1.1 Why Me?
1.1 Why Me?
0 Introduction
1|Page
1.2 The Standard of Care
There is no guarantee of a perfect plan or even satisfactory results. Instead,
architects and engineers are expected to use “reasonable and ordinary care” in the
practice of their profession. The courts know it; designers know it; contractors know
it -- But somehow this information is not always conveyed to owners. As facilities
managers charged with managing the project, our challenge is to educate our
customers and align their expectations.
But there are some things we need to keep in check. Small mistakes are
acceptable and can be adjusted with. But if these mistakes tend to make bigger
problems, they are set to be dealt with.
2|Page
2.0 Literature Review
http://ccrtindia.gov.in/modernarchitecture.php
Article by Centre for Cultural Resources and Training Ministry of Culture,
Government of India
3|Page
2.1.1 Traditionallity
Architecture traditionally, i.e., before the arrival of British on the Indian soil,
was from the social point of view, a creation of spectacular sculptural forms hewn
out of stone. Architectural material was stone; tools, chisel and hammer, and the
aim was glorification. In contrast, the every-day needs of a common man were
ruthlessly neglected. Then the British arrived on the scene, it was through them that
the first introduction to elementary modern building construction and planning was
introduced into India. Their aim, however, was to house their organizations, and
their people and whatever was necessary to control an empire as big as India. Apart
from self-serving military cantonments and civil lines, they also left the basic
problems well alone. It was no intention of the British to educate Indians in the art
and science of architecture. Consequently Indian minds, during the British reign,
were completely out of touch with the progressive thinking taking place in the rest
of the world. The most significant architectural phenomenon that took place during
the first half of this century in this country was building of Imperial Delhi. This was
an anachronism of the highest order, because, while at that time contemporary
Europeans were engaged in most progressive thinking in architecture, Sir Edward
Lutyen's was a masterpiece in high renaissance architecture, the result of a way of
thinking typical of the early nineteenth century in Europe. It is interesting to note
that at the same time as the construction of Delhi, Europe was having "Heroic period
of modern architecture" in such schools of thought as "Bauhaus".
4|Page
Need was urgent, and was to be fulfilled in short time. The option we sought
was to pursue international architecture and the same was not modified to our needs.
The style was diabolic but we needed that for the time being. But as the time
changed, we adopted that style to our very own. We are lost in the herd of sheep
among with some other countries. Most of the buildings are becoming “Faceless
Glass”
https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/article/meet-the-architects-kengo-kuma
Goodwin, K. , Royal Academy of Arts, UK
5|Page
“Weak architecture’ is also about our relationship with space, and I believe that
the human body responds to this kind of weakness. For instance, the ground is not
like concrete – there are leaves and particles of soil, details that provide diversity
and richness, which is what human beings need to find in architecture.”
How do we naturally respond to spaces? How do we feel when standing in front of
a large concrete wall as opposed to a small wooden fence?
6|Page
3.0 Situation of Architects
7|Page
8|Page
9|Page
Source: Council of Architecture
10 | P a g e
4.0 History of Blunders
The “blunder” is not something that should be seen as negativity o taboo, but
as a source of information. They show all the aspects we ignore while designing.
Had there not been problems in our ancestral architecture, we would not have been
able to evolve our architecture with new technologies.
We have some of the heritage that were included in this part of the report,
some were rebuilt, some were repaired and few got destroyed. We will also see the
points they point out which were not taken into account due to lack of knowledge
of that time.
11 | P a g e
4.2 The Fidenae Amphitheater, 27 A.D.
The Fidenae, an iconic
city of Roman empire during
Etruscan era, housed an
amphitheater/stadia. It was
made of cheap wood by an
entrepreneur named Atilius.
It collapsed due to the
volume of people and by far
was the worst stadium
disaster in history. Casualty
counted from 20,000 to
50,000 who were dead or
wounded from the total
audience of 50,000. It also reinforced the need for structures to be solidly built.
Lesson learnt: Account for the weight the structure will hold.
12 | P a g e
4.4 The Bell Tower of Pisa, 1173 A.D.
The “leaning” bell tower of Pisa began
construction in 1173 with the height of 60 meters. It
was built on marshy land, causing the tower to lean
and ultimately require reinforcing the foundation to
prevent it from toppling.
Lesson learnt: Making and building on a solid
foundation is vital.
13 | P a g e
4.6 Tacoma Narrows Bridge, 1940 A.D.
In 1940, the Tacoma
Narrows Bridge collapsed in a
windstorm, creating one of the
world’s largest man-made reefs
as well as one of the most
dramatic failures in bridge
engineering history. It changed
how suspension bridges were
designed from that moment on.
Lesson learnt: Always
take into account environment
factors like wind and weather.
14 | P a g e
5.0 Blunders of Today
Now let’s take a look over the major blunders in architecture which made the
whole project to crumble. In addition we shall also look into their causes and check
what needs to be done to avoid similar situations.
