Studiocommune

Public toilets are quintessential for any urban space, devoid of which human excreta may adorn the public walls and streets. However, cities in India rarely address the needs of the urban commuters for a space to attend nature’s call. If urination can be characteristic of animals to mark their boundaries and to invite potential mates, human urine definitely do not enjoy any of these values. A breeding ground for flies and mosquitoes, city walls in our cities are transformed into instant urinals. Not only have they created zones of stink and discomfort, they also draw distinct boundaries that are exclusively a male domain.  A quick research on the use of toilets reveal that human civilization is not new to this technology. The traces of organized sewerage networks were clearly evident during the Indus and Roman civilizations, however, progression took the wrong turn and it was encountered by a regressive nature of relieving oneself that do not even meet the animal standards of ...

Death isn’t the end of one’s journey. While the self is destroyed and the body cremated, the spirit of existence transcends through the many donations we make in the form of useful body parts, be it eyes, heart, skin etc. What becomes unwanted for the dead, becomes a blessing for another living being. Similarly, have you ever thought about a dead building giving life to a new one? When Ambikachechi asked us to inspect her house under construction, little did we think that our life and approach to architecture would change so drastically. Ambikachechi cooked for us. She heads a family of five members and is the sole bread winning member. She was offered 5 lakhs by the local Government for constructing a house of her own. She bought 1.5 cents of land at a price of 2.5 lakhs. The linear plot has a quarry edge. She assigned a local small time contractor to construct a house for her. He had almost built the ground floor, when we decided to visit her house. The sight was a painful...

It is always our aim to engage in meaningful dialogue with people around us. Urine is an inevitable part of our urban landscape. Moothram/Urine, was a social experiment to understand Urine as a cultural phenomena in our urban landscape. The performance was structured in two parts: 1. An introductory role play that tried to instigate the audience to question our perceptions of urine, urination and urinals. Many people from different walks of life shared their experiences and t heir ideas of what we lack, who we are and why we do what we do. 2. The prop (A yellow urinal) that was used in the role play, was left in the street to understand how people relate with it. The natural familiarity with the object could gather meanings, from being a mere object to a functional space to an artistic exploration. We leave it to the public to reflect on the object. To begin with, we have installed this on Manaveeyam Road. Although Manaveeyam Road is an important cultural corridor in Trivandrum, ther...

A Tasty Walk to Remember written by: Sruthi Kuppadakath, Law Student, Government Law College Trivandrum I’ve been in Trivandrum as long as I can remember, so are those stationary vans that supply food near Vellayambalam junction. After the heavy traffic around 8ish, daily these vans appear out of nowhere and start their work: feeding hungry tummies of people, cats and dogs. The smell of roasted beef from Sabu uncle’s “ALIF MAHAL” was simply irresistible, and that is where the ‘Who is the City’ walk began. It has been almost 20 years that the van has been stationary at the very place. Perhaps it is long enough for people to feel that van is a part of the junction during evening hours. As we walked and tasted one dish after other, we grew used to the rich aroma of chicken fry and porrotta served lovingly by the non-malayali chettans at the kitchens right outside the vans. I was savoring the juicy beef roast and I spotted a small table across the road with a bann...

Dog-Lot Animals are an integral part of our commune. A heartfelt thanks to Hands for Paws team for giving us an opportunity to design a 'dog-lot' - a small play space for canines at the recent Hands for Paws event held at Kerala State Veterinary Council Hall on 28 October 2017. We were delighted to see the four legged ones enjoying. Little Sundari (an indigenous breed) was the star of the evening, trying out all the rides with ease and courage. These lots are easy to make an d we look forward to making such dog lots in collaboration with 'Hands for Paws' in the future. Let your canine friend play...  http://www.thehindu.com/…/review-abc-wo…/article19941685.ece

A walk to the building material salvage market of Karamana 26th August 2017, 4pm Written by: Ar. Taniya Grace Joshua (participant) The walk to the material salvage market of Karamana on 26th August 2017 by a group of 6 architects headed by Dr. Soumini Raja, opened a new window of thought into the formation and existence of the material salvage market at the place. The market on first appearance organises itself as a series of neatly arranged workshops trading in the same business of re-usable building materials- wood and/or metal. Initial explorations of the area and comprehension after talks with the shop owners, revealed that the business at the place was quite a new establishment with the oldest shops not dating beyond 15years past. Further the group was made aware of the residential settlement existing behind these closely placed shops. Historically, the area of settlement was a ‘kuthiralayam’ (royal stable), and later had come together under the ownership of one single...

Attic Talk 1 - Architecture of Society In his work ‘ Empathetic and Embodied imagination: Intuiting experience and life in Architecture’, Juhani Pallasma writes Contemporary architecture has often been accused of emotional coldness, restrictive aesthetics and a  distance from life. This criticism suggests that we architects have adopted formalist attitudes, instead of tuning our buildings with realities of life and the human mind. In all honesty, don’t we usually design our houses on the basis of functional and aesthetic criteria,rather than imagining them as resonant settings and backgrounds for situations of lived life? “Let us assume a wall: what takes place behind it?” the French poet Jean Tardieu asks provocatively.But do we architects have the same curiosity for life?  It is in this context the idea of Architecture of Society becomes relevant. Beyond the  structural identities,  society lends itself the quintessential production of space...