South
Asian Architecture
The Architect in Search of a Role.
In
contrast to the cut and dried role of the prima
donna elitist architect, defined in the context
of the industrially developed countries, the
South Asian scene presents myraid possibilities
for the architect. Not least because, even as
21st century has dawned, the enormous populations
of South Asian Countries will continue to bear
the burnt of proverty, illiteracy, ill-health
and lack of resources.
The
region's rapidly growing Metropoliton centers
will house the largest concentrations of population,
where at one hand the majority of residents will
belong to the disadvantage 'lower circuit', at
the same time, because of technological progress
represented by large bussinesses and monopolies,
the upper circuits will continue to flourish and
expand.
In the context of South Asian realities, what
is the role of the architect?
Is she the community developer assisting residents
of informal settlements in upgrading and self-help
efforts;
or the socially aware researchers, working to
provide innovation solutions to the problem of
low income groups from advocating improved vernacular
technologies to using latest techniques for quick
implementation of mass housing programmes;
or
the activist fighting for causes, crusading against
the prodliferation of 5-storeyed walkup 'vertical
slums', built by calous developers, and encouraged
by politicians in search of visible symbols of
so called moernity and progress,
but disadvantageous for the risk groups such as the elderly
and children and detrimental to the family fabric;
or the feminist promoting appropriate shelter designs
from the point of view of woman and children-hazard-free
kitchens, open-to-sky spaces for work and vegetable gardens,
etc, and tailored to womens views of priorities for the
planning and implementation of commmunity design;
or is she the culturally-responsive architect, doumenting
historic urban architecture, and developing proposals
for their conservation and adaptive re-use;
or
the environmentally conscious interventionist,
using historic architecture
as an anchor to revitalize urban historic cores ;
Built
to demonstrate the use of locally
available technology and skills for creating
economical buildings in
areas with extreme climatic
conditions Bhawalpur, with extremely
hot temperatures, was chosen because of scanty
rainfall and failure of
the conventional concrete structures.
After the construction of a prototype of two rooms,
which demonstrated the ease and speed
of construction, a 60-man barrack was built Thick, load-bearing
walls utilize on-the-site
produced sun-dried pendentives,
and arches in verandahs and window opening etc
or
is she the historian developing source material,delving
in to architectural
history from the native point of view, attempting to put
the disruptive colonial past into perspective.
