Can you take us through your journey as an architect? How and why did you decide to become an architect?
I actually applied for a physics program at university, and got accepted, but I switched at the last moment because my father said that knowing me, he didn’t think I would like eventually to be stuck in a lab working for some big organization (apologies to physicists – I know that doesn’t capture it all!) and would probably prefer to work for myself in something constructive. I knew very little about architecture and wasn’t particularly interested in buildings themselves but I was interested in systems and politics, while also being heavily into painting futuristic scenes – so I chose architecture mostly because others nudged me in that direction. Once I got to architecture school (I studied at the Bartlett in London) I discovered that architecture was so much more than just the physical fabric of buildings, and yet I noticed that architecture magazines almost always showed photos of physical structures without people in them, so I was determined to develop a type of architecture that made no sense unless there were people in the equation.
↑ Open Burble, Singapore, by Usman Haque: Burble is a large-scale inflatable form that is configured, built and controlled by the public. The form changes in responseto the crowd interactions below it. Its scale is able to visually compete in an urban context with the skyscrapers surrounding it.
↑ Mini Burble Paris is an inflatable structure that hangs above a crowd changing colour in response to audience members’ tweets and interactions on tablets.Indian Architect & Builder - October 2019
This story is from the IAB October 2019 edition of Indian Architect & Builder.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the IAB October 2019 edition of Indian Architect & Builder.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Interlacing Perspectives
‘Meraki-2019’ A visionary Seminar series presented by Dr.Baliram Hiray College of Architecture, Bandra(East), Mumbai.
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.
The Art Of Solving Problems Creatively
The practice of architecture is perhaps incomplete without the complement of a variety of other arts.
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.
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.
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.
The Next In Vernacular Architecture
Architecture has become a capitalist.
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
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!
Framing spaces
Almost every architect also doubles as a photographer or at least an enthusiast.
