How Important is Concept and Context for Architecture?
Talking about Jaipur and JKK
Whenever a space is to be designed it is of utmost importance that it is been developed from a strong concept. The necessity of which arises from the fact that the journey of developing the very same concept starting from the thought inception point till the space execution point gives an immense amount of architectural experience throughout. It is the journey of transferring the IDEA; which is in an intangible realm into a SPACE; which is in physical realm. The transformation of which is a great teacher in itself.
There is a need to understand that a space demands to be catered to a concept and its context. Why? It is because every building should be unique in its nature. It has different surroundings to attend to and harmonize with. It is almost as if the building is a remaining piece of a jigsaw puzzle and it should perfectly fit in there to create a bigger, clearer, beautiful picture as a whole. A space should be played with on two levels, the micro and the macro.
One such building is Jawahar Kala Kendra situated in Jaipur, designed by Charles Correa. The cultural centre is a perfect example of beautiful execution of a strong concept. It addresses the original city planning of Jaipur which is a 9 square pattern, plan was based on ancient mandala of nine squares which represents nine planets.
Correa’s plan for the Kendra evokes directly the original “ nav grah”. One of the squares is pivoted to match the original city plan and also to create an entrance. Each of the squares is defined by 8-meter high walls. The building programme has been dis-aggregated into eight separate groupings corresponding to the myths represented by that particular planet: for instance, the library is located in the square of the planet Mercury which represents knowledge, and the theatres are in the house of Venus, representing the arts. ‘The astrological symbol of each planet is directly expressed in a cut-out opening along its external wall. The central square, as specified in the Vedic Shastras is a void: representing the Nothing which is Everything. The flooring pattern in this square is a diagram of the lotus representing the sun.
There are many such ideal buildings in India which speaks for their concept as well as context. Bharat Bhavan situated in Bhopal being another inspiring example of concept and context complimenting each other set in harmony. Kanchenjunga Apartments in Bombay represents the best setting for these dual aspects. The design caters to the humid climate of Bombay as well, giving each floor and each residence a mini- terrace (open space) of its own and assuring highly lit and ventilated place which is a pre-requisite of any space designed in climate such as Bombay or any climate type in general. The key to design an ambient space is studying keenly the characteristics in which that space is going to be set. The aim here is to design such spaces which consider both the aspects of concept and context equally so that when the bigger picture is taken into consideration the harmony of both speaks volumes regarding architecture and the combination of the two works wonders for the resulting space.
