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India’s urban landscape has significantly changed in recent decades, reflecting the country’s rapid economic growth and urbanization. Architecture seems to have given in to the age of globalization, influenced by advanced construction and new techniques and processes. One might anticipate that such growth would coincide with notable advancements in architectural quality. While this is true, it has also expedited the creation of buildings disregarding context--climate, geography, and culture.
Architecture today fits into a ‘glass box’ aesthetic mirroring global architectural trends, resulting in the widespread construction of glass-clad buildings that often lack contextual relevance and energy efficiency in the Indian context. By disregarding vernacular skills, crafts, and construction practices, such construction undermines livelihoods and erodes centuries-old knowledge systems. Contrary to vernacular architecture, which adapts to climatic conditions and limited resources, this approach presents an unsustainable model of excessive resource consumption. The lack of cultural markers fails to foster a sense of identity and belonging among local communities in the long term.
I believe that we need a new, flexible way in India to evaluate architectural changes because our situation demands it: politically, culturally, and architecturally in today's globalized world. As a country that navigates multiple cultural influences, neither Western nor traditional Indian perspectives fully capture our current architectural landscape.
In my opinion, there is a need for architects and designers to strike a delicate balance between the local environment and the needs of the global context. Instead of resorting to either extreme, I believe we can find a middle ground, akin to an architecture of almost somewhere, which is influenced by regionalist architecture on the one hand and by modernism on the other. An architecture of almost somewhere respects our age-old building traditions, techniques, skills, and materials optimized for centuries. It is also simultaneously future-forward, harnessing the latest modern technologies that improve and enhance the built environment.
We have to think about how we live on the earth. Design practices today have the opportunity to explore the intersection of climate, cost, and comfort. This convergence of the local and the global emphasizes sustainability, reminiscent of regionalist concepts from the 1970s and 80s, which prioritized the judicious utilization of local resources and a deep-rooted sensitivity to climate and context.
Therefore, tomorrow's architecture must push beyond its traditional boundaries of meeting environmental guidelines and energy efficiency. While factors like energy consumption and carbon footprint are objective and easy to measure, the influence of buildings on people is often less obvious and difficult to measure but equally important. It is derived from positive outcomes that enhance quality of life, including health, wellness, resilience, equity, and accessibility. A truly sustainable project must focus on inclusivity, ensuring that the idea of growth is all-encompassing and gives back to the local community. We must contribute to sustainability by developing built environments that support communities and consider the needs of the present and future generations.
