Sunday, August 13, 2006
Hyderabad; WE Just got load!
The cityscape suddenly seems to have turned vibrant. Some prefer to call it funky, with building exteriors sporting bright reds, yellows, blues, violets and a jazzy combination of all that.
Not so long ago, these colours used to be looked down upon as gaudy and in poor taste and as a violation on aesthetics. The muted shades, the pastels were what associated with the sober look. Soothing to the eye with a quiet dignity.
But a new trend is taking over the city. Starting with the striking Babu Khan Mall on Begumpet road whose façade in glass and red catches attention of passers-by to the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation's `Paryatak Bhavan' due for completion soon, sporting a screaming yellow exterior. Even the Secunderabad Railway Station building newly painted in bright blue and with a contrasting yellow foothpath, sports a flashy look. The trend is not confined to commercial complexes and IT companies alone. Even apartment complexes follow suit not only in downtown area but even in suburbs. If a residential complex in shocking violet in a suburb evoked laughter not long ago, it seems to be the in thing now.
Veteran architect Anwar Aziz of Whisper Valley fame explains the reason for change in the colour preferences. "With many gated communities coming up, monotony is setting up in design which invariably abides by `Vastu' principles. Neither an apartment nor a house can be rented out or sold if it is not in consonance with Vastu guidelines. Therefore colour is the only option to experiment with."
Mr. Aziz says changing colour schemes do reflect the change in people's mood for innovation. Making the `colourful' choice easy is the aluminium cladding panels coated in different colours that come with beautiful finish. These are unlike the plastering material in the earlier times that was not amenable to take bright coloured paints. Even traditional companies supplying paints are for computerised colour mixing to get the preferred shade, he says.
Architect S.P. Shorey welcomes the change in colour scheme and the bright look. The preference of colour scheme changes from time to time. "I suggested bright red and grey in early 1980s to a friend for his furniture shop but he could not go ahead as he was not confident how people would react." The building exteriors used to be decorated in stone, granite, colourful tiles. The trend has changed with the entry of metal cladding panels into market.
Chairman of Indian Institute of Architects, AP chapter, D.T.Vinod Kumar, says dark colours radiate more heat but colours are not chosen any longer to suit the climate one lives in.
The emphasis now is on lending an attractive look and the metal composite panels have made the task easy. Besides Vaastu colours like golden yellow, orange, pink are also coming into vogue.
No Vaastu barriers
But Vaastu expert Chandramouli says Vaastu Shastra does not bother about colour. It only gives importance to cardinal elements - air, water, fire, earth and space- in building designing to ensure good life for inmates in all aspects.
This flashy display of colours will not last long, feels Mr.Anwar Aziz. The architectural elements are going through a transitional mode and the flashy exteriors will soon sober down.
"The present colour scheme is like modern music but one would soon get tired of it and return to the evergreen melodies, er.. soothing colours," adds Mr.Aziz who prefers pastel shades any day.
