The Gulliver Projectaka The Elephant Project

A Project aboutMEASUREDISTANCESCALEobject autonomysubject reversal

Dev Bildikar 2019

The Indian Institute of Architects, Nagpur Centre (Maharashtra Chapter)

11th Prof. S A DESHPANDE STUDIO DESIGN COMPETITION 2019

S A DESHPANDE STUDIO DESIGN COMPETITION 2019

the gulliverprojecta MICROMEGA project......a trick of perspective & manifold metaphorsabout BIG & SMALL.....about defunct scale....about blurred perception....about measure.....about satire......about politics.....about architecture

…….about OBJECT AUTONOMY & SUBJECT REVERSAL……

about BINARY SIGNIFIERS……..about DIFFERENCES......about COMPARISONS.......about understanding one thing against the existence of the OTHER......

Dev: “Do you like elephants?”Ved: “As autonomous objects.....or in the Architecturalsense?”Dev: “As BIG creatures.....as scale disrupters.......also asenormous animals.”Ved: “In the Jim Corbett national park.....I did see themas autonomous objects.......from a considerabledistance.....thoroughly unable to devise a measure withwhatever visual device was available to me in thatinstance. The panorama stretched at least fourkilometers across & in that scene there was this herd ofelephants......devoid of measure & scale. That theanimal weighs 5000 kilograms and is at best 4 meterstall was all lost out to SCALED perception.”Dev: “Object autonomy is always natural to theobject.....as in the case of the elephant. But SUBJECTREVERSAL as in the case of the herd placed in theresultant scenery sets up a set of BINARYSIGNIFIERS.......there is the elephant & there is thepanorama.....& the idea of its scale & measure begin tomake some sense”Ved: “If not for the resultant scenery it would bedifficult to put a fix on the scale & the measure ofthings .”Dev” “Yes it is ....SUBJECT REVERSAL is the act ofputting the Elephant in the Resultant Scenery”

CONVERSATIONS ON MEASURE, DISTANCE & SCALE

Dev: “Not so much the city of Manhattan; a man made example.....its magnitude, its scale, its enormity is always underBLURRED perception. Because of its enormity the city is almost mythical......almost delirious. Its decipherment is onecontinuous deferment. Its scale & enormity always slips you by.....it never lets you understand it.Dev: “Seen from across as a skyline..... It appears as one monolithic mass of architecture......it defies Subject Reversal......thebinary references are simply not there......everything is BIG....BIG....BIG.”Ved: “Our conversations are about OBJECT AUTONOMY on the one hand & SUBJECT REVERSALS on the other.......theelephant & Manhattan examples are both about understanding scale, measure, enormity & its place in architecture…….oneas a Binary Construct & the other as an Autonomous Object.”Dev: “And then there is this book by Jonathan Swift, ‘Gulliver’s Travels’......even though it is about political satire....aboutHumankind’s undeflatable ego......about a trick of PERSPECTIVE.......it is enormously about Architecture.......simply becauseit is about scale & measure.....it is about BIG & SMALL....the book must be read….no doubt”

Ved: “It is essentially about differences & comparisons.......about the Other. The discourse on size, scale, magnitude inarchitecture is best understood if we can develop binary constructs.......how big is Big will privilege itself in the company of asmall object.”Dev: “True....this is understood as a condition in its inherent Difference.....a sort of ANALOGY OF OPPOSITES construct.”

THE COMPETITION PROJECTDev: “I am looking at the possibility of an Architectural Project......a project that could be called THEELEPHANT PROJECT or better still THE GULLIVER PROJECT to study the phenomena of Scale & Measure.”

Ved; “Here is the project.......Select a site that willbest suit its purpose.....a found object…..a place ofyour imagination…..a real place….Select a project with 2 objects; one big…..onesmall…… that will best take in its purpose....it shoulddeploy the BIGNESS/SMALLNESS proposition as theessential construct.Develop a narrative.....a story.....a premise.....anekphrasis.Design both projects as DICOTOMOUS…..BINARYSIGNIFIER conditions......clearly pitting the big oneagainst the small one, thereby making the differenceobvious……thereby explaining the obviousness ofScale & Measure.

Conceptual forms with the possibility of infusingthem with purpose & function will help to reinforcethe narrative.The PROJECT must possess exemplary status…….itmust be extant, explicit & incredible.The project will be about 2 objects….. ConceptualArchitectural Objects……one small….onebig……designed in the place of yourimagination…..bringing forth the idea of MEASURESCALE & DISTANCE…….

Project Criteria: Deploy a

precise, clear narrative to begin with......inexorably connected to your architectural project that is to follow.Select a location for your project ... a site of great imagination.Devise a completely commensurate architectural project. Design the project to fully explain your GULLIVER PROJECT.Draw it in the most beautiful manner.Give your project an appropriate title.No restriction on Area & Scope.

