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History of Architecture (AP313) | final essay | 2014

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Discuss the impact of globalization on contemporary architecture of
India

Final essay for History of Architecture (AP313)

Mishika Bablani
Roll Number: 26
Sushant School of Art and Architecture


PAPER
Introduction
From Indus valley Civilization to Colonial Architecture to Modernism to Hafeez Contractor
India has experienced and nurtured all forms of architecture. Maintaining the deep rooted
values of tradition and culture, the most essential component of architecture- new has
always been introduced to make effective use of the available resources and keep up with
the changing times. Contemporary Architecture is the term defining the construction of the
present day. It refers to the architecture being produced now. Contemporary architecture is
often confused with the term Modern Architecture. Modern architecture refers to the style of
architecture of mid 20s embodying the ideals of machine age: absence of ornament, steel
structures, extensive use of glass and open floor plans. On the other hand contemporary
architecture refers to the diverse building style of the present. It is not limited to a single
style. It does not belong to a particular time frame; it is the architecture of the present day.
Globalization-opening up of the boundaries politically, economically, culturally- is taking
place virtually in every field exerting all kinds of direct and indirect influence on contemporary
architecture. In India globalisation came with the Liberation act of 1991. It is influencing the
city physically, socially and culturally. Globalization is influencing architecture to a great
extent. Post-independence there was an identity crisis in India when India wanted to
establish itself as a nation in the global market. Historically, architecture has been at the
core of cultural production in India and has played an essential role in defining the cultural
space and physical form. The Indian architecture before globalization depicts Indian culture
aesthetically as well as spatially. With the onset of globalization the cultural identity of India
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associated with architecture is getting lost. For instance the traditional courtyard houses of
India can hardly be seen now. The profession is focusing on creating globally recognised
structures. As long as a plan is produced for bureaucratic formality, officials approve
haphazard, large-scale schemes that have no long-term strategies or detailed analyses of
their impact, it is correct in all respects. No consideration is given to the environmental
consequences, local economies, or the social and cultural fabric of communities. These
desires are fanned by the bureaucrats and urban elites who opt for a global architectural
language without regard for local culture and politics.
IMPACT OF GLOBALIZATION ON CONTEMPORARY
ARCHITECTURE OF INDIA
As the technology advances and India is progressing, globalization is inevitable. This can be
seen in everything around. It is turning everything into a commodity. Product is being given
more value than the process. Globalization has also transformed architecture into a
commodity. Globalisation opened the walls across the globe. With rapid urbanisation and
technology the culture rooted in architecture is getting lost. India is losing its cultural identity
as it is merely following the international style. With the opening up of the boundaries and
globalisation taking its pace in India different cultures got mixed. There was a huge clash of
culture resulting western lifestyle dominating the Indian lifestyle. From joint families, India is
now broken to nuclear families. This change in lifestyle has affected Indian architecture to a
great extent. Due to globalization the architecture of buildings has changed and the concept
of connected living is completely violated. For instance the traditional courtyard houses that
were built for a joint family where all the members could come together in the communal
courtyard is now lost. Collectiveness of the Indian culture has been sacrificed in the wake of
individual identity. The resultant architecture fails to portray the sense of harmony. It fails to
create that connect between the space or the building and an individual. The space created
no longer possesses the Indian contextual sense. It loses its regional identity. This
architecture provides a city an image or identity that is required to elevate it in the global
market but it fails to evoke emotional responses in local citizens- a sense of belonging and
pride for the place can no longer be related to a building. Referencing to Aldo Rossis the
Architecture of the City, the theory of the Locus - a relationship between a certain specific
location and the buildings that are in it -is completely missing in the contemporary
architectural world. Globalisation has led to various different kinds of projects developing in
India which show a clear break between the context and architecture developing in that
context. For instance the new gated communities that are coming in, they have no historical
or spatial context, they have no relation with the context they are being created in.(Aylin,
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2011) the developers of such projects make these buildings into a self-sufficient unit in terms
of services, recreation, infrastructure, etc. Being self-sufficient and large enough they detach
themselves from the surroundings and a clear demarcation between the outside world and
the inside world is developed. The new housing projects sometimes use foreign architectural
styles. (milliyet 2010). The new housing projects are created to serve the purpose of identity
representations by the brand they are built. They also serve as invested strategies which are
vital in supporting the manifested identities (Aylin 2011).
Globalization is bringing many noticeable changes in the contemporary architecture of India
which can clearly be seen in cities like Hyderabad, Delhi, Chandigarh; etc. With globalisation
came new building typologies in India. New western life style was introduced hence the
mall culture took over the bazaar culture in cities like Delhi. Globalisation has resulted in
increased land value; setting up of new buildings as well as it has led to the increased
demand of replication of the western building design standards. This has caused the Indian
architecture to adapt to new changes. A very evident example of this can be seen in all the
glass buildings of Gurgaon which falls under the category of the contemporary architecture
of India. Over the last twenty years, globalisation has transformed Gurgaon from a village of
buffaloes to a city known for its multinational glass blocks. These buildings express the
havoc caused by replication of western architectural style brought in by globalisation.
These styles have engulfed the Indian landscape with their high energy
demands (for example to maintain cooling), utilising resources that are already scarce in
India. The contemporary architecture has lost its value for space because of globalization.
These can be categorized as the decorated sheds (a term coined by Robert Venturi in his
book Learning from Las Vegas, 1972). The architecture has become more of a symbol and
a brand than architecture of space. Present day architecture in India is all about building a
commercial commodity. These glass buildings are nothing but an ideogram India is using to
establish its place in the global market. Architecture has now become a materialistic
