Gurgaon in Motion

http://youtu.be/sqv8OqcWw8I

by Rohan Kalyan

Mangarbani Sacred Forest Walk

Images from the guided walk of the Mangarbani sacred forest at http://www.flickr.com/photos/73782309@N05/sets/72157628763611833/. If you have pics you'd like to add, please email us at architecture.collegium(at)gmail.com.

Mangar Bani Sacred Forest - Guided walk

If you would like to go for the guided walk of the endangered Mangar Bani sacred forest (Aravali range off the Gurgaon-Faridabad road) on Sunday, December 18th - please send an email to Savita Punde to register. If you don't have her address, email us at architecture.collegium(at)gmail.com for registration.

Please forward this to anyone else you know who may be interested. The plan is to meet at 9:30AM that morning outside the TERI Main Gate and proceed together from there.

The Times of India article about Mangar Bani is available here -
http://gurgaonscoop.posterous.com/development-sword-over-sacred-forest.

The other article that Savita forwarded to us titled 'Unhappy Bani' is available here -
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/unhappy-bani

Mangar Bani Walk & Ideas Competition

Savita Punde to organise a guided tour of the Mangarbani sacred forest on the Gurgaon-Faridabad road. This walk will be on December 18^th, Sunday.

A brief can then be proposed for an IDEAS Design competition for the forest. A selection of the ideas will be chosen by the panel. The Collegium will try to invite key people from the Ministry of Environment and HUDA to be on the panel. The top chosen entries will be compiled and published by the Collegium.

The brief will be simple and the main idea will be how to design around the forest without touching it at all. Since HUDA has recently changed the land-use around the forest to develop it, it is this development that will be the focus of the brief. If the competition charges an entry fee, that can be used for prizes, or sponsorship is also an option.

Open House Saturday: Delhi & Gurgaon

Tentatively proposed.

Open House Saturday/ Delhi: March 3^rd, 2012

Guided tours of

                                 i.            India Habitat Centre

                               ii.            Alliance Francaise

                              iii.            IIC or UN Offices

                             iv.            INTACH

Open House Saturday/ Gurgaon: March 10^th, 2012

Guided tours of

i.                     Devi Art Foundation

ii.                   Sandstone Crest

iii.                  HUDA City Centre

 

Programme of Architectural Reviews

Every month, one review of a recently built building will be submitted by the Collegium to the magazine who will publish it in a special section. The first year (12 months – 12 buildings) will focus on Delhi & North India.

Each review will be about 1800-2000 words with 1-2 photographs of the building. Prospective reviewers can take a personal point of view or discuss it from an academic/ theoretical point of view. The review can take the form of a discussion between 2 reviewers in the format of the Indian Express ‘Idea Exchange’ series. In fact, it can also be submitted to the Idea Exchange for publication.

List of buildings proposed for review

i)             MCD Headquarters

ii)           Khalsa Heritage Museum

iii)         Akshardham, Delhi

iv)         French Information Centre at French Embassy

v)           HUDA City Centre

vi)         American Institute of Indian Studies, Gurgaon

vii)       CBI Headquarters at the CGO, Lodi Estate

viii)     DMRC Headquarters (Behind Shankar Road)

ix)         Royal Bank of Scotland building, DLF Phase 3

x)           New Indian Oil Building, BRTS

xi)         Kingdom of Dreams

xii)       BSNL Building, Janpath

xiii)     Devi Art Foundation, Gurgaon

xiv)    Sandstone Crest, Gurgaon

xv)      Airtel Building, NH8

If you would like to review one of these, or any other structure/space, OR would like one of your own structures reviewed, please write to us at architecture.collegium(at)gmail.com

Activity: Open House weekend & seminar

Members of the public will be invited to visit and understand a collection of architect-designed buildings in the Lodi Road area of Delhi. All these buildings will be open to the public all weekend. The Open House Weekend is tentatively scheduled for February 25^th-26^th when the weather is still good. The event will include

a)    Guided walk around the area both days with a knowledgeable professional
b)   Volunteers or firms’ representatives at each building to explain the building & concept etc. to visitors
c)    Seminar evening: Presentations & Discussions on the understanding of design in the popular mind

How you can participate 
a)   Help secure permissions for the building
b)   Contact architects/ firms to get involved and send someone to explain their building
c)   Be a volunteer at a building to help and discuss it with visitors
d)   Volunteer to help with the guided walks
e)   Provide assistance with making a map and, maybe, a small brochure
f)    Encourage colleagues, students and everyone else you know to attend 

email: architecture.collegium (at) gmail.com

Activity: Architectural Reviews published in Mainstream Media

At the last meeting of the Architectural Collegium, it was felt that there was a lack of critiques/ reviews/ analysis of architecture in India - both within the profession and among the public in general. The aim of this project is to choose 12 contemporary buildings (one for every month) in India and have them reviewed by Indian architects. A review will be published each month in a well known mainstream magazine or national daily starting January 2012. It is hoped that the reviews will also be translated into regional languages for wider distribution.

