From a Hall of Nations to a Pile of Rubble, will the Phoenix rise? With the demolition of the Hall of Nations, New Delhi lost a part of itself on Sunday, the 23rd of April 2017. Both erasure and inscription are equal instruments in the production of culture. Both are tools through which the rich and the powerful inflict their will on a landscape. Both erasure and inscription are the vehicles through which we communicate what is important to us, in its absence and in its presence. The demolition of the Hall of Nations sounded the death knell for an idea of India that had its roots in the ideals of the freedom struggle. Our fight against an authoritarian colonial power was rewarded with Independence in 1947. The embracing of technology, of art and science as tools in a democratic project, the vehicles for a nations development, was manifested (and continues to be) in both public policy and material form in the decades following Independence. The loss of these structure is
How Crafting Architecture Builds Economic Resilience in the Construction Industry, some thoughts in response to Snehanshu’s article
Off the Cuff: How Crafting Architecture Builds Economic Resilience in the Construction Industry, some thoughts in response to Snehanshu’s article Dear Snehanshu As promised some thoughts that I would like to share with you after reading your article, “How Crafting Architecture Builds Economic Resilience in the Construction Industry.” At the outset, I have to lay bear that economic resilience can only be achieved through education and so that’s where my vote lies. That said, you quite rightly point out Modern Architecture was an import and spread its wings over a highly developed crafts tradition. It’s aesthetic traditions preceded the social construction that should have formed it, but the import served to give material form and aspiration to India’s Independence project. To that extent it served its role, and I think in hindsight, the Nehruvian project was not as bad as people have now made it out to be. But craftsmanship, has a lot to do with making