RKIIDEA - Empower, Showcase & Promote Creatives

How to conduct a Case Study? \m/

2012-01-13T13:39:00.000+05:30

When students begin studying Architecture at a University, the first thing that they are supposed to become excellent at, is doing a documentation or a case study. It could be a case study of a small village, town, a villa, a bus-stop, or a high-rise commercial or residential building. A case study is an in-depth investigation of a single individual, group, incident, or community. Other ways include experiments, surveys, or analysis of archival information

What is the purpose of conducting a Case Study?

As the term Case Study suggests, it is the study of a particular case that is similar to your topic of design project. Doing a case study will help you understand the various aspects that you have to consider while designing.

Literature Case study

Before you start with your live case studies, first of all do a complete literature case study. Literature case study consists of reading everything you can find on the subject. You can refer books in a library, use Google to look up research papers, check out Standard Code books and statutory laws or from technical journals.

A literature case study would give you a vague idea about your topic. There will be various questions arising in your mind after you are done with your literature case study. To find the answers to those questions, you will have to go for minimum two live case studies….

Always possibly go for more than two different case studies, because a comparative case study of two or more different cases is very important and helpful.

While you are doing your first case study, say a Villa, go for a smaller Villa first so that you can figure out the basic minimum requirements.
In your second case study, go for an extremely lavish Villa so that you are aware of the maximum requirements you could give.

(Being able to provide maximum or minimum requirements in your design is very important)

If there are some requirements that you haven’t come across while doing your case studies but you went through it while you were doing a literature case study, then try implementing those requirements in your design.

Eleven most important things to analyze in any Case Study

Environment and micro-climate
Analyzing the surrounding environment and the micro-climate of that place will help understand the reason of the orientation of the structure, the kind of roof chosen and the materials used in its construction.
User behavior and requirementsStudying the functioning of a particular place, say a Hospital, is very important; without which you will not be able to figure out the requirements and the area that should be allotted for each of the requirements.Talking to people working at that place (Hospital), will help you figure out if the requirements that are provided are adequate and he area that is allotted is sufficient for its efficient working.
Utility and space enhancement
Study of Utilitarian facilities of a particular case is also important. Various measures taken to enhance a particular space should be analyzed.
Form and Function
Analyzing the reason behind the form of that particular building…and how it merges with the surrounding environment. Form and Function go hand in hand. The form of the building should be able to convey the function of the building. A lot of Architects say “Form follows Function”.As an example, an institutional building should not end up looking like a museum or a disco.Some other Architects might disagree with that philosophy. They’d say that the function of a structure keeps changing but changing the form of the building everytime its function changes is not possible. They say, Adopt a “Universal Design Scheme”.
Horizontal and vertical circulation
Horizontal circulation consists of elements such as the corridors and lobbies. Vertical circulation includes elevators, staircases, ramps etc. The efficiency of the placement of these services should be analyzed.

Site Planning and Landscape detailing
Refer to the Article on the blog “A Guide to Site Planning”, which deals with different aspects considered in site planning in greater detail.

Structural details such as Column and Beam Design, Steel and Composite structures
Understanding and analyzing the structural details is also important. For example, large span structures such as Auditoriums use trusses or heavy I-section steel beams and sometimes shell-roofing that involve construction of Ring beams whereas in small span structures, RCC construction is used.
Building Services such as Fire Alarm system, HVAC, Water supply systems
The working of Fire Alarm system, HVAC and Water supply systems should be examined and their space requirements are to be analyzed.
Design detailing considering the Barrier-free environment
Implementation of the Barrier-free architecture for comfortable access to disabled people. Most public buildings have mandatory accessibility systems for the disabled. Check out Guidelines to the Disability Standards for Access to Premises 200X. (Australian law)
Socio-economic profile of user group
It might also be important to find out the socio-economic profile of the people using the services so as to determine their requirements and available resources.
Parking details and standards
Measure the allotted parking area on site, say for ten cars, then calculate the average area for each car and compare it with the areas specified in TSS (Time Savers Standards).

Conducting a case study is hard work. Sometimes, it is so small, it could be done in days, but on other occasions, it takes weeks to document and compile all the data. It involves going on-site, meeting and taking to people, lots of traveling, plenty of photography, and some fun. It is the most important of assignments you might get as an architectural students.

This is where you learn from reality, actual stuff, as opposed to only theoretical knowledge. Looking at places first hand and documenting information would give you many insights and ideas and let you peek into the minds of professional architects and designers who have used years of experience and improvisation to design and create incredible structures.

The Most Powerful Word You Must Know ??????

2011-10-06T18:08:00.000+05:30

We all have challenges as entrepreneurs. Sometimes we see money as the solution to our problems.

But, as the Notorious B.I.G. emphasized is his lyrics, “Mo money, mo problems“. Did he just quote a rapper? You better believe it! There are life’s lessons to be learned everywhere. Even the most successful business owners in the world are facing similar challenges as you, just on a WHOLE different level.
After a recent phone conversation with one of my friends, I was able to address some of the challenges in which I was facing. Then I started to see more. And more… And more until I realized, damn I am pretty messed up! It actually became a bit overwhelming. I started digging into why I struggle with discipline, which was justified by the juggling of several projects at once, which in turn was in result of my lack of focus. It turned into a big snowball effect.
I took a step back and looked at everything I desired to self-improve on to get to the next level. I quickly realized it was a whole heck of a lot. “Where do I start?” I was asking myself and my friend . Have you ever felt that way? It is frustrating because we want to keep moving forward, but sometimes we need to take a step back to address certain issues.

“I want to introduce you to one of the most powerful words I know”.

The word is “kaizen“ !!!
“Kaizen”, “is a Japanese word for continuous incremental improvements”.
When I came to know about “continuous incremental improvements”, something clicked for me. You see, I always strive to be perfect in every area of my life. If there is an unbalance, I desire to correct it immediately. Sometimes we have to just surrender to the process. Be content with exactly where we are at the present moment and realize that 1. nothing will happen overnight, and 2. too much drastic change can detrimental to our businesses.

Kaizen is a Japanese management concept for incremental (gradual, continuous) change (improvement). K. is actually a way of life philosophy, assuming that every aspect of our life deserves to be constantly improved. Japanese companies distinguish between innovation (radical) and Kaizen (continuous). K. means literally: change (kai) to become good (zen).

The foundation of the Kaizen method consists of 5 founding elements:
1. teamwork,
2. personal discipline,
3. improved morale,
4. quality circles, and
5. suggestions for improvement.
–More on kaizen from (valuebasedmanagement.net).

I like to think of the “business of life” as a marathon. The ones who come out of the gate sprinting, always tend to fall short. The runners who keep a steady pace will overtake the sprinter in the long hall. Just a few steady improvements each day will get you to where you want to be.

