akshay kaul

Resurrecting the water system and erosion control of stream and river corridor

2012-02-16T09:56:00.000-08:00

Water wise garden - breaking free from tropical syndrome

2012-02-10T02:36:00.000-08:00

Water Colours Illustrations - Landscape Design and Planning Projects - Akshay Kaul

2011-10-27T04:53:00.000-07:00

The Serai - Jaisalmer
Conceptual Design Sketches of this Resort for which we did Master Planning an Architecture Design. The furniture and Finishes were picket up by the client and the space planning for interiors done by us. This is a unique resort.

The individual tents that we designed sketches

The Serai - Jaisalmer
Water Colour showing the swimming pool rooms, public areas, back house, entrance in distance


Raas Jodhpur - The view of the entrance court

Raas Jodhpur - View of the Pool and Baradari


Institute of Pubic Health Management - Gandhinagar, Gujarat We won the project along with architects Ashok Lal and Sanjay Prakash for this 50 acre campus. We are sharing the landscape design master plan along with some architectural model photos done by the architects

Water Colour Illustration - Landscape Design of one of entrance and the proposed conference for IIPH, Gandhinagar


Water Color Illustration- Taj Mahal DPR


Water Colour Illustration showing Plan of 2600 acre new town done along with REPL

Three Large residences - Rishikesh. Water Colour Illustration showing landscape design for three large residences. We did the master plan and site development for these large residencies on a six acre plot where the buildings were designed by three different architects.

Water Colour Illustration showing ISKCON Retreat Site - Wada, Maharastra for the first phase of the project

The Poetics of Water of Deeg and landscape of Kumbalgarh

2011-09-30T21:40:00.000-07:00

Fort and Palace, Kumbalgarh, India

The forts and palaces of India have always fascinated me as they are one of the best surviving examples of site planning and site design. These are great places to study where and how to locate buildings and structures, manage and harvest rain water, selection of materials and construction, detailing and poetry in landscape and architecture.

Temple Complex with Kumbalgarh Fort

Arrival to the Fort

Temple within the Fort

View from one of the large platforms that run all along the edge of the fort for vigil

View of the Palace from below

Palace and Gardens at Deeg

Located near the famous Bharatpur bird sanctuary this is one of the best examples of a summer palace and garden in the hot dry arid landscape of India. Its a poetry in water where the breeze is pushed through the citrus gardens, moves over the large royal tank, pierces through the fine jallis into the room and moves through the large gardens.

The terrace gardens at Deeg Palace

The Garden leading to the large water tank

The large tank with the jetties to sit and that remain afloat even when the tank is full

The summer pavilion to catch breeze from the tank in ht dry climate

The royal tank

People on the steps leading to the ghats of the tank

The tank outside and the pavilion inside

Learning from Field Studies in Landscape - Rural India - Bharmour Himachal Pradesh

2011-09-19T02:06:00.000-07:00

We went for three consecutive years to Temple Town of Bharmour for two weeks each with about 15 students (1996 - 1998) and then through the whole summer reflected on the documentation, studied, discussed and put together an amazing reflection of studies in Indian Landscape, Vernacular Architecture, Agro- Pastorial Life style of the Temple town of Bharmour where the temple dates back to 6th Century. It was a learning that gave us all a perspective on the intrinsic relationship between mountains, streams, water channels, agriculture, food habits, live stock, architecture, settlement patterns and many subtle insight into our own understanding of 'Indianness' its varied culture, people, customs, landscape....While the students were directed in the studies and documentation, I was busy learning from the people and place constantly absorbing what this magical place had to offer.....The sketches and water colours besides a huge collection of slides and photos remain alive in sub-conscious from where I constantly draw them in my writings, teaching and my professional work as a landscape architect.

Sixth Century Devi Temple in Background

Glass Pencil

Pen and Ink - Oldest House in Settlement Lower Floor Livestock, Upper Kitchen and Rooms

Pencil - Typical dwelling place has lower level for

Live stock, Middle for habitation and Upper for Kitchen

Patterns in Landscape

Settlement Pattern in Relationship with Land

Water in Landscape

Market Street - Linear along the Main Spine

Land and Dwelling Unit

Sketches II - Learning Through Field Observation in Landscape

2011-08-23T04:03:00.000-07:00

Yosemite - Vernal Falls, CA

Philadelphia - Still in college 1990

Philadelphia

Philadelphia - Crayon, Pencil and Ink

Philadelphia

Philadelphia - Crayon, Pencil and Ink

Crayon..what I learnt in III grade in my art class

applied on site for field notes..

with a blade in hand for the effects

New York New York - Lower Manhattan

New York New York -View from UN Building

Sketches - Learning Through Field Observation in Landscape

2011-08-09T01:11:00.000-07:00

Verona - Italy

California

San Francisco

1, Market Street, San Francisco - Paving in Progress

La Rambla, Barcelona, Spain

Alhambra, Spain

Court of Lions - Alhambra, Spain

Are we offering quality education in Landscape Architecture

2011-07-29T22:02:00.000-07:00

Landscape Design Studio
Potential for enhancing teaching and learning in design studio

Akshay Kaul/March 2010

In order to achieve the objective of bringing in change to curriculum it is essential
to take a fresh look at the studio - Content/Curriculum, Teaching Methodology,
Background of the incoming Students, What the faculty the visiting faculty/guest
faculty can offer.

