{"id":11086,"date":"2021-05-04T11:51:44","date_gmt":"2021-05-04T06:21:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/media.biltrax.com\/?p=11086"},"modified":"2022-02-26T16:38:57","modified_gmt":"2022-02-26T11:08:57","slug":"jacob-george-metaspace-future-is-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/sh040.global.temp.domains\/~vitamind\/biltrax.mediacontent\/jacob-george-metaspace-future-is-now\/","title":{"rendered":"Jacob George & MetaSpace: Future is Now"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A lot has been said and done about \u2018sustainable architecture\u2019 within the last decade. While the concept seems simple, the reality remains that we might be towards a sustainable future, but still are far from it. Jacob George, the principal architect of MetaSpace Architects, has made sustainability an approach rather than an aspect in his designs. The architect also believes nature to be the keeper of humankind\u2019s health and includes it – inside and out – in his work. We e-mailed the revered architect some questions regarding sustainability and the other principles of his firm, to which he gladly obliged.<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Form is as integral a part of architecture as function is \u0336\u0336 and no functional requirement can become an excuse to relegate form to the status of the inconsequential.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Your work balances sustainability and aesthetics. During the process of designing and executing, do you consciously strive to achieve this balance?\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I believe anyone who has an interest in architecture would have heard the famous, almost cliched, saying \u201cform follows function\u201d. More than the sequencing of these cornerstones of architecture, what\u2019s important is that \u201cform\u201d is as integral a part of architecture as function is\u00a0 \u0336\u0336\u00a0 and no functional requirement can become an excuse to relegate form to the status of the inconsequential. Therefore to answer your question — yes, every piece of technology that goes into our buildings is thought about and designed as a part of the total architectural solution, rather than being seen as something separate, or as an afterthought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you were to choose one of your designs that is the best manifestation of your principles, which one would it be? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With every passing year, we see new technologies and new materials being introduced. Our job is to keep abreast of all of these, keep learning, and modify our solutions while maintaining our core beliefs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And to reiterate the core values of our practice, it is three-fold:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Striving for net-zero self-sufficiency.<\/li>
  2. An abundance of nature inside and out — as they are the keepers of our health.<\/li>
  3. Prefabricated modular construction systems that feature ease and speed of construction, design flexibility, and easy \u201cchangeability\u201d.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Our recent projects would be the best examples of what our architecture stands for. Among the \u201cLive\u201d projects, it would be the house in Madras. However, the biophilic house we designed would be the building that embodies all our current thinking on what state\u2013of\u2013the\u2013art housing should encompass. That is because this system (apart from all the sustainability features and the incorporation of nature, both of which we are working to integrate in all our \u201clive\u201d projects) is designed to be a steel or wood frame, totally prefabricated, with all the slabs, walls, and finishes also being prefabricated units. It illustrates our third core value which most of our live projects at the moment are unable to do because of client resistance. Educating the client is a slow process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Design Combine Office which was completed in 2004 has an almost brutalist or unfinished exterior but a sophisticated interior. Why was this approach taken?  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I don\u2019t know if I would call the exterior of Design Combine \u201cbrutalist\u201d. Just as much as I am not sure I would call the interior \u201csophisticated\u201d. It is extremely simple, highly minimalist both inside and out. Besides, we did not have the money to spend on anything expensive or frivolous. It is just a glass skin, floor to ceiling that brought the focus on our main source of “decoration” \u2013 the vegetation outside this skin. Concrete floors \u2013 columns and single sheets of rubberwood for tables created an ambience that illustrates the point that often the most elegant solutions are the simplest ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n