From being a river to lake

My dear friend become a river,

Don’t let the stagnation come near, Never.

Beware of becoming a lake,

Its ephemeral happiness will soon become fake.

River flows without ambition & destiny,

Lake waits for heavens to pour with agony.

Lake is nothing but an island,

It can’t wander any other land.

Let open all the gates of intellect,

It’s the only way to make your soul reflect.

Oh my friend become a river,

Don’t let stagnation near, Never.

Its all about block !!!

The man who is stalking the clock

Possesses all the keys to my future

He lures & pushes me into this vitruvian block

As I gaze upon this stupid block which has no architecture repoitre

I think block, block, it’s all about this stupid block.

As I try to marry this block

It fights for eternal superiority

In due time it ends with a emotional block

Now to orient it has become a priority

I think block, block, its all about this stupid block

Client like a orthodox father of this bride block reviews me with a click

My man goes into a mental block , He is again stalking the clock

For me it’s block, block , its all about this stupid block.

Office Office - vellapan

In a life full of vibrant colours

Plain white is at its prime

Those have devoured all flavours

Raw vegetables are too at fame

Those few who are envied by many

Horn there own list to envy

One who wishes to be them

May be just heading to mayhem

Office Office

Eyes are twitching like burning pop

Fingers are supporting my head top

Colleague’s mockery makes colleagues humour

Why do I only hear it as rumour?

Babylon

The eyes who were fortunate to treasure the hanging gardens of Babylon have thus spoken :

“I have gazed on the walls of impregnable Babylon,
Along which chariots may race,
and on the Zeus by the banks of Alphaeus.
I have seen the Hanging Gardens and the Colossos of Helios,
the great man-made mountains of the lofty pyramids,
and the gigantic tomb of Maussollos.
But when I saw the sacred house of Artemis that towers to the clouds, the others were placed in the shade, for the sun himself has never looked upon its equal outside Olympus.”

This project created a kind shwarmerei at our office which pushed our thoughts to envision its magnanimity to nothing short of Artemis’s residence. Its architecture shall be imposing yet inviting in nature. It shall epitomize the essence of spaces created in biblical magnificent structures yet shall not be anachronistic. It shall create the Paseo’s & vista’s in a mutual harmony with the environment.

The cantilevered terrace’s which bear the skyline of Hyderabad explains its ‘inside out’ philosophy & makes those internal private spaces infinite. The juxtaposition of these terraces creates an art of shiography & redefines the outdoors to indoors. The Approach though a single free standing lift surrounded by water instills a halo to its architecture spirit. The internal gangways, double height corridors & internal courtyard helps to breach the claustrophobic nature of a built environment.

To recapitulate, we present the architecture which shall be envied by many & cherished by your family.

P.S. : Just gave the presentation, Hope we get it :)

Comrades, Lal Salam

Work with Ayn Rand

Think like Lincoln

Humour with Osho

Preach like Budha

Booze with Krishnamurthi

Dream like Freud

Sleep with Vega

But wakeup like Thou

P.S.: In hope of wild card to heaven, both in afterlife & present ( Vega is still alive :P ).

What say You ??

"Lets write karthik . Its high time u gave some time to me otherwise u will loose me. I have been considerate about your work pressures but I cant take it anymore. "

Thats the way my blog feels at present .If it was any resemblance to my original self it would say " abe saale bahut hogaya, mereko kya samjhke rakha hain ". So just to avoid an embarrassing situation , I will write something.

• I have started cooking scrambled eggs, as it doesn't require any expertise.
• I have stopped working, as I am not given any these days.
• I have come with a new hobby. To document all the( hard) beverages in alphabetical order & within an year drink all of them. This would be amazing :P
• I have started as freelancing Architect , as I am getting some new jobs.Good for my bank account :)
• Will stop using 'i' & start thinking of 'we' :D

Thats it on my personal front & here is something on global terms.

I believed everyone was different in my childhood but thoughts change. Today I believe ' Everyone tries to be different '.

I believed that I am born special but as my uncle advised ' special is the one who doesn't think he is special'.

