New Architecture and Urbanism

NEW ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM Development of Indian Traditions

NEW ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM Development of Indian Traditions

Edited By

Deeependra Prashad

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions Editor : Deependra Prashad Editorial Team : Saswati Chetia, Asst. Editor Sharbani Ghosh Swati Janu Academic Committee : A.G.K.Menon (Architect and Academician), Chair Robert Adam (Architect and Chair, INTBAU) S.K.Misra (Chairman, INTACH) Yaaminey Mubayi (Heritage Consultant, The Nabha Foundation) Nimish Patel (Architect, Abhikram, Ahmedabad) Deependra Prashad (Architect & Planner, Delhi) Jyoti Soni (Architect, Mumbai) Saswati Chetia (Architect, INTBAU India) Cover design by : Nikhil Saxena This book first published 2010 Cambridge Scholars Publishing 12 Back Chapman Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2XX, UK British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Copyright © 2010 by International Network for Traditional Building, Architecture and Urbanism (INTBAU India) All photographs and illustrations are courtesy the respective authors, unless otherwise mentioned. Disclaimer : The contents of the book reflect the technical and other features of the initiatives & projects as provided by the respective authors. INTBAU does not assume any responsibility for the authenticity of the data and any other information contained in this book. INTBAU or INTBAU India will also not be liable for any consequences arising out of use of any information or data contained in the book. All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. ISBN (10): 1-4438-1869-0, ISBN (13): 978-1-4438-1869-8

The International Network of Traditional Building, Architecture and Urbanism (INTBAU) is a world wide organisation dedicated to the support of traditional building, maintenance of local character and the creation of better places to live in. It is involved in the creation of an active network of individuals and institutions who design, make, maintain, study or enjoy traditional building, architecture and place making. The activities of INTBAU are focused on research, professional exchanges, advisory and pilot projects in the field of Urban revitalisation, Traditional planning and Sustainable design. By education, research and the promotion of traditional techniques, it encourages people to maintain traditional buildings and to build new buildings and places which help improve the quality of life in cities and towns around the world. Our “Enquiry by Design” (EbD) workshops bring together all stakeholders on a common ground for tackling various urban issues. These include the government, municipalities, citizen groups, professionals, urban development and heritage related agencies, organisations, developers and any other affected groups. INTBAU also promotes traditional methods and crafts to promote economic sustainability for craftspersons and environmental sustainability in the creation of the built environment. INTBAU India was formed with its inaugural symposium on “Emerging Urbanisation Trends” at New Delhi in January 2005 which preceded the Mumbai mill land’s Revitalisation Design workshop (EbD) held in Mumbai in March 2005.

The Nabha Foundation is building on the philanthropic activities of the Khemka Family and its roots in Nabha, by taking up issues of integrated and sustainable rural development, infrastructure upgradation and heritage conservation in Nabha, Punjab. With the active engagement of the government and other stakeholders in Punjab, one of the prime initiatives of the Foundation is the adaptive reuse of regional historical buildings in support of community development projects. The foundation aims to create innovative institutions that reflect the local context and vernacular architecture of Nabha. On a broader view, the Nabha Foundation is leading a process change in mainstreaming heritage in the developmental process in Punjab, as part of the Foundation’s strategic vision for urban regeneration in this region As part of our overall strategy of integrated rural development in Nabha, we are working in the following areas: Health - Both preventive and curative care Livelihood - Focusing on sustainable agriculture, includes organic farming and agriculture diversification; micro credit, with special focus on women; and livestock development, for enhancing incomes of small and marginal farmers Education - For both school going and out-of-school children. Our primary focus is to create model rural schools that will mainstream out-of-school children and demonstrate ways of imparting quality education at the primary level.

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

V

SUPPORTERS UNESCO India: UNESCO was founded in 1946 in the aftermath of the Second World War “for the purpose of advancing through the educational, scientific and cultural relations of the people of the world, the objectives of international peace and the common welfare of mankind”. UNESCO’s specific mission is to lay the foundations of lasting peace and equitable development. UNESCO New Delhi Office, the Organisation’s first decentralized office in Asia was established in 1948. At its inception, it dealt with science and technology programmes. In time, it incorporated communication programmes, and still later expanded to include education and culture UN-HABITAT: The United Nations Human Settlements Programme, UN-HABITAT, is the United Nations agency for human settlements. It is mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all. The main documents outlining the mandate of the organisation are the Vancouver Declaration on Human Settlements, the Habitat Agenda, Istanbul Declaration on Human Settlements, and the Declaration on Cities and Other Human Settlements in the New Millennium. INTACH:

INTACH, the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage, is a wholly autonomous Non-Governmental Organisation was set up in 1984 for the conservation of our natural and man-made environment. It aims, with the active participation of its members, to create awareness among the public for the preservation of our heritage, by acting as a pressure group whenever any part of it is threatened by damage or destruction arising out of private acts or public policy.

HUDCO:

The Housing and Urban Development Corporation Ltd. (HUDCO) was incorporated on April 25, 1970 under the Companies Act 1956, as a fully owned enterprise of the Government of India. HUDCO focus on the social aspect of housing and utility infrastructure provision. It also works on the preferential allocation of resources to the socially disadvantaged. Inspite of its commercial orientation, it continues to focus on sectors which are more socially relevant rather than only on commercially viable and profitable sectors. HUDCO’s techno-economic focus, its high caliber human resources, and its financial and project re-engineering capabilities has enabled it to continue as an institution par excellence in the field of housing and urban development.

School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi: The School is a deemed university with a formidable reputation as the nation’s leading institution for imparting professional education in town and country planning, architecture and design. It offers programmes at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. With the opening up of Indian economy and onset of globalisation, the school has entered into several bilateral collaborations with foreign universities and research organisations in order to pursue specialised areas of research, organise workshops, seminars, exhibitions, in the new upcoming areas of architecture, planning and design. Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur: The institute offers a five-degree course in architecture, duly recognised by the Council of Architecture, the premier professional body of the country. The course is oriented to develop an understanding of both ancient and contemporary architecture. The department has also taken up MHRD research projects. All the batches that have passed out from the department are well placed in the architectural profession in India and abroad. The department is also a major center for the activities of Indian Institute of Architects, Rajasthan Chapter. TVB School of Habitat Studies, New Delhi: The TVB School of Habitat Studies (now the University School of Architecture & Planning) is affiliated to the Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi. It offers a 5-year (10 semesters) full time academic programme leading to a Bachelor of Architecture Degree. The School understands that there is a shortfall of appropriately trained architects who can cope with diverse demands and challenges of the developmental process in India. The school derives its uniqueness from a pedagogic framework that inculcates architecture as a value based and ethical inquiry and its practice based on various social factors. The school productively combines research and teaching paradigms for optimum results. Rachna Sansad School of Architecture, Mumbai: The Rachna Sansad School of Architecture is a premier institution for architectural education with an excellent reputation in Mumbai and across the country. The School faculty and students are engaged in advocacy, research and activism on various local and national issues. The school is also a centre of various activities related to architecture education and the profession.

VI

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Table of Contents Preface

xi

Acknowledgements

xii

Messages

HRH The Prince of Wales Uday Khemka, Managing Trustee & CEO, The Nabha Foundation Robert Adam, Chair INTBAU

xiii xiv xvi

INTBAU - Nabha Declaration

xviii

Introduction: Why Tradition Matters A.G.K. Menon, Chair, Academic Committee

3

Tradition and Our Built Environment Growth: Maturity Or Over-development ? Leon Krier, Architect & Urbanist, France

9

Tradition And Innovation Raj Rewal , Architect, New Delhi

18

Globalisation And Tradition Robert Adam, Architect, UK

28

New Ways of Looking at Heritage: Processes Spatial Narratives In Traditional Indian Architecture: An Interpretation For Contemporary Relevance 35 Yatin Pandya, Associate Director Vastu-Shilpa Foundation for Studies and Research in Environmental Design, Ahmedabad Sense Of Identity, Continuity And Context Pranali R. Parikh, Urban Designer, UK

39

Cultural Heritage As A Driver For Integrated Development In Punjab: The Case Of Nabha Yaaminey Mubayi, The Nabha Foundation, New Delhi Gurmeet Rai, Cultutal Resource Conservation Initiative, New Delhi

47

Cultural Metamorphosis, Building Tradition And Search For Architectural Identity In Africa: A Case Study Of South-western Nigeria Oluseyi Timothy Odeyale, Lecturer and Researcher, Department of Architecture Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria

54

Jaipur As A Recurring Renaissance Shikha Jain, Director- Development and Research Organisation for Nature, Arts and Heritage (DRONAH), Gurgaon

60

Linking Heritage And Development Practices INTBAU India

69

New Ways of Looking at Heritage: Contextual Frameworks Heritage- A Key Resource For Sustainable Development: An International Perspective Minja Yang, Director, UNESCO Office in New Delhi

77

Conceptual Framework Of Vaastu Sashikala Ananth, Architect-Vadivam, Chennai

83

Heritage As A Living & Evolving Process: Graphic Transcription And Analytic Study Of Architectural Proportions In Mayamatam Vinay Mohan Das, Senior Lecturer, Deptt. of Arch. & Plng., MANIT, Bhopal Evolution Of An Indigenous Planning System Ranjit Sabikhi, Architect, New Delhi

89 97

Transforming Historic City Centres: Integrated Approach Of Urban Design & Historic Preservation 103 Krupali Uplekar, Assistant Prof., University of Notre Dame, USA

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

VII

The Raj Versus The Republic: The Legacy Of Lutyens William Koehler, College of Management, University of Massachusetts, Boston, USA Madhu C. Dutta, Asst. Prof., Wentworth Institute of Technology, Boston, USA Dismantling Cosmopolitanism: Transformations In The Sacred Heritage Of The Non-monumental In The Konkan Smita Dalvi, Assistant Professor, Pillais College of Architecture, Mumbai Mustansir Dalvi, Professor, Sir JJ College of Architecture, Mumbai Developing Local Capacities For Conserving Heritage At Heritage Sites In The Asia & The Pacific (With Special Reference To The Indian Context) Richard Engelhardt, Senior Advisor to UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture

107

112

118

Sustainable Places and Communities International Capital, Ngos, Architects & Communities- The Case Of Karachi Arif Hasan, Architect/Planner, Pakistan

127

Habitat For Humanity International: Partnering With The Poor For Better Housing Aruna Paul Simittrarachhi, Regional Program Advisor for South Asian countries, HFHI, Nepal Naresh Karmalker,Programme Advisor, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation,HFHI

134

Infrastructure Development Through Community Consensus: A Strategic Approach Deependra Prashad, Architect/Planner & Visiting Faculty, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi

141

Transformations Occuring Due To Socio-economic Pressures Amit Bhatt, Architect- IL & FS- IDC, New Delhi Prerna Mehta, Architect/Town Planner (Housing), New Delhi Sarika Panda Bhatt, Architect, New Delhi

148

Isolated By Elitism: The Pitfalls Of Recent Heritage Conservation Attempts In Chennai Pushpa Arabindoo, Lecturer, UCL Urban Laboratory, University College London

155

Urbanization, Farm Land And The Form Of Public Space Narendra Dengle, Architect/Conservationist, Pune

161

Sustainable Buildings Earthen Architecture In Auroville: Linking A World Tradition With Modernity Satprem Maini, Architect & Director, Earth Institute, Auroville

169

Evolving Traditional Practices For Sustainable Construction In The Present Ashok Lall, Architect & Dean of Studies- TVB School of Habitat Studies, New Delhi

179

Learning Lessons From Traditional Methods For Achieving Sustainability In Building And Urban Scale In Iranian Arid Cities Marjan Nematimehr, Ph.D. Scholar, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran

184

From Pattern Languages To Generative Codes: A Report On The Work Of Christopher Alexander And Colleagues And Its Application To The Regeneration Of Traditional Settlements Michael Mehaffy, Co Founder, Centre for Environmental Structure, Europe

192

Climatic Responsiveness In The Traditional Built Form Of Lucknow Dr. Mohammad Arif Kamal, Asst. Prof., Deptt. of Architecture, College of Environmental Design, KFUPM, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

201

Is Tradition Green? INTBAU India

210

Development Of Indian Traditions: Constructivist Approach In The Design Studio S. Badrinarayanan, Visiting Faculty- SPA and TVB School of Habitat Studies, New Delhi

214

Tradition And Contextual Relevance For Education In Architecture And Urbanism INTBAU India

218

Continuing Traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism: Case studies in Form Making

VIII

Building Construction And The Decorative Crafts: The Endangered Traditions Nimish Patel and Parul Zaveri, Architects- Abhikram, Ahmedabad

223

Reflections On The Narrative Of Place: The Infinite Conversation Rasem Badran, Architect- Dar Al Omran, Jordan

231

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Tradition As An Expression Of Time K.T. Ravindran, Architect and Dean of Studies, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi

238

Bhadli Village, Gujarat: Rubble To Renewal Brinda Somaya, Architect- Somaya & Kalappa Consultants Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai

244

The Architecture Of Hotels: The Legacy Of Geoffrey Bawa Channa Daswatte, Architect- MICD Associates, Sri Lanka

251

Building With Bamboo: Continuing A Tradition In A Modern Context Prasad Jonathan D.W., Architect- Inspiration, Cochin

258

Evolving A Vocabulary Of Architecture Gerard da Cunha, Architect- Architecture Autonomous, Goa

266

Continuing Traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism: Case studies in Place Making Place Making In India: Some Streets In A Small Town, A Historic Precinct And A Haat Pradeep Sachdeva, Architect & Designer, New Delhi Evaluation Of The Pedestrian Environment- A Qualitative Approach: A Case Study Of Thyagaraya Nagar, The Commercial Hub Of Chennai City Rakesh K.S., Assistant Professor, Department of Architecture, Satyabhama University, Chennai

275

281

The Relevance Of New Urbanism Dhiru Thadani, Principal- Ayers/Saint/Gross Architects + Planners, Washington, USA

289

A Pattern Book Approach Tariq Yahiaoui, The Prince’s Foundation, UK

292

Interface Between Traditional Urbanism And The Legislative Framework A.K. Jain, Commissioner (Planning), Delhi Development Authority, New Delhi

298

Strategies For Continuing Traditions In New Architecture And Urbanism INTBAU India

304

Illustrated Essays and Studies Re-thinking Our Present Modus Operandi Ruturaj Parikh, D. C. Patel School Of Architecture, Vallabh Vidyanagar, Gujarat

311

Contemporary Relevance Of Traditional Principles In Architecture And Urbanism Saptarshi Sanyal, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi.

