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Showing posts from October, 2012

Are you in the wrapper business?

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We all are familiar with wrappers. It comes in all forms. There is a chance that you recognize a product mostly by the wrapping. You may want to disagree. But, honestly, many a time you buy the wrapper and not the product. You paid Rs 300 for the music CD that you bought last week. Now, it is very unlikely that you will pay that amount to just few songs once the labeled CD and its beautiful cover is removed. You may still take the music, but you may not buy it. You are most likely to open and read through a document arrived on your desk in a FedEx envelop than one received through mail though the content could be perfectly conveyed through a mail. A FedEx envelope has made the document look more important. Surely, the wrapping has done the difference.                LETS BUY THE WINE, AND NOT THE BOTTLE

Revisiting Le Corbusier’s MOA building

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World has just celebrated 125 th birthday of one of the most influential architect of the 20 th century, Le Corbusier. This reminded me of my visit to the much famous Millowner's Association Building in Ahmedabad a few years back. There are few cities in the world that can claim more than three buildings by Le  Corbusier, and Ahmedabad is one of them(after Paris, Chandigarh and La Chaux-de-Fonds), with the Museum, the Millowners Association Building, and the Sarabhai and Shodhan houses to its credit. Such major commissions, all initiated during Le Corbusier’s first visit to the city, attest to Ahmedabad’s intellectual climate and economic prosperity unrivalled in India for a city of its size. A comparative visual study by Peter Serenyi, comparing the Hall of Public Audiences, Red Fort and the Assembly building, Chandigarh hinting on the inspirations of the architect for his public buildings. Since its founding by Sultan Ahmed, Shah of Gujrat in 1411 AD, A...

Automation: Designing for a smarter world?

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Are we getting more and more addicted towards technology? Are our daily chores getting more and more automated?  "Three scenarios likely to be possible in the future: "No," says the refrigerator. "Not eggs again. Not until your weight comes down, and your cholesterol levels are lower. Scale tells me you still have to lose about five pounds, and the clinic keeps pinging me about your cholesterol. This is  for your own good, you know." "I just checked your appointments diary in your smart phone," says the automobile as you get into the car after a day's work. "You have free time, so I've programmed that scenic route with those curves you like so much instead of the highway - I know you'll enjoy driving it. Oh, and I've picked your favorite music to go with it." "Hey," says your house one morning as you prepare to leave. "What's the rush? I took out the garbage. Won't you even say thank y...