Architecture Of Purpose

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INNOVATIVE WAYS TO ADAPT DESIGN PRINCIPLES IN A CONTINUOUS CHANGING WORLD PRESENTED BY HAVELLS INSIGNIA, ADEX - A SERIES BY REALTY+ MASTERCLASS FEATURED IN ITS PREMIERING EPISODE, ARCHITECT JAMES LAW, CEO AND FOUNDER JAMES LAW CYBERTECTURE. ADEx Talks, a one of its kind’s architecture + design talk show aims to enable the process of collaboration with the best in the industry. Vivek Yadav, Senior Vice President, Havells India Ltd welcomed the visionary architect and stated the company’s initiatives including educational seminars, interactive talks and white books to facilitate the development of an ecosystem of world class designers in India. Ar James Law opened his session with the presentation of his portfolio of works from across the world, each differentiated in concept, style and the solution to a given challenge from affordable housing, intelligent buildings to creating ultra- luxury towers and futuristic cities. “Architecture has to be organic and buildings designed such, to keep evolving as per changing needs of the people and society. Buildings in a way will now be like devices in which people live. The building will have the data to monitor the needs of the residents and offer services accordingly from indoor temperature to health assistance, transportation or other services,” shared Ar. James Law. MY STYLE OF ARCHITECTURE On being asked about his signature design style as an architect, James Law said his approach towards his work is his signature style. “Saying that I have a certain style of creating my projects is an egoistic statement by an architect. Each project, site, context, needs and social requirements are different. What can be consistent is the way to approach them.” THE SOCIAL IMPACT Architects can have a profound influence on the social fabric of the city and can find solutions for the social problems by application of technological solutions at a minimal cost and by involving the people. James Law gave an example, “My O-Pod Homes were inspired by humble concrete pipe to address Hong Kong’s affordable housing problem. Constructed out of low cost and readily available 2.5m diameter concrete water pipe, the a microliving apartment is equipped with smart phone locks for online access as well as space saving furniture that maximizes the space inside. It can be stacked to become a low rise building and a modular community in a short time, and can also be located/ relocated to different sites in the city.” “The world is my oyster.” idiom completely befits architect James Law who advises everyone to travel as much as they can. “My travels to Europe, America, UAE and other counties made me aware of the similarities and differences that we have with each other and helped me in understanding the world and my own work better.” “I am like the herb doctor, traveling the world and collecting ideas. A solution from one country or a region could be the missing ingredient of a problem in another region/ country or a city.” THE INDIA CONNECT Ar James Law fondly remembers his decade of association with India. He finds many similarities between the countries, culturally, professionally and even in the ways Indians and Chinese think. “I find Indian design professionals extremely agile and they think on their feet to find solutions for the toughest of the problems. The design students especially are extremely passionate about their country, eager to find their own architectural identity that reflects Indian culture with modern interpretation. Many of the problem too that India and Hong Kong face are identical. Mainly the urban housing. Slums that are the organic housing developments are not sustainable and have to be replaced with structured housing for decent living, but that can only be done through people participation as we have seen in Hong Kong in one of our experimental initiatives.” YOUNG GENERATION OF DESIGNERS “Young children are bubbling with ideas and creativity and that is what I intend to channelize in innovative thinking through teaching them about architecture,” James Law emphasized. “Nurturing the people who will change the world” is his philosophy. “In youngsters aged 8–13, I see an immense future, soaking up ideas, and having boundless courage to think beyond, which adults struggle with because they have been told what is wrong or right. The fact that they get to learn about architecture, design or technology earlier than university means that we have activated little geniuses. My Cybertecture Academy proves the point that it is never too early to become a designer,” he said. Remal Behl Head for Enterprise Business, Havells India Ltd concluded the most wonderful session by summarizing the takeaways from Ar James Law’s interactive talk and expressing sincere gratitude to the speaker as well as the audience. Ar James Law in his brief interaction left a lasting impression on the audience. He talked about his own projects and through them helped others understand the connection between architecture and technology. His works also emphasized how architects can shape the cities of the future through their visionary designs and provide answers to alleviate the sufferings of the mankind.