Architecture fundamentally is art of space making. We appreciate art of architecture through sensory experience, structure, assembly, spatial narratives. The importance of art in architecture is as simple as - not all forms of art are architecture but every form of architecture is essentially an art.

The human touch to architecture attributes the craft component of its.  All artisans and craftsman enrich the experience of architecture by their creations.

In Indian Context, architecture has always been more of a craft than only being architecture or engineering.  ‘Crafts can be defined as “those activities that deal with the conversion of specific materials into products, using primarily hand skills with simple tools and employing the local traditional wisdom of craft processes. Such activities usually form the core economic activity of a community of people called ‘craftsmen’.” (Professor M.P. Ranjan ) One definition states that crafts developed out of necessity to fulfil everyday needs of people.

Shelter is the most basic need. The human touch to architecture establishes it as craft hence. This need is in sync with the situations around. Craft reflects the socio-cultural context in which its created. Humans painted, molded spaces to be vibrant and decorated for personal desires and wishes. Architecture, Crafts and arts do thus belong together

Crafts in architecture, apart from human touch also create a connection. A connection of craftsman to the craft, materials and medium, and connectionof the building to the context. This relationship is external. It also has a connection between its constituent parts internal. Craft thus has a physical, psychological, religious, geographical, geological relation.

Traditionally the Indian architecture respected its religious influence and was rooted to its culture.  The craft skills which made the then architecture were passed from one generation to another. They were the expressions of culture of the community, made by their own people. They represented local stories

Architecture was always local, it was never global. It never aimed to be global.  What’s local for architecture? Where do arts and crafts fits with respect to architecture?

Students of Masters in Architectural Education of SMMCA Nagpur  identify a region along with the local craft there. They study, document the art, folk, architecture, culture, traditions, customs, crafts etc. of the selected region. Further, they investigate the applicability of that craft to the selected typology. 

The search of this studio is also to see if there could be an evolutionary localized ‘modernism’ in any culture…and design for the same…

Human body is the center of the ‘Local Universe’. Wherever the body moves, it carries the entire universe around it, and brain learns from experiences gathered with the five senses.

The first peripheral enclosure that humans create for themselves for the body, is clothing, suited to the climate of the region…if not, survival of the body in a healthy condition is not assured. Clothing in many ways controls body language, behavior, activities and customs born out of them, suitably nurtured by religious beliefs, which over a period of time gets the identity as ‘culture’ of the place. Clothing design is guided by comfort and two ‘orientations’ or ‘elevations’– front and rear, that define aesthetics of clothing. Clothing is the first shelter of the ‘local universe’ that protects the body. The second shelter is architecture. 

Architecture is rooted to a place, with place adaptive qualities enhanced by humans through art, craft, use of local materials and indigenously created structural systems. It has a logically fixed orientation, following the cardinal directions for appropriate light and ventilation to perform activities related to living, season after season. Thus the four elevations that contain the spatial universe for safe and comfortable circulation and activities of the bodies determine the aesthetics of the built ‘form’, suitably embellished with art and craft skills by humans who make them. To understand Architecture as The Local Universe of a culture, it is imperative that the following aspects be studied and documented in detail:

ART, CRAFT, STRUCTURE, SPACE, LIGHT, VENTILATION, ACTIVITY, HUMAN SCALE AND PROPORTION

To understand the ‘Local Universe’ of humans in a particular culture it is important to first document all of the above aspects related to architecture of the place. In my opinion modernism, which came from the West, completely negated these aspects and like an addiction spread into all cultures of the world giving rise to several ‘isms’ of architecture.

OBJECTIVE:

Craft variety and practices are unique to India. Crafts are best representatives of the local universe of human beings. Architecture in the past was craft, hence had a deep connect with the local universes of people. The objective of the workshop was to create design brief for architecture that is rooted to a place, with place adaptive qualities enhanced by humans through art, craft, use of local materials and indigenously created structural systems.

For a full presentation of the work by students please visit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxHUG81qiOA

A design workshop conducted for the students of  Masters of Architectural Education at SMMCA, Nagpur during the semester July to September 2018.