Search for a Contemporary “Indian Architecture”

Architectural growth in India has been unprecedented. Opportunities to build are numerous but the

central question is how to build. Most of the building projects follow a “form follows finance” model

which results in an amalgam of unrelated and gaudy buildings. Quantity, efficiency and celerity are

what define a successful architectural practice in India. Even the best architects in India have once in

a while found themselves in the dilemma of deciding whether to de vise their practice around the

quantity driven need of the market or to stick to their architectural principals, whatever they may

be.

There are very few buildings that could be called iconic mostly due to the precedence of quantity

over quality. The number of projects, scale and cost determines what is defined as the sellable

architecture in India. This quantity based model has pressured most architects, sometimes even the

finest of them, to shift their focus on mass production. There is nothing wrong in doing that so long

there is enough work done for “quality” to bridge the continuously growing gap.

India’s architectural heritage is extremely rich and it is imperative that India’s architectural present

assumes a responsibility to ensure continuity between the past and the present. While it is true that

architecture should reflect the contemporary needs of a nation, there still needs to be a narrative

that connects architectural styles of different period pieces together. Today’s mass produced

housing and building projects maybe a good reflector of the growing population of India but they

lack the architectural galore of the past. “Green Technologies” and “Sustainability” are often used as

the “new” and “modern” features to attract more and more clients; however we fail to realize that

our architectural history is full of green and sustainable examples.

Consumers of building today demand amenities that are globally competitive and ensure the highest

quality of living. This does not mean that architects need to replicate the “west” as a response to the

consumer demands. What is required is a context based response - a local building with globally

competitive experience. A building designed keeping local context in mind will not only ensure a

design that is very personal to the individual but will also generate a continuum between the

architectural heritages of our nation. It will lead to a model that is one step closer to achieving the

“quintessential Indian architecture” of today.