22.8.2012
Defence Colony Residence, New Delhi, India
El pronunciado aumento del valor de la tierra en la ciudad de Nueva Delhi obliga a los propietarios privados a construir la superficie máxima admisible del sitio. Por ello, el equilibrio en el paisaje urbano entre los edificios residenciales y los espacios públicos se está erosionando rápidamente. Las áreas residenciales son invadidas por cajas de mampostería defensivas, desprovistas de cualquier deseo de permitir la interfaz entre el ámbito público y el privado. En la residencia Defence Colony, el proyecto deriva su materialidad y su lenguaje tectónico de las numerosas tumbas y palacios -fragmentos de la arquitectura islámica medieval del siglo 15 - arraigados en el paisaje urbano de Nueva Delhi. Construida con muros de mampostería de carga, diseñados para soportar las cargas exigidas en una zona sísmica 4, la residencia crea su identidad arquitectónica y urbana en la adhesión a una materia prima - el ladrillo local. La masa de los ladrillos se expresa tanto en el espesor de las paredes como en la articulación de la superficie, manteniendo la casa térmicamente templada y dotándola de una tonalidad tierra. Al mismo tiempo, el ladrillo se transforma en un velo de encaje efervescente en las pantallas que dan sombra a la fachada oeste del edificio. Todas las puertas y ventanas, hechas de madera de teca, fueron fabricadas artesanalmente por carpinteros del lugar. Lo pulidos suelos de piedra reflejan la luz interior, ofreciendo un contrapunto luminoso a las paredes de mampostería. La arquitectura se involucra en un juego de energía cinética, lo que permite vislumbrar la calle, así como las actividades en su interior. Hace más de cincuenta años, cuando diseñaba el Indian Institute of Management en Ahmedabad, Louis Kahn hizo su famosa pregunta sobre qué era lo que el ladrillo quería ser. Corre el rumor de que el ladrillo respondió simplemente: "Quiero ser un arco." Los arquitectos vir.mueller decidieron reanudar el diálogo con el ladrillo. "¿Qué te gustaría hacer?", a lo que el ladrillo humildemente respondió: "Yo quiero bailar... desnudo! ". Así que lo dejamos.
The steeply rising price of land in the city of New Delhi compels owners of private property to build the maximum permissible area of the site. The streetscape -balancing the scale between residential buildings and public streets – is rapidly eroding. Residential areas are overrun by defensive masonry boxes, devoid of any desire for interface between the public and private realm.
In the Defence Colony residence, the project derives its material and tectonic vocabulary from the plethora of tombs and palaces – fragments of 15th century Islamic medieval architecture – that anchor the urban landscape of Delhi. Built with load-bearing masonry walls, designed to withstand the loads of a Zone 4 seismic location, the residence creates its sense of architectural and urban identity in adhering to one primary material – local brick. The mass of the bricks is expressed both in the thickness of the walls, as well as in the surface articulation, keeping the house thermally temperate, and endowing it with a rich earthen hue. Simultaneously however, the brick transforms into an effervescent and lacy veil in the screens that shade the west facade of the building.
All doors and windows, made from Teak timber sections, were hand fabricated from logs by the carpenters on the site. Mirror-polished stone floors reflect the light within, offering a luminous counterpoint to the masonry walls. The architecture engages in a play of kinetic energy, allowing glimpses of the street as well as the activities within.
This project resurrects and perpetuates an ancient architectural craft of load-bearing, brick masonry construction. Like all craft traditions, this practice represents a confluence of cultural, material, social and economic practices. Brick has always been a fundamental building module in Indian architecture. Moreover, it links modern architecture with an ancient craft tradition, refined over centuries of use. In reviving this material, and especially using it so extensively – as structure, surface and detail – this project makes a strong and coherent argument for linking sustainability with this most basic and local of all building materials. In a frenzy of appearing “contemporary”, buildings are assembled from catalogues.
The art of making architecture with a singular, basic material – local earthen brick – is considered anachronistic! As the new Indian architectural culture seeks international expression, this project expresses the vitality and beauty of building with a local, sustainable and basic material. It also sustains the livelihood of a guild of brick masons struggling to retain their place in society. This is simply a hand-crafted, modern house, seeking to restore the relationship of inhabitants to their fundamental material context.
Over fifty years ago, when designing the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad, Louis Kahn famously asked the brick what it wanted to be. Rumour has it that the brick responded simply, “I want to be an arch.” vir.mueller architects decided to restart this dialogue with brick. “What would you like to do?” we asked the humble brick once again. “I want to dance… naked!” said the brick. So we let it.