The travelling exhibition “Building India- Indian Visions Dutch Methods” was successfully opened at Sir JJ College of Architecture. Mumbai on the 9th July 2010. The exhibition was originally on show at the ARCAM Gallery in Amsterdam, and currently travels across various cities in India. The exhibition presents a general introduction to present-day India. It follows with the current state of architecture and urbanism, and the building task for the next ten years.

The main part of the exhibition focusses on India’s future, seen through the eyes of young Indian architects. Five architects were asked to present their city. Each architect allocated key projects that are important and representative of the architectural and urban culture of their city.
The chosen projects are explained in short texts and shown in photo’s, drawings, and visuals, revealing their significance to the city.

The exhibition tries to give an objective sense of how the major cities in India are developing. The highlighted projects however show something else. It is not a mere reflection of the rampant developments of the last years. They show a critical involvement of the architects. Most of the projects have in common a relationship between the Architecture and the street, or the public domain. In Mumbai, the battle around the Mill areas, the Dharavi slum redevelopment project and the Bandra Bandstand public promenade highlight that there are forces within the city who care about public interests. A positive voice for the future of Indian Cities.

At the occasion of the opening of the exhibition ‘Arch-I Platform’ organized a panel discussion with Rajeev Mishra, Quaid Doongerwala, Neera Adarkar, Rajeev Thakker, Rohan Shivkumar, Robert Verrijt, Anne Feenstra and the students of JJ College. The discussion was a step forward to discussing the future of the city of Mumbai in a holistic manner.
The Hon. Dutch Consul General Ms. Marijke van Drunen Littel inaugurated the exhibition.

The exhibition will be on show from 9-07-2010 to 16-07-2010 at JJ College of Architecture, D.N. Road, Mumbai

(photographs by Arch-I Platform)