THEORY & KNOWLEDGE

LOGESH MAHALINGAM

 

GAP BETWEEN REALITY & ARCHITECTURE

BRIDGE BETWEEN PAST AND PRESENT

 

ABSTRACT

THE GAP BETWEEN ARCHITECTURAL STUDY AND REALITY IS WIDENING AS THE APPLICATION OF RESEARCH AND GLOBAL CRISIS EXPLAINS IT ALL. IN THIS PAPER I AM EXPLORING THE GAP BETWEEN EDUCATION AND REALITY IN ARCHITECTURE WITH RELATION TO THE PAST AND PRESENT. HISTORY HAS ALWAYS PLAYED A MAJOR ROLE IN ARCHITECTURE, IT IS THE BACKBONE FOR ITS CURRENT POSITION GLOBALLY. THE IMPORTANCE OF HISTORY IS FELT IN CERTAIN COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD AND LOST IN FEW THOUGH IT HAD A RICH CULTURE IN IT. 

 

INDEX

  • MAPPING THE HISTORY
  • PAST AND PRESENT
  • EDUCATION
  • REALITY
  • THE DRIFT BETWEEN REALITY AND ARCHITECTURE
  • HOW TO BRIDGE THEM
  • CONCLUSION

 

MAPPING THE HISTORY

INDIA IS A DIVERSE COUNTRY WITH RICH CULTURE AND HERITAGE WITH HISTORY TAKING US BACK TO 6000BC. 

 

DRAVIDIAN ARCHITECTURE, A STYLE OF ARCHITECTURE FOLLOWED IN SOUTHERN PARTS OF INDIA.

 

INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION IS ONE THE WORLD’S EARLIEST MAJOR URBAN CENTRES. AFTER THE MYSTERIOUS DECLINE OF THE INDUS CIVILIZATION IT WAS BELIEVED PEOPLE FROM INDUS MIGRATED TO THE GANGETIC PLAINS (CENTRAL INDIA) AND CREATED A SETTLEMENT. TAMIL AN OLD CLASSICAL LANGUAGE HAS SEVERAL CITING TOWARDS URBAN PLANNING AND HIGHLY CIVILIZED HUMAN SETTLEMENTS IN ITS LITERATURES (SANGAM LITERATURE) BUT THERE IS NO SUCH PHYSICAL EVIDENCE ANYWHERE IN THE REGION WHERE THE LANGUAGE SURVIVES TODAY (SOUTH INDIA). ON THE OTHER HAND IN CONTRADICTORY INDUS CIVILIZATION (NORTH INDIA) HAS INDUS SCRIPTS FOUND IN THE EXCAVATIONS BUT RESEARCHERS ARE UNABLE TO DECODE THE LANGUAGE TILL DATE AND AS A RESULT A LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT ITS HISTORY AND GOVERNANCE. 

 

ON THE NORTH THE LANGUAGE IS LEFT UNDECODED, IN THE SOUTH THE INFORMATION IN THE LANGUAGE IS NOT FOUND AND THE LANGUAGE OF BOTH NEVER CAME NEAR TO MAKE SENSE. INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION (NORTH INDIA) WAS THE ONLY SETTLEMENT WHICH RESEMBLE THE CITING MADE BY THE TAMIL LITERATURE BUT THE DISTANCE OF 2000 KILOMETERS BETWEEN AND THE TIME DIFFERENCE OF 2000 YEARS KEPT THE SCHOLARS FROM WRITING A CONCLUSION. FINALLY THE RECENT FINDINGS IN KEELADI HAVE MADE SOME SENSE. 

 

PAST AND PRESENT

KEELADI EXCAVATIONS REVEALED A MAJOR URBAN SETTLEMENT WITH PROPER TOWN PLANNING ALONG WITH MATURE LANGUAGE WHICH IS KNOWN AS TAMIL BRAHMI (OLDER VERSION OF PRESENT DAY TAMIL SPOKEN & WRITTEN) DATING BACK TO AT LEAST  6TH CENTURY BC. THE BRIDGE BETWEEN INDUS AND TAMIL IS CLOSING ITS GAP WITH KEELADI WHICH MAY LEAD TO DECODING OF BUILDING MATERIAL, TECHNIQUE AND PLANNING FOLLOWED IN THESE CIVILIZATIONS. THE OUTCOMES FROM THE RESEARCH OF HISTORY AND LANGUAGE MAY HELP IN FINDING SOLUTIONS FOR THE FUTURE OF DRAVIDIAN ARCHITECTURE WHICH SHIFTED IT’S PATH COMPLETELY AFTER THE INVASION OF OTHER STYLES ACROSS THE GLOBE.

 

WITH THE COMBINATION OF KNOWLEDGE OF PRIMITIVE DAY CONSTRUCTIONS AND MODERN FABRICATION TOOLS WE CAN CERTAINLY ACHIEVE SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE LEADING TO A CIRCULAR ECONOMY. 