S A DESHPANDE STUDIO DESIGN COMPETITION 2019This project ABOUT THE MAKING OF 2 OBJECTS

measuresscales

locatessizes

makes amendsdecidespredictsdisruptssuspects protects

pre empts disposes

dispossessesassures

pre supposessenses

formalizesstructuralizes

makesunmakes…….effaces…..defaces…..concocts figures

firms up things….. bequeaths spaces….volumes….shapes….forms

relentsperforms

articulatesintones

disappearsappearsFancies

The Gulliver ProjectAbout SCALE & REVERSALS

Notes

In Book 1, Swiftcreated theLilliputians to be 12xsmaller than humans,while in Book 2, theBrobdingnagians are12x larger thanhumans. TheLilliputians werepeople who werepetty. They had along-standing disputewith their neighborsover which end tocrack open anegg. Swift wasshowing that thestature of the peoplematched their small-minded ways. TheLilliputians were self-centered andridiculous in manyways, such aschoosing theirleaders by...

SWIFT'S use of scale as a technique of satire with reference to

GULLIVER'S TRAVELS

Notes

Voltaire’s MICROMEGASThe story is organized into seven brief chapters. The first describes Micromégas (small/large), aninhabitant of one of the planets that orbits Sirius. His home world is 21.6 million times greater incircumference than Earth. Micromégas stands 120,000 feet (37 km) tall. When he is almost 450years old, approaching the end of his infancy, Micromégas writes a scientific book examining theinsects on his planet, which at 100 feet (30 m) are too small to be detected by ordinarymicroscopes. This book is considered heresy, and after a 200-year trial, he is banished from thecourt for a term of 800 years. Micromégas takes this as an incentive to travel around the Universein a quest to develop his intellect and his spirit.After extensive celestial travels he arrives on Saturn, where he befriends the secretary of theAcademy of Saturn, a man less than a twentieth of his size (a "dwarf" standing only 6,000 feet(1.8 km) tall). They discuss the differences between their planets. The Saturnian has 72 senseswhile the Sirian has 1,000. The Saturnian lives for 15,000 Earth years while the Sirian lives for10.5 million years; Micromégas reports that he has visited worlds where people live much longerthan this, but still consider their lifespans too short. At the end of their conversation, they decideto take a philosophical journey together.Eventually, they arrive on Earth and circumnavigate it in 36 hours, with the Saturnian only gettinghis lower legs wet in the deepest ocean and the Sirian barely wetting his ankles. They decide thatthe planet must be devoid of life, since it is too small for them to see with the naked eye. In theBaltic Sea, the Saturnian happens to spot a tiny speck swimming about, and he picks it up todiscover that it is a whale. As they examine it, a boatful of philosophers returning from an Arcticvoyage happens to run aground nearby.The space travellers examine the boat and, upon discovering the lifeforms inside it, they concludethat the tiny beings are too small to be of any intelligence or spirit. Yet they gradually realize thebeings are speaking to each other, and they devise a hearing tube with the clippings of theirfingernails in order to hear the tiny voices. After listening for a while, they learn the humanlanguage and begin a conversation, wherein they are shocked to discover the breadth of thehuman intellect.The final chapter sees the humans testing the philosophiesof Aristotle, Descartes, Malebranche, Leibniz and Locke against the travellers' wisdom. When thetravellers hear the theory of Aquinas that the universe was made uniquely for mankind, they fallinto an enormous fit of laughter. Taking pity on the humans, the Sirian decides to write them abook that will explain the point of everything to them. When the volume is presented tothe French Academy of Sciences, the secretary opens the book only to find blank pages.

Notes

Projects

Projects

Archigram/Sir Peter CookYesterday’s Future/Juxtaposed Utopias

Walking City

Plug-In City

Old Imaginations

SITES & IDEAS

SITES & IDEAS

SIZE MATTERS

Star Wars: Battle ScenesCosmic Scale SIZE MATTERS

SCHEDULE OF THE COMPETITION25.7.2019 (Thursday) -Introduction of the Competition Brief without thesite

25.7.2019 to 04.08.2019 -a) All students are expected to prepare for theCompetition by studying the Competition Brief andcatching up with reading, watching movies and/orvideos recommended by the mentor/faculty orotherwise.b) In addition to the above, students are free to beginwork on the design in their respective studios, athome, etc.

04.08.2019 (Sunday)Declaration of other project details including site at the intervening hour between 4.8.2019 and 5.8.2019

05.08.2019 - 11.08.2019 (Monday throughSunday) -The 11th Prof. S A Deshpande Studio DesignCompetition. During this period, students are

required to work in the studio itself (24 x 7).

11.08.2019 (Sunday) -Submission of shortlisted entries between 7:30 PMand 9:00 PM at the IIA - Nagpur Centre Office, Sadar,Nagpur (stamped hard copies as well as scannedcopies of the stamped hard copies). It may be notedthat in the previous Competition, six days wereprovided, whereas, this time around seven days havebeen provided. The extra day has been provided forfacilitating scanning and submitting stamped hardcopies along with the stamped hard copies.

