Dominica:Do you think we should return to localism, rejecting, for example, some of the tools of globalization or the mainstream?
Anupama: Not a bit. I'm not questioning the slowdown of human progress. Rather, I'm questioning this constant being busy, hiding behind this busyness, a kind of escape from what's important, with whom you share air, water, land. My point is not to go back. In the end, everything we create also creates us. Ever since we, as humans, stood on two feet, freeing our hands, we started creating different things, thus developing our minds. By arranging origami, you can learn geometry even when you are three years old. We brought ourselves to the point where we were. I think that at this point, in the Anthropocene era, the next step should be to be more conscious - emotionally and ethically, also to use the tools we have created more consciously. So let's take the time to use the resources we have - prioritizing our mind, feelings and well-being.
Let me give another example. I recently gave a lecture to the Norman Foster Foundation, whose representatives asked me to talk about urban materialism. So I presented twelve substantive strategies for rethinking climate change. The theses formulated were based on my research. However, these are not examples to be copied anywhere in the world. They are a universal starting point that can be adapted locally, as appropriate for the place and context.
Dominica:So we slow down, use existing resources and respect the context.
Anupama: Yes, time has become an undervalued resource. No matter where on earth you live, you have the same twenty-four hours that can be used. This is the best resource. Our body and mind belong to no one else but ourselves. We can make use of it. I think investing in human resources and human intelligence means smarter and wiser solutions, such as saving natural resources. Coming back to glass skyscrapers - it's true that greed is one of the main reasons why we build buildings we don't like. Even apartments have now become a market commodity. Greed arises when we don't realize our incredible human potential. But beyond greed, as humans we still have many good qualities.
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Waste was used in the construction of Volontariat Home: frames from bicycle wheels served as formwork for windows
Photo: Alka Hingorani
Dominica:You have a positive attitude, however, how do you go beyond the patterns we have created ourselves?
Anupama: I think my career is a good example of this. Thirty years ago I was a young girl on my own. I had practically nothing. Today I have my achievements, for which I am known to some extent. Back then, I didn't even imagine that the kind of small, conscious actions I took at the beginning of my career would get me to this place. This is also a good example of the dismissal we talked about earlier. I didn't take on many projects because I didn't feel comfortable with it. But the ones I chose shaped me. Through these projects I was able to grow, I didn't have to repeat myself. Each subsequent project, including the research I do, builds my knowledge. Wherever you are, you can draw from that. Working in Germany as a lecturer at a university, I not only teach students, I also gain knowledge myself, which I can then implement in projects, even in Auroville. Creating cities that are accessible to everyone, new mobility, participation - there is so much more to learn.
Dominica:Paradoxically, by rejecting some proposals, you have shaped yourself.
Anupama: I realized that my main resource is me and my time. I don't want to use it to create things that I don't think will be good. Perhaps if I took on purely commercial projects, I would have more money. But that's not what it's all about. Now I just feel more fulfilled. Of course, the beginnings were not easy. When it turned out that I had no money to pay the bills, or when I set up my practice as a young girl. It was a multifaceted challenge, but I always felt the power and strength to move forward. When I came to Auroville, I created my first house (Hut Petite Ferme) - a hut made of wood connected by rope. I lived in a very simple way. I noticed that the less you have, the more you free up your time. Time to build a relationship with yourself. I realized that I am my first and most important project.
Hut Petite Ferme is located in Auroville; construction completed in 1990}
Photo: Andreas Deffner
Dominica:That sounds idealistic, but also very simple.
Anupama: It's true, as an architect I know that you can be an idealist and a practitioner. They are not two different worlds. I am a very practical person, and I have worked on low-cost projects with very tight budgets. I have designed one hundred and fifty buildings during my career. Not everyone is fantastic. My point is not to brag, but to show that it happened because I followed myself. I think that being an architect involves idealism and practicality. If an architect doesn't use his imagination, who else can we count on for that?
Dominika:Staying in the idealistic realm - tell us, please, about your dreams from the beginning of your career.
Anupama: I've always loved to dream big, but it's equally important to make those dreams come true and not wait for a better moment to accomplish something. People suffer for different reasons. Why don't we give ourselves a better life, based on our harmony, beauty? In each of us is the desire to participate, create and be part of beauty. Each culture tries to bring this element into everyday life in its own way. I think beauty can lift us up.
ut Petite Ferme - the first project of the architect's own house in Aurovillre
photo: Andreas Deffner
Dominika: And it is the role of an architect to bring beauty into everyday life?
Anupama: I think it is. If something is going to be ugly, maybe it's better not to do it at all. I, for example, preferred to live in this simple house made of wood and ropes in Auroville than in a more durable but uglier object. Beauty for me is not something superficial. It can be found in nature, wandering around, but also by observing living structures under a microscope. It is not about the external, but happens inside when you take care of the mind. Beauty is the harmony between the built and the unbuilt. The life that shapes the form of the mushroom is not visible at first glance. But its form is proof of how intelligent this life is. That's what magic is. So when you ask whether an architect should create beauty, I agree with Buckminster Fuller, who said that when he works on a problem he never thinks about beauty, but when he finishes and the solution is not beautiful - it is infinite. I think that objects that are ugly have been left unfinished by their creators. That the process should still go on. Being a designer is a great privilege - using the tools and skills given to us, we can realize the purpose of architecture, which is to focus on people and their needs: health, happiness and well-being.
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"The Architecture of Time" - An excerpt from the exhibition titled. "Taking Time," which showcases sources of inspiration, materials and nature's design possibilities
photo: Kim Hansen
Dominica: Combining the issues of beauty and nature: when you look around, sometimes you can come to the conclusion that nature is a better architect than humans.
Anupama: Yes, although we are also part of nature - our mind, imagination are extensions of it. This is what I tried to show in the exhibition in Louisiana, Denmark. In one part of the exhibition titled. "Wunderkammer" ("cabinet of curiosities") we gathered objects created by nature, animate and inanimate. I call it the architecture of time - with three sections: Matter, Life and Mind. Time flows, leaving its imprint, for example, a mountain stream smooths stones, giving them shape. This imprint contains not only history - it is also the materialization of the invisible universe, which becomes visible to us. This is what beauty is. I titled the last part of the exhibition "Co-creation" ("co-creation"). Humans, with all their imperfections, can co-create with nature. The intelligence of our organisms is incredible - all our organs work without any command and do a wonderful job. Only our mind sometimes loses its balance. As an evolving species, we must continue to evolve - improving and correcting our human course.
Dominica:Thank you for the interview.
interviewed: Dominika Drozdowska
Illustrations provided courtesy of Anupama Kundoo and the Louisiana Museum of Contemporary Art in Denmark.
