Shillong-born architect Krittika Agarwal’s team has spent the last few feverish months erecting a 6-foot-tall 3D printed version of a 60-foot-tall “Assam-type” timber building in Vikhroli.
Having grown up in the Himalayan seismic belt, Agarwal knows in her bones what the North East has lost by moving away from ‘Assam-type constructions’, the light-weighted, resilient timber houses that had replaced heavy stone houses in the devastating wake of the 1897 Assam earthquake.
Developed in colonial times using a robust, borrowed-from-Japan technique involving local timber, bamboo reeds and lime plaster, the sturdy multi-storey structures are fast giving way to cheaper steel and concrete towers in a fit of rapid urbanisation so familiar to Mumbai.
As much a plea to revive the Assam-type structures in the North East as it is a suggestion for “the development of standardized mass timber systems that could become a silver lining” for more-prone-to-floods-than-earthquakes Mumbai, ‘Home of The Future’-a structure that will later be dismantled into a bookshelf trapping 1.42 tonnes of carbon dioxide-is among a series of immersive installations animating ‘Conscious Collective’, a two-day launch event on December 9 and 10.
Organised by Godrej Design Lab, a platform that explores how design can impact better living, the initiative-replete with works, talks and discussions by urban planners, architects, designers and conservationists- aims to create a platform of professionals who can reimagine spaces in the quest for a sweet spot between development and conservation.
“Over 39 per cent of the world’s carbon emissions comes from the construction and building industry,” pointed out architect Tejas Sidnal even as visitors built a DIY wall from tiles that had seen his firm earning third place at a global event called ClimateLaunchPad in 2020. Created by meshing carbon emissions with other materials gleaned by the technically-seasoned hands of artisans in Gujarat’s Morbi, ‘Carbon wall’ is an entirely-recyclable exhibit of tiles that “showcases how you can have an impact on your own living space.”
Given that buildings contribute to over 20% of carbon emissions in India, the industry has been increasingly mulling energy-efficient strategies such as built-in carbon-cooling systems. “Going towards digitality is imperative,” felt Ahmedabad-based textile designer Chhail Khalsa who has crafted an installation using e-textiles-handicraft textiles with built-in circuits that bring sensations like heat and light-for which she holds a patent.
The use of woven circuits reduces electronic material usage by one-tenth, revealed Khalsa whose installation ‘Textile tropics: an urban forest sensorium’ ushers you into an abstract cloud with 15 globes. One globe, with zardosi embroidered sensors, holds motifs of urban birds-as a reminder of their presence in our environment. Touch a motif, and the air is filled with their distinct sounds. Other globes feature leaf sensors that respond with the crackling of leaves as you touch them. Then, there’s the ‘wild card globe’, that surprises and shocks with the unexpected-traffic sounds disrupt the serene ambience.
“You’re in a meditative state of nature and calm when the sudden intrusion of traffic sounds as a stark reminder that actions have consequences,” said Ahmedabad-based Khalsa who has been making fabrics ‘smarter’ through her Anuvad Innovation Studio ever since she graduated from the National Institute of Design and sought to merge two seemingly polar worlds-traditional crafts and innovation. “This (merging) needs to be done in a way that’s not complicated but intuitive, tapping into a niche with massive potential, like heated rugs and cushions,” said Khalsa, adding that e-textiles-despite its three-decade history- grapple with ‘technophobia’ due to the intimate nature of textiles with the body.
“When we think ecologically, we create feedback loops,” said architect and educator Rahul Mehrotra in an interview published in the report titled ‘Understanding Conscious Living In India’ released by Godrej Design Lab along with arts and culture research firm Unbox Cultural Futures. “I might be designing a green building in Borivli, but if I’m extracting materials from elsewhere, which could cause displacement, I’m negating my intentions,” said Mehrotra in the interview, adding that consciousness was about “interconnectedness”. The sentiment found an echo in ‘Echoes of Empathy,’ visual artist Sajid Wajid Shaikh’s installation featuring thousands of ears-made by the local fishermen in Worli Koliwada with clay sourced from the potters community-gracefully spinning on a disc atop a horizontal plane. Its circular motion signifies the coming together of people through conversation and idea-sharing and the soundscapes curated from around the world transports visitors to distant rainforests, lively urban jungles, calm ocean depths, and arid deserts. “It’s a powerful symbol for the indispensable role of listening and not just hearing,” said Shaikh, stressing on the need to address the challenges faced by displaced communities in the city. “The use of this material which is sustainable and reminiscent of the old tile-roofed houses of Bombay, ties the installation to the city’s heritage,” he added. Courtesy: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/from-carbon-tiles-to-e-textiles-innovations-for-a-greener-future/articleshow/105876735.cms