I believed that philosopher's , scholars etc will teach you everything but today I believe ' they teach me everything cant be achieved'

I believed in Love & I still do :P . ( :I cant scare away girls :)

I believed to be an iconoclast but today I believe that ' maybe being iconoclastic is no more an iconoclastic'

So my dear friends, I am not here to give away gyan but to share my stupid thoughts. So please comment & endorse my thoughts :)

Date WTF !!!

I have had dates before but I am scared for the first time :P ..... Advice on dressing sense for a skinny tall young guy :) ...i will pay for gud advice :)

Stars & Women

There are thousands of stars. They reveal themselves only in dark hours. A child desires to grasp all of them. His anxiety increases as the task becomes improbable. He understands that stars are hot, in fact breathtakingly hot. He understands that reaching them with existing life form is impossible. Some men are smart & abort the mission. Others invent things that can acclimatize to the stars nature. These men travel great distances to reach them, till there home is nothing more than a dot. Some men reach these stars & others return back to there mother ship. The men who get the glimpse of stars original self are not left alive. So I wonder whether the journey is worthy enough.

P.S: Replace stars with women & anxiety with adrenalin (which is unfair in itself)

Unventured

Screaming like a dog

In the midst of fog,

Engulfed by pain

I try in vain.

Twilight Kisses my Ass

Just to Harass

In clutches of dark

I was left alone to bark.

Sitting in form of Indian litter

I hope the future to glitter

Breeze whistles in my ear

I wish not to hear.

Its because I took the Road not Taken

Which said Forsaken

My eyes are now moist

Fuck Robert Frost !!

Psychopath Revitalized

The great ‘Karthik’ {damn my name its soooooo unoriginal!! Fuck Farhan Akhtar for making a movie with two Karthik’s as if the existing ones were not enough} has been invited to “Youth Social engineering conclave” in New York. The invitation was signed by none other than President OBAMA. Can you believe it??!! Me neither. So I was awakened by a sense of euphoria, it was just a dream :D.

These kind of dreams introduced me to ‘Sigmund Freud : Interpreting dreams’, It is a boring, precarious, fucked up book. It made me realize that any philosophy literature or a philosopher’s view is always unarticulated, whereas it’s that area which needs to be most precise. I came across innumerable illegible Dream theories in it but none seemed comprehensive. So here is an attempt by one more seriously fucked up individual ‘Me’ to propose a new dream theory.

As a preamble to my dream theory, you have to understand my brain theory. So here it comes, beware!!

“Our mind consists of three types of Memory systems i.e. Static memory, processed memory and Functional or Cache memory. Functional memory consists of a universal Bios setup which controls two operating system’s i.e. Stupi-DOS and Creativ-UX. These operating systems are generic and only one can operate at any given time.”

Ain’t the computer’s having an influence on the kids :P. It is observed that daily awakened life uses majorly Stupi-DOS and a rarely Creativ-UX. Our universal bios setup like a responsible government doesn’t tolerate a monopoly of any operating system, However it cannot act against the will of the memory. So it succumbs to our daily awakened duties, just to operate Stupi-DOS. In our daily life we observe and those that are intriguing are stored in our static memory. When Stupi-DOS is operational it only calls for those items from memory which satisfy our carnal needs to the processing, rest languishes in dark corners. Our brain like a hard drive has a tendency to delete unused items. Congruous to the above information, I state my dream theory:

“Unprocessed memory is attended during our sleep. To curb the monopoly of already overused Stupi-DOS the bios setup initiates Creativ-UX during sleep but unfortunately during sleep only omission process is allowed. So creative-UX omits everything but captures those which are found in our semi sleep. Dream length is directly proportional to amount of unprocessed brain”

Just to recapitulate “My mind’s all fucked up!!”

