Where Does Architecture Lead You?

"Each material has its own shadow. The shadow of stone is not the same as that of a brittle autumn leaf. The shadow penetrates the material and radiates its message".

By Sverre Fern, a Norwegian architect known for his designs of private houses and museum. He considered the process of building as an attack on nature. His goal was to create buildings that make people aware of the natural beauty around them.

Architecture is not simply about designing or building structures. It is about the story behind the structure, and the passion with which it was created!

So, if you are passionate about creation, and are wondering what all you could do with your degree in architecture, here are some career options for you:

Architectural Rendering or Architectural Illustration:

Architectural Rendering is the art of creating two dimensional images, or animations, showing the attributes of a proposed architectural design. These renderings are used for real estate sale and play an integral part at the start of any new construction project.

It has two forms, Computer-generated renderings and Hand-Drawn Renderings or Architectural Illustration.

Interior and Spatial Designer

An interior and spatial designer is involved in the design or renovation of internal spaces, including structural alterations, furnishing, fixtures and fittings, lightning and color schemes. Interior and spatial designers work in a range of different commercial or domestic settings. The job combines the efficient and functional use of space with an understanding of aesthetics.

Architectural Journalist

If you have a knack for writing and love for architecture, this might be a perfect career option for you. You could be writing about all the different trends, innovations, reviews etc. You could work for architectural magazines, Newspapers, write blogs for companies, and write course material.

Architectural Historian

Does your heart break when you look at ‘state of art buildings’ being demolished? An Architectural Historian is a person who studies and writes about the history of architecture. You survey areas, which are often on the verge of extinction. You can identify historic structures, and document architectural features, style, history, and significance to the community, and build detailed reports about these buildings.

Corporate Architect

A corporate architect is the one who designs corporate spaces used by companies. He focuses on designing and constructing buildings, spaces or environments with the aim to meet the needs of the business community.

Cartographer

A cartographer is involved with the scientific, technological and artistic aspects of developing, and producing maps. Cartographers present complex information as diagrams, charts and spreadsheets, as well as in the form of conventional maps. Maps and detailed geographical information from cartographers are needed for a range of purposes, from everyday use by individuals to large-scale industrial development.

Landscape Architect

Another career option can be designing gardens and parks. A landscape architect is involved in the planning, designing and sometimes even in the direction of a landscape, garden, or distinct space. Landscape architecture is the profession that practices the art of arranging or modifying the features of a landscape, or an urban area, for aesthetic and/or practical purposes.

Urban Planner

Living in a crowded city makes you realize the importance of an urban planner. He works towards optimizing the effectiveness of a community's land use and infrastructure. The importance of the urban planner is increasing in present times, as modern society begins to face issues of increased population growth, climate change and unsustainable development.

Thus, architecture opens a world full of opportunities for you in the space of design, creation and optimization!

ARCHITECTURAL WONDERS OF INDIA

Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus- The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, formerly known as Victoria Terminus Station, in Mumbai, is an outstanding example of Victorian Gothic Revival architecture in India, blended with themes deriving from Indian traditional architecture. The building, designed by the British architect F. W. Stevens, became the symbol of Bombay as the ‘Gothic City’ and the major international mercantile port of India. The terminal was built over 10 years, starting in 1878, according to a High Victorian Gothic design based on late medieval Italian models.  It is one of the first and is considered as one of the finest products of the use of industrial revolution technology merged with revival of the Gothic Revival style In India. The centrally domed office structure has a 330 feet long platform connected to a 1,200 feet long train shed, and its outline provides the skeleton plan for building .Its remarkable stone dome, turrets, pointed arches and eccentric ground plan are close to traditional Indian palace architecture. It is an outstanding example of the meeting of two cultures, as British architects worked with Indian craftsmen to include Indian architectural tradition and idioms thus forging a new style unique to Bombay.  The station stands as an example of 19th century railway architectural marvels for its advanced structural and technical solutions.

ARCHITECTURAL WONDERS OF INDIA

Ranakpur Jain Temple- Located in the village of Ranakpur near Sadri town in the Pali district of Rajasthan, Ranakpur Jain Temple is one of the seven wonders of India. The construction is well documented in a 1437 CE copper-plate record. It is a superb example of classic architecture which makes it a haven for architects all over the world. The temple is said to have been built by Seth Dharna Sah (a Jain businessman) with the aid of Rana Kumbha, who ruled Mewar.

The temple is beautifully constructed using light colored marble and noted for its distinctive domes, pillars, shikhara, turrets and cupolas. It rises majestically from the slope of a hill of the Aravali range. It has 24 pillared halls with 80 domes that are supported by 400 columns. Over 1444 marble pillars, carved in exquisite detail, support the temple. The pillars are all differently carved and no two pillars are the same. It is also said that it is impossible to count the pillars. Also all the statues face one or the other statue. There is one beautiful carving made out of a single marble rock where there 108 heads of snakes and numerous tails. One cannot find the end of the tails. The image faces all four cardinal directions. In the axis of the main entrance, on the western side, is the largest image. You would be amazed to see at a height of 45 feet engraved nymphs playing the flute in various dance postures. Another stunning act about these columns is that they change their colour from golden to pale blue after every hour during the day.

It is due to the intricacy of the structure that the temple took approximately 65 years to complete.

ARCHITECTURAL WONDERS OF INDIA

THANJAVUR TEMPLE is one of the best temples in South India, built by Chola emperor Raja Raja I (985-1013 AD). This is the chola dynasty's finest contribution to Dravidian art. The construction is unique : the vimanam, known as Dakshina Meru, soars high while the gopuram remains stunted. The 64.8 metre-tall, 14-tier and pyramid-shaped vimanam rises from a square base and is topped by a huge monolithic cupola weighing 81.3 tonnes.

