JOIN USA workshop titled ‘Weaving Structures to make Architecture’ was recently organised at ‘Designuru’, an ongoing 9-day event of art, architecture and design, at the Rangoli Metro Art Center, MG Road Boulevard. The workshop witnessed active participation by around 36 students of architecture and architects who were divided into groups of 6 people each.
Structural engineer B L Manjunath from Manjunath and Co. and Vijay Narnapatti, principal architect at Maya Praxis, conducted the session in an interesting manner. “The intention is to help budding architects and others to think of the structural elements of buildings which create the space as something that can be woven together. Different materials like steel or wood can be connected into a framework, making the architecture exciting, efficient and beautiful,” explained Vijay.
Manjunath added, “We want to make the participants understand that in today’s context, with so many materials available, how to choose between them not just based on the visual appeal but also based on the inherent characteristics which can weave as an integral part of the structure.”
Both the experts emphasised that architectural and structural planning go hand in hand, unlike conventional methods of planning.
The participants were shown a few examples of completed buildings as well as those under construction (through a projector) to get an idea of how actual materials are put together in them. A few physical exercises were performed by the students to understand structures through the human body. The mentors also explained how one can take inspiration from nature for architectural design ideas.
Later, the participants got on with sketching, ideating, reiterating and doing group discussions for their models. Each group used ropes, metal wires, wood sections, bamboo and a bunch of tools to weave scaled models of their choice of structures.
Miloni Shah, a student of architecture, said that it was interesting to meet different people with different mindsets towards architecture. “We are making a canopy sort of a structure (open framework) inspired by nature. For example, we have taken inpsiration from how a small seed eventually blooms into a tree that becomes a strong structure,” she explained along with her teammates.
Haripriya, an accessory designer, too felt she had something to gain from the workshop.
“I think we all deal with forms and design. I design accessories while architects design buildings — the difference is only in the scale. I came here to learn how different materials can be combined to form structures. For instance, in designing chairs and lampshades, I can use different materials instead of just one. I got some innovative ideas here.”