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Achyut Kanvinde-The Functionalist Architect

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  Achyut P. Kanvinde (1916 –2002), the Indian architect with functionalist approaches with elements of Brutalist architecture. He was born in Achra, in Konkan region of Maharashtra in 1916. He believed that a grid of columns forming a matrix giving structural and spatial aspect would turn a design more sophisticated and faceted. ·        1935: Studied architecture under Claude Batley in Sir J. J School of Arts ·        1945: Completed Masters from Harvard, student of Walter Gropius (Thesis on Science Laboratories) ·        1947: Chief Architect of CSIR (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research) ·        1955: Formed Kanvinde and Rai LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENTS ·         1976: Received the Padma Shree ·         1974-75: Became the president of IIA (Indian Institute of Architects) ·         1985: Winner of IIA “Baburao Mhatre Gold Medal” ·         1993: Awarded the Great Masters Award from JK Industries Ltd ·         Part of the jury on the competition for Indira
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IS BAMBOO BETTER THAN STEEL?

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Before the metal age, bamboo was used as a core construction material. But with time, steel has replaced bamboo in almost everywhere. Now you can also find steel scaffolds instead of the age-old bamboo ones. But are we doing the right thing by replacing bamboo? Is steel more efficient than bamboo? Or is it just in our minds, that we don’t consider bamboo modern enough to match our high standards?                           HOW BAMBOO SURPASSES STEEL? Yes, you read it right. Bamboo is actually stronger than steel in terms of tensile strength. The tensile strength of steel is 420MPa whereas for bamboo, it is 930MPa. Tensile strength is basically the resistance offered by materials to break under tension. And yes, bamboo is stronger than steel in this case due to the tightly-packed molecular structure. OTHER PROPERTIES OF BAMBOO ·        One of the greatest things about bamboo is, we can use all the parts of the plant for different purposes. ·        Certain bamboo species are the fastest
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Art Nouveau - The New Art

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At the beginning of 1890, the US witnessed a new ornamental style of art, architecture and applied arts, especially the decorative arts known as Art Nouveau, which lasted till 1914. This new style spread throughout the US and Europe, taking on different names and character in each country, as a reaction to academic art and heterogeneous historic 19th-century architecture and decoration. The new art movement had its roots in Britain, in floral designs of William Morris, and within the Art and Crafts Movement founded by his pupils. The main inspirations for this style were the Arts and Crafts movement (handcraftsmanship and highly expressive paintings) and Japanese art (flat perspective, strong colours and whiplash curves). The characteristics of Art Nouveau were as follows: ·        The decoration had a sense of dynamism and movement with no distinction between the structure and the ornament ·        Facades were asymmetrical and decorated with whiplash curves like the gra
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