ARCHITECT’S DUTY TOWARDS SOCIETY..!

- Dr Justice AR Lakshmanan

Architects are said to build not only a beautiful city but also a lovely society. They are revered for their artistic approach. Once they were not even recognised and were considered draughtsman. But as the society developed and more and more commercial activities, specifically tourism and hospitality industry picked up as a result of

globalization and with the advent of IT growth, the demand for them increased and their value multiplied.

But with this trend, their responsibility also increased. They had to work towards the betterment of the society and uphold the decorum of their profession.

Here, we present a speech related to architects delivered by Dr. Justice AR Lakshmanan on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee year of the School of Architecture and Planning, Anna University, Chennai on 28-2-2008.

At the outset, let me thank the Chairman of Alumni Association Prof. N. Altaf Ahmed of this mega programme for organizing the Golden Jubilee Year of the School of Architecture and Planning at

Chennai and for inviting me as the Chief Guest to inaugurate the programme.

 

In its Golden Jubilee Year, the alumni of this institution wish to show their gratitude to the School

of Architecture and Planning and its faculty by doing something on and for the SAP campus, which will be lasting benefit to the students and the faculty. They also wish to do something which will be of benefit to the architectural and planning student community and the professionals

of this region.

Dr Justice AR Lakshmanan

They also wish to raise the awareness amongst the public on architecture and planning, the role of architects and planners and the services they offer. Today, India is one of the fastest

growing nations of the world. The country’s growth rate is comparable with the best performances amongst Asia’s developing countries. In fact, not only has the domestic sector been performing well, the international community is also looking towards India with a positive sentiment as reflected in the increasing foreign institutional investors’ inflows into the country.

To boost the infrastructure development various pro-active measures have been taken by the present Government. The rapid growth of information technology and the internet has shrunk the world to a global village.

Due to this there has been a surge in outsourcing of activities from developed nations to nations that

are intellectually capable and have the requisite competent qualified workforce.

The architects are part of the intelligentsia of our great country. mSociety looks to professionals like

you, advocates, engineers, developers, architects to be the cement that holds the various elements of

the nation together. There is a greatonus cast on you as caretakers of knowledge of law, Building rules

and regulations.

With increase in global economic activity being sourced to our country areas that were rural - semi urban are slowly becoming IT Parks, IT Highways etc. Land that was till recently considered as out-of-city limits, which was under cultivation is now being sold at skyrocketing prices and there is virtual land grab going on. The intelligentsia and professionals must step in here to avoid the deals from going haywire.

Architecture Today...!

As many other concerns began to be recognized and the complexity

of buildings began to increase, architecture started becoming more multi-disciplinary than ever.

Architecture today usually requires a team of specialist professionals, with the architect being one of

many, although usually the team leader.

 

During the last two decades of theb twentieth century and into the new millennium, the field of architecture saw the rise of specializations within the profession itself by

project type, technological expertise or project delivery methods. In addition,

there has been an increased separation of the ‘design’ architect from the ‘project’ architect within

some architectural office collaborations.

Architecture experts ponder future of skyscrapers in the digital age Tall buildings will persist in highdensity urban cores, but enthusiasm for “super-tall trophy towers” may soon wane. Since the Sept. 11 attack on New York’s World Trade Center, the vulnerability of very high towers may be another deterrent to building new ones.

Skyscrapers cannot be dismissed as dinosaurs of urban design, but the digital revolution has created a

more mobile and connected workforce. When any place—from an airport lounge to a bench under a

tree - can be a workplace, there is a lot less need for cubicle farms stacked up in towers.

In addition, urban planning and design considerations—long shadows, wind blasts, auto traffic

and pedestrian congestion caused by very tall buildings—have led to limits on their height and bulk.

Bigger, Taller, Better..!

The design of ancient skyscraper equivalents, such as the Great Pyramid of Cheops (146 meters

high), and even of pre-Renaissance buildings such as the spires of Chartres Cathedral (107 meters high), offered interior space scaled more

for mice than men. The Industrial Revolution opened up the interiors of tall towers so many people could fit inside. A hundred years’ war of the tallest led to such trophy towers as New York’s

Chrysler Building and Empire State Building (381 meters), the Sears Tower in Chicago (443 meters) and the vanished World Trade Towers (417 meters). But the relatively new Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia—at 452 meters, the tallest buildings in the world - suggest the race is still on.

The advocates have to draft the documents with care using their legal expertise and architects and

builders must see to it that the plan approval is obtained from the appropriate authorities along with

various clearances that may be required.

Each day we hear of people being forced out of their residences because their property has not been

built as per plan. Adherence to the laws of the land will help build our nation  to be stronger India.

With the liberalization of FDI rules, the fillip has been given by government to the housing sector.

It is indeed an area where the sun shines strongest. Food, clothing and shelter are the basic needs of an

individual and taking this into consideration, and our population, the housing sector is a perennial boom

time scenario. We are in a knowledge era. The fast changing global scenario is bound to throw up excellent professional opportunities and new areas for growth. If these opportunities

are to be utilized to the fullest extent, professionals should equip themselves with the requisite

knowledge and skills. It is also very important that these opportunities are not restricted to the metros only.

An urban centric approach may not augur well for the balanced growth of any economy or for that matter any profession. 1 am sure that this programme would focus on some of the vital

aspects relevant to the architects, engineers, planners and investors in real estate and end users in

the construction industry like precautions to be followed before investing in residential plots of

land, house, flat etc, and the pitfalls to be identified.

Src:  Our Building and Construction, April 2013

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