Harpreet Sachdev and Gurjot Singh

Psychogeography of Linz
31 May – 4 June 2010

‘It all began in a quaint old flat-share in Linz that we shared with an enthusiastic student and a serious creative professional. After deep discussions about life, philosophy, architecture and their places of interests over cups of tea, we set on a random exploration of the city guided by faint clues from our conversations. We discovered the city on foot while documenting and recording our engagement with the cityscape through images, writings and videos. Soon a pattern emerged from our aimless strolls from home to the city center, of the path we preferred, the squares and places that we frequently thronged, the place where we always ate and the streets we walked in the small hours of the night. Sometimes drawn by the natural landscape, sometimes by a chance view of the most remarkably framed courtyard and at times the sound of a Mozart symphony playing from a shop, we experienced the city as it slowly unraveled its curiosities to us.

‘The architecture and urban character of the city was discovered mostly by chance encounters and sometimes by recommendations of a stranger or an acquaintance. Linz turned out to be a city constantly abuzz with activities of artists and performers. We chanced to be a part of an urban sculpture walk, an innovative Danceoke party, the bike kitchen, tobacco factory exhibition and other such bizarre creative activities that explored unconventional methods of engaging with the urban environment.

‘We present our journey and experience of Linz through a psychogeographical map that marks these places of our personal engagement and interest in the city and their abstract connections.’

Harpreet Sachdev

Harpreet is an architect from India.  She has a keen interest in studying and understanding religion and tries to explore this personal interest through architecture.  She has worked with a renowned architectural firm in India, Ashok Lall Architects (2006–2009) where she worked on a number of award winning sustainable architecture projects. She has also been project leader for the conservation proposal for the sacred city of Sultanpur Lodhi in India. Over the years, Harpreet has researched on the experiential and phenomenological dimensions of scared architecture across religions, which she consistently pursues.  Her work on the Sultanpur Lodhi Conservation Proposal has also been a natural continuation of this orientation, which has allowed her to professionally explore these issues in a real-life developmental context.

Harpreet is currently pursuing her masters in Architectural History Theory at London Metropolitan University while she continues to be involved in a literary-cultural charitable organization working towards preserving the tangible and intangible heritage of India.

Gurjot Singh

Gurjot Singh is an architect currently pursuing his  masters in international architectural regeneration and development at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford. He was born and brought up in the modern city of Chandigarh, India, designed in large parts by Le Corbusier, which in some way initiated his interest in architecture. He has his degree in architecture from Maharaja Sayajirao university of Baroda, a former Princely state in western India providing him with a culturally contrasting experience from his modern hometown, and leading him to develop a keen interest in culture and heritage.
Previously, he has worked in New Delhi, India with award-winning firm Ashok Lall Architects with a special focus in the area of environmental sustainability and energy conservation on institutional building projects, private residences, heritage conservation and regeneration projects.