Screening of entries by a panel of assessors atIIA - Nagpur Centre Officea) Rules – See ‘Internal Assessment’b) Date - Saturday, 17.8.2019c) Venue – The Indian Institute of Architects, Nagpur Centre, 5th Floor, B – Wing, Shriram Shyam Towers, Kingsway, Sadar, Nagpur, 440 001 d) Internal Jurors – 7th Semester Design Studio lead faculty or Design Studio lead faculty of any other Semester as may be deemed fit by the Head of participating institutions. Nominee of Head of the institution of non-participating institutions can participate as observers.

26.8.2019 (Monday) - Final Open Jury -a) Wild card entry - All received entries (shortlisted forthe final jury or not) will be displayed on the day ofthe Final Open Jury at the venue. Before thecommencement of the Final Open Jury (10:00 - 11:00AM), the external jurors shall go through the oneswhich are not shortlisted for the Final Open Jury. Anynon-shortlisted entry found suitable shall be treatedas a wildcard entry and the same shall be eligible forthe Final Open Jury. Hence, all the participants areexpected to be present at the venue at 10:00 AM.b) Venue – ‘Banyan’, Chitnavis Centre, Civil Lines,Nagpurc) Timing : 11:00 AM to 6:00 PMd) External Jurors –i) Ar. Dev Bildikar, Practicing Architect & visiting

faculty at RV College of Architecture, Bengaluruii) Ar. Jayanth Gopal, Practicing Architect, Bengaluruiii) Ar. Giuseppe Morando, Italy [Design Head at

Urban Frame (Space Matrix Group Company)presently based at Bengaluru]

The sequence of presentation will be by draw of lots.Each presenter will be provided 13 minutes for thepresentation. There will be a caution bell at the end of13 minutes.

An overrun of 2 minutes will be allowed. If the presentationexceeds 15 minutes, power to the microphone may be cut off.

Lunch will be provided to the shortlisted participants, jurymembers, teachers and members of the IIA. At the end of thepresentations, the jury members shall retire for determiningthe awards. During this time, there shall be an Open House,where all participants shall together participate in mutualdiscussion and questioning. The Open House shall be followedby screening of a documentary filmed upon completion of 10years of the Competition and the awards ceremony. Thedecision of the jurors shall be final and binding on allstakeholders.

PRESENTATION MODEi) Internal Assessment - Maximum six A0 sheets, preferably

computer aided and well rendered. Model is optional.ii) Final Open Jury – PowerPoint presentation of scanned

hard copies.

PRESENTATION RHETORICA well rehearsed explanation narrated in a systematic mannerwill always help. Explain the strategy of your design, theconcepts explained therein in a concise manner. Emphasize inyour rhetoric the idea of your project. Also talk about thelearning process.

PRESENTATION ETIQUETTEKeep an amiable, pleasant and confident appearance. Bepatient with the jury. Listen to them, after all this is a peerreview. Questions are inevitable. Therefore your answers aremandatory.

INTERNAL ASSESSMENTEach participating institution is eligible to submit 3 shortlistedentries per 40 participants. For example, if the intake is 120,but number of participants is 65, the number of eligibleentries shall be 4.87, i.e., 5 entries (rounded off).

In other words, 1 entry per 13.33 participating students will beeligible. However, in the event the number of participatingstudents are less than 13, even then 1 entry will be eligible.

The shortlisted entries shall be certified by the head of theparticipating institution by stamping & signing the same. Theentries shall be accompanied by the list of participants, dulystamped & certified by the head of the institution and scannedcopies of the stamped hard copies.

The mode of assessment shall be table jury. Each presenterwill be provided 10 minutes. There will be a caution bell at theend of 8 minutes. An overrun of 2 minutes will be allowed.

Only entries deemed worthy shall make it to the final openjury. The names of the short listed entries for the final openjury will be duly conveyed. The decision of the internalassessors shall be final and binding on all stakeholders.

RETURNING OF ENTRIESThe shortlisted entries will be retained by the Nagpur Centre.The remaining entries too shall be retained and returned tothe respective institutions after the final open jury. Thescanned entries shall be presented in the final open jury,which shall be an audio visual presentation.

PRIZES –1ST - CERTIFICATE AND CASH AWARD OF INR 7500.002ND - CERTIFICATE AND CASH AWARD OF INR 5000.003RD - CERTIFICATE AND CASH AWARD OF INR 2500.00CONSOLATION PRIZES - TWO, WITH CERTIFICATE;COMMENDATION CERTIFICATES SHALL BE GIVEN TO THESHORTLISTED ENTRIES RUNNING TROPHY SHALL BEAWARDED TO THE INSTITUTION OF THE 1ST PRIZE WINNINGSTUDENT

AMENDMENTS TO THE COMPETITION BRIEF –The Indian Institute of Architects, Nagpur Centre reserves theright to make amendments in the Competition Brief withoutassigning any reasons whatsoever.