The Arch Diaries

The Fountainhead "The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand is an interesting book that revolves around the life of Howard Roark, an architect. This book summarizes so many topics like architecture. modernism, collectivism. objectivism, independence, patriarchy, money,  love, principles, friendship and so many more. It's a fictional story with imaginary characters but somewhere down 200 pages you start living it. Contains too many spoilers so if you don't want the story ruined, come back when you've read the book. We were assigned to read this book otherwise I wouldn't have come across this book. The book is very thick. It has around 700 pages. Who in the right mind will read this, right? but it was assigned to us and I read it, willingly or not.  It's a great book to read whether you're studying architecture or not. It's a journey about an architect who only wants to play according to his rules. The book enlightens all the ordeal he faces. All that an archite...

Role of colors Introduction: Colors play an important role when it comes to designing spaces. Deciding a color palette is as important as any other aspect of designing. The right color can make a place into paradise and the wrong color can cripple a place into nothing. You have got to tread very lightly when it comes to choosing a color theme.  We have been taught about colors since kindergarten. So, it only gets complicated if you make it so. If you abide by the rules of color theory and consider all the principles you have your work done for you. Color theory teaches what color to use where and what color to avoid where. You just have to be attentive and have good sense of color. Color Wheel: We have three primary colors ( red, yellow, blue). Three secondary colors(orange, green, violet) that are formed by mixing the primary colors. Six tertiary colors formed by mixing the secondary colors. Color Wheel gives us themes like complimentary colors, cool colors, warm colors, analog co...

Nashik - An Unexpected Surprise Introduction :  Nashik is located about 190km north of Mumbai in Maharashtra, India. There are two theories behind the city being named "Nashik". One is, at this place Lord Laxman cut the nose of "Shurpnakha" and hence Nashik. Second is, Nashik is surrounded by nine hills therefore Nashik. Nashik was known as Panchvati previously. Nashik has rich historical and mythological past. It's located near the banks of Godavari river and hence is considered very holy.  My college organized a study tour to Nashik. I wasn't sure about going because how good can Nashik be but I was so wrong. This tour has turned out to be one of the best decision of my life. It unexpectedly surprised me. It was such a bizarre experience. I'm so impressed with you Nashik.  What we saw: First, we went to the MET college of architecture. It looked like a movie set. It was so spacious and planned so beautifully. Even walking in lobbies was fun. There was ...

  Life of an Architecture Student - I Introduction: This is for all those who are thinking about pursuing architecture or are curious about how it is for architecture students. I decided to pursue architecture soon after my 11th. I was confused between designing and architecture but I knew for sure that I wanted to do something in Arts field.  I talked to lots of people in architecture field before deciding on architecture. A lot of them straight up said "Don't". I should've listened to them. There were also few who said that I'll be able to do it and if I like it then it's not that hard. I went through the syllabus for various designing degrees and architecture degree and I felt architecture provided a wider study. It teaches designing a building to designing a table and everything in between. So, that's why I decided on architecture. Inspiration: Why arts? Why architecture? I've liked arts since I was a child. There's this quote "If you do w...

 Collaborations In Architecture: Introduction : We all know what collaborations means. It's when two or more people come together to work on the same goal. For example, Kohli and Pandya collaborated against Pak in recent T20, Shahrukh and Salman collaborated in 'Karan Arjun', Me and my brother collaborate when it comes to finishing an ice-cream overnight. Based on these examples we can say that collaborations lead to successful results.   Let's talk about styles in collaboration. Nowadays we see Maggie mixed with chocolate, sari draped as tops, Bollywood with  VFX. While some may like this but most don't. These were some of the examples of how collaborations don't always lead to success but on the other hand you have Maggie toped with cheese, sari draped as ghagra and horror mixed with comedy. now, these according to me are pretty great success. Coming to architecture, architects too collaborate, not always willingly because Architects prefer working alone, in t...

T he Lotus Temple Introduction:   The Lotus Temple is popularly known as The Baha'i House of Worship.  The Temple is located on a 9.7-hectare site near Nehru Place in South Delhi , India . It is a place of worship,  a religious place open to all races, religions and castes.   The temple stands so proudly in one of the best architectures of India .  With over 3.5 million visitors a year, this building,  is one of the most visited sites in the world. Why Lotus? The form of this House of Worship takes the shape the lotus, apart from being national flower of India it is also considered sacred by most Indians. It occupies a unique position in the art and mythology of ancient India and has been an auspicious symbol of Indian culture since time immemorial. It symbolizes purity or beauty that holds itself above the mud and water that is variously interpreted as imperfection, sin, attachment, or Earthly desires. The Hindu deities, Vishnu and Laks...