|
View previous topic :: View next topic
|
| Author |
Message |
rjadhav
Joined: 11 Apr 2005
Posts: 1
|
 Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2005 11:55 pm Post subject: Architect conferred Knighthood |
    |
|
Raj Rewal, one of India’s leading architects, has been made “Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres” (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) by the French Government. This award honors those who have distinguished themselves in the field of art. The Knighthood was conferred on Rewal by the French Ambassador to India, Dominique Girard, on March 3, 2005 at a function in New Delhi, India.
The Order of the Arts and Letters is formed by the French government to pay tribute to the outstanding contribution of leading personalities to their nations in recognition of the fact that arts and letters are at the foundation of any culture, and are a unique and special trait of humanity.
Ambassador Girard described Rewal as “an architect of ambition and hope, forever pushing the limits of what is possible, exploring space and form making, structural innovation and new techniques of construction and material possibilities.” The award commended Rewal for displaying concern for the climatic sensitivity, creation of a humane architecture and promotion of craft and new technologies.
The Ambassador observed that Rewal took on the challenges that mass housing entailed and offered a harmonious physical entity for living and working, instead of building the large monolithic parallel blocks of “grim dimensions” that appear to be the norm everywhere. Rewal, Ambassador Girard said, draws from a rich heritage of traditional patterns of living and combines with modern techniques to create a new vocabulary of design for the Sheikh Sarai Housing Complex and the Asian Games Village, both in New Delhi, and the CIDCO Housing in new Mumbai.
The Ambassador recalled that when France bid for the Olympics in 2004, Rewal was selected to design the housing project that formed part of the French Government’s proposal. However, the project was not realized.
Ambassador Girard pointed out how Rewal used exposed brick, sandstone tiles and glass to “enhance the play of shadows and thus to modulate light” in an environment that has an over-abundance of light and heat. He expressed astonishment at the way light is sculpted into form using shadows, and said that this way of integrating architecture with the environment was a revelation to him. |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
|
blogger
del.icio.us
digg
slashdot
