WIA_ISSUE2_2023

NEWS
3 4 5
1 Annkur Khosla’s jhoola
2 Sonali Rastogi’s jhoola
3 Naresh Narasimhan’s jhoola
4 Sanjay Puri’s jhoola
5 Prem Nath’s jhoola
intent of the form is to be able to choose the
seating experience on the swing — fun, relaxed
and playful.
For Prem Nath, the Indian swing is a feature
of playful outdoor combination of strings and
a plank hung from the branches of tree or an
ornate piece of indoor furniture, which gives
thrills and gentle joys of swinging motion and
mood.
While thinking of his design and in trying to
reimagine the design for the Indian Swing,
time and again Prem’s answer was that the
Indian Swing must look like an ‘Indian Swing’.
His design has been conceived with neoclassical
features with soft minimal Indian
ornamentation.
The architects were asked to factor in both the
environmental impact and human health and
wellbeing when designing the jhoolas.
While non-wood materials such as metal
for framing and fixtures, glues, resins and
coatings needed to be used, AHEC encouraged
them to consider the environmental impact of
these materials in the overall design. American
hardwoods have a low environmental impact,
and they can act as a carbon store.
WORKING WITH SOLID TIMBER
Commenting on his involvement, Markowitz
said: “Architects by nature of their profession
need to be generalists in a huge range of
areas that comprise the built form, and
as a result often do not have the detailed
knowledge of working with solid timber,
which is a material that has great complexity.
“Solid timber needs to be worked with,
rather than against. When you try to make
timber do something timber does not want to
do, the timber usually wins.
“Manufacturers therefore have a range of
very real-world considerations determining
their decision making. They want to make
things quickly, efficiently and in a way that
means it will hold together for a long time
without any problems.
“However, sometimes the strongest,
most efficient and longest-lasting
solution does not deliver the best design
outcome. Mediating between these two
sometimes polar approaches of design
and manufacturing can be challenging
and requires flexibility and agility on the
part of the designer, and sensitivity and an
understanding of the bigger picture from the
manufacturer.”
Sylvia Khan, founder and creative, THINK!
Design, said: “Curating and executing the
initiative in India has been both exhilarating
and traumatic, wonderful to see the concept
unfold and gain form while undertaking the
activity in the Indian milieu, with its several
attendant challenges. But finally, such a
sense of accomplishment and sheer joy and
pride in what we have managed to pull off,
together.”
“Working with the AHEC team on the
REIMAGINE project has been an absolute
pleasure and a proud moment for the
Bram Woodcrafting Studio team,” added
Bram Rouws, founder and director, Bram
Woodcrafting Studio.
“To have indirectly worked on these five
beautiful designs, it was amazing to see the
final product come together, and we are
proud of what we had achieved.”
“With REIMAGINE, our goal was to engage
the A+D community and the public at large in
the appreciation of sustainable hardwoods,
of which the US is a leading supplier,” Wiles
commented.
“Bringing together the creativity of some of
India’s most eminent architects, we wanted
to showcase the beauty of their work and the
loveliness and immense capabilities of the
hardwoods that have been used.”
AHEC would also like to acknowledge Abenaki
Timber Corporation and Costaawoods for
providing the American hardwood lumber
needed for the project. WIA
WOOD IN ARCHITECTURE • ISSUE 2 – 2023 13