River from the Sky

Posted on December 11, 2015 by Building The World

Puja, ceremony of honoring the sacred, as seen in “Durga Puja” by Sevak Ram, 1809. Image: British Library Add.Or. 29

Jalwa Puja is a water ceremony, sacred to India, in which mothers welcome a new child with blessings at the village well. Baghwati Argrawal incorporated this and other customs, including naming reservoirs after community leaders, in the Rajastan project that collects and distributes rainwater. Argrawal calls the program, administered by Sustainable Innovations, Aakash Ganga or River from the Sky. The system collects monsoon rains, channeling potential floods into treasured reservoirs. A rain collection system also irrigates gardens of the Taj Mahal. But what of areas where there is scarce percipitation? Will Graciela Schneier-Madanes and the University of Arizona’s Institute of the Environment, as presented at Fulbright Water Act 2015, guide the world’s dry regions? Can the University of Massachusetts Boston’s School for the Environment open a new vision? Most arid country on earth, Australia changed agriculture and irrigation while providing electricity via Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric. As UN Climate Change conference COP21 concludes, how can we sustain shared resources including water?

Kathleen Toner, CNN. “‘River from the Sky’ brings life-changing water.” 7 December 2015.

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Failure to Success: Roskilde

Posted on September 14, 2015 by Building The World

Architect Erick van Egeraat has designed a waste-to-energy plant to echo the iconic 13th century cathedral in Roskilde, Denmark. Image: wikimedia commons.

Europe’s inspirational great cathedrals, or Asia’s impressive Buddhist stupas, might be considered among the first skyscrapers. Like France’s Eiffel Tower, or India’s Taj Mahal, a new edifice in Denmark will define the landscape. Giving new meaning to spiritual fire by echoing the shape of the famous Roskilde Cathedral, Dutch architect Erick van Egeraat has designed a power plant transforming residential and industrial waste into electricity. Similar achievements may emerge from a new Harvard degree program combining engineering and design. Can art and architecture improve public acceptance of using waste to power the future, turning failure into success?

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Taj Mahal’s Beauty Treatment

Posted on June 10, 2014June 18, 2014 by Building The World

Monument to love and beauty, India’s Taj Mahal is getting a mud-pack: 2mm’s of thick clay, rich in lime, will be applied to the surface, and left overnight to dry; upon removal, a process involving gentle friction, stains or impurities will “exfoliate,” resulting in a brightening. India’s white marble icon has shown yellow stains recently, as nearby urban Agra generates increasing pollution, perhaps intensified by emissions from a nearby oil refinery. According to B M Bhatnagar of the Archeological Survey of India, the Taj Mahal’s treatment is derived from a facial mud-pack, developed by traditional local beauties perhaps descended from Mumtaz Mahal, for whom the Taj Mahal was built in 1653.

For more about the Taj Mahal’s treatment: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-27753788

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Monuments, Memory, and Culture

Posted on February 28, 2014March 4, 2014 by Building The World

Monument to love, built by 20,000 artisans using 43 different kinds of jewels, the Taj Mahal is Shah Jahan’s memorial to his beloved wife, Arjumand Banu Begam, also known as Mumtaz Mahal. The lovers met as teenagers and parted only when Mumtaz died on the battlefield (she traveled with him, no matter the circumstances) giving birth. Roman poet Horace wrote in his last ode, 3.30.1: Exegi monumentum aere perennius – “I have built a monument more lasting than bronze.” Poetry, music, libraries, laws, endowments, buildings, monuments, art – how should we honor, and remember? What is the role of memory in culture?

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Holy Rivers

Posted on February 19, 2013February 20, 2013 by zoequinn001

pilgrims — Pilgrims in Allahabad wading into the Holy Waters of the Ganges, from PBS at pbs.org.

In India, as with many other nations and/or religions, water is considered valuable for more than its hydrating properties. In fact, three of India’s rivers are considered to be holy: the Yamuna, – which runs by the Taj Mahal – the Ganges, and the Saraswati. Every twelve years a 55-day celebration known as Kumbh Mela occurs where these three rivers meet in Allahabad. The most recent of these celebrations occurred February 2013. For more information on the festival and its participants, please visit: http://www.npr.org/2013/02/12/171735743/in-the-waters-of-indias-holy-rivers-seeking-a-glimpse-of-immortality?sc=17&f=1001

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Islamic Art

Posted on May 22, 2012August 28, 2012 by zoequinn001

script — Calligraphy on the exterior of the Taj Mahal

Islamic art is known for its intricacy and beauty. Ranking highest on the list of perfected Islamic art is the Taj Mahal. Not only does this astounding structure embody the physical nature of Islamic art – of symmetry and proportion – but it follows the rules of Islam as a religion as well. As Islam was (and is) a wide-spread religion, it had an impact on Muslims and non-Muslims alike. As a result, secular Islamic art can be found in many of the areas previously under Mughal rule. The Taj Mahal, however, is an example of the religious wing of Islamic art, and Muslim tradition can be seen throughout the structure. For example, the outside of the building is decorated with quotes from the Qur’an and the coffins of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan are plain in contrast to the rest of the building (as Muslim law disallows ornate graves).

For more information on Islamic art, please visit: http://www.lacma.org/islamic_art/intro.htm

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.