Memories are what we are. Without our past we do not carry much value. So it is with our cities, too. A city without a past or a city that has chosen to ignore its past by sweeping away its own story under the carpet of modernization or ‘modernism’ can hardly be called a ‘real’ city. For after all, a city is about people; it is about social relationships; it is about sharing experiences; it is about creativity; it is about the pursuit of ever new thoughts & ideas that seek to take man’s existence to ‘higher’ and newer levels of experiences; it is about hope, dreams and passions; it is about the evolution of man’s intellect, his conduct & his habitat.

“The city ….. is the point of maximum concentration for the power and culture of a community. It is the place where the diffused rays of many separate beams of life fall into focus, with gains in both social effectiveness and significance. …………It is where human experience is transformed into viable signs, symbols, patterns of conduct, systems of order ….” (Lewis Mumford)

“The whole world is looking at India” is the refrain you often hear these days. Currently, India is one of the hottest ‘emerging markets’ in the region. The real estate sector is going through an explosion never witnessed before. Along with this come architectural styles imported from all over the world. Like many observers out there, I, too, have wondered with concern and often asked myself, ‘Where have all these fantastic glass & steel skyscrapers come from all of a sudden?’ These imaginatively (and aggressively) sculpted ‘universal’ cloud-scraping towers, luxury hotels & gigantic shopping complexes are dramatically altering the cityscapes of not only the cities of India but most other cities of the world as well. Look at them ….. whether it be Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, London, Mumbai, Delhi, New York, Dubai, Berlin, Chicago …… they’re all over ….. and all of them screaming, “Look at me! Here I am ! ….. and I’m taller and bigger than you!” Just take a look at the proposed ‘Mile-High Tower’ which, as the name says, will rise one mile above the hot, sandy deserts of Saudi Arabia. Makes me wonder if we have actually come to such a strange crossroads where we have really nowhere else to go but up. That too … that up! And if it is about symbols, what kind of symbolism are we talking about here? One cannot help but wonder as to whether such gravity-defying architectural mega-adventures will help make planet earth a better place to live in …. or will they remain as just wild, egoistic exercises in exhibitionistic extreme engineering. In the latter part of the 19th century, men like George A. Fuller (who ‘invented’ the skyscraper in collaboration with architects Holabird & Roche) and Gustave Eiffel had already demonstrated to the world what we can do & achieve with the humble mild steel. Since then, there have been numerous magnificent skyscrapers, each more daring, more beautiful and more memorable than its predecessors. Are we now going to re-write (or over-write) history ….. this time in upper case? Or are we now witnessing the advent of the true sky city (or the vertical city)? If so, at what price ? Are we heading in the right direction? Something in the air says no, we’re not. As for me, I do not want to walk on a monotonously flat concrete ‘earth’ beneath my feet…….. and I do not want to live under the unchanging light of a cluster of compact fluorescent artificial ‘stars’ that dot a flat concrete ‘sky’ above me ….. breathing the unchanging conditioned air set to 22 degrees celcius ………. 24 x 7 x 365.

Many have seen & most of the world has heard that India is a beautiful land blessed with a rich socio-cultural heritage. It is not just the ‘oldness’ of the civilization that has enriched its socio-cultural values. It is that, coupled with rigorous intellectual engagement, which has brought this civilization to where it is today. But this gigantic tidal wave of 21st century architectural modernism is swiftly engulfing most cities of India & other countries as well. Along with the good comes the not so good as well. But what is good & what is not so good ?

The concern here is not so much to do with modernism itself. The concern is with transplanted modernism …. a modernism which has no roots in this country …. and which has the power to uproot and wash away the foundations of its socio-cultural values ….. something like erasing the collective memories of our past.

Root-balling trees and plants may be alright in landscape architecture. However, root-balling architectural styles may not be alright. Imported lifestyles and values, too, may not be alright. In his article posted on the internet, Mr Daniel Brook expresses concern on the current trend of importing the American lifestyle by Chinese real estate developers and their billionaire customers and questions the wisdom of such a fad ….. and rightly so. While reckless copying of foreign architectural styles is a concern, the bigger concern is the energy-guzzling foreign lifestyle which invariably accompanies it.