showpiece that relies on technology and the capital brought in by globalization. It has now
become more of a symbol than space. Architecture is not a business, not a career, but a
crusade and a consecration to a joy that justifies the existence of the earth Henry
Cameron. This saying is now somewhat lost because of globalisation.
Contemporary architecture is not creating spaces; it is assembling masses in space.
Buildings that come up in globalisation are iconic and specific to its user. For instance the
Bharti Airtel office building in Gurgaon is constructed in such a manner that a different
company might not be able to fit into it. The colours of the facades are done in such a
manner to reflect its specific user-Airtel.
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Another impact of globalisation on contemporary architecture is the corporate branding of
designs of buildings for large companies or MNCs. Globalisation has caused an inevitable
need for every building to have a specific identity so that it is remarkably recognised in the
western market. Contemporary architecture is about making the brand name behind the
building recognised. It is no longer built according to the context. Buildings create a context
of their own. They are not made to inspire people and the society. Every building being
constructed in Gurgaon can be placed in any part of the world without it being affected itself
or it affecting anything around. More emphasis is being given to create pretentious buildings
that stand apart from its neighbouring building. Good architectural practice is one that acts
responsibly for its broader environment and is sensitive to the fabric and grain of a city.
(Rahul Mehotra, 2004). Often variety is misinterpreted as looking different in the
contemporary architecture after globalisation. Quality architecture work rich in Indian culture
is getting disappeared from the Indian society which was considered an essential part of
Indian Architecture. Here we are in Robert Venturis [post]modern city, not just Las Vegas
but any [post]modern city, a media-scape of office buildings and stores transformed by their
corporate identities into the new language of consciousness: the sign moulded in glass and
light, splashed over with the insignia or characters of logos. Buildings are no longer mass
and weight, stone and iron, but an array of sentences spelling out the consciousness of a
city, what a city means when we enter it and use its services, consume its goods. The citys
language of buildings and streets of glass and light, is a declaration of ideals . . . which the
city achieves by transforming things into words, objects into signs, the dark of nature into
neon abstraction and codes. . . the media-scape devours the literal materiality around it.
(Christensen 1993, p.9-10)
Globalisation has not only affected the designing of the spaces and the lifestyle of people in
India but also the materials used for construction of buildings. Mahatma Gandhi once said
that an ideal living space should be constructed by using products and skills assembled
within 5-mile radius of the plot. (Globalization drives in noticeable variations in Indian
Architecture May 3, 2013) But in the present scenario, globalisation has opened the world
boundaries which have caused different materials flowing in from all parts of the world. Now
architecture is assembling multiple materials making then aesthetically appealing ignoring
their properties and aftereffects and making their building stand and make a name for its
creators reflecting true sense of a commodity. These will ultimately lose their value. The use
of certain building materials involving global building technologies which have no Indian
precedent create non-Indian, contextual foreign structures, such as curtain-glazed high rise
blocks (Doshi, 1997). Contemporary architecture showcases different styles of abundance
and renders the same to its consumer. Regional identity is symbolised by the
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use of traditional materials and practices, international identity is symbolised by the use of
imported glass and steel (Mehrotra, 2004). Architecture is now more personalised and is not
for a society as a whole. It has different meanings for different individuals. It is merely an
accumulation of new technologies and products. A new architecture is emerging; large-scale
and stylistic forms of building; monumental-conceptual architecture signature buildings,
many of them gestural, on a vast architectural scale. (Nicholas Socrates, 2008)
This form of non-contextual, contemporary architecture is not only the result of globalisation
affecting the architects but also the people who ask for such buildings. The clients are also
responsible for bringing in this change in present Indian architecture. Globalisation has
caused a major change in the lifestyles of people. Every person wants be associated with a
certain type of class (created on the basis of ones income). In the world of show-offs
architecture has also suffered. Now a person doesnt only want a house as a space to live in
but also as a commodity to show his position in the society. The meaning of the word house
is lost in terms of architectural space. It is now used as a symbol to show ones position in
the society. Hence only the architects are not responsible for the loss of Cultural Indian
Architecture, the clients are very much responsible for the same as well.
In the process of copying international building style to establish them in the market and
create a brand name, it is apparent that people no longer are sensitive to their immediate
climatic conditions. They are blinded by the western style of architecture. The prime design
elements (Fergos 2001) that should be adopted in Indian climate like that of Gurgaon for
creating a comfortable and sustainable environment are thick walls, proper ventilation, water
harvesting, landscaping, orientation, overhangs, courtyards, passive systems. On the
contrary the prime material which is being used in almost every other iconic building of
Gurgaon following and copying the global trends is glass which traps more heat and requires
artificial cooling technologies. The climatic context is completely being ignored in order to
make a building that is globally recognised and can give its habitants a sense of
international style. With globalisation flew in the concept of quick construction which is
very well achieved by the materials that came in with Globalisation.
The architecture built by the Established and the Popularists is being copied without any
contextual knowledge. Globalisation has taken Branding to a next level- branding not only
in terms of products but architecture as well. The new architecture has been approvingly
dubbed supermodern by the Dutch critic Hans Ibelings. For this architecture the
surroundings constitute neither legitimation nor inspiration for these are derived from what
goes on inside the building, from the programme (Hans Ibelings, 1998) Looking at the glass
buildings of Mumbai, Moscow and Shanghai sitting in completely different parts of the world
yet they are very much similar in terms of their verticality, material used and the absence of
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contextual relation with the place they are built in. The glass block has become the Coca-
Cola of architecture. (3)
On the contrary in the present day scenario, the architects are becoming aware of the
hazards of merely replicating the west. Awareness is being spread across various states in
India and a lot of sustainable buildings are coming up not losing sense of Indian culture but
at the same time making their place in the global market competing with the western world.

