2023 June

 

 

Editorial

Spacesandemotionsare fundamentally connected. The impact of built spaces on human emotions has been realized over time; this special issue ofArchitecture Asiaextends its consideration to an additional “typology” of space: that offered by the written word. Spaces,words, andemotionssit contentedly at the ends of a triangle, holding on to their distinctiveness while coexisting as a trio, complementing, affecting, and engaging with each other. The multiplicity of these three entities in terms of internal and external articulations with their constant transformations generates the premise for life to exist. This curated issue offers a window to the perspectives of and approaches to literary and built spaces and, consequently, their most absolute and intangible consequence: theemotionthey elicit. 

Written accounts by invited architects and academics attest to the mutual bond of writing, literature, and architecture, and how they influence and transform each other: the architectural structure camouflaged in writing, and writing serving additional forms of notation for built/unbuilt spaces while assuming the core of theory, history, and criticism. Presenting global perspectives and the history of writing and its evolution in the industry and mainstream media, the essays depict that writing and literature are foundational to architecture, and their lack leads to diminished knowledge, perception, and recognition of the latter. Considering the power of present-day’s digital media, this introspection broadens the potential of writing and critiquing the built environment to every being, making them more responsive to their built world. A call for action is made — a “literary emergency” urging intellectual and critical writing that harbors a sense of “abstraction” and which can catalyze discourses relevant to the built environment.

Alongside, a curated collection of architecture and urban design projects across Asia adds to this literature and vocabulary. One could read these design interventions as literary texts to deduce how they, individualistic in their geography, typology, function, spatial exploration, articulation, and user profile, imbibe the core tenets of representing and safeguarding their nation’s culture and heritage. Effectively responding to their client’s and context’s requirements, a common prevailing denominator underscores the designs’ intention  to engage with their users ardently. 

The sparsely illustrated essays and abundantly illustrated projects assert the relevance of different mediums to communicate the art and science of building. It is time to decipher how to retain the balance between these diverse mediums of communication to comprehend,  impact, and revolutionize the built environment efficiently.

 

Apurva BOSE DUTTA

Guest Editor

Author, Architectural journalist, Curator, Editor, and Educator