314

Theme based Graphical Slides

318

Academic Committee

332

List of Contributors and Participants

333

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

IX

Preface India’s globalised economy is based on the ideals of change and modernism. This evolution into modernism initially came about on the premise of inclusivity, but has, over time, propagated a mass trans-national culture to the ultimate exclusion of local identity. This sense of loss, of identity, and of tradition, permeates art, culture, cuisine and lots more, and has led to a certain endemic cultural loss. All around us, we see symbols of a dislocated rootless global paradigm dominating our skylines. A rapidly growing population and the needs of the globalized economy have led to the symbols of economic development concentrating in urban areas and an appreciation of the urban ideal. Concurrently, rural and urban areas are fast changing with a geometric jump in urbanisation. In this scenario, the built environment has become one of the most visible manifestations of this change. From Metropolitan suburbs like Gurgaon to urban extensions for traditional cities like Jaipur, the challenges of globalisation are now facing India like never before. Our built environment shapes our sense of self, our sense of place, our reverence of our past and our traditions. Building traditions have modified and evolved with the social, economic and cultural needs of the age. Tradition in building serves us in creating a balance between nature and society, optimal utilisation of natural resources and of local skills and craftsmanship. As strong forces currently drive the creation of new architecture and urban design in India, the time is now or never to instill in this huge process a sense of “appropriateness” to the local context. This book on “New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions” builds on the contributions from various architects, planners, educationists, decision-makers & others from across the world who gathered together to create a forum for the promotion of traditional processes and techniques for the creation of the built environment. This forum was initiated by INTBAU India, The International Network for Traditional Building, Architecture and Urbanism in India, which was established 4 years back, and was supported by The Nabha Foundation. The Nabha Foundation is leading a process change in mainstreaming heritage in the developmental process in Punjab, as part of the Foundation’s strategic vision for urban and rural regeneration in the region. The usage of traditional methods is by no means a lost tradition and is very much alive. But to witness the utilisation of its principles in mainstream new work is a task, made much harder than ever, due to the mushrooming alien typologies. Culture, Climate & Cost still dictate building as ever, but only the last seems to be making typological impact. Therefore, this forum is deliberating on this important niche, which forms in between the work areas of preserving traditional architecture and the techniques of current building. INTBAU International’s establishment dates back 8 years and its reach and membership now spreads across many countries and continents. The INTBAU India network now includes a no. of individuals & organisations who actively deliberate on the issues of appropriate and local building through their work and professional focus. This book presents the arguments, axioms and case studies related to Traditional Architecture and Urbanism in a sequential format. Firstly it examines the “New ways of looking at Heritage” by separating it from pure history into a living and evolving process. The book looks at what defines traditional methods and their relevance to the contemporary context. It also examines the aspects of Continuity and Contextual frameworks in the built environment. The following section on “Sustainable Buildings, Places and Communities” explores the many facets of locally driven processes from the viewpoint of tradition and sustainability. These include many community based planning methods and their applications in shaping the built environment, aspects of environmental sustainability and on how appropriateness could be ingrained into current architectural education. Lastly, the book delves into a number of executed examples in architecture seeking to learn from tradition and examples in “place-making urbanism” which in turn promotes humane, walkable and connected neighbourhoods. The INTBAU-Nabha Declaration, which emerged as an outcome of this forum, very succinctly puts down the aforesaid objectives. It is desired that this publication shall become an important tool and reference for all aspects of the built environment which borrow from tradition. In this respect, INTBAU endeavours to promote and support any related initiatives, besides building an active debate on the pervasive methods of construction today. The organization also promotes debate through design workshops and public participation tools like Enquiry-by-Design workshops, where stakeholders, besides being party to discussions, also participate in creating graphic and clear visions towards urban renewal and revitalisation. These and all other endeavours hope to create a unique agenda for the new built environment of tomorrow, which shall hopefully form a bridge between the past and the future. Deependra Prashad Editor

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

XI

Acknowledgements This is an outcome of the efforts of a large number of people who have worked on, written for and supported this publication. INTBAU India conveys its deep gratitude to the following people for their valuable inputs and suggestions right through the process of its creation. • The Academic Committee including Prof. A.G.K. Menon, Robert Adam, Nimish Patel, S.K.Misra, Yaaminey Mubayi, Deependra Prashad & Jyoti Soni for providing a strong thematic focus for the preceding conference and this book. • HRH The Prince of Wales for his support and vision for promoting traditional methods in building and for supporting the work of INTBAU India. • Uday Khemka, CEO & Managing Trustee of The Nabha Foundation, for sharing his vision and helping create this very important forum. • Oliver Brind of the Prince’s Foundation for the Built Environment, formerly Director of Development, The Prince’s Charities, for his support and online help right through the process of developing the conference and the book. • Richard Engelhardt, Senior Advisor to UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture for his suggestions regarding INTBAU India’s initiatives. • Robert Adam, Nimish Patel, Giles Tillotson, Ranjit Mitra and Rajinder Singh for their timely feedback on the submitted papers. • The Jury of the Student Essay Competition including Prof. A.G.K. Menon, Snehanshu Mukherjee, Ranjit Mitra, Yaaminey Mubayi, Suneet Paul and Shirish Gupte. • The Jury of the Poster Session including Anil Laul, Narendra Dengle, Dr. Kulwant Singh & Michael Mehaffy. • Amita Kapur, Don Mohanlal and Allison Robertshaw on their valuable feedback on disseminating the ideas to the wider audience. • The entire Nabha Foundation team including Gen. Chopra, Subhasis Chakrabarti, Major Manko, Neepa Saha, Takahiro Noguchi, Jeya Kumar, Sachin and J.P.Gupta for their support throughout the conceptualisation of the conference and all the other parallel initiatives. • Matthew Hardy, Senior Lecturere in Architecture & Urbanism, INTBAU, for his valuable suggestions both for the INTBAU India website and this book and Aura Neag, General Manager, INTBAU for her support to the initiatives of INTBAU India. • Krupali Uplekar and Laxmi Arya for their suggestions. • The Editorial team including Saswati Chetia, Sharbani Ghosh & Swati Janu. • Mansi Chaturvedi, Arun Nair, Vaibhav Jain, Bhavna Muttreja and Tanya Sanyal for co-ordinating various parts of the conference event. • Gaurav Jindal, Pranav Kr. Thakur & Manoj Kumar for the page layout and presentation of the book. • Nikhil Saxena for designing the cover pages and Rini Shrivastava for proof-reading. • Sonal & Kalpana Narain of Result Factory for the transcriptions. • Cambridge Scholars Publishing for their help with publishing this book. And very importantly all the contributors, authors and illustrators who are listed alongside their works and all members of the INTBAU and INTBAU India network and The Nabha Foundation, whose suggestions have helped strengthen this vision.

XII

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Message from HRH The Prince of Wales

I am delighted that this publication has resulted from INTBAU India’s inaugural conference, which took place earlier this year. As Patron of INTBAU, I am most grateful to the Nabha Foundation for everything they have done to make this event possible. This forum will, I hope, draw attention to the importance of traditional architecture and urbanism and create greater awareness of their place in India’s culture and the valuable role they can play in today’s India. I also hope that as a result of both the conference and the book, and indeed, INTBAU India’s wider work, it will be possible to demonstrate how traditional architecture and urbanism offer practical solutions to today’s requirements and aspirations. At a time of rapid change in India it is important we do not forget how the built environment shapes our sense of place and self and how it reflects our culture and traditions. If we abandon our traditional understanding and ways of building, we undoubtedly risk losing much of our identity and culture. Moreover, I am frequently struck by the fact that by harnessing simple, and often forgotten, techniques and technologies, coupled with the enthusiasm and enterprise of local people, it is possible to rediscover solutions which have somehow been abandoned in the march of modernization and globalization. We need to learn from the underlying, and timeless, principles of the ancient built heritage of India and view the traditional built environment as a vital means of inspiring and improving living conditions in today’s India. Equally, if the teeming cities of this century are to have any future sustainability, we must rediscover the subtle principles which underlie the construction of all the great cities of the past. Even huge cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata can be - indeed, I would argue they must be - formed of small neighbourhood units, just as the body (our divinely inspired model for all we build) is comprised of small individual cells. They represent, in a very real way, the fundamental “building block” of civilized - by which I mean settled - human life. In particular, it is so very important that we recognize the role of traditional architecture and building practices in creating buildings which are environmentally sustainable and which, through the ways in which they have been built, can respond effectively to the challenges of Climate Change. Such considerations are vital if there are to be sustainable improvements in living conditions for our children and grandchildren. I commend all who have contributed to both the conference and this publication.

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

XIII

Message from Uday Khemka

CEO & Managing Trustee, The Nabha Foundation At the outset, please let me put forth the origins and focus of the Nabha Foundation. It is really a confluence of two different rivers - the first being the “Khemka Foundation” representing our desire to create a modern strategic philanthropic foundation in India that can leverage limited resources to help change the country through a strategic vision. The foundation is involved in a variety of developmental issues, children’s issues, women’s issues, health care, education etc. The other, “The Nabha Foundation” is concerned with heritage. It is a foundation focused on rural development and behind its inception lies a distinguished family’s relationship with the town of Nabha. Maharajah Uttam Singh of Nabha, the only one of the Indian Maharajahs to have joined the Indian freedom struggle, inspired the Foundation. He was also an important nationalist leader of Punjab and the longest political prisoner during that period. As a result, the Foundation has an intrinsic idealistic sense of social obligation. This forum on Traditional Architecture & Urbanism is more important than it first appears, since it is in fact at the heart of the entire civilisation. When India was born as a free democracy in 1947, the underlying set of values did not represent the triumph of power or materialism but a set of ideals. For instance, the symbol of the modern Indian state is the symbol of Emperor Ashoka, the wheel of dharma. Of course, the three lions represent the power of a modern nation. But both the pillar and the Indian flag carry the circle of dharma representing the fact that this nation is founded on the basis of deep spiritual values. The father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi is globally known as someone whose vision for India was rooted in ethics and spirituality. It is essential to address the continuity between Ashoka and Gandhi. Our country’s heritage is like the rivers that link generations. The simple word ‘Ahimsa’ or non-violence transformed Ashoka after the battle of Kalinga. And Gandhiji’s ‘Ahimsa’, as a great weapon of love in not only liberating our country but also in building the vision for Poorn Swaraj, the real freedom. Real freedom is not just about governing ourselves; real freedom is about building a civilisation anchored in spiritual values, anchored in family life, anchored in community, anchored in a harmonious environment. That was Gandhiji’s vision; and that vision has long been under threat. Besides the much talked down status of the vision for the 50’s and the 60’s, today’s liberal capitalism is as much a threat to the Gandhian vision. India is changing dramatically. From the time of independence to now we have gone from roughly 350 million people to 1 billion with an attendant massive urbanisation. The middle class has emerged as a huge strength with 20 million people added every year and today it stands at 253 million. The traditional social structure is transforming, breaking down and to some extent being recreated but in a much more individualistic manner. This is the fundamental problem of the model that emerged over the last 300 years in northern Europe, and then spread to the US and has now come to three billion people in the last 30 years. However there are many benefits of the occurrences over the last thirty years as tremendous growth engines have raised the standards of living around the planet. While the fiscal basis for a welfare state has been created, there is the corollary of imbalances and fundamental problems. There has been a breakdown of communities, social structures, families and spirituality; as well as an increase in loneliness, desolation, destitution, and the collapse of social capital which has lead to crime, violence and intolerance and an environmental breakdown of an unprecedented scale. Today there is a consensus that global warming is the greatest threat to humanity since the nuclear holocaust. For India it means the potential failure of the monsoons. Just imagine what Nabha would look like if it had no monsoons - wouldn’t it look like Jaisalmer, a desert? What would happen to India if Punjab became like Rajasthan? It would mean de-glaciation; it would mean the end of our main rivers, the means of fresh water in our country. These are not individual country issues. What would it mean for Bangladesh, which is very much part of our civilisation, if the Teesta got eroded? 50 million people would be in immediate threat. Sixty six percent of the problem of carbon footprints comes from our cities and the rest from energy production. So it is not an exaggeration to say that the way we build our cities is the battleground of civilisation. We could have one vision as Gandhi suggested – a humane vision. Human beings, their lives, their roots or those things that make us happy, i.e. family, spirituality etc., have been replaced by an unceasing search for consumer materialism. It is of significance that the Knight Foundation suggests that there is no correlation beyond a certain point, between consumption and human happiness. I believe that the world needs a new model. A more humane, sustainable and humanitarian model. I have an intuition that perhaps India could provide that model. Of course, we, as every other country in the world today, face the greatest force of transformation that has ever been encountered. On the other hand, we have a 5000 years old history, we are a billion people, and we have powerful spiritual and community traditions. Surely this country, more than any other, can absorb the impact and come up with something transcendent. That is our challenge. It can be a tremendous opportunity to project into the global domain what is still an integrated civilisation value of family, community, spirituality, and of unity and harmony. Families and individuals seeking material utilities and getting ahead are not incorrect in their pursuits. However, they should not pursue these at the cost of the family values, community, spirituality, environment and the sense of identity rooted in history. It really depends on what we want to project to the world and what India wants to be in 2030. There is little doubt that the economic growth of this country is sustainable, but the issue is what kind of a country will it be? Will it be a country of glass facades where hundreds and thousands of people are ghetto-ised in suburbs or the degraded urbanisation XIV

