Architecture starts when you carefully put two bricks together ...

Every now and then you need something to distract you from many of your mundane affairs or for that matter daily routines. Quotes are something which can provide a little break and help you de-stress, motivate and even force you to laugh a loud! Also, these concise sentences of wisdom can spark an 'idea' which can change your life forever! Here are few quotes design related quotes that just might 'awaken' the missing 'spark' in you. Hope you'll enjoy reading them:

“Architecture should speak of its time and place, but yearn for timelessness.”  - Frank Gehry

“Architecture begins where engineering ends.” – Walter Gropius

“To create architecture is to put in order. Put what in order? Function and objects.”  - Le Corbusier

“There will never be great architects or great architecture without great patrons.”  - Edwin Lutyens

“I hate vacations. If you can build buildings, why sit on the beach?”  - Philip Johnson

“The events of human life, whether public or private, are so intimately linked to architecture that most observers can reconstruct nations or individuals in all the truth of their habits from the remains of their monuments or from their domestic relics.”  - Honore de Balzac 

“Architecture is inhabited sculpture”  - Constantin Brancusi 

“We used to build civilizations. Now we build shopping malls.”  - Bill Bryson 

“It is in dialogue with pain that many beautiful things acquire their value. Acquaintance with grief turns out to be one of the more unusual prerequisites of architectural appreciation. We might, quite aside from all other requirements, need to be a little sad before buildings can properly touch us.”  ― Alain de Botton

“We need houses as we need clothes, architecture stimulates fashion. It’s like hunger and thirst — you need them both.”  ― Karl Lagerfeld

Architect's Increased Responsibilities in the Realm of Green Buildings

When specific measures are incorporated in a building to provide healthier environments for its users and mitigate its negative impact on the environment, then the building is called as “green”. The popularity or for that matter the practice of green building has caused significant changes in the real estate and construction industry, presenting architects to new responsibilities and opportunities! 

A sustainable architecture is more practical 'design' of the building and therefore it is the thoughtful integration of architecture with electrical, mechanical, and structural engineering. Similarly, a building cannot be sustainable unless its interior design is not in tandem with it. Use of solar and wind energy, positioning of windows and day lighting are very important factors in creating climate sensitive design. The role of architects to implement the modern concepts in Sustainable Design has, thus, become very important in the realm of Green Buildings!

Green building is the future of all building

Green building industry has grown at a very impressive rate and experts predict that it will continue to grow by as much as 400% in coming years. The motivation to build green also comes from the business opportunity it represents. Builders all over the world surveyed recently reported being involved in green construction on some level. Green building provides an assortment of economic advantages and therefore is the future of all building.

The impact of 'green' has united disciplines that have worked independently from one another, such as architects, engineers, builders, material suppliers, community planners, mortgage lenders and contractor trades. Many architecture and engineering firms have experienced that sustainable design projects were, on average 25% more profitable than conventional project. Some of the benefits that builders of green building enjoy are: 

- Competitive advantage because of higher quality

- Less construction waste

- Lower material and labor costs during construction

- Reduced purchase cost of mechanical equipment

- Reduced callbacks and warranty claims

Does going green change the face of design or only its content?

Aesthetic attraction isn’t a superficial concern - it’s an environmental imperative. We spoke of Lance Hosey's book The Shape of Green in the last post. We decided to share more from this book which we think is true for our profession. Let us understand why beauty is inherent to sustainability, for how things look and feel is as important as how they’re made. 

In The Botany of Desire, Michael Pollan shows that domesticated plants and animals have thrived because they have an important survival advantage over their competitors in the wild: we like them. Pollan writes: “Human desires form a part of natural history in the same way the hummingbird’s love of red does, or the ant’s taste for the aphid’s honeydew. I think of them as the human equivalent of nectar.” The fate of many things depends on whether they please people. Wolves might seem heartier than dogs, but there are 50 million dogs in the world and only ten thousand wolves. Which has adapted better? This view of nature may give you pause - should other species exist just to please us? But as a principle for design, it is essential. If you want something to last, make it as lovable as a Labrador.

Studies show, we form positive associations with things we consider beautiful, we are more likely to become emotionally attached, giving them pet names, for instance. We personalize things we care about. Experiments in interaction design also reveal that people generally consider attractive products more functional than they do unsightly ones and therefore are more apt to use them. We prefer using things that look better, even if they aren’t inherently easier to use. Consider the ramifications - if an object is more likely to be used, it’s more likely to continue being used. Who throws out a thing they find functional, beautiful, and valuable all at once? A more attractive design discourages us from abandoning it: if we want it, we won’t waste it.

The Shape of Green is a beautiful book that designers and also design lovers will turn to time and again. Author Lance Hosey explores the critically important but too rarely discussed dimensions of this goal elegance, joy, and beauty. The book has ability to inspire hope in the most pessimistic readers.

If it’s not beautiful, it’s not sustainable

Architect and author Lance Hosey, in his book The Shape of Green, argues that beauty is inherent to sustainability, for how things look and feel is as important as how they’re made. He went further and wrote 'If it’s not beautiful, it’s not sustainable'!

