise buildings is greater than individual houses. Today's society is apartment-oriented. We have different sized apartments say 1BHK, 2BHK, etc.  The youth in today's time wants to be independent and live on their own. Obviously, the cost of a place increases according to its size hence it has been difficult for youth to have a bigger apartment, yet everyone wants to experience most of the luxuries and lead a comfortable life. Now it's altogether a different issue to fit all necessary and req...