Walking down the memory lane of city

Walking down the memory lane, may be way different an experience now than actually walking down the old neighborhood lane you used to live decades back, while you were studying in that town, while you were on a social visit to your aunts place or on a vacation to that place, or the narrow street you use to travel to and fro from the school in childhood days.



City changes its form, experience; attitude like a person changes his appearance, philosophy and approach In course of time. Impression and impact of time can be seen on the city as we see in the human life. City reinvents itself and reflects contemporary life. Comparing present and past impression and memories of city is an emotional affair. Hence extra care needs to be taken in revitalizing and redeveloping cities because millions of memories and hopes are attached to these. 

What with urban farming? Can we make it happen?

Urban farming, a real good concept, something which might save the humanity from starvation. How far we are from autonomous urban system, system which generates enough food for itself, food affordable enough to reach the lowest economic strata of urban system, food pallet diverse enough to suite the heterogeneous  appetite of cosmopolitan city.  Why it is that we started doing agriculture thousands of years ago, but basic principal of agricultural has remained same apart from high-tech agricultural  machines,  tools, pesticides, genetically modified crops etc., why it seems stagnated, while in the course of evolution world population is shifting more and more towards urban centers but the source of food which was in the rural areas have remained there itself, of course it triggers economic growth, employment etc. through to and fro movement of processed and unprocessed food between urban and rural areas, which perfectly makes sense, but have we done it purposefully, or is it that we couldn’t devise a full blown method to get our food produced in the city itself,  apart from small experimental efforts of terrace farming etc. dotted here and there on the city map. Of course, city chooses its own priority activities in its core while pushing and spreading less important activities towards periphery and surrounding rural  regions. Is it that we are  treating urban farming as a luxury lifestyle item like terrace farming which can be shown to our guests with pride, is it that urban farming has just become a formula to get noticed in the race of green architecture, or a green USP to convince the client and sell the project to a wealthy end user, is it just a tool to prove that you are environmentally enlightened or has it really a potential to feed the city.

Can we make urban farming a concept easy enough  to be grasped by an average city dweller since gardening and farming involves skills and knowledge which is not taught in school,  a process easy enough to be implemented in the every balcony and every terrace of the city, can government provide training and  motivation to its citizen with supportive policies to make widespread urban farming a reality.



Can we expect array of fruit trees along the city streets in the near future, can we expect orchard and vegetable farming in the public parks and abandoned land parcels as a sustainable urban landscape effort. Can we expect urban farming in majority of houses,  apartment and premises of any city, implemented through training, stringent bylaws, tax saving policies,  subsidies and persistent efforts.  Can we give our child an opportunity to witness agricultural life cycle in their own private premises to better understand the process of life.     

Have we ever thought that urban farming might not be a luxury to showcase but an inevitable necessity for every city, which we are delaying and prolonging somehow?  

Where have we reached in evolution of Interior Design?

Analogy of Sculpture and Interior Design

Evolutionary comparison of sculpture and interior design can throw some light on the state of interior design in which it is at present and may pave the future direction for it. If you analyze the evolution of Sculpture, it has evolved from a “symbolic gesture of kingdom and state authority” historically to the “liberalized expression of rebellious creative individuals” in past century to an “interactive public art” at present. When it comes to interior design it has evolved from “utilitarian design driven by necessity” to “lifestyle symbol with expression of wealth” to “uniqueness with technological integration”. The crucial missing point in the evolution of interior design is that it has still to reach a point where a user can interact and relate to it rather than simply appreciating its beauty and ambiance while waiting on a comfortable couch in a lobby or from a workstation of an office.

While the focus of sculpture, individually or as part of landscape architecture or in public domain has shifted from a decorative element to an interactive and engaging public element, the efforts of interior design has remained focused mostly in the aesthetic domain with attention to space efficiency, economic execution and operation even at present. Since all the efforts are concentrated on the aesthetics, ambiance and efficiency part of interior design, majority of architects and designers are caught in to the vicious cycle of making it more and more efficient. It’s high time that architects and designers should break this cycle and create an indoor environment which is not only appreciated by the users but where division of user and space gets blurred, a space where occupant is constantly interacting with its ambient indoor environment in tangible manner, where user have been kept engaged not only by its aesthetics but in terms of physical and mental activities, an informative, interactive indoor ambiance like the case of modern public sculptures.

By Anoop Jha

How we assess and respond to architecture

Need of assessment without prejudice and unconditioned response.

