Renaissance Idiot's ramblings

This essay was drafted as a response to the question "What was your initial idea about design?" during the introductory sessions in NID Ahmedabad . Dated July 2025. Design as an architecture student was to design buildings at the end of the day. A well-designed building was climatically efficient while being geometrically and visually pleasing. We were taught design as something scientific, where material constraints and space use needed to be understood. Every drawing was meant to address all human activity and needs, while balancing client requirements and aspirations. Design became a formula to achieving the fundamentals to a good building. Although we were taught how design borrows from art, it was never a comparison between the two; architecture was different and superior. As I worked in Charles Correa Foundation (An organisation dedicated to keeping the ideas of the imminent post-independence Indian architect relevant) I was opened to the social role of architecture an...

  Imagine, opening up your future newspaper, or before your youtube video starts, you see an advertisement, trying to sell you a prestigious ticket to become a member of a particular religion. "With the idea of Recycle and Reuse becoming popular, allow your soul to be a part of it by accepting Hinduism!!" Or on the contrary think of your favourite influencer/actor telling you how great Christianity is because you can wear a beautiful white gown and get married in a church, only at the price of accepting Christ as your lord and saviour.  All this sounds extremely ridiculous, far-fetched and maybe even insulting. Religions, are considered as pious and untouched guides to our morality and are famous for teaching its followers to be loyal to it. These being defined through centuries of human life on earth and also above it to answer what comes before and after it all. However, for an off chance, can they be commoditized ? and in turn be sold to you? For their inherent benefits?...

  UN- CAGE: The bird feeder Dont you hate it when the semester is over, the jury was as humiliating as it can be and worst of all youre still left with the model that you sinked more than 5k ruppees on? Atleast the sheets with your mediocre drawings can be stashed away, but this model HAS to stand the test of time and be the proof against time of your work. Nah, not really, it just acts as a constant reminder of how you cannot be a designer like your idols you dream of. Well worry not, my friend! Use the models base to repurpose it for something worthwhile. If the base is contoured, the bird poop might just slide off it (depending on the slope obviously!). Since you failed to provide a space for humans to live in, doesn't mean its completely inhabitable. Just let little birdies live, feed and breed in it. You can even list it as a sustainable project in your portfolio, that your employer would just brush past with no consideration. Use some of the wooden sticks they make you buy i...

A Sacred space is a derivation of an individual’s belief. With the coexistence of multiple religions around the globe, the definition of a sacred space has diluted down to mean the same as a holy space, which isnt true. The idea of being sacred is achieved in a sense of tranquility, compassion and bliss with oneself and the attitude towards others. Its a space that incubates love and conciousness. It serves to deviate hatred from the hearts and convinces the individual to embrace and to realise. A sacred architectural space must strive to achieve all this in the terms of its motive, scale, form, material and accessibility. Architecture serves the purpose of a symbol for its users and if the symbol achieves this level of purity and cognition, then it can being to serve to motivate the users within it.  Zoroastrianism is a one of the oldest faiths still being practiced in the present. Called the Parsis, they saw persecution from the Islamic invasions and sought refuge in India and ot...