siliconindia | | December 20198ith a shift of lifestyle in modern India, we wit-ness a massive change in trends pertaining to architecture and design in the society. `We' would mean not just the architectural fraternity present in the country, but also any individual who can perceive alterations in and around his society. In a developing country of ours, where the needs are rapidly growing, the age-old architecture prevalent in India finds itself on crossroads! The UN 2007 declaration on the rights of indigenous people recognized that `respect for indigenous knowledge, cultures and traditional prac-tice contributes to sustainable & equitable development & proper management of the resources.Reminiscing Beauty from the PastIndia started with being the most planned models in the world, creating iconic structures of eminence which are globally appreciated in the world till date. Indian architec-ture has always been a function of its placement on the map concerning its topographical settlements and henceforth the climatic conditions. Being a tropical country, the de-velopment of the architectural characters has always been uneven. We can call it a `need-based' model of growth. The age-old empires ruling the provinces and its rulers have also given a character to their region. In a country with one of the oldest civilizations, revisiting its traditional roots and foundation of Indian architecture is a more `sustainable' way around. Revisiting Relevance of Architecture with a Cultural Identity The form of materials & built environment is culture-spe-cific, varying with different climatic conditions, availabili-ty of material resources, and construction techniques which vary from culture to culture. Quoting an example from The Pristine Valley of Kashmir which rests in the heart of the Himalayas and has always been seen as a valley with ex-travagant beauty. The Mughals planted their symmetrical gardens, and the Kashmiri architecture added a further di-mension to the valleys. The spatial structure of Kashmir has evolved as a close fit with the topographical feature and water bodies. The scarcity of leveled terrain in the valley compelled a large chunk of residents to live on wa-ter and furthered the creation of floating houses in Kash-mir. The abundance of wood & stone made it an obvious choice as the construction material. The thermal response of wood for the valley's extreme climate was a plus. Kash-miri woodcraft has not merely been a functional craft, it is WINDOLOGY: SHAPING THE CONTEMPORARY INDIAN ARCHITECTUREBy Rahul Bhatt, Managing Director, Cherry Hill InteriorsA serial entrepreneur, Arman has incepted three companies ­ Dreams Boulevard, zekeLabs, and EdYoda ­ and has even worked with TCS and BT.in my opinion
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