Panel discussion on architecture and the city: a Bangalore perspective
- Vol.87(6), June
- Mumbai The Indian Institute of Architects 2022
- 44-50p.
In late July of 2005, I was invited to participate in an expo in Bangalore. The idea was to give young architects like me a chance to get noticed. I took the stall, but instead of designing and building the perfect bedroom, I set it up with a TV, two speakers and an amp and screened a film. It was odd, to put it mildly. Many people stopped and wondered what this was about. Many wanted my television, some even offered a good price on my jute rug, and then there were some who would sit on the floor and watch. The film was 82 minutes of architects talking about design, the profession, public processes, professional frustrations, and personal manifestos. Suddenly architecture was out in the public domain, lay people started commenting on design; they found to their utter disbelief that architects didn’t drive Ferraris, and holiday in Bora Bora; that planning efforts required designers; that architects did more than just elevations; that truth be told vaastu was the enemy; and that though architects loved to talk (as was evident to anyone.