Property Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Hyderabad
Kochi
Thiruvananthapuram
Mixed forms, spaces and styles
|
Architects S.N. Ramesh and C.H. Ramesh do not just share their names but think alike about the character they infuse into buildings, as revealed in a chat with RANJANI GOVIND
|
FRESH CONCEPTS: Architects S.N. Ramesh and C.H. Ramesh (left) showcase the entertainment area of a house (right) which has glasses designed on the floor
We feel design is like breath. You cannot touch, smell or see it but you do feel its presence, say Balkrishna Doshi and Sen Kapadia, in their book ‘In Conversation,’ examining different kinds of spaces. “To be, to grow and to nourish, design is essential,” is the thought that sums up the book of brick-and-mortar expressions.
When I met two discerning architects, S.N. Ramesh and C.H. Ramesh at R-Square (their underground architects’ den in BTM Layout) my thoughts rushed back to the book where Doshi and Kapadia’s lines underline a passion for fashioning a design. You realise it’s not so much the drawing and lecture in classrooms that has shaped the Rameshs as contemporary architects. The spaces the duo consider transcend the configuration of geometric form. This makes them the designers of today. “You study the science for a career, but you need to experience a feel to build,” says the passionate S.N. Ramesh who believes in chasing even irregular spaces to bring some magnetism into plain Jane wall dividers.
Why does Indian architecture allow mixed forms, spaces and styles even though they belong to different beliefs, rituals or status? What kind of places encourage dialogues for all generations?
Motto
These are some of the many questions that have answers in the creations of the Rameshs, who have both worked under their lifetime guru Dinesh Verma who taught them to converse and examine various contours of indigenous styles. Breaking away from restraining influences of extraneous architecture is their motto, explain the architects.
Consider the Rameshs’ deft handling of Aangana, the resort off Kanakapura Road, which has come in for a lot of appreciation. The openness, the aesthetic showcase of nature with trees, sculpture and mud artefacts, the simple hamlet-like feel that encompasses the build with the furniture bringing in an old-world-charm, the step-down areas and red-oxide floors for a thottimane effect, the yavanika-styled open theatre, the kalyani-pool that has a four-sided stone surround that palaces and temples enjoyed, and of course the much-talked about mushroom elevation that houses the water tank are some of the artistic additions that brought the Rameshs some pats from senior architects in the city.
If that was bringing rustic charm alive in the city, the two have revelled in bringing a new-look elevation for Country Club on Hosur Road which has a middle-hang that has the sides holding the centre for a unique effect. “We do not believe in lending a signature to our buildings,” S.N.Ramesh is candid. Designing is not a problem-solving exercise, it is a situation that begs for expressive solutions, agree the duo. “It is our prerogative to excavate those embedded potentialities of a project with intellectual interplay of its richness.”
* In Panduranga Layout, they tried a 12 mm jelly aggregate finishing stone wall finish that they boast of being maintenance free for life!
* A doorway facing east was to be given a dramatic effect and the Rameshs quickly agreed upon a wall-play with granite strips that was shaped like a sun and had even birds flying across.
* An entertainment area on the first floor, opening to a wide open sit-out, had two wine glasses engraved in granite on the floor.
* Utility spaces in their flats are aerated hidden areas, not exposed open spaces.
Nobody living in flats should regret being denied the benefits of an individual home. This is the premise with which Ramesh and Ramesh set about their design play in apartments.
Novelty
Although green concepts are their forte, placing various outdoor concepts to be at everyone’s reach is their novelty. Take for instance their deft artistry in handling projects of Krishna Housing and Infrastructure India Limited. Apart from following vaasthu to a large extent, Krishna Dwelling near Hebbal Lake houses skylights in common areas, and staggered outdoor and indoor gardens in several places that minimise the cramped feeling. These helped bring sunlight closer to people’s living spaces.
But how sensitive are the duo to earthy materials? “We are lovers of stone, mud and wood. Niche corners, focus areas, compounds, foyers, sit-outs and drawing room walls must have a sense of drama. So our cladding is infused with wire-cut bricks, rubble stone, jelly stone finishes, stone buchching, etc.”
They place a lot of importance on regional availabilities and home-spun wisdom that ruled building temperament in olden days. “Markets may open doors to several countries but one’s proximity to the available materials makes budget sense…Rajasthan’s temperature suited cool marbles on your feet while temperatures in Southern India made us use Andhra stones, kadappa and granite to maintain the required warmth. Mangalore’s homogenous nature of the soil helped the bricks and roof tiles take shape easily. So, a judicious mix of materials considering their practicalities determines one’s financial plan too. Of course bigger pockets always have the Italian variables and the charm of the tropical forest wood,” says C.H. Ramesh.
* * *
Holiday in a cave
Have you heard of a man-made cave in a city? Nothing is impossible for optimists though. If sky is the limit for setting your aspirations, perhaps one gets down-to-earth to realise building dreams. Architects S.N. Ramesh and C.H. Ramesh have attempted a 100 per cent underground, man-made cave living-style resort, ‘Guhaanthara’ near Kanakapura Road.
“We wanted to attempt something frightfully different in this cave-resort and so the design, planning and building that took a few years to take shape is soon going to catch everyone’s attention with its building details,” say the duo.
Although man’s shelter was at first in jungles and caves, the contemporary way in which caves are handled to suit holidayers stay in cave-like-suites are the points that highlight the sensitivity of the architects.
Earthen finished roofs and rock walls make up the cave that has modern facilities like amphitheatre that can house 700 people, conference rooms and 20 suites.
The Limca Book of Records and The Guinness Book are expected to be informed of the work soon.
R.G.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Property Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Hyderabad
Kochi
Thiruvananthapuram
|
