Original Fellowship Proposal - India

"Instead of creating mere objects of visual seduction, architecture relates, mediates and projects meanings. The ultimate meaning of any building is beyond architecture; it directs our consciousness back to the world and towards our own sense of self and being. Significant architecture makes us experience ourselves as complete embodied and spiritual beings."

Juhani Pallsmaa
The Eyes of the Skin

As I have studied architecture and the cultures that coexist with the built environment I am always amazed at what they have to teach me. By using architecture as a vehicle for exploration I have broadened my understanding of others and their ways of being. As a member of the 2006 Design Build Bluff team I had the opportunity to design a home for a Navajo woman named Caroline Lameman. Her home became an expression of her juxtaposed life on and off of the Navajo Indian reservation. The home was metaphorically a timeline of her life; recognizing the past and moving toward the future. For my Master’s Project I studied the relationship of hip hop to architecture - focusing on African American identity formulation; specifically in the community of Watts, California. The project became a place where kids from the community could collaborate with professionals to create, record, and perform their music. The building is an instrument by which youth are able to express themselves through their music.

Christopher Alexander in his book The Timeless Way of Building stated, “The search which we make… in our own lives is the central search of any person, and the crux of any individual person’s story. It is the search for the moments and situations when we are most alive.”

I have long been fascinated by the culture and architecture of India. In a country that holds nearly one sixth of the world’s population I hope to gain a better understanding into the meaning and significance of its structures. The cities of India are like palimpsestic canvases containing layers of history and tradition.

I will focus my travels at and around what is known as the golden triangle of India; starting at Dehli, the countries capital. Dehli or New Dehli is a virtual melting pot of traditional Indian architecture and contemporary design.

From Dehli I will travel north to the city of Chandigarh. Master planned by the modernist Le Corbusier, Chandigarh will lend an interesting perspective on outside influences to the culture and building practices in the region.

Next will be Agra, home of the Taj Mahal. Many believe Agra to be the Indian city of “aesthetic perfection”.

Gwalior is dominated by its fort that overlooks the city. Temples are scattered throughout the fort complex, but probably the most intriguing aspect of the fort are the cave temples located at the base of the hill.

Last, is Khajuraho. This temple complex is a great synthesis of architecture and sculpture; and questions the relationship between the sacred and the profane with its kamasutra figures and erotic imagery.

As I understand the different ways in which meaning has been assigned or adopted by the people and the architecture in India I hope to be able to use that knowledge in my professional practice and teaching. And more importantly, to use my experience in India to give added meaning to my life and those around me.