So, let’s talk about what has worked for me. My tips for continuous incremental improvements:
Work Backwards.
When you feel you are losing focus or you don’t know what to do, take a step back and breathe. Ask yourself “is what I am doing at this very moment bringing me closer to where I want to be”. If the answer is no, then you must look at where you are going. If you don’t know where you want to be, that is a deeper problem and you must work the clarity of what you really want. Work yourself backwards from your goal and what has to be done to get there. If you take those large, scary tasks and break them down even further, you will realize what you should be doing at this very moment.
Have YOU time every morning.
First thing in the morning, take time to yourself to do something that makes you feel good. It is so important not to go straight to Facebook to check your messages (although I do that sometimes). Every morning I walk my dog, go running and read for an hour before I start my day. When I do these things in the morning, I feel great about myself and charge forward into my day. Not to mention when we get caught up in our work, we won’t have to worry about it later.
Create a to-do list.
Every night before you go to sleep on a small notepad , write out all the things you must accomplish for the next day. I fell asleep last night before I could write mine and I already feel out of sync today! Tear that sheet of paper off the next day and carry it around with you throughout the day. After you have your YOU time first thing in the morning, knock out the most important thing on that list and you will have a more fulfilled day.
Journalize every night.
Recapture your day. What went well, and talk to your journal about what didn’t go so well and the challenges you are facing. Usually I will struggle in my mind for hours trying to come to a solution about a problem. Try asking your journal a question. As soon as I take it to my journal, I work out the problem fairly quickly. You will be surprised how therapeutic it actually is if you never kept a journal.

So, when are you going to change???????????????????????

10 Reasons why i feel young enrepreneurs fail....????

2011-10-06T17:24:00.001+05:30

We hear all too much about what you have to do to become successful. I have discovered one proven way to become successful…Fail often.
How do I know this? Well, we won’t get into that right now. I have come to terms with distinct character traits that hold back young entrepreneurs and when repeated, will definitely keep you from succeeding in your business and life in general. I’d like to say thanks to Russell Yermal for his contributions on this article.

Lack of Punctuality
Being on time, every time, is a necessity in business. If you cannot keep your word, you cannot be trusted. Successful people will instantly make a judgment on your character through your punctuality. Once you have a respect for your own time, you create posture and people will start to respect yours. Purchase a day planner to organize you schedule and make a to-do list every night before bed.
They Said It Best: “I could never think well of a man’s intellectual or moral character if he was habitually unfaithful to his appointments.” -Nathaniel Emmons

Read This: No B.S. Time Management for Entrepreneurs

No Persistence

Approaching with “I’ll try this business” attitude will put you out of business faster than you got in. There is no trying in business. There is success and nothing else. Failure is just a step in the process. A friend told me once that he used to fail 3-4 times just to make sure he had it right. Every time you fail, it get’s easier and easier. You must get your running shoes on because being an entrepreneur is a marathon. You must train yourself emotionally to have lower highs and higher lows.
They Said It Best: “When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hang on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.” -Harriet Beecher Stowe
Read This: Excuses Begone!

Selfishness

You are going to be broke if you try to be a one-man show. Without other people, you don’t have a business. It is not much fun being wealthy and on top without anyone to share it with. What if you could make Rs.100,000 by going out there and hustling to close sales or make Rs.125,000 by giving and helping people? Which would you choose? Sounds like a stupid question, but did you know that givers end up earning more? Your question should not ask how much you can get in payment for your product or service until ask how much value and service you can provide.
They Said It Best: “No one has ever become poor by giving.” -Anne Frank
Read This: The Go-Giver

Scarcity Mindset
Competition will destroy your business. Rather, the thought of competition will destroy your business. You most likely grew up with a negative energy toward money. Maybe money was prevalent or maybe the lack of it was always the topic at the dinner table. What ever it is, it is not your fault that you think money is scarce. It was hardwired into your brain since a child. But, you can’t grow a business on a scarcity mindset.
They Said It Best: “Abundance is not something we acquire. It is something we tune into.” -Wayne Dyer
Read This: Secrets of the Millionaire Mind

Lack of Clarity
It’s easy to embrace the entrepreneurial spirit. Having a clear, distinct, carved out path is the difficult part. At times, you may feel as if you are not disciplined. More times than not, it is an uncertainty on your destination. If you did know where you wee going, you probably would know what you had to get done. If you do not know where you are going, any road will get you there. Ask yourself, what can I do better than anyone in the world?
They Said It Best: “Clarity of mind means clarity of passion, too; this is why a great and clear mind loves ardently and sees distinctly what he loves.” -Blaise Pascal
Read This: Good to Great

Fear
Paralyzation by fear will halt you in your tracks. Entrepreneurs usually fear what is unknown. They process is going to be unfamiliar to you. You can combat this with knowledge. Our minds, which are our own worst critics, often jump to imagining improbable situations when we consider stepping out and taking risk. When you find yourself in fear of what might happen, stop and ask yourself, “How bad will things be if I DON’T do it?”
They Said It Best: “I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.” -Rosa Parks
Read This: Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway

No Humility
The moment you stop growing, you begin dying. The true meaning of humility means dark, rich, fertile, organic soil. Soil poised for growth. Many young whippersnappers already know everything about business. Their confidence is better know as arrogance and ignorance. I was one of those go-getter’s. I was right and nobody could tell me otherwise. That was until I learned to never miss a good chance to shut up. We have two ears and one mouth for a reason.
They Said It Best: “Humility leads to strength and not to weakness. It is the highest form of self-respect to admit mistakes and to make amends for them.” -John J. McCloy
Read This: Aspire! Discovering Your Purpose Through The Power of Words

Being Comfortable
You are a spitting image of the 5 people you surround yourself with most. You will experience growing pains early on and it is your choice if you decide to go back to what feels comfortable or to continue to reach and stretch your comfort zone. The longer you stay attached to those who bring you down, the longer you will hold yourself back from getting what you want.
They Said It Best: “If you want to be comfortable, take an easy job. If you aspire to leadership, take off your coat.” -Unknown
Read This: Think & Grow Rich

Poor Communicator
People will walk all over you and not take you serious if you cannot communicate clearly what you want. Effective communication is the basis for all relationships and where most people fail is they think it’s just about telling people what they want. Communication is actually based on the ability to listen and understand on what others want. Next time you’re on a sales call, realize that no one will hang up on you while they are talking.
They Said It Best: “The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen. Just listen. Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention.” -Rachel Naomi Remen
Read This: How to Win Friends & Influence People

Lack of Discipline

The lack of discipline leads to wasted talent. If you can’t harness that talent and put it into action every day, you don’t have a business, you have a hobby. If you lack discipline, you must stop and ask yourself what you really want. If you were really doing what you were passionate about, you would have no problem doing the work, and creating that thing which summons your joy. When you find yourself all over the place, lacking discipline, this is the right time to step back for a moment, examine your life, and decide what you really want.
They Said It Best: “Talent without discipline is like an octopus on roller skates. There’s plenty of movement, but you never know if it’s going to be forward, backwards, or sideways.” -H. Jackson Brown Jr.
Read This: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Every New DAy U start.........????

