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house triangle
Architects: @ mayaPRAXIS
This clever triangle house is designed by a young team @ mayaPRAXIS.
mayaPRAXIS is an architectural and design firm based in Bangalore. The primary motivation towards design for architects @ mayaPRAXIS is the opportunity to marry a wide palette of creative resources and constraints available in India.
Arts Reverie
Arts Reverie is an exquisitely restored 1920’s haveli in the heart of Ahmedabad’s old City. It is run as a centre for creative arts professionals. In the heart of the bustling city this special guest house offers a unique home-stay experience.
It fosters international exchanges, a place where visual artists, writers, poets, musician, dancers, playwrights, visiting curators, academics, journalists, photographers, cultural study experts, architects and other creative professionals can stay.
Arts Reverie is set in the heart of a traditional pol or enclosed neighbourhood. The house is a ground plus two storeyed structure with a floor area of 325 sq. mts. It represents the typology and evolution of traditional havelis with a grand facade with elaborate stucco work and decorative pediment.
Originally belonging to a Jain jeweller, the restoration of the building was carried out by the Ahmedabad Heritage Centre as part of the Indo-French Cooperation Project. Traditional elements co-exist with modern conveniences such as a wire-free environment in contemporary interiors.
and the restoration award goes to…
Today Mumbai University’s vice - chancellor is going to receive Unesco Asia-Pacific Heritage Award of Distinction. Unesco is acknowledging restoration work of the 2000 sq ft Convocation Hall of Mumbai University completed last July. The hall is 132 years old. The conservation work was done by architect Abha Narain Lambah.
In June I had done a post ‘celebrating restoration’. Please check the beautiful images of architectural grandeur of Mumbai University in this post here.
These images via flickr- St. Simon, Balaji Bhardwaj, Alice’s Asylum. Check these links also for more beautiful images.
Innovative stone and brick twisted columns.
Goa based Mozaic’s traditional architecture rendering in a holiday home where verandahs and innovation with local materials rule.
When we stored water that too we did in style. Style is incorrect. Splendour or magnificence is the right word for it.
We stored water in stepwells. Stepwells (bawdi or baoli or vav) are in essence wells in which the water can be reached by descending a set of steps.
Stepwells are most certainly one of India’s most unique, but little-known, contributions to architecture.
Stepwells were most common in western India, especially in Gujarat and Rajasthan.
stepwell- Adalaj, Gujarat
stepwell-Adalaj-Gujarat
Stepwells were built deep into the earth about 5 to6 storeys in height. These wells were designed to bring people & god and water & life together. These wells meant to entice everyone to leave their abode for a cool drink of water and retreat.These were for dependable, year-round groundwater.
Stepwell-Bundi, Rajasthan
Stepwell carvings
stepwell-Pushkarni,Vijayanagara-Karnataka
Rani ki vav, Patan, Gujarat
The vavs or baolis (stepwells) consisted of two parts, a vertical shaft from which water was drawn and the surrounding it were the inclined subterranean passageways, chambers and steps, which provided access to the well. The galleries and chambers surrounding these wells were carved generously, which became cool retreats during summers.
Walls of stepwells were lined with blocks of stone, without mortar, and created stairs leading up to the water.
While appreciating the carvings let us not forget the science and engineering skills behind these. So many pillars and lintels are made to support the five or seven storeys and that too everything under the surface of the earth.
Stepwells have also withstood the earthquakes in the range of 7.6 on the Richter scale - the large flat stones joined superbly are hard to move.
These were rainwater harvesting methods of that period.
(An immensely practical idea, the stepwell lost out with the advent of British Raj, who were extremely unhappy with the quality of hygiene that existed in these wells, they installed pipes and pumps.)
Stepwell-Imambara and Adalaj
click to enlarge
