URBIZEN

India’s urban growth story has been accompanied by the growth in consumerism. And Malls are the most visual landmarks of the new consumerist society. In fact, malls have doubled in the past 5 years in spite of the slowing economy. With malls becoming such an important part of the urban landscape they deserve serious and critical analysis, and not be dismissed as yet another passing fad. Being a western invention, it is no wonder that most malls look like alien spaces in the midst of Indian cities. The success of malls can be partly credited to the clean, posh environment for shopping, eating and entertainment, and partly credited to the loss of quality public spaces in Indian cities. Traditionally, these functions (shopping, eating and entertainment) were carried out on the streets and chowks of Indian cities in turn becoming an integral part of the urban drama. With growing privatization, an increasingly capitalist economy and a growing consumerist society, malls pr

Many of you would not disagree with the statement that Architecture is combination of Art and Science. If Frank Lloyd Wright proclaimed Architecture as the “Mother of all Arts”, then why not the “Mother of all Sciences”? Why has the mother embraced one child and forsaken the other? The Oxford English dictionary defines Art as: “The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.” The Oxford English Dictionary defines Science as: “The intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behaviour of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment.” Art in its pure form appeals to our sense of the ideal and our highest aspirations, experienced through passion and instinct. Whereas Science in its pure form tries to understand nature and the environment by