A. Typically Design Studio takes on special responsibility of

1 Exposing the students to the greater breadth of the profession

2. New directions in landscape practice

3. Aspect of representation and graphics

B. Studio Infrastructure and support

Background of Incoming Students and studio as a learning place

It has been my observation the students that the department attracts come
mostly from small or middle sized town with average quality of architectural
education that has mostly remained basic and unchanged and does not
prepare them to scholarly attitude that is expected of them at graduate
studies. Their background does not prepare them for this new transition
and the learning curve is very slow. In view of the above the design studio
should take on special mandate to provide with supporting material so
that when in studio they can learn at a greater pace.

In order to increase the exposure of the students the first semester needs
to have a structured lecture series once a week up to two hours like an
introduction to landscape design which will expose them to various
scales, approaches, styles, issues in landscape design profession through
a structured presentation series. Along with this a reader should be
prepared with articles that compliment the lecture series in enhancing
the student’s exposure to the subject.

Each studio should be designed well in advance as a consultative
process much before the start of the semester with all reference material
like survey of India maps, site plans, reference case studies photo copies,
website links made available to the students as is a practice in all good institutes.
The entire semester calendar should be made available to the students
and faculty on the day of start of the semester showing days of site visit,
field trips, lectures thereby reducing mid semester ‘surprises’ like exchange
programs, or unplanned studios. Grading system should be mentioned as
part of the studio problem and written faculty feed back from all faculty
members should be part of it explaining the strengths and potential in
design so that the students may focus and be part of the discussion rather
than taking notes during the crit. The studios reviews should open up to
other years and other departments may be allowed during reviews as a
process of learning rather than look at it as grading. Within the studio
there should be presentation by the students on the case studies and
related topics as studio learning process to improve their verbal presentation
skills also. It has been my observation that learning and working in the studio
has been extremely diluted process limited mostly to crit while the other
students do not use their time productively.

Further, in the first semester students should be taken for site visits along
with respective faculty to projects like shakti sthal, institute of immunology,
sankriti, ridge, Yamuna along with the faculty to enhance their field
observation, recording techniques and sketching and photography skills.

New directions in landscape practice

What landscape can encompass as a profession is broadening and so
is the role and scope of work of the landscape architect. Presently, our
design studio only exposes the students to a limited palette and a
single/conventional approach to design (barely). It is my understanding
that with the increased intake the department with the assistance of
guest faculty can offer more than one option of design problem per
semester. The studio may offer two or more such choices within a
semester as it is any way difficulty to address more than six or seven
students through a crit per class while the others waste the precious
studio time. Such an approach is not new in other colleges abroad
and allows the students the advantage of learning in depth from a
faculty in his field of specialization and interest. At present there are
more than six to seven faculties per studio and it creates problem
both for the students and faculty. The students get confused with
the diverse opinions, varying approach and emphasis of each faculty and

the faculty does not get adequate space to explore and express their
strength, area of interest or teaching methodology.

There are landscape architects, urban designers and planners constantly
returning to India and along with them the department can look into taking
up interesting design studio with innovative approach to design. The
department can call upon them to ask them to offer their area of specialization
with enough freedom to formulate a problem, design approach and
end product. Such an approach will bring out the best in the faculty and
the students and will open up the department and profession to new ideas,
new approaches to design and new areas in landscape.

Five or more days per week for studio is unheard of in other institutes and
may be reduced to two per week. This will give room to bring in studio for
site planning each semester, ecological planning and graphics/representation.
At present the design studio has too much in hand and is without a focus,
direction and chaotic resulting in average output. Having less studio hours
will give time for reading, writing, research, site visits and field observation
and all these aspects are negligible or extremely week in the department.

Traditional aspect of representation and graphics and computer skills

It has been my observation that the representation and communication
skills of the incoming students are extremely week. The skills to sketch,
draw and communicate through them are typically poor both of using hand
and computers. The first year studio should have studio dedicated to
representation typically useful to landscape architects so that in design
studio the focus can remain on design learning rather than on teaching
almost everything.

The younger faculty can be drawn upon who can help with representation
and exploration through sketches, water colour, rendering, model making,
and representing landscape as expression for presentation graphics. It is
should be mandatory to maintain a journal in which the students record
and sketch through the semester as site notes, filed observation, design
ideas and sketches. Such journaling is an important part of design learning
process and should be part of evaluation process.

Studio Infrastructure and support

The studio infrastructure is grossly inadequate for teaching and learning.
The previous works of students need to be made available for reference. All
thesis should be made available in soft copies on demand to the students,
similarly membership to various libraries online is a must that the department
must look into. The books and periodicalswithin the library are grossly
inadequate in numbers and their copies.

A highway is not just a highway

2011-07-06T01:38:00.000-07:00

The landscape of Hospitality in India

2011-06-30T05:25:00.000-07:00

An Inquiry into Identity and Indianess in Landscape

2011-06-30T04:42:00.000-07:00

Landscape at the crossroads

2011-06-29T02:56:00.000-07:00

Understanding sustainability

2011-06-29T01:46:00.000-07:00

Nature in the city

2011-06-29T00:50:00.000-07:00

Towards a new aesthetics in landscape

2011-06-29T00:39:00.000-07:00