correa - architecture in a warm climate

7/28/2019 Correa - Architecture in a Warm Climate

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Architecture in a Warm ClimateArchitecture covers a wide spectrum ofphysical conditions, varying all the wayfrom a closed 'box' at one end of the scaleto open-to-sky space at the other. In between these tw o extremes, lies a considerable range of choices.Unfortunately, due to the rigours of theweather, in a cold climate these options areoften sharply curtailed. In fact, in a Miesianskyscraper, one is down to the simplisticdualism of the two extremes: a 'box', set ina sea of open space. One is either inside the'box', or one is outside it. The transitionfrom one condition to the other is through ahard, clearly defined, boundary: the frontdoor.

Compare this experience to the complex, pluralistic conditions which are generated by built-form in a warm climate.Between the closed box and open-to-skyspace lies a continuum of zones, withvarying degrees of protection. One stepsout of the 'box' to fmd oneself ... in averandah, from which one moves into a

Charles Correacourtyard, and then under a tree, andbeyond onto a terrace covered by a bamboopergola, and then perhaps back into a roomand ou t onto a balcony ... and so forth. Theboundary lines bet'Neen these various zonesare no t formal and sharply demarcated, buteasy and amorphous. Subtle modulations oflight, of he quality of ambient air, registerseach transition on our senses.Because of these everyday experiences,people in tropical countries have developeda totally different attitude to built-form.Thus while the symbol for education inNorth America is the' little red schoolhouse, i n India - as in most of Asia - it isa guru sitting under a tree. No t only is thisimage of the Lord Buddha and the peepultree more metaphysical, more evocative ofenlightment, it is also - f rom the point ofview of his physical comfort and that of hislisteners - far more sensible than sittinginside a stuffy old 'box'. So these variationsof open spaces (verandahs, pergolas, etc.)are not just cheap ad-lib substitutions for

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solidly-built construction. On the contrary;at certain times of the day, and at certaintimes of the year, they provide the pleasantest environment for our activities.To sit in the verandah ofa bungalow, oron a seashore at sunset, or to cross a desertand arrive at a house built around a cour

tyard, is a human experience beyond merephotogenic pattern-making. At these mo ments, responses are triggered in ourminds, responses conditioned by thousandsof generations of ife on this planet. Perhapsit is the half-memory of a primordial landscape, or of a lost paradise; but whatever itis, such moments are of crucial importanceto architecture. To help us return to a betterunderstanding - and use - of these phenomena, here are some more issues wemight consider:Pimll'e above: Jami Masjid lIlosque ill Delhi (Jlldia),comprised vast opell -to-sky spaces we/osed to va/l'illg

d ~ g r e e s 10 accommodate rirual activities. Photogmph:B. TayiM.


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Smbolism and Ritual. Almost allreligious institutions in the Easthave developed ingenious variations of open-to-sky space for thefaithful. So while the cathedrals ofEurope are essentially variations .~ ~ ~ ~ of the closed 'box' model, thegreat Friday mosques in Delhi and Lahoreare nearer the other end of the spectrum:they consist of large areas of open spacesurrounded by just enough built-form tomake one feel one is "inside" a piece ofarchitecture. Indeed, they exercise a rarefinesse.

Or then again, take the monumentalHindu temples of south India - at Madurai, Trivandrum, Tanjore, etc. These areexperienced not just as gopurams andshrines, but as a pedestrian path (a pilgrimage!) through the great spaces that lie between. In fact, tlus processional movementis of the utmost religious and symbolicsignificance. It is found in all the warmclimates of the world, from the sun templesofMexico, (which consist ofpyranuds, and- more importantly - of the sacred openspaces they define), to the temples of Bali(with their ritualistic pathways up the hill-side, through the knife-edged doorways); iteven, via Buddhism, is fow1d in the shrinesat Nikko in Japan.