2011-10-06T17:07:00.000+05:30

What is the first thing you do in the morning when you wake up? No, really…take a second to reflect what you do in the mornings from when you wake until noon. Is it a vicious cycle of checking email, feeding your Facebook addiction and Tweeting? You say, “alright I have so much to do today, and it is going to be a productive day.” Then four and a half hours later you look at the clock on your computer and see you indulged in a half day of “social networking” and severe anxiousness sets in. Another day wasted, but tomorrow’s another day, right?
You know you need to pay the bills, yet you don’t know what to do. Let’s look at the math. How many hours of actual work time do you get in a day? Don’t fool yourself. Let’s say it is 2 hours, but you spend 10 hours a day “working.” Why aren’t you spending 8 hours doing s#!* you love? Seriously, go play the guitar or something. Add guitar playing into your day for 2 hours. That leaves you with 6 hours of unaccounted for time. Once you learn to prioritize and be more productive, you can pack your day. If you are already doing this, your high five is coming on the back end. If not, I’d rather see you enjoy your life then waste it away in front of a computer.
There are so many people doing things they hate. I think there is a lot more not doing the things they love. So what can you do to bring more balance to your life? Everyday, before your even hop on the computer, I want you to have YOU time. When you spend the first part of your day on you everyday, your days have more meaning, are more fulfilled and you feel more productive and by the time you start working, you have already accomplished a few great things. Here is how I recommend you start your day:
Feed your body – Exercise and put good wholesome organic foods in your body!! You are what you eat.
What I do: I like to go on early morning Walks , freshens me up after long nightouts .
Feed your mind – Put positive content into you mind every morning. Read or listen to something relevant of what you need to improve on.
What I do: I am always reading multiple books and listening to talks, interviews and lectures of entrepreneurs.
Feed your soul – Do the one thing that absolutely gives you joy. It is the thing you would do if you never got paid for it. I can guarantee it is not the death tube, or sometimes referred to as television. Find something that inspires you and puts a smile on your face.
What I do: I love playing guitar,sing and even write lyrics OR i go to some places filled with beauty of nature and sit and think // i love THINKING something or other al the tym. ..so i do it.. and also keep my journal to summarize my thoughts where ever i go.
You will have that gut feeling when you are feeling out of balance. Refer back to these three things to find the happiness in your life.

Sick of Making Mistakes 3 Times Over?

2011-10-06T16:43:00.000+05:30

Entrepreneurship is a hard game to play by yourself. Actually, there is no game by yourself. Crack out your Monopoly board game, pick your favorite shiny piece and roll the dice. See how much fun you will have playing by yourself.
Business is a game just like Monopoly. You have to learn how to play from somewhere. You usually learn from sitting on the sidelines a few rounds or having someone actually teach you play by play how the game works.
There are certain rules to the game. If you just tried to jump in and play, you are bound to make mistakes. These mistakes can be costly. Maybe passing up on property because you think you can’t afford it.
When you have been in business for a while, there comes to a point in business where many of these mistakes are not fun anymore. Especially when they could have been avoided with some simple advice.
For a once so hard headed guy like me, I am now always open to taking it. Young entrepreneurs don’t have to know it all in business or even appear to know it all for credibility’s sake. You just have to surround yourself with people who do. Have people in your life who you can ask questions. I am staring some pretty stupid mistakes I have made in the face right now. What frustrates me the most is that this is not the first time I made any of them.
You really have two options. “Make the mistakes 2-3 times just to make sure you got them right” , or find someone who has made the mistakes before you to compensate for your inexperience and weaknesses. Reach up. Reach very far up. You will be surprised the caliber of people willing to work with you. Inspire them through your ideas, drive and action, while humbling them with your humility (your willingness to grow).
“I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing.” -Socrates
Leaving you on that point, I want to learn from you. Please help mold my new blog by providing your feedback on this survey.

Steve Jobs \m/ Connect The dOts __//

2011-10-06T16:35:00.000+05:30

'You've got to find what you love,' Jobs says !!

This is a prepared text of the Commencement address delivered by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, on June 12, 2005.

I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. No big deal. Just three stories.
The first story is about connecting the dots.
I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?
It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: "We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?" They said: "Of course." My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.
And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents' savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.
It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example:
Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn't have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can't capture, and I found it fascinating.
None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, it's likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.
Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.
My second story is about love and loss.
I was lucky — I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation — the Macintosh — a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.
I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down - that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me — I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.
I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.
During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I returned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.
I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.
My third story is about death.
When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.
Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.
About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn't even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor's code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.
I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I'm fine now.
This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I hope it's the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept:
No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.
Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.
When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960's, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.
Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish." It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.
Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.
Thank you all very much.

Your Degree Is JUst Your Backup Plan __//

2011-10-06T12:30:00.001+05:30

(My personal Fav. Richard Branson \m/ )

How many times were you told to make sure you worked hard in high school so you could go to college and get a good career job? Okay, maybe not all of you got nagged about it, but probably a good portion of today’s generation of adults did.
It’s natural to wonder whether college is really necessary. A college degree, as many have found, is no guarantee of a good career. On the flipside, there are many successful entrepreneurs who didn’t need their college education and become millionaires anyway. Here are fifteen of them, both contemporary and from the past, in alphabetical order.

Mary Kay Ash. The founder of Mary Kay Inc. started a cosmetics business. While she didn’t have a college education or any training, she successfully created a brand known throughout the world. To date, nearly half a million women have started Mary Kay businesses, selling cosmetics. Their appreciation for Mary Kay Ash is unwavering.
Richard Branson. Richard Branson is best known for his thrill seeking spirit and outrageous business tactics. He dropped out at the age of 16 and started his first successful business venture, Student Magazine. He is the owner of the Virgin brand and its 360 companies. His companies include Virgin Megastore and Virgin Atlantic Airway.
Coco Chanel. An orphan for many years, Gabrielle Coco Chanel trained as a seamstress. Determined to invent herself, she threw out the ideas that the fashion world deemed feminine, boldly using fabric and styles normally reserved for men. A perfume bearing her name, Chanel No. 5 kept her name famous.
Simon Cowell. Simon Cowell started in a mailroom for a music publishing company. He has since become an Artist and Repertoire (A&R) executive for Sony BMG in the UK, and a television producer and judge for major television talent contests including American Idol.
Michael Dell. With $1,000, dedication and desire, Michael Dell dropped out of college at age 19 to start PC’s Limited, later named Dell, Inc. Dell became the most profitable PC manufacturer in the world. In 1996, The Michael and Susan Dell Foundation offered a $50 million grant to The University of Texas at Austin to be used for children’s health and education in the city.
Barry Diller. Fox Broadcasting Company was started by a college dropout, Barry Diller. Diller is now chairman of Expedia, and CEO of of IAC/Int erActiveCorp which includes Home Shopping Network and Ticketmaster.
Walt Disney. Having dropped out of high school at 16, Walt Disney’s career and accomplishments are astounding. The most influential animator, Disney holds the record for the most awards and nominations. Disney’s imagination included cartoons and theme parks. The Walt Disney Company now has annual revenue of $30 billion.
Debbi Fields. As a young, 20 year old housewife with no business experience, Debbi Fields started Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chippery. With a recipe for chocolate chip cookies, this young woman became the most successful cookie company owner. She later renamed, franchised, then sold Mrs. Field’s Cookies.
Henry Ford. At 16, Henry Ford left home to apprentice as a machinist. He later started Ford Motor Company to manufacture automobiles. Ford’s first major success, the Model T, allowed Ford to open a large factory and later start the assembly line production, revolutionalizing the auto-making industry.
Bill Gates. Ranked as the world’s richest person from 1995-2006, Bill Gates was a college drop out. He started the largest computer software company, Microsoft Corporation. Gates and his wife are philanthropists, starting The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with a focus on global health and learning.
Milton Hershey. With only a fourth grade education, Milton Hershey started his own chocolate company. Hershey’s Milk Chocolate became the first nationally marketed chocolate. Hershey also focused on building a wonderful community for his workers, known as Hershey, Pennsylvania.
Steve Jobs. After attending one semester of college, Steve Jobs worked for Atari before co-founding Apple Computers. Now without the “Computers” in their name, Apple includes innovative products such as the iPod, iTunes, and most recently the iPhone. Steve Jobs was also the CEO and co-founder of Pixar before it merged with Walt Disney.
Rachael Ray. Despite having no formal training in culinary arts, Rachel Ray has made a name for herself in the food industry. With numerous shows on the Food Network, a talk show and cookbooks, high-energy Rachael doesn’t slow down. She has also appeared in magazines as well has having her own magazine debut in 2006. She knew she was a success when a website dedicated to bashing her was created.
Ty Warner. Sole owner, CEO, and Chairman of Ty, Inc., Ty Warner is a savvy, yet private business man. Ty, Inc., made $700 million in a single year with the Beanie Babies craze without spending money on advertising! He has since expanded to include Ty Girlz dolls, directly competing with Bratz dolls.
Frank Lloyd Wright. Having never attended high school, Frank Lloyd Wright surpassed all odds when he became the most influential architect of the twentieth century. Wright designed more than 1,100 projects with about half actually being built. His designs have inspired numerous architects to look at the beauty around them and add to it.