Bibliography
1. bhambhat, viren. The Architects Newspaper. archpaper.com. [Online] 03 06, 2009. [Cited: 04 15,
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2. Ibelings, Hans. Nicolas Socrates. wordpress.com. [Online] 01 06, 2010. [Cited: march 15, 2014.]
http://nicholassocrates.wordpress.com/2010/01/06/analysis-architecture-in-the-age-of-
globalization-by-hans-ibelings-2/.
3. Adams, Robert. Globalisation and Architecture. adamarchitecture.com. [Online] [Cited: march 16,
2014.] http://www.adamarchitecture.com/images/PDFs/RA-Globalisation.pdf.
4. Jasem. Architecture in India since 1990: a survey of the contemporary built environment in India.
amusingelephant.com. [Online] [Cited: march 16, 2014.]
http://amusingelephant.com/2011/09/13/architecture-in-india-since-1990-a-survey-of-the-
contemporary-built-environment-in-india-2/.
5. Rossi, Aldo. The Architecture of the City. s.l. : opposition books, 1966. 9780262181013.
6. Adam, Robert. The Globalisation of Modern Achitecture. s.l. : Cambridge Scholars, 2012.
1443839051.
7. Mehotra, Rahul. Architecture in India since 1990. s.l. : Hatje Cantz, 2011. 3775732454.

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