Ar. Deepika Batra Gwash The Firm

A leadership sees a vision, vision turns into reality, and an era of distinct architecture is born, for instance, Mughal architecture created a distinct style inspired by Islamic features. Over the centuries, this design philosophy was followed religiously, and the period of Mughal architecture was born as we know it. On the flipside, without leadership and sustained accordance, architecture just happens, and we can only witness it unfold.

Our ancient architecture was predominantly palaces, forts, and places of worship. They had a distinct character because of two main reasons: use of local materials that were unique to the region and the religious influence on the style of architecture. Ranging from Hindu temples to Mughal to Indo-Islamic and finally Colonial architecture, India has experienced many different forms of architecture throughout her history.

In modern times, the world has shrunk, and we have a democracy along with diversity in culture and religion so there no longer exists a compulsion to adhere to a specific language of architecture. Other than that, the function of buildings has also changed. We are still a young country with respect to our journey post-Independence, and we should neither be foolish to try to replicate our past nor blindly ape the developed countries. Rather, we should take advantage of our ancient heritage and learn from it while keeping in mind the facets of modernity. The most important thing is that we have to be sensitive to the current challenges in India.

The fact is that the character of a city is much more than just the style of the buildings in it. The urban fabric comprises of the whole – built form and the infrastructure. Our cities are developing rapidly and the influx of population in urban areas is continuously increasing with space becoming a huge commodity. We are planning high-rise buildings by the norm today, but it is a humungous challenge for us to provide the appropriate amenities for residents.

Sustainable development as the underlying character of Modern Indian architecture is what we should aim for - architecture that is truly responsible and sensitive to the human needs - both spiritually and materially

More FSI, more density is being sanctioned without giving serious thought to the quality of life of the users. We would like to see, especially the high-rise residential buildings, not to be totally alienated from the green spaces. By building higher, we have been able to reduce the footprints to get more open space on the ground. However, a disproportionate ratio between the number of people and green spaces has been growing, since the same size of plots are now loaded with more buildable potential.

We are exploring green podiums, green walls, green rooftops, sky-gardens, et al, but it is not easy for buildings where the masses are being housed. As per the Development Control Regulations, open spaces are to be provided in relation to the area of the plot and not its density. It is a compromise that is getting easy acceptance in the urban scenario because the visionary response to the growth is lacking in leadership. Parking and traffic concerns in our growing cities also need equal attention.

Across the world, it is the time for evaluating the sustainable aspects of the buildings. We strongly believe that “Beauty is subject to choice but virtuous architecture is impartially beautiful”. And that is why we continue to devise new ways to make responsible architecture. Hence, if we have to literally reimagine the buildings of today and the future – they would be admired for their virtues as much as for their looks. Judging contemporary architecture by its environmental responsibility would be the true defining measure of its greatness.

The word sustainability is thrown around a lot these days. Most people think it has to do with conserving water or saving energy. While that is also true, we believe that to truly achieve sustainability we need to focus on the virtues of designing for the local context and climate. Hence, we should choose sustainable development as the central character of Modern Indian Architecture.