Neha Kakkar - Teotihuacan Rejuvenated

[neha]

Hey thanks guys. Its nice to see so many AW1 contestants in my thread. It would be fun to see all of your entries I was in the final year of architecture college then...was not even aware of the term CG ...LOL


juanmanuel Hey thankyou soooo much ....I will definately let you know if I need something

[pradipta]

juanmanuel, that's wow! i wish if i could spend few weeks there in the Teotihuacan. that will be some best time i could ever spend in my life. yor are lucky to be so close to that place...

[neha]

Yes Pradipta...all the people who have had the opportunity to visit this marvellous site are so lucky. I have always wondered why it is not included as one of the wonders of the world!

But then I think we are also very lucky in this context as there are so many wonderful ancient architectural monuments in our country...right from Gothic to Mughal to Hindu. Also the the temple architecture is kind of similar to mesoamerican architecture.

Once I had to design a temple for a client who was quite nosy about approving projects...and somehow I just couldn't think of the design for the shikhara (the topmost pyramidical part of the temple) and I designed a Aztec pyramid and placed it over this temple I had designed...and the client actually loved the design and approved it at once...LOL

[pradipta]

that's amazing, Neha! you designed a temple! can we see some sketch of the design if it's ok with you

yes, we have some outstanding architectural works ranging from temples, rajastani palacea, moghal and .... countless. the intricate carving on stone of some of the temples are great! have you seen the new Akshardham Complex, in New Delhi? what works those people have done even at this time...! mind blowing

[neha]

Sure Pradipta, I will scan some and put them here...but unfortunately I don't have the design sketches here with me...I had done it when I was doing my architectural internship...I had also done some very interesting condervation work then I will get them when I go home next time. Its been many years since I have been to Delhi....do you have some pics of the new Akshardham Complex?

[pradipta]

that'll be great! i really want to see your design on the temple. what other 'conservation' work you did when you were in internship?

sure, i will make a new thread here and will post some pictures of the new Akshardham Complex. i went to delhi last year, at that time it was not opened.

[neha]

I have worked on the restoration of Pune university bldg, it was made during the British rule in India! It was very interesting...we even got a really old map which was torn...so we had to put it together like a jigsaw and then paste it together! Doing the measured drawing of the bldg was gr8 fun...I consider it the most interesting work I have done till date!

I have also done research on the restoration of St. Paul's Church, St. Helena's School, Shaniwar wada...all these buildings are in Pune...all gr8 fun

[pradipta]

wow! you did a lot of things in Pune, that's gr8 we have one St. Paul's in calcutta and i do visit that frequently. i like cathedral and i am studying a lot on gothic cathedrals these days, as well

BTW, i posted a thread on Akshardham Temple, have a look

[juanmanuel]

Actually, I live about 30 minutes away from a pyramid which by volume (but not by height) is the biggest (not tallest) pyramid in the world! It is about 5 minutes from my university, so I visited it a lot in university days.

You should know that the pyramids in Mexico were really only the foundation for the temple on top. You can see that more clearly in the mayan pyramids, where there are some examples with the temple structure still in place.

Anyway, if you ever come to Mexico, be sure to tell me, so you don't miss all the almost-unknown pyramids around. For example, there is Cantona. About 1.5 hours drive away, approximately only 10% unearthed, but calculated to have more than 20 square km of archeological stuff waiting to be discovered. A whole city, you would be amazed at the amount of pyramids and cools stuff you find there.

Yohualichan, a set of 4 pyramids at the peak of a mountain, overlooking a valley, the view, in the middle of a coniferous forest, with the myst and everything, is simply breathtaking.

The pyramid of Cholula, I have already mentioned above.

Cacaxtla, with impressive battle-themed murals. And Xochitecatl, devoted to female worship and fertility, just in front of Cacaxtla.

All those, less than 2 hour's drive from where I live!

Anyway, I have always wanted to visit India of course for it's people (I have met some really wonderful people from India), but it's architectural heritage is simply amazing.

[neha]

Hey Juanmanuel..thanks a ton for all that information....I must admit I have never heard of all these pyramids you just mentioned! Yes, I really want to visit all these wonderful pieces of architecture. I think I have seen the first pyramid, the one near your place on Discovery...its so nice that one gets to see everything through TV and internet these days. Its also surprising how they carried out the construction in that age, which is true for most of the construction of that era!

I have been very interested in Mesoamerican architecture since my school days. I first read about it in a Nancy Drew!...LOL. Have clung to whatever little information I could get being on exactly the other side of the globe. I would be very obliged if you could share pics of all these places with us!

I also find the Nazca lines very fascinating...each of the hypothesis is more interesting than the other! I have incorporated that aspect also in my design...though its still in my head. Will reveal it in my next WIP

You should definately come to India if you get the opportunity...its got a variety of culture and tradition both in its lifestyle and in the architecture. The most interesting part is that you can find historical relics simply while traveling on the road or by train...or even in the middle of some well settled neighbourhood! I will post some pics of Indian architecture soon