The founding of the city was a big milestone in human cultural development. It marked the transition from nomadic to settler societies and paved the way for rapid progress in human affairs. The industrial revolution brought us the cities of today and a whole new way of life with its clustering of populations and centralisation of services. While it undoubtedly bestowed great conveniences, it also brought about a tragic rupture with nature and the inner human spirit.
Since the middle of the last century city planners and architects have been concerned about the downsides of urban spread and crowding. The growth of big cities, for all their contributions to human progress, was also being associated increasingly with reduced quality of life and degraded environments.
The rise of the suburban movement in the 1960’s was a reaction to urban sprawl and its most telling consequences - congestion and pollution. Alternatives were being sought through exploring autonomous zones and intentional communities in an attempt to escape the oppression of urbanisation while selectively keeping its many merits.
The future of living and working, we believe, lies in what we have identified as the novel trend of ‘Reverse Urbanisation’ that is slowly emerging. It is going to redefine the way we perceive homes and offices in the post pandemic age of hybrid and distributed work patterns, where distance does not matter anymore and space and time have sought of merged.
High speed internet and virtual technologies are beginning to shape this shift in visible and dramatic ways. Strangely enough, the next chapter in the digital revolution is likely to be written in the beautiful country sides and small rural towns of India as much as in its urban centres. Village outposts and satellite towns are poised to become the new hubs of innovation and creation.
The pandemic is serving to bring about a convergence between work and life in unforeseen ways. The home is going to be the new centre of existence and the very basis for new and fulfilling human lifestyles. It offers us the rare opportunity of creating homes that will express this emerging vision of a whole new way of living – in harmony with nature, with ourselves and with one another.
Come home to the future where nature - not the city – will define the good life.
At Earthitects, we believe that God is the greatest architect and architecture must unveil His genius to man. Earthitects exists to facilitate life in its abundance by enabling full enjoyment of God's creation.
Visit our current projects - Wayanad, Kerala and Coorg, Karnataka
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