And now for the ladies . . .
After last week’s site visit with a pack of excited, energetic little boys (which left us exhausted and questioning our own common sense), we visited again, but this time with a group of grownup young women. Most of these girls have been students at Latika for years: they know what’s what. They have visited schools, […]
Photo Shoots | Summit | 70% Completed
It’s been a very busy week, beginning with two photo shoots: one involving, in addition to videos and stills, a drone camera brought in to capture the sweeping scope of our iconic ramp; the second focusing on 6 students making their first visit to the site since ground-breaking over a year ago. The drone shoot, […]
Architecture Changes Lives (and Why You Should Follow This Blog!)
Accessibility is far more than ramps and Braille signage. It means Universal Design: creating an environment that can be accessed, understood and used by all people regardless of their age, size, ability or disability. According to accessibility expert Subhash Chandra Vashisht, India doesn’t have even one full accessible building! So that’s going to be our […]
Design, Meet Dignity
Of magic doors, there is this: You do not see them, even as you are passing through. We began construction in March 2023. Today, our building is 70% complete. The first thing you notice is the brickwork: stunning and strong. So far, we’ve used 500,000 bricks. We still need 100,000 more. One brick? Only Rs […]
A+ on our Building Report Card
We love it when our architects visit just on general principles: it’s reassuring to know that the plans and the reality are in sync and that the drawings are being carefully reviewed and referred to at every juncture. Indeed, I often feel that Ashish and the Parag crew know what each room is for better […]
A Ramp to the Stars
It’s been a long time and a great deal has happened since my last post! Sorry about that, but I will try and make up for it by giving you a guided tour! Chalo. Let’s begin. Guided tours keep us all very busy these days. We bring parents and grandparents to see the building where […]
Meeting The Built World
When Sumita and I attended a two-day training on India’s National Building Code, I never expected it would be such a turning point in my life. I thought we would learn some things about ramps, doorways and accessible toilets. I didn’t realize that it would change the way I think and speak; that it would […]
A Tidy Site is a Safe Site
Whenever we were sick as children, my mother would tidy the “sickroom.” She put fresh sheets on the bed and brought in a few extra pillows so we could sit up comfortably. She made sure the windows were open (fresh air was key) and we were allowed to use a special tray for our meals […]
Stairs | Why Every Millimeter Matters
I cannot get over just how detailed and demanding every aspect of constructing a building is. Right down to the last millimeter. everything matters. Who thinks about stairs, though? They seem like such simple structures, the kind of thing we all drew as children and constructed ourselves using wooden blocks. But, while stairs are indeed […]
Quality Control
You don’t get to this stage of construction without having kept a close eye on structure, strength and the quality of the materials being used. And, as we keep learning in this building project, it all comes down to systems. Every month, Ashish (the Cushman & Wakefield engineer at the site) conducts a review meeting […]