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“ Architecture is the will of an epoch translated into space. “
Architecture and the Times, Der Querschnitt, 1924, by Mies van der Rohe. Translated from German by Philip Johnson. (Museum of Modern Art. New York, NY: 1947)

 

Mies, in his manifesto, Architecture and the Times, argues that all architecture is bound up with its own time, that it can only be manifested in living tasks and in the medium of its epoch. In no age has it been otherwise. Throughout history and across geographies, Architecture has been not only a tool of creation but a medium of expression, a vessel for reflection & a vehicle for propagating the power of profound thought. More than just an atlas of built forms, Architecture has been a manifestation of cultures, history, biases, and knowledge. Its impacts and consequences on civilizations old and new can give us enough information to discover new possibilities and speculate upon them. Our Principal, Ujjayant Bhattacharyya taught The History of Architecture IV course sat AVANI which delved into these notions followed by critical examinations of such expressions and then proceed towards objective translations. The course allowed the students to embark on a journey all the way from the Gaudis, to the Corbusiers and the Correas allowing them to develop a rich sense of narratives and form language which they can reflect upon across several domains.

Taking cues from and Reflecting upon the syllabus of the University of Calicut, the course attempted to construct a series of learnings and critical discourse by learning Familiar Realities devising Critical Inquiries & making Speculative Discoveries. We also study the manifestations of these movements in a two-way process in how they are expressed across various media. Students engaged in reading and critiquing manifestoes, texts, and other literature in order to delve into interpretative discourse of history and its expressions with the help of drawings and models. Students also identify mindsets and biases that went behind these expressions which develops a base for subjective analysis of these objects in History.

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Cover Page by Ujjayant Bhattacharyya