Beyond Beautiful Buildings: Rahul Mehrotra on Architecture as Social Transformation | TiSB 28

Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction & The Role of Architects

(00:03:37) City Branding and Identity

(00:06:39) Populism and Renaming Cities

(00:13:38) Civic Participation & Neighborhoods

(00:19:30) Urban Conservation & Kala Ghoda

(00:22:34) Civil Society & Citizen Empowerment

(00:32:18) The Emergency & Social Inequality

(00:39:47) Quality of Life: Air, Water, and Urban Health

(00:42:30) Housing, Dharavi & Metropolitan Solutions

(00:48:16) Soft Thresholds & Inclusive Design

(00:53:30) Laurie Baker & Contextual Architecture

(00:55:51) Four Approaches to Indian Architecture

(01:01:16) Order and Chaos: Chandigarh & Jaipur

(01:06:41) Closing Reflections

The Urban Evolution: Exploring Spatial Imagination with Rahul Mehrotra

In this episode of The Idea Sandbox, I spoke with architect and urban designer Rahul Mehrotra, whose work bridges architecture, conservation, and urban planning across India. Rahul's ideas challenge conventional thinking about how we build cities, particularly in rapidly developing contexts.

Our conversation traversed the ongoing city-renaming frenzy in India, revealing the hidden costs beyond just changing signboards. Rahul offered a brilliant insight about cities as brands with accumulated goodwill and recognition value - something rarely considered in bureaucratic renaming decisions.

What stood out most was Rahul's concept of "soft thresholds" - architectural design that deliberately creates permeable boundaries between different social classes. His example of corporate buildings designed with gardens that gardeners maintain, enabling eye contact and relationship-building between executives and maintenance staff, demonstrates how architecture can subtly resist social stratification.

Rahul outlined four distinct architectural approaches in India: global practices (the "architecture of impatient capital"), regional practices, alternative practices, and the "resurfacing of the ancient." Rather than advocating for one approach, he emphasizes their simultaneous validity and the need for coherent coexistence.

His research on "Becoming Urban" reveals how outdated classification criteria prevent thousands of large settlements from receiving proper municipal governance and infrastructure. This systemic issue diverts resources away from where they're needed, causing cascading inefficiencies throughout India's development.

Perhaps most provocative was Rahul's perspective on architects' social responsibility. Just as society invests in doctors for better health, he argues society invests in architects to imagine better spatial possibilities - a responsibility many in the profession haven't fully embraced.

The conversation left me contemplating how small design decisions can either reinforce social divides or create opportunities for community cohesion. Rahul's work demonstrates that truly innovative solutions don't just address technical problems - they reshape the very way we interact with each other in shared spaces.

Learn more about Rahul Mehrothora:

RMA Architects official website: https://rmaarchitects.com/rahul-mehrotra/

Harvard GSD faculty profile: https://www.gsd.harvard.edu/person/rahul-mehrotra/

RMA Architects Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rma_architects/

ARCHITECTURE IN INDIA by Rahul Mehrotra Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/architectureinindia/

RMA University of Chicago: https://cuppa.uic.edu/academics/upp/upp-programs/master-of-city-design/affiliated-faculty-and-practitioners/rahul-mehrotra/

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