Cultural Continuum

and
Regional Identity in Architecture
– Balkrishna V. Doshi

Keithy R.
IU1443000012
As the founder-director of CEPT
University Ahmedabad, with a
career spanning a 70 years in
architectural practice and
academics, BV Doshi’s is one of the
first names you learn as an
architecture student in India. He
has a vision of how architecture
integrates the modern society. He
represents importance on the craft
of making optimal use of the
existing site and landscape, of
using materials, of climatic
controls being inherently
‘sustainable’ without the need of
artificial tags, of trying to strike
that careful balance between the
past and the present rather than
imitating a global vision of
modernity.
The idea of modernist architecture in
India in the post-independence years
was aimed at broader goals than
spaces and materials, which reflected
the realisation that the power of an
architect to influence society cannot
be seen in isolation independent of
economic and political systems.
Doshi and other modernist architects
of the period like Charles Correa,
Achyut Kanvinde, Raj Rewal were
eager to engage with the challenges
faced by society in their period. The
advent of modern architecture
charted a break from the burden of
colonial imagery dominating Indian
cities, had the “third world” make a
mark on the “developed world”, and
worked with challenges of housing
shortage, economy, urban migration
and increasing population.
Architectural historians discuss that
modern architecture’s functional utility,
free of fuss and ornamentation, lowered
costs and allowed more people to be
accommodated, a key reason it had appeal
in India socialist ideas of affordability and
equity were certainly part of the dialogue.
Housing was thus naturally a key area of
focus, and one of Doshi’s most well-known
projects is the Aranya Housing in Indore,
built in the 1980s with the idea of
‘incremental housing’, where the basic site
plan and structure allowed upgrades
based on the family’s economic
improvement, and the overall target group
of the project was not homogenous, with
houses of varying budgets placed
together. The project was designed with
courtyards, open spaces and natural
climatic controls to provide a breathable
living space conducive to Indore’s hot
climate.
In the traditional indian
society, one is not alone, but
part of a community. Buildings
are not built in isolation, but in
groups leading to a total
environment, merging
buildings, spaces and culture in
a unified whole. Ahmedabad is
an example of the houses from
which has evolved in India. This
form has behind it centuries of
tradition, which not only ties
the community of one
generation together, but also
the successive generation
within the house. This must be
incorporated in designing new
environments and to do this, it
is necessary to understand the
socio-cultural patterns.
For the institutions to survive, grow,
explain and be a part of the culture,
there was an organisational structure
evolved by the society. In the Ajanta
and ellora caves, while the building
activity continued over centuries, the
quality of execution and the
craftsmanship continued to grow
better. Compare to today, the work
assigned to an assistant or to a
contractor cannot achieve the quality
if the designer is not available for some
time period. This method had within it
the built in mechanism of community
commitment and convictions passed
down through generations. There,
greater importance is given to the
individual and his role, and not to
organisation. People today,
presumably believe that when the
individual dies, the organisation also
comes to an end.
The commitment to the concept of
community has been deep rooted
and this has tended to provide for
total harmony. The built in variations
in all the aspects of Indian life, and
activity creation always provide an
open end with regard to growth,
evolution and change. Such attitudes
in past Indian architecture,
particularly that of the temples
which have served as the most
important catalytic institution to
preserve the culture. In indian
architecture, the creators, the
designers, thought about many
functions other than just simply the
basic functions the buildings should
perform.
At present, it is easy to build a new world, a
world which can be linked with the past on the
basic values.
In terms of operation and management for
balanced growth, we need to discover scales
which are self sufficient in certain respects
and at the same time inter dependent for
certain operations. Quality will naturally
emerge in time.