Architecture for Humanity

“We already feel these new ideas of this building have raised hope and confidence for an improvement of living conditions for the poor in our rural areas.”
-Paul Tigga , project partner METI building , Bangladesh.
In a country with continuously depleting arable land and increasing population, the funds for education in village’s remain scarce. Architect Anna Heringer and her team had a task of building METI primary school in Rudrapur. They had a choice of a conventional ,gregarious building vested in her, but she came up with a built form which was a part of symphony. A symphony of which the whole built environment and the natural environment are a part. A building was designed to the needs, cost and aspirations of the villagers. The METI School has given the children an identity, which they would need in this mechanised world.
Architecture is a social act and the material theatre of human activity. Often we disparage the efforts of Architects as modern citizens have become too naive to understand the conscious and sub conscious footprint of Architecture on their respective lives. The Architect’s aspiration to ameliorate the living conditions of human life in macro and micro scale are projected in the following flow chart.


Carbon Emissions:
Today’s world with great alacrity wants reduction in carbon emissions. Buildings contribute to approximately 40% of total carbon emissions of the world. Architecture community has avowed to reduce these emissions. Architects all around the world are trying to mint LEED metals for their buildings with innovative green strategies. Many of them have also tried to rationalise the present rating systems for better comparative studies. Architecture community is not only a part of solution but also they have been vociferous ambassadors for the cause. Our contribution may not be as appalling as a geologist’s discovery but we make a much larger impact which is at present outside the realm of Public thought.
Shelter:
A house at the cost of an iPhone is the aspiration of architect building for rural population. Centre for Building Research CBRI in collaboration with Architects has been transferring low cost building construction techniques to many remote areas. Architects have used non-degradable waste as construction material. They have built curvilinear forms made out of Ferro cement covering a volume of 50 cubic metres, which is financially most feasible. Architects can’t build ‘cheap’ but they can make it ‘cost effective’. Architects may be only such optimistic professionals who can see light even in a black hole.
Universal Design Environment:
“The only disability in life is a bad attitude” Architects are working to make this anodyne credulous.
American Institute of architects AIA has already bequeathed to make the building’s universally accessible to all physically challenged and older generations. A curb is a single step for the able but for wheelchair bound it is still a several light-years away. Architects have envisaged a war against such miniscule details and to make the built environment more conducive to disabled. Architecture community takes pride in its contribution and I feel they deserve it!
Pioneers of movements:
“When you look on one of your contemporary 'good copies' of historical remains, ask yourself the question: Not what style, but in what civilization is this building? And the absurdity, vulgarity, anachronism and solecism of the modern structure will be revealed to you in a most startling fashion” Louis Sullivan. From Art -nova movement to present day deconstruction architects either acted as visionaries or have shown solidarity in support to others vision. Like any other field architects too face resistance but still there current flows. Few visions are transformed to buildings and some of them are widely accepted, may also even get a cult adherents. Others stand as epitome for the freedom of thought.



Identity:
The built form is a micro environment for set of users and at the same time is a micro element of the macro element as a whole .Hence architect has an responsibility of not only giving a character to an individual built form, but at the same time define the macro element as a whole .We have seen examples in the past of built forms which stand as independent forms without any relation to the environment it has been located in both functionally and aesthetically. It not only disrupts the aesthetical harmony, but also creates a problem of functional mismanagement of spaces. For example in cities like Bombay, slums near a residential complex for high income group. In addition to the aesthetics and functional problems, it also marks a huge irony and a humane question of income disparity. In cities like Shimla , the tradition of English architecture during the colonial time in India has been followed hence giving a character to whole city.

Economic upliftment through architecture:

Architect has a responsibility of creating spaces in tandem with functions .There are many examples throughout the world in which architecture has changed the economic course of a region .The planning of different economic activities is of vital importance for an economy to flourish .Poor planning has led to failures of various economic systems or at least hampering the growth till a certain level. For example, proper planned cities like Chandigarh, Navi Mumbai, etc. have attracted investment in industrial sector .On micro scale B.V. Doshi a pioneer in low cost housing and has incorporated elements such as special retail shops and economic zones ,so that people from lower economic section could be uplifted.


