Archive for February, 2010
arrived in istanbul
sachin and i arrived in istanbul late last night after just a few plane trips and 1 wrong turn on the metro. we’ll be spending the next 3 weeks in turkey, splitting our time roughly between istanbul and ankara, a city built almost overnight as turkey’s new capital after the fall of the ottoman empire. […]
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Tags: istanbul
booths v. shops
In the sectors, I have learned there are two types of shopping facilities: booths and shops. Shops were part of the original design…subject to architectural controls, and built usually as 3 story mixed use structures with shops at the ground level. These contain a number of variations, but the structure in each is relatively similar. […]
Filed under: chandigarh | 1 Comment
Tags: chandigarh, commercial space
jaipur: 18th century precedent
I spent a weekend in Jaipur, Rajasthan, 6 hours outside Delhi, to look one of India’s older planned cities. Jaipur was built by Sawai Jai Singh, a Rajput Maharaja, in 1727, and is described as a fusion a eastern and western planning. Singh was well read in western planning, but based the Jaipur plan on […]
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Tags: commercial, jaipur, residential
chandigarh’s periphery
A generous couple, two new friends of mine, Harbhajan and Jit Singh, took me around the periphery of Chandigarh, driving down all the back roads of Chandigarh that I couldn’t quite reach on my own. Thank you for your time, and the delicious paranthas, chaat and gulabjammun that came along with the ride! Chandigarh’s Sectors […]
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Tags: chandigarh, periphery
Today I had the incredible opportunity to take part in a meeting for Chandigarh’s master plan 2031. Last week I spent a few hours talking with the Chief Architect, Sumit Kaur, and she invited me to take part today with a number of former and present chief architects and town planners, all concerned with the […]
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Tags: chandigarh, master planning
le corbusier’s chandigarh
Despite whatever actual record of Le Corbusier’s involvement in the city, Chandigarh belongs to him. Most people I have met, architect or not, must tell me, with (usually) pride or (once) disdain, that “this city was designed by a Frenchman….Le Corbusier.” Le Corbusier designed the master plan, gave an edict for its realization and operation, […]
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Tags: chandigarh, le corbusier
blocks & slivers
I’m getting nicely settled in Chandigarh—many thanks to the numerous people who have gone out of their way to make me feel comfortable, find access to various parts of the city, and discuss my discoveries (Preeti & Urmi, Singhs, Sumit, Sheenam, Sangeeta, Bindu, Nikharika…) Chandigarh commercial spaces Originally, the commercial buildings in Chandigarh were designed […]
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Tags: chandigarh, commercial space