The most interesting part of this temple is the shadow of the temple, which surprisingly never falls on the ground at noon. The Thanjavur Temple is one of the tallest temples in the world and is so designed that the viman does not cast a shadow at noon during any part of the year.

ARCHITECTURAL WONDERS OF INDIA

KAILASH TEMPLE - The construction of the Kailash Temple was started in the mid 8th century under the direction of King Krishna I (757-775) of the Rashtrakuta dynasty. This temple is world's largest monolithic structure carved from one piece of rock and the most extensive rock-cut projects ever undertaken.

The temple is considered as one of the most astonishing buildings in the history of architecture. This is one of the largest 34 excavations at Ellora, which took almost a century. Kailash Temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. The idol measures 109 feet wide by 164 feet long. The unique part of the architecture is that instead of creating underground halls, this temple has been carved vertically down on the rock. The architecture of the temple can be divided into four sections: the temple itself, the entrance grate, Nandi shrine and the passages surrounding the courtyard.

ARCHITECTURAL WONDERS OF INDIA

It’s time we celebrate the unique architecture of India, reflecting its conflicting course of history. We’ll embark on this journey and explore more, starting with The Bara Imambara situated in Lucknow, UP. Built in 1784, the complex was built by the fourth nawab, Asaf-ud-Daula, as a part of the relief project for a major famine that took place in the same year. It provided employment to nearly 22,000 people at a time. The architecture reflects a blend of Mughal and Rajputana design structure.
The central hall of Bara Imambara is said to be the largest arched hall in the world, built without the support of pillars. The hall measures 50 meters long and goes upto a height of 15 meters. What makes the construction unique is the fact that the blocks have been put together with interlocking system of bricks without the use of girders and beams. The roof stands steady till date without any support.
For more intakes on the same, keep following this space.

Culture as the underlying theme in Mesoamerican architecture

Mesoamerica is a cultural region in North America which flourished from 10,000 BCE to 1697 AD. The Mesoamerican architecture is well known for its public, ceremonial and monumental structures. Their monumental structures are marked by the use of iconography. Their architecture was heavily influenced by culture and their beliefs in general. An interesting feature is that the cities were constructed to represent the division between the underworld and the human world. The underworld was assumed to be in the northern direction hence tombs and similar structures assumed to be connected to the underworld were found in the city’s northern half. The southern part consisted of residential complexes and similar public structures as it was assumed represent life, sustenance and rebirth.  Between the north and south would be a plaza and occasionally a ball court depicting the mythical axis mundi, which serves as a crossing between the two worlds. The architecture of the pyramids & temples was designed to achieve special lighting effects during the equinoxes. Furthering this kind of architectural style, the Mesoamericans aligned their structures like the pyramids to approx 15° east of north. This way the pyramids would face the sunset on August 13, which was the beginning date of the Maya Long Count calendar.

Mesoamerican ball court

Mayas architecture

Maya civilization, a Mesoamerican civilization, was known for its art, written language, architecture, and mathematical & astronomical systems of the pre-Columbian and colonial Americas.

Palenque, Mayan city ruins in Chiapas, Mexico

Palenque was a Maya city in southern Mexico that dates back from 226 BC to its fall in 1123 AD. Palenque contains some of the finest architecture that the Mayas produced. The Temple of Inscriptions at Palenque was built in the 7^th century as a funerary monument. Within Palenque, the Temple of the Inscriptions is located in an area known as the Temple of the Inscriptions’ Court and stands at a right angle to the Southeast of the Palace. Inscription tablets are found here with hieroglyphic text and structural panels on the piers of the building. A temple sits over an eight stepped pyramid. Piers, that surround the five entrances, bear both carved images and hieroglyphic texts.  Inside the temple, a stairway leads to the tomb of Pakal, ruler of Palenque in the 7^th century. Pakal initiated the construction during his lifetime although it was his son, K'inich Kan B'alam II, who completed the project after his father’s demise. The temple’s six piers are tagged A to F. Each pier has either text or artistic representation or both which was designed using stucco. The tomb itself was designed using cross vaulting and recessed buttresses. Amongst many of the archaeological finds at the tomb was the lid of Pakal’s sarcophagus. The image that covers the lid has provided insight to archaeologists and anthropologists into the Mayas culture.

Lid of Pakal’s sarcophagus at the temple of inscriptions

Toltec architecture

Toltec, another Mesoamerican culture, ca 800-1000 CE, is centred in and around the Tula valley region, southwest of the Mexican state of Hidalgo and northwest of Mexico City. Toltec was followed by the Aztec empire and the Aztecs used the planning of Tula for their urban centres.

Toltec warriors

At the Tula lies the pyramid of Quetzalcoatl or of the morning star. The worship of the feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl originates from here and it was widespread from central Mexico to Central. This is a 5 tiered structure. At the top of pyramid construction are the carvings of Toltec warriors. The 4 warrior statues have each been carved out of four meter high basalt columns.

The ceremonial centre of the city made of limestone outcropping was designed to be defensible with steep banks on three sides. The architectural innovations around the main ceremonial area point towards societal changes. The main structures of the ceremonial centre include two pyramids, including atlas figures, two main ball courts and several large buildings, one with a series of columns which faced a large plaza. The large central plaza has space for 100,000 people. On three sides, there are long meeting halls with ceilings supported by columns all facing the plaza with over 1000 meters of benches, which have stone reliefs depicting warriors and others in procession.

The Mesoamerican architecture has been influenced by their culture and in the modern day these architectural relics of a bygone era inspire art, decor and applied arts.