User Behaviour Analysis:
Functionally viable, psychologically pleasant and physiologically comfortable are the most significant results to be achieved by an architect in a designed space. Improving standards of living should be one of the most prime objectives of an architect .This could be done by first considering the basic human requirements for comfortable living . A designer should consider the miniscule details and try to eliminate most trivial factors causing discomfort. Hence, the aim should be to design a space for masses but still keeping its identity intact. Indian Habitat centre is a perfect example, of a place which has utilized the user behaviour analysis into their design. It is a space rather than just a built form which provides socialising spaces. It is an apt mix of heavy and light forms.
Sustainable Architecture:
An architectural space is a system of various functions and services. In any enclosed form entropy has to increase with time .As an architect one should take care to design in such a manner that the rate of increase of entropy could be minimized. Also with change in time, the demand and behaviour of users keep on changing. Hence a building should be futuristic. There have been examples when the primary function of building has changed completely with time but due to the flexibility in design it sustained .For example, the campus of Indian Institute of Technology was once a jail.

So where are we, as community of Architects we didn’t justify our standards by letting the harmony of the built environment to be destroyed. We have driven cities and towns to a point of collapse by callous approach towards architecture. There have been several inspirations in architects and architecture that have ameliorated the quality of living. All the above points are guiding principles for being responsible architects and respond accordingly to environmental factors during the design process. Cities are tending towards an urban blight due to overstrain on services. It is responsibility of an architect to relieve the cities and emerge as Messiah.

Bibliography:
1. Sustainable Architecture White Papers: Essays On Design And Building For A Sustainable Future
2. Principles of Indian Architecture - a timeline study of her contributions to global patterns of civilization by Joy Sen (2008) ISBN 81-902768-4-0 (CYGNUS Kolkata, 2008)
3. U.S. Census Bureau's 1997 Economic Census
4. Architecture for Humanity(2006), “Design Like you Give a Damn”, Metropolis Books
5. www.anna-heringer.com

My Boss

“I have already informed you, there isn’t any work for incompetents in my office. I have already proscribed you to my clients. So don’t call me anymore”. Those must have been the worst-ever introductory words to trainee. The person who spoke the words was Rajeev and may gods pacify the soul on the other end. He was furious and I was perplexed. Only thought lingering in my mind was ‘Apni toh lag gayi Boss’. He spears me a look and with a twilight in his eyes “Hey, you must be Karthik”, amazed by the cadence in his tone like a Soordas after Metallica “Yes Sir”, Thus commenced my Designhaaus voyage captained by Ar.Rajeev Kumar Sharma.

Rajeev passed out from Kharagpur in 2002.He did get a campus placement but never got a job, 9/11 did impact a few lives. So he went to Mumbai and attempted tutoring mathematics to CAT aspirants but it turned out to be an ephermal stint. He searched for a career in Architecture which lead him to southern India. He tried bourgeoisie's till 2005 but his physic intolerance grew to obnoxious levels leading to the origin of Designhaaus Pvt. Ltd. Some of his batch mates inspired by his intrepidity championed his cause. A 100 sft small scale single employee firm grew to 1500 sft middle scale multi city headquarters. During primitive years, a small residence was not that ‘small’ but today you have to be a large scale builder professionally involved with the office for a consideration to residence design. Designhaaus has been consulted for projects worth more than 2000cr and have on-going projects worth more than 400cr.For many mortals its end of the tunnel but for Rajeev “Abhi toh shuru hua hain yaar”.

You must have read about a character like this on every fifth page of economic times and must have been a much more successful entrepreneur. So what makes Rajeev so special? First of all, he’s from Kharagpur!! Secondly, he has achieved everything without any patrimony and he’s just a twenty nine year old bachelor. Thirdly, his vision to ameliorate the whole natural and built design environment. So the next immediate question, what makes up Rajeev? He’s ardent passion and workaholic characteristics. He is at office when morning cock is setting up its alarm and god knows when he is out, never risked to wait for him. His acumen is incredulous, he can estimate the feasibility of large scale project with a glimpse of the site layout and at the same time can give you a tutorial on miniscule architectural details. He’s an apotheosis of Archi-science, if there exists one. His a ‘chalta-phirta’ inspiration for all budding Architects/Entrepreneurs. At the end of it, I wish his competitors all the luck, they will surely need it!!

P.S.: Sending a copy to Rajeev, kgp ke log treat ke liye kuch bi karengay!!