June

Volume 4A /B.Arch
2022

INDIA 039 UMESH CHANDRA

1 NEWS
1 Ar. Kevin Roche and his Career:
The 4th Pritzker Architecture
Prize winner.
2 Documentation of Rachakonda
and it’s Hidden Greatness.
2 How Affordable a house can be?
Ar. Kevin Roche and his Career:
The 4th Pritzker Architecture Prize winner.
Kevin Roche(June 14, 1922- March 1,
2019) is an Irish American architect.
He is the 1982 recipient of the
Pritzker Architecture Prize. He is
recognized for the work he did in
partnership with Eero Saarinen. He
worked with John Dinkeloo and
were associates until John died. A
lot of the work he did was with his
partner John Dinkeloo. He deals
with Administrative, Educational,
and corporate structures. From 1994
to 1997 he served as president of
the American Academy of Arts and
Letters.
The Pritzker Architecture Prize is
awarded irrespective of race, color,
religion, national origin, disability, or
age. It is to honor an Architect who
demonstrates talent, vision, and
commitment in the built work If the
work contributes to the Humanity
and built environment through
the art of architecture. The Prize is
awarded every year to the Architect
for significant achievement through
nominations which are accepted
internationally by persons who
have knowledge and interest in
advancing great architecture.
The Pritzker family of Chicago
established this Prize through Hyatt
Foundation in 1979.
Kevin Roche, the 1982 recipient of
the Pritzker Architecture Prize was
born in Dublin. He has done his B.
Arch from the National University
of Ireland in 1945 and then Went
to Dublin University College,
worked for a while then went to
Illinois Institute of Technology. The
Dublin-born American architect
gave striking new identities to
corporations, museums, and
institutions. His modernist buildings
were bold and refined whose
modernist buildings. He died at 96
at his home in Guilford, Conn.
Strong, memorable forms were
his Inspiration. He started seeing
architecture as a matter of problem-
solving and shape thinking.
He believes that each building
emerged out of a different situation
which made each something very
different. He got this vision from his
mentor, Eero Saarinen. His designs
are Unique and Noted. He designed
all the wings of the Metropolitan
Museum’s expansion, beginning
with the Lehman Pavilion, a sunken
space with a central skylight gallery
surrounded by a series of rooms,
which opened in 1975. He works
with glass to make his buildings
visually appealing and he is known
for it. He also designed an Enormous
glass pavilion enclosing the Temple
of Dendur, It was completed in
1979, and he redesigned the front
stairs and the plaza in front of the
museum. The Met addition’s angular
glass forms contrasted sharply with
the ornate limestone facades of the
museum’s older sections. Mr. Roche
came up with widely different
architectural responses to different
domus 39 June 2022
architectural situations.
He uses lines in his works. In his
Knights of Columbus Building,
There are vertical lines for supports
and horizontal lines across the
building. He uses balance in his
architecture mainly in his Knights of
Columbus Building and the Bank of
America Plaza because their sides
are symmetrical
He uses unity in his architecture
specifically in his Bank of America
Plaza because it looks like one
object.
Roche received the Pritzker Prize
in 1982 and Gold Medal Award
from the American Academy
of Arts and AIA Gold Medal
in 1993. His completed works
include 8 museums,38 corporate
headquarters, 7 research facilities,
performing arts centers, theaters,
campus buildings for 6 universities,
and the Central Park Zoo. Roche
joined Eero Saarinen and Associates
in 1950 and assisted him on all of
the projects from that time. Roche
completed 12 major unfinished
Saarinen projects, including some
of Saarinen’s best-known works.
In 1966 Roche and John Dinkeloo
changed the name of Eero Saarinen
and Associates to Kevin Roche
John Dinkeloo and Associates upon
completion of Saarinen’s projects.
Their first major commission was
the Oakland Museum of California.
In conclusion, Roche has a
unique style in Architecture. He
demonstrates a kind of problem-
solving for each specific situation,
producing works of distinct
individuality and stylistic variety
from project to project. It is known
that Roche and Dinkeloo Firm
is the most aesthetically daring
and innovative American firm of
architects now working in the realm
of governmental, educational, and
corporate clients.
Roche firmly believes that
architecture should not fall into
a rigid mold. There have been a
number of attempts to label or
categorize his work.
2 NEWS
Documentation of Rachakonda and
it’s Hidden Greatness
The Rachakonda village is in
Samsthan Narayanpur Mandal,
Yadadri Bhongir District, which is 70
km away from Hyderabad. Located
on the foothills of the fort, falls under
the Nalgonda district only. The fort
welcomes us with a large gateway
and a perimeter wall that is close
to 15 feet tall. Two ancient Sri Rama
temples, where the residents lavishly
celebrate Sri Ramanavami, are
located on the left side of the fort.
Two naturally carved water tanks
are among the fort’s many other
interesting elements. Rachakondaa
Fort located at Rachakonda is a fort
from the fourteenth century.
Rachakonda Fort is a good example
of medieval Hindu fort architecture,
Located in Telangana. The name
“Rachakonda” originated from
the word “RajaChalam”; it means
“the hill of the kings”.Rachakonda
was established by Recharala
Padmanakayas, they were the
important leaders of the Kakatiya
dynasty after which they ruled
independently. The castle walls
and gateways are constructed by
Cyclopean Masonry Architecture
(the magic of the fort is it is
constructed without masonry). The
fort was ruled by many kings like
Recharla Nayakas, Vijayanagara,
Bahmanis, Qutub, and Nizam.
It was built by the Recherla clan
king Anapotanayaka in the 14th
century AD.
The former capital of the Recherla
Nayakas was at Anumagallu
(present Amangal). At around
1360 AD, the capital was shifted by
Anapotanayaka from Anumagallu
to Rachakonda where he built a
strong fort. The Rochelle Nayakas
lost control of Rachakonda in 1430
AD to the Bahamas but held onto
Devarakonda till 1475 AD. Bammera
Later the Sultans occupied the
fort, in 1536 AD the Qutub shahis
