 Beyond their functional requirements, the most interesting contemporary Indian public buildings built in the first decade of the 21st century are essentially concerned with integrating man, nature and symbolic dimensions through architecture. The IIITB in Bangalore is a premier educational institution in the field of information technology. It needed an extension to the existing structure with a building program that included classrooms and research and development labs. The new extension was designed by the architect Rajesh Ranganathan. Mainly what we wanted to do was to really integrate nature with architecture in the most intimate possible way. In the old building, the inside and the outside were very clearly demarcated. It was a sealed box, but it had three light wells. The architect decided to expand these light wells into landscape courtyards on the new floor. But the decisive idea that transformed the character of the new spaces was to make perforations in the roof in a variety of sizes. And what this does is that it creates a very dynamic, dappled life, light effect, which changes during the course of the day and also with the fluctuations in weather which are very marked in Bangalore, very particular to this place. And these sharp changes, dramatic changes are recorded in the interior in a very strong way. The IPDO in Hyderabad is a research and development centre for Dr. Reddy's laboratories, a global pharmaceutical company. Beyond the complex functional requirements for the design of the labs that imply respect for international standards, the architect Sanjay Mohi was again very concerned with the building's relationship with nature. So we created this series of skylights throughout the building and got in nature into the building, which was again a very important thing. And those green areas with the skylight on the top become really the source of light. And if you really experience, you hardly have to switch on light as long as there is a light outside. It's not just the lab space or the meeting rooms, that's important. But the interaction which happens between the scientists, that's where the most creative ideas happen and the place had to be designed to support that kind of activity. At the same time, Sanjay Mohi also wanted the building to have natural ventilation so as to minimise air conditioning. So what we did is along the spine of the building, we created cuts in the building. And as the building was oriented in line with the predominant wind direction, the spaces next to these cuts became the cool spots where the breeze flows. And those became interaction spaces. And as you see in the building, you would always find people sitting around in those areas and the whole view opens out towards both the direction. Though the main spine is focused more towards the linear green area. The Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad is one of the world's premier business schools. Bimal Patel was selected to design the new buildings in a nearby site. One wants to make the experience of the building rich. You want people to have some sort of sensuous delight from the building. The thing is you're not going to do it by using rich materials or to use rich ornamentation on the building. You're going to do it through varying the experience as you move through the building. As you go through, suddenly a view opens up far into the distance. You see something. You see a courtyard. You see a tree nearby. And you want to structure the experience of the building. So you put staircases and ramps, places where people can walk up and down and constantly look at things. Sometimes people don't like it because you get caught in the rain or something like this. But what this does, really, is it allows you to experience nature, not only stay sealed inside a room or inside an air-conditioned space. Really, that's what the ramps and the staircases are doing. The courtyard's ramp staircase is doing, is constantly inviting you to connect with nature and to enrich your experience of using the building. The Parliament Library is a high-tech information centre for senior government officials, research scholars and members of the Indian Parliament. The way natural light is brought into the building is a crucial feature of the design conceived by the architect Raj Rival. As you enter the main entrance hall of the building from the parliament, you have an atrium which is lit from above. It's sitting on a ring of light and as you pursue through a corridor you don't see any building, you see a passage and that is the kind of thing which I was very interested in that you have a series of naturally lit spaces. And as you go towards the focal centre, you only see a glow of natural light at the end of it and it's only once you are within that focal centre that you see the light, the four petals of glass and steel through which the light pours in. It was right in the beginning of my design I had said that that should be a kind of space because that would be the symbol of enlightenment in my opinion. A natural element, light, has once again been integrated with architecture but here it is celebrated not only for its physical qualities but also for its symbolic and inspirational dimension.