Creating an Identity Through Crafts: A Perspective on Indian Interior Architecture

Issue #002, Winter, 2019                                                                            ISSN: 2581- 9410 Across the globe, craft has oftenbeen associated to small scale 'products' and 'objects'; one misses out the enormity of craft in the traditional and vernacular architectural structures.In India, the craft landscape comprises of numerous types of applications which range from vernacular objects of daily use that are made from locally sourced materials to the celebrated objects of symbolic value used on special occasions either for personal or religious use. The built landscape of India also depicts the vastnessof craft productions at various scales. The legacies of craft traditions that shaped Indian architecture since ages are being consistently questioned and are subject to validity in our contemporary and modern environment. Space Making Crafts which also form an inherent tradition in our country are being manifested in diverse ways with multiple overlays of culture, tradition, design and many external forces. The country stands in the middle of a multi-faceted architectural landscape where there are numerous ideas shaping the building industry. It projects a mixed vision that blurs down to a state of absence of a cultural identity. While many buildings portray a departure from the traditional architecture; others have been integrating crafts in the built environment claiming an Indian identity in the built landscape worldwide. An attempt to understand the complexity of crafts and its manifestation in the built environ...