ARCHITECTURAL EXPRESSION

INFLUENCED BY WORLD AS A
GLOBAL VILLAGE

- AR. AJIT SHARMA

- AR. SIMROZ KHAN
 GLOBAL VILLAGE

• The term global village describes the phenomenon

of the world becoming more interconnected as
the result of the propagation of media
technologies throughout the world.
• "Global Village" refers to the idea of an
increasingly unified world where effects of
globalization allow us to overcome the limitations
of physical distance.
• It can be summarized as follows: we are now
connected by many convenient modes of travel,
global media, advanced technologies and
seamless information transfer, and that we have
become a sort of "single global community".
 The Advantages of our Global Village

• Resources can be sourced from various countries in order to produce goods and
services more efficiently.
• Efficient global trade allows consumers to have a much larger variety of
products/services to choose from.
• These products/services are made brought to market at much lower prices due to
competitive forces worldwide.
• Consequently, companies are able to procure the necessary input materials and
services at more competitive prices, due to global supply.
• Companies have access to much wider larger multinational markets.
• Peace/understanding, goodwill and cultural alignment is facilitated among
countries that were once vastly different and "at war".
• Opportunities for investment have expanded beyond national borders.
• Import/Export laws have made it easier to sustain optimal global supplies of
essential goods/commodities since countries are now able to focus on their core
competencies and rely on international trade.
• Adverse effects of fluctuations in agricultural productions in one area can be
reduced by pooling production from other areas.
 The Disadvantages of our Global Village:

• Developed countries can stifle development of undeveloped and under-developed

countries.
• Economic depression in one country can trigger adverse reactions across the
globe.
• Increased movement of products and people across the globe facilitates the
spread of diseases, thus increasing the risk of outbreaks.
• Global competition puts pressure on small businesses who do not have resources
to compete on a global scale. Globalization is a hindrance to local small business
operations.
• Ease of access to cheaper labor abroad has been detrimental to employment
standards in most developed countries. Companies are moving production
offshore, causing unskilled workers to move into entry-level service work where
pay is low and turnover is high.
• The world is experiencing a shift towards widespread languages and the
dominance of western cultural values. On average, one language dies every 14
days. By the next century nearly half of the roughly 7,000 languages spoken on
Earth will likely disappear, as communities abandon native tongues in favor of
English, Mandarin, or Spanish.
IMPACT OF GLOBAL VILLAGE ON ARCHITECTURE