Architecture and design is awfully judgmental and philosophical stream, its aesthetic and functional perception varies from person to person and it holds different meanings for users of different socio-economic and educational background.  For the evolution of architecture it is necessary to assess it from a radically different perspective, questioning every established values and prevalent formulas and benchmarks of good architecture.

Just getting overwhelmed by the magnificent interior of a high-end hotel lobby or much hyped restaurant interior or luxuriously decorated living room of an ultra-rich individual is not a real justice to the architecture and interior design in term of its design assessment and criticism. When someone come across to such wonderful places associated with big names, their immediate response of pleasant surprise in the moment they enter the building makes their design assessment biased with a touch of prejudice. Their analytical mind which is responsible for aesthetic and functional judgment, immediately surrenders to the mesmerizing ambiance of interior. Getting mesmerized by something amazing is a natural response of the human mind, but little more is expected from the architects  and designers in terms of their response to immediate environment, surrounding ambiance, assessment in terms of functionality and desired balance between aesthetics and  functionality. In that state of amazement they tend to forget the actual purpose of design, and start judging it on its face value.

Lavishness and expensiveness of architectural treatment can be enough to move an average audience or user hence one should be cautious not to get deviated or mesmerized by the shear ambiance of the environment while assessing the functionality and aesthetics of the said design. One has all the right to question the validity and contextuality of design elements and functionality of design even if it is created by established and much celebrated architects and designers. Often people seem to have been caught in the articulated concepts and animated design language while assessing and experiencing architectural spaces and design elements. Their experiences are colored by the aura of authority of established and much hyped architects and designers. Experiences are more or less fabricated and predefined in most of the cases.

One feels that there should be freedom of assessment. There is a need, not only to challenge and break free of established design values but to perceive the design from a clear vision which is beyond the past experiences, which is neither opaque by any prejudice nor conditioned by any socio-economic or regional background of the observer. An assessment based on complete firsthand experience might be a better and sensible way to judge the design.

By Anoop Jha

Deprived of design aesthetics?

Politics of Design and need of Design democracy

Apart from invention of wheel and some other similar historical or contemporary breakthroughs or design innovation which have served humanity to achieve better life and lifestyle, design has evolved in a very controlled manner at least in recent history and apparently it’s not by coincidence, it’s by choice, the choice of few able hands and minds who have manipulated the evolution of design for their personal monetary benefit. Design has lost its freedom and meaning since the commercialization of design has taken place. Contemporary design process has become less of necessity and more of luxury, apart from those which are for advancement of mankind like computers, rocket science and all.

Apparently designs are manipulated across the length and breadth of product industry to skew and control the market demand and trick the customers, whether its car or washing machine or laptop or handbag or any household product. You see, every item has a line of product to cater to every economical strata of society, that makes perfect sense – something for everyone! Story doesn't end here, it’s just the beginning, beginning of whole gimmick of manipulative product development and market control philosophy. Have you ever questioned why the product “X1” that you bought at cheaper price is average in looks, in its aesthetic appeal and in design than the similar high end product “X2” with its classy elegant look? Ever wondered why the products of same company has different aesthetic appearance across its product range, though its same materials, same product DNA, same manufacturer, same factory, almost same production time, same technology? Is it coincident that if you pay less you will get an inferior looking product no matter what is the product and higher you pay better aesthetical products you will get, no matter what is the product or is it that they have purposefully handed over average design to you and deprived you of the great design of the higher range product so that you will come back to buy the better looking product next time? We are not talking about imbedded technology, of course technology comes at a price.

Is it that we have accepted this hierarchy of design aesthetics as an integral part of business and our daily life? This is true for any product; let’s take car, for example.  Is it a coincidence that the same designer or company who produces that strikingly beautiful design of highest segment car with those passionate and careful curvatures of car body also produces average looking box like cars with primitive decades old design sense in its lower price segment? Is it a natural process of design or this vast aesthetic gap between cheap and expensive product has been created purposefully so that people will appreciate and crave for higher segment product? Otherwise what is holding back companies or designers to give a wonderful design and aesthetics to each of its customer irrespective of their economic profiles, with products prices varying primarily due to its embedded technology or robustness and uniqueness of inbuilt content or additional functional features?

But after all how does it matter, since there is no sense of design ownership and appreciation left in all of us after centuries of design exploitation and manipulation, since we seem to have accepted the fact that design and aesthetes are for rich and ultra rich and average person has no right to ask for a better designed product on an affordable price. Design democracy is only possible when people will feel the need for "right of design aesthetics". It’s high time that design community and product development companies should come forward and liberalise the covert design process and shed the design monopoly, which will only help them accelerate product growth process and a common man will get a better designed product in their budget. 

By- Anoop Jha