A House of Motifs

Lall said, a motif is not centripetal, it is always centrifugal…it sticks out so as to connect to the ether of the space. His motifs connect much more- childhood, genealogy, traditions, philosophy, family, guests, and the makers of the house and its history. A quest for the joy in making. This house has many a tell-tale. Enter Lall’s House…

Text: Ar. Jinisha Jain
Photography: Courtesy Rohini Nair

As I sat in the naturally lit-up space in the centre of Lall’s office, I looked at the dancing dragon- a suspended exposed aluminium cooling duct coiled with red LEDs - swerving lithely across the length and the silver origami cranes, as they spangled in the luminous space underneath the accented clerestory on the western wall of the basement to his house. The elastic space fostered engaging discussions as I met Architect Ashok B. Lall, the first time. This was to seek some direction on my dissertation. A skewed subject that endeavored to establish the role of intuition in the processes that lead to architectural production. We discussed the ‘joy of beauty’ that comes by way of venerating the absences of people, places and events. In routine and in design, Memories, Tales and Motifs are easy examples.  As a forerunner of sustainable, eco-friendly architecture, I expected a scientific and technical drone, but in my odd countable meetings conferred under this naturally charged space with artificial lights off most times, I have heard Lall often sing or dance in words, thoughts and reflections. Last time he was a quasi-poet and this time an amateur potter. Each time we sat under this receptacle of light and energy to his office, I wanted to go up and see it from the top, but I knew it was part of HIS HOUSE. This time when he showed me his house around, instantly a breezy, lively and earthy affair, I saw the galvanic element that bound it. There was a simplicity that enamored in the presence of nature, eminence of human skills, the clear definition of spaces, and the choice and economy of materials, as there were questions to the standards and merits of architecture paraded in the tableau of styles, brands and energy intensive merchandise which floor and clad most buildings now. But there was more to the house… wizardry of diminutive motifs and symbols - those which celebrated and at times even played pranks on the people, places and events- those present, and those not.

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Amongst the mountains……. Aga Khan School in Gahkuch, Gilgit

Text: Ar. Maria A.
Photography: Irfan Naqi

Any project by the architect Tariq Hasan is rooted in concept which is deciphered from the site and its surroundings. While a student of his in another life time, we had to deliver a concept even if the project was not there. I recall fondly how many a tales were built in a line drawing but though his attributes as a teacher cannot be doubted he made us think, write and conjure stories of and about the project which initiated a dialog of questions and answers about the project itself. And yet again I come across a project which responds to the site directly in response to the need and requirements of the inhabitants which inhabit the built space, the Aga Khan School in Gahkuch.

A school is an enclave of a society grooming its future generation and Gakuch is an educational facility that represents the fusion of a profoundly unique and experimental environment that binds the facility with the surroundings. The physical design provides open class rooms with a variety of adjacent multi use spaces shared by the school and community programs. Planning and design was a collaboration involving educators, parents, neighbors and community organizations. The consensus was to provide a stable, secure environment for young children—something often missing from their home lives. The school was designed to provide a ‘main street’, multipurpose room, and shared story telling areas within a cheerful multi usage structure.

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Anjalendran

Text: Hasan-Uddin Khan 
 

The mantle of the great architect, Geoffrey Bawa, is now draped over C. Anjalendran whose fine buildings continue Bawa’s approach to architecture, and extends it further.  A new book by David Robson, chronicler of Sri Lankan architecture, celebrates Anjalendran’s work in a book titled Anjalendran: Architect of Sri Lanka (Tuttle Publishing, Singapore, 2009).

Anjalendran was born in 1951.  He first studied dance but gave that up to study architecture in Sri Lanka.  He went onto London for further studies and worked there for three years till 1977.  His interest in architecture was piqued by his encounters with artists such as Barbara Sansoni and the architecture of Geoffrey Bawa and Ulrich Plesner (an associate of Bawa).  He returned to work with Bawa between 1978 and 1980.  For a while it seemed that Anjalendran was being viewed as Bawa’s successor but eventually it was felt that Anjalendran did not fit into the milieu of the office, and so he left and worked for another architect for a couple of years.  Too much of an individualist, Anjalendran went on to form his own practice in 1982, working from the veranda of his mother’s house.  He worked there until 1993 when he moved and practiced out of a house he had built for himself, where he continues to be based. 

The story of the architect’s life experiences, education and work experience are well recounted in the first part of Robson’s monograph in the chapter “Anjalendran’s World”.  It is written as a breezy set of tales that reflect well the architect’s eclectic existence.  The photographs for the book were taken be Waruna Gomis and are sensitive manifestations of the architect’s intentions.  (I suspect that Anjalendran had a significant input into the choice of illustrations.)  It is also interesting to note the style of the architectural drawings used in the book – they utilize the same techniques of presentation as the ones employed by Bawa.  The style of drawing was developed by the artist Laki Senanayake for Bawa and since then has been used by many architects in the country.  It is very expressive and appropriate for buildings that refer to the vernacular and landscape.  It is good to see drawings that reflect the character of place and building, away from the usual rendering techniques used for modern architecture or the more recent Sketch-up and Revit models.

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