Positioning Practice | Making Material
Positioning practice through making and material choices has great potency from both the perspective of economics as well as the ethics of labor practices and questions of the environment. Reconciling limitless growth with effecting shifts in the material and making culture in South Asia is an urgent necessity. Instruments like computation to imagine a project and then reconciling that imagery with what lands on the ground and is essentially handmade is a reality in South Asia - how does a practitioner reconcile this binary? Thus, a more expansive and perhaps ethical view of making and material as a method to position practice is worthy of attention.
Nuru Karim, Founder & Principal Nudes with 25 years of experience, received his Masters in Architecture and Urbanism from the Architectural Association London, United Kingdom in 2006. Nudes operates within the realm of cross-disciplinary cultures of art, architecture and computational design powered by digital “making” tools addressing larger networks of social, cultural and environmental. Nudes has achieved critical recognition both for its built work and in competition in addition to several design awards including a nomination for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture 2013 cycle.
Poonam Jolly is a writer, architect, engineer and artist rolled into one, not necessarily in any particular order. She teaches and practices architecture, writes and draws. She began teaching architecture in 2013 and continues to do so till date as a visiting faculty at C.E.P.T and Anant National University, Ahmedabad. In 2002 her short short “Email” was published in Vert, a University of Pennsylvania Poetry magazine. In 2017 she founded Boathouse, a research and making Laboratory that experiments in sustainable living practices. Local and International artists contribute in sustainable living through talks and workshops.
Architect Richard Belho, hailing from Nagaland, graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture from BMS College, Bangalore in 1999. In 2002, he co-founded Zynorique with Associate Architect Kezhagwetuo Peseyie. Presently, Zynorique Consultants is actively engaged in diverse governmental projects as architectural consultants. Belho initiated Zynorique Initiatives in 2003, focusing on capacity building and training for local youths, collaborating with various departments such as Nagaland Bamboo Development Agency, DUDA Department, Urban Development Department, Labour Department, and Employment, Skill Development, and Entrepreneurship Dept.
Architect Senthil Kumar Doss is recognized for his innovative work, contributions, and dedication to the field. Senthil ventured into establishing his own architectural practice, Play Architecture, in Bangalore, India. Play Architecture's philosophy revolves around exploring various architectural "isms" and successfully integrating research and practice. In 2022, Senthil's dedication and innovation were recognized with two prestigious awards at the World Architecture Festival (WAF) in Lisbon, Portugal. He is an academician researcher and guest lecturer who conducts workshops at architecture schools around the world.
