| traditional practices

TOWARDS AN INDI(A)GENE
RE-IMAGINING INDIA’S DESIGN PHILOSOPHY
Naeema Ali
LA 74
The article visits some of the less documented traditional practices of nature conservation and eco-friendly lifestyles, belonging to different rural geographies in the Indian subcontinent. It also points out the possibility of adapting these practices within the current urban scenario of India to achieve climate resilience.
Time and again, redundant monuments built under civilizations that were extinct ages ago, give a human face to Indian architecture. We often neglect age-old design interventions and engineering feats still functioning in remote places within the subcontinent. Although the built environment in early civilizations as well as today’s cities fundamentally control nature, the traditional systems do this in a more sustainable manner with minimal impact on their surroundings. While the global community is searching for ways to realize the climate ambitions for the millennium, traditional Indian communities have already established an accumulative body of knowledge, practices, skills and beliefs that bring to life concepts like “zero emissions”, “low carbon” and “sustainable living”, way before these terms became en vogue. Tested from time to time and passed down from generation to generation they conjure an image of the Indian design philosophy largely shaped by topographical features, surrounding landscapes, climate and other natural values. This gave rise to multiple cultures, be it in terms of the food they eat, the clothes they wear, the materials they build their houses with or the festivals they celebrate.



 


| tribute

THE YAMUNA GENTLY WEEPS TONIGHT
MANOJ KUMAR MISRA
Saurabh Popli


| design: nature conservation, art and aesthetics

VIEW FROM WITHIN
WIDER, DEEPER
Geeta Wahi Dua


A CITY AND ITS GARDENS
AUROVILLE, TAMIL NADU
Anandit Sachdev, Rupal Rathore & Vir Shah


SPOORTHI STHALAM MEMORIAL | HYDERABAD
A DESIGN COMPETITION
Smruti Balvalli



AN INGENIOUS FORECOURT IN AN URBAN CONTEXT
SURAT
Prachi Chopade Wakaley


NATURALS NOW
EXPERIENCE CENTRE OF A BRAND MUMBAI
Hemali Samant


RAVINE TO FARM HOUSE
SAVLI, VADODARA
Karmavir Ghatge


RAAJKUTIR
SWABHUMI REVITALIZATION

KOLKATA
Anuradha Puri Rathore


PROFESSOR SHONKU PARK
KOLKATA
Sujoy Das


CORPORATE HOUSE | B SAFAL
AHMEDABAD
Urbscapes


COURT FORT
AN URBAN FARMING STUDIO NANDOLI, AHMEDABAD
Compartment S4


HALF A CENTURY OF GRATITUDE
Suneet Mohindru


BEAUTY OF “SUBLIMATED CONTRADICTIONS
BOOK REVIEW: 250 THINGS A LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT SHOULD KNOW
Review by Rajat Ray


| heritage and conservation

UNRAVELLING THE ENIGMA
BOOK REVIEW: THE PLANETARY KING | HUMAYUN PADSHAH | INVENTOR AND VISIONARY ON THE MUGHAL THRONE
Review by Rabindra J. Vasavada


| environment, ecology and biodiversity

IN RESEARCH, DESIGN & POLICY
In Conversation with Manu Bhatnagar


| traditional practices

TOWARDS AN INDI(A)GENE
RE-IMAGINING INDIA’S DESIGN PHILOSOPHY
Naeema Ali


| seeing the unseen

DECODING KOLKATA’S DURGA PUJA
BOOK REVIEW: DURGA PUJO AND THE CITY OF KOLKATA | URBAN TRANSFORMATION AND TEMPORAL SPACE
Review by Neeraj Bhagat


FUTURES PRESENT
NEW NATURES OF SONSHI’S {POST} EXTRACTIVE LANDSCAPES, GOA
Vastavikta Bhagat



























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