Manas Ranjan Nayan Srivastava
India
When I lived in a city a 1000 miles away from another, I had a vaguely accurate image of the other city. Not actively having engaged with the space, I had an idea about its structure. Why ? DATA. We are beings swimming in a pool of data. How do we ascertain the depths of another's abode without ever having to step into it, by eating and processing data. The amount of data eating and it's processing differs per individual. Rarely we absolutely effectively get the exact representation of an individual/ spatial structure from afar. What forms the vernacular of a space for an external observer is merely a projection from collected data.
We are able to design for another by understanding their requirements and needs through a collection of data that happens through exchange between the observer and the subject. How this data is collected and what kind forms the backbone of the designing process. This process accumulated over years condenses to form the vernacular of a place. The process is always going on. It is subject to errors that compound over time. As we are defining the vernacular, secretly it is changing us as well. It's a slow battle where the winner is not the inhabitant but the process. We aimed to collect data about the life and style of an Indian Pariah dog, through mere observation over a period of three months to be able to grasp the requirements for it's home. Presented here, is a house designed specifically for the Indian Pariah dog which took shape from a series of observations made by us from the daily life of the subject. The activities highlighted in red. The dog house presented here is a representation of the breeds vernacular. Carefully observing the behavior and activities of the dog, revealed two different patterns for a singular activity-sleeping. The Geo location of the activity being the same, it's manifestation differed. In the day time, the dog, still actively engaging with it's surroundings sleeps spread across the space of it's home. Half in the sun and half in the shade. The house structure takes a backseat and the dog i