Emerging Exchanges: New Architectures of India

Economic growth, euphoric urbanism, media technologies, transnational modes of production, as well as new state and social dynamics are challenging India’s long-standing modernist ethos, revising notions of culture, identity, practices, and obligations. The Architectural League of New York, Parsons The New School for Design, and the India China Institute of The New School present a two-day conference to address the architectural and urban forms that are emerging as a turbulent “second modernity” rearranges a vast part of the landscape of India. As a theater of these new challenges and conceptualizations, recent works of architecture and planning in India will be explored through presentations by Indian and foreign architects working in India, responses, panel discussions, and a keynote address by Arjun Appadurai. Modern architecture in India, represented by the seminal practices of Balkrishna Doshi, Charles Correa, Raj Rewal, and others, evolving out of the shadows of Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn, has long been on a world stage. However, the present moment is marked by new ideological shifts away from early modernist positions. The Delhi/Ahmedabad axis has moved south to Mumbai and Bangalore. A new generation of architects, both Indian and international, are involved in a diverse range of practices and productions that are suspended in a centripetal and centrifugal dynamic. The works are charged by global and transnational imperatives, on the one hand, and more situated and regional approaches to building, on the other. The conference will be structured around two overlapping themes: Material Formations and Territorial Intersections. DAY 1 – Material Formations 8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Registration 9:00 a.m. Welcomes & Introductions Tim Marshall, Provost (interim), The New School Rosalie Genevro, Executive Director, Architectural League of New York Kazi Ashraf, University of Hawaii, conference co-convener 9:45 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Presentations by: Rajeev Kathpalia Anupama Kundoo Gurjit Singh Matharoo Rahul Mehrotra Samira Rathod Tod Williams and Billie Tsien With responses by: Himanshu Burte Reinhold Martin 2:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Panel discussion: Carol Breckenridge Himanshu Burte Prem Chandavarkar Kenneth Frampton Reinhold Martin Anuradha Mathur 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Registration for Keynote The Great Hall of The Cooper Union 7 East 7th Street 7:00 p.m. Keynote Address “Architecture and Amnesia in Indian Modernity” Arjun Appadurai, Goddard Professor for Media, Culture, and Communication, New York University Introduced by Anthony Vidler, Dean, The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture of The Cooper Union Tickets for the Keynote Address may be purchased separately. See below for complete ticketing information. DAY 2 – Territorial Intersections 9:00 a.m. Welcomes & Introductions Ashok Gurung, Director, India China Institute of The New School Rosalie Genevro, Executive Director, Architectural League of New York Brian McGrath, Parsons The New School for Design, conference co-convener 9:45 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Presentations by: Himanshu Burte Prem Chandavarkar Soumitro Ghosh and Nisha Mathew Sudhir Jambhekar Anuradha Mathur Margie Ruddick and Tom Zook With responses by: Geeta Mehta Vyjayanthi Rao 2:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Panel discussion: Dilip da Cunha Rajeev Kathpalia Rahul Mehrotra Geeta Mehta Vyjayanthi Rao Samira Rathod Neerja Tiku 4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. Closing Reception Registration Registration is required for conference attendance. Tickets include both days of the conference as well as the keynote address. Tickets are $40, Architectural League members $25. To register and purchase tickets, go to www.archleague.org > Lectures > Emerging Exchanges. Purchased tickets are will-call and are non-refundable. A limited number of free seats will be available at the Theresa Lang Student Center for students, faculty, and staff of New York City educational institutions, holding valid school IDs. Preregistration is not required; entry is not guaranteed, but will be made available as space allows. Tickets for the keynote address may be purchased independently. Tickets are free for League members and New School, Cornell University, and Cooper Union students, faculty, and staff, holding valid IDs; $10 for non-members. Members, faculty, and students may reserve a ticket by e-mailing: [email protected]. Member tickets will be held at the check-in desk; unclaimed tickets will be released fifteen minutes after the start of the program. Non-members may purchase tickets online at www.archleague.org > Lectures > Emerging Exchanges. Purchased tickets are will-call and are non-refundable. For general information, email [email protected] or call 212.753.1722 x13. AIA and New York State continuing education credits are available. Sponsored by the Architectural League of New York, Parsons The New School for Design, and the India China Institute of The New School. The sponsors thank The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture of The Cooper Union, Cornell University College of Architecture, Art, and Planning, Mark Fletcher, and AD magazine for their support of the conference. For more information, visit www.archleague.org. Unless otherwise noted, conference sessions held at the Theresa Lang Student Center, The New School, 55 West 13th Street, New York