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

of crumbling infrastructure? On the other hand will it be an inclusive society where people are interconnected? Will people here be as they are in certain parts of the world - shattered individual islands or will they be part of living communities? Will cities serve human beings or will human beings serve cities? Most importantly what would be our environmental footprint? India is already the “fifth most carbon emitting” contributor to global warming, with China being the second. India is catching up fast. Is that the legacy we want to leave to our children? Is it going to be a country of global cultural modernisation or a country of deep eco-systems of culture and deep traditions? Before Gandhiji, Indian leaders wore tails and frock coats. He had the courage to assert confidently that this country’s civilisation should present itself without insecurities, taking the best from the west but living to its own traditions. According to Gandhiji the way we talk matters and the way we dress matters. The way we build our cities matters very fundamentally and we need to move it from an individualistic, materialistic vision, to a Gandhian vision based on locality, spirituality and community. I believe there are three solutions to contain the huge relocation of rural masses to the urban areas: • Provide as much employment as possible in villages- Dr Kurien of Amul has demonstrated the possibility. • Instead of building cities with millions of people, we should encourage small towns to thrive. This is where Nabha has relevance. It is a small dusty old town of Punjab with a population of 70,000 people. It may not be particularly significant, but it is in towns such as Nabha that the battle of the Indian civilisation will be fought. • Finally, to not surrender the concept of the city itself. Huge cities that we see rising around us, that are following the Chinese model, should be embedded with Gandhian values. This last dimension may actually be the most important. Today, India has a fairly poor tradition of modern urban philanthropy. But in every community, every village, every religion, there have been deep traditions of philanthropy. But India lost these, perhaps because people, who come to huge cities, lose their sense of community. How can we create a vision of a social, inclusive city of connection, of communal harmony with social capital? Do we embed it in the few cities that will emerge; and can we, in their energy signature, make them sustainable? Unfortunately this requires more than just correction at the edges. For instance in Gurgaon, one sees beautiful glass towers in the middle of the city having no link to our culture and traditions. These are surrounded by appalling low cost housing blocks where people are deracinated, infrastructure is disintegrating crime, violence, disconnection and a lack of belonging is all pervasive. Is Gurgaon a model for our cities? There are only twenty million residential units for the middle class overhanging the market in terms of demand. Delhi’s population alone has increased by eight million over the last 10 years. We, like China will unfortunately build huge cities to meet these challenges. The way they will be conceived and built is what would determine the heart and the soul of Indian civilisation and our contribution to the world. I would like to put forward four challenges and opportunities in this context: 1. The Nabha Foundation hopes that this forum will be a call for action, a call for a movement; whether it is in publishing and publicising the issues discussed or the creation of an institution. Many people may have felt marginal compared to the modernistic center of architecture and intellectual interest. But I believe together we can move that margin to the center in a unified way and contribute the concept of new urbanism to the world. The first challenge is it to make this attempt a permanent and a powerful movement underpinned by a declaration or a charter. 2. The opportunity and the challenge exist in small towns such as Nabha. We believe that over the next 10-20 years we can prepare a case study in Nabha, of what other small towns in India may look like. We plan to do it in three ways. Firstly, by adaptively reusing old buildings such as the Nabha Quila to serve the community, and by upholding their traditions and their heritage. This also recognizes that people created the heritage and it should serve them back. Secondly by building new institutions whose architecture is a modern expression of thousands of years of traditions and community concepts. Finally by developing a township with a relevant vocabulary. Nabha town is not just what is visible but a sum total of the potential of the place. 3. People in the large cities may seem capitalistic but at the end of the day, they are Indians and care about their cities. Therefore these cities offer a huge opportunity and resource. 4. Finally, a vision of the cities themselves, so that the Poorna Swaraj that Gandhiji talked about could be completed. Let us be ambitious and not think about elements of individual crafts, but about how we can apply whole concepts of craft, community, form, and sociology into cities. Over the next 20 years, India will see the greatest struggle she has ever had. It wasn’t so difficult under the Raj, because the presence of an opposition meant that we maintained our culture but today that culture is being overwhelmed. It is the struggle for the soul of our civilisation. Will it be an inclusive and societal model of urban development or an individualistic and materialistic one? Many people have been struggling and feeling isolated. We hope that all these people will come together in this great battle. According to Gandhiji when one feels that one’s forces are small and the armies of the other side are bigger, one should take the example of the Bhagvad Gita, of the five Pandavas looking at the array of army much greater than theirs. But they were protected by a much greater force– TRUTH. Today this truth is that of human beings living and wanting to live in a humane way. I believe that truth can protect us as we challenge the intellectual conception that is dehumanised. We have the opportunity of paraphrasing a much-overused expression of Gandhiji... “To be the change we would like to see” ...a chance to create a movement of such power, that it can unlock our civilisation and project it to make a fundamental difference to the world. New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

XV

Message from Robert Adam Chair INTBAU

INTBAU, The International Network for Traditional Building, Architecture and Urbanism, was founded 8 years ago. It had started out as a research program, and demonstrated that there was a specific need for such an organisation’s existence. It was founded to bring together people from around the world who value tradition in architecture and urban design, and to counteract, to some extent, a fairly common view that modernity and tradition were polar opposites. INTBAU is based around the principles of the INTBAU charter which summarizes very aptly the focus of the organization. This charter was written some time ago and I believe that it is quite relevant to the current situation. It is put down as follows: The International Network for Traditional Building, Architecture and Urbanism is an active network of individuals and institutions dedicated to the creation of humane and harmonious buildings and places that respect local traditions. Traditions allow us to recognise the lessons of history, enrich our lives and offer our inheritance to the future. Local, regional and national traditions provide the opportunity for communities to retain their individuality with the advance of globalisation. Through tradition we can preserve our sense of identity and counteract social alienation. People must have the freedom to maintain their traditions. Traditional buildings and places maintain a balance with nature and society that has been developed over many generations. They enhance our quality of life and are a proper reflection of contemporary society. Traditional buildings and places can offer a profound modernity beyond novelty and contribute to a better future. INTBAU brings together those who design, make, maintain, study or enjoy traditional building, architecture and places. We will gain strength, significance and scholarship by association, action and the dissemination of our principles.

His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales is the patron of the organisation which often works closely with the Prince of Wales’s Foundation for the Built Environment. INTBAU is also headquartered at the same premises, with its work coordinated by Aura Neag and Matthew Hardy. INTBAU began its activities as a small network of people with a conference in Bologna. Here the idea of the network was initiated, and like all the best things, didn’t get off with a bang. But, it has gradually grown and has now become a burgeoning NGO. The way global governance works presently, the role of NGOs is becoming increasingly important and INTBAU is fulfilling its role in the field of architecture and urbanism. From those small beginnings, it has now become a network of chapters- Australia, Canada, Cuba, Germany, Ireland, India, Iran, Italy, Nigeria, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, UK and the USA. Any group, any country or region can start a chapter using a fairly simple process, through a group of people who subscribe to the principles of the charter and have sufficient momentum to create an organisation. The point of this is that tradition is always local- it’s never international and while this is an international organisation, tradition must be represented by the communities from where they come. INTBAU India has quickly become the most successful amongst all the chapters. All due credit must go to those who established it and worked hard on forwarding its goals. Initiated first by Krupali Uplekar & Jyoti Soni and then taken forward by Deependra Prashad, there is now an additional base in Mumbai directed by Shirish Gupte, besides the headquarters at Delhi. Interestingly, one of the early things INTBAU realised, with particular credit to Matthew Hardy, is the importance of the internet and the website. It is ironic that a great deal of support for traditions and a great many things to do with localisation in the globalising world are managed through the global aspects of globalisation itself. INTBAU has been involved with various activities, including publishing essays, partnering in events, organisation of design workshops and conferences, the first one being Tradition Today. A recent conference was in Venice in November 2006 to discuss the current application of the Venice Charter. INTBAU has also established training centres in Romania, partnered for a summer school with the University at Timisoara and University Spiru Haret, Romania. Currently the Folkeuniversitetet, Norway and the head office are working on a new project with the European Union called the European School of Urbanism and Architecture which would create a peripatetic university course. In terms of direct action measures, INTBAU created the very successful Bran Master Plan in Romania, the Fredrikstad Masterplan in Norway and also created a pressure group for the reconstruction of the Neumarkt in Dresden, Germany, to focus on the traditional architecture of Dresden in Germany. The above is a rough sketch of INTBAU as an international organisation. I must thank the team at INTBAU India for the immense amount of work which has been put in the creation of the organisation and this forum. Of course none of this would be possible without the Nabha Foundation team and the generosity and enormous support of Uday Khemka. I would also like to thank the members on the academic committee including Prof. A.G.K.Menon, Nimish Patel, S.K.Misra and Yaaminey Mubayi, with whom we sat and deliberated on the high quality contributions for this forum. I have made so many friends here and now in a strange way, India is for me a home away from home. I must thank all the supporters of INTBAU and INTBAU India and hope that we can proactively take forward the development of Indian traditions in new architecture and urbanism.

XVI

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

INTBAU Nabha Declaration

Preamble: A… Rapid development is overtaking and transforming villages, towns, cities and metropolises in India. The urban population is set to treble in the next few decades. Social and economic transformation is producing new aspirations in society. This poses tremendous challenges to professionals and decision-makers to cater to the needs of future growth. In the past these challenges have been met by undertaking development based on transnational paradigms of architecture and urbanism, which have generally excluded local construction practices and processes. The new challenges offer the opportunity to redirect goals and strategies by using new development paradigms which would be more sympathetic to local needs and aspirations. It should foreground local identity, value social ethos and generate a sense of community through greater use of traditional skills and knowledge in architecture and building. New developments must therefore be rooted in local heritage. B… Evidence of rootless global imagery is beginning to dominate our skylines. This phenomenon is all the more apparent in smaller towns like Nabha, which lie at the cusp of urban transformations. Nabha, in Punjab, is a former princely state with a rich cultural heritage, deeply rooted in community consciousness. Concerns for such towns and their hinterlands need to be brought into the centre of new urbanisation policies and practices. Nabha and other urbanising areas in the country need appropriate templates for development which would be sensitive to their rich cultural past, but using state-of-the-art development models and strategies. C… The INTBAU Nabha declaration therefore forges the imperatives of heritage and development as an appropriate and sustainable paradigm for mediating future well-being of a transforming society. This belief is underpinned by the knowledge that traditional architecture and urbanism are evolutionary, incremental and self-correcting, and therefore offers the most appropriate design resource for meeting the challenges of the transformation taking place in our society.

We therefore declare that the principles enshrined in traditional architecture and urbanism must mediate future urban and rural development by: Building on Collective Wisdom Traditional architecture and urbanism embodies centuries of refined “collective intelligence”. It consists of traditional and local techniques of construction, local building materials and indigenous spatial typologies based on climate, culture and economic issues. The promotion of this knowledge can correct the problems created by the use of transnational paradigms to cater to local exigencies. This strategy is relevant not just in the rural-vernacular settings but also within the urban environment. Strengthening Local Identity The promotion of traditional building practices and spatial typologies reinforces local distinctiveness and coherence in a globalising world. This identity has to be derived from local urban morphologies, architectural typologies, local ecology, landscapes, traditional skills and resources, lifestyles, and would thus respond to local concerns and values. Furthering Social and Economic Sustainability Living Heritage and Traditions are a vast source of ideas and contextual references. They offer valuable insights to meet the challenges of revitalising inner city areas which are under stress on account of urbanisation. They also enhance possibilities of income generation and employment, utilisation of local skills and resources, and contribute to the creation of a sustainable local economy. Traditional Architecture and Urbanism also encourages high quality construction and built environments. Turning Stakeholders into Stockholders Traditional and local methods allow meaningful participation of citizens in all stages of the development process- from decision-making, prioritizing initiatives to construction. It helps create robust social systems by promoting decentralized governance. The Government and Public Sector must therefore actively promote the principles of traditional building practices through appropriate guidelines, policy and incentives in their projects.

XVIII

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Promoting Environmental Sustainability Traditional building principles are based on reducing embodied energy in buildings. Fossil energy is a depleting resource and the built environment being its largest consumer should adopt traditional building principles. The usage of local materials, building methods and crafts skills would ensure the holistic development of the region and promote growth without compromising environmental sustainability. Regaining Traditional People-centered Urbanism Traditional architecture and urbanism creates social capital and interaction. It produces walk-able urban spaces, creating a rich spatial experience and a vibrant public realm. Changing Educational focus Design education must be re-oriented to inculcate an appreciation of traditional knowledge and construction technologies. Appropriate curricula must be created to respect the “Context” and also encourage adaptations and development of traditional techniques to meet new problems. Local and international institutions must also focus on documenting and disseminating good practices in the field, besides undertaking capacity building in the community and developing both traditional and upgraded skills. Declaration: We call upon the architectural and planning community, professionals, decision makers and the government to acknowledge the urgent need to study, protect and revive high quality traditional building, architecture and urbanism as an essential and progressive force to mediate the challenges of future urbanisation.

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

XIX

Introduction

Introduction: Why Tradition Matters A.G.Krishna Menon Chair, Academic Committee The faith in the utopian promises of the modern movement evaporated long ago, but as a strategy of formmaking and place-making it continued to dominate the imagination of architects and urban planners the world over. In developing societies it became synonymous with the process of modernization and its products symbolized the achievements of modernity. But in recent years its aura and efficacy as a tool for development has been severely blunted. Its reliance on the economics of unlimited growth and the unsustainable exploitation of resources it entailed, has resulted in the discontents of globalization and environmental problems such as global warming. Simultaneously, the (re)discovery of the intrinsic benefits of traditional architecture and urbanscapes has resulted in the re-examination of the foundational principles of the modern movement. Among the results of this churning has been the birth, 8 years ago, of the International Network for Traditional Building, Architecture and Urbanism (INTBAU), whose Indian affiliate hosted the conference on “ New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions.” INTBAU spawned the ‘new urbanism’ movement in the United States of America (US) and Europe, with which its Indian counterpart, just two years old, is trying to come to terms. The conference forum and this book has therefore twin objectives, namely, facilitating the process of enquiry already initiated by INTBAU internationally and to define its meaning in the Indian context. The ideology of the modern movement was premised on the cult of ‘newness’ and the purposeful rejection of the past. It equated the avant grade with the production of architecture and urban spaces to be held in critical esteem and relegated any association with traditional architecture and urban spaces to history. In most societies this ‘modernist’ vision raised profound questions, separating the ideals of professionals and the expectation of users, but in developing societies with rich and still fecund building heritage, the situation was particularly poignant because the rejection of the past was detrimental to their well being as well. Thus increasingly, the modern movement was being confronted with reasoned apostasy, promoting the aesthetics of continuity and links with the familiar in the production of new architecture and urban spaces. The new objectives were to heal the rupture created by the modern movement and produce an urban environment more sympathetic to the expectation of society-at-large. This process is gaining ground. For example, at a conference convened by INTBAU at Venice in November 2006, (www.intbau.org/venicecharter. htm), delegates from all over the world re-evaluated the principles of conservation enunciated in the Venice Charter of 1964. This iconic document had categorically prohibited any attempt at aesthetic continuity in the conservation of historic buildings and urbanscapes. This is not the occasion to examine the debates in the discipline of conservation, but suffice it to say that it reflected the questioning taking place in architecture and urban planning because the principles enunciated in the Venice Charter had roots going back to the beginning of the modern movement. The problem with the Venice Charter was therefore, pari passu, similar to

those in the disciplines of architecture and urban planning. INTBAU is at the forefront of both debates, and the issue that confronted INTBAU India in planning this conference was whether it should distinguish its concerns from those of the parent body. I had explored and articulated this difference in the context of conservation in India at the Venice Conference, and therefore felt that the conference in India could be an opportunity to undertake a similar journey in the context of architecture and urban planning in India. The need for such an exercise is palpable. In the process of globalization it is possible that even reformist agendas can become hegemonistic and overwhelm and subvert the formation of local possibilities of form-making and place-making as it happened with the spread of the Modern Movement. Notwithstanding the reality of the nuanced variations of the modern movement (pace Kenneth Frampton), the fact was that everywhere it was predicated on a break with the past which established the aesthetics of difference. Benchmarks developed in Europe and the US were routinely adopted and internalized by architects and planners in countries like India, thus foreclosing the possibilities for developing more appropriate practices rooted in local building traditions to meet contemporary needs. The idealization of new urbanism as it developed in Europe and US can already be seen at work in the promotion of INTBAU in India. This is adding a new layer of concern to an otherwise healthy process of questioning the relevance of the modern movement in India. Thus a process of enquiry that is ‘natural’ in the context of Europe and US can become ‘un-natural’ in other parts of the world. It therefore challenges critical local practitioners to deconstruct the efficacy of international movements without losing its valuable message. This conference forum was therefore conceived to redefine and recontextualize the issues of new architecture and urbanism by focusing on a specific cultural region as a field of enquiry. This Forum and book elicited a strong response from all over the world testifying to the potency and contemporary relevance of the theme. It obviously struck a rich intellectual lode which will take a long time to mine and process. In this essay therefore, rather than go over its contents, I will explicate the underpinning rationale of the theme in order to navigate through the message of the conference. I will begin by constructing the contours of the imagination of the contemporary Indian architect and urban planner. In the sixty years since Independence, their imagination has failed to engage with the basic problems of the built environment. It is therefore necessary to examine how were the tools of the profession constructed? Even as the professional uses these tools to grapple the problems of the built environment, can an understanding of its genesis provide new insights to develop more effective strategies? The argument I am presenting is that such insights are critical to re-define the characteristics of architecture and urban planning in the Indian context. The history of the profession reveals the source of at least seven characteristics that define current practice. First, because of the colonial origins of the professions, architects and urban planners in India accepted the ‘universality’ of the British experience and adopted their methods, devices and legal instruments to create the built environment. These instruments have moreover not changed significantly even after Independence, indicating a professional distancing Introduction

