Milestones Along The Meandering Sojourn (Page 2)

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Another dimension we lack in Indian journalism is a healthy architectural criticism. More often than not project description is carried verbatim, as provided by the architect himself. While there is a need to have the firsthand account from the creator, there is also a need for the objective narration. Need for interpretations rather than anecdotes. Analysis rather than adjectives. This is not at all to imply finding faults or being judgmental, it simply means presenting in / with a perspective. Highlighting apposition and emphasising the facts under the point of view. This strategy in itself, therefore, will demand project specific communication material, may they be representational graphics or process sketches or enlarged details, rather than Universal format of base plans and images. Often sections are also ignored in the project representation rendering the documentation incomplete for further reference. As a national journal it also could widen its network to solicit projects from much diverse parts of India. imply that it is not what the journal manages to portray but what it misses out must become the effort to evolve. This would be truly plural, diverse and more fresher representation of Indian architecture than the metro centric (firms or projects).

One more point wish to highlight is that perhaps Architecture + Design has not been able to fully exploit the advantages of the material resource it could manage to generate by way of architectural award entries. This is a tremendous resource and many theme issues, diverse range of interpretations, and supplementary reference materials can be generated out of the same. Quite often, only the awarded entry will find the place in magazine missing out on the others. Even awarded ones get covered briefly as part of the award issue rather than the project worth publishing. This perhaps is the missed opportunity. Like British Broadcasting company or most popular media houses abroad, architectural Journals in India need to become the archival resource and portal for Indian architecture.

As an individual associated with the magazine for nearly two decades take this opportunity to share my thoughts and Wish the magazine and its team many more milestones in their long, productive and proactive journey ahead.

The End.

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