Of course, just because these people made it does not of course mean that most people can do without a college degree. If you’ve got an entrepreneurial spirit, the degree is just a backup.

Unusual Loft of the Swedish Artist__//

2011-09-15T09:44:00.002+05:30

This artistic and inventive loft, made of various geometrical forms — spacious and light apartment of famous Swedish artist Carouschka Streijffert.

Unusual Stockholm Attic

The atypical interior of the apartment located on an attic of one house in Stockholm, at first sight, can seem freakish or even unusual. Actually, abstract playful forms, co-operating with each other, create the thought about the harmonical space.

So, for example, a library zone organically is created by from a wooden rack and round windows; also an unusual configuration of a floor and futuristic chair «LC2» by Le Corbusier centre on a rug executed under the sketch of the owner of apartment.

Unusual Medical Complex, Australia__//

2011-09-15T09:43:00.002+05:30

The Australian architectural studio «Lyons» has finished building a ultra-modern medical complex «John Curtin School of Medical Research». The unique architectural building expressively reflects progressive methods of work and aspiration to innovative processes.

The Innovative Australian Medical Center

In the medical center based on base of the Australian National University in Canberra are based: research laboratories, medical clinics, health care offices, hall for teaching lectures and the world seminars.

A Guide to Site Planning__//

2011-09-07T23:48:00.000+05:30

Site Planning

Site planning involves arranging structures on the land and shaping spaces between them. It is an art linked to architecture, and city planning. The site plan locates objects and activities in space and time. It may be concerned with a small cluster of houses, a single building and the surrounding space, or a small community built in a single operation.

Environmental Factors

Environmental study for architectural design involves collection of data, reconnaissance survey, creative ability and imagination, and the design of solutions to solve building problems.

When an architect is given a design assignment, there are many environmental factors that are to be considered. The site is the major factor that has to be considered. Site means the area or the land that is meant for the construction of the proposed project. Site Planning is the art and science of arranging the various portions of a particular piece of land according to their uses. The site planner decides on the uses of the site in detail by selecting and analyzing it for the various characteristics of soil, slope, vegetation, etc.

The landscape involves the design of outside space. This should be thought about carefully to make an architectural design complete. The climate at the location at the site is very important as it affects the building that is to be constructed. Services such as water supply, drainage, sanitation, electricity, fire protection, air-conditioning system, etc. also have to be considered in order to make an architectural design complete.

Identification of site and its preparation

Each site has a unique nature of its own. The purpose for which it is to be used should be clearly understood. Every site when disturbed takes time to experience the mutual adjustment of its elements. For example, the flow of water creates a drainage pattern. Many factors are involved in the analysis of the site. These include the factors above the ground, below the ground and on the ground, as discussed in the following.

Natural Factors

Geology
Topography-slope analysis
Hydrography-streams, lakes, swamps
Soil – classification of types and uses
Vegetation
Wildlife
Climate factors – solar orientation, summer, winter winds, humidity, precipitation

Geology

The type of rock below the surface of soil, the depth, and the characteristic features of rock should be identified. Such rocks could act as a foundation for many buildings. These are natural and could form visible landforms. The stability of such geological formations is also important.

Topography

The form of land is called its topography. This is the most important factor to be analysed. Geology and the slow process of natural erosion (soil being worn away because of wind or water) are responsible for landforms and slopes. A topographic survey will reveal the badly drained areas and natural drainage channels. It will be also reveal places that have good views and parts of the site that are visible or hidden from any selected point outside the site. The slopes will decide the roads and paths; a steep slope will increase building costs.

Hydrography

Hydrography provides information about all types of water bodies present in and around the site: lakes, streams, any marshy land(swamps), or natural wells. It also reveals the availability or otherwise of a groundwater table and the depth at which it is available.

Soil

The different types of soil present are analysed. Soil decides the stability of land, foundation, suitability, excavation, erosion, drainage, and plant growth(as the top soil is essential for good plant growth). The bearing capacity of soil is an important factor to be considered while locating buildings.

Vegetation

A study of vegetation helps in locating large existing trees, which can be retained. These can be used for providing seating. The ecology of the area should also be examined to know what plants or shrubs would grow in that area.

Wildlife

This is an important consideration when choosing sites for parks and recreation. Fishing and hunting are major recreational activities. The selection of land suitable for such activities depends on natural wildlife present in the area. Wildlife also adds form, colour and movement to the landscape.

One might also want to be informed about the wildlife present in the area to preserve it and not disturb the animals natural habitats due to the construction.

Climatic Factors

Across a piece of land, the elevation difference, character of topography, vegetation cover, and water bodies influence the climate of that area. On the other hand, precipitation and temperature are the major factors affecting vegetation. In cool and temperate climates, vegetation may be used to block winter winds.

Cultural Factors

Existing land use – ownership of adjacent property and off-site nuisance
Linkages
Traffic and transit-vehicular and pedestrian circulation on or adjacent to site.
Density and floor area ratio
Utilities – sanitation , water, gas, electricity, stormwater drainage.
Existing buildings
Historic factors – historic buildings and landmarks.

Existing land use

This implies a survey of the present status of the land-whether it is residential, commercial, industrial or recreational. The ownership of the adjacent site will also affect the land being surveyed.