3

from the problems of contemporary architecture and urban planning. Thus when we consider the need for new urbanism in the Indian context, can we use this insight to challenge the professional indifference to the issues of the built environment? Second, professionals in India have shown a marked proclivity in their work to adopt patterns and images rather than policies and programmes associated with the so called universal experience. For example, urban planners reproduce just a few ‘patterns’ derived from (a) the Garden City concept of Ebenezer Howard, and (b) the baroque city plan of Lutyens’ plan for New Delhi to make plans for cities in India. They ignore the social, economic and cultural imperatives that generated those original patterns. A similar obsession with ‘image’ has defined the narrow world of architectural strategies in India. Can new architecture and urbanism re-engage with real-life issues and complexities of the built environment? Third, urban planners in India have a preponderant bias towards achieving beauty and order rather than dealing with the complexities of Indian urbanism. This is based on a superficial understanding of the City Beautiful Movement. Consequently they ignore the compelling logic of vernacular urbanism. Old Delhi, or Shahjahanabad, is therefore defined a slum because its morphology contradicts their concept of the ‘beautiful’ city. This bias creates an intellectual void in the discipline of urban planning. A similar void is at work in the delineation of ‘modern’ architecture in India, where every international ‘ism’ is mirrored in local architectural production as a ‘style’ ignoring the potential of vernacular architectural practices. Focusing on the imperatives of new architecture and urbanism in India could remedy this situation. Fourth, urban planners easily absorb bold proposals made by foreign experts – these proposals include (a) poly-nodal urban districts containing segregated functional-use zones proposed for the Master Plan of Delhi in 1962, and (b) neighbourhoods in super-blocks with continuous green parks proposed by Le Corbusier in his Master Plan for Chandigarh. Urban Planners propose these typological models throughout the country. This ‘one size fits all’ strategy also characterizes the narrative of modern architecture in India. The influence of Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn who built in India and the current international stars of the architectural media overwhelm the local architectural imagination. In its current manifestation this genuflection to foreign experts is seen in the practice of engaging foreign architects and urban planners for large projects both in the private and public sector. For example, the government often makes such collaborations mandatory while inviting bids for projects like the Commonwealth Games and other large infrastructure schemes. New architecture and urbanism could contest this gratuitous practice by focusing on indigenous models to meet local needs. Fifth, more complex ideas such as the one represented by the Structure Plan concept for planning Calcutta in the 70s, even though it was recommended by foreign experts, and of course, the recommendations of the National Commission on Urbanization headed by Charles Correa in 1986, appear to be beyond the grasp of urban planners. Architects too have failed to grapple with the complexities of advanced building technologies and the challenge of housing the economically weaker sections of our society, even though such disciplinary issues are routinely taken up by architects 4

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

abroad. Does the avoidance of disciplinary complexity have its roots in the colonial origins of the professions? Sixth, in the context of larger disciplinary issues, the Indian urban planner may be defined as, ‘anti-urban’ just as the architect is ‘anti-architecture’. Professionals in both disciplines have not considered their practice in a selfreflexive manner and thus have continued to pay obeisance to foreign knowledge and expertise. This is as much a reflection of the larger culture of society as it is the specific characteristic of the professions. And finally, both architects and urban planners have remained low level functionaries in the decision-making hierarchy in the bureaucracy and society and so they do not feel ‘responsible’ for failures of their plans or designs. When Delhi went through the trauma of sealings and demolition because of ‘illegal’ construction last year, architects and planners merely pointed fingers at politicians, bureaucrats and society-at-large. The Indian strategy for new architecture and urbanism should therefore seek to eliminate this debilitating characteristics of professional indifference by making it necessary for architects and urban planners to dialogue and negotiate with the user/society in the development of their designs and become answerable to them for its success or failure. The causes why these characteristics define professional work are rooted in its history. This is why history matters: it reveals the sources and the depths of the problems afflicting the professions. As in medicine, so in architecture and urban planning, understanding the origins and nature of the ‘disease’ is the first step to find a cure. This perspective makes a strong case for changing the way architects and urban planners conceive buildings and the city. Their imagination needs to be realigned to confront the problems at hand and not seek conformity with developments taking place in Europe and US, including the new urbanism movement. This can begin by revamping the education curricula. Academic institutions continue to pass on received knowledge and practical experience for minimally informed and vocational ends. There has been no serious studies of Indian architecture and the conditions of its cities based on conscious hypotheses. The new urbanism movement offers an opportunity to change the colonized mindset of architects and urban planners by forcing professionals to consider ground realities. These ground realities include the culturally plural, socially evolving and economically constrained characteristics of Indian society. Such an academic enterprise has been long overdue – and it was with that expectation that we conceived this conference. We hope it will stimulate research in the concepts of new architecture and urbanism in order to ‘de-colonize’ architectural and urban planning practice in India. Our society has widely plural characteristics, temporally, culturally and economically. Such conditions are rarely seen in other societies, old or new, and while we may gain insights through cross-cultural references, it would be futile to adopt models from other contexts. The complexity of the situation can be gauged by the fact that in urban planning terms, not one, but several disparate circumstances need to be reconciled simultaneously: neat suburban developments with homogenous population and the persistence of the heterogeneous ‘chaotic’ traditional settlements; the city of the ‘haves’ and the city of the ‘have-nots’, Lutyens’ baroque city and Le Corbusier’s ‘rational’ city on the one hand and the

‘qasba’ on the other; the automobile and the bicycle; and so on. There are no models to conceptualize such heterogeneity anywhere, so Indian architecture and urban planning will have to become self-referential. This is why the conference forum highlighted ‘Development of Indian Traditions’. This forum sought to deliberately turn the gaze of enquiry from the general/universal to the specific local/regional processes at work. It acknowledged the continued saliency of regional practices. In the interstices of the ‘modern’ there still exists a vibrant world of ‘traditional’ practices. Even as architects and urban planners in the West are advocating the virtues of new urbanism to resurrect links with the past severed by the modern movement, issues in countries like India are to reinvigorate what already exists for the same reasons. This is the logic underpinning INTBAU India’s initiative on new architecture and urbanism and distinguishes it from those of its international counterparts. Secondly, the conference identified three related thematic areas to focus on the characteristics of ‘Indian Traditions’: (a) New Ways of looking at Heritage, (b) Sustainable Places, Buildings and Communities, and (c) Continuing Traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism. This enabled us to disaggregate the diverse issues into relevant components to understand, evaluate and deal with its complexities. Once again, it established the distinction between the international and Indian concerns for new architecture and urbanism. I would like to conclude by emphasizing that the objective of understanding the historical process is not to recreate or resurrect the architectural styles and spatial patterns of the past, which is what many associate with the new urbanism movement in the US and Europe but to adopt a more pragmatic approach to deal with local issues of architecture and urban planning. It should put to question the cult of ‘newness’ in design by foregrounding the virtues of continuity. The rediscovery of traditional architectural and planning practices is a world wide phenomena, but it has became associated with the gated communities of the privileged. It is characterized by gratuitous pandering to nostalgia and the creation of pastiche. This is not to say that there are no redeeming qualities – the INTBAU conference on the Venice Charter in November 2006 showcased a variety of compelling examples, like the importance of reviving high quality crafts and craftsmanship in the building trade – but in India the issues are also tied up with creating sustainable futures. Modern architecture and urban planning in India is creating an unequal society of those who can conform to its imperatives, and those who cannot – and in India the majority cannot. Thus the Indian perspective on new architecture and urbanism seeks to define alternate modernities. Its concerns focus on creating a viable and sustainable future for all. In this manner, new architecture and urbanism offers an opportunity to develop diverse local identities in a globalizing cultural mileau. Tradition therefore matters; recognizing its importance is an epiphany which can lead to the transformation of architecture and urban planning in India. The conference and the contributions in this publication provide compelling evidence of its possibilities.

Introduction

5

Tradition and Our Built Environment

Growth: Maturity Or Over-development ? Leon Krier Architect & Urbanist, France The front cover of a current affairs magazine in India proudly displays the portraits of four leading businessmen under the title “THE ACCELERATORS.” It is my hope that we may endeavour to instead help to slow down certain forms of development, to pause a little, to think about long term development objectives, rather than speeding blindly into a state of exhaustion. Having for millennia entertained a building culture of superb environment and aesthetic quality, it may be a mystery even to an inquisitive mind, why such an incomparable traditional culture could not resist the triumph of modernism. For an extra terrestrial observer such a cataclysmic break in matters of architecture and urbanism could possibly be explained by a cosmic catastrophe, an alien invasion, by an enforced change, an imposed abandonment, maybe by a lethal virus, or some devastating toxic substance against which there was no inborn resistance. PETER PAN SCENARIO

MODERN HYDRA

GROWTH~MATURITY~OVER-DEVELOPMENT

Sustainable Growth + Maintenance

Imperial Perdition Senility

The mechanism of the vanquished adopting the gods, manners, language, styles, technology of a foreign invader are known throughout history and worldwide. The fact the invaders themselves abandon their own best intelligence, manners, practices in environmental and architectural matters, to replace them with inferior surrogates is literally a world shattering event. It explains also why we are ill prepared for the sea change demanded by ecological sustainability.

M A T U R I T Y = S U S TA I N A B L E S U C C E S S

Tradition and Our Built Environment

9

R I S K S

O F

U R B A N

S U C C E S S

3 BASIC MODERN BUILDING TYPES

1) Land-scraper

2) Sprawler

3) Sky-scraper

3 FORMS OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION Functional Monotony >>>> Architectural Pathologies

1) Land-scraper

2) Sprawler

3) Skyscraper

The Green-Glass-Lipstick-type skyscraper capped by a grotesque caricature of headwear, which dresses itself indecently above the vernacular roofscape of a Gurgaon shanty town is the most poignant symbol of the unsustainability of modernism I have encountered so far. The massive realisation of fossil fuel depletion, overpopulation, water scarcity and global warming are calling for a dramatic re-evaluation of modernist values and perceptions, in fact for the whole scale abandonment. Educational institutions, planning agencies, professionals and legislation are lagging decades behind. Fundamental

Correct density and composition = nameable CITY

10

scientific research has lost itself for 200 years in the extremes of the micro and macro scales, as if only there, salvation and glory were to be found. For too long it has abandoned the tangible environment, the water, the soil, the air and its resources to be processed by barbaric machinery and incredibly crude planning tools. That is where INTBAU, CNU, The Prince of Wales Foundation play an inestimable role. Even though the question of “ecological development” and of the planet’s “carrying capacity” are ultimately issues of science, the global ecological project must of necessity become its central subject, its necessity has so far only been formulated

too low density

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

too high density = so-called “CITY”

The City

Zoning

Zoning in the city To m a k e a NECESSARY

city MIXED USE is a but not a SUFFICIENT CONDITION

Typological Order F u n c t i o n a l = A r c h i t e c t u r a l Va r i e t y

Bureaucratic Order F u n c t i n a l Va r i e t y X A r c h i t e c t u r a l U n i f o r m i t y

Over development - Manhattanism F u n c t i o n a l Va r i e t y X A r c h i t e c t u r a l Va r i e t y

by surprisingly few agents. The conference on “New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions” is only beginning to announce the necessity of reorienting the priorities of the planning and building professions. The latter are still hung up on outdated technological conceptions like, amongst others, the “green” skyscraper or “eco”-suburbia. A common mistake of fossil fuel age “thinking” is to distinguish between “high” and “low” technology, failing to wake up to the fact that, before long there will not be a high-tech future to speak of and that human technology will be ecological or it won’t be. The worth of traditional architecture and urbanism is revealed all over the subcontinent in its sheer incredible versatility, its durability, its enduring validity in ecological terms, and hence its global applicability in various climates, altitudes, epochs and in contrasting political and economic conditions, in short in its sustainability. Equally, an individual architect’s or urbanist’s work and ideas can be truthfully assessed via their global applicability. What if all towns in India, old or new, were designed according to the precepts of Le Corbusier, of Lutyens, Fuller, Eisenman, Shahjahan, Jefferson etc.,? Are the ideas that guide their designs of a transcendent value, or are they simply passing fads? The question of “Sustainability” tests idea to their viability, universality, truth. The term sustainable indicates what is ecological in absolute terms. All our current notions of progress, globalisation,

Tradition and Our Built Environment

11

Mono-centric conurbation vs poly-centric federation approach to planning cities C I T Y & PA R A S I T E

CITY without SUBURB

SUBURB without CITY

CITY with SUBURB

CITIES within the CITY

economy, industry, creativity, modernism will be reformed accordingly and probably out of recognition. I am not interested in making converts to traditional thinking, but to spread theories and practices, that have proven to work for centuries, that are sanctioned by application in various cultures, climates, geographic and political conditions. Modernism’s most lashing damages may well have been done through its historisation of traditional planning and building techniques; through the insane outdating of languages and techniques which are in perfect working order; through the ideologisation of technology; through its discarding of “low” technologies as “historical” and therefore “outdated”. Sustainability addresses the issue of ultimate purposes and means when building cities and exploiting natural resources. What can be our ideals, culturally, socially, politically, in given limited ecological conditions? What can be the numbers, patterns, networks, dimensions, geometries, materials, proportions, typologies, architectures? Sustainability concerns technology and aesthetics. What hierarchy, color system, method of designing, building, inhabiting can be cultivated with controllable outcome? What principles and methods transcend taste, fashion, social and political regimes, or the unsoundable varieties and variations of human tempers and fashions? What is timeless and what is timely? What is the meaning and status of the local, the regional, the global? What is modern and 12

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Don’t forget your GRAVITY check

what is obsolete? A culture of sustainability re-evaluates the meaning of all our values in ecological terms, foremost of the traditional, of the vernacular, the classical, of enduring timeless ideas, techniques and work.

HOW MUCH CLASSICAL & VERNACULAR IS NEEDED TO MAKE THE GOOD CITY?

