The November issue of Domus India marks the beginning of the 5th cycle of Domus in India, focusing on the 'return to architecture' – to the architectural-object, as much as expanding the object to a terrain of narratives, actions, reflections, and dialectics. Hena Kapadia's feature focuses on artworks that incorporated map-making at the Kochi Biennale 2015. The powerful imagery indicates the unreliability and arbitrary nature of the world as we know it today, and how we engage with and navigate ‘space’, both physically and politically. Curated by Ranjit Hoskote, we feature an ongoing exhibition on Jehangir Sabavala’s works that opens to the public, for the first time, a deeply private space – the artist’s studio; it locates Sabavala’s work within the evolving genealogy of the studio, the academy, and the gallery, over five centuries. The feature on one of the most influential architectural exhibitions, Vistara, that intended to map an architectural past of India and then, through that, propose its direction into a complex future shows how the exhibition still holds great value, especially today when we need to rethink the processes and ideologies that make and shape our perceptions and identities. Invoking the memory of the classical, while also challenging its set norms, the design for the Institute of Engineering and Technology, Ahmedabad University, by vir.mueller architects constitutes a series of flexible spaces based on the geometry of a classic academic quadrangle. Re-imagining state buildings as a neighbourhood of spaces for public activity, the capitol complex for Naya Raipur, Chhattisgarh design by UCJ Architects appears like a campus of interactive zones and sculpted volumes rather than an over-dominating state building.
Domus, the iconic architecture and design magazine from Italy, is now in India. The eight-decade-old monthly magazine has a history of informed debate on architecture, interiors, art and design. The Indian edition, the first Domus exclusively in the English language, seeks to encourage and promote innovation in the built environment. Domus has been brought to India by Spenta Multimedia, India's largest custom publisher. It aims to track and review the latest architectural and artistic movements in India and the world through its exciting content and rich visuals.