Offsite nuisances: Disturbances from outside and around the site have to be studied.

Visual nuisance elements: Power lines, water tower, certain industrial complexes, highways, advertisement boards, junkyards(waste dumps), etc., are some examples of eye-sore elements that have to be taken into account.

Possible auditory nuisance: Noise produced by heavy automobiles, trains, air traffic etc. and the surrounding population has to be studied.

Olfactory nuisance: Dumps, chemicals, other wastes in and around the site have to be taken care of.

Safety Hazards: Severe or sudden changes in landform, such as a steep cliff at the edge of the site have to be noted.

List of 10 critical items we think you’ll need to tackle academics and shoot out of Architecture school without all the baggage__//

2011-09-07T23:27:00.000+05:30

1. There is no substitution for hard work.
If you’re not a hard worker the remaining nine bullet points probably won’t make much difference to you. The study of architecture requires that you be productive and diligent. You’ll miss good parties; friends will look at you incredulously as you head off to the studio on a Friday night. Stick to it and be industrious

2. That you have to pull “all-nighters” to get your projects done is a fallacy.
It’s simply not true. You’ll be told differently from students higher up the ranks. When they tell you that “there’s just no way around all-nighters” they will be holding a cigarette in one hand, a triple grande coffee in the other and they will have a look on their face so morbid that it will seem more appealing to simply change majors. Don’t believe them, they’re delusional. Work hard, work efficiently, work with self discipline. You don’t have to pull all-nighters to produce exceptional work in architecture school. The students who have supposedly “been up for 3 nights” always seem to be sleeping on the couch in the library during the day

3. Nobody likes hearing a presentation from a zombie.
Practicing how you present yourself and honing your communication skills are just as important as the architecture you are discussing. Get a bit of sleep the night before presentations and crits (refer to #2).

4. Crits aren’t always about architecture.
There’s also less at stake during crits than you might think. You’re going to have jurors that love your projects, jurors that hate your projects and everything in between. Often, jurors show up with their own agendas – the thesis of that book they just published, their latest project they feel the need to defend, an axe to grind with another juror, who knows. What you should know is that these things are beyond your control. Present yourself well, listen to and respect the jury and at the end of the day don’t worry too much about what they think or don’t think. We’ve seen some exceptional presentations and we never saw anyone being offered a job on the spot. Conversely, we’ve seen some presentations go disastrously wrong, and there were never any real-life consequences. Crits have less of an emphasis on the design; it’s an opportunity to work the kinks out of your presentation skills before you’re actually talking to a client – at which point there will be consequences for a poor performance

5. You are the CEO of you.
In academia we would occasionally come across the professor who tried to steer our projects in the direction of their own personal agenda. Sometimes that’s for the best and sometimes it’s not. Obviously the appropriate path depends on the professor and the context – but just because a professor has a vision for your project doesn’t mean that you need to follow suit. Use your judgment – those same skills of persuasion and tact will come in very handy later in your career

6. You’re paying them, not the other way around.
A good professor should receive your full respect – after all, they’ve forgotten more about architecture than you’ve ever learned. At the same time you are paying tuition to be taught and professors should be held accountable for your education. If you’re not getting what you want out of a class or studio it is up to you to voice that concern and your professor’s to address it.

7. Get more mileage out of your hard work.
We were often prohibited from using the same work in different classes. For instance, the same photographs of an architecture project could not be used in both an architectural studio and a photography class. Such practice was considered double-dipping and deemed unacceptable. We never agreed with this – it’s not the way the world works. In our practice we don’t take separate photos for Dwell, Met Home, Sunset and Architectural Record. We take the photos once and send them to everybody, as well as use them on the website and the blog – otherwise we’d be up all night. Obviously there are examples of abuse and it’s important to be judicious about the issue, but we’re fans of getting the most mileage out of hard work. Be clever.

8. Your portfolio is not the Holy Grail.
Portfolios are important, no doubt. They are not, however, the most precious object on the earth’s surface. Craft it, refine it, use it, leverage it and realize that someday it will be collecting dust under a pile of construction documents in your office. It is a tool useful at a certain period in your life, it is a stepping stone. It is not more important than how you think, who you meet and how you operate in the world. Most of all don’t expect other people (like non-architects) to give a crap about your portfolio – to them it’s 20 pages of pretty pictures with a leather cover.

9. Diversify
Take some classes in real-estate, business or engineering. You will need these perspectives more than you can imagine as an architect

10. Don’t bore your non-architect friends with archi-speak.
If you’re not careful, by the time graduation comes around the architects will have degenerated into a cult, locked away in the studio with their own language that nobody can decipher. Get out of the studio from time to time and leave the archi-speak at the door. The lawyers, MBAs and pre-med students you talk to over beers at the bar will be your clients someday – don’t scare them off.

Teachers Day \m/ Teaching is the profession that teaches all the other professions !!

2011-09-05T21:07:00.000+05:30

Teachers Day is celebrated as a tribute to the valuable contribution made by teachers to the society by imparting knowledge and enlightening and shaping the career of students. Celebration of Teachers Day is fairly popular in many countries across the world and is even acknowledged by UNESCO.

For students, Teachers Day is an occasion to pay reverence and gratitude to teachers for their selfless effort in shaping their career and enriching the education system in the process.

When is Teachers’ Day celebrated? The date for celebrating this special event varies from country to country across the world. In India, Teachers Day is celebrated on the 5th of September every year, whereas, China celebrates this event on 10th September every year. The celebration in each country is generally correlated to either significant personalities or achievements of milestone in the field of education. India celebrates Teachers Day on September 5 since 1962 as it is the birth anniversary of Dr Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, a prominent thinker, philosopher and an educator.

Most of the schools and institutions make elaborate preparations for the celebrations. The ceremony usually kicks off with a warm Teachers Day speech paying respect and thanking teachers for their contribution. This is often followed by a range of colourful cultural programs, feast and other activities which make the event special and memorable.

A few traditional ways of celebrating the event include presenting colourful flowers, beautiful Teachers Day cards or gifts to the teacher as tokens of love and admiration. But students often try innovative ways and ideas to celebrate Teachers Day.

Some rely on creative and attractive Teachers Day greeting cards adorned with captivating and touchy quotes and messages to convey the indebtedness unfailingly and also to capture the wonderful moments of the event. Others select lovely and popular Teachers Day quotes to convey their inner feeling of love for their teacher.

Sending animated or e-greeting card is also a rage in the contemporary times. Available absolutely free of cost, these Teachers Day Greetings e-cards have become a preferred way to send warm wishes and shower emotions on teachers.

Another modern and popular mode of wishing teachers today is the Teachers Day SMS. The advantage of sending SMS is that the message reaches its destination promptly and rarely goes unnoticed. For the celebration of Teachers Day, the text messages are available in varied languages allowing users to send SMS according to his/her preferred language.

All of us have been students at some stage of our life and have benefited from our teachers. Celebration of Teachers Day 2011 is a wonderful opportunity especially for all of us to show our gratitude and appreciation to our teachers.

