Weather Update
Due to the storm, Barnard College closed at 4pm Friday, for non-essential personnel. “Essential personnel" include staff in Facilities, Public Safety and Residence Halls.
Friday evening and weekend classes are cancelled but events are going forward as planned unless otherwise noted. The Athena Film Festival programs are also scheduled to go forward as planned but please check http://athenafilmfestival.com/ for the latest information.
The Barnard Library and Archives closed at 4pm Friday and will remain closed on Saturday, Feb. 9. The Library will resume regular hours on Sunday opening at 10am.
Please be advised that due to the conditions, certain entrances to campus may be closed. The main gate at 117th Street & Broadway will remain open. For further updates on college operations, please check this website, call the College Emergency Information Line 212-854-1002 or check AM radio station 1010WINS.
3:12 PM 02/08/2013
On October 24, celebrated Indian architect Brinda Somaya met with a group of architecture and urban studies students and spoke about the context of architecture and urban planning in India through the lens of her own career.
“I believe every architect in India must be a conservationist,” she told the students. “We have to go beyond buildings, and think of ourselves as guardians of the built as well as the un-built spaces.”
This philosophy was evident throughout her presentation, which showcased various projects by Somaya & Kalappa, the firm she has headed for the last thirty years. She spoke about eco-friendly designs implemented before LEED standards, and efforts to design inclusively and with a sense of social justice in areas where slums and middle-class communities intersect. She also described the abundance of high-rise buildings “coming up like lipsticks” and the issues posed by the arrival of gated communities in Indian cities.
“The most appropriate solutions are brought about by the least authoritarian approach, where the public becomes the catalyst in the development process,” she said.
In November, many of the students who attended Somaya’s talk will be traveling with Professor David Smiley to Chandigarh, one of India’s first planned cities, where they will study the work of modern architecture pioneer Le Corbusier and observe urban planning issues associated with “new towns.”
In March, Somaya will participate in Barnard’s Fourth Annual Global Symposium, “Women Changing India,” taking place in Mumbai.
For information on Barnard's alumnae travel program to India, please click here.
