HYDERABAD: Architect Nuru Karim’s obsession with symmetry is non-conformist; he breaks the quintessential modern architecture’s symmetry with kaleidoscopic stigmergy and speaks to CE on the sidelines of Blenders Pride Glassware Fashion Tour.
The architectural works of architect Nuru Karim are jaw-dropping. You would know if you toured Blenders Pride Glassware Fashion Tour last weekend at Boulder Hills, Gachibowli. But if you didn’t, we got you covered. Though the award-winning architect’s portfolio intersects art, architecture, and technology, his work is a quiet rebellion against authoritarian, imaginative and conformist architectural structures made of concrete steel and sheth glass.
“Before considering the utility of any building material, I think about an afterlife project. Or of ways It can be discarded,” says Nuru Karim. “O! Wait,” he snapped, adding: “I sometimes, instead, think of sustainable building material first and then chalk out utility.” The Blenders Pride Glassware Fashion Tour’s set was designed out of the latter.
Karim was in Hyderabad to work with designer Ashish Soni, curator in chief of the Blenders Pride Glassware Fashion Tour, to create a sustainable stage that would sync with the designer’s collection. “We wanted to create something fluid—a set where there is a movement within the space without obstructing models,” He, who is hopelessly in love with geometry, said. “We flushed out many options before we concluded that we would use reclaimed timber, considering it’s a renewable energy source. Then, I broke into mathematical geometries to ensure that the timber stage is fluid and symmetrical,” the architect added.
Most architects think of or refer to a bigger structure to be inspired by design. Karim does the opposite. He says, “If we look at anything on a micro level, patterns emerge. I am inspired by nature’s architects and social animals like termites who work on stigmergy to build complex multilevel anthills.” He aims to sync his work inspired with the beauty of bio-engineering without losing the innovation and clarity of modernism, proving that architects can be in a dialogue with the most illustrious nature.
Until a few decades ago, stone, brick and wood were the most common building materials that also aged beautifully. “Architecture is now replaced with — modern building materials, like steel concrete and sheth glass. Amit and I have had long conversations about it when designing the stage,” he added.
The architect spoke further about sustainability and said, “Even kids are involved in learning and are practising sustainability these days. It is more like a development in terms of learning about sustainability.”
Ashish Soni commented about how the fashion tour has changed over the years. He said, “We wanted to go younger; we did not want to say it but mean it too. We have brought in younger designers and introduced the style gallery, which we have done in collaboration with the Fashion Design Council of India. Our style gallery is filled with everything recyclable.”