Gautam Bhatia

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Gautam Bhatia
Personal information
Name Gautam Bhatia
Birth date 1952
Birth place
Alma mater University of Pennsylvania
Work
Significant buildings

Gautam Bhatia (b. 1952) is one of the most famous architect, architecture authors in India. He is known for telling architecture tales humorously. He has written Punjabi Baroque and Comic Century.

He graduated in Fine Arts and earned a Master's in Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania [1]. Early in his career he worked with Laurie Baker. He is based in New Delhi. As a critic and satirist, he writes columns for Outlook magazine and Indian Express newspaper [2], and his colums have also appeared in New York Times
Contents

* 1 Works
* 2 Further reading
* 3 References
* 4 External links

[edit] Works

* Punjabi Baroque and Other Memories of Architecture, by Gautam Bhatia, Kundanika Kapadia. Penguin Books, 1994. ISBN 0140240756.
* Silent Spaces and Other Stories of Architecture. Penguin Books, 1994. ISBN 0140246096.
* Malaria dreams and other visions of architecture. Penguin Books, 1996. ISBN 014026213X
* Punchtantra: parables for the 21st century. Penguin Books, 1998. ISBN 0140271163.
* A Short History of Everything: A Novel. HarperCollins Publishers India, 1998. ISBN 817223340X.
* Laurie Baker, life, work, writings, Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO). Viking, 1991.
* Eternal Stone: Great Buildings of India, Penguin Books, 2000. ISBN 0140291598.
* A Moment in Architecture. Tulika Books, 2002.
* Chandigarh: The Making of an Indian City.
* Comic Century: An Unreliable History of the 20th Century, Penguin India, 2005. ISBN 014303140-6313. [3]
* Whitewash : Tabloid That Is About The India That Isn't. The Viveka Foundation. 2007. ISBN 8188251313. [4]

[edit] Further reading

* New (and Improved?) Delhi New York Times
* Architecture, Without Style Art India
* Designing in the slowdown Mint

[edit] References

1. ^ Gautam Bhatia
2. ^ Gautam Bhatia Columns Outlook
3. ^ Book Review Dawn, February 27, 2005.
4. ^ Literary Review:Critique of consumer culture The Hindu, Jun 03, 2007.

[edit] External links

* Gautam Bhatia columns at Indian Express.
* Gautam Bhatia columns at Outlook
* Gautam Bhatia columns at Mint

Delhi to be country’s first heritage city - The Hindu

Staff Reporter

ON THE HERITAGE ROUTE: With the proposed new heritage city status for Delhi, ancient monuments like Humayun’s Tomb here will acquire new pride of place on the Capital’s map.

NEW DELHI: The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage, better known as INTACH, will sign a memorandum of understanding with the Delhi Government on Thursday paving the way for Delhi’s emergence as the country’s first heritage city.

“Why should Delhi be modelled on Shanghai? It is a city that needs to be developed and presented as itself -- a heritage city,” said INTACH Delhi chapter convenor A. G. K. Menon on Wednesday, expressing optimism that the city would be able to enforce its status as a heritage city ahead of the upcoming Commonwealth Games in 2010.

“There are several advantages of being declared a heritage city. Tourism, business and economy will all see a boost if Delhi is promoted as a tourist destination. As of now the Capital is just a stopover for people who visit other tourist spots like Agra,” said Prof. Menon.

The MoU will pave the way for development of parks and heritage sites and ensure conservation of monuments not covered by the Archaeological Survey of India.

“According to our list, there are about 1,200 monuments in the city. However, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) are yet to recognise these as monuments,” Prof. Menon said.

The effort, he added, would be to bring the monuments closer to the Capital’s citizens, who in turn would help in their preservation.

To integrate heritage and urban design, INTACH has planned out a “heritage route” which will serve as a corridor for viewing of various monuments across the city. “To have this heritage route we do not require any additional money from the Delhi Government. Streetlights are already being worked on, development works like roads and signboards are being carried out, and our mandate will be to make design contributions and bring the monuments together. For instance, we will work on creating a heritage route from Red Fort to Humayun’s Tomb. There are several heritage sites along the route that people are not aware of. Later this route will be connected to Safdurjung Tomb and Qutub Minar,” Prof. Menon said.

INTACH is also forging agreements with other nations and cultural organisations, which in turn will help in exchange of ideas and expertise. INTACH Chairperson S. K. Misra will soon be travelling to Britain to sign an agreement with Prince Charles’ “The Prince’s Charities”.