ACRECONF India 2012 : Reviving Mother Earth through Better Building Design

2011-09-04T19:54:00.000+05:30

Acreconf is a two day international conference which is organised by the Delhi Chapter of ISHRAE, in association with ASHRAE India chapter. This conference was started in the year 2001, where it was attended by nearly 200 delegates with 25 technical papers. This conference has been attracting a lot of interest and has been growing rapidly. The last ACRECONF held in 2010 was attended by over 1800 delegates and had attracted over 98 technical papers.
Buoyed by the success, ISHRAE has now decided to conduct ACRECONF India 2012 on a larger and grand scale, with a theme “Reviving Mother Earth through Better Building Design“. It will have six parallel technical sessions spread over two days with eminent speakers from India and abroad.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
TOPICS ON THE FIRST DAY WILL FOCUS
ON TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO:
1. Refrigeration and Cold Chain
2. Net Zero Energy Buildings
3. Facility Management and Services
4. HVAC & Building Services
5. Green Buildings
6. Tall Buildings
TOPICS ON THEÂ SECOND DAY WILL FOCUS
ON APPLICATION OFÂ TECHNOLOGIES.
The major areas of application:
1. Hotels
2. Hospitals
3. Education and Industry
4. Infrastructure and Mixed Use
5. Data Centres
6. Integrated Township

For more information please logon to the website www.acreconf.org

Young Architects Festival (YAF) in Chandigarh

2011-09-04T19:52:00.000+05:30

Indian Institute of Architects, Chandigarh-Punjab Chapter is going to organise “Young Architects Festival” (YAF) in Chandigarh on 14-15-16 October, 2011. It will include a Seminar on:
CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE – BEYOND CORBUSIERISM

Session 1: Chandigarh: Tryst with Modernism

Threat & challenges before Chandigarh/ cities

Ø Changing Skyline and Cityscape
Ø Growth of the City and Slums
Ø Re densification & Redevelopment
Ø Preservation of Concrete Structures

Influence of Chandigarh Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret

Session 2: Vernacular Architecture and Modernism

Learning from Traditional Building Cultures
Coastal Architecture
Hill Architecture-:Modern Designs for Seismic Safety
Historical cities/architecture under threat

Session 3: Modern Architecture- Global Perspective

Underground Architecture
Modern Practices
Disabled Friendly Architecture
Energy and Architecture

Session 4: Futuristic Architecture

Technology and Building Design Solutions
Computers in Architecture
New materials and modern vocabulary
Influx of Foreign Multinational Architectural Corporates.

You are requested to send the abstract of not more than 350 words of the sub theme with direct relevance to the main theme by 15^th June; 2011.The sub theme should be clearly depicted on the Abstract. Please send the abstracts as [Surname].doc file. Acceptance of abstracts shall be intimated by 15^th July, 2011. Selected authors shall be invited to submit their full length papers by 31^st August, 2011. All the participants are requested to email their abstracts/papers at: yafchd2011@gmail.com or send by post to the Chapter’s office at the following Address:-

Surinder Bahga
Chairman
Indian Institute of Architects
Chandigarh-Punjab Chapter
SCO 53-55, Third Floor
Sector 17-D, Chandigarh – 160017
Ph:0172-2722466 / 2711931

(All the posts under this label are reposts from the site http://blog.indianarchitecture.net/ )

how tO _ Passive Solar Design Principles - Site Analysis

2011-09-04T18:40:00.002+05:30

Identifying physical site characteristics and micro-climate
One of the most critical parts of correct passive solar design involves analysis of your site. Good design always begins with thorough analysis and understanding of the constraints and opportunities presented by the site.
Important site characteristics are:
a. Topography—direction and magnitude of site gradient
b. Aspect—which parts of your site receive direct sun and shelter or exposure to wind.
c. Prospect—views outwards from your site.
d. Other environmental conditions—noise, vegetation, geology, drainage, micro-climate, overshadowing from natural or built obstructions, fire risk and relationship to water courses.
e. Planning constraints—local government ordinances which are applied to achieve streetscape and broad site servicing objectives, and maintain heritage and cultural values.
f. Preservation of valued flora and fauna.
Site analyses are generally made as a series of overlay plans which build up a picture, layer by layer, of the best parts of your site to exploit for building purposes.

Example of a site analysis executed for a rural site in a steep, heavily wooded area

Nikolas Davies, Erkki Jokiniemi "Dictionary of Architecture and Building Construction"

2011-09-04T17:34:00.002+05:30

Nikolas Davies, Erkki Jokiniemi "Dictionary of Architecture and Building Construction"
Architectural Press | 2008-07-23 | 736 pages | PDF | 23,8 MB

http://img163.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=39290_000_122_945lo.jpeg

With more than 20,000 words and terms individually defined, the Dictionary offers huge coverage for anyone studying or working in architecture, construction or any of the built environment fields.
The innovative and detailed cross-referencing system allows readers to track down elusive definitions from general subject headings. Starting from only the vaguest idea of the word required, a reader can quickly track down precisely the term they are looking for.

The book is illustrated with stunning drawings that provide a visual as well as a textual definition of both key concepts and subtle differences in meaning.
Davies and Jokiniemi's work sets a new standard for reference books for all those interested in the buildings that surround us.
* Comprehensive coverage of architecture and building terms
* Detailed and innovative cross-referencing system
* Beautifully illustrated with detailed technical drawings

Torrent Link

Enjoy!!!!

India’s Wind power capacities to be 33,000 MW by 2022__//

2011-06-23T20:21:00.005+05:30

The government will triple Wind Power capacities to nearly 33,000 MW by 2022 from current capacities of close to 11,000 MW in its attempt to increase power generation through non-conventional energy sources, according to the Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy, Dr Farooq Abdullah.
Dr. Abdullah also announced that in next 3 years, power generation from solar energy would reach about 1300 MW from its current negligible capacities. He was speaking at the 7th Knowledge Millennium Summit organised by Assocham.
Responding to query of Assocham President Dr. Swati Piramal about details of wind power generation, the Minister said that the proposed 33,000 MW capacities of wind power would be achieved through private public partnership initiatives.
Dr. Abdullah added that huge private sector participation has already started coming in and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is currently examining such proposals for final clearance
Government contribution in harnessing wind power energy would be minimal as private sector is more than keen to set up wind power generation projects in far off places to lit them up, indicated the Minister.

Simpler procedures are being followed up and clearances quickly expedited for necessary approvals for such projects so that government is able to get 33,000 MW of wind power capacities by end of 13th five year plan period, asserted Dr. Abdullah.
“My Ministry is also committed to take solar power generation capacities to an extent of 1300 MW in next three years as I have already given a commitment to this effect to the Prime Minister,” said the Minister.
The government has foreseen faster depletion of fossil fuel source based energy and therefore started preparing to harness sources for energy generation through wind, solar, bio-mass and hydro etc. and it is in this direction the government has set up for itself a target of increasing wind power generation to an extent of 33,000 MW by 2022, clarified Dr. Abdullah.
Dr Piramal assured the Minister for large participation of India Inc. in harnessing energy sources belonging to non-conventional areas. She demanded incentives and sought simplification of existing procedures to lure larger participation of domestic industry in power generation, pointing out that a good number of players are already prepared to plung into generating power, provided suitable policy framework is laid out.