15 | P a g e
caused leaks to spring, masonry to crack, mold to grow, drainage to back up, and
falling ice and debris to block emergency exits."
16 | P a g e
marble is much thinner than building materials normally used to clad buildings, and
in 1974 one of the slabs detached from the building and crashed into the roof of the
neighboring Prudential Center. An investigation revealed the completely unsuitable
marble was cracking and bowing all over the exterior.
Water: Lotus Riverside
Apartment, 2009
This 13-story apartment
building, in Shanghai, was
still under construction when
it failed in 2009. Workers had
removed a huge amount of
soil from below to create a
garage. But the excavated
earth—piled next door—
caused a riverbed to collapse
below it, and the foundations
became a pool of unstable
mud.
Location: “Ghost Mall” in China
It was supposed to be a shopper's
paradise, but instead it's a dead
zone. Noodle billionaire Alex Hu
Guirong had a vision of creating a
mall to rival The Mall of America
in his home town of Dongguan,
China. He called it the South
China Mall. As far as size and
scope, it is impressive, with 7
million square feet (more than
twice that of the MOA) and
buildings designed after famous
landmarks in Venice, Paris,
Rome, and Egypt. However, they
forgot to consider an important factor, namely location, location, location. It is not
17 | P a g e
near any major transit hub or airport; one reporter said it took 2 1/2 hours to get
there from just 6 miles away. In addition, the city itself is home to low-wage-earning
factory workers who don't have extra money for fancy shops. Speaking of fancy
shops, that's the third problem; there are none. In spite of adding a “New” to the
name in a failed relaunch in 2007 (it opened in 2005), the New South China Mall
is still 97 vacant in 2013.
Not a construction flaw, but a good example what our plans could lead to.
18 | P a g e
6.0 Analysis of Towns
(CHANDIGARH)
The blunders not only happen in building projects, but also in town planning.
Be it a design of a famous architect, there can be one or two major flaws. In this
section we will be looking towards one of our developed city – Chandigarh.
6.1 Introduction
Charles-Edouard Jeanneret (1887-1965) was not trained to be an architect.
But as Le Corbusier he became perhaps the most influential architect of the 20th
century. An early and forceful proponent of a new approach to architecture in the
1920s called “modernism”, the Swiss born French architect famously said, “A
house is a machine for living in.” By the mid-20th century, modernism had become
the dominant way of building worldwide, including India. Rare in his command of
a new rationality, technology and poetry in architecture, Corbusier invented a
language of the industrial age. Before modernism, architectural imagination in the
West was dominated by centuries-old Greek, Roman and other historic styles of
building. Lutyens’ New Delhi, built during the period 1911-29 (the early years of
modernism), is a good example of prevalent architectural thinking that modernism
attacked.
Chandigarh, which Corbusier planned and designed in the 1950s, epitomised
his belief that architecture and urban planning must have a rational problem-solving
approach. At the same time, he sought meaning and monumentality through the
honest expression of the construction material itself. Though modernist architecture
was not new to India when Corbusier made his first visit, his work in Chandigarh
and Ahmedabad was to greatly influence Indian architecture.
19 | P a g e
6.2 The Intent
Corbusier’s final city plan (developed from that of the American planner
Albert Mayer) for Chandigarh epitomised the modernist idea of what a rational city
should be like — right angled street grids, straight, wide roads for increasing
automobile use, lots of (preferably continuous) open space around stand-alone
buildings, greenery, light and air for every inhabitant. This was the dream that had
emerged by the early 20th century in response to the nightmare of dirt and disease
in the crowded medieval city in Europe with its “irregular” street patterns. For a
new-born India too, Chandigarh represented a dramatic rejection of “traditional”
urban layouts that had grown without a master-plan. So Chandigarh is often the
preferred template for the modern Indian city in the middle-class imagination.
20 | P a g e
chilly winter. And, notwithstanding the Nano, sensible people and planners today
realize that public transport, not the private car, is what must be encouraged.
The Capitol Complex, in particular, while extremely powerful as a
composition, reveals the problems with architecture conceived as an isolated and
remote object. As the seat of a democratic government, it is ironic that the large
paved open spaces of the complex are so inhospitable by day. The rough concrete
surfaces also deny the simplest of visual pleasures we all seek in our environment.
For a lot of people, especially non-architects, the high-minded austerity is
dispiriting. More dispiriting is the damage caused to the concrete because of the
extremes of hot and cold that Chandigarh experiences. Most architects today
acknowledge the new pathways opened for Indian architecture by Corbusier at
Chandigarh, but have also learnt to apply his stated concern for local climate,
appropriate construction techniques and building function in a more directly
accountable manner.
