Vas is a biannual magazine published by Bengal Institute for Architecture Landscapes and Settlements. The magazine focuses on various topics related to the understandings, discourses, philosophies, histories and theories of design, environment, cities, and settlements.
Explore the past issues: Vas-1 | Vas-2 | Vas-3 | Vas-4
Language
Vas is a bilingual magazine. The writings can be either in Bengali or English. We do not prioritise the selection by language.
Style Guideline
Ideally you should follow Bengal Institute’s standard style guideline.
Editorial Guideline
Each Vas may have its own editorial strategy. However, all publications of Bengal Institute adheres to Institute’s overall editorial guideline.
Themes for Vas-5 Call for Writings
You will write with your own unique title, of course, and we are open to anything. Still, here are some clues about the types of writings we will be prioritising for Vas-5. We will keep some of the current global issues in mind while selecting the pieces, specially the climate crisis as an overall thematic background.
- Understanding, Experiencing and Narrating Cities
Beyond our inherent perception of cities we live in and also cities we visit or fantasise there is more to understanding them. Vas-5 will dive deeper into finding reasons, trends, passions, convictions, love and resentment for cities, through both tangible – quantitative issues and also intangible – philosophical and historical perspectives.
There is no limit to any specific city here; be it the one you live in or the one you love or hate, or the one you imagine for the future, city that may not even exist, we will accept any intriguing piece of writing that directly or indirectly contributes to better understanding of the cities.
- Challenging the Scope of Architecture
While architecture is bigger than architecture, find a balance between the real work of building the buildings, and everything else that architecture encompasses.
- Architectural Theory and Its Relevance to Contemporary Problems
/Theorising wellbeing in the time of pandemic and post pandemic
The formal study of design–theory is neglected in most undergraduate education programs. Even if it is taught in schools, it is taught as a tangential line of thought. Why do you think the curriculums do not focus more on the study of theory? What difference would today’s design solutions have if designers, architects, urban designers were well versed in theory?
Also in the wake of the global Covid-19 pandemic, the way we perceive architecture and cities might have changed dramatically. How do you think it may affect our wellbeing in the future?
- The Future Is Art and the Future of Art
Art is perhaps the only territory artificial intelligence will never completely take over. Thus, possibly art is the new future, while everything else can be occupied by AI. Write about history, ongoing trends or the future. Art is a topic always welcome at Vas.
- “The Past Is a Foreign Country”
The past is always a dichotomy, that cannot be overcome.
Looking back might be the only we can find patterns and understand how to navigate the future. It is a constant process of theorising the past to create new knowledge. We greatly value thought provoking pieces on history, conservation and archaeology.
Submit your writings using this form
Or send it to [email protected]
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