At a time when citizens were expected to remain sheltered within their homes, H & R Johnson bridged the information gap between people and design professionals, by bringing their conversations to the public and raising critical and urgent questions on the role of Architecture and Design in the COVID-19 era.
A Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor under construction at Kakrapar, Gujarat.Image Attribution: Reetesh Chaurasia, via Wikimedia Commons
Dinesh Vyas [DV]: I’d like to start by posing a question to Ar. Hafeez Contractor. I’m sure many of us have been thinking of taking some time off to relax, from time to time. Now we’ve all been given a much longer break than we would have liked. Could you share any of your thoughts or personal realisations which emerged during this lockdown?
Ar. Hafeez Contractor: I know there’s a lot of talk about the procedures and steps to be taken to prevent the spread of this virus and keep it in check. I’ve always been the type of person to go to the crux of any problem, however – and that’s why I’d like to use this time to talk about our environment and how we’ve treated nature. Climate change is the biggest environment crisis of our time, and our generation is the last generation who can do something about it. We need to understand how we have been living our lives up till now, and start making healthy changes to reduce the global carbon footprint and the usage of fossil fuels. This will require all of us to come together, consciously and physically, and collectively take a step in the right direction.
DV: Dr. Subramanyam, do you think there will be a change in the nature of hospital design and management, due to the widespread impact of the pandemic?
Dr. Subramanyam: I think there are many functions and process which will now have to change to subscribe to our new idea of “the new normal”. For instance, a crowded OPD is one of the cultural aspects of our system – if one patient is sick, they are almost always accompanied by four or five attendants. This is an example of one of the cultural processes which will also have to change along with the logistical and economic processes. There are a number of established hospitals all over India, some more than 25 years old. Many if these can be renovated to follow social distancing and hygiene standards. We must try to ensure fever clinics are included in hospital designs – areas which can treat people in isolation. Changes in hospital architecture and design, however, will not necessarily mean the right cultural shifts will also happen. A lot depends on our dedication to properly fight diseases, and change people’s mindsets.
DV: I want to direct the next question to Mr. Sarat Chandak, CEO, Prism Johnson Limited: as a product manufacturer, what are your perceptions of the business environment post the pandemic?
Sarat Chandak: As a manufacturer, we have always kept in mind aspects of health, safety and hygiene. After 9-11, various screening procedures were put into place to help prevent such a disaster happening again. Similarly, COVID -19 will also ensure we take proper precautions going forward. As a lifestyle brand, we will take into considerations all these aspects before creating a product. I think the right way forward would be to create a collaborative understanding between architects, doctors and manufacturers, so that together we can aim to address these concerns by remaining environmentally conscious.
DV: Mr Chowdhury, to what extent do you think automation and technology will play a role in our construction and labour populations going forward?
Barun Pal Chowdhury: The construction sector in India accounts for almost 5% of the national GDP, but unfortunately this sector is one of the most unorganised industries in India. Being part of the construction fraternity, I think we have been given an opportunity to rethink and reorganise our systems. With off-site construction, modular technology and plug-and-play mechanisms, we can greatly reduce the required labour intensity on site. From a larger perspective, a change in the labour laws as well as bye-laws can also greatly help the industry. All these changes will be for the betterment of our society and public health. Although it may seem difficult to deal with, it’s like I always say – change is the only constant.
DV: Mr. Arnab, you have been associated with millions of square feet of corporate office creation, and now with the coronavirus a lot of these remain unused, and it is yet to be seen what measurements will be put in place to get these spaces operating at full capacity once again. What according to you could be some of the larger shifts that will happen, with regard to the design and operations of corporate spaces?
Arnab Gosh: I think many aspects will have to change. Technologically, we can be looking at sensor-based technology, facial and voice recognition-based programming, to help detect the temperatures and the identities of people using the space. Any technology which helps reduce touch-points in a space will be adapted to fit public spaces. When we talk about social spaces, the fundamental design processes of these spaces will have to be looked at again, keeping in mind they have to maintain social distance norms. Cafeterias, meeting rooms, town halls, etc., must all evolve to suit our needs going forward. Office spaces in the 60’s used to mean tightly packed cubicles cut off from one another. We have slowly moved out of such space design to provide inclusivity and a sense of companionship in our workspaces. It will be our job as designers to find this middle ground again, where practicality meets humanity.
DV: I want to ask Mr Ashok Kumar: do you think there will be any changes or laws that will be imposed by the government with regards to the architecture and design processes?
Ashok Kumar: I think a mixed land use plan would be the right way forward. Today we have strict land use norms which must be abided to and cannot be changed or modified. Land marked as residential on the land use map cannot be interchanged with commercial or vice versa. By altering these aspects, we can change the way our cities are planned. Residential and office spaces can be in the same areas, reducing commute and load on transport services. I also think that adopting innovative construction technology, we can speed up the construction time of projects. In today’s context a project takes between 20 to 30 months to finish completion. By implementing composite steel structures or pre-cast technology, for example, we can reduce the construction time of a project by half – almost 15 to 18 months.
DV: To conclude, I want to ask Mr. Prabhu: do you think people are now going to look at architecture differently?
Shashi Prabhu: Things have been strange, of course, but I understand why we must follow the strict regulations for our own safety. We have been discussing the global extent of the problem we face today, but I am more concerned about our immediate needs, surrounding the context of Mumbai. I think the only evident design change will be how we look at the architecture of Hospitals going forward, as it is very difficult to design a hospital for only one disease ⊗
