Space for Engagement

Book excerpt: Why do we feel engaged with some places and not with others? How can architecture foster an engagement between people and public places? Spurred by questions like these, this book focuses on contemporary Indian cultural institutions, or artplaces, as a special kind of public place. Offering a critique of contemporary architectural and institutional approaches to 'place-making', this volume proposes an alternative approach to thinking about architecture centred on our experience of inhabiting spaces. Such a habitational approach is crucial if architecture (and, by extension, urban design) is to help nurture a larger engagement between people and their social environment.Himanshu Burte (b.1967) is an architect and writer based in Goa. He has written extensively on architecture and urban issues. His current research interests include contemporary Indian architecture and public space, sustainable technology, and the design of theatre spaces. This is his first book.