Faculty – Prof. Deval Gandhi, Prof. Sneha Ramani, Prof. Sanal, Prof. Sujit
Lived spaces transcend materiality as each individual experiences the world outside oneself through the unique filter, thereby creating perspectives. These perspectives generate narrative of spaces that is a construct of series and timeline of events, while architecture is a set of spatial relationships emerging from human constructs and actions. In this way, narrative by way of memories and imagination influences manifestation and perception of spatial relationships, as defined by the experiences as portrayed in the narrative. That way, architecture influences the perception of physical realm that happens to be a take off point for shaping ones built-environment within the physical context.
The studio borrows the narrative from films, thereby defining the stories and the spatial constructs revolving around the protagonists, thus defining the foundations of the stories of the housing. The narrative of the spaces thus defined is staged onto the physical environment located near Chharodi lake in the city of Ahmedabad. The intent of the studio stems form the fact that houses are deeply rooted in the cultural and social relationships of the environment, that are rooted in personal character of the different people and different families who live in them. The systems of housing should necessitate fundamental need of any human society – first is the recognition of the fact that every family and every person is unique and must be able to express this uniqueness and second is the recognition of the fact that every family and every person, is the part of society, requires bond of association with other people – in short, requires, a place in the society, in which there are relationships with others. The architecture engaging with imaginary environments that sets in the physical setting, creates boundaries that shapes the coherence, continuity and identity of the housing within the setting.
The studio grounds itself to the idea of houses as places which expresses one’s life, directly and simply, the connection between the vitality of the people and the shape of their houses, the connection between the force of social movements and the beauty and vigor of the places where people live. The process of the studio tries to construct a housing process in which human process is re-established as the fundamental juncture, in which people integrate their values and themselves, in which they form social bonds and become anchored in the earth, in which the houses become the concrete expression of their place in the world, the concrete expression of themselves.