As J.H. Kunstler demonstrates in “The Long Emergency”, we will return to traditional forms of settlement, production, agriculture and building whether we like it or not. With the aggravating global environmental crisis the notion of sustainability will evolve from being a political fad to a principle of existential necessity. That is where its promise lies but also extreme danger threatens. Beaux-Arts Utopia VERNACULAR BUILDING

CLASSICAL ARCHITECTURE

Chicago White City 1893 Versailles Castle + Park Napolean III- Victoriana Imperialisme Rome- Campo Marzio Forbidden City- Beijing Acropolis Taj Mahal Renaissance Ideal Cities Jaipur

Venice Rothenburg O.T. Cesky- Krumlov Athens Classical Age Williamsburg Traditional Villages Primordial Hamlets Lascaux Animal Architecture

Tradition and Our Built Environment

13

A RC H I T E C T U R A L T U N I N G O F U R BA N C O M P O S I T I O N - Ve r n a c u l a r & C l a s s i c a l

Vernacularissimus Austerity Vernacular

Vernacular & Classical Cultural Apogee

Classicissimus Imperial Carnival Classicism

PRIVATE & PUBLIC ARCHITECTURE

Private Imperialism

APPLYING & SIZING OF CLASSICAL AND VERNACULAR MODES

Well-applied and well-sized

Good Private / Public Affairs Mis-applied and mis-sized

Public Imperialism

14

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Well-applied and mis-sized

The great strength of India today is the powerful survival of a vernacular reality despite the massive attempt at its eradication. I get hope and inspiration not from the modernist architects’ works, which are just as unimaginative and sterile as in other continents, but from the capacity of common people to build traditional settlements with very little land and poor material means.

Constructional Monism & Stylistic Pluralism UNITY OF CONSTRUCTION CULTURE

They are often very successful in their grouping of buildings and networking of streets and alleys, in their unintended plasticity, and fail miserably where they are keenest to succeed, namely in their front elevations. They succeed when they use natural materials structurally and fail when they are used decoratively. Traditional architecture and its aesthetics are bonded to the processing of natural materials, wood, clay, earth, stone. Their forms derive from the use of those materials and their techniques are conditioned by it. They are strictly material based, so to speak “ material-logical”. Even an untalented imbecile can not build a tectonic error, using natural materials without immediate disastrous consequences as to stability, aspects and use. Instead with the use of synthetic materials even an abstruse, illogical structure, a tectonic counter-sense, can be made to stand up. To realise authentic traditional structures with synthetic materials and their specific fitting techniques (nailing, bolting, soldering, riveting, gluing, casting) is not only an onthological paradox, but it requires extreme design control and discipline. To build a believable fake today needs great expertise. The lack of design control and discipline explains the aura of the fake, the ersatz, the surrogate which is so characteristic of 99% neo-traditional designs of the past decades. It is the latter and not modernism, which is the deadly enemy of traditional architecture today. Last minute sur prise on the building site

AUTHENTIC (NAMEABLE) THINGS

KITSCH (SO-CALLED) THINGS

CONTENT = FORM

FORM X CONTENT

Tradition and Our Built Environment

15

Not by chance is the production of synthetic construction materials dependant on the use of fossil fuels. Their days as banal construction materials are therefore numbered. Before too long, steel reinforced concretes, stainless metals, plate glass, glues and nails will become again precious materials, making the fake more expensive than the authentic. Meanwhile we are, in advanced industrial countries almost everywhere, condemned to build, not authentic traditional building, but full size synthesised models of such designs. When 30 years ago I stated that “ I am an architect” and “ I can make true architecture because I do not build” I did not quite realise how correct that intuition was. According to J. H Kunstler our civilization is literally drunk on fossil fuel. Behind us lies a century of environmental mismanagement of a global scale, of building cities and landscapes without a possible future of over populating the planet and as a consequence overexploiting soil, water and energy resources. CITY & LANDSCAPE

THE CITY’S LIMIT IS A BUILT ONE

A city needs approximately so much land for its nutrition THE COLUMBUS FACTOR

X number of cities need X times more land. For whatever land they are missing they are going to bash in their own heads and rather than reduce their own numbers, they are going to invade, conquer and subjgate far lands, continents and people.

16

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

THE CITY’S LIMIT IS AN ADMINISTRATIVE LINE

RES PUBLICA

Monuments without streets or squares

RES ECONOMICA

Streets and squares without monuments

CIVITAS

The TRUE city

Al Gore says that between ignoring environmental problems and despairing of them there must be a middle way. In fact after sleep-walking too long in latitudes of extreme danger, there can only be a middle way forward. The global-high-tech-eco-kitsch fictions will soon evaporate to make place for a global ecological reconstruction project. Traditional architecture and urbanism, vernacular building and classical architecture are its operative tools. There is work ahead and with it “hope”.

Tradition and Our Built Environment

17

Tradition And Innovation Raj Rewal Architect, New Delhi At the outset, one must credit The Nabha Foundation for the initiatives in the historic city of Nabha in Punjab and the Nabha Fort. It is always interesting to return to the roots and learn lessons which have validity for our times. The typology of the fort based on courtyards and roof terraces is typical of many similar buildings in Rajasthan. It shows how traditional buildings solved concerns of climate and modulated light.

Globalisation is not a new process. These two statues of Buddha illustrate my point. One from Afghanistan shows him to be an ethnic, tall Afghan with mustache and the other from China with slit eyes. Buddha is reinterpreted by each culture in its own image. They both carry the message of compassion and peace across Asia in the first century B.C.

It was also interesting to note that steel girders were employed in the 18th century fort along with stone masonry and stone slabs in an innovative manner. This construction technique was different from the earlier Mughal palace complexes. Craftsmen and architects have to reinterpret tradition taking into account the rational structural systems, the practical realities and the functions to be fulfilled. Vernacular architecture of a nation or a region can be compared to its language. The grammar of building and space-making has a few things in common with the structure of a language. Architecture like linguistics has taken a long time to evolve. It is rooted in the cultural traditions, religious beliefs, moral values and life style of people. Vernacular architecture in the past had responded to functional requirements based on climate and community needs and evolved a method through centuries of modulating space and light. Building crafts and social requirements were interwoven with symbolic concerns to create both temples and simple rural houses. Building techniques are changing quickly. The pattern of living is in the process of evolution and a global culture inspired by media is eroding traditional values. Does this imply that architectural heritage has no future? Some would like to equate regionalism with backward fundamentalism and others would argue that globalization and market economy would promote a new kind of brutal banalisation. In fact contemporary societies have to fight on two fronts. They have to confront fanaticism going back to the medieval times as well as the mindless attitude inspired by the market economy that form follows finance. In terms of architectural language, there is another way which amalgamates the essence of traditional wisdom with techno-savvy of our times to create humane, ethical and sustainable architecture. Passive energy saving systems learnt through traditional methods can go hand in hand with smart buildings based on state-of-the-art technology.

Statue of Buddha from Afghanistan

The domes and minarets, visual characteristics of Islamic architecture, are interpreted in a very different manner in Istanbul, Summerkand and Agra. These elements of architecture in Uzbekistan, built with bricks and ceramics, denote power. In India, they are assimilated with local culture and marble crafts to symbolise love.

Istanbul

The culture pervading the Indian subcontinent from the earliest times provided a philosophical basis of unity of man with nature, where all phenomena in the cosmos, in the world of nature, are part of one being. In short, the animate and inanimate coexist in a continuous life system. This attitude resulted in a rare unity between man, his natural surroundings, and built form. The question is whether we can sustain these values in the age of globalization? We have seen rapid developments in recent times in Beijing, Dubai and nearby Gurgaon with disastrous results.

18

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Statue of Buddha from China

Taj Mahal, Agra

Summerkand

In this context I would like to show a spectrum of my office’s works fusing traditional wisdom and commitment to innovative technologies within a regional context which is open to global currents. Nehru Pavilion The Nehru Pavilion was designed in 1972 as a museum to exhibit objects and photographic panels of Nehru’s life and times designed by Charles Eames. While working on the design, one had to keep in mind the personality of Nehru, a sensitive intellectual and democrat who would have hated any manifestation of pomposity to honour him. How could a pavilion allow one to symbolize Nehru’s life? There were no relevant contemporary prototypes which necessitated a search for older models. Inspired by the Buddhist grass mounds in Nepal that contained relics of the Buddha, we came upon the idea of grassy embankments enclosing exhibition space at two levels. The circulation system for the exhibition was based on parikrama, the circumambulatory movement around the central shrine of temples, and the plan began to resemble Tantric yantras. The audio visual material of the exhibits and the traditional ethos contributed to the design.

Nehru Pavilion

A street in Jaisalmer: The narrow pedestrian street, shaded and vitally alive, constitutes an important feature of the vernacular tradition

Plan of Nehru Pavilion

Asian Games Village In the realm of practical climatic considerations, the traditional morphology of the cities of Rajasthan has important lessons to teach for today’s low rise, high density housing developments, and it directly influenced the design for the Asian Games Village of five hundred housing units in New Delhi (1982). The institutional and sterile pattern of housing favoured by departmental engineers for public and municipal works, based on an endless repetition of a design, is rejected here. Instead, an attempt has been made to create urban norms from a network of pedestrian streets and squares. The peripheral road provides motor access from two ends to the parking squares, which in turn give way to pedestrian paths or to the garages of individual housing units. The village reinterprets several salient elements of vernacular design that have stood the test of time.

The Asian Games Village planning is based on similar narrow streets linking a variety of clusters. The streets are consciously broken up into visually comprehensible units, so there are pauses, points of rest, and changing vistas.

Tradition and Our Built Environment

19

Image of Jaisalmer (above): The alternation between solids and voids in the densely formed city of Jaisalmer is the archetype of the Indian urban fabric. The entire city is built within very well defined parameters The Asian Games Village (below): Different types of apartments generate a variety of clusters, avoiding the monotony of large scale public housing schemes.

20

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

National Institute of Immunology

(Left): The roof terraces of the National Institute of Immunology Housing, New Delhi (Right): Detail from an Indian miniature painting showing roof terraces

Another project, the National Institute of Immunology (1984-2006), New Delhi, a campus dedicated to research, comprising laboratories and housing clusters, is influenced by the traditional havelis. The manner in which havelis counter the intense heat of the day by building around courtyards was carefully studied, and their underlying principles were incorporated within the framework of current norms and functional requirements. The use of community spaces within the campus has affinities with Indian citadels such as Fatehpur Sikri where a group of structures built around interlocking courtyards of varying scales and functions are linked to each other through gateways and shaded paths across enclosures with distant vistas and shifting axes. Each of the clusters retains its identity as their architectural forms and internal spaces are different. However, the overall unity of the complex is maintained as all the buildings are interlinked with paved pathways and the spaces between them are carefully organized. The framed views from one cluster to another create a visual link along the pathways.

Plan of National Institute of Immunology

Scientists housing clusters- National Institute of Immunology.

An Afghan village near Kabul illustrates the traditional manner of forming an assembly of housing units into a cluster

The design for the Institute carries some of the traditional planning principles but in no way has there been any attempt to embellish it with false arches, domes, or carvings. The inspiration from the past is reinterpreted in terms of rational reinforced concrete frame clad with sandstone grit to meet the practical functional requirements for scientific research.

Tradition and Our Built Environment

21

The Central Institute of Educational Technology The idea of blending traditional spatial arrangements with modern building technique is carried through in another project for a media school in New Delhi. The Central Institute of Educational Technology (1988-90) houses a school for communications which is fully equipped to the highest professional standards to produce broadcast-quality programmes as teaching aids in rural communities and urban centres throughout India.

View of Central Institute of Educational Technology

Central courtyard of Central Institute of Educational Technology

The design concept is based on creating two interlinked courtyards, one small near the entrance and the second built around the existing tree, to function as an open-air multipurpose television studio. The bigger courtyard comprises an open-air stage and amphitheatre and it is enclosed at the ground floor by entrance hall, artists’ room, and canteen with the existing tree as the focal point of activities. The courtyards are in fact evocative of a madrassah, a traditional school, and surrounded on the upper three levels by passages linking library, audiovisual, and administrative activities. The upper two floors have decreasing floor areas resulting in roof terraces overlooking the central courtyard or the surrounding parks. Plan of Central Institute of Educational Technology

SCOPE SCOPE is an office complex designed for large autonomous public sector organizations and was built in 1983-89 in New Delhi not far from Mughal Emperor Humayun’s tomb. The façade is designed to shield the offices from the sun’s direct rays so as to reduce the air conditioning costs. The complex is divided into eight distinct blocks which interlock with each other around a central courtyard. The spatial organization is generated by combining four columns recalling minerates which act as structural supports, contain services and culminate on the roof as ‘chatris’ or parasols. The form and structures on the roof terraces serve the role of providing welcome relief from the offices for 7000 workers. The form of the office complex is inspired by the Datia Palace with its intricate courtyards and roof terraces which

22

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Central courtyard of SCOPE

SCOPE Office Complex (left); Datia palace (right)

are extremely successful in lowering the temperature in summer months. The harsh sunlight and scorching heat is countered by the enclosures within the office complex, lowering the air conditioning cost by thirty percent.

Lisbon Ismaili Cultural Centre Modern architecture and urban design can achieve greater richness, variety, and symbolic content if it is informed by underlying regional historic values rather than superficial quotations. Precedent and progress are combined in the design for the Lisbon Ismaili Cultural Centre in Portugal. Our aim was to draw upon Islamic philosophy and to assimilate Iberian peninsula building traditions and be innovative in terms of construction technology. We have been influenced by the space enclosures perceived in the Alhambra, Spain.

plants and running water. The aim is to transform the mood of the visitors from the external stress to internal calm. The community courtyard functions as an enclosure between social halls and multipurpose hall. It would provide the spillover space for cultural and community activities. The jamaatkhana courtyard is an extension of the prayer hall, surrounded by a cloister, and would have an ambience of serenity. It is at the head of the complex but isolated from it by the change of level and a gateway. The other important consideration is the utilization of local stone in terms of the latest building technology. Granite is used as a structural element in conjunction with epoxy glues and steel for the design of enclosing walls based on Fatehpur Sikri jali patterns and computer calculations.

