I am ever amazed at the creative genius of Corbusier as I still don’t find a single worthy architectural discussion to pass without a mention of him. Hence it’s only apt for me to mention that Corbusier’s vision of a city as opposed to nature and house as a mass produced machine to live in has kind of come true and I must say It’s obvious that it’s not working out.

The more I work and think on sustainable development of cities the more I realise the complexity of the challenge and the need for a vision that symbolises and simplifies the ideal concept. While the city as a system or the city as a micro organism have always inspired my thinking , I recently read an essay by William McDonough & Michael Braungart where they compare cities to a forest and buildings to trees. It rings a bell with me. A forest is a self regulating, self sustaining , rich ecosystem. It uses the sun, grows it’s food , uses it’s waste , keeps it’s water. Now this sounds like a beautiful and powerful vision for the smart cities of the future.

Harsh Thapar