MS Srinivas

(From the right) models dedicated to Bhima, Arjuna, and Draupadi. The five models on the site are dedicated to the five Pandavas and their wife, characters from the Mahabharata. They seem to mirror their personality traits; Bhima, for example, is typically described as a large and heavyset man.

Rear view of the Arjuna and Draupadi rathas, with a Nandi bull facing the former. Even as the models are laden with mythological references, it is difficult to miss their formal playfulness.

The Nakula-Sahadeva ratha, which has an axial and apsidal form.

The Dharmaraja ratha, dedicated to the oldest and exceptionally upright brother. This may be seen as the iteration that was approved, the model that was most influential for subsequent temples. The fact that this was assigned to the first brother suggests that these were likely pre-final iterations of some sort. Indeed, more rudimentary and half-finished rathas are found all around the town.

Mahabalipuram is a delightful design playground where much of the temple architecture of southern India was formulated in the 8th c. Pictured are the famous five "rathas" – true-scale, rock-cut models that experiment with the same basic elements to generate purposefully varied compositions.

Haha love this

if you thought archives were problematic, wait till you see no archives

Backlash builds: why the architecture world hates The Brutalist Brady Corbet’s Oscar-tipped film is clearly based on real-life modernist master Marcel Breuer but brazenly misrepresents him and his revered modernism

Haven't watched it yet but found this a few days ago: www.theguardian.com/film/2025/ja...

Some views of the Christian Science Plaza in Boston (1-3). The colonnade and its reflecting pool (1968-72), designed by Araldo Cossutta of I.M. Pei & Associates, owe much to Corbusier's Palace of Assembly (1951-62) in Chandigarh (4).

Hoping to get back for better photos sometime.

Ooh where is this?

A view from the Vienna Secession at MoMA

Hanging lamp (1904) and "Sitzmachine" chair (c.1905) by Joseph Hoffman; poster for Kunstschau Wien (1908) by Berthold Löffler

One of the great joys of these cemeteries is the exploration of forms they seem to afford. Spread over 148 acres, this particular cemetery is great for Art-Deco spotting!

Designed in 1835, the Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn is one of the earliest of the garden cemeteries characteristic of East Coast cities. It takes its inspiration from Mt Auburn Cemetery near Boston, and in turn is said to have inspired competitions for both Central Park and Prospect Park in NYC

The High Line today was like a brief but spectacular vision of what a green, car-free city might look like

Looking back to a sunnier day in Boston

A Hancock in the wild

Letter from the president to a Hector McNeil, 1777.

Elevation of the 1950s extension to the National Museum in Edinburgh. Faced in stone, with vertical bands and textured panels, plus a tapering doorway set asymmetrically and regular lozenge-like windows.

Edinburgh looking fab today. Here's the extension to what's now the National Museum, by Stewart Sim. Textured panels, 'baroque' windows, tapered door. Thought 'fussy' by the Buildings of Scotland, this 'Festival' style was quickly unfashionable (and was often pitted against Brutalism) but I like it.

Used to pass by this building nearly everyday and there's certainly something about it

Great work, would love to be added!

Recently laid my hands on a beautiful copy of the first French transl of Alberti from Paris, 1553.

While the woodcut illustrations closely resemble those of the 1546 Italian edition, it's interesting that they consistently deviate to exaggerate age.

Hi everyone! I am an architectural historian working on questions around the British Empire and memory, and dabbling in all sorts of other areas. Excited to be here!