Ans 1.

A good design not only helps us in our day-to-day functioning, but also connects with us and becomes an integral part of life. This can be better explained with examplesa) PEN- I look around and the first thing I see is the pen I am holding. The most primal form of todays pen we use so widely, is a quill. A feather which works almost like a pen, except that it has to be dipped in ink frequently, as it has no storage for ink. Todays pen, is mostly a hollow cylinder, with ink filled inside the cylinder, directly, or in a secondary tube called refill, and a nib at one end of the cylinder. The idea is to move the nib on a surface, and thus pour the ink in a very controlled manner over the surface, so as to get any kind of two-dimensional design. They might wear different kinds of clothes, but basic idea is still the same. Pen, is one of the most extensively used man-made designs. It wont be very surprising for me, if some day, the human body evolves itself such that the hand can hold the pen in a comfortable way. This is one of the very few designs I always keep with myself. b) IPAD 2 SMART COVER- Apple ipad 2 is a latest gadget recently released by Apple. It comes with a smart cover. This cover, when brought near to the sides of the ipad, automatically gets attached to the accurate position, because of the magnets inside the ipad, and then can be simply laid over the ipad. It can also be used as a supporting stand for two different positions.

c) SPA Hostel- People have very different opinions about this one. I like the Hostel, not simply because I live there, but because I feel that the design of the hostel, is a good design. Almost every room has a balcony of its own. There are so many public spaces, terraces. Also, while living there for almost three years, I also discovered that there are almost no blind spots, i.e. there is no space not visible from anywhere. Except rooms and toilets of course. Although right now, the hostel is forced to accommodate much more than its capacity, it is doing well.

Ans 2. a) QUTAB COMPLEX- Used to be the center of Delhi during Mughal rule, designed as focal point of the whole city. The space is somehow very powerful. It speaks about the Mughal rule, its grandness, its splendor. When I stand in front of the Qutab minar, I feel like bowing to its power. This space tells about the history, better than any book or video. I have to admit that I still cant decipher how the huge minar, the play of levels, the whole space elicits such a feeling on me, so I wont write about the qualities just for the sake of writing. But that is one of the most powerful spaces I have ever experienced. b) RING ROAD, NEW DELHI- Ring roads can be found in most metropolitan cities. But right now, I am talking specifically about the Delhi Ring Road. There are two of them- the Ring Road, and the Outer Ring Road. Both of them are good designs. The name came from their form. They are barely ring shaped, but they form a loop. This ring goes around Delhi, with India Gate as the center. These roads are not inevitable, but had these not been there, the whole traffic would have been way more ineffective. They were designed with a bigger scope, not just connecting one place to another, but connecting the whole city to itself.

c) MY ROOM- I have no shame in admitting that I feel that my room, S-55.5, SPA Hostel, Maharani Bagh, is a good design. On the tree sides, it has brick walls, with a cardboard wall with a pull curtain door on one side. It is so small, that a fixed furniture arrangement is not possible. So I keep changing the arrangement according to my needs. The idea struck to me when the session started. Since I was repeating, I was not allotted any room in the hostel. But I hated the idea of not living in the hostel. So, I made a room for myself. Surprisingly, the authorities till date have not taken any action against this till date. Below I have included some 3d views for a better understanding of the room.

