January ”18 @ JJ

This two-day workshop ran through the template course for students of architecture. Day 1 included introductory theatrical exercises which brought to light the elastic nature of the necessary personal space, the collective intelligence as larger than the sum total of its parts and the larger non-verbal part of our communication.

Participants then proceeded to trace the plans of their favorite buildings; extracting elements (walls, columns etc.) and compounds (rooms, stairs, courtyards etc.) from the contruct. The day ended with participants carving out in blocks of thermocol archaeological remnants of their home of memories.

Day 2 stated with the translation of critical nodes from participants’ textual references into graphic forms. These graphics, along with the archaeology and traced plans were brought together – in whole or as fragments – to create a collective collage which was subsequently expanded into a large emotive tapestry.

Although I remember the heavy feeling of the students’ resignation of having to return to ‘the real life tomorrow’, the photographs present joyous memories of the wonderful experience. I am thankful to Neha Korde for creating this opportunity, Rhea for the hospitality and Juveria for the wonderful photographs.