India for further studies on Louis Kahn and Corbusier

Images by Pei Wei Lai

People always ask, "Who's your favourite architect?" and there would always be a million images of works by many architects running through my brains in a milisecond! (If that's even possible) I could never come up with an answer that would satisfy myself. If I say, "I don't really have one" many would think that I'm such a snob that I could not be bothered to look up works of architects, be they classical or contemporary or that I do not know much about architecture at all.

I have always felt like I should have one fixed answer just in case someone asked, especially coming from an architect or an architecture academic. But going to India with Prof. Haig Beck had opened my eyes and made me realise that the one architect that had always inspired me and will continue to leave me in an awe everytime I look at his work is Louis Kahn.

I remember the first ever lecture in university, I was bombarded with images after images of works by a long list of architects, of which some names I could not even pronounce. But the one name that had resonated and stay with me throughout my entire academic endeavour was Louis Kahn. I remember falling in deep love with his work in first year but had slowly forgotten what his work has meant to me throughout the years.

In the final year of my studies, I have rediscovered what had gotten me so excited about architecture in the early years. It was the image of pure geometrical form. It was the power of the 'served' and 'servant' spaces. It was light and shade. It was the partis and most of all, it was the respect for materials and that was staying true to the nature of materials.

In Sept 2009, I enrolled myself in a travelling studio to Ahmedabad ('ahm'-'da'-'vad'), India. The studio was about studying the works of Kahn and Corbusier in India and we got to experience first hand what it was like to be in the buildings by possibly two of the greatest architects, ever.

Being in the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) made me realise the power of architecture, the power it has on not only the user but also its context. Words can only merely described the experience but perhaps here, in this context, images would do it more justice.

Geometry

Light and shade

Perhaps now, if someone had asked me "Who's your favourite architect?", I would have an answer.