Ans 3. a) FEAR- There is no space as such which elicits the emotion of fear within me. b) JOY- Girls Hostel, ITO- I hv been inside the girls hostel thrice, in completely different circumstances. But whatever be the circumstance, every time there was a feeling of joy, feeling of excitement. At any point, a girl might appear from anywhere. I cover my head with a scarf, and walk swiftly through the corridors, so alert, so much enjoying the danger I am surrounded with. I feel as if I am 007, sneaking around in dark areas, with only one thing in mind-The world is in danger, and only I can save it! Of course, the last resort is to run away in top speed, till I lose everybody behind me. Fortunately, never happened. So, the 3 qualities would be Little dark areas all around the hostel. Long corridors with doors on both sides. Any door might open anytime. Hostel is designed in such a way that from most points, the whole courtyard can be seen, that, somehow gives a control over the space. c) CONFUSION- Lutyens Delhi- Most of the streets and intersections in Lutyens Delhi look similar. You have to remember names of the streets, which I am not very good at. So, every time I pass through that area, I always get confused. d) CURIOSITY- Chandni Chowk- On my every visit to Chandni Chowk, my eyes go wide, and I look around as if I were a 6 year old kid. I dont think anything and get so absorbed in the spaces, that I often miss the turn to an alley, where my local guardians live. A space so lively, so active, so vibrant. The people, shops, pedestrians, etc. combine to form the

space, combine to form Chandni Chowk. There is so much to see, smell, hear, touch, taste, there is so much to absorb. To sum up, the 3 qualities are The people, so different, yet so typical. Shops, full of different kinds of objects. So small, but as functional as warehouses. Organic form, unplanned. Can be compared to a forest, a dense forest. e) PRIDE- When I stand on the balcony in front of mess lobby Central Courtyard of the Maharani Bagh Hostel. I feel like a king. Soldiers standing around, waiting for orders. Crown

Throne

Soldier1 Soldier2 Soldier3

Ans 4. For this one, Ill be using imaginary character and situation. Let there be a designer Baba. He is a strange fellow, takes up random projects, from random people. He refuses to specialize in any field, and thus does not get bigger projects. So he manages living, while keeping himself busy, doing pretty much anything. But I like him, simply because he loves his work. Now this time, a chairman of a multi-national toy making company saw his work and immediately fell in love with his work. He asks Baba to design a doll for him, aimed for 8-10 age group. Price per doll is not a constraint. So Baba can use any almost any material he wants to. Now Baba sits down and tries to start. But he discovers that he doesnt know what a kid of that age group likes. So, next day, he takes up the job of babysitting. It takes him 2 months of the challenging job, to get to a level where he could start with his design. Sketches, models, clothing, accessories, , 15 days, is what took him to finalize the design. He goes through his final prototype of the doll, and nods sideways. No, something is missing. Too plain, too monotonous. The soul is missing. And so he starts all over again. After 10 days, he again nods sideways, and again, and again Now he has 6 prototypes. He looks at them, arranged in a line. Baba knows that all of them are good, any one of them will be accepted by the company. For once, he just felt like just giving up, and doing something else, like travelling somewhere. Sigh, he looks out of the window of his small shabby studio. Two girls are playing something. One is chasing the other, and even though she cant catch the other one, but she is happy, and is laughing. Suddenly, he gets the idea, the starting point, the focal point of the design. The idea may come in any way, it will just strike you in a most weirdest way. Baba immediately starts with his work. This time, his lines, his curves are much more definite. He knows what he is doing. He is building around the focal idea. Giving the idea a form, a shape. He works for 14 hours continuously, too excited to sleep, or eat properly. Now, he again looks at the final product. The studio is a mess, the previous dolls are torn apart, as Baba used their materials for the final product. Baba nods again, but this time, with a smile. The design has happened. Ans 5. a) An air conditioner cools down internal spaces, and provides comfortable temperature conditions, even in the hottest regions. But overall, it emits heat into the environment. Also, it uses electricity, production of which affects environment in specific ways, depending upon the method of production. b) We use wood to build furniture. Wood comes from trees which have to be cut to get wood. This again harms the environment slowly, but steadily. c) One of our basic needs is shelter. What does shelter mean? Shelter means a roof over ones head. Now people perceive this roof, in their own way. Taking example of Manali traditional architecture, people over there built wooden and stone houses, since they needed a shelter, and those were the only materials available to them. Then they started plastering the wall with mud and cowdung composite. This provided them insulation from cold. Now all this in turn affects the natural environment. The trees are cut, the stone is quarried, the mud is extracted.

Submitted by-Dhruv Kumar, B. Arch, I yr, sec A