Going flat out

Going flat out

Apartment blocks sporting international motifs mean you can have a slice of Venice or Bali. RAKESH MEHARwonders at the impact of this global look


If Vasco Da Gama were to come to Bangalore today, he would feel right at home. Or so the billboard of a new residential project in the city would have us believe.

But if Portugal isn’t really your cup of tea, there’s also Venice, London, Spain, Bali or a host of other foreign climes to choose from. Welcome to the new Bangalore, where if you suspend disbelief long enough, there is a range of options out there to let you live wherever you want to. From exotic stone statues all the way up to specially designed waterways with gondolas, builders in the city are going the whole hog to give their apartments a unique, distinguishing look.

The most common rationale for this recent emphasis on all things foreign is that builders are only catering to the well-heeled Bangalorean. With the city’s buyers having seen what the world has to offer, we are told, they expect the same standards here too. Vinay Baindur, a researcher with the Collaborative for the Advancement of Studies in Urbanism through Mixed Media (CASUMM), points out that architecture imitating global motifs is an extension of the emphasis on infrastructure of global standards. “The point of departure happened with the blue glass constructions most commonly associated with IT. This concept has been built into the idea of world class infrastructure.” Part of the reason why so many projects have hooked onto the idea of foreign motifs, explains architect Prem Chandavarkar of Chandavarkar and Thacker Architects, is that apartment building in the city is still focussed primarily on the elevation and façade of the building, besides location and amenities. “The idea of design as space planning as well as that of good detailing have not been properly explored,” he explains. Given the limited parameters, therefore, external decorative elements are the easiest way to distinguish one apartment project from the next.
Matter of suitability

In the process, explain architects, many architectural elements that aren’t necessarily suited for the Bangalorean context are being replicated without second thought. Architect K. Jaisim, Chairman of The Indian Institute of Architects, for instance, points out that lawns are best suited for a temperate climate, where the levels of sunlight are lower.

Similarly, he says, he was once approached to design a project that aimed to exactly replicate housing in California, including the fact that they were all constructed with wood. “What is wrong with what we have,” asks Jaisim. “All we have to do is clean it up a little bit.” The question, clarifies Prem, is not one of local culture versus foreign because culture is an evolving entity and cannot be designated as this or that. Instead, he says, what needs to be examined is the sincerity with which the project is approached.

“It’s about how you respond to the site and climate, look at the apartment as a way of living, and create the sense of community living. You also have to look at the impact it has on the city in terms of resource consumption, the impact it has on the street it is situated on. You have to deal with all these issues honestly.”

Concurs architect Chitra Vishwanath: “You don’t have to construct one of those old houses with monkey tops. But you should be wise to the local environment in terms of the materials used and the water, electricity and other resources consumed.”

For Jaisim, the biggest puzzle as far as big residential projects and gated communities goes is why there is still so much reliance on “catalogue architecture” when the conditions are prime for well-designed and completely personalised living spaces. “We still have the resources needed to be completely individualistic. We have labour, resources, land and climate all to our advantage. Why not create homes that are completely personalised?” The problem, he says, is one of a “me too” syndrome, which is also reflected in a larger manner in the way infrastructure projects from elsewhere are adopted without properly considering the local situation.

In some cases, this emphasis on a pre-planned model can even go so far as impinging on residents’ rights to customise their living spaces. Ahalya Kumar, a resident of a prominent gated community in the city, found that out for herself when she wanted to plant a few local flowering trees in her front yard. “The maintenance of the front yards was being handled by the developers, who said that I could not plant any trees in the front yards apart from the ones they gave. There are a lot of plus points here such as security, peace and quiet and good maintenance. But I think they can go easier on the stipulations regarding landscape.”

For many, the newer complexes, communities and townships are also a worry from the ecological standpoint. The consumption of resources, particularly of water, must be looked into carefully, says Vinay. “If the consumption is extravagant, then it becomes unsustainable. The main problem is the departure from the idea of basic amenities for all to high end amenities for a few. In a resource crunch, extravagant use of resources must be questioned.”