Source : http://www.constructionweekonline.in/article-5800-wind_power_capacities_to_be_33000_mw_by_2022/

Architects have to write their own agenda: Charles Correa__//

2011-06-23T20:21:00.004+05:30

rchitects have to script their own agenda while creating new idioms in this age of homogenised culture, suggests Indian architect Charles Correa.

‘Young architects have to stick their neck out to do something new and write their own agendas,’ Correa said in his address at the launch of his book ‘A Place in the Shade: A New Landscape and Other Essays’.

The iconic architect gave India milestones like the Bharat Bhavan in Bhopal, the India Habitat Centre, the National Crafts Museum and the British Council in the capital, the blueprint for the new Mumbai city and the Cochin Waterfront.

‘It is very important to do things you want to – to know where you are going – when you are young. I would not have liked to build the commercial stuff that goes on, I can’t just sit back,’ he said at the British Council auditorium Monday.

For Correa, the address was revisiting the past. The building designed by him in 1993 is still an emblematic architectural edifice of the capital, keeping in mind Delhi’s Hindu, Muslim and European past.

Correa is known for adapting modernism into the sacred heritage space of traditional Indian architecture – merging components of the old and the new. His buildings, inspired by art, are characterised by abstract loggias, interconnected spaces vital splashes of green and infinite mandala-like open to sky stretches that play with natural light.

About his generation architects in India, he said: ‘Most architects of my generation have been deeply influenced by the projects that Le Corbusier built in our part of the world.’

‘Was Corbusier, like other major artists, another form of globalisation? Think about it. Art has always been a part of the globalisation process because artists have always been affected by news from other cultures.’

‘An exhibition of wood block prints in the 19th century Paris aroused the enthusiastic acclaim of Gaugin and other impressionists. They had never seen anything like it before – and it changed the way they themselves went on to paint,’ Correa said.

In the 20th century, ‘it was the display of African masks in a Paris museum that made Picasso completely revise his form and depiction of the human face. It led him to Cubism’.

But artists Picasso and Gauguin did not transpose the images blindly. ‘They felt the impact of the exotic and something new, and they transformed it into something of their very own. This is what art does, it transforms them. That is why it makes such wonderful bridges between different cultures,’ Correa said.

He lists two examples of transformation architecture in his book, published by Oenguin-India.

‘The first is the Diwan-i-khas, the audience hall for nobles built by the Mughal emperor Akbar in Fatehpur Sikri. The structure is a small cube in the centre of which is a monumental column connected to the corners by four bridges. Akbar sat on the top of the column with his principal advisers at the far end of each of the bridges,’ he writes.

The plan was a transformation architecture that reflected Akbar’s religious philosophy.

The square layout of the ‘audience hall’ came with Akbar from central Asia. But to the Hindu craftsmen constructing the building, the square would have represented the ‘mandala’ – the model of the cosmos, Correa said.

‘In the centre of the mandala in which the bindu, the source of all energy was located, there was no Brahman, but emperor Akbar himself. In case, anybody missed the point, the column he sat on was clearly Buddhist-Hindu in form.’

‘In it, Akbar was using the myths of Hinduism and Buddhism to proclaim that a new political order had come to town,’ he writes.

The other example of transformation was the ‘plan of the city of Jaipur’, founded by former Maharaja Jai Singh in the 18th century.

‘He embarked on a truly extraordinary venture. He sought to combine his passion for the rationalistic tenets of contemporary astronomy with the most ancient and sacred of beliefs. The city’s plan was based on the nine-square mandala corresponding to the nava graha or the nine planets,’ the architect said.

Jaipur is ‘an example of transformation between past and the future, between material and metaphysical world, between microcosm and macrocosm that Maharaja Jai Singh sought to synthesise’.

Source : http://www.sify.com/news/architects-have-to-write-their-own-agenda-charles-correa-news-national-ldqmkecgbja.html

Le Corbusier’s Indian masterpiece Chandigarh is stripped for parts__//

2011-06-23T20:20:00.002+05:30

It is a last-ditch effort to save a city built as a monument to modernity and hope but now threatened by neglect and the fierce demands of the global art market. Chandigarh, 180 miles north of Delhi, was built by Le Corbusier 60 years ago.

Since then, many of its finest buildings, recognised as modernist masterpieces, have been neglected. Recently, international art dealers have made substantial sums selling hundreds of chairs, tables, carvings and prints designed by Le Corbusier and his assistants but obtained at knockdown prices from officials often unaware of their value.

Now a group of local architects, art historians and officials are hoping to mobilise international help to prevent further damage to Le Corbusier’s unique Indian legacy. A report commissioned by the government in Chandigarh has recommended a campaign targeting the UN heritageagency, Unesco, as well as foreign governments, especially in Europe where many of the items have been auctioned. Informal approaches to embassies in Delhi have failed, the unpublished report, seen by the Guardian, says.

The campaigners are led by Manmohan Nath Sharma, who was the first assistant of Le Corbusier in Chandigarh and later took over as chief architect of the city. “What is being lost is irreplaceable,” he said, speaking in the home he designed in the centre of Chandigarh and surrounded by prints and paintings given to him by Le Corbusier. “Our heritage is going to be gone forever. This matter is being taken very lightly by the authorities so now we need international help. This is a handmade city. It is unique. It can never be replaced.”

A Chandigarh manhole cover recently sold for £15,000, although there is no suggestion the furniture was bought or sold illegally.

Professor Rajnish Wattas, a former principal of the Chandigarh College of Architecture, is also calling for international intervention. “We were stunned when we heard the prices for manhole covers or chairs that you can still see watchmen sitting on outside offices. This was a wake-up call but what we are losing still hasn’t sunk in,” he said.

Le Corbusier was commissioned by Jawaharlal Nehru, India‘s first prime minister, to build a city that would replace Lahore, the capital of the Punjab lost to newly created Pakistan after partition in 1947. Nehru said the new metropolis was to be of a design “unfettered by the traditions of the past, a symbol of the nation’s faith in the future”. Working on the principle that every detail had to be meticulously planned for the whole to function, Le Corbusier’s team designed everything from the vast sculptures outside the monumental high court and local assembly to the door handles in the offices within.

Last year, the Chandigarh authorities approached the British high commission in Delhi in a bid to halt the sale in London of dozens of items including chairs from the assembly buildings. Indian diplomats in London also intervened. Neither attempt was successful.

Many of the items for sale in Europe come from stocks “condemned” as unfit for use by the local administration and sold off at auction to junk dealers. Others have been bought from officials often unaware of their international value.

Campaigners hope that with international support the auctions can be halted until new laws are passed.

“We have to act before it is too late,” said Sharma, 87. “The Taj Mahal was made by foreign craftsmen and admired by foreigners before Indians saw it as a major attraction. Today the Taj is a symbol of India. Tomorrow it will be Le Corbusier’s work in Chandigarh.”

