Walking with Architects
WOW! accompanies young architects on a curated walk to understand good design principles…
“The idea is to understand sensitively built spaces,” shares Vindhya Guduru, an architect who started unique architectural walks a year ago, which decode the dynamics of good architectural principles. The idea started when Vindhya, who co-founded, Spacefiction Studio along with her husband Baba Sashank, wanted to expose her team to interesting architecture across the city to motivate them.
“The walks were born out of a need to generate a dialogue, debate or discussion about an architectural space to charge individual spirits and to bond the local community over the real aspect of architecture: the experience,” she explains.
What does the young architect look for when she zeroes in on a building they visit? “The planning, the context of the site, the climatology and the design,” she reels off with a smile. She then reaches out to the owner or architect and conducts a walk, where everyone can understand the space, soak in the layout and interact over it; in some instances, even speak with the architect who designed the space.
Over the past year, Vindhya has helped young architects and designers savor spaces as different as residences, buildings like T-Hub and the Aga Khan Academy as well as the TCS office designed by the renowned Mario Botta. A group of 40 or so young architects from town then visit the space, discuss and ideate among themselves and hopefully, take something of value with them.
“The idea is to be aware of what’s happening and how different individuals perceive different spaces. It is a platform for architects to understand architecture,” states Vindhya. The walks are free of cost and conducted as per permissions received.
Architect Nanda Kumar is usually present on the walks soaking in the energy and varied opinions. He says, “This is a great initiative and a wonderful chance to interact with the younger bunch of architects from town, as it will be they who will be changing the face of the city in the future. It allows them access – into private residences which are not usually open for everyone – as well as an opportunity to understand different schools of thought.”
With word spreading, the walks are now witnessing architects visiting Hyderabad dropping in to share their ideas. There is a sense of community which permeates the walk, something that has happened organically.
Architect Sidharth Gupta calls these walks a rare opportunity. He explains, “Every project has some parameters – vaastu, lifestyle of the client, layout of the plot. It’s always intriguing to see what an architect does with that. Every solution is different. When we see an image or a reel, it does not do justice to the space. Only by visiting and understanding a space can you learn from it.”
Vindhya has a bunch of places on her list including the IIT Hyderabad being done by CCBA. While she is providing those visiting with a touch of inspiration, one hopes that it trickles down and we see Hyderabad’s cityscape shaped by these ignited minds.
The walks are for limited groups only as permissions are harder to come by for larger groups.
You can reach out to Vindhya at: [email protected]; Instagram: @sfswalks
Text: Mallik
