Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Architect, author and artist building home in Malvern
Ashok ‘Art’ Davar infuses his architectural designs with a European flair
MALVERN » Ashok “Art” Davar infuses his architectural designs with a European flair, as is fitting for a man who grew up in Europe and India, the son of an Indian mother and French father. Davar, who now divides his time between Paoli, England and India, is building a house in Malvern to serve as his U.S. home. He also keeps a design studio in Philadelphia.
A multi-talented man, Davar is an artist and an author, as well as an architect. He settled in the Philadelphia area after earning a master’s in architecture from the University of Pennsylvania and has designed several area buildings.
“I met some interesting people who took a liking to me,” said Davar. “I’m thankful to them.” These luminaries, he said, include the late architect, designer and inventor Buckminster Fuller, city planner Ed Bacon and the acclaimed author Pearl S. Buck, who, before her death in 1973, wrote an introduction to Davar’s book “The Kiss,” an illustrated tale of peace. Another Davar book, “The Wheel of King Asoka” won the Jane Addams Children’s Book award in 1978.
In “Talking Words,” he cleverly uses characteristics of nouns to draw letters, such as the word “arrow” with arrows or “feather” out of feathers. The original art work for this book is part of the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s permanent collection. Many of his pen and ink drawings have a loose and whimsical feel, similar to Thurber cartoons. Davar created seven drawings of Philadelphia for Bacon and recently attended Bacon’s 92nd birthday party.
Davar has been the subject of a CBS documentary, “The Creative World of Ashok Davar,” and also of several newspapers, both in India and the U.S., but he said he’s been away from the public eye for about 10 years while recharging his creativity, a topic that he sometimes teaches.
“Creativity comes from nature,” said Davar. “I can learn from a tree.
“It comes from somewhere. Open your mind and heart. You get things from the universe. We are one, outside and inside. Creativity can improve relationships and bring peace. Every problem has a solution, like two sides of a coin,” said Davar.
“To me architecture is very important,” said Davar. “It influences our life. Whether we sit in a chair,
are moving, climbing the steps. It’s a constant companion. And unlike music and theater, which we experience temporally, at a given moment, architecture influences life constantly . ... ”
Davar said that he’s “been practicing ‘green’ before it became fashionable. I use nontoxic materials.”
When he’s designing a house for someone “it’s very, very important to get to know them,” he said. “Once I offered to design a divorce-proof house. Space was important. Each one needs their own space, shared spaces along with “totally your own space. If you have a fight, if there is no private space, you’ll keep fighting.”
“So I think the space really affects our lives,” said Davar. “In architecture, I definitely take psychology into consideration. If I’m designing a restaurant, I talk to the owner and say, ‘You tell me your problems here.’ If she tells me the problem, then I can solve the problem.”
“Space is very, very important,” he said. “I like to create space to inspire.”
For example, when he designed four dormitories that face each other diagonally for the University of Nebraska, women students told him that they did not feel comfortable coming down a flight of steps while men looked at their legs. So he created an archway that shielded the steps from view. Each structure he designs is different, he said.
“Some architects repeat themselves,” he said. He considers the contour of the land, the direction of the sun and the prevailing wind.
“The building itself should be a work of art,” he said. “A building should have a sculptural quality. It’s very important.”
“An architect is an artist with a brush in his hand and a canvas in the hand of somebody else,” Davar said.
Davar refused to reveal his age.
“Women don’t tell their age so I don’t tell my age,” he said.
Davar said that he regrets that he never had children. “That I do miss,” he said. “Because I write books for children.”
Growing up as a young child in India, he and his four siblings had a British nanny and glimmers of his chosen career emerged then.
“When I was a kid, I used to make doll houses for my sister,” he said. He worked with wood and plaster of Paris and stones to make the miniature houses.
Although he thought about pursuing fine art, his father, a structural engineer, encouraged him to go into architecture. While in school, he always took courses in both fields, Davar said. In addition to drawing and writing, Davar enjoys music, especially folk and classical genres.
“I’m always pursuing different projects,” he said. He also enjoys fine art.
“They call me a Renaissance person,” said Davar. “I do believe art and architecture are one.”
One of Davar’s latest designs is an American flag with angels and a dove of peace with the inscription: “May the angels protect our land and surround the world with peace “
For more information contact Davar at: artdavar@gmail.com or visit http://davarcreations.com.