de earth

        The fundamentals of why public spaces need to be developed   What makes you choose the city you live in? An ideal city to settle would be one which is welcoming, makes you feel happy and content, and lays down a comfortable balance between your professional and personal life. If not for my academic and professional engagements as an urban practitioner, I wouldn’t really have gauged the depth of the significance of developing public spaces and the vital role it plays in molding our lifestyle and the identity of a city.  It is no hidden fact that a well planned city with an intact infrastructure system in place, highly benefits its people. When cities are designed rationally and sustainably, it functions with utmost efficiency, impacting positively on one’s mental and physical wellness. Let me elaborate on this. In terms of attaining physical fitness, one needs to maintain a regular routine of exercise. Not everyone can afford to pay for a gym to keep...

Life has taken a “U-Turn”. The only question, is whether it’s for a long term or a short term. How long will we have to embrace a “new normal”. I would always differ on the word social distancing. Ideally it’s social togetherness & physical distancing. These are times, we all need to stand together and be for each other. But this, with a safe distance, respecting the guidelines, maintaining the descipline and norms. The “new normal”, irrespective of being short term or long term will have its influences in design. We have already seen exciting responses in the field of product design, in making new masks, handles for sanitizers, multiple use key chains, virtual lift buttons & so on. It’s a fact that we have all got used to digital platforms a lot more, and I won’t be surprised if digistisation get extended to each component of a built environment. Virtual offices have suddenly become more comfortable for both employers & employees, and it questions the very need to lar...

It’s after 10 years we decided to retrospect on our philosophy, more on its statement, rather changing the essence of the content. As for many, the lockdown provided us quality time to pause, slowdown and to reflect upon our work & life. Work & life, being so closely knit together for us, couldn’t be separated even by the lockdown. All of us 20, meet regularly, discuss, debate, share & work with very specific deadlines, for last 41 days, sundays and holidays being the only exception. We are also getting used to the technology, but rearing to get back to the office, where we can meet, fight & celebrate our work too. During the course, we took one week off from the regular work, just to share & communicate to each other, what everybody feel about themselves, their colleagues, our office, the way we work, the results we achieve and the overall content of the processes. The quality of discourse was way beyond a normal discussion, thanks to the pause & t...

Philosophy of our practice has evolved over time. Each project, each client, each context is a new learning. As your journey progress, you will find cliffs, valleys, sharp turns, junctions and sometimes even roadblocks. But more you travel, more you learn to negotiate these, appreciating your little experiences, continuing your journey in the right path. Your philosophy get nurtured along. When we realised the potential of having a philosophical body in practice, we renamed our firm, to “de earth”, with a tagline, “nurture, create, belong”. This was around 10 years before. It helped us to conceive projects not just as professional assignment, but as an extension of our life. When we agree to take up an assignment, we were just not signing an agreement, but then sharing dreams, ideas, concerns, habits, potentials and limitations of our client. We nurtured these as if it’s ours. Being sensible to the actual need of the client, was one of our most important baseline. The idea o...

I want to talk more about the philosophy of our practice and why we think architecture is beyond its physical form. But before that, it seems equally exciting for me, to travel back to my memories, and to uncover a journey which made me realise the need of a philosophical body of work. I remember receiving a very strange toy, as a birthday gift, from my maternal grandfather, probably when I was not more than 7-8 years old. The memories are so vivid, as the ‘toy’ was with me for long. It was a house, inside a glass box, and when you switch it on, there will be dancing lights. It wasn’t meant to be a toy. But he chose to give me that. My mother use to later tell me, he wished I build beautiful houses like that and one for her, rather than wishing my birthday. my journey with architecture begin there. By the time I finished matriculation, I had this feeling, that I need to be an architect, without knowing what actually it means to be. May be, since everybody else told I can d...

All of us have been spending last 35 odd days in our home, like never before. Last time I remember being in home for so long, is before I went out to join REC for my bachelors. Even then, we were never confined to home, like now. Most of the day time, I use to wander out, for visiting my friends, to learn, to play and just to roam around. But this time, it’s been very different. Day begin at the bedroom, and end at the bedroom, after paying visits to the dining room, family room, parents bed, brothers bed, the balcony , the verandah and the front yard. The large verandah has been a real blessing, and it was a pleasure to walk around enjoying the summer rains yesterday. The balcony covered with trees all around were never used so effectively. To start your day, with a quick sneak peek into the balcony, hearing the voice of chirping birds, breathing fresh air and watching your wife do yoga 🙂 has been totally refreshing. We never before had active evenings like now, with play...