Long-term value is impossible without sensory appeal, because if design doesn't inspire, it’s destined to be discarded. “In the end,” writes Senegalese poet Baba Dioum, “we conserve only what we love.” We don’t love something because it’s nontoxic and biodegradable - we love it because it moves the head and the heart. If people don’t want something, it will not last, no matter how thrifty it is. And when our designs end up as litter or landfill, how prudent have we been? “The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us,” wrote Rachel Carson half a century ago, “the less taste we shall have for destruction.” When we treasure something, we’re less prone to kill it, so desire fuels preservation. Love it or lose it. In this sense, the old mantra could be replaced by a new one: If it’s not beautiful, it’s not sustainable. Aesthetic attraction is not a superficial concern - it’s an environmental imperative. Beauty could save the planet.

© Shape of Green

India needs to build taller, environment friendly and smarter cities

Majority of cities in India are short and most grew outwards and compact. Their skylines are almost nonexistent. Isn't this strange when we find that millions in India are without housing, millions more facing exorbitant rents and crumbling infrastructure? According to a report, Indian cities are short of 18.8 million homes. That’s an improvement over 2007, when a report prepared by the same group put the national urban housing shortage at 24.7 million. Therefore, one of the solution is to grow vertical!

In spite of the urban development explosion, Indian cities haven't developed a taste for skyscrapers and tall building. "With 250 million people to be added to India's cities and towns over the next 20 years, the country needs a vision of the future, to inspire the next generation of cities to become world-class centres of urban endeavor  business, finance, sport and culture, while ensuring that smaller cities become stronger and more able to efficiently participate in the growth story," says Aashish Karode who is an architect and urban designer.

India needs to build taller, environment friendly and smarter cities.

Has the ideas machine broken down?

The idea that innovation and new technology have stopped driving growth is getting increasing attention. A recent article published in Economist navigates the blurry territory of innovation and the pace of technological change. The article entitled "Has the Ideas Machine Broken Down?" talks about innovation pessimism and explains how innovation has stagnated.

The article quotes Peter Thiel, a founder of PayPal, an internet payment company, and the first outside investor in Facebook, a social network, says that innovation in America is “somewhere between dire straits and dead”. Engineers in all sorts of areas share similar feelings of disappointment. And a small but growing group of economists reckon the economic impact of the innovations of today may pale in comparison with those of the past.

"The idea that innovation and new technology have stopped driving growth is getting increasing attention. But it is not well founded." This article is an interesting take on innovation in the modern world - we haven't invented flying cars yet, but we have faster computers, tablets and cellphones. What does this mean for the future?

This modern age is great at producing incrementally jazzier gadgets. But we've lost the vision, the appetite for fundamental technological progress. Revolutions in transport, health science, even kitchen gadgetry all took place before 1970.

Here is the link to full article

The Power of Green Building: Everyone Wins

Do you know that worldwide, buildings consume nearly 40% of the world's energy, 25% of its wood, and 15% of its water? The fact is that if we make smarter choice when we build or renovate any building, then we can significantly contribute to the health, wealth and well-being of yourself, the families for whom you build, your community, and the world. What is this smarter choice? Its the concept of 'Green Building'. Good for environment, energy conservation and the world, green buildings are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle: from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition.

Green Building FACTS (Compared with normal buildings)

• 50% savings in overall energy consumption

• 88% reduction in lighting consumption

• 35% reduction in potable water use

• 80% of materials used are either recycled or recyclable

• 20% of the building’s energy requirement is provided by photovoltaics

• 15-20% less load on AC thanks to aerated concrete blocks used in facades 

• Zero water discharge building

• 90% of building daylit

• 75% of occupants have outside view

Green Building Solutions: Photovoltaic Power Station

One of the major objective of green building or a green renovation is the energy efficiency. Photovoltaic panels can be a key ingredient in energy self-sufficiency. To convert sunlight into electricity, a photovoltaic power station is installed on rooftops of residential or commercial buildings. This system uses one or more photovoltaic panels and include photovoltaic modules, mounting systems, cables, Solar inverters and other electrical accessories.

The photovoltaic power systems don’t need much attention once installed since there are no moving parts. They are durable and work for at least 20 years. A photovoltaic power station prevents costly power failures when constant power is essential and are reliable and sturdy even in harsh conditions. Operates silently and with minimal movement, these power stations on your roof do not require the use of combustible fuels and are very safe when properly designed and installed.

Many people now advocate that the installation of photovoltaic power systems should be made mandatory on all buildings. The PV system is eco-friendly, helps in controlling global warming and no doubt saves money for the user in the long run.

The Effects of Modern Society on Architecture

Architecture reflects the religious, political and social values of the day. John Ruskin, once in his speech "Traffic", declared that a society's art and architecture directly reflects the morals and values of the people who dwell in and use its buildings.

It has always been said that the architecture is a product or mirror of the society and it also reflects the culture identity of the country. But do you think Modern Architecture still reflects our society?

The concern for environment and energy efficiency has created the need for 'Green' architecture. Green building (also known as green construction or sustainable building) refers to a structure and using process that is environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle: from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition.

The environment and energy efficiency are concerns of the modern society and these concerns have impacted the architects and modern architecture. Similarly, architecture has a central role to play in developing housing that meets the challenges of contemporary urbanism.