Prachi Patodia

1005-W

V E R T I C A L S T U D I O : L E A R N I N G F R O M H I S T O R Y Architecture responds to the built environment, culture of the place and the climatic conditions within which it is built. Designing an insert in a historic context requires conscious study of the underlying concepts of a place and climate to form a relevant response to the present time. This response should explore the use of building traditions and architectural elements from the past to derive tools for sensitively designing for the context and climate. The studio will be structured in two parts. The first part will serve as an introduction to documentation and critical analysis of buildings from history and the second part will deal with design to implement learning. The analysis will try to understand the organization, movement, scale and proportion, material and climatic response. The design insert would be an independent building, where the learning from earlier analysis would be applied. Through a rigorous study of buildings from local, Indian and Western context, various independent exercises will focus on following elements of design: • Courtyard • Veranda • Tracery • Fenestration • Material • Orientation • Sensorial qualities T H E R E A D I N G B O X With receiving the title of a UNESCO World Heritage City, comes great responsibility. Increasing awareness regarding the city’s history and heritage is leading to various efforts by citizens and Government to encourage initiatives which highlight the cultural and architectural heritage of Ahmedabad- heritage walks, restoration of havelis, Sufi music festival at Sarkhej Roza, reconstruction of the Bhadra Plaza, etc. One such scheme is to revitalize important architectural buildings by introducing small scale interventions hosting ‘Reading Boxes’ in the old city of Ahmedabad. A Reading Box is a cube of 9 meters x 9 meters x 9 meters hosting a variety of functions but the foremost one being reading. In today’s time when enough libraries already exist, this box will take up reading as a temporal function; focusing on creating a space which draws people from different walks of life to come and engage in scholastic as well as recreational reading. The Reading Box is not a library. It is fundamentally different in nature as it does not permanently house books. Nothing except the space is permanent: not the books or the people. It offers seasonal publications such as daily newspapers, weekly editorials, bi-monthly journals, monthly magazines, etc. The collection keeps on changing. What makes the Reading Box attract people is its spatial design- its light, volume, acoustics, ventilation and privacy. It is aimed at becoming a contemporary archetype which contains optimum features to encourage and facilitate reading. Functions would consist of, but not limited to, hosting a depository, reading nooks, lounge and services such as staircase, toilet, etc.