Today, unfortunately we have forgottenthe profoundly emotional symbolism ofsuch processional movement. Overly influenced by the architects of he West, we havebeen caught in the intracies of their game:viz. the 'box ' and those signs/symbolswhich can be commwucated (i.e. tattooedon) through surface-pattenling. Thus agreat deal ofattention is paid to the facade of .an Italian church, but hardly any to thesymbolic inter-relationship of the spaceswhich lie bellind that facade, and certainlynone to the deep symbolism inherent in thespatial interaction of the courtyard and thecloister that surrounds it.

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Left: Close-up of the famous 'house of the winds' atFathepur Sikri (India), where no walls exist, onlycolumns and horizontal planes. Photograph: C.Correa.Below: Ceremonial space of the Besakih Temple inBali (Indonesia). Photograph: H. U. Khan.Bottom: Gopurams and temple complex of theMeenakshi Temple in Madusai (India) where processional movement is spatially organised by a wealth ofarchitectural determinants.


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C limate. People in warmcountries have for centuries been producing whattoday is fashionably calledenergy-passive houses. Invillages and palaces, they

i i i i i i i i i i i i ~ ~ ~ ~ made wonderful variationsof the physical conditions (from closed'box' to open-to-sky space) we have beendiscussing here. Depending on the climate,they used these various spaces at differenttimes of the day, and at different seasons ofthe year. For instance, the Moghul emperors in the Red Fort at Agra during thesummer days used the rooms along thelower levels of the courtyard (thus takingadvantage of the cold ovemight air); in theevening they came out to promenadeamong the elegant pavilions in their terracegardens. During the winter, they reversedthis pattem.Adapting in this quasi-nomadic mannerto different kinds of built-form was a common practice even in the U.S., where asrecently as the 1950's, families still used theirporches in summer. The mechanical engmeers (with the connivance of thearchitects) changed all that. By 1960, everyone had withdrawn into their airconditioned boxes. Somewhere in the process,architecture - and the issues it addressedhad become sadly diminished.

In contrast, consider the Pavilion of Al iQapu, facing the great meydan in Isfahan.An enormous roof hovers over the entrance, creating not only shade and protection, but a great evocative gesture towardsthe city. No wonder Le Corbusier, thatfrozen Swiss, came to life only when he sawthe Mediterranean, and later Brazil. The'machine for living'! Yes, and always thegreat sculptural decisions (the overhangs,the double heights), were placed facing theelements - i.e. at the business end of thehabitat, (e.g. the Esprit Nouveau pavilion,the various Unites, the Shodan house inAhmedabad, etc.), As Le Corbusier's influence permeated into the colder climates,these heroic gestures had to withdraw intodefensible spaces, into the interior regions ofthe building. In this retreat, they lost muchof their rationale: they began to appearrather willful and arbitary. In fact, thebigger they got, the more willful theyseemed - till finally one has the wildextravaganza of a Hyatt Regency. In thoselobbies, despite the spatial pyrotechnics, theambience is essentially non-human, artificial, dead. And for a very simple reason: ithas no access, no relationship, to the kind ofopen-to-sky spaces which could quicken itto life. Even the superb architecture of theFord Foundation building in New Yorksuffers from this syndrome, for at the centreof this masterpiece beats an artificial heart: ahot-house, electrically-illuminated, "garden".

The precise contrary is true of theAlhambra; here a structurally-decadent,

rococo building generates one of the profoundest experiences of all time. Why?Because the basic concept of the Alhambrais axially-placed courtyards, inlaid withfountains and water channels, under anopen sky, which evokes a fundamentalresponse in the deep structure of our minds.H OUSing. This is an area ofthe gravest concern tomost of the developingworld. All over Asia,Africa and South America, migrants are pouringiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii: into cities - with theresult that every day, more and more families are fbrced to live on pavements. Giventhe chronic shortage of basic building materials, and the miniscule per capita incomeof most of these societies, can anythingreally be done to relieve this situation?It is here indeed that an w1derstanding ofthe role of open-to-sky space can indeed beof decisive importance, not only for hous-

