One of the human’s fundamental needs is shelter. Architecture is planning and curating this shelter. Architecture has been evolving since the beginning of mankind, people have lived in caves, learned to built huts, then brick homes, now even taller skyscraper structures. Architecture has a significant impact on our lives from the house we live in, to the place we work at, to the places we visit on trips to see these amazing structures of the bygone era.
Architecture – As A First Impression
For most of us, the architectural experience starts at home. We perceive the various spaces of a home differently. For anyone, the place where most of the family spends time together would be a living area and the personal niche would be a bedroom or a study area, hobby room or so.In architectural terms, we zone them as public and private spaces. Also, these places are designed accordingly. The living and dining areas can have a lighter shade to make the space look more open and light, with more natural light flooding in. The bedrooms will be given a contrasting shade to bifurcate and to create an intimate and cozy space. The choice of the material to treat these spaces also impacts a distinct feel.
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https://www.archdaily.com/900789/the-screen-house-the-grid-architects
The style that is chosen to design these spaces also appeal uniquely and can impact us. An interior with ornamented wooden or even marble materials, with intricate moldings and heavy furniture will start making space look grander and will relate to the classical style. Whereas, the modern style will have more subtle details and no ornamentation even if the same wood and marble are chosen to be used.
A well-designed residence in terms of anthropometry and basic details that are a must like, the kitchen triangle, the staircase ratio, the bathroom layouts, etc, will be user-friendly helping the user group.
The Architecture of larger scale
Now, if we look at the architecture of a slightly bigger scale, we can all relate to the institutional sector, most of us would have gone to schools, university campuses, hospitals, cultural centers, and so on
In the case of schools and colleges, we can see it’s an amalgamation of the various requirements like classrooms, labs, seminar halls, playgrounds, etc. So, for a space to provide great learning, it’s not just a classroom that’s important but, also how interactive the spaces are. We enjoy the lunch break with friends at a common area of the college as much as the learning we have at the lecture hall.
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Now when we think of the hospitals, it should be a space that helps patients heal quickly, a hospital that is a mere building with all medical facilities would not benefit the patient as much as a hospital that has been designed to bring in ample amount of natural light, fresh air with a glimpse of greenery ensuring a calm environment.
https://www.archdaily.com/926305/friendship-hospital-satkhira-kashef-chowdhury-urbana?ad_source=search&ad_medium=search_result_projects
The Architecture that evokes emotions
We can think of the Loyola chapel by Laurie Baker where the punctures in brick wall behind the cross illuminates the chapel evoking devotion. There are several temples and other religious structures which also excite the sacred feel.
https://www.lauriebaker.net/index.php/photos-and-videos/pictures-of-buildings
For many years crematoriums have been a left-out subject, whereas these days we do find multiple impressive projects that have attempted to design them as well, these make an effort to have an impact on human emotions of grief and sadness, and encourage creating a lighter mood.
The Architecture of the past
We witness a lot of amazing architecture from the history, these structures leave us in awe if respect to the construction methodology – incase of Brihadeeshwara temple, Tanjavore we still wonder how such a heavy stone was raised over the vimana.
The water conservation systems of the past like Baoli, Stepwell, etc are also some models to look at and infer. The Jalis in Hawa Mahal is an excellent case of passive cooling technologies Also, in terms of aesthetics and detailing, the Chennakeshava temple of Belur is one such classic example.
Even for the acoustics, the whispering gallery of the Gol Gumbaz is a great example, we find similar acoustic experiences in the Golconda Fort where we clap at a place and sound is heard louder elsewhere! The architecture here evokes curiosity and interest in people which attracts tourists. We can take cues from these structures and incorporate certain factors to benefit us in the modern-day as well.
The Unbuilt Architecture
The landscape architecture can be a tool to curate the open spaces, which can help satisfy a function, for instance, having a courtyard or a pond with greenery as a landscape feature in a home that acts as a focal point and also which binds the built with unbuilt.
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We can see magnificent cases of landscape architecture from the past like that of the Mughal Gardens, the Charbagh in Taj Mahal which follows a certain order, symmetry which lead us to the main focal point that is the built structure.
We can also find modern examples of landscape architecture like the Shakthi Sthal, a memorial of the late Prime minister of India, Indira Gandhi. Here, the design uses basic landscape features like trees, stones, water, etc, which fulfill the design brief that said to relate to her childhood memories and also represent the diversity of India.
I wish to conclude by saying that architecture is everywhere and has influenced us in various ways from the past to our day-to-day lives. Also, Architecture is one such experience that we can see, hear, feel, sometimes even smell. So, its impact on us is powerful and inevitable.
