Designer Dreams
Guwahati is growing out of billboards, grandfather homes and prototype skyscrapers. It's time we welcome a more aesthetic way of designing the city. TE takes a look
The Indian tradition of building homes has always been about ‘fitting in’, when it cannot afford the grandeur of its olden, royal architecture. People try to make a place to move in with their families just to have a roof over their heads, rather than spending a fortune on an investment called shelter. The mention of Assam here would be quite appropriate for its everlasting virtue of being too modest to be prominent. When we talk about beautiful buildings or rather heritage, there are not too many names in the list, except the Dols (temples) and the almost dilapidating palaces of Sivasagar, or the Sankardev Kalakshetra of Guwahati.
The good news is that history is finally taking a turn, and designing a home is becoming as important as building one. There are more people coming up to style their houses, not just by accessories or furniture but by giving it a designing edge. The idea is to build something that is going to stay for generations; hence it might as well be beautiful. Rittick Hazarika, a practicing architect of Guwahati says, “Guwahati is full of premium materials and a lot of them are imported from all over the world.” Rittick, who has recently designed a house for Mr. Diganta Barua, a businessman, has blended expert geometry with designer home accessories. “Apart from the functional requirements that a family of four can have, he (Mr. Barua) wanted something which is in the realm of architecture and which has a contemporary and international feel to it.”
The almost geometrical house has some internal physics running along. “You’ll notice that there are mostly rectangular or quadrilateral shapes in the house. That generally helps in making the area spacious,” says Mr. Barua. There is also an open space between the main building and the guest unit, enabling the guests to have their own privacy. The swimming pool is strategically located here to make up nicely for the space. All rooms have been built in a way that allows maximum light and air to enter, and prevent them from getting damp. Apart from that, there has been a careful use of CCTVs, fingerprint doors, numerical locks, sensors and burglar alarms for safety purposes.
It’s not always about big money that can afford ace designs for a home. By and large, there is enough product range in the market to suit one’s budget. As a gradually evolving city, flats are mushrooming everywhere in Guwahati. Designs will have elements of repetition to cater to the mass market and apartments will make standardized units for economics of scale. But if one wants, he can suit his aesthetics to a wide choice of furniture and furnishings to personalise his own space. For the amount of expenditure people make on dresses, electronic gadgets, cars and other accessories, if even a fraction is spent in building beautiful homes, Guwahati could be a much more desirable place to stay in.
The traditional architecture of a region is in a way its identity. But when global influence can be seen as an urban fetish, and when people can spend the moolah in buying a Merc rather than the ever traditional ambassador, there is no reason why they wouldn’t spend the same to have a designer house rather than a usual ‘Assam/RCC-type’ building for their homes. The earning capacity of the city is leaping high. With user-friendly investment policies, people can now buy things and also meet the installments at their accounted time, without much ado. Not to say the least, the city is also sprawling with myriad business enterprises of many emerging entrepreneurs who can give a dime to make the city look better, and not be bothered a feather!
At the same time, bamboo and cane products, which cover a huge range of home accessories in the region, have been redefined for a posh interior décor. Designers today are looking into ways in which these traditional resources can be given a contemporary feel. In fact, many such homemade products are even exported across the globe. But while this sentiment is bought, people also do not hesitate in spending what is worth a beautiful piece of furniture, even if it comes across the oceans.
Guwahati is yet to reach a stately position, when it comes to having a well laid out plan of living. There is a lot of work to be done to improve the face of the city, in terms of its public and personal spaces and also a dire need of investment to make it possible. Whether it is the question of roads or markets, official or housing complexes, aesthetic building is required in order to create a comely living environment. Besides, what is built now will remain for ages, as testimony to the handsome tastes and style of the yesteryears. As Mr. Hazarika says, “It is not a choice but a necessity to live in a beautiful environment. I am optimistic that more people will come out with the idea of making good buildings and not just cover their land with maximum floor space.” Considering the bank balance of the city magnates and the government, what he says is not unlikely. The need of the hour is to maximize imagination and implement the long cherished dreams.
WORDS: Agamonee Barbaruah
PHOTOS: Sashanka Barbaruah
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