Like many others, Mr Brook also expresses concern about “China’s burgeoning car culture and its wholehearted embrace of environmentally destructive growth”. Here, I quote some more lines from Mr Brook’s article ……
“As China industrializes, many fear that the country is making the same environmental mistakes the United States made a century ago, worrying that the planet cannot sustain such an onslaught from its most populous nation…………………But should China’s poorer billion people actually take to the Southern California extreme, we’re all in trouble……….. If Orange County (a noveau-rich neighborhood in Beijing) is to be typical of development in the new China, it would seem that the world’s most populous country is hurtling toward a dystopian future—and taking the rest of the planet with it”.

The same concerns are applicable to Indian cities as well. Architectural aesthetics, lifestyles and energy consumption characteristics are inextricably interlinked. We’ve all witnessed many a times, traditional neighbourhoods being swiftly replaced by swanky, aggressive, bold & funky-looking architectural sculptures (which are actually buildings designed, more than anything else, to attract, seduce, thrill, shock, provoke or simply to exhibit & advertise the sculpting skills of the designers ….. and to convey to the world the promoters’ money power. Such “statement architecture is more about the architect (& the promoter) rather than architecture within a social context” - Andrew Wach (FRAIC) : Authentic architecture addresses social & economic differences (internet posting, 7 May, 2008). Do we see a deeper message here? Such show-stopping architectural actions are, perhaps, a true reflection of the spirit of the times ……. a reflection of man’s primal urge (which seems to be growing stronger and deeper with time) to exhibit and be noticed …. and to conquer. Perhaps it is a true reflection of our changing values & priorities …… that we are willing to cast away old, out-dated traditional values (which, we often mistakenly assume, we can do without) into the sea of irrelevant history (or for that matter, into the dust bins of the modern city).

So, should we whole-heartedly embrace this new-wave modernism? Yes, we must embrace the true spirit of it. There are no two ways about that. The elastic imagination of the human mind must continue to be nurtured. “Imagine a world reduced to the same face, where everyone looked the same. What a nightmare.” - Daniel Libeskind : Breaking Ground). This is exactly where globalization of architecture might lead to. Maybe not the same face but more like the whole world being reduced to a single race – say, just Japanese or Africans. However, in the heat of creativity, we must not forget to remember that each time we forget our past, we will have to start all over again from Square-A …everytime. A plant will grow into a beautiful tree only if its roots are firmly planted in the ground. The built-environment is the story of a city carved in 3-dimensional script. Should the history of Indian cities be written in ‘Indian scripts’ or should it be written in foreign scripts? Or do we care at all ?

Modernism and change are intertwined. Change, from what was earlier, is a pre-requisite for progress. And without the past, the concept of change itself is void and irrelevant. Change implies the ‘presence’ of a past. However, for change to be progressive, it must be relevant and meaningful …… meaningful in the manner in which it relates to the memories of the past, the present socio-cultural context and what it promises for the future. It must generate faith, confidence and a sense of belonging. Architecture that addresses and responds to the socio-cultural (and environmental) realities of a society might be termed as ‘authentic architecture’ (Andrew Wach). Truly authentic architecture would be relevant & meaningful to the society within which it exists. An architecture that is responsive to the socio-cultural and economic characteristics of the society in which it exists; an architecture that is responsive to the geo-climatic characteristics of the region in which it is set; architecture that is ‘environment friendly’ …… such an architecture would perhaps qualify as relevant and meaningful architecture. Easier said than done, of course. Even so, legislations enforcing the adoption of environment-friendly building technologies would be a step in the right direction.

One thing is for sure - any meaningful and relevant modern architecture and urban development phenomena must lead to a future that is sustainable. That is, and must be the bottom line.