Everyday is a story. Every life is a story. Every relationship is a story. Every moment has a story in it. The only difference is how we see it, perceive it and narrate it. We have beauty embedded all around us. In The morning rays of the sun,the chirping of birds, the blooming of plants, the falling of leaves, the dance of the butterflies, the rhythm of wind or in the way we cook, the ingredients of our food, the innocence of a baby, the house we live, the habits of people, everything has so much to talk about. We just need to learn to see, learn to listen, learn to touch, learn to smell & learn to sense. Learn to respect & learn to appreciate. And after all, learn to narrate. “The God is in the details”. The moment we engage with all of these, they inspire us, inform us and instill passion in us to live & to create. Let’s not be sad about being confined for a long time. Look around. There’s much more in this life, which we wouldn’t have even noticed otherwise. Let’s lear...

Sight is our dominant sense. Over dependence on our eyes to appreciate the beauty & space is one of the major reason for the erosion of our sense of aesthetics. We get overwhelmed with what we see. Aesthetics begin & end with its looks. Depending on sight alone also means we remain as a distant observer. We are denying a wholesome lived experience. What remain will be a very short term memory. For immersive experiences its very important we engage with all the senses - what we see, taste, smell, touch, hear, and feel. We create more connect with the object or the space while doing this. we only talk about the elevation or the beauty of the facade without knowing architecture initiates, directs and organizes psychology, behaviour and movement. We tend to disintegrate elements of visual pleasure, and claim we have achieved all what is required.a sloping roof or a exposed laterite wall doesn’t make Kerala’s traditional architecture. Architecture become rooted to the culture, ti...

Did we ever think why our children, our colleagues, our students, more over ourselves fail to raise right questions ? Everybody run to find answers & solutions the moment they hear a question, not even critically examining it. We are brought up that way. Our educational system has moulded us that way. All it wanted to create were obedient white collar professionals. So everything come in capsules. Recently it’s all multiple choices. Don’t need to think & write too much,   forget engaging with it. We shudnt question our teachers, our elders nor the textbooks, the theories, the syllabus, the logic, the process, the university, the government nor the client requirements. We are suppose to be robots who accept the questions as it is & give quick & fast solutions. It’s the learned answer that get celebrated & not the question.There ends the possibility of original thinking & authentic creations. Never say no to a kid who love to ask questions.Let’s learn to qu...

We have grown in a soceity which kept telling us politics is for the rogue, it’s full of violence & scandals. Kids were made to believe, it’s no option to be part of politics, if they need to build a career. Either you keep away from it, concentrate on your competitive exams, or get ruined, is every single parent’s advice. The court went to an extent of banning it in schools & campuses. Not to forget that political parties added fuel to the fire, by enacting their violent role whenever they got a chance. But then that was an inevitable part of the cycle. What do you expect, when the whole idea of politics is seen as a downgraded option, in the largest democracy of the world ? How do we even live a single day without being affected or influenced by politics ? It’s high time we change our perception about politics and political parties. It’s the duty of every single responsible citizen to be the part of decision making process, not just caste vote, in the worlds largest democr...

I have often wondered what has happened to our sense of aesthetics. Collective sense of aesthetics is direct reflection of a matured soceity. We had it deep rooted in our culture. Poems of great poets, short stories, novels, movies, drama, music, art, festivals, our dress, craft, everything reflected our land, it’s natural & cultural setting. They were strong tools for social & cultural reforms. Our streets, Tea shops, Barber shops, schools, libraries, clubs, public gatherings where fertile fields for discussions, debates & criticisms. Aesthetics was never restricted to rich. It was an inherent part of life of every common man. architecture was just a reflection of these collective sense of aesthetics, highly contextual and unique, be it a single room house or a palace. For last few decades, we have lost it. Our aspirations changed. As a soceity we are confused & caught between the West & Middle East. Aesthetics is referred to as a luxury, helping the rich flaunt...

Have you wondered why are we getting educated ? Is it to learn everything about this world ? Is it just to get a job and make our living ? Is it to serve the rich ? Is it to make ourselves richer by building more assets ? Or is it to unveil the real potential in you? is it to make us better human being? It’s the time to re-think our educational system. What is the use of education if it does not nurture better civic sense & collective conscious? What is the use of education if it totally destruct the inherent capabilities & make you a robot? What is the use of education if it nurture competitions & ego beyond humanity? What is the use of education if we can’t respect nature as a whole? This quarantine & Covid -19, is an opportunity to start re-thinking from our basics. And we should start from our primary schools. Let’s avoid competitive exams at lower classes and nurture true knowledge. Kids need to experience this world and appreciate the value of relationships ...

