First Prize winner:
Vardhan Arora & Pooja Tambe  (India)

4R’s: The Amelioration of Imagination
‘’The architect who combines in his being the powers of vision, of imagination, of intellect, of sympathy with human need and the power to interpret them in a language vernacular and time--- is he who shall create poems in stone.’’
-Ar. Louis Sullivan (Prominent American Architect)
Imagination is the ability to form new ideas, images, or concepts of external objects that are not perceived by the senses. It is an umbrella term for thinking and creativity. The large domain of imagination covers a range from the vaguest ideas (e.g., cube) to the firmest manifestations (e.g., juxtaposition and interplay of a large number of cubes) of forms, shapes, etc.
“In a society that celebrates the inessential, architecture can put up a resistance, counteract the waste of forms and meanings and speak its language.”
-Ar. Peter Zumthor (Prominent Swiss Architect)
Imagination is an essential phenomenon for Architects. The imagery visualized by Architects ignites the subsequent design process. Throughout the design process, Imagination is a key factor to understand the Architect's intent and the experience behind it. The experiential quality is influenced by the process of imagination to a greater extent. The fragment of imagination at various stages enables Architects to decide what kind of space and environment is best for the user.
Eventually, the purpose of the design process is for a group of users. An Architect puts oneself into the user's shoes and imagines the space, visualizing the various elements like the external form and the various structural members which make up the external form. These imageries enable the Architect to decide the best for the end-user. Architecture must be comprehensible by all for the user to experience the space imagined or visualized by the Architect. This field is unique as it is governed by artistic and engineering factors. An architect needs to know that what one visualizes or imagines needs to be buildable and comprehensible by a layman. If an Architect does not have this control over his/her imagination then the boundary between an artist and an Architect is broken. In architecture, the process of imagination must go through a rigorous process of 4R’s.
The 4R process of Architectural design is governed by various factors which enable the architecture to be comprehensible. The process of 4r’s can be understood by the unbuilt project or design for a government school in India (Note: The project was conceptualized by the authors as a part of their academic project). (Hereon, the author of the essay is also the designer/Architect of the project mentioned).

The project aims to tackle issues related to the spatial degradation and infrastructure of Indian Government schools. Indian government schools for a long time have seen low acceptance rates and people to date are reluctant to send their children to these schools. These spaces and the spaces in which the students live to exhibit a compact spatial pattern. As architecture students, the authors found it difficult to imagine quality learning spaces in these compact spaces. This was identified as the prime problem. The process for 4R’s subsequently blends into the design process.
RETHINKING: After imagining various issues related to spatial planning the authors visualized that a sense of fragmentation was essential to the spaces. This intent of fragmentation triggered the author's mind to imagine various spaces which could exhibit a fragmented nature. The author's imagination took off the idea of fragmentation of spaces to deliver a sense of playfulness by creating a series of open spaces.

REIMAGINING: To enhance the spatial quality of the school as a whole the authors imagined that the classroom would be the most appropriate unit to start with. The author reimagined various classroom forms which could be modular and developed as a school as a whole. After analyzing and imagining various possibilities the authors narrowed it down to a form that exhibits a vaulted roof and a rectilinear plan. The classroom space is imagined to be partially subterranean in such a way that the vault bows down to the ground that enables the author to imagine a dual nature to the spatial character. The dual nature of the vaults was imagined to be the modular factor for all the spaces in the school complex.

REFINING: With the help of basic proximity knowledge and keeping in mind the earlier intent of inducing a series of open spaces, the fragment of imagination was reimagined a lot of time in terms of zoning. The authors had to undertake a sensitive planning process to imagine the relationship between the different spaces in the school. The necessary changes were undertaken by imagining from the user's perspective whilst keeping a check on the functional requirements of the space as well. During this process, the contextual and climatic factors were also studied which made the design appropriate for the site. The scale and proportion of the spaces were also refined based on factors about the user; their number; their behavioral pattern; functionality and spatial quality.

RESTRUCTURING: After the authors had a clear image of the relationship between all different spaces in the school the next question was materiality. The different possibilities of the spatial qualities of the spaces concerning materiality were explored. The process of restructuring enabled the authors to devise the final visualization or imagery of the spaces with complete details. This resolved imagery is the final product that the user will experience and is the author’s (Architects) devised imagination of the school and the spaces.

The process of 4R’s as seen from the example is essential for the clear visualization of a place. The fragment of imagination needs to be tangible to the layman. The sole motive of an Architect is to create comprehensible spaces that are functional and experiential to the layman. Imagination thus is an essential tool for an Architect to kickstart a design process. Throughout this process, various factors influence the imagination. The Architect molds the fragment of imagination under the influence of these factors and the design process eventually delves into the 4R process to have the end product. The power of imagination for an Architect is essential to mold the experience for the user and be functional at the same time.

“Architecture has to be greater than just architecture. It has to address social values, as well as technical and aesthetic values. On top of that, the one true gift that an Architect has is his or her imagination. We take something ordinary and elevate it to something extraordinary’’
- Ar. Samuel Mockbee (Prominent American Architect).