Shree

Shree

Two thoughts

First-

What is smart associated with nowadays?

 Judging by the manner of process and products conceived out of this idea, smart seems to suggest over reliance on technology or over dependence on technology to the point of subletting our senses and judgment capacities – which means a smart process is such that it forces one to rely on technical input-output and with zero capacity of awareness of the individual – this means extreme amounts of anxiety, extreme inversion, extreme loneliness, extreme fragmentation, extreme disconnect of the individual! We can see that in relationships, over planning, over compartmentalization, over anxiety, over micro planning, over perfection, over sterilization, over apathy and so on.

This also has repercussions on architecture – streetscape (or the “lack off”); gated communities; ghettos of self; dead corridors; lack of in between spaces; over emphasis on surveillance and cctvs; over demand of “purposeful” spaces and so on.

Secondly as I go through the city – what do we see or feel on the roads? Miles and miles of concrete and cars and pavements with our urge to reach a place  or to hop on from one enclosure to another. One can call home as a cave, the shop as a cave or a movie theatre as another cave. In between any two caves, there is no need to wait or linger or interact (as it sems to be “wild”)! So a city seems to become a collection of “different caves” with lines expressing mobile connects!

 

Second -

As a historical idea, then what do we mean by a community? And how do processes of design and spatial organization took place? What was an idea and how many subtle things of environment were taken into account? What was the awareness? Was it individual or collective or something else? Why was there a role of mythology, ancestors, environment in the imagination of creation of spaces? Therefore what was architecture then? Then were these people ‘smart’ by above definition or ‘dumb’?!

Can we relook at the state of architecture we seem to create or endorse or talk about or express…etc.?

Feel free to share. Your friendly neighbour.