(Written by Ridha )
Three years of architecture is over and we head out for doing our half a year long internship. When I came to office I had mixed feelings. My distant relative recommended me to this enormous firm called QDC in Qatar.
Leaving my comfort zone among my seasoned friends was not easy. I have been studying without my parents being around for some time. So going to stay in Qatar practically surrounded at all times by not only my parents but a bunch of relatives( they live in the same building ) was certainly a whole new experience for me.
Another surprise was Qatar. I knew middle east would be hot, but I didn’t know it could be “go outside and die of a heatstroke” hot!
Another surprise was Qatar. I knew middle east would be hot, but I didn’t know it could be “go outside and die of a heatstroke” hot!
I came during Ramadan time, when the heat is at its peak. That did not help. How do I put this? The heat here at night can be compared to what Keralites would experience in a fine hot afternoon in, lets say, Palakkad.. My parents tried to give me solace, “This is nothing! The weather is going to turn in a few months and it's going to be so cold you would want to run away from this place altogether. The A.C is not going to help you then”. How nice. Something to look forward to.
Office wasn't very pleasant in the first few days because, as it turned out, I was assigned in a team headed by our Design head, Pradeesh, which didn't have any other interns. Don't think there weren’t any interns in QDC. In fact my relative told me there were about 25 of them here assigned in the many different teams that work here. The only bright side to my office days then was that the particular team I was assigned to was responsible for doing the Al-Bayt stadium for FIFA World cup( check it out on Archdaily!) ,
which was considered the most important one after Zaha Hadid's Al Khor stadium, not that I got to do much designing, in fact the only work I did which stood a chance of being translated in real life was choosing the toilet fittings in the toilets outside the stadium. So if you are planning to go see the World Cup in 2022 in Qatar and ended up coming to the Al- Bayt stadium, please do pay a visit to the toilet and appreciate my taste. If you feel mesmerized by the liquid soap coming from the automatic soap dispenser it was because I PUT IT THERE!
But aside from that my office days were quite bleak. There was only one other woman there, Ashwini maám who was just under Pradeesh. Everyone else excluding two young architects were draftsmen, and most of them malayalis, but that was no solace to me. They told me that there was a high chance that a new intern would come soon. I was joined by Atia later. A student from Ranchi who was actually a Bihari but we didn’t do much talking. Then one fine day, god answered my prayers and there came my dear friend, Jayanth Vadyala!
He was friendly and we got along immensely well. In fact, Jayanth was more than good company. I think he told me his Gods were F.L Wright and Corbusier on the very first day itself. He was different. He says stuff like, “ I hate eating and sleeping, because I can do more productive things with the time.” for which I would reply, with my mouth stuffed in chappathi, “I consider eating to be one of my most important pursuits in life.”
He was a potpourri of talents. He made music, did digital art, wants to write a novel, he was interested in psychology, philosophy, he even told me he wanted to be an entrepreneur one day and above all, he was inspired by architecture and was up to date in the events concerning the field. I was ecstatic to find somebody like him, at last, to pour my random architectural rantings that I have kept inside for far too long. Keeping things inside is not Ridha at all!
So I set out to engage in my own voyage of discovery. Enough inspiration from Jayanth! Time to learn about the stalwarts of architecture and be inspired from them! So I set out to foray into the world architectural scene. Hmm....so most Modernists got inspired from Corbusier...I have learned all about Modernism and Post modernism and such from college, I know about old man Corbusier too..What did Corbusier do that they were so inspired? He has set benchmarks in urban planning, has formulated the five principles, and his works like the Ronchamp chapel and Villa Savoye has won critical acclaim.
I checked out Villa Savoye and Ronchamp chapel on google once more, I have sketched it for my history exams, and I have actually presented a case study of the Ronchamp in class. I browsed through the pictures again. One look at Villa Savoye and I was like, bleh. The stark white almost monochrome building stood out from the surroundings. I like buildings that had a connection with the surroundings. I felt the Villa Savoye and Ronchamp chapel did not have that. They stood up more like a monolithic ode to human technological advancement of that time. The truth was, I never really liked Villa Savoye. I was reading through it and suddenly Pradeesh is behind me. “What are you doing, Ridha?” he asks me.
I was feeling quite inspired and satisfied with myself because I was getting to know architecture in my spare time rather than browse about cats or something. He should be proud to have an enlightened student like me on board. Or so I thought.
“I am browsing about Corbusier, sir, I am trying to understand why so many people are inspired by him. Do you like modernism,sir?”. Stupid move, Ridha. My enlightened, giddy self did not realize I made a mistake saying that to the Design head. He replied “How many years you have been studying architecture, three? You still don’t know the reason? So you are reading about Corbusier, eh? You like him?”
I was burning with embarrassment so I went on to the next level of stupidity. I blurted out sheepishly “ Hehe, no, sir”. It felt like that scene in 90's Hindi movies where the heroine goes to the temple and denounces God in front of the idol of Goddess Lakshmy(usually because her true love was killed unfairly). Bells were tolling, conch was blowing or the equivalent of that in my office. Pradeesh sat down on the chair oppsosite to me.
