AN ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE Driving out of Mumbai, through the dark towers of piled up little boxes; I yearned for the green hills of the Western Ghats and the blue waters of the Andhra Lake, where my destination lay. Reflecting on all of the little boxes, I realized our global landscape is one of little boxes piled one over the other. Elevations seem to be an excuse to cover up what’s inside! There have to be holes to let in the air and light, especially an ugly big hole for people to go in and out. What is wrong with these boxes and holes? That they lie about everything; that’s what’s wrong! There is no unity, harmony or organized public domains which integrate them with their environment. Fashion, not our EARTH, drives these thoughtless designs all wrapped up and packaged to hide what’s inside. Driving from the Expressway, down a winding road, I crossed a meandering river and over undulating verdant hills. Stark cliff faces made a monumental backdrop to the earthy farm lands. Entering the YMCA Retreat site, I could see no buildings, no boxes and no holes! Yet I sensed I was in some human habitatation by the giggles of children and the laughter emanating from within the dense forest. As I walked onto a grassy knoll, covered by a carpet of green blades, I happened upon a white parasol-like structure, floating over low walls, covering a lively enclosure. Meandering foot paths, ottas in nooks, and low embankments disappeared into clusters of trees. Ramps, stairs and even low walls descended gracefully under earth. These mounds seemed to be mystical places with pointed wind-catchers reaching up to the sky. Greenery was everywhere. The winds made music in the blowing leaves and branches. The birds sang along filling my heart with joy. I descended a ramp and entered a dark foyer. Moving through a door, I was in a large room with a wide glass wall embracing a vast landscape of azure water, verdant forests, blue mountains and white clouds afloat in the sky. I sensed a song singing in my heart; the song of the trees swaying and the birds’ crooning. Nature was everywhere; over me, around me, under me and within me! The far off view in the barrowed landscape seemed to sing out to me too. The YMCA Retreat site is a counterblast to the architecture of little boxes! It rejects the game of holes in facades! In my discussions with the architect, he described his composition as “organic architecture”; an architecture that is in harmony and in unison with nature. Instead of fighting to dominate over nature, organic architecture is part of it. The scale and proportions are human, not humongous! The materials are expressed naturally: Basalt stone walls; Shahabad stone paving; a touch of red sandstone for delight here and there! Where concrete is used it is expressed honestly! The grass carpets rise up over insulating earth mounds, maintaining salubrious temperatures within the spaces. Courts and vent stacks funnel in light and air. Prof. Christopher Benninger describes his architecture, “as a kinetic, or a moving experience.” He explained how “sequences of spatial events are choreographed into emotional experiences, creating moods, feelings and shaping the impacts of surprise and delight. “ Like a plant, an animal, or any living being, “organic architecture lives as an organic whole, integrated by networks for movement and exchange. It is plastic in its form and continuous with its context.” The tent plinths, pleasant paths, underground living areas, tensile roofed commons hall, sacred mounds, descending stairs and ramps all give an ambience of “living with nature,” almost going back to one’s primordial origins.
Posted on: Sat, 03 Jan 2015 20:05:16 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015