We all say only inspired minds can come up with creative & positive solutions. And we keep looking for inspiration. From nature around us. In the news we read. In the movies we see .in the stories we hear, some music we listen, in a personality we meet or the teacher who taught us. Sometimes even in a kid who play around so innocently. And when we get low, we often find excuses that there’s nothing to inspire around. We forget to look at ourselves. Every human being is a bundle of knowledge, capability & opportunity. And you will find the biggest inspiration if you look deep into yourself. There’s no better inspiration than u, ur body, ur mind, ur heart & ur soul. The more you master it, more elevated & inspired you become. And you won’t get a better time than quarantine :) Vivek :)

To be minimal is no more a choice. We are now forced to give away a lot of things which we once thought was inevitable. We had excuses for everything. Being minimal is not just about discarding everything. It’s also about getting ready to receive more. You undo a lot of your ego, your beliefs, your routines, your needs, and suddenly u realise you can still be happy. And on one morning, your eyes are sharper, ears are more keen, and all your senses are at its best. You learn to see and experience this world at its best. You tend to hear your loved ones and the nature around us more. And that’s when the real knowledge will bestow upon you. Get ready to receive more. Learn to see. Learn to listen. Learn to smell. Learn to touch. The world will start inspiring you Vivek :)

Being a responsible living being existing by consuming most of earths resources, we have to look beyond our house, its spatial domains, social impacts to make sure we nurture a quality environment in the immediate context. Designing the site, its surroundings, landscape, levels, compound edges, are equally important or rather more important to the idea of the house itself. These external elements connect the house to the context, nature and the ecology. By providing certain trees, plants and other natural elements like water bodies, we are also contributing to the ecological domain outside our own site. We are also providing space for butterflies to fly around, bees to feed on flower beds, squirrels to hop on trees and birds to construct their nests. This idea of co existence of all living beings is crucial in the idea of “living with earth” and we should not see humans in isolation. Its our duty to nurture the ground water, to ensure that we don’t contaminate the surroundings w...

When india opened up her market to global products, mid 1990s, we also joined the rat race of a tyipical consumeristic society. For global brands which was yearning for a long term positive market, india was a huge boon, which resulted in severe competitions in all facets of products, whether big or small. At the same time, with the opening of educational streams to self financing institutions and private bodies, more and more sectors of society got access to higher education, which is western knowledge driven and hence not looking at developing their indigenous strengths. This also created a large set of white collared applicants with very demanding financial benefits, who could be lured into the consumer product race. Every body aspired to become unique and special, which gave them that sudden lift in their emotional concious. This idea of being unique and special, backed up with consistent financial inflows, had its own influence in residential architecture too. While pre-globa...

Man being a very social animal who like to settle down with his families and further in a settlement, a “house” is more than just a shelter. Its   where he develops his individual and collective consciousness. From being nomads to globalized cultured citizens we are now, humans have come a long way. Our aspirations are no more to live in a den or to survive heat and rain. We aim to establish our values and principles, through the way we live and exist. Houses are seen as a major tool to exhibit and experience ones ideologies in life and hence is more than just an object or a survival tool. Each space can influence in nurturing our daily life, habits and behavior. Principals of spatial planning talks about how orientation of spaces can help to gather more positive energy, though sun light and cosmic energy flow In cases where spaces are more than just shelters for utility, these energy domains can be highly influential in inspiring human minds. You cannot define such spaces a...

There is a famous saying by sir winston churchill, “ we shape buildings, there after buildings shape us”. This we have felt is quite true, as its always a mutual process on what we are and what space we occupy. This idea of house becoming a strong identity of pretension, is more in a consumer state like kerala, where in an agricultural society like tamil nadu or in predominant industrial societies, there are less importance given for the image of a house. For such societies houses are a little more than a shelter while the co existing environment is more important than the image. We can also come across different communities who value the idea of co existence, and hence continue living together in-heriting the houses from their past generation. In a pragmatic society, where there more primary economic opportunities, there are less importance given to the image or the idea of identity. The idea of an image of the house will be secondary to ones thoughts on his familes education, ...

Human beings are social animals. We cannot exist in isolation, so our house. Each of our life is so dependent on the context, the immediate neighborhood, ecology and society. Its hard to alienate a house from its neighborhood and vice versa. While physical boundaries give a certain level of clarity on ownership, there are several natural and social factors which are beyond these physical boundaries. Huge compound walls and gates, isolate a particular land from the rest of neighborhood and this can result in alienation of people and loss of quality relationships. We cannot deny our neighbors right for path, right for view, right for air, right for wind and right for light. Its very important each of our design reflect positively on all boundaries, rather than looking at the street edge alone. Character of a house, its visual significance, size and the way the mass responds to the streets, etc will largely influence the comfortability factor of using the street and hence the behav...

This is an interesting argument whether to look at a house beyond ones generation. In our earlier years, when the there were less globalisation and life was more or less dependent on local economy, the concept of joint families assisted mutual existence and support. There were huge houses, which existed for multiple generations, which became the symbols of power and strength. In early 20 th century, with rapid urbanisation and widespread introduction of english education, more and more opportunities were available for youth prompting them to shift from their local towns leaving their parents and grand parents in these large houses. Joint families started to disintegrate to nuclear families, all travelling around the globe in search of education and job. The temporal nature of jobs are always a challenge to majority of the working class. In such a fast globalising and tehnologically advancing society, where the opportunities are limitless, any permanent asset will be a challenge a...