2. OH ‘SUSTAINABILITY

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12. CITIES OF THE FUTURE

OH ‘SUSTAINABILITY’

Against the backdrop of increasing consciousness regarding resource consumption and deteriorating global environment, not to mention mediahyped obsession over global warming and air quality standards of the mega cities worldwide, there is gigantic upsurge in the use of word sustainability in the architecture profession.

If data from Google Ngram is to be believed, the word Sustainability/ sustainable picked up momentum in 1980 and has appeared once in every ten pages, written between year 2005 to 2008 and the trend is pitching. So, I proclaim here that the abrupt rise in the use of the word sustainability is well, unsustainable.

Practicing architects such as Charles Correa, Geoffrey Bawa and Frank Lloyd Wright, to name a few did not practice in the times when sustainability was segregated from the general architecture curriculum. Under the umbrella of green architecture neither were their buildings certified by any rating agencies.

Sustainability as word was once valuable and not shallow as it is today. It meant more than just a sales pitch for architectural

-Ar. Swati Gupta

projects professionally. Academicians are equally guilty of promoting substantiality just as a hollow buzz word and a trend. Our educational system prepares students to address sustainability vogue in every which way. Under today’s ethos, students are constantly badgered on how they have addressed ‘suitability’ in their projects.

It is but expected to provide design solutions responsive to climate, culture & socioeconomic conditions of the community from a budding professional. A student of architecture should be concerned about environment, society and community at large. It must reflect not only in his designs but in lifestyle decisions, attitude and actions. The resolution should come naturally in favour of society at large.

Students should be encouraged to design empathetically and responsively. Sustainable techniques should emerge as a concern to the site requirements and not be as an overlay or an afterthought. The change should be brought in curriculum by not over emphasising on the word sustainability, but by objectively redefining architectural design to resolving integrated complex challenges of today.

“Students are advised to not to restrict themselves to the obscure definition of ‘Sustainability’ but to experiment in open grounds with materials”

There are many green building certification agencies like USGBC, IGBC,GRIHA Council etc. which quantify sustainability parameters for the built environment and are reaching out to stimulate architecture students. All such bodies have similar intentions of quantifying efforts of a project to attain sustainability. Again, though gaining acquaintance to these rating professionally is imperative, the predicament is the checklist approach . It takes away the obviousness of the matter. On the other hand, Students have many live examples to follow and get inspired. Young architects are undoubtedly demonstrating their commitment towards the profession and better world. For instance, Pune based young couple, who are building cement free homes with their own hands or People like Sonam Wangchuk, who are finding solutions to community-based problem with action-based approach. Students are advised to not to restrict themselves to the obscure definition of ‘Sustainability’ but to experiment in open grounds with materials; techniques and solutions with are indigenous, adopted or reinvented, but are in alignment with the larger goal.