“The agreement will pave the way for exchange of expertise and research and allow collaborations in conservation of heritage and monuments. We are also exploring how the corporate sector can be roped in to help in the conservation of heritage sites,” Mr. Misra added.

© Copyright 2000 - 2008 The Hindu

Books by A.G.K. Menon

1. Historic Towns & Heritage Zones A.G.K. Menon & B.K. Thapar 1988

2. Cultural Identity & Urban Development A.G.K. Menon 1989

A. G. K. Menon | India

A. G. Krishna Menon is an architect, urban planner and conservation consultant who has been

practicing and teaching in Delhi since 1972. In 1990 he co-founded the TVB School of Habitat Studies and was its Director from 1994–2007, when it was inducted into the Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi, as the University School of Architecture and Planning. As a Conservation Consultant he has undertaken many pioneering urban conservation projects in India on behalf of The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), and authored several documents setting guidelines for conservation practice in India, including The Charter for the Conservation of Unprotected Architectural Heritage and Sites in India, 2004. While maintaining an active professional practice he remains a passionate interlocutor in mediating the development of Delhi as a Heritage City

THE BURJ AL’ ARAB

Standing proud off the coast of Dubai,is one of the most incredible buildings of the planet.At 321mtrs,it soars higher than the Eiffel tower.It’s the tallest hotel on earth and the most luxurious.It’s name means the Arabian tower.We are talking about the BURJ AL’ ARAB,a structure designed to amaze.but creating this 21st century icon was an epic struggle that pushed everyone to the limit.
In November 1994,construction began on the world’s tallest and the most luxurious hotel.Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Makhtoum is the visionary behind this amazing building.This was his idea to turn Dubai into a top holiday spot on the map,a playground for the rich.The sheikh needed a centrepiece with a unique 7 star reputation.
The sheikh chose a radically young team from Britain for this project lead by chief architect Tom Wright.The concept of this building had to be simple ,but yet it had to be iconic.The design which was a simple ‘ YACHT WITH IT’S SAIL BLOWING IN THE WIND’ had a strong connection with this small emirate which was a sea faring nation.An island was specifically built for the construction of this hotel and the foundation of this island was built on concrete hollow cubes which had to brave the extreme weather , the sea and the earthquakes ,as Dubai was prone to them.
The hotel has a restaurant (Al Montahaar),projecting from it and looks as if it’s suspended in the sky.It gives a whole new view for the visitors to look into the Arabian gulf and an unparalleled dining experience.This restaurant is 200 mts above the sea level and project 27mts on both sides from the central core of the building.The hotel has 202 palatial suites to boast about and the sheikh has equipped all the suites with the most modern gadgets any human can desire .It even has a helipad for the visitors to fly in directly to the hotel. It was even used by Roger federer and Andre Agassi as a tennis court,which was a public stunt for the opening of the hotel.
The interiors of this masterpiece was designed by the world class designer Khuan Chew.Vast fish tanks and aquariums welcome the guests as they walk-in.Fountains create aqua gymnastics in the lobby.The view up the atrium is a dazzling rainbow palette of vibrant colours.The ground floor restaurant has a 220 mtr tank which allows the guests to have an intimate experience with the most exotic fish in the world.
The doors to this luxurious hotel was opened on December 1999 and the sheikh had given the world a masterpiece and a gift to the new millennium.

SHOULD WE LIVE UPTO A BUILDING?

Living upto a building is totally an unjust decision made by any person because the character of that person can be lost in that process. He/she might be living for material causes and not to their ethics and moral values.The building ,the person raised might be worth millions but the building’s authenticity should not consume the heart and minds of the dwellers.

Living upto someone’s or own expectation is understandable, but living upto a building brings greed,selfishness etc.A person would be definitely excited about his first home,thinking twice before laying each brick.He’ll have his own dream house built from his hard earned money.This is the normal scenario and is appreciable.But living in that house should make him more practical and mature.He has to come back from his initial excited state and live for himself and his family.

Bauhaus

Villa Savoye

Fagus Factory

German pavilion

CROWN HALL, ILLINOIS  INSTITUTE

     The bauhaus occupies a place of its own in the history of 20^th century culture,architecture and art.

•        Founded by Walter Gropius and is developed in Germany in the 1920s and later in the U.S., in the 1930s.

•       Bauhaus buildings are usually cubic, favor right angles, (although some feature rounded corners and balconies); they have smooth facades and an open floor plan.

