Tonight we had the pleasure of hosting Anupama Kundoo as part of the Fall Lecture Series of 2013, as well as a VIP audience, including Benedetta Tagliabue, Enrico Dini, Odile Decq, and Areti Markopoulou.
Anupama presented us with a road map of her architectural experiences, that influenced how she thinks and designs, and the final outcomes of said projects.
The context in which she started her architectural career, India, greatly influenced the concerns and factors which she deals with in her projects, aiming to have a process that is appropriate to the local means, materials and customs, while also maintaining aesthetic criteria. India presents a context bringing forth many concerns, for example it holds 16% of the world’s population, in just 2.4% of its territory, in a land marked by a strong agricultural connotation, and other important factors such as cultural segregation.
India has been growing at a very fast rate, without a great deal of planning.
Also, the budget for projects in an economically challenged area, as India, must be planned judiciously. For example the use of reinforced concrete must be well thought, as the material in itself presents a high cost, and reusing in situ waste materials for construction is potentially more sustainable from all points of view.
Consequently Anupama, in her projects, has aimed to generate a material balance between low-tech and high-tech, with form following the technology available.
During the Lecture, Anupama presented projects developed through the entire process of her career, from her very first hut, to the reconstruction of her house for the Venice Biennale of 2012.
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