Studiocommune

WHO IS THE CITY ? 10 th March 2018, 4pm Written by: Taniya Grace Joshua (Taniya is an architect and an Urban Designer)   Among the many treasures of the city of Trivandrum, the treasure of books along the Palayam stretch forms one among the most valued. Lending a helping hand to the keen and needy students of the city, this stretch is occupied by the State Central Library and most importantly the Old Book Stores Lane. Studio Commune decided to walk through and read this Book Lane on 10 th March, as part of its exploration on Who Is The City? The Walk revealed a set of layers in the trade, unseen to the common public and yet to be discovered by those seeking. The initial days of this trade were quite informal and happened at Putharikandom. The history of these shopkeepers, all of whom hail from the same village Nemom, show that they have been engaged in this trade since childhood. Their grandfathers were engaged in collecting paper waste and had b...

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...