•       Bauhaus architects rejected "bourgeois" details such as cornices, eaves, and decorative details. They wanted to use principles of Classical architecture in their most pure form: without ornamentation of any kind. Bauhaus buildings have flat roofs, smooth facades, and cubic shapes. Colors are white, gray, beige, or black. Floor plans are open and furniture is functional.

•       There are a number of characteristics to the Bauhaus/International Style of architecture:
1) It shuns ornamentation and favors functionality
2) Uses asymmetry and regularity versus symmetry
3) It grasps architecture in terms of space versus mass

•       Bauhaus architecture, whose founding father was Walter Gropius, developed in Germany in the 1920s and later in the U.S., in the 1930s. The American form of this architectural style was dubbed the International Style after Gropius, Mies van der Rohe and other leaders of Bauhaus migrated to the U.S., with the Nazi’s growing influence. The Bauhaus school in Dessau was closed on April 11th, 1933, by the police, at the insistence of the National Socialist government.

•       Purists assert that Bauhaus architecture can only refer to buildings in Germany and anything else should be termed International Style – while others use the terms interchangeably (as is the case in this issue of Gems in Israel). The term International Style was really adopted after the publication of a book that coincided with a 1932 exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The book, by historian Henry-Russell Hitchcock and architect Philip Johnson, was called, The International Style.

  WALTER GROPIUS

•       Gropius' career advanced in the post war period.In 1923, Gropius aided by Gareth Steele, designed his famous door handles, now considered an icon of 20th century design and often listed as one of the most influential designs to emerge from out of Bauhaus. He also designed large scale housing projects in Berlin, Karlsruhe and Dessau from 1926-32 that were major contributions to the New Objectivity movement, including a contribution to the Siemensstadt project in Berlin.

•       MIES VAN DER ROHE

•       Mies van der Rohe, like many of his post World War I contemporaries, sought to establish a new architectural style that could represent modern times just as Classical and Gothic did for their own eras. He created an influential 20th century architectural style, stated with extreme clarity and simplicity. His mature buildings made use of modern materials such as industrial steel and plate glass to define interior spaces. He strived towards an architecture with a minimal framework of structural order balanced against the implied freedom of free-flowing open space. He called his buildings "skin and bones" architecture. He sought a rational approach that would guide the creative process of architectural design, and is known for his use of the aphorisms "less is more" and "God is in the details".

•       The term formed for this function was used to describe the importance of the use of an itemover the aesthetic beauty.the use had to be the most important element,then the beauty of the object would  follow.

•       These can be sited as the examples of this style:-

•       Walter gropius

•       Fagus factory (1911-1913)

•       Alfeld-an-der-leine

•       Bauhaus (1925-1926)

•       Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe

•       German pavilion (1929) Barcelona

•       Seagram building (1954-1958)  New York

•       Farnsworth House (1950) Illinois

Some  local  Bauhaus  Adaptations

Smaller Windows

•       Glass was used sparingly and long, narrow, horizontal windows are visible on many of the Bauhaus buildings . On some buildings, you can also see long narrow balconies, which in many cases have now been enclosed. This was an adaptation of the long narrow windows.

•       The horizontal ‘strip window’ was a signature characteristic of Le Corbusier. A number of local architects worked in Le Corbusier’s office in Paris and were greatly influenced by his style.

•       Stilt Columns (Pilotis)

•       Another element used by Le Corbusier was stilt-type columns (pilotis), which raised the buildings off street level thereby creating room for a green garden area while providing greater airflow.

•       Flat Roofs

•       Another of the local features of the Bauhaus buildings, are the flat roofs, as opposed to the typical shingled and slanted roofs, prevalent in the European buidlings. The roofs served all of a buidling’s residents.

 

•       Perhaps no trend within Modern architecture so neatly captures the imagination as the almost mythic status of the Bauhaus. Emerging in Dessau, Germany, during the shocking aftermath of World War I, the famed institution was conceived as a reformation of applied arts education. The principle was simple: to reject the salon arts of the haute-bourgeoisie in favor of a craft tradition in order to erase the class distinctions between artist and craftsman. Yet this was not a rejection of the modernizing impulses of the rapidly industrializing, urbanizing German state (one that was facing an increasingly dire socio-economic predicament). Instead, as developed by Bauhaus director Walter Gropius, the applied arts were to be taught in a workshop-based design education, with a reconciliation of craft design and industrial production.

 

DONE BY,

ALEENA MIRIAM CHERIAN &

B.VEDHAJANANI.