The design is based on three interconnected enclosed gardens fulfilling distinct functions. The entrance courtyard is designed to welcome visitors and is based on the principles of charbagh (quadrite garden) with flowering

The doctrine of cosmic unity “where one is part of the whole” is central to Islamic philosophy and spiritual concerns. Islamic art is essentially a way of depicting and discovering this unity through geometrical patterns. The discipline of mathematics and the basis of structure

Generalife garden, Alhambra

Central Court, Lisbon Ismaili Centre Tradition and Our Built Environment

23

have common points in modern science and ancient civilizations. The fascinating geometrics of the stone jalis of Fatehpur Sikri, Agra, and Spain depict a rare combination of the skills of the craftsmen and mathematicians. These geometric jalis have a structural potential and we have evolved from them a concept using new construction technologies for building walls and roofs true to the contemporary vocabulary of stone and steel. View of prayer hall

Prayer Hall lattice shear walls, Lisbon Ismaili Centre

24

View looking up at the church ceiling Lisbon

Detail of composite structure of granite and steel

Jali pattern, Fatehpour Sikri

Isometric view of Fatehpur Sikri

View of Lisbon Islami Cultural Centre in Portugal

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Parliament Library The Library for the Indian Parliament is located adjoining the existing Parliament Building and the colonial complex designed by Lutyens and Baker to house Presidential Palace (Rashtrapati Bhawan) and the central offices for the Indian Government. Lutyens’ classical European composition forms the focus of the central vista in New Delhi. He had maintained that the design was meant to demonstrate “the superiority of western art, science and culture” in India. A response to the urban context of the circular Parliament building as well as the intellectual challenge posed by Lutyens was important. The solution was to design a Library complex which resonates with its surroundings, evokes the traditional spirit of enlightenment but is based on modern technology and values of democratic India.

View of Rajpath

Plan of Parliament house and Parliament Library

The analogy of a relationship between a Guru and the King may not be far fetched while comparing the new library with the existing Parliament. Both visually and symbolically the central hall of the existing Parliament denoting peoples power, concensus and democracy, is linked to the central core of the new complex, symbolising knowledge, on a central axis, through a sequence of spaces culminating in the auditorium. We have conceived within the Indian Tradition a formal structure, but built it in a contemporary idiom to capture

Functions and circulations

Adinatha temple Raunakpur

the essence without mimicry of past historical styles. The symmetrical and balanced composition of the Taj Mahal, the Raunakpur Temple and the Datia Palace were the inspiration. The spirit of the library complex is gentler, closer to the ambience of the inward looking sagacious Raunakpur Temple complex, where the natural light is filtered through open spaces between the central block and the surrounding mass. The central core of the library building comprising the MP’s reading room, the meeting room, the research and archival areas, are surrounded by courtyards formed by the outer ring of peripheral activities.

Datia Palace

Development of Taj Mahal Tradition and Our Built Environment

25

View looking up at the dome of Jain temple, Raunakpur

View looking up at the dome of Parliament Library

Instead of creating one anonymous building, separate blocks were proposed for each main function to give identity to the individual segments. The development follows distinct movement patterns. -VIPs to the complex. -Scholars to the library. -Public to the Museum and, auditorium. Diverse public spaces within the library are roofed with a variety of steel structural lattice, lifted above the walls and columns, to provide diffused light below. The dome for the entrance hall is based on a series of squares and octagons reminiscent of geometrical patterns and jalis built with elements of stainless steel tubes. The joints of these were cast separately at foundries in South India and then connected to the tubes with bolts. The entire structure was supported by a ring beam and lifted above the roof level by supporting columns. The shallow domes on part of the steel structure are fibre cement shells or bubbles.

Courtyard of Parliament Library

The Focal central dome was conceived entirely in stainless steel structural members and covered with four petals of reflective glass in two layers. The diffused light in the middle of the complex provides daylight to the two basement levels as well as the surrounding circulation paths. The light from above the roof level is an important feature of the design symbolizing the idea of enlightenment in the library.

Focal central glass dome

Section- Entrance Hall

26

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Section- BPST Block

The small domical shells on the roof garden compliment the classical domes of the surrounding landscape. The grass and shrubs on the roof are grown on 60cm of earth which provide excellent insulation for the air conditioned spaces below. Sustainability enhanced by technical innovations is an important consideration for the library design. We are living in a globalized world of fantastic changes. Nokia from Finland, Toyota from Japan, computers from U.S.A. and Airbus from Europe are part of our daily lives. The use of mobile phone, internet, computer software and intercontinental travel has revolutionized our world. The new building materials like structural glass, aluminum composite panels and tools for cutting stone are changing the methodology of building. We have to learn the process of melding traditional architectural values which respect nature and urban context with cutting edge technologies to solve the problems of our developing societies. Historical assimilation of the Buddha images in Afghanistan and China has a message for the contemporary globalized world.

Tradition and Our Built Environment

27

Globalisation And Tradition Robert Adam Architect, UK I will not attempt to discuss conditions peculiar to India or the relationship between Indian traditions and globalisation. I take my warning from the late Edward Saïd: “a European or American studying the Orient … comes up against the Orient as a European or American first, as an individual second” (Saïd; 1994; p.11). I know from personal experience that there’s something in the traditions of a culture that can only be understood by those brought up with that culture or, at the very least, fully immersed in it for a prolonged period.

in such a way that local happenings are shaped by events occurring many miles away and vice versa” (Giddens; 1991; p. 64) This “intensification of worldwide social relations” has many facets and these can be individually important. They are most summarily listed by the German social philosopher Jürgen Habermas: “By ‘globalisation’ is meant the cumulative processes of a worldwide expansion of trade and production, commodity and financial markets, fashions, the media and computer programs, news and communications networks, transportation systems and flows of migration, the risks engendered by large-scale technology, environmental damage and epidemics, as well as organised crime and terrorism” (Habermas; 2006; p. 175). A formidable list.

I can, however, talk about the phenomena of globalisation and tradition. Globalisation is global and so anyone on the globe can discuss it. Tradition is a universal human phenomenon so can be discussed as a phenomenon by anyone. At first sight, it would seem that globalisation and tradition are on a collision course and that this conference is a record of that collision. I don’t think that this is quite right. To understand this, we have to try and understand globalisation – not an easy task as it’s always hard to understand anything that is in progress. Any discussion of the modern condition anywhere in the world must include a discussion of globalisation. As Anthony Giddens (one of the subject’s major theorists) says: “For better or worse, we are being propelled in to a global order that no one fully understands, but which is making its effects felt upon all of us” (Giddens; 2002; p. 6-7). We must recognise that, as another theorist, Martin Albrow, tells us: “Globalisation is the most significant development and theme in contemporary life and social theory to emerge since the collapse of Marxist systems” (Albrow; 1996; p. 98-90). So what is globalisation? As a term it seems that it originated – quite symbolically as it turns out – in an American Express advertising campaign in the mid-1970s (Niezen; 2004; p. 47). It was a phenomenon waiting for a catchword and, once coined, the word spread quickly to sum up what has become, again according to Giddens: “the intensification of worldwide social relations

What is globalisation? (©Wolfgang Ammer)

28

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Image courtesy: UN Photos)

The key initiating events of this process, again significantly, took place in the middle of the last century under American tutelage. These were: the Bretton-Woods Agreement of 1944 which led (eventually) to the creation of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund; the creation of the United Nations in 1945; and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. The Bretton-Woods Agreement, recalling the international catastrophe of the Great Depression in the 1930s, set up a global system for regulating international trade based on the United States and European free-market system. The United Nations, following the failure of the League of Nations and the World War that followed, attempted to establish a system for the avoidance of inter-state conflict. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, after the shock of the industrial genocide of the Holocaust, put in place an Anglo-Saxon concept of the right of individuals over and above their community, nation or state. All three events significantly modified the nation-state system, created in Europe by the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648, which gave states - and only states - both the right to wage war and absolute rights over the lives of their citizens. The advancement of transnational human rights was stalled by the Cold War. The record of the UN has been disappointing and its authority has been further undermined by the USA in the lead up to the Iraq war. Outside communist control, however, the internationalisation of free trade and the establishment of an accelerating series of international treaty organisations have, from the beginning, led to a highly successful capitalist global free-market

Libertarianism of the American Revolution (left; Image courtesy: Architect of the Capitol) & the English Industrial Revolution (right)

economic system and a corresponding growth of global industries. So successful, in fact, that non-communist states have had to adapt to global industry, rather than the other way round, and the structural strength of the free-market global economy contributed to the collapse of the Russian Empire in 1989 and has been adopted, with reservations, by China in the last two decades.

primarily by Britain. American domination of the so-called ‘developed’ world after the Second World War, led to decolonisation and the creation of an American-dominated global economic system. This is what we have today except that, as might be expected in a truly free global system, the nationality of the corporations becomes less and less relevant. Nevertheless, the global economic culture continues to be based on the North-Atlantic model. This model is based on the Enlightenment principle that, as Baron d’Holbach said in 1753, “reasonable opinions” must take over and “the vain chimeras of men” must be removed – “inconceivable theology, ridiculous fables, impenetrable mysteries, [and] puerile ceremonies” (Good Sense), in other words, traditions. Reason and rational experiment would allow us to progress to an ever-improving world. Progress would involve change and change would be driven by continual experiment. In the United States, these principles when combined with the liberty of every individual both to innovate and consume, created a highly successful and expanding industrial and capitalist market system. The USA was historically averse to the colonialism that had allowed European markets to expand, and so, once American wealth had overtaken Britain and the other European powers, the USA managed a progressive expansion of its economy through an effective imposition of its free-market system on the rest of the world. Colonialism, which was consciously repressive and racist, was easily dismissed under the new doctrine of Human Rights. American market expansion, however, brought with it a political system which linked the freedom of markets with its own concept of political freedom. As early as 1904, Hugo Munsterburg wrote that

Immanuel Kant & the Philosophical Enlightenment

Leading the way in the new global economy were NorthAtlantic and primarily American corporations. These were the inheritors of the unique combination of rationalist and scientific philosophies - called ‘The Enlightenment’ - in eighteenth-century Europe, the Industrial Revolution and free-market system in Britain, and the libertarianism of the American Revolution. These collectively came to be called simply “modernity”. At first this led to the domination and colonisation of much of the non-industrialised world,

American troops marching into Paris: Post World War II American political & economic domination Tradition and Our Built Environment

29

Symbols of Globalisation

“the duty of America is to extend its political system to every quarter of the globe: other nations will thus be rated according to their ripeness for this system, and the history of the world appear one long and happy education of the human race up to the plane of American conception” (Munsterburg; p. 6). Prophetic words. The usually unstated combination of the free market and American culture is harder to dismiss than colonialism. Accept the undoubted economic benefits of the free market and you tend to get the culture with it.

age, beyond conventional modernity, of similar significance to the Enlightenment itself. Does a completely globalised world lose the momentum of expansion that has driven capitalism forward? Does the recognition that industrial innovation has the imminent potential to destroy the environment, undermine the concept of progress itself ? These and other questions cannot be answered here. All commentators are agreed, however, that we are entering a new age and that, short of a devastating natural catastrophe, globalisation will not go away.

The early start of the USA and its North-Atlantic satellites in the global arena allowed industrial brands from these countries to dominate the global marketplace. Brands such as Coca Cola, McDonalds, Nike and Starbucks have become symbols of globalisation. The effects of this across the world are plain to see. It is summed up by the cultural ecologist Helena Norberg-Hodge. “Western films and products and, more recently, satellite television … all provide overwhelming images of luxury and power … [and] give the impression that everyone in the West is rich, beautiful and brave, and leads a life filled with excitement and glamour. In the commercial mass culture which fuels this illusion, advertisers make it clear that Westernised fashion accessories equal sophistication and ‘cool’ ” (NorbergHodge; p. 195). Or, in the words of Theodore Levitt in the Harvard Business Review in 1983, “everywhere everything gets more and more like everything else as the world’s preference structure is relentlessly homogenised.”

All are also agreed that the flip side of commercial and political globalisation is a growth in localisation. Now that the successful economies of states comes to depend on attracting free-floating global commerce and now that interstate warfare is becoming a thing of the past, as the sociologist Daniel Bell famously put it in the 1980s, “the nation-state has become too small to solve global problems and too large to deal with local ones.” But nation-states and national identity are largely nineteenthand twentieth-century inventions that themselves attempted to homogenise varied communities within their borders. In diminishing the role of the nation-state, globalisation has

The prestige of this system extends to the built environmentthe subject of this book. In the early twentieth century in Europe and then in the United States an architectural style emerged that drew its inspiration from the principles of the Enlightenment. This style, modernism, made an aesthetic out of the symbolic representation of rationality, innovation and anti-traditionalism. It almost completely took over the architectural and planning professions just after the founding events of globalisation. Modernism has joined with other global brands to represent the success of the global free market. Much as the North-Atlantic economic system came to dominate global markets, North-Atlantic modernism has come to dominate global architecture with the same homogenising effects. This economic system is for many the sum total of globalisation – not least anti-globalisation demonstrators. But as Habermas’s list reveals, there is much more to it than this. Opinion is divided as to whether the new globalised world is the logical extension of the Enlightenment or modernity or whether we are, in fact, entering a new, quite different 30

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Homogenised Architecture

as a contrary to the conservatism of, what are called, “traditional societies”. This enquiring, scientific, rational and liberal outlook continues to be the engine of expanding globalisation. Is this not a paradox? Where then does tradition, the old enemy of unrestrained progress, fit into this new world? So successful has been the rational global system that there are very few simply traditional societies left. A society that can rely on tradition as the sole justification for its actions without recourse to any logical reasoning is extremely rare. As Anthony Giddens says, “The end of tradition doesn’t mean that tradition disappears, as the Enlightenment thinkers wanted. On the contrary, it continues to flourish everywhere. But less and less … is it tradition lived in the traditional way. The traditional way means defending traditional activities through their own ritual and symbolism – defending tradition through its internal claims to truth” (Giddens; 2002; p. 43). The last bastion of this level of tradition in any wider social context is religious doctrine, which is either left well alone in any rational debate or takes the extreme form of fundamentalism. Otherwise, wholly

Scottish national costumes: The emergence of micro nations (Image courtesy: Gryphius/Steve)

lifted the lid on local culture and identities. As Jan Aart Scholte points out, “when faced with a seemingly vast, intangible and uncontrollable globality, many people have turned away from the state to their local ‘home’ in hopes of enhancing their possibilities of community and self determination” (Scholte; 2005; p. 189-90). Indeed, in 1991, Larry Chartand identified over 5,000 discrete communities of people - or nations - amongst only 200 states (Chartand; A New Solidarity among Native Peoples). Regionalisation and the re-emergence of micro-nations is a worldwide phenomenon. Examples among a great many include decentralisation in Argentina, the legal primacy of the Catalan language in the Catalan region of Spain, the independence of the central Asian states from the Russian empire, and the 74th Amendment of the Indian constitution. The instruments of global communication television and the internet - are used to reinforce the identity of re-emerging nations. Satellite broadcasts have assisted the survival of the Inuktituk language; the Cree Indians and the European arctic circle Sami both have own-languageentry web sites that act as a community focus. As the linguistic historian Nicholas Ostler says, “every living language is the embodiment of a tradition” and “any human language binds together a community” (Ostler; 2005; p. xix & 7). Indeed, traditions more generally are the collective memory and identity of any community. Many traditions have been released by the decline of the nation-state and nurtured through transnational communication media. And yet, globalisation is based on the power of reason and acceptance of change brought in by the Enlightenment

Tradition meets Progress ( Image courtesy: International Development Research Centre, Canada; Photographer: Djibril Sy)

traditional societies are so rare that any such group would now have its traditions carefully protected as ethnic relics. Tradition is no longer the enemy of reason and progress. Almost everywhere traditions are a discretionary or life-style choice – there’s always an alternative. To quote Giddens again, “traditions only persist in so far as they are made available to discursive justification and are prepared to enter into open dialogue not only with other traditions but with alternative modes of doing things” (Beck; Giddens; Lash; 1994; p. 105). Traditions and their role in social cohesion are a key component in the complex world of the new globality. They are not the self-justifying traditions of the past but rational or reflexive traditions, open to self-criticism, modernity and development. We can and must now examine traditions for what they are worth. We can find things that we cannot support: female circumcision, forced child labour or the suppression of minorities. And we can find a great deal that is of value: a sense of place in a world where we are, according to Homi Bhabha, estranged from “any immediate access to an ordinary identity” (Bhabha; 1994; p. 1-2), the cohesion of a community and settlement of individuals within it, a deposit of accumulated empirical knowledge, or an established methodology for the use of low energy resources. Tradition and Our Built Environment

31

It is notable that one of the last refuges of rabid anti traditionalism is aesthetic modernism. And yet it is precisely here that rationality and free thought have been turned into symbols that are neither rational nor permit free debate. Instead, impractical, unsustainable and unpopular forms are defended with proscription, dogma and slogans. Instead of examining traditions for what they’re worth they’re dismissed as irrelevant and nostalgic. On the contrary, I would suggest that we follow the advice of one of the most notable and respected supporters of globalisation, the economist Jagdish Bhagwati, and understand that “Nostalgia … is used not to bottle up change … but to decide what a society really wants to remember in the context of change and then find ways to do so. That is surely the way to go” (Bhagwati; 2004; p. 113).

