Assam: Architectural Journey-a story across three generations
Guwahati- A webinar on ‘Architectural Journey-a story across three generations’ was held by Royal Global University (RGU) with Ar. Sabeena Khanna of KIA, Gurgaon, joined by her brother Mr. Ajay Shah from Canada on 30 June 2020 at 11AM. Prof. (Dr.) S.P.Singh, Vice Chancellor, Ar. Anita.P .Y, Dean, Royal School of Architecture (RSA) was joined in this webinar by academicians, faculty, staff and students from across India, moderated by Ms. Amrita Sabhapandit, Asst. Professor, RSA.
Prof. Singh, marveled at the three generation of architects who have steadfastly contributed to the designs of architecture by keeping their designs in sync with nature. He enthused on the architect of the virtual world who had made this webinar possible to connect people and share the human library. Architecture, he said, is one such discipline that is ever evolving. The very basic of it, in fact lies in changing. This actually implies ideating, taking feedback and incorporating that feedback for a more efficient outcome.
Ar. Sabeena, journeyed her childhood life along with her brother, Mr.Shah, born and brought up in Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh. She spoke of her illustrious architect father Mr V N Shah being in the Government services, herself and her husband Rajiv Khanna having set up KIA studio, an international level private practice and then their children bringing in a degree of entrepreneurial freshness to the profession through technology, design innovation and finance management.
Such an ideology which shapes out of a thought process not only since school but since a very young age at home and grows closely encountering different other perspectives, is assured to be interesting. The travels through both states at a young age, left undeniable imprints in their minds.
The conversations with their father through these travels and the creative streak from their mother, added much impetus to the budding architects, thereby ensuring the next generation architects in the family. Further, through KIA, they have tried to understand the process of observation and exploration in architecture following a continuous thread of changing times and contexts and comprehend the coexistence of similarity and differences, and how based on individual perceptions they result in uniqueness.
She talks about three generations; ideas, activities and outcomes confined to the domain of each of the generations and then it threads all of them to make a larger narrative of evolved architectural perception. Their architectural ventures have adhered to no particular style; principals of design vary for each project; they constantly seek inspiration and innovate as they work in progress. They marvel at the ability in usage of colours, shape, form, texture, lines, space, and adding value to the projects.
Ar. Sabeena and her husband wanting to retire into the quiet lap of nature, purchased a hill in Himachal Pradesh, overseeing Shimla and Kasauli. In the process of creating their getaway home, they connected with the local village for raw materials and labour, thereby sustaining the village and nurturing it, refraining from altering the natural habitat.
They were joined in this venture by their like minded friends, who lapped up the idea of waking up with sunrise on their faces and fresh air in the morning, away from the humdrum of the city life. The story of Architects in sync with Nature continues.