21 | P a g e
7.0 Recommendations
Negotiate for more time. Tight deadlines discourage quality. It’s the truth and
there’s not much to do about it. Sure, you can throw 30 new people on a job in
the last week, but that doesn’t help. No one will care in the middle of
construction nor remember if you didn’t have enough time to work on something
years ago. They will remember at the end of construction whether the set of
drawings was good or not.
Know what to draw. Know what the intent is. Know what you are doing
whether it’s drawing a detail, modeling a component, or writing a note or spec.
Don’t draw anything unless you know what you are drawing and evolve it to
new level
Know your role. Know your responsibilities. If you don’t know, ask. You better
know if you are the one responsible to update the wall types in the model to
match the required fire rating from the Life Safety drawing.
Work smart. Know what to produce and what not to produce. If it’s not needed,
don’t draw it. Defer to specifications, industry standards and guidelines
whenever possible. There’s no need to draw every nail and screw in a roof detail
if the specs covered that already.
22 | P a g e
8.0 Proposals
23 | P a g e
Foundation and wall particles should be
interlocked with each other otherwise they
would crumble and fall apart.
24 | P a g e
Increase the foundation height
by 450 mm to provide a fixed
furniture.
25 | P a g e
When soil is poor and soft –
it is usual to dig a wide
trench and cover the bottom
with concrete. On this a
wide stone wall 50-60cm is
built on top of that.
8.2 .2 Materialistic
In some districts granite is split from
large rocks to give posts and slabs. You
can incorporate these stones as lintels,
shelves, window “grills” and child-proof
furniture. Short broken posts can
Usually be had at very low prices.
26 | P a g e
‘Jali’ - formerly pierced stone panels – is one
of India’s oldest methods of letting into a
building filtered light and ventilation but
maintaining privacy and security. Brick Jali
can function in the same way – either as panels
or as a complete load bearing wall. This is a
good alternative for glass and keeps house cool,
exact opposite of glass.
LATERITE
Laterite is found in many parts of Kerala (and in other states too). It is natural,
compressed earth and uses no energy (fuel) at all. Unfortunately, unlike soil or sand,
once ‘mined’, the quarry remains as a big hole in the ground. It is also very heavy
and lifting it up to masons working at high levels is both labor intensive and slow,
hard work. It is however far more acceptable than cement blocks.
CEMENT BLOCKS
These are currently used very extensively. This is NOT acceptable when building
for thousands and millions. Cement is highly ENERGY (Fuel) INTENSIVE item
and India is short of energy and has to IMPORT much of it. The cement used in a
Block Wall is considerably more than the comparatively small amount used in a
brick wall. Blocks are very heavy and lifting, especially above waist level – slows
down construction time and calls for more labor. Bricks are easily thrown up to any
height.
27 | P a g e
8.3 Techniques for Better Environment
From ancient times we have seen various techniques to get a cool
environment in various structures. Some of them are as mentioned:
28 | P a g e
Wind towers are generally used in Hot Dry climates for cooling purposes. A
pre- requisite for using wind tower is that the site should experience winds with a
fairly good and consistent velocity. A wind tower is operates in various ways,
according to the time of day, and the presence and absence of wind.
The tower area is so designed that the top part provides large heat storage
capacity, and at the same time has a large surface area for heat transfer. The tower
walls and the internal walls of the air flow passages absorb heat during the day, and
release it at night, warming the cool night air in the tower. Warm air moves up
creating and upward draft and is exhausted through the openings. The pressure
difference thus created pulls the cool night air though the doors and windows into
the building. In the absence of wind, the tower acts as a chimney. The nocturnal
radiation through the roof and the external walls brings about further cooling.
29 | P a g e
9.0 Conclusion
Architecture is also a field that requires interaction. The more the interaction,
the more knowledge you gather. This interaction is not limited to other fellow
architects but also includes workers, constructors, builders, client, people and even
nature itself. One can get new ideas or get the basic face of requirements that are
needed in the designing process.
After reading this project, most would say that it is against the western culture
and its glass loving character, but NO, it’s not. If we can adapt western style to our
environment, it’s not a “crime”. What this project focuses on is to evolve our own
architecture by using techniques of other styles only if they are compatible. Taking
an example of “WIPRO TECHNOLOGIES, GURGAON”, a building solely made
with the purpose to adapt with environment of India but includes glass in abundance
too. The building comes under platinum rating of LEED and is the first green
building of Gurgaon.
Materials also affect the architecture of a given area. As said previously, that
it is not a “LAW” to go against western culture, one should consider the choice of
materials if he/she is pursuing the same. It is recommended that one should choose
those materials that have high durability and are easily available in that location.
Finally the Architecture. Most of the current architects, due to their lack of
knowledge and/or pressure of clients tend to focus on the visual characteristics of
the structure rather than the purpose it serves. As said by the famous personality in
architecture Louis Sullivan (Form Follows Function), first thing necessary is
planning. After that planning is evolved to get the desired view.
30 | P a g e