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Top: Ali Qapu pavilion, Isphahall (Iran). Audiencehall built by Shah Abbas I portrays a building withelevated porch destined Jor outdoor preserltatioll on theJacade facing the lI1aydan (enclosed plaza). Thepavilion opened 011 the opposite site onto private royalgardells. Photograph: S. Niroumand.Above: Pergola and semi-open patio spaces in housingby Le CO/busier at Pessac (Ileal' Bordeaux) Frmlce,1925. Other house-types ill the same group haddouble-height covel'ed ten'aces like the Esprit Nouveaupavilion, or exterior stairways to second or third:floorrooJ gardms. Photograph: B. Taylor.ing, but for the very survival of hese cities.Unfortunately, this understanding is notforthcoming. On the contrary, mostbureaucrats and politicians perceive a programme of public housing as nothing morethan the construction of a series of 'boxes',one per family. They do not realise thatproviding housing involves much morethan just building houses. The room, (thecell) is only one in a whole system of spaceswhich a family needs. This system is usual-


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G'D WATER TAP /Q,D WElL

Spatial hierarchy of open-to-sky spaces. Drawing: C. Correa.ly hierarchical, starting with the private family zone and moving on to the doorstep(where you greet your neighbour), thenceto the water tap or village well (the community meeting place), and finally to thegreat meydan (the principle focus of thecity).

An important characteristic of the system is that each element consists ofa mix ofbuilt-form and open-to-sky space, in a balance which varies with the cultural andeconomic context of the society concerned.

To identify this spatial hierarchy and tounderstand the delicate nature of these balances is the first step towards providingeconomical housing. Without this, one is ingrave danger of formulating the wrongquestions. This is why so many attempts atlow-income housing perceive it merely as aproblem of trying to pile up as manydwelling units (as many boxes) as possibleon a given site, without any concern for theother spaces involved in the system. Result:the desperate effort of he poor trying to livein a context totally unrelated to their needs.These issues get even more crucial whenone examines the dwelling units themselves. For in a warm climate, many of afamily's essential functions (like cooking, orsleeping, or entertaining friends, etc.) doLeft: Drain pipes in Bombay (India) shelten'ng socialactivities from the elements. Photograph: Joseph St.Anne.Below: Casbah in the M'Zab, Algeria, showing ten'acehouses archetypal of open-to-sky space. Photograph:Samir Abdul/ac.

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~ D M A I D A N

not need to take place within the four wallsof a 'box', but can occur in verandahs, andcourtyards. For Indian conditions, wheresuch spaces are usable for more than 9months of a year, we estimate that thesespaces have a usability coefficient of about60% of a room. Now a room has aproduction cost (bricks, cement, steel, etc.),and so does a courtyard (additional land,roads, services, etc.). Depending on the costof these variables, the point of optimaltrade-off can be determined, and the mosteconomical pattern of housing perceived.

In the vast majority of cases this provesto be exactly what people have been building for themselves all these years, a habitatwhich makes inventive use of terraces,verandahs, courtyards, etc; a habitat whichachieves high densities without sacrificingthe benefits ofopen-to-sky living areas (e.g.the casbahs of North Africa); a habitatwhich understands intuitively the cardinalprinciple: in a warm climate, open-to-skyspace like cement or steel, is a fundamentalresource for us in design.


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SHARAT BHAVAN BHOPAL - C. M.CORREA ARCHITECT

Top: Elevat ion sketch. Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal (India). This building, to accommodate a pennanentcollection of Indian art,jolk art, poetry library, theatreand workshops reflects a pre-eminent desire to employopen-to-sky space as a fundamental resource.Above: Entrance QI'ea to Bharat Bhavan, the experience of which is casual and delightful dispersed as it isaloflg the shore of a lake. Spaces both indoor andoutdoor provide rich variations of natural lightirlg forthe sculptures.Left: Detail of completed museum showing the opento-sky 'spine' around which spaces are articulated.Drawings and photograph: C. Conea.

correa - architecture in a warm climate

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