References: 1. Saïd, E. (1994), Orientalism, Vintage. 2. Giddens, A. (2002) (2nd edn), Runaway World: How globalisation is reshaping our lives, Profile Books. 3. Albrow, M. (1996), The Global Age, Polity Press. 4. Niezen, Ronald (2004), A World Beyond Difference, Blackwell. 5. Giddens, A. (1991), The Consequences of Modernity, Polity Press. 6. Habermas, J. (2006), The Divided West, Polity Press. 7. Holbach, Baron d’Paul Henri Thiry (first published 1772), Good Sense. 8. Munsterberg, H. (1904), The Americans, McCLure Phillips. 9. Norberg-Hodge, H. (1999), The March of the Monoculture, The Ecologist, Vol 29, No 2, May/June. 10. Scholte, Jan Aart (2005), Globalisation: a critical introduction, Palgrave Macmillan. 11. Chartrand, L., A New Solidarity among Native Peoples, World Press Review. 12. Ostler, N. (2005), Empires of the Word, Harper Collins. 13. Beck, Ulrich; Giddens, Anthony; Lash, Scott (1994), Reflexive Modernization: Politics, Tradition and Aesthetics in the Modern Social Order, Polity Press. 14. Bhabha, H.K. (1994), The Location of Culture, Routledge. 15. Bhagwati, J. (2004), In Defense of Globalization, Oxford University Press.

32

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

New Ways of Looking at Heritage: Processes

Spatial Narratives In Traditional Indian Architecture: An Interpretation For Contemporary Relevance Yatin Pandya Associate Director, Vastu-Shilpa Foundation for Studies and Research in Environmental Design, Ahmedabad India! The land of antiquity. India’s heritage does not confine to historic accounts of the events and objects frozen in their own time and space, but rather as cultural and architectural traditions which have transcended the time and space to remain alive and appropriate even in the present. In India, history stays alive as living traditions. History and tradition both have their roots in the past, but history, for its inadaptability to the changed time and space remains obsolete as fossilized remains of the bygone era. Tradition, on the other hand, consistently adapts and suitably transforms to the changed circumstances. Tradition therefore survives and remains timeless. It survived the past and promises to prevail in future as it rests on collective concurrence, shared values and deep rooted conditioning. The traditions - as living heritage are as much contemporary. Thus, in India we simultaneously live in three time zones. Legacies of the past and aspirations for the future effectively combine with the realities of present. Time, in an Indian psyche, is a cyclic phenomenon. The faith in reincarnations, the cycle of birth-death and rebirth, the unending chain of construction-destruction and reconstruction, all reaffirm the belief in the recurrence of time. Indian notion of “existence” trades also on such dualities. ‘Atman’ (atom) and ‘Brahman’ (universe) are fundamental basis of any existence. The India lives in three time zones schema of dual existence that simultaneously accepts part as a whole and whole as a part speaks of world within a world concept. Each entity is complete in itself at one plane and yet at the other a part of a larger system. A microcosm in cosmos. An aspect of counterpoints is also built into notions of existence. Bipolar existence where opposites reinforce each other. May it be purush and prakriti, light and darkness, solid and void, they are the mutually defining aspects. One shapes the other. That is why apparent extremes coexist in India. As counterpoints they become mutual references and integral part of self-balancing system ensuring the continuum and endurance. Paradoxes prevail here as to an Indian psyche, notions rather than physical realities are more critical. “Space” is a notional phenomenon which shapes and exists by the context.

Space making is a sum total of time and space combination. Space over time is not the same. Similarly time over different space is also not the same. Therefore, having invested in time the space changes. This constant juxtaposition of time over space is the essential premise of Indian Architecture. Movement is the key to its perception. Traditional Indian Architecture is Cyclic Notion of Time the story of movement and pauses where “kinesthetics” of space is fundamental to its experience and perception. Architecture is a celebration of life. Manifestation of an idea, it encodes messages and emotes feelings. Architecture communicates through spatial tools, may they be the space sequences and its organization; elements of space making and their scale and form, or the symbolism of surface articulation. It is this aspect of encoding and decoding that sets in an instantaneous dialogue between the user and the architectural product. The affectivity of the communication depends on the easy comprehension of the encoded messages and their appropriate compliances in built form This communication takes place at three levels: sensorial, experiential and associational. Sensorial perception refers primarily to physiological comforts arising out of physical conditions essentially in response to environmental control. This bodily perception is humanly universal. Also universal is the experiential aspect; however it deals critically with the mind and cradles emotions. The process is spontaneous and reactionary to the nuances of space configuration and its dictates. While, the associational is the locale specific perception requiring pre-conditioning, familiarity or the acquired information base. It creates spiritual bonds and succeeds through in-depth understanding of cultural connotations. The complete communication is through wholesome balance of all the three. Architectural spaces can potentially nourish emotionally and spiritually. A typical Hindu temple best illustrates this phenomenon. In a temple, the sequence of gopurams, series of ascending steps and platforms, rising volumes of domes and shikharas, increasing degree of enclosure and the transition from the semi-open, multi directional pavilions to the uni-directional dark sanctum enclosed by solid walls, all heighten the progression from the corporeal to the spiritual as one progresses from the gopuram to garbhagriha. This sense of transcendence from the worldly, from terrestrial to celestial, is further enhanced by the culmination of the horizontal planes of the platform into a vertical axis through tall pointed shikharas symbolically pointing towards the heavens. In this manner, the elements of a building, its scale, size, volume, degrees of enclosure, levels of illumination as well as motifs and decorations instill, in the observer, ethos appropriate to the place. Transcending time and space, good architecture remains communicative and interactive all the while through its spatial

New Ways of Looking at Heritage: Processes

35

qualities. These spaces possess the qualities to establish rapport with the on-looker and condition its perception, independent of their cultural background. Timeless, ever pervading architecture rely on more fundamental attributes of space-making ranging from approach and movement, scale and proportion, quality of light and shade or the relationship of the built with the unbuilt. Such architecture therefore needs to be understood and interpreted through perceptual and experiential qualities and not by the abstractions of the plan geometry or static compositions of the facade elevations. Dynamics of moving through the space and sensory perception of it is vital to good architecture.

hierarchies and territories in terms of personal and public realms. The conditions of outdoors inherently not remaining same changes consistently making the same space appear different and fresh all the time. This aspect of time over space lends varied meanings to the same space configuration through its conditioning, rendering architecture ever fresh, interactive and timeless. The stepwells of India illustrate the fact. Stepwell - water well with steps is a typology of building unique to western India. Essentially a device to contain water, it exalts to become a socio-religious institution owing largely to its architectural manifestations!

Narratives through Kinesthetic

It is for us to interpret spatial narratives built within the architectural space resolutions in traditional architecture. There are innumerable nuances of built-form by which traditional Indian Architecture manifests moods, communicates messages and remains relevant after these many centuries. Some of these are: (a) non linear organization of spaces through shifting axis of movement which helps gradually unfold spaces and introduce element of surprise (b) the layering of spaces by baffles and thresholds induces an interactive process by building up the curiosity and the implicit sense of discovery (c) the provision of pause points and thresholds help one reorient and reaffirm bearings in space. It provides clues and informed choices for individual preferences and personal pursuits, (d) element of time overlaid over space through increased path of movement and indirect approach, help condition mind and confront same space differently (e) the visual proportioning of spaces and skilful arrangement of elements provide ever-changing frames of visual compositions through perspective effects and their strategic visual alignments while in movement (f) creative use of landscaping elements such as water and vegetation to enhance psychological and metaphoric overtones of the place and function. For example reflection of mosque dome in ablution pond revealed only after bending down for ablution helps remind and condition mind for further goal (g) play of light through integration of unbuilt space become mutual counterpoints helps define space 36

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Narratives through Kinesthetic: Rudabai Stepwell, Adalaj, 1499 AD

One such stepwell is located at Adalaj, formerly on a caravan route from Ahmedabad to Patan, then capital of Gujarat. Built in 1499 AD by Rudabai, wife of Virsimha Vaghela, it is an interesting fusion of Hindu and Islamic architectural styles peculiar to the Sultanate regime in Gujarat which came to be identified as Indo-Saracenic architecture. As a subterranean architecture it provides natural insulation through earth mass, in an otherwise hot dry - desert like climate. These cool platforms become resting spaces for the travellers. For women fetching water they become interactive platforms for socializing. This offered a chance to chat and relieve stresses and thereby transforming a mundane routine in to an enjoyable event. With various other associations such as ‘pataal lok’- journey to water world and fertility - womb of mother earth, these wells also assume the status of a shrine. Spatially, however, the stepwell remains one of the most profound architectural statements. Despite its functional obsolescence of fetching water in today’s context, it continues to inspire visitors even after six centuries. Transcending time and space it has rendered timeless, essentially through its spatial attributes and experience of moving through the same. These experiences are shared trans-culturally by all at a basic human plane without any familiarity with the context or any knowledge of its history. This also makes it universal where communication between

the subject and the onlooker is inherently decipherable. It is the journey, the process of moving through the space which in itself becomes the event. The clues for movement, inherent to the space are revealed sequentially. This gradual unfolding of spaces creates a sense of curiosity within the onlooker and involves him in the process. A dialogue is established between the subject and the onlooker through mutual process of encoding and decoding of messages and thus making the entire process interactive as well as the discovery very personal and intuitive. At Adalaj stepwell, the only visible clue above the ground is the pair of pilasters flanking a wide flight of steps. They become the inviting portal to climb the steps leading to a platform. The plinth platform then leads the descent through the descending steps and retaining side walls.

points, perspective alignments and the resultant visual composition all along its depth. Each step reveals only the next while the subsequent flights of steps and water remain concealed by platforms from the cone of vision. Portals created by trabeated column and beam construction to shore the side walls retaining the earth are key spatial elements. The stone columns and beam provide the visual frames which enhance the sense of depth by providing an intermediate visual reference. With such changing visual frames the descent of five floors brings enface the actual water source. As termination of the journey, steps flank the water on all four sides making

First flight of steps descends to a square platform with an octagonal frame, what would once have been a dome base. This becomes the first point of pause. Surrounded on three sides by the inclined planes of rising steps the node leaves only one side open to approach. This is perpendicular to the axis of previous movement and thus involves a shift in visual as well as movement path. The new axis is marked by series of descending steps and intermittent platform located along the visual axis. Although, a straight linear symmetrical organization of elements along the horizontal axis, the visual references continuously change due to inclined movement (through simultaneous displacement of horizontal and vertical axis) at every step. While the sight lines extend through its entire length, the visual frame- composition of elementsconstantly changes with the changing eye levels, vanishing

Rudabai Stepwell Adalaj, 1499 AD

Rudabai Stepwell, Adalaj, 1499 AD

New Ways of Looking at Heritage: Processes

37

the well the notional centre and the focus which connects vertically up to sky and down to water well. This journey is enriched by the spatial variations emerging through sense of enclosure and intensity of light. The total descent at Adalaj is of five floors. At the first level it begins with ground and sky as the basic references while as one descends further, the walls begin to surface changing the perception of the degree of enclosure. While the first few levels still have reference to sky through skywardly aperture, while the subsequent lower levels become more enclosed with only walls remaining in the cone of vision. The perception of enclosure is further reinforced by the decreasing intensity of light. The brightness of light subdues as one progresses further deeper into space, making the space progressively vertical, cosier and confined. The timelessness is attributed to its freshness offered by the variations of visual frames as well as the integration of light/nature where the sun is the constant variable as it changes position and intensity from morning to evening and from summer to winter. This makes the static object change with changing outdoor conditions through sun.

The variation of visual frames illuminates the varying strengths of sun’s light over time and season. It is to this dynamics we attribute the stepwell’s universality. The journey of descent conditions the mind to an increasing sense of penetration in ground. The experience of introspection is further worked upon by the layer of entablature, carvings and symbols. To a Hindu, step wells have two associations. One of ablution - purificative cleansing in holy water, and the associasion of ‘pataal lok’ one of the three domains of the world, apart from earth and sky. These associations are conjured by the water related motifs recurring in the carved relief. For example at Adalaj the shoring wall edges have plaques depicting water urns. The frieze panel over the beam depicts churning of liquid and the base of the well at water level is carved with the motifs of fish. As against the statuette of Ganesha, to mark the beginning of the journey, is located at the top rim level of the well. These symbols and details function as constant reminders of one’s presence in the water world and create the mood, ambiance and the mental frame such that finally reaching the water is as good as an ablution - a holy dip into the water. Water reflecting the sky and sun/light brings the bi-unity of the extremes, the water and fire, as opposites notionally coexist as counter references. Another association of the stepwell is of fertility - the womb of mother earth. These notions are conjured through plaques depicting goddesses and symbols of feminity. These are still worshipped and their blessings sought by newly weds during nuptial ceremonies. Thus through these notions and conditioning of mind, the well as a utilitarian object gets elevated to a shrine. Nourishing physically as well as spiritually, it communicates beyond its functional and structural dictates. The sum total of the experience is sensorial as well as spiritual. It touches the senses as well as the mind. The meaning is in the journey itself and not necessarily the destination. The destination is not a means in itself, it is rather an excuse.

