drink.

Having already hosted a series of lectures and events, the University of Virginia School of Architecture is  "knee deep" in the year of water.  Information gathering increases as does the multidisciplinary coordination effort.  In order to educate everyone as to the resources, events, lectures, classes, and experts involved in this pursuit, the School of Architecture has released the above poster.  The poster, titled "drink" will serve as a base itinerary for both the ongoing and the upcoming water related events at the School.

INDIA INITIATIVE

The India Initiative is a five year design research program at the University of Virginia directed by Professors Phoebe Crisman and Peter Waldman.  The research in this program provides speculation about the foundations of architectural thinking in a context beyond the familiar.  The program gazes through two perspectives of dwelling – the emergent mega-city and the enduring village.  The symposium makes connections between vernacular/cultural practices that persist today but are far removed from our own.  Each year the five year study will focus on one of the five Hindu pillars of creation: Earth, Water, Air, Fire and Ether (void).  The summer 2012 research investigated water as a spatial generator.

    Elmaleh Gallery presentation of student work

This year’s symposium took place on September 14^th, 2012.  Multiple keynote speakers addressed the many concepts researched during the program and their relationships with their ongoing professional work.

The speakers included:

Pankaj Vir Gupta                  Vir.Mueller Architects, Delhi

Vikramaditya Prakash        Chandigarh Urban Lab; U. Washington Professor of Architecture

David Turnbull                      Atopia_Innovation; Copper Union Professor of Architecture

Tod Williams                         Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects, NYC

                                          David Turnbull speaks about Le Corbusier and  

                                          his lifelong relationship with water and its architectural     

                                          relevance.

Another aspect of the symposium is the push for multidisciplinary insight on constructed space and water in India as well as throughout the world.

An assembled panel of experts discussed the ongoing dialogues relative to the topic.

Majida Bargach                   UVA Center for International Studies

Richard Cohen                     UVA Asia Institute

Sheila Crane                        UVA Professor of Architectural History

Daniel Ehnbom                     UVA Professor of Art History

Edward Ford                          UVA Professor of Architecture

David Germano                     Center for Contemplative Sciences; UVA Prof. of Religious Studies

Pankaj Vir Gupta                 Vir Mueller Architects, Delhi

Jeff Legro                             Vice Provost for Global Affairs; UVA Professor of Politics

Vikramaditya Prakash       Chandigarh Urban Lab; U. Washington Professor of Architecture

David Turnbull                     Atopia_Innovation; Cooper Union Professor of Architecture

Tod Williams                        Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects

                                          Daniel Ehnbom on the nature of water as central in
                                          Asian culture and relevant to all life.