 

EDUCATION

SOMEWHERE BETWEEN THE POSITIVES OF EDUCATION THERE IS A NEGATIVE PROSPECT TOO. THE EDUCATION IN THE MODERN DAY WORLD HAVE NOT TAUGHT US TO LIVE PEACEFULLY BY CO-EXISTING WITH THE NATURE. INSTEAD WE LEARN TO SOLVE THE PROBLEMS WE CREATED ON OWN, FOR EXAMPLE THE GLOBAL WARMING. EDUCATION HAS HELPED US CREATE INNOVATIVE IDEAS BUT ALWAYS HAVE BEEN A PROBLEMATIC ONE TO THE ENTIRE GLOBE. 

 

BACK IN OLDEN DAYS PEOPLE WERE QUITE CONTENT WITH THEIR LIFE AND LIVED TO THEIR NEEDS ALONE THUS CREATING VERY FEW PROBLEMS AND DISASTER BUT AS HUMANS GREW MODERN THEIR NEEDS TURNED OUT TO BE GREED. 

 

MASS PRODUCTION, EXCESSIVE WASTAGE AND USAGE, EXPLOITATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND SO ON. EDUCATION FAILED TO TEACH THE REALITY, IT WAS NOT WHOLESOME TO THE MOTHER EARTH.  

 

REALITY

IT WILL BE VERY INTERESTING TO LOOK AT THE WORLD WITHOUT EDUCATION, RESEARCH AND STUDY. EDUCATION AND REALITY ARE TWO DIFFERENT DIMENSIONS. EDUCATION IS A DOMAIN WHERE YOU PREPARE YOURSELVES TO SOLVE A NETWORK OF PROBLEMS IN THE REALITY. 

 

IN REALITY WE ARE NOT LEARNING TO LIVE ALONG THE NATURE IN A BEST WAY BUT WE CREATE A INNOVATIVE IDEA THAT IS HARMFUL AND DEADLY, THEN REALIZE THEM AFTER FEW DECADES OF SUFFERING AND LOSSES. EVEN NOW WE JUST REALIZE THE PROBLEM BUT NEVER ACT UPON TO SOLVE THEM. WITH TERMS LIKE EDUCATION THE REALITY SHOULD HAVE BEEN SO FRUITFUL TO US AND ALL THE OTHER LIVING BEINGS IN THE WORLD BUT WE HAVE BEEN SO GRUESOME TO NATURE. WE EXPLORE MARS, MOON, SUN, SOLAR SYSTEM AND GALAXY TO ONLY POLLUTE THEM WITH SATELLITES AS A FIRST STEP. SOON WE WOULD FIND OTHER WAYS TO DISTURB THE OUTER SPACE. SPACE DEBRIS LOOKS LIGHT NOW BUT SOON IT WILL TURN OUT TO BE A MAJOR PROBLEM FOR SURE.

 

  1. 500,000 pieces of space debris between 1 and 10cm
  2. More than 21,000 pieces larger than 10cm
  3. More than 100 million pieces below 1cm
  4. Most orbital debris is within 2,000km of the Earth’s surface
  5. The greatest concentrations of debris are found at 750-800km
  6. Travel up to speeds of 28,163 km/h (17,500 mph)
  7. Only 7% of space junk is functional

FROM SPACE JUNK TO JUNK YARDS IN THE EARTH EVERYTHING POSES AS A PROBLEM TO ALL, ARCHITECTURE ALSO LIES SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN. 

 

THE DRIFT BETWEEN REALITY AND ARCHITECTURE 

I DON’T FIND ARCHITECTURE EVOLVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION AS IT SHOULD BE. I THINK NOWADAYS HEADING TOWARDS IN THE WRONG DIRECTION AND STATING EVERYTHING CAN’T BE PERFECT IS THE NEW NORMAL. IF YOU DON’T PLACE A RIGHT SIZED PUZZLE PIECE INTO TO PUZZLE YOU ARE NEVER GOING TO SOLVE THE PUZZLE. WHEN AN ENGINEERS ASK FOR A ACCURATE DIMENSIONS OF A TYRE FOR A CAR TO RUN , WHEN A ARCHITECTS ASKS FOR A ACCURATE DIMENSIONS OF HIS WINDOWS WHY NOT DESIGN A ACCURATE PRODUCT FOR YOUR WORLD?

 

CONCLUSION

THE GAP BETWEEN REALITY AND EDUCATION IS STILL IN RISE. THIS SOMEHOW NEEDS TO BE RECTIFIED FOR A PRODUCTIVE LIVING. WE AIM AT SOMETHING TOTALLY DIFFERENT FROM WHAT WE ARE ACTUALLY END UP DOING. OUT OF 8.7 MILLION SPECIES HUMANS ARE THE ONLY SPECIES TO POLLUTE ANYTHING THAT WE COME IN CONTACT WITH. 

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

  1. Experts Question Dates of Script in Tamil Nadu’s Keeladi Excavation Report – “According to the report, houses in the settlement had floors and roofs in line with a high standard of living for the time.”

    https://thewire.in/the-sciences/keeladi-settlement-tamil-nadu-department-of-archaeology-tamil-brahmi-script-indus-valley-civilisation

  2. INDUS RIVER VALLEY CIVILIZATIONS – “Scholars are still piecing together information about this mysterious civilization, but they have learned a great deal about it since its rediscovery”

    https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/world-history-beginnings/ancient-india/a/the-indus-river-valley-civilizations

  3. SANGAM LITERATURE (tamil literature) – “The earliest writings in Tamil literature”

    https://www.britannica.com/art/shangam-literature