Nishant Modi
Tekton
Volume 9, Issue 2, December 2022
pp. 34-41
Nishant Modi is an Urban Designer and Assistant Professor at NMIMS’s Balwant Sheth School of Architecture. His research involves studies in Design Anthropology, mapping behaviors around everyday events and Collective Memory. He has worked on and participated in several urban design projects and competitions which involve designing for mobility and housing projects. As an academician, he emphasizes on a human-centric design approach.
ar.nishantmodi@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
Re-place is an imaginary work of the mind that tries to constantly re-establish itself in the physical world commonly known as Place. The idea of association, familiarity, and acceptance constantly looks for a place to be anchored to; but what place is this? Placing oneself in a position to be part of a larger social pattern in search of a definition of self; but what is this definition of self? Is it consciousness or acquired wisdom, is it conceptual or empirical, is the idea of position then a place phenomenon? This means Place is a construct and the essay argues that it can never be constructed anew, but can only be re-placed. A construct is defined not just by the material reality of the place but also by the thought and un-thought ‘Definitions and Memory’ of the place. The essay tries to expand on the idea of ‘Memory’ to enter the concept of Re-Place. The essay uses various place constructs to understand, perceive and conceptualize the idea of Place, Place production and Place meaning.
KEY WORDS:
Place Phenomena, Collective Memory, Place Constructs
