I love travelling in a bus. I can spend hours just looking outside the window as thoughts blend with the sights you behold into a smooth intricate textile. There is the abundant greenery that whooshes past cleansing your eyes of its urban slime.
I also enjoy looking at houses. There are all kinds, big and small, old and new. I like to look at the forms in the speeding glimpse that I am allowed occasionally thrilled at a beautifully proportioned construction or generally left unimpressed. Back from my latest trip my judgement on the mushrooming architecture in Kerala is not favorable. In fact it is disappointing. The houses are just masses of concrete and plastered brick lacking any character whatsoever. The elevation is typical and the forms are neither contemporary nor vernacular but a painful mix of the two. It appears that no thought or time has been spared on the appearance or aesthetics. Design and its principles are a forgotten relic. The only brief that seems to have been given and taken is that the house look as big can be afforded and in the process end up looking unsightly. The proportions of the façade to the fenestrations is queasy. The few houses that I found interesting are old houses which have retained their vernacular style in full.
To quote Keats, “A thing of beauty is a joy for ever.” And how much more true is it when it comes to architecture, the mother of all arts which is a permanent exhibition out in the open for public viewing. Thus, the responsibility is even greater.
Viewing architecture in Kerala gives the impression that the contemporary architecture managed to give Kerala a pass. By that I don't mean use glass and concrete. But why are the forms so stereotypical? We must borrow heavily from the vernacular architecture. For these amalgamated pure function with pure aesthetics that we haven’t manage to out do. The ancient people worked out how a verandah or a courtyard brings in light and ventilation while keeping the rains out. The long eaves lend a magnificent character while protecting the house from heavy showers. The Jaalis let in the air and blocked the views. And yet these elements are missing in today’s houses. We create huge boxes , block the weather install Airconditions and give it a traditional elevation and that too inappropriately. If sloping roof is a climatic necessity why should it be in the typical dormer shape only? And despite today’s technological advances, we still haven’t figured out a way to counter Kerala monsoons. The solution is to go for concrete slabs cladded with terracotta tiles. And it still leaks after 3 years. Did you know that a sloping roof leaks more? That’s because while casting when the concrete mix is still green, the constituents unsettle as the aggregates tend to slide down due to gravity before the initial setting takes place. The terracotta tiles help provided they are of a good brand and the workmanship is good. Many people also overlook the fact the slope of the slab for effective drainage must be at least 30degrees. But the tiles also have a limited life. Metal roof (GI sheets or the more expensive Aluminum sheets) have a longer life and are easier to lay but are often overlooked because they are unsightly. What is absolute torture aesthetically speaking is that many people resort to a huge shed like roof over the existing house. It seems to be the latest trend as I noted during my trip. If metal roof is the solution, then can we integrate it as an element at the designing stage? Or at least provide for it in the planning stage.
The planning is even worse. The plans are so typical that functionality is not even considered. People often have a mistaken belief that a bigger house is more convenient. I have found that the reverse is true. Big house is high on maintenance and the correlation between the user and the scale of the space is often distorted and uncomfortable. A big portion of the finance is spent on the state of the art finishes while the plan is mediocre at the best.
A few young architects are trying to make a difference as their work shows but it’s the mindset of the people that is the biggest hindrance. Very few people who have traveled outside Kerala and have seen the changes have the heart to ask for the change as opposed to perpetuating the established hackneyed architectural style.
I dream of a time when architecture in Kerala is fresh and of world standards leading from front. We have architects to do it and we have the technology and the resources. But architecture is the domain of the patron. As long as the mindset of the client doesn’t change, the state of architecture will remain dismal.