We've really enjoyed the process of building rammed earth walls. And while every wall is special and the space would be incomplete with even one not being there, we want to highlight two walls for their design uniqueness.
The 'Point of View' wall
We look at the same things, yet see them differently. It's literally about the point of view; and yet none may be totally right, or totally wrong.
While we are far from completion, this 'Point of View' wall designed by Samir Raut, Faizan Khatri and their team at Studio Eight Twenty Three, and crafted by Manu and his skilled team at Thumbimpressions is a favourite of ours.
Look at it one day, it'll soothe you. Another day, it'll help you reflect. That's the thing about architecture, or any environment, it has a way of influencing human mood and behaviour in manners we are still learning about. "We shape our buildings and afterwards our buildings shape us,” Winston Churchill is said to have said long ago. Some politics and policies aside, this is perhaps something he got spot on.
Scientific studies now tell us how specialised cells in the hippocampus region of our brains get attuned to the geometries of spaces we live in, and how buildings affect our mood. Some scientists claim urban living can change our brain biology, while others say growing up in cities can increase the risk mental illnesses like depression.
That's where architecture comes in again. One can design spaces that promote greater interaction, have access to parks that offset the gifts of stress that come with our new fast-paced lives.
Green spaces, they say, are good for us. But that's not just because of the shades of green, a theory says it's the visual complexity of nature that acts as 'a kind of a mental balm'.
The poured earth wall
The other wall that mesmerises us is the one poured earth wall in our entire space.
Poured earth involves making a mix of water, earth and some binding elements (a proportion of cement perhaps) and getting that right to be poured into moulds.
The mould structure is built first and the mix then poured in and allowed to solidify. Remove the moulds a few days later and you have this wall.
While the strength of our rammed earth walls, and the depth of our foundation are tangible elements - and though some walls have already developed superficial cracks - as much thought has also gone into the sense this space will evoke, the mood it'll spark and the joys and ideas it may help unlock.
As science advances further still, there's so much to learn, experiment and reconcile with. So many facts, but where's the time for synthesis of those facts? This perhaps is also where we'll slow things down, allow ourselves the luxury that contemplation has become; this is our slow space, and we hope to welcome you in soon.
