help regarding documentation of settlement

[jasmeet_cca]

hi frnds.....
im new to this site.....im a third yr student of chandigarh college of architecture....we hv got a competition....need to document a settlement and study its growth due to social,economical,political n more such factors due to which a town grows...also how it grew n what was the change that took place with time...i need help regarding wat r the main things that must b documented...n wat that must b 4 sure looked upon in analysis of tht place....plz reply if u hv sum info... regarding my prob...

[jparchitectus]

Welcome to forum Jas.

I am sure someone will be able to help you fairly rapidly. We have a huge resource of people here at PushPullBar. :rock on:

[?eter]

Hi Jasmeet.

Some ideas for you: (take them,leave them,ignore them, whatever)

1. DRAW. Don't even take a camera to site the first time you go- just take a paper and pencil and DRAW EVERYTHING- the people,the shape of the buildings against the sky, the garbage on the pavement, the clouds- everything.

2. Think about what you have drawn- try and abstract the things you are seeing. If you have not read Christopher Alexander's pattern language, read that to see a useful way of understanding vernacular architecture.

3. Speak to people. Once you sit down and start sketching,you will have visitors all the time asking what you are doing. Ask what THEY do- find out what there house is like,who built it, etc.

4. Read some studies- If you have not read Delirious New York by Rem Koolhaas, read it s othat you can understand a very different way of documenting a settlement :)

5. While you are visiting the site, try and see what is most important- is it the housing typology, is it the mix of uses, is it the relationship to environment? Focus on this in your documentation, but remember to cover as many aspects as you can.

6. Concentrate on the things you can do on foot. Anyone can do internet research- I can probably learn as much about the official statistics of a settlement in India from my house in South Africa as you can- but only you can walk around the settlement with an architect's eye.

7. Get excited about it- we had a professor who used to say that you must dream about your projects at night. Try to represent and research the settlement in a way that excites you- that might mean following the story of someone as they move through the settlement, or relating it to your own life or maybe something completely off the wall.

8. Try to use SU in your presentation- Sketchup is really good at making graphics from very rough site drawings. I have attached some views of rooms I surveyed for a research project last year at university. These were all designed as singe family flats, but are now serving as mosques,brothels,multi-family flats and students accomodation (I'll let you mix and match which is which). Using SU, I had a static panel with this kind of overhead wide-angle plan and a proejctor running a video which was a shameless rip off of JJ's animation that he posted in PPb 1- that showed all the objects being inserted into that space.

9. Have fun!

[arv]

Sane advice there ?eter .
I would say the most important thing to do would be to talk as much as you can to people . You will be surprised , if you are courteous , how keen people are to help students and chat to them . I have had 'chai' with so many people while on these field trips . Make people draw what they feel about the place , it provides a very clear insight into the perceptions of the people to their settlement . Make the children and the old ladies , infact everyone you can make to draw what he see about the settlement . Since you are documenting the changes it is important to see how their perception chhnges over the period of time in question .
I would emphasise on walking , sitting under the Peepul tree ( if there is one :-) ) as much as you can . And dont form your opinions too soon . Let the place grow on you .

Try to look for generalities , building typologies , fenestrations but also look for the out of the ordinary . They always have a story to tell . Have fun .

[takesh h]

I have nothing to add to what ?eter said.
Great advices. :cheers: