#ArchiSpeak
Mr. Shashi Prabhu, Principal Architect, Shashi Prabhu & Associates
Mr. Sashi Prabhu is one of the most respected architects in the country, whose firm SPA, which was founded in 1967, has designed several high profile projects across the country.
On sports architecture
See to design for sports, you need to know the sports itself. How it is played, what are the rules and regulations. The most important aspect is the surfaces on which the sport is played. Next is the dimension. If the dimension goes wrong everything goes wrong as well. One of the most important factors is the spectators, their comforts. So the line, profile line of the people sitting is an important factor. So are the chairs, aisles, exits etc. There is a mathematical calculation to all this. In the case of commotion how you can guarantee exit of so many people. So sports architecture is a complex and specialized job. You cannot just simply say that the sports area can be designed by anyone and everyone.
On designing the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium
Madam Gandhi was the Prime Minister and she had declared Asian Games in 1982. In 1980, Sanjay Gandhi decided to have a good designer and the job so naturally it came down to Mumbai and we formed a consortium. It was a time scheduled project in the sense there was no option because the date was already declared. Now Delhi climate is adverse during winters and concrete doesn’t set. So you have to use heaters and what not. And Indira Gandhi stadium by its dimension itself is a monstrous thing.
It is designed in a way that there are 8 pylons of about 12-storey height which are supposed to take the load of the entire roof. Each pylon takes a load of about 500 tonnes.
So it was a very challenging job. Everything needed to be done within the time span of 2 years. We worked day and night and today it is standing there.
On coming to terms with designing with software
That one to one touch, going to the actual board and getting the design checked, is gone. Computers have given us speed and techniques. But physical drafting that we used to do 40 years back, helped us get fully involved in the job. We used to identify the mistakes. In India, there are very few architects who do engineering architecture which is normally found in other countries like Germany, the USA and all. Slowly & gradually that will come to India as well when all these architects abroad come to India and jointly work with Indian architects.
Materials manufactured in India should only be used
We prefer Indian materials because in case anything goes wrong we should know the source of the solution. I tell manufactures coming to India and trying to sell their products, that they should put up their factories in India. I always cite the example of Mercedes Benz being manufactured in India.
Cladding materials like ACP contribute to increasing the life of a building
Basically, any cladding, be it ACP or ceramic vitrified tiles, protects the building from the rain. I promote longer lives of buildings. Singapore receives a heavy amount of rain, but the buildings there are well protected. But here, some buildings have profuse leakages. Also, every apartment has air conditioning because the humidity in the city is really high and so is the temperature.
Having insulation on the building exterior protects the building from harsh weather and saves energy as well. More than a decoration it’s a necessity. As I said the building gets protected because the walls don’t getting exposed.
You are covering it with another material, and there is a good gap between that and the wall. So definitely, the building is going to last longer.