• As the technology advances and world is progressing, globalization

is inevitable. This can be seen in everything around. It is turning
everything into a commodity. Product is being given more value
than the process. Globalization has also transformed
architecture into a commodity. Globalisation opened the walls
across the globe. With rapid urbanisation and technology the
culture rooted in architecture is getting lost. India is losing its
cultural identity as it is merely following the “international style”.
With the opening up of the boundaries and globalisation taking its
pace in India different cultures got mixed. There was a huge clash of
culture resulting western lifestyle dominating the Indian lifestyle.
From joint families, India is now broken to nuclear families. This
change in lifestyle has affected Indan architecture to a great extent.
• Due to global village the architecture of buildings has changed and the concept of
connected living is completely violated. For instance the traditional courtyard
houses that were built for a joint family where all the members could come
together in the communal courtyard is now lost. Collectiveness of the Indian
culture has been sacrificed in the wake of individual identity. The resultant
architecture fails to portray the sense of harmony. It fails to create that connect
between the space or the building and an individual. The space created no longer
possesses the Indian contextual sense. It loses its regional identity. This
architecture provides a city an image or identity that is required to elevate
it in the global market but it fails to evoke emotional responses in local citizens- a
sense of belonging and pride for the place can no longer be related to a
building.
• Referencing to Aldo Rossi’s “the Architecture of the City”, the theory of “the
Locus” - a relationship between a certain specific location and the buildings that
are in it -is completely missing in the contemporary architectural world.
Globalisation has led to various different kinds of projects developing in India
which show a clear break between the context and architecture developing
in that context. For instance the new gated communities that are coming in, they
have no historical or spatial context, they have no relation with the context
they are being created in. The developers of such projects make these buildings
into a self-sufficient unit in terms of services, recreation, infrastructure, etc. Being
self-sufficient and large enough they detach themselves from the surroundings
and a clear demarcation between the outside world and the inside world is
developed.
• The new housing projects sometimes use foreign architectural styles. The new
housing projects are created to serve the purpose of identity representations by
the brand they are built. They also serve as invested strategies which are vital in
supporting the manifested identities. Globalization is bringing many noticeable
changes in the contemporary architecture of India which can clearly be seen in
cities like Hyderabad, Delhi, Chandigarh; etc. With globalisation came new
building typologies in India. New western life style was introduced hence the
“mall” culture took over the bazaar culture in cities like Delhi. Globalisation
has resulted in increased land value; setting up of new buildings as well as
it has led to the increased demand of replication of the western building design
standards. This has caused the Indian architecture to adapt to new changes. A very
evident example of this can be seen in all the glass buildings of Gurgaon which falls
under the category of the contemporary architecture of India. Over the last twenty
years, globalisation has transformed Gurgaon from a village of buffaloes to a city
known for its multinational glass blocks. These buildings express the havoc
caused by replication of western architectural style brought in by
globalisation. These styles have engulfed the Indian landscape with their high
energy demands (for example to maintain cooling), utilising resources that are
already scarce in India. The contemporary architecture has lost its value for
space because of globalization. These can be categorized as the “decorated
sheds” (a term coined by Robert Venturi in his book “Learning from Las Vegas,
1972). The architecture has become more of a symbol and a brand than
architecture of space. Present day architecture in India is all about building a
commercial commodity.
• These glass buildings are nothing but an ideogram India is using to establish its
place in the global market. Architecture has now become a materialistic
showpiece that relies on technology and the capital brought in by
globalization. It has now become more of a symbol than space. “Architecture is
not a business, not a career, but a crusade and a consecration to a joy that
justifies the existence of the earth” – Henry Cameron. This saying is now
somewhat lost because of globalisation. Contemporary architecture is not creating
spaces; it is assembling masses in space. Buildings that come up in
globalisation are iconic and specific to its user. For instance the Bharti Airtel
office building in Gurgaon is constructed in such a manner that a different
company might not be able to fit into it. The colours of the facades are done
in such a manner to reflect its specific user-Airtel.
• Another impact of globalisation on contemporary architecture is the corporate
branding of designs of buildings for large companies or MNCs. Globalisation
has caused an inevitable need for every building to have a specific “identity” so
that it is remarkably recognised in the western market. Contemporary architecture
is about making the brand name behind the building recognised. It is no longer
built according to the context. Buildings create a context of their own. They are
not made to inspire people and the society. Every building being constructed in
Gurgaon can be placed in any part of the world without it being affected itself or it
affecting anything around. More emphasis is being given to create pretentious
buildings that stand apart from its neighbouring building. “Good architectural
practice is one that acts responsibly for its broader environment and is sensitive
to the fabric and grain of a city.”
• With global village flew in the concept of “quick construction” which is very
well achieved by the materials that came in with Globalisation. The architecture
built by “the Established” and “the Popularists “is being copied without any
contextual knowledge. Globalisation has taken “Branding” to a next level- branding
not only in terms of products but architecture as well. The new architecture
has been approvingly dubbed “supermodern” by the Dutch critic Hans
Ibelings. “For this architecture the surroundings constitute neither legitimation
nor inspiration for these are derived from what goes on inside the building,
from the programme” (Hans Ibelings, 1998) Looking at the glass buildings of
Mumbai, Moscow and Shanghai sitting in completely different parts of the world
yet they are very much similar in terms of their verticality, material used and the
absence of contextual relation with the place they are built in.