How you can participate 
a)   Interested members are requested to email a list of contemporary buildings in India that they think should be critiqued.
b)   Email the Collegium if you would like to write a critique and which building you would be interested in discussing

List of buildings & reviewers will be finalised at the next meeting.

email: architecture.collegium (at) gmail.com

Activity: Monograph on Architectural Education in India

Interested members are requested to email a short opinion piece on this topic. It does not need to be a researched article and even a 500 word paragraph will do. Please include a short biography of the author. Everyone’s write-up will then be compiled in a small publication that will be freely distributed and published on the web. Members can photocopy and circulate the document within their institutions/ among colleagues etc.

Some issues that can be addressed (among others) 
a)     Change of format from a 6month training within the 5 year course to a 1 year internship at the end of it 
b)    CoA proposal to have an additional registration process after the 5 year degree that includes written exams & interview 
c)     The need for practising architects in teaching (attached article from BD Magazine discussing the pro & con of this topic in the UK) 
d)      Is it necessary to have a higher degree to be able to teach architecture 
e)      The entry of foreign education institutions into India and its impact on quality, research and affordability of professional education including Architecture etc.

How you can participate 
Email your opinion piece & short (2-3line) biography on this topic to the Collegium by February 15^th 2012. All inputs received by this date will be compiled and formatted into one simple publication. It is hoped that it will be ready and distribution can start by March 01, 2012. It will be freely available online – perhaps on a blog. The blog can be set up to include more opinions and issues. This collection of thoughts will be sent to the CoA, the main regulatory body for Architectural education in India. An effort will also be made to get it published in an architectural magazine. 

email: architecture.collegium (at) gmail.com

Activity: Developing a network of media contacts

All of the Architecture Collegium's activities focus on stimulating debate, and encouraging it as widely as possible – even outside the profession. It has been previously felt that the discussions that happen within the Collegium and other forums stay limited to that event or meeting. It is extremely important to ensure that this is no longer the case. The Collegium hopes to disseminate all of its presentations, articles & debates widely through both word of mouth and media. It is necessary to build up a network of contacts in print and other media who can help with this.

How you can participate 
a)      If you have any contacts within the media, please (with their consent) forward their details to the Collegium
b)      If you are in the media and are interested in our activities, please do email us.

email: architecture.collegium (at) gmail.com

Activity: Presentation & Article on the Bidding process/ Corruption

At the meeting, it was discussed how architects are awarded projects in India. The conversation started with how foreign architects/ firms in recent times have appeared to bypass the regular tender bid/ competition process.

However a deeper problem lies in the bidding process itself where the judging is based on financial quotes. Related problems include undercutting fees, going overtime/overbudget to make money, expecting cutbacks from contractors, bribing middlemen to secure projects etc. (The CWG games exemplified all of these problems)

The Central Vigilance Commission actually lists 8 different ways of awarding projects of which submitting financial bids is just one. It is worthwhile to study the other ways and make a proposal as to how this process can be changed or improves.

The presentation will be made at an open forum that will include all members of the AEC sector (Architecture Engineering Construction) especially Builders, Contractors & Real Estate Agents. It is believed that there needs to be a discussion & interaction on the issue between various members in the sector and not just limited to architects.

The view was expressed at the meeting of how architects can be perceived as living in their ‘ivory towers’ and how no suggestions about changing the profession will occur or be sustained unless other stake-holders are involved too.It is hoped that the related article will also be published in the mainstream media, or at the very least, in an architectural magazine.

How you can participate 
a)   Interested members are requested to email their thoughts on this topic to the Collegium, for possible inclusion in the final article

b)      Email the Collegium if you are interested in writing or collaborating on this article

Date of Presentation and Author/ Deadline for the article will be finalised at next meeting.

email: architecture.collegium (at) gmail.com

Activity: Discussion on what constitutes an ‘Ethical’ Architectural practice in India

At the last meeting, the possibility was discussed of constituting a Guild or Architectural brand wherein all member professionals/ firms who participate agree to follow a charter of ethical principles. This can include issues like

a)      Undercutting fees to get projects
b)      Participation in corruption
c)      Addressing sustainability issues through design
d)      Managing health and safety issues on project sites etc.

As the ‘brand’ developed, clients & contractors would know when they approached a member firm - that they will be getting a certain quality of services. However before anything else, it is important to have a discussion as to what constitutes an ‘Ethical’ Architect or Practice. It will then be possible to make a list of issues that may be included in the charter.

How you can participate 
Email the Collegium the points that you think need to be discussed/ included if such a charter were to be made 

email: architecture.collegium (at) gmail.com