Culture is like jam...

Bangalore International Centre has announced a competition and a call for ideas by architects across the globe. The programme is in essence an auditorium. This is a great opportunity for architects and designers to question the idea of public, performance and cultural space for today and tomorrow.

Culture is taken very seriously in India - it is the arts, dance forms, music, literature... - especially if they are based on Indian tradition and folklore it is even better. Below I am quoting from the competition brief:

"Modelled on the well established India International Centre in Delhi, BIC aims to become a knowledge hub in Bangalore for interdisciplinary intellectual discussions and cultural exchanges. BIC aims to fulfil the lack of a single platform that merges the cultural elite, the intellectual community, and the leaders of public opinion. It provides an inclusive interaction space for collective and cross disciplinary intellectual activity, cultural enterprises and innovations in development"

Well meaning superficial words - if any one has been to cultural exchanges in India and especially Bangalore one will be well aware of the incestuous community that it is - based on mutual admiration, cliquish affection, and back scratching. The same faces, the same views, the same pedantic way of looking at things and the same condescending attitude towards innovation and experimentation.

I would think that Pukar in India is one of the few think tanks and research communities that has experimented and embraced local thinking and pop culture.Maybe the younger architects who participate in the competition will question the role, form and exchange of culture today before subscribing to the rather limited brief with the aim of winning. 


Good luck - here is the link to the competition website.