Jayanth went stiff in his chair. The malayali draftsmen, wondered what was going on. The young busy body architects that worked under Pradeesh on the other side of the room, stopped their hurried clicking for a moment and listened before resuming with their work. “Why do you think so?” asked Pradeesh, what ensued could be related to a person falling in front of a bunch of people and acting as if he was actually performing a dance move. Something that started as a casual opinion turned into a debate, with its own audience glancing at us from time to time while working in front of their computers.
Even if I didn’t know a whole lot about architecture, I knew the English language. So I tried to make my point by using sentences like, “ It's not that I disagree with Corbusier, I just don’t agree with the way his ideas manifested in his works, I like F. L Wright with his Brutalistic and organic approach to architecture, I think Corbusier's ideas were taken to the next level by his followers rather than himself”. God knows what 'Brutalistic' was and I don’t know if I got it right.
Jayanth sent me showers of what I thought was pity from his place. Atlast, Pradeesh decided to drop the subject as he had better things to do rather than terrorise amateur explorers into the world of architecture. I wanted to dig a hole and bury my head in it like an ostrich for the rest of my life. I tried to put a brave front like ' This is my opinion, I am entitled to it', inside I was cringing because they also had the right to have their opinion, which was that I was stupid.
Surprisingly, Pradeesh came back ten minutes later and said, “Ridha, I thought you were just a talker, now I know you are a thinker too”. Ehh...what just happened here? I have no clue what did the magic in him. Jayanth was still far from convinced. But the draftsmen who did not understand half of what was going on were impressed. “Wow, Pradeesh always likes people who engage him in such intellectual talks.” they said among themselves. Inside I was doing the Samba, 'Brutalism saved me! Hail Brutalism!'.
Whatever that is. This was a great blow to my architectural odyssey and I spent the rest of my free time solely browsing about cats. After all, telling someone I like Persian cats instead of British Bobtail is not going to send me into the pits of despair that I was presently in, and cats are cute so it sorta helped to get out of my misery.
I eventually got over my cat fixation, as well as my shame, and resumed with my odyssey. I still don't like Corbu's manifestation of his principles of modernism. I fell in love with the likes of Peter Zumthor, who I feel is closer towards my interpretation of architecture. Maybe later, when I learn more about this vast ocean of knowledge that is architecture, I would understand Corbu better.
I was feeling quite inspired and satisfied with myself because I was getting to know architecture in my spare time rather than browse about cats or something. He should be proud to have an enlightened student like me on board. Or so I thought.
I was burning with embarrassment so I went on to the next level of stupidity. I blurted out sheepishly “ Hehe, no, sir”. It felt like that scene in 90's Hindi movies where the heroine goes to the temple and denounces God in front of the idol of Goddess Lakshmy(usually because her true love was killed unfairly). Bells were tolling, conch was blowing or the equivalent of that in my office. Pradeesh sat down on the chair oppsosite to me.
Jayanth went stiff in his chair. The malayali draftsmen, wondered what was going on. The young busy body architects that worked under Pradeesh on the other side of the room, stopped their hurried clicking for a moment and listened before resuming with their work. “Why do you think so?” asked Pradeesh, what ensued could be related to a person falling in front of a bunch of people and acting as if he was actually performing a dance move. Something that started as a casual opinion turned into a debate, with its own audience glancing at us from time to time while working in front of their computers.
Even if I didn’t know a whole lot about architecture, I knew the English language. So I tried to make my point by using sentences like, “ It's not that I disagree with Corbusier, I just don’t agree with the way his ideas manifested in his works, I like F. L Wright with his Brutalistic and organic approach to architecture, I think Corbusier's ideas were taken to the next level by his followers rather than himself”. God knows what 'Brutalistic' was and I don’t know if I got it right.
Jayanth sent me showers of what I thought was pity from his place. Atlast, Pradeesh decided to drop the subject as he had better things to do rather than terrorise amateur explorers into the world of architecture. I wanted to dig a hole and bury my head in it like an ostrich for the rest of my life. I tried to put a brave front like ' This is my opinion, I am entitled to it', inside I was cringing because they also had the right to have their opinion, which was that I was stupid.
Surprisingly, Pradeesh came back ten minutes later and said, “Ridha, I thought you were just a talker, now I know you are a thinker too”. Ehh...what just happened here? I have no clue what did the magic in him. Jayanth was still far from convinced. But the draftsmen who did not understand half of what was going on were impressed. “Wow, Pradeesh always likes people who engage him in such intellectual talks.” they said among themselves. Inside I was doing the Samba, 'Brutalism saved me! Hail Brutalism!'.
Whatever that is. This was a great blow to my architectural odyssey and I spent the rest of my free time solely browsing about cats. After all, telling someone I like Persian cats instead of British Bobtail is not going to send me into the pits of despair that I was presently in, and cats are cute so it sorta helped to get out of my misery.
