Architectural growth in India has been unprecedented. Opportunities to build are numerous but the central question is how to build. Most of the building projects follow a “form follows finance” model which results in an amalgam of unrelated and gaudy buildings.

1. Search for a Contemporary“IndianArchitecture”
Architectural growthinIndiahasbeenunprecedented.Opportunitiestobuild are numerous but the
central questionishowtobuild.Mostof the buildingprojectsfollow a“formfollowsfinance” model
whichresultsinanamalgam of unrelatedand gaudy buildings. Quantity, efficiency and celerity are
whatdefine asuccessful architectural practice inIndia.Eventhe bestarchitectsin Indiahave once in
a while found themselves in the dilemma of deciding whether to devise their practice around the
quantity driven need of the market or to stick to their architectural principals, whatever they may
be.
There are very few buildings that could be called iconic mostly due to the precedence of quantity
over quality. The number of projects, scale and cost determines what is defined as the sellable
architecture inIndia. Thisquantitybasedmodel haspressuredmostarchitects,sometimes even the
finestof them,toshifttheirfocuson mass production. There is nothing wrong in doing that so long
there is enough work done for “quality” to bridge the continuously growing gap.
India’sarchitectural heritageisextremely rich and it is imperative that India’s architectural present
assumesa responsibilitytoensure continuitybetweenthe pastandthe present.While it is true that
architecture should reflect the contemporary needs of a nation, there still needs to be a narrative
that connects architectural styles of different period pieces together. Today’s mass produced
housing and building projects maybe a good reflector of the growing population of India but they
lack the architectural galore of the past. “Green Technologies”and“Sustainability”are oftenusedas
the “new”and “modern”features to attract more and more clients; however we fail to realize that
our architectural history is full of green and sustainable examples.
Consumersof building today demandamenitiesthatare globallycompetitive andensure the highest
qualityof living.This doesnotmeanthatarchitectsneedtoreplicate the “west”asa response to the
consumer demands. What is required is a context based response- a local building with globally
competitive experience. A building designed keeping local context in mind will not only ensure a
design that is very personal to the individual but will also generate a continuum between the
architectural heritages of our nation. It will lead to a model that is one step closer to achieving the
“quintessential Indian architecture” of today.