India, Auroville and Mumbai
September 19-28, 2014
In Fall 2014, my studio was approached by the World Bank to design what they called Blue Lab On-site Crisis Centers. These are a response to the current gender based violence issues in India. As part of this studio project, we visited a few locations in India to begin getting a sense of the culture.
We all approached the project trying to fix the problem, all trying to design a solution to a non-architectural problem. Our professor had driven the idea of creating an ulterior purpose for later in life when the cultural issues are solved. But after going to the location and hearing accounts of what is happening, accounts of what is allowed by the government, accounts of what is condoned by the culture, I don't agree with our previous path.
I will not try to design a solution to the current issues that will later be useful to the region in a different manner. Instead I am going to design a solution that fosters health in the region in terms of hygiene, food, and water, all the basics of life. If these functions are provided, valuable resources like time and effort will be available to address the massive issue of gender based violence. Hygiene, water, and food can all be produced by a responsible design, whereas a culture-wide shift in beliefs is not something to be tackled in a semester long, six credit design studio - that's what the rest of our lives are for.
We all approached the project trying to fix the problem, all trying to design a solution to a non-architectural problem. Our professor had driven the idea of creating an ulterior purpose for later in life when the cultural issues are solved. But after going to the location and hearing accounts of what is happening, accounts of what is allowed by the government, accounts of what is condoned by the culture, I don't agree with our previous path.
I will not try to design a solution to the current issues that will later be useful to the region in a different manner. Instead I am going to design a solution that fosters health in the region in terms of hygiene, food, and water, all the basics of life. If these functions are provided, valuable resources like time and effort will be available to address the massive issue of gender based violence. Hygiene, water, and food can all be produced by a responsible design, whereas a culture-wide shift in beliefs is not something to be tackled in a semester long, six credit design studio - that's what the rest of our lives are for.
The Photos
India is a spectacular location that juxtaposes the most elegant and beautifully colored designs with mounds of trash strewn along every street, park, and waterway. Being immersed in the middle of this was a sensory blitzkrieg. In no moment was I free to escape the powerful colors, the constant motion of the city, the crushing humidity, or the sometimes fragrant, sometimes vile odors.
The only way to reconcile many of these experiences was to separate myself from the moment with a camera.
The only way to reconcile many of these experiences was to separate myself from the moment with a camera.
On the Road
Much of the trip was spent in vans or buses travelling from one location to another. This quick survey of the region from eight feet above the ground allowed for some interesting observations removed from actual experience.
Walking on the roads was entirely different, wading through the flow of people, animals, and vehicles forced the understanding of how different the country is from my own.
Walking on the roads was entirely different, wading through the flow of people, animals, and vehicles forced the understanding of how different the country is from my own.
Markets
Our first day in both Pondicherry and Mumbai, we went to the main markets. The photos show a beautiful melange of lighting and brilliant colors, but what they don't convey are the smells of the rotting goods unsold from previous days, the sounds of maimed livestock waiting to sold off for dinner, the smell of every aging piece of fish being chopped and thrown into buckets, or the ominous odor of manure lingering in the air around the meat section. Having said all this, seeing how vibrant and alive this area was, I have a hard time condemning the conditions. And after all it isn't my place to pass a judgement on it anyways.
People
Walking through any location, it was amazing to see how even though I was the tourist, they were the ones who were taking pictures or gawking. From the small communities with craftsman working on their constructions to the bustling streets of Mumbai, our group was somewhat a spectacle with multiple people walking up and standing beside us as their friends snapped photos from a cell.
But what was truly fantastic was how helpful and kind everybody was. Walking down the street people would give directions quite readily, or if the moment came where one of us would take a picture, there was no awkward moment of shame following the shutter as often happened in Europe. Instead the person on the other side of the lens would normally smile or give a little laugh. Some even would ask for their pictures to be taken.
But what was truly fantastic was how helpful and kind everybody was. Walking down the street people would give directions quite readily, or if the moment came where one of us would take a picture, there was no awkward moment of shame following the shutter as often happened in Europe. Instead the person on the other side of the lens would normally smile or give a little laugh. Some even would ask for their pictures to be taken.
Beach
We attempted to reach the beach on the Bay of Bengal for sunrise on the third day of travel. Sadly, the sun was more spry than the majority of the group and by the time we reached the water, the sun was a solid ten degrees above the horizon. It was not a big issue though as this beach was a stunning collection of local fisherman and their brilliantly painted vessels.
Built Environment
'Nature', Plants, Lifestock
On the Water
Moments
This photo was completely spur the moment. With the sun going down on a semi-rural road, I sat waiting for a friend to come out of a shop. I saw this boy and instantly snapped a photo. I had not fine tuned the settings prior to taking this photo, it was all just an intuitive flick of the shutter speed dial while I tracked him for the short moment he passed me. By all accounts it should all be a blur, but somehow, he remained perfectly still relative to the camera and for that I thank him for one of my favorite photos.
While watching the sun set on Mumbai's coastline, I couldn't help but marvel at the birds.
On our last day in Mumbai, we were eating breakfast on the roof of our hotel. The scene was that of an 80's spy movie with a panoramic view of a dirty but busy city in the backdrop. The waiter with a towel over his hand hiding a concealed weapon, or as it actually was, a water bottle. But since it wasn't a spy movie, I paid more attention to the large crow population in the sky around me than to the meal or others around me. Suddenly the sky became captivating when a Black Kite swooped in. Again taking this photo was a reflex. There was no time to think about it. With this moment of excitement, my breakfast turned from Three Days of the Condor to One Moment of the Black Kite.