Architecture is a reflection of collective memories and ideas, which often delves into precedents for inspiration. Some of the doyens of the industry might even define architectural design as something that isn’t created in a vacuum. All buildings have a context: social, geographical, political, and historical. Every design process begins by looking around for precedence to resolve a given situation at hand. This is how historical examples start permeating into future design. Be it style, method, structure or a functional arrangement, all in one way or another find their roots in history. Such is the presence of the past.
How history inspires design?
Architects often find their inspirations from the past while designing and it is not always the architecture design that gets influenced but also the science behind.

Passive solar building design The growing trend of green building is getting popular because we all have realised the worth of natural resources and the significance of maintaining them. Green buildings are a creative way to use the bright light emitted by the sun to our advantage, both for heating and cooling, based on the design of buildings.



Passive solar building design aims at collecting, storing, reflecting and distributing solar energy through windows, doors and floors, in the form of heat in winters and avoid solar heat in summers. Unlike active solar heating systems, it does not involve the use of mechanical and electrical devices hence it is called passive solar building design. For instance, through spatial planning and incorporating principles of the arrangement of spaces as per solar and wind directions along with the use of local building materials, the design would ensure thermal comfort leading to reduced energy consumption.

Historical influence: The earliest known application of solar energy design arose during the 15th century B.C. by the Egyptian ruler Amenkotep III, who “supposedly possessed ‘sounding statues’ that operated when the air in their base pedestals expanded after exposure to sunlight”.

Colossi of Memnon

Stylistic expression
Traditional architectural styles of different regions in India have a diversity of architectural elements and ornamental features. Often architects take inspiration from local traditional building elements and adapt them as per their designs. The examples of references from historic architecture are found in the use of material, elements, motifs, structural techniques and even by sometimes imitating architectural stylistic expression from the past.

A case in point can be the use of jaalis in buildings in a hot climate, so as to use their underlying wisdom of ventilation while making a stylistic reference to the local architectural vocabulary. However, it is important to note that a style encompasses all aspects of spatial and formal planning, structural system, design elements and principles to create a language which should be understood in a holistic manner rather than extracting bits and parts.

Why history is important for architects?
Understanding history is of utmost significance for the architects. Taking inspiration from historic buildings and realising the potential of the country’s built heritage for adaptive re-use, offers immense possibilities for an architect to create memorable designs. These interventions require a sensitive understanding of the historic built fabric which is strongly interlinked with its cultural associations. Hence, reading, interpreting and analyzing the value of historic architecture requires a thorough engagement with the tangible and intangible aspects of its past and the present.



Impact of lifestyle on architectural spaces
In the current situation where the pandemic has forced all of us to stay indoors, it is worth reflecting on how wisdom from our traditional architecture may need to be relooked at and adapted in the current times. The notion of division of public and private spaces as seen in traditional dwellings have a strong relevance today, especially in the urban living spaces.

The evolution in architecture is defined heavily by the changing lifestyle of people, which reflects in the changing ways of use of spaces. The human action, societal structure, cultural practices and spirit- of- the- time have been continually in flux since historic times, leading to diverse adaptations and emergence of new ideas in architecture. For example, the kitchen spaces have seen a drastic change in design as compared to the traditional dwellings. The modern design is more in compliance to the modern-day cooking and eating preferences.

Architectural designs are ways to express the soul of the built environment which is never built in a vacuum of ideas. Conceptualization of design is churned out of a diversity of ideas and is often inspired by historical examples. One's imagination while formulating an architectural design is fueled by examples from our past.

For in-depth details and inputs on the significance of history in architecture, we got in touch with Dr. Vibhuti Sachdev, Professor and Dean Sushant School of Art and Architecture, Director- Architecture, Planning and Design schools, Ansal University and Suruchi Shah, Faculty, Sushant School of Art and Architecture, Ansal University