Metrics for liveability must be reassessed, says Rahul Mehrotra

Architect Rahul Mehrotra discusses urban design, affordable housing, and mobility metrics, emphasizing the need for reevaluation and innovation.

Standardised metrics for liveability and mobility must be revisited and community or co-housing can be incorporated into designs, said Rahul Mehrotra a Mumbai-based architect.

During his talk on the topic ‘Research as Practice: Architecture and City in Books’ at Alliance Française of Madras (AF Madras) on Monday, he said it was necessary to revisit the metrics such as the government’s 300-sq.ft standard house size for low-income groups, affordable housing, livelihood, mobility, and dwelling.

The next generation is engaging with signs of conflicts, advocating for public spaces, mitigating climate change effects, and reimagining affordable housing, said the professor of urban design and planning and chair of the Department of Urban Planning and Design at the Harvard Graduate School of Design in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

He spoke about his exhibitions, books, and essays, which discuss topics such as India’s archaic definitions of urban and rural, the demography based on census, Kumbh Mela and dwellings close by, the Taj Mahal and Agra, and Mumbai and Ganesh Chathurthi.

“From about two or four schools [of architecture] in India at the time of Independence to 428 now, their numbers exploded in the 1990s, when real estate became recognised as a ‘field’. But, the demand for architects is inversely proportional to the growth of real estate in our country. These findings are important for the profession as this is what should inform policy on whether new schools should be allowed or not.”

He also mentioned the book Architectures of Transition: Emergent Practices in South Asia, compiled by him and co-authors Devenshree Shah and Pranav Thole, wherein design techniques of 41 contemporary architects who had faced multiple challenges such as climate change, demographics, sustainability, space, and organisation are explained.

An exhibition at AF Madras displaying the works and infographics mentioned in the book has been organised by Prakriti Foundation, founded by Ranvir Shah. On the talk by Mr. Mehrotra, Mr. Shah said, “It is important to be constantly inspired by the icons of the architectural world for the next generation. Young minds need to be stimulated and find different ways in their imagination to confront some of the issues.” The exhibition is open for all and will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. till August 18.