Source : http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2011/mar/07/chandigarh-le-corbusier-heritage-site?CMP=twt_gu

Council of Architecture take action after Government accusations__//

2011-06-23T20:16:00.002+05:30

Reacting to accusations by the Indian Government, the Indian Council of Architecture (COA) has called on all architects to register with them or risk losing their title of ‘Architect’. Approximately 9,800 Indian architects have been stripped of their title following fears that the Government will crack down on the COA’s maintenance of the register as required by the Architects Act of 1972. Many architects who ‘defected’ from the register have also been fined for contravening the Act.

The reaction follows Government accusations arising from the rejection of the re-nomination of the central government nominee from the Human Resource Development Ministry into the COA’s board which is required to have a governmental representative. Local publication ExpressIndia published excerpts from a letter by the Ministry claiming this was “an attempt to block the central government role.” The letter added: “All of a sudden, the COA is now questioning the legitimacy of this ministry. It gives an apprehension… that there may be a hidden agenda for this about turn.”

The Architects Act requires ‘registration of architects, standards of education, recognized qualifications and standards of practice to be complied with by the practicing architects’ and states that the responsibility to do so is held by the COA. India has 135 education institutions imparting architectural education all of which are under the responsibility of the COA to maintain standards of education.

Approximately 9,800 Indian architects are currently classed as defaulters all of whom have now been removed from the register of architects and can no longer use the title of architect or practice the profession until they re-register. The COA urges architects to do so immediately with payment of fees or to surrender their Certificate of Registration.

Under the 1972 Act the COA is advising that any defaulters who wish to but have not yet handed in their Certificate will face a fine: “If any person whose name is not for the time being entered in the register falsely represents that it is so entered, or uses in connection with his name or title any words or letters reasonably calculated to suggest that his name is so entered, he shall be punishable with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees.” Any subsequent contravention of the Act could lead to imprisonment.

Source : WAN : http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.projectview&upload_id=11434

‘I’ mark – India Design Mark launched__//

2011-06-23T20:14:00.000+05:30

New Delhi: The ‘I’ mark (India Design Mark) was launched at the Japan Good Design Exhibition in the capital. In his inaugural address at the design conference and the launch ceremony, Anand Mahindra, Chairman, India Design Council (IDC) and Vice-Chairman & Managing Director, Mahindra & Mahindra, said that the launch of ‘I’ mark was a big step forward for India.

“As we now recognize that as we go up the value chain, we may not always be able to differentiate ourselves on the basis of lower cost. We can see the premium price and higher value intellectual property that originality and design command across the world. And we have a newly conscious class of consumers that refuses to be fobbed of with second class design or me-too imitation,” he said.

Textile Designer Ritu Kumar, who is also a Member of the India Design Council (IDC), launched the ‘I’ mark in the presence of representatives of the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), IDC and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

Mr. Mahindra said that India needs to promote not just design but design thinking. “Our design thinking would have to be not just holistic but also unique to us. If we want to put India on the design map of the world, then we would have to find our own design voice, a design vocabulary that is uniquely Indian but has universal appeal”, he said.

He suggested two differentiating characteristics that India possesses for making Indian design that is uniquely Indian.

The first is the unique combination of practicality and philosophy that permeates Indian tradition. Mr. Mahindra said, “we need to revive the philosophy that creation is a form of worship and harness it so that it shines through all our products, something that no one could imitate or reproduce. That would perhaps meet a need that the world is hungry for (as yoga does) and give us a differentiating edge that very few others can match”.

The second was India’s ability to combine function with beauty and frugality. India is gaining a competitive edge in frugal engineering and creating bottom of the pyramid products as these are geared towards overcoming constraints and making the quality of life better. “If we could marry these down to earth innovations with top of the line design, you would have products that would appeal not only to other bottom of the pyramid economies but even to the renewed quest for frugality in the developed countries,” Mr. Mahindra pointed out.

The Japanese Good Design Exhibition, the first of its kind to be held in India, aims to promote the idea that ‘Good Design is Good Business’. The three-day exhibition is showcasing 95 Japanese products including appliances, cars, motorcycles, lifestyle products and machinery.

The conference also witnessed the signing of the renewal of the MoU between IDC and Japan Industrial Design Promotion Organisation (JIDPO).

The inaugural session of the conference was also addressed by Ms. Ritu Kumar, Eminent Textile Designer and Member, IDC; Mr. Pradyumna Vyas, Member, IDC; Mr. Masakazu Ichikawa, Deputy Director General, METI; Dr. Amit Mitra, Secretary General, FICCI and Mr. Kazuo Tanaka, President of the GK Design Group Inc and Board Member of International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID).

Source : http://www.cadcamnews.in/2011/03/i-mark-india-design-mark-launched.html

Stone House__//

2011-06-19T17:05:00.001+05:30

In the countryside of Portugal you'll find a unique house built between two large boulders on a hill. I'm not sure who designed it. It probably wasn't a "licensed architect", whatever that means. I imagine that it was the product of an ordinary person or family that saw these two stones and realized an opportunity. It makes me wonder what our buildings would be like if they didn't have to be next to other buildings. I remember doing a project in NIT and our teacher refused to show us examples of other projects for inspiration. His rationale was that he didn't want 20 projects that all looked like the example project. That comment infuriated me at the time, but seeing this house makes me wonder what the lack of case studies could possibly inspire. Great house.

See more images at Jsome1's Flickr Site

How To Train Your Architecture__//

2011-06-19T17:04:00.002+05:30

An athletic stadium is a very peculiar architecture. It's design is aimed at focusing all attention to a single point within the structure. The Berlin Olympic Stadium by GMP Architekten truly makes one feel that the event is the center of the universe. It must also make something so enormous and expansive seem very intimate, yet include as many people as possible. The most interesting aspect of this building is that it sleeps. These structures are seldom used. Yet, like the mythological dragon, they will come alive and light the night skies for short periods of time. An event I think everyone should experience.

See more at GMP Architekten

Kona Residence__//

2011-06-19T17:03:00.000+05:30

I can't speak for all architects, but I find myself drawn to the more impractical architecture in the world. Buildings designed less to fill a utilitarian need and more for the sake of self-actualization. I would almost say that this project by Belzberg Architects is more of a resort than a residence, yet the design elements and spatial order of the project are quite compelling. Despite its extravagance it remains elegant and inviting. So while this type of architecture might not be practical or sustainableor affordable, it remains quite inspirational.

See more at Belzberg Architects

Concrete Slit House__//

2011-06-19T17:01:00.003+05:30

Minimalism is a word that runs rampant in architectural discussions. But to be honest, I don't know that many I speak with have a great deal of knowledge about the subject. In architecture, most think of minimalism as having to do with material quantity. While this is certainly one aspect of minimalism, I think it misses the larger purpose. Minimalism has more to do withdesign intent than construction. The idea is that you do a lot with very little. This project by AZL Architects is a great example of a minimalist design. It's not terribly complex and therefore has to make every decision count. It's about precision and experience. It also says something about how designers choose to spend their time. Some designers have a tendency to under-edit their work. If you can't make these critical decisions, you'll have a hard time being a successful designer. Learn to keep only the essential aspects and you will likely end up with a much more substantial design.

See more at AZL Architects