Author Archives: Siddharth Menon
The Earth House, Himachal Pradesh
This interview was published in October-November 2015 issue of Elle Decor India. Photographs courtesy Sumit Mahar. Details Eco Buzz – Oct-Nov’15. Walk us through the idea behind Earth Guest House. The Earth House is a 1500 sft. Guest House in the Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh for a travel company called Linger (www.linger.in). They […]
Urban Blueprint-Go Local
This essay was published in Myliveablecity, October 2015 edition (www.myliveablecity.com). Can be viewed here. In poor countries of the ‘developing’ world, the issue of affordable housing has been a bone of contention between the different stake-holders involved. Resources are scarce, economic and social conditions dire, and populations burgeoning. All these forces create a potent mix […]
The Role of a 21st Century Architect in Rural India (2)
The article was published in Domus India, September 2015 edition. Can be downloaded here. Yakshi Inter Generational Learning Centre, Telangana, India Yakshi (http://www.yakshi.org.in) is a Non- Government Organization based in Hyderabad, India. They are a team of indigenous educators, theatre activists, artists, researchers, community organizers and leaders, primarily from adivasi communities who work with adivasi communities in India, […]
The Role of a 21st Century Architect in Rural India (1)
The article was published in Domus India, September 2015 edition. Can be downloaded here. Introduction In the first part of this article, we took a journey through different rural regions of the Indian Subcontinent trying to understand the materials, methods and ideologies used by the indigenous people to build their spaces. What we learnt is that although all […]
EDIBLE GARDEN CITY & OPEN FARM COMMUNITY, SINGAPORE
I will be speaking at a public lecture hosted by Edible Garden City and Open Farm Community in Singapore on August 12, 2015. The public lecture is titled “Mud Architecture in the Contemporary World: Lessons from Rural India.”
An Architecture of the People, by the People, for the People
The following article was published in thewire.in on 29 July 2015 on the trials and tribulations of building in rural Uttar Pradesh. The full article can be accessed here. Building in rural Uttar Pradesh is always a massive challenge. With its feudal backdrop where caste and politics share a powerful relationship, people’s issues and concerns become […]
Ecological Interiors-Mud and its many hues
The following article was featured on 27th July 2015 in http://www.sawdust.online on ecological interiors and the use of mud for the same. When designing and building in rural areas, mud should be the de facto material of choice. Excavated right from the foundation for the building or from an adjoining farm, it has a very low […]
Sawdust.online Interview
The following interview was featured on 27th July 2015 in http://www.sawdust.online on the challenges of mud architecture in India. When did you build your first earth building, and could you describe some of its features? I built my first earth building at the Auroville Earth Institute (www.earth-auroville.com) in Auroville, Tamil Nadu in 2011. I was training […]
Critical Vernacular Architecture (South Asia)
4th April 2015 Continuing with our series on Indigenous Architecture, we now look at architectural practices in India that are doing some very interesting work within these parameters in the Indian context. This is a personal list of people that have inspired me over the past 5 years. There are architects, engineers, artists, social reformers […]
Critical Vernacular Architecture (World Regions)
April 25th 2015 As part of our series on the studies of indigenous architecture and its contemporary applications around the world, we look at a list architects working in this field. A lot of times, the study of the various facets of indigenous architecture tends to remain just that- a study. It remains confined and […]
Siddharth Menon 