A Baahubalian thought for Amaravati

None of the worldwide travels and master plans submitted by top architect firms could match the expectations of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, who is awestruck by Mahishmati, the VFX kingdom in Baahubali.

And in a decision that took many by surprise, the CM has reportedly appointed Tollywood director S.S. Rajamouli as the adviser to London-based architect Norman Foster, the man behind the England Supreme Court, Apple’s second campus in California and the upcoming Masdar city in Abu Dhabi, along with Mumbai-based architect Hafeez Contractor, to design the 900-acre capital city of Amaravati.

A few days ago, Hyderabad had hosted an informal discussion between APCRDA Commissioner Dr Cherukuri Sreedhar and Rajamouli in the presence of minister for municipal administration and urban development (MA&UD) Dr P. Narayana, the details of which are still unknown.

But the million-dollar question is how can someone who recreated an imaginary city with the help of computer graphics give advice on designing a capital city?

Chandrababu Naidu is indecisive
TD sources say Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu is yet to make up his mind on the Amaravati design plan. Whenever he visits a foreign country, impressed by a city there, he impulsively announces Amaravati to be built on those lines.

First, a master plan from a Singaporean company failed to impress Mr Naidu. Then, a competition was conducted to elicit the best concept and design and Japan-based Maki & Associates was chosen. That too wasn’t impressive.
Later, the state government approached UK-based architect Roger Stirk Harbour and partners.

Meanwhile, in July, Mr Naidu visited Astana city, the capital of Kazakhstan and wooed by the architecture, he decided to build Amaravati on those lines! He discussed with Astana city Mayor and even decided to set up a five-member working group.

‘Bad choice’: Architects in the city are shocked that a non-professional has been asked to assist in designing a capital city

Rajamouli is a creative person, but his field of creativity is very different from urban design. He is more accustomed to designing temporary film sets whereas architecture is permanent. We need someone who understands not just a city but the people too. A city has to be designed for the people who live in it and I think there are better qualified persons than film directors. He might be the best in his own field, but that doesn’t make him an ideal choice to design a city. He could be taken on the committee as an advisor as he does know a little bit about art and culture.
—Yeshwant Ramamurthy, Architect

He’s not qualified to design a town as he is not an architect or a town planner. Art and architecture have different dynamics; they aren’t interchangeable. Town planning jobs should be left to professionals who know their job. I’m actually shocked by the request. I can still understand if they want to take his suggestions to design a particular town square or have some artwork in a particular location, but he may not serve the purpose as the domain of urban planning and designing requires a lot of professional skills.
— Manoj Daisaria, Architect and former president of Practising Engineers Architects and Town Planners Association

I’m surprised. Designing a town is serious business. A town, unlike a film set, should be workable as people reside there. Aspects like usability, strategic thinking, public consultation, policy recommendations, implementation, management and more come into the picture while designing a township. It’s like visiting a beautician to get a nose job done when you actually have to see a cosmetologist.
— Abha Narain Lambha, Conservation architect and winner of seven Unesco Asia-Pacific Awards for conservation

(As told to Swati Sharma and Aarti Bhanushali)