In-Ch Lab

This is an interesting and fruitful initiative to support bamboo and the work with bamboo. IN:CH architects and planners created design, construction and materialization of two prototype houses for poor families and a community center for a particular region. The work we did is seen as a modified version, transformed by local workers for local users. We hope that many families in Wayanad are getting the opportunity to build a similar house.

The bachelor-studio in:ch 2011 will be completed with the CAS and MAS. Students of both levels will be collaborating on projects in sustainable architecture and urban development in Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Bangalore in intercultural teams. The topics will be development of housing, forms of housing and concepts of housing.Application for CAS and MAS will be announced shortly.

While planning a 10 acre-site in Chennai with offices, a hotel, service apartments and a wide variety of housing, two versions out of many became favorite and develop-able. A challenges is to unite social and economic aspects with a high density. We are working on it.

Faculty members from Hochschule der Künste Bern Switzerland HKB will join a study tripwhere they will see the transformations in Mumbai, the art fair in Delhi and the Kochi Art Biennale

The studio in Mumbai was to discover the urbanity in Mumbai through nutrition, through different food distribution channels. Some of them formal systems and some of them informal systems were discovered, analysed and also intervened by the students as a part of their task. The food groups such as seafood, vegetables, fruits, poultry and spices were traced from the producers to the end users. The interventions could be architectural, social or managerial to improve the food distribution efficiencies. The architecture students enjoyed discovering the city through a different medium. The students went to fishing communities at 4am in the morning sometimes to understand the process, market and people. The students visited the SUZLON-one earth campus, Pune during the phase in Mumbai. They also produced videos as minitask in this phase. This phase was in collaboration with Kamla Raheja School of Architecture KRVIA.

What looks like a wall in a discotheque will be useful as a flexible magnetic underlay for the next exhibition. You will see and enjoy this space soon. It is the last stage of execution and everybody is working together to reach the time deadlines. The occupants can experience their new and improved space in a few days.

The planning on paper is being executed on site now. The atmosphere at site is vibrant and intense. The work teams on site are in a healthy competition. The first phase of the project has to finish before the arrival of the monsoons.

The final jury and exhibition for the in:ch studio 2011 will be held on 2nd june 2011 at Alliance Francaise with prominent architects as jury members. The students will showcase their work from the last 4 months in India

Date: 2nd June 2011
Venue: Alliance Francaise
Time: Jury 9am, Lecture by Architect Ashok Lall 7pm, Exhibition 8pm

Students work with Manjula, our cook in the kitchen to create food from over the globe. It is a good social activity and learning for all and makes for great lunch twice a week. The team effort makes communication in the local context an important learning for students.

The kitchen garden, the bamboo mats and the metal stairs are on their way to be completed. Another job is to test the solar panel, the bio gas energy production and the water filter. As soon as all this would finish, especially the garden, the family can use their new house.