Architecture- Past, Present and Future

About The Book An architect is defined as a master builder, one who designs buildings and superintends their erection, Architecture is the art and science of building, which encompasses technical, artistic, economic and social aspects.

Every building is a part of ecological circle and has a footprint. As such, architecture is closely linked with urbanism, ecology, environment, natural resources, public health, water and energy. This makes architecture an evolving phenomenon, which is changing from architectonic to parametric and ecological. The book 'Architecture: Past, Present and Future' provides a comprehensive narrative on evolution of architecture, green building, climatology, building resources pyramid, parametricism and infrastructure services. Written in a simple language with about 310 illustrations, the book provides a 360° view of architecture.

About the Author A. K. Jain, an architect planner, worked as Commissioner (Planning), Delhi Development Authority. He worked on the Master Plan for Delhi-2021, National Urban Housing and Habitat Policy, National Urban Transport Policy and various urban projects. He was a member of the Committee constituted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs to review the Delhi Development Act. As a member of UN Habitat (HS Net), he contributed to its various reports. He is a member of Editorial Board of International Journal of Environmental Studies (UK) and is author of several books. He is visiting faculty in Planning and Architecture. He was awarded 2nd Urban Professional Award 2014 at World Urban Forum in Medellin, Colombia for being an exemplary city changer. Union Minister for Urban Development honoured him with IBC Lifetime Achievement Award (2016).

"A. K. Jain spent a meaningful career in planning for Delhi. He was a leader in a wide range of complex issues of shelter strategies, retail, offices, recreation and open spaces, institutions, manufacturing, urban infrastructure, social amenities and transportation. He was an early proponent of sustainable cities and conservation. One could say without hesitation that the author is one of the "makers of modern Delhi."

Preface An architect is defined as a master builder, one who designs buildings and superintends their erection. Architecture is as the art and science of building. Architecture is one of the few professions which strike a balance between technical, artistic, practical, economic and social aspects.

Architecture corresponds to the technical achievements, materials and labour available. Egyptians mountainous pyramids show their immense labour and technical ability of quarrying, transporting and construction. They adopted columnar form in their buildings. The Greek construction was entirely 'post and lintel' and the maximum spacing of the column was determined by the amount of labour and largest piece of stone available. The Romans invented the arch, which allowed large openings to be spanned more conveniently by smaller elements. were capable of being handled. It was a milestone in the history of architecture when dome was introduced for roofing of the structure.

About 200 years ago the industrial revolution and the advent of the engines, new building materials and new forms of energy radically changed the architecture and urban pattern. The lifts, elevators, concrete, steel and electric services gave birth to modern architecture. The recent-post modernism and Parametric styles have created a new approach towards architecture. With increasing urbanisation, climate change and depletion of natural resources the environmental sustainability has emerged as a central issue.

The architects have been searching for the forms which relate more closely with the context and regional characteristics. This is witnessed in the India International Centre, New Delhi and articulated by its architect Joseph Allen Stein, "I strongly believe that being modern without being regional is inappropriate and regional without modernism reactionary". During the nineteen-sixties, Kenzo Tange, the phenomenal Japanese Architect-Urbanist made a very profound statement that "Architecture is changing from functional to organizational, from architectonic to urbanistic and from physical to environmental". Aldo van Hyck said that, "the time has come to conceive architecture urbanistically and urbanism architecturally".

**Contents and Sample Pages**