and finally the fort came under
the control of Nizams. Potana and
Naganath belonged to the Recherla
kingdom.
The structure of Hindu medieval
fort architecture may be found at
Rachakonda Fort. Large stones
that are uneven in size and shape
make up the framework. Mortar is
not used in the building of the fort.
There are gates at the entry built of
horizontal beams and stone pillars.
The building’s interior is coated
with mud, while the outer walls are
made of stones. Rachakonda Fort’s
building was purposefully designed
as a defensive bastion with strong
defenses. It was one of the most
noticeable buildings back when
there were no guns. Due to their
commitment to the Cyclopean
Masonry style, which was mostly
used by the rulers during the
medieval Indian period, the
construction of the temples,
boundary wall on the hill, and other
structures was an engineering
marvel to witness. Rachakonda Fort
is currently Hyderabad residents’
favorite weekend destination.
Due to its natural beauty and the
memory of the Rachakonda fort
that climbing the hill provides,
visitors can enjoy an exhilarating
experience. It is now a popular
tourist destination in Hyderabad.
The hills surrounding the fort also
provide an opportunity for trekking
and a panoramic view of the plains
below. Rachakonda Fort is quite
remote. It’s most likely not finding
an Internet connection near the
Fort. There is no water or food or
washroom around. The fort is rocky
and uneven, one has to trek uphill.
Rachakonda has pretty scenery and
views of the sunset from the hilltop.
The place is pretty secluded, after
the sunset, the area is pitch dark.
It was very informative to interact
with the locals and though we
might not have gotten accurate
historical information, it was
interesting to know about their
experiences and memories related
to this place. When we asked them
if they would use the well water if it
was restored, they expressed their
desire in favor of it. Restoring the
step wells in Rachakonda would
be of great use to the villagers and
would increase the heritage of the
site too.
How Affordable a house can be?
A big city with a good combination
of affordable prices. This concept
of a livable metropolis seems more
and more like a pipe dream around
the world. Low housing afford-
ability is more than just a disaster
for the United States. It can be
found in Caracas, Moscow, Rio de
Janeiro, and many other cities. The
United Nations estimates that by
2030 more than 60% of the world’s
population will remain in cities
despite the pandemic. Urbanization
will continue to progress at a rapid
pace. And what we really want to
do is find ways to build it in a way
that’s really livable and cheaper...
but there’s one place that seems
to be holding back the housing
disaster. Vienna, the capital of
Austria, is one of the world’s
cheapest metropolises. It also
tops the charts for living well. And
the methods given there can also
provide some hints for cities around
the world: Aspern Seestadt, a suburb
of Vienna. One of the major new
urban features is currently out of
production in Europe. The Seestadt
is built on a former airfield, with a
man-made bathing beach at its
heart. 60-70% of the apartments
built here can be attributed to
cheap housing construction.
Some of these can be designed by
residents. We all understand how
difficult it is to breathe life into a
new neighborhood and make it as
tangible as the vintage elements
of the big city with the quaint
streets that everyone loves. So
we are introducing a whole new
version of co-living. In Berlin and
Freiburg, self-developed multi-kind
and kin-inhabited residential areas
have emerged as offshoots of the
squatter movement. These are
groups of people, usually families,
who, like their environment, adapt
to a certain ideology or live in
solidarity. They paint, design, and
build their own family homes for
some people. Communal living is
one of Vienna’s most progressive
subsidized forms of living. Apart
from the fact that having the
opportunity to furnish your own
apartment in a subsidized housing
project is very special, it is very
important to consider so many
things in this project. , Provides a co-
working space, seminar room, and
dining room kitchen for everyone
to use.
But the maximum essential
domus 39 June 2022
component is that those people
which have labored collectively on
designing their personal residences
and their personal constructing
shape a network, an energetic
network. So we’ve discovered that
they paintings as a network magnet
and they’re a good way to convey
life to a brand new city quarter.
When it involves afford-ability,
Seestadt isn’t always an exception.
Vienna is developing rapidly and
to fulfill the demand, each year, it
builds a minimum of 7,000 low-cost
housing gadgets. About 1/2 of all
of the residences are constructed
with inside the town. 62% of the
Viennese populace already live
in this kind of accommodation.
Public housing blocks, which can
be residences that belong totally to
the town of Vienna are simply a part
of the low-cost housing portfolio.
The town has been constructing
them at a constant pace because
the 1920s. Many different nations
additionally attempted to make this
version of paintings, however, few
have succeeded. Public housing
summons this vision of bloodless
huge towers. Many have been, at the
time of their construction following
World War II, very Utopian projects.
Their planners imagined a type of
modernist egalitarian society that
may have succeeded in the event
that they have been funded and
maintained and supported, however
they have been now no longer.
And what this does is it maintains
humans in those groups. That’s
a completely unique way of
searching at preserving groups
intact. In the ‘90s, the development
method additionally changed.
Each organization that desires to
construct social housing wishes
to put up its layout in a developer
competition. One of the maximum
essential mechanisms of making
sure sustainability and niceness
is competition. The designs are
judged primarily based totally
on the architectural nice of the
development, and the financial
characteristic of the building, so
it really is how cheaply they could
construct it, the environmental
overall performance of the building,
in addition to the social mix.