Contextual Revitalization And Sustainable Place-Making
Indian Architect & Builder|November 2017

The Bengal Rowing Club

Architect’s Note: The objective was to improve the quality of club life and the cultural legacy of the institution and to increase the footfall of young people by achieving a contemporary look while still preserving a sensorial and contextual meaning.

Sahiba Gulati, Ayan Sen
Contextual Revitalization And Sustainable Place-Making
The redesign of The Bengal Rowing Club has been approached in a manner that has resulted in a building that is relevant to today’s time that speaks of its origins and carries the potential to attract people of younger generations.The glory of a place, its memories and stories oftentimes become old and somehow buried in the glitter of the present. The associations become hazier as the dilapidation of the source renders them bittersweet. And then sometimes, this glory is reclaimed; and just like that the Bengal Rowing club was refurbished and renovated, announcing that it was not done with the world, that it is not to be forgotten. In 1929 it came into existence beside the Rabindra Sarobar Lake, and was known as the Marwari Rowing Club. Clubs then represented the charm of its society; the Bengali society back then and still known for its love of intellectual exchange and dialogue.

The ‘adda’ is an offspring of this culture. While ‘adda’ translates to ‘place’ in Hindi, its Bengali equivalent is ‘a group of people or a gathering with a purpose to discuss’. An ‘adda’ is not a debate or idle gossip or mindless chatter. Neither does it entail critiquing authorities or establishment. ‘Adda’ discussions range from politics, art, films, food and much brainstorming and ado over nothing. Globally acclaimed filmmaker Satyajit Ray,in his movie ‘Angantuk’, has traced the culture back to Greece at the time of Socrates. Earlier, the rendezvous commenced at tea stalls, at park benches and homes till the club culture was introduced by the British. The Bengal Rowing Club, an iconic club of its time, was built in Art-Deco style.

Denne historien er fra November 2017-utgaven av Indian Architect & Builder.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra November 2017-utgaven av Indian Architect & Builder.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA INDIAN ARCHITECT & BUILDERSe alt
Interlacing Perspectives
Indian Architect & Builder

Interlacing Perspectives

‘Meraki-2019’ A visionary Seminar series presented by Dr.Baliram Hiray College of Architecture, Bandra(East), Mumbai.

time-read
3 mins  |
November 2019
Facilitating A Community Through Architectural Practice
Indian Architect & Builder

Facilitating A Community Through Architectural Practice

The humble, self-designed, self-built and organically planned home built by the majority of the world population rarely gets appreciated and critiqued as a viable lesson in architectural design.

time-read
5 mins  |
November 2019
The Art Of Solving Problems Creatively
Indian Architect & Builder

The Art Of Solving Problems Creatively

The practice of architecture is perhaps incomplete without the complement of a variety of other arts.

time-read
3 mins  |
November 2019
Upcycling towards a playful tomorrow
Indian Architect & Builder

Upcycling towards a playful tomorrow

Play is like the middle child, often forgotten, and always taking a back seat. For young kids, play can simply be running around, armwrestling with friends, building sandcastles on the beach, or singing popular music tracks in the shower.

time-read
3 mins  |
November 2019
Balancing The Poetics And Pragmatism Of Everyday Design
Indian Architect & Builder

Balancing The Poetics And Pragmatism Of Everyday Design

Humanity is faced with an oxymoronic crisis. The crisis involves the earth, the environment, impending looms of climate change, deforestation, loss of species, dwindling resources etc.

time-read
3 mins  |
November 2019
Just Give Me Some Space: Discussions And Beyond
Indian Architect & Builder

Just Give Me Some Space: Discussions And Beyond

Just Give Me Some Space (JGMSS) is Suha Riyaz Khopatkar’s debut book that paints a portrait of the dynamic life of an architecture student.

time-read
10+ mins  |
November 2019
The Next In Vernacular Architecture
Indian Architect & Builder

The Next In Vernacular Architecture

Architecture has become a capitalist.

time-read
5 mins  |
IAB October 2019
Rethinking The Future: Architecture And Its Education
Indian Architect & Builder

Rethinking The Future: Architecture And Its Education

“I want to be like animals, the bird makes a nest in one or two days, the rat digs a hole in a night, but intelligent humans like us spend 30 years to have a house, that’s wrong.” - Jon Jandai

time-read
10 mins  |
IAB October 2019
Uniting The Human-Scale With The City-Scale
Indian Architect & Builder

Uniting The Human-Scale With The City-Scale

London-based architect Usman Haque is famed for his interactive architectural systems, and for his exploration of newer, more effective ways of creating human engagement and interaction through his designs. Indian Architect & Builder caught up with him, to quiz him on a variety of topics such as his journey as an architect, his inspirations and philosophies, architects using the digital revolution to their advantage, and more!

time-read
6 mins  |
IAB October 2019
Framing spaces
Indian Architect & Builder

Framing spaces

Almost every architect also doubles as a photographer or at least an enthusiast.

time-read
5 mins  |
IAB October 2019