Journal of Landscape Architecture

Design in India has over the centuries influenced the culture and lifestyles of other regions of the world and at the same time it has always absorbed ideas from elsewhere… it is in fact an amalgamation of global and local ideas and influences. The debate about an Indian Identity, as architect Gautam Bhatia observes, started as recently as three decades ago in the design community. Over a period of time, it has led to many more questions than answers.
There are many approaches to address the issue. If we take the past as a reference point for design, then it can be interpreted by designers not only as an inspiration and motivation or for continuity and linkage but also as a source of contradiction and challenge. Various interpretations lead us to many serious questions. Should the language of spatial design in the 21st century, in India, or anywhere else for that matter, be inspired by traditions and culture?
And the answers are equally complex. The Students Design Competition that was organized this year was an attempt to explore questions and issues relating to tradition, modernity and identity in landscape design in India.
To find answers to these important questions is a tall order and complex problem as was confirmed by the observation of some of the student participants about the theme being ‘diplomatic’. Entries were equally noncommittal and very few of them addressed the theme directly with a clear cut approach. The debate though, continued between the two approaches, making each entry quite interesting and thought provoking. We do hope you enjoy this debate by examining some of the prize winning entries being featured here.