What are the modern architecture trends in India

What are the modern architecture trends in India?
     india Infoline News Service | Mumbai |

As important as structural and interior refurbishing can be, a building's exterior and surrounding property create that all-important first impression.

In earlier days landscapes were perceived essentially with nature and the natural beauty of nature with the sky, hills, trees, forests, rivers flowing, endless meadows, undulating mounds on hill slopes, vast open green spaces, the endless sea, limitless horizon, deserts, sand dunes and oasis.

With extensive growth, industrial & commercial development and rapid urbanization, land has developed new versions of landscapes. Hence we have cityscapes, urban landscapes and rural landscapes. Most places in the world went through this transition associated to the disconnect they experienced in rapid mass development in a planned or mostly unplanned manner that left out nature while construction and built form took over.

The immediate relief that open spaces and natural green spaces offer could not be achieved in voids within or outside the build mass; the experience of recreational spaces, play grounds surrounded by trees, walking paths and driveways below the soft dappled light of trees or the softness of the arched tree canopies drooping towards the ground while the trees rise high above the ground themselves. Visionaries in history like Le Corbusier, Frederick Law Olmsted, perceived, planned and proposed the need for spaces that enrich the quality of our lives through gardens, grounds and water bodies, vistas, proportions and a planning strategy that could be implemented and sustained over time.

Some historical references of envisioned and well planned landscape architecture spaces include, Sir Ebenezer Howard’s vision of The Garden City, The city of Versailles, founded by King Louis XIV, Taj Mahal in Agra, Pinjore gardens in Haryana, Shalimar Baug in Kashmir, many more Moghul gardens and palatial properties of India, Amer/Amber fort and palace and the surrounding settlement and The Vijayanagara Empire and similarly well-planned Princely states of India.Some present day references of well-planned urban landscape architectural spaces in the world are La Défense, France, Le Corbusier’s planned city of Chandigad, India, Copenhagen, Denmark, city planning.

These are few examples of conscious planning efforts made time and again by the community and the civic authorities in partnership with the development authorities and various developers and commercial houses to encourage people to congregate and celebrate landscape in an energy rich built environment.

The effort lies in including nature into the built form by integrating landscape in architectural spaces, town & city planning not only as a makeover to conceal the flaws or beautify the built mass, but to enrich the quality of space and balance the robust built form with the openness and softness of structured landscape architecture.

Landscape architecture has various faces in India. In the Urban context the character of landscape architecture changes from one city to the other as we travel through the country and the climate and geography of India plays an essential role in this. However the planning and allocation of spaces, growth of a city, the religious bindings, commercial and political structuring and role of the city in India has played an equally important role in the strategic planning of these cities and quality of spaces they have to offer to the viewer and inhabitants.

Developers are considering this to be an ideal time to make improvements and upgrades to their holdings. As important as structural and interior refurbishing can be, a building's exterior and surrounding property create that all-important first impression. Today, the modest exterior landscaping projects include adding visual, aesthetic and practical dimensions that transform a nondescript commercial property into a handsome and desirable acquisition. For larger facilities, landscape architecture includes redesigning the outdoor parking lots and making the parking area more attractive to passersby and users.

As a city and commercial center of India, Mumbai has grown from spanning a radius of 15 kms and having its commercial center in Fort and Nariman point to many more nodes with time. Worli, BKC, Powai, Andheri, Airoli, being a few prime zones in the corporate sector. As the population and city grows, new residential, commercial and corporate hubs develop at critical junctions of the city. Similarly expressways and the sea link have bridged the gaps between these three parallel belts.

With a fair deal of support from the planning bodies, developers, corporate and commercial houses have realized the significance of decentralizing from fort Mumbai, to these new nodes, with the advantage of reduced travel time for their employees and the ability to provide new state of the art facilities in their residential neighborhood be it for work, shopping, dining or watching movies.

World over there has been technological development over time and this has reflected in the construction industry too. Today cities are planned to grow vertically unlike in the earlier centuries when they were perceived to grow horizontally.

There has been a tremendous change in lifestyle and facilities and amenities that define our life today. A need to explore how nature can reach no bounds of imagination or in reality has made landscape architecture today an integral part of one’s lifestyle at home or at work. With these changes landscape architecture has also started developing a new language. Techniques today allow plants to grow without their natural ground or soil. Green walls, Bio walls, hydroponics, green roofs, podium gardens, land bridges are the new terms in the landscape dictionary that show the transition from hills rivers and the horizon to sky being the limit in the Urban landscape. This language reflects in the new corporate landscape architecture of our country too today.

Conscious efforts are being made not only to build high-rise buildings but also include building methods and solutions that are energy efficient. Creating a healthy work environment, with room for sports, canteens, open outdoor relaxation spaces that can be used for group discussions, workshops, or a breath of fresh air that takes away the mundane boredom of a desk job and revive us. Cleaned, well-managed, maintained, accessible, safe, structured, welcoming and refreshing work environments play an essential role in ensuring our happiness and wellbeing. Elegantly designed spaces only enhance this experience and show a level of concern that the creators, builders and investors have taken to facilitate a notch above the rest in quality of life you could enjoy be it at work or where you stay.

These are some of the key criteria that went into designing and integrating the architectural and landscape spaces of Birla Aurora, a project of the Birla Group at Worli. The Company along with the architectural and landscape architecture design consultants have carefully nurtured the presence of Century Bhavan and restored some of the relevant aspects of this building prior to giving rise to the new building Birla Aurora. We have, with subtlety, yet elegantly designed spaces right from one’s arrival to the buildings through the every moment you spend within the building premise to ensure you take home a pleasant experience.

The author is a Landscape Architect

thanks to IIFL website