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The special issue of Indian Architect and Builder - January 2009 - aims to address Urban Security as an issue examining culture, conflicts and the city". The idea being to trace the role of the architect, designer and planner in this new urban situation, also, to look for policy and design solutions to this batch of urban problems. Given the focus on culture and conflict, the attempt is to trace its expressions on the urban canvas.
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LET'S PARTNER
Kate Stohr is the Co-Founder and the Managing Director of Architecture for Humanity(AFH). In an exclusive interview, she discusses the expanding urbania and the role of AFH in coordinating design services among local communities and design professionals.
CURRENT
Latest in architectural exhibitions, competitions and news
PRODUCTS
Innovative products from across the world.
TRIBUTE
Indian Architect & Builder pays a tribute to the Czech architect, Jan Kaplicky, who revolutionised British architecture with his radical and futuristic designs.
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BOOK REVIEW
Expanding Architecture: Design as Activism - A Review by
Paromita Hui
THE SPACE
"MY SPACE"
Considering the realities of the urban landscape, a design professional's planned utopia seems in conflict with what can only be reckoned as "disturbia". This opening piece discusses if mainstream design refutes its socio-political influence and potential.
Ethical Responses
The article discusses the role of an architect facing the complexities of designing and developing rapidly expanding cities in creating safer urban communities.
The Conflict Inside
The conflict between creativity and practicalities that an architect encounters in his mind during the process of design and how a 'back-to basics' approach can help resolve this are the bases of this article.
THE WALL
The Map, The Wall and a Dream
An essay about mapping - finding oneself in a place along with its culture and politics, just like being a part of cinema or graphics.
Gates within the City
A commentary on how the gated communities are increasingly becoming desirable because of the 'exclusivity' they offer in addition to the 'security' considerations.
The New Walls Of India
An outline of how architects can find inspiration in Pink Floyd & Facebook, stop merely creating the Illusion of Safety, and reclaim the profession.
THE VOID
"Slum(e)scape" with "Habitects"
An overview on how The World Congress 2008, which addressed the ever-expanding urban challenges with a focus on slums.
A New Urbanism
Disasters have many lessons to teach but these primarily are about what should not be done in the next disaster.
(W)architecture
A comment that looks at the architecture born out of war and conflict:, their form and the different functions they are eventually utilised for.
A Grave Battle for Space
In cities which are radically designed to be functionally deferential to their living millions; a muse on the spaces for their dead is literally immaterial. Their battle is more than the one for the physical space.
Prisoners of Our Own Device
In an age where human rights are being given high priority, where does one draw the line between providing a safe habitat for the incarcerated and making it a desirable haven for offenders?
Enabling Cities
A truly globalised city is one which holds equal opportunities for all the people irrespective of their diversities. An essay about how 'accessibility' needs to be treated holistically in order to achieve this.
THE PUBLIC
Claiming Public Space
What is the role of academia in confronting the issues of culture, conflict and the city as it relates to architecture and the public space?
Entry Restricted: Open Public Spaces in Mumbai
A thought on open public spaces in a city and how the design of these spaces reflects the city’s attitude towards them.
Death of the Public Space
A comment on fear, which is a result of increased terror activities and how it is becoming an acceptable part of the urban environment as well.
Designing Health Facilities – a planning nightmare
The challenges that health care planning involves and the role of the designer in evolving urban service centres.
Reflecting into the Future
The Samir Kassir Square in Beirut designed by landscape architect Vladimir Djurovic overcomes the divide of the civil war to create a public space that responds to the needs of the people.
A Flexible Urban Edge
The L.A. Liner project establishes a non-hierarchical relationship, linking LA Forum with the public sphere in which it is placed.
THE FAULT LINES
Preying Spaces
What happens when religion, which aims to bring people together, acts as a catalyst to separate them into groups? The city becomes a constantly changing matrix of communal encroachment.
Resolving Conflict Brick-by-Brick
The unconventional solutions developed for the preservation of the urban heritage of Zabid, as part of the Project for the Preservation of Historic Cities of Yemen programme.
Ornament and Crime
A focus on what security and safety mean for a city, raising questions that 'design' will need to think about.
Erratum
Indian Architect & Builder regrets to mention the following erratum in the Dec’08 issue of the magazine. The drawings used for the story 'Incremental Development' are credited to Wahid Seraj, produced during the Urban Typhoon Workshop in Dharavi-Koliwada, March 2008. We apologise for the inconvenience caused.
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