This article has been extracted by the author of the book titled “Concept of Space in Traditional Indian Architecture” published in 2005 by Mapin Publishing Pvt. Ltd., Ahmedabad.. Graphics: Vastu Shilpa Foundation

Rudabai Stepwell, Adalaj, 1499 AD

38

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Sense Of Identity, Continuity And Context Pranali Parikh Urban Designer, Birmingham, UK INTRODUCTION Mass migration and globalisation have created new cultural geographies in world cities. This paper examines new cityscapes created by Indian people both in India and in Great Britain. It builds up on the premise that the built environment of any place is a result of its community’s sense of identity. People create places to reflect their aspirations and associations. Identity creation is a common feature of human expression. It is a living and constantly evolving process. Though common characteristics and ideas are clear markers of a shared identity, essentially identity is determined by differences from others. The common tendency is either to get away from the identity of one group or to imitate the identity of another. Post freedom India has experienced mass migration of communities between internal regions as well as to abroad. These migrating communities carry with themselves their associations of home, familiarity and comfort. Migration from villages to cities, from old cities to suburbia is as significant as migration from one state to another state or to another country. Increasingly, contemporary Indian cities are moving away from anything that is vaguely traditional in the blind dash towards their own interpretation of the western world. But the opposite phenomena is observed when new generation of Indians move to the US or the UK. It is noticed that Indian settlers transfer their own particular conceptualisations of space, built forms and functional requirements to the new context, modifying the local urban forms to their own designs. This essay identifies the differences in the two apparently opposite scenario- one of a contemporary urban city in India, devoid of any local context; and the other of a contemporary ‘multicultural’ city in Britain where cultural expression of ethnic Indian community are found to be in denial of local character. The only thing these opposite situations have in common is the urge of a group of people to seek their own identity. Though contradictory in their approaches, both scenarios produce a spatial expression that well reflects their aspirations and roots. Studying these differences leads us to an understanding of the root of the process that may help us to find a solution for the ‘appropriateness’ of cultural expression. The question of identity is really something you can rhapsodise over and turn inside out, but I think we should look at it with a different perspective- this essay tries to answer three questions: What is identity? How it is continued beyond time and boundaries? How does it change with context? Or does it not? CITY AND CULTURAL IDENTITY During the last few decades, many bodies of scholarly knowledge have developed to account for two fundamental forces shaping contemporary human society: urbanization and nationalism. Both these are global phenomena and no

society is unaffected by them. Nationalistic fundamentalism is on the rise in India as well as in Britain. Debates on identity recur continually on many subjects- dress, behaviour, art, dance, culture, etc.- and tend to be divisive rather than ‘adhesive’ or persuasive. This article focuses on cultural identity expressed through architecture rather than a search for national identity. In recent years a new wave of multiculturalism has begun to dominate scholarship on cities, increasingly incorporating issues of economic and cultural globalisation as well as the ever-quickening movement of capital and immigrants as key factors in understanding the urban regions of today. Most of the cities we live in are not manifestations of an idea like other spatial products such as three-dimensional architectural space or two-dimensional paintings. Like architecture, they are not created by a particular designer or for a people living in one time. A city is a product of the constant contribution of many unknown designers over a long period of time to suit to the needs and aspirations of a multitude of people who vary in skills, nature, behaviour and so on. A city is a continuously evolving, transforming, multidimensional living organism, which is essentially polymorphous in nature. As Shakespeare quoted: ‘What is the Citie, but the People? True, the People are the Citie.’ The city is where communities tend to congregate and generate intellectual, political, and economic elites. The city often plays host to key symbolic and cultural resources. Yiftachel and Haim Yacobi (2001) state that conflicts between ethnoclasses regularly occur on urban turf, with major consequences for the shaping of nations and states. The production of urban habitat has played a key role in moulding spatio-political relations between ethnic groups. The city interacts with its citizens by providing a memorable setting for enacting the episodes of life. It lives in the memories of its inhabitants by becoming an interactive stage for innumerable performances of life that are sighted, cited and recited in the form of ceremonies, rites, festivals and celebrations. Cities offer their people an identity, an image, a memory, a point of reference, a symbol. In return people, by shaping the parts of the city, create an identity for the city itself. Each city is distinct in character due to the people living in it. Identity formation is a universal feature of human expression. Attaching values and meanings to existence via cultural practices is a common behavioural pattern in migrant communities. The forms and objects to which we are attached help to define who we are, who we were and who we want to become. These meanings are likely to be especially relevant to those undergoing identity transitions, such as immigrant communities. Reconstruction of familiar forms play an important role in the reconstruction of immigrant identity. Belk (1988) stated that the role of possessions in constructing and preserving identity is powerful and persuasive. THE INDIAN MIGRANT COMMUNITY IN BRITAIN I examine this process of identity creation by comparing the favourite architectural expressions of Indians in India and Indians who immigrated outside. Britain is and has always been a mixed race society. Early in its history it was invaded by Roman, Saxon, Viking and New Ways of Looking at Heritage: Processes

39

Norman armies. Later, Africans were brought to Britain by force in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries as slaves or servants. Over the years, hundreds of thousands of people have arrived in Britain as refugees from France, Ireland, Russia, and other countries, escaping from persecution or famine in their own countries. There was a more recent influx in the 1950s and 1960s from the Caribbean, India, Pakistan, Hong Kong and other places. About 8% of the population of Britain today are people from other cultures and ethnicities; it is a rich tapestry of diverse cultures. People moving to Britain have brought their own cultures with them and try to keep two cultures alive. Globally almost all communities who are migrants have the desire to maintain their cultural heritage. From the combination of acclimatising to the new environment and adapting it to suit the peculiar cultural needs emerges a unique identity. All the migrant communities have created their distinct marks on the national identity of Britain. The living environments and settlement patterns reflect the nature of society, interpersonal relations in the community, belief systems and behavioural patterns. Acute observations on the adaptations and alterations of house layouts, decoration, treatment of architectural elements, open spaces and so on and so forth can offer clues to new developments. This essay concentrates on the architectural patterns of Gujarati and Sikh communities in the UK.

Political unrest in these countries during the 1960s, made them migrate from there. The main Gujarati centres in the UK are Leicester, Wembley in London, and the cotton towns of North west such as Preston and Bolton. Punjabi Hindus and Sikhs also have a significant presence in the UK. Sikhs began to come into Britain in the 1950s and 60s due to the rise of militant groups and terrorism in Punjab. At first it was only the men that arrived in the country. They found employment in factories and services which helped alleviate the labour shortage in Britain. After saving money and working in the country for many years, they called their families from Punjab. Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Coventry and Southall in London are the main congregation points for the half million Sikh population in the UK. CASE STUDIES Gujarat Hindu Society Mandir, Preston The GHS building was officially opened on the 25th August 1975 with the installation of Lord Krishna’s shrine in the prayer hall. At this time the Centre was only the third building in the UK with dedicated facilities for Hindu prayer. This fact attracted 3000 people from all over the UK to attend the opening ceremony, which took place over two days. The building was actually the home of one of the members who allowed one of the rooms in the house to be used for the purposes of meetings and receiving correspondence. This is quite a creative example of combining local architecture and elements of a traditional Hindu temple. This very modest expression of Hindu identity, well woven into the local fabric, is a very good example of adapting local buildings to create a distinct identity without being ‘loud’ or creating conflict. Swaminarayan Mandir, Neasden BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir is the first Hindu Mandir in Europe built in classical tradition of Hindu architecture, distinct from converted secular buildings. The Mandir is the focal point of the complex. Designed according to the ancient Indian Sthapatya-Shastra, it is made from Indian marble, 2,000 tonnes of Italian Carrara marble and 2,820 tones of Bulgarian limestone. The stone was shipped to India where it was hand-carved by over 1,500 craftsmen. Each individually numbered piece was then shipped back to London and the building was assembled like a giant three dimensional jigsaw. The temple site was previously occupied by a large warehouse. The temple’s congregation first had their temple in a disused chapel, then in a warehouse, and then they built this temple.

The BBC news website states that most people in Wembley today were born abroad - 52% to be precise, more than anywhere else in Britain. The majority of them are Gujaratis. Almost a third of the population of Leicester consists of ethnic minorities. Again a major group among them is Gujaratis. While most of the Gujaratis are Hindus, there is a significant Gujarati Muslim presence as well. The peculiarity of this minority group is that the majority of them have come to this country via Africa. Their forefathers had settled in African countries such as Fiji, Uganda, Tanzania, or Kenya. 40

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

In contrast to the previous example, this temple by the same community is a bold statement of the strong Gujarati economy in the UK today. It really is a landmark structure, fantastically detailed and beautifully proportioned. It is an achievement of project management and of imitation of design. A lot of effort has been put into copying carving details from Gujarati stone and wood carving tradition, to the last detail. However, there has been severe neglect in contributions to local character, using local craftsmanship and materials, and the local economy. This structure could be standing anywhere in the world and would still speak of Gujarati identity. But what about the identity of Gujaratis living in UK? Being part of the both worlds myself, I know that Gujaratis in the UK do not have the same identity as

The Neasden Temple showing painstakinly executed carving details imitating the temple style of medieval Gujarat

purely for the purpose of worship by the Sikh Community in the United Kingdom. The Sikh community from Birmingham first began holding religious services in a Primary School at Brasshouse Lane, Smethwick, Birmingham in 1958. This led to larger and larger congregations of Sikh worshippers and the need arose to acquire more suitable premises for the Gurdwara.

Plan showing Neasden temple and the surrounding residential areas in peripheral urban blocks

Gujaratis in Gujarat itself. In an effort to create a replica of a structure back in Gujarat, a 50 year time span, from the time when these people left India until today, has been wiped out. Gurdwara, Smethwick Described on their website as ‘Europe’s First and Biggest Sikh Temple’, this Gurdwara is the first Gurdwara, in the history of UK and Europe, to be purchased and used

(Above & Below) Images of the Gurudwara on the Smethwick High Street display the attitude to respect the surrounding architecture

New Ways of Looking at Heritage: Processes

41

A church building in the High Street in Smethwick was purchased. The present Gurdwara premises is still at the old church site but was rebuilt recently to gleam majestically. Being the highest structure in a large area of comparatively low rise buildings, it provides a visible landmark. However, this early example of converting unused buildings for community purpose, with a pronounced Sikh identity, is modest in comparison with the other Sikh gurdwara in the same city. Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewark Jatha and Guru Ravidas Bhavan Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewark Jatha on Soho road in Birmingham was converted from a Polish ex-servicemen’s

club to a gurdwara in 1978. Adjacent residential property was acquired along with land to the rear, allowing the construction of considerable extensions accommodating educational and social functions. In the early 1990s the exterior was remodelled to add a grand entrance surmounted by a dome and other ornamental features. Today, spread over an entire street block, the Soho Road gurdwara is an imposing landmark in the urban landscape. Inspired by the Golden Temple of Amritsar, the structure suffers from lack of good craftsmanship. No consideration is given to the surrounding modest brick architecture of the industrial era and no respect is paid to local flavour either in selection of material or finishes.

Architecture of Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewa Jatha ignoring the local context

Guru Ravidas Bhavan creates a landmark on the Soho road due to its scale and form

Victorian architecture on the streets around Soho road

42

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

ANALYSIS All these four examples are representative of religious architecture created by Non-Resident Indians (NRI) in Britain. Religious buildings are more expressive of the identity of a people than any other buildings. Most religious buildings belonging to ethnic Indian communities are conversions from derelict or under-used churches, warehouses or residential buildings. Combining more than two blocks together to create a large scale structure is found to be common in such developments. Nasser (2003) noted that the conscious act of remodelling elevations with ornamental features and decorative motifs has been a major development in the metamorphosis of the British urban landscape as a means of redefining the presence of the other. Jharokha, deorhi, carved niches, arches, chhatri and kalasha are some of the elements of a classical Hindu temple or a Sikh gurdwara that are repeated in various combinations to create an assemblage that gives an association with a stone temple somewhere back home. The elaborate structures lack traditional English subtlety of expression; on the contrary, they employ a stylistic vocabulary inspired by the Indian subcontinent and they over-communicate Sikh or Hindu identity in the area. All these examples show an effort to create a distinct identity for the community. The imposing architecture is trying to replicate the architecture in the home country of the migrant community. Magnificent structures though they are in themselves, how contextual their forms are is the question I want to raise. Onion domes, white marble or carved shikhara symbolise everything the community has left behind. This tendency to cling to cliché forms via superficial imitations is quite common in other migrant

groups as well. An interesting point to note is that the very forms of expression that are so dear to the immigrant Indians outside India, are being forgotten or replaced by so-called aspirational western forms in India itself. Highly regular and well differentiated layouts of industrial urban landscapes, with distinct collective identities are slowly being replaced by architectural forms that are somewhat strange and unfamiliar in the British context. Tolerance in the name of multi-culturalism is encouraged by the government. In the 50s and 60s, at the time of major migrant inflow, the planning laws were more strict and restrictive. Migrant communities were given industrial estates in or near the town centres within which to establish themselves. The change in the economy and the political scene, as well as the success of the Indian migrant community in establishing small businesses, changed the fate of these estates for ever. These communities made the most of the liberalisation of the planning system and the trend of investment in city centres. Another thing that was changing drastically was social status. Most migrants had come to Britain as labourers as, at that time, it was hard to find work in India that paid well. Most of them didn’t belong to a privileged crust of society. After being in Britain for some time, they could feel the wheel turning. Now not only were they well off, they were socially recognised and respected for their NRI status back home as well. The new found wealth, changing social status and heightened sense of establishment became expressed in the aspirational architecture of religious buildings. Change in planning laws made it easier for ethnic minority communities to express themselves boldly in architecture, and their bold expressions have permanently changed the

New shopping mall outside the medieval city walls of Ahmedabad and their aspirational ‘western’ architecture

One of the 12 gates in the medieval city wall surroundingthe old city of Ahmedabad (left) and the traditional ‘Pol’ architecture inside (right) New Ways of Looking at Heritage: Processes

43

British urban landscape. Melton Road in Leicester, Ealing Road in Wembley and Soho Road in Birmingham have taken form of medieval shopping streets in a small Gujarati town. Diwali, Navratri and Baisakhi celebrations add colour to the streets and British urban life. A reverse phenomena is observed in the urban centres of India today. When Indians outside India are busy building temples and gurdwara, India is being flooded by multiplexes and shopping malls. Traditional markets are being replaced quickly by the mall culture. The example of a mall just outside the fort wall of the medieval city of Ahmedabad tells the full story. Highly westernized architectural form reflects the aspirations of the contemporary Indians. The historic setting or vernacular of the slums outside its flashing gates is not taken into account in architectural style or scale. Are these traditional markets lost forever? May be not. They are being brought back to life outside India by the migrant community. Traditional market streets are being reborn in the middle of industrial England. Streets in the ‘Asian’ areas of Birmingham are replicating the long lost native market streets in small towns of India, Pakistan or Bangladesh in an effort by the immigrant Asian community to keep the spirit of the market alive, across the seven seas. This role reversal can be attributed to the basic urge of human nature- chasing what we do not have. It’s a reflection

of the lack of ‘sense of pride’ in what we have. It’s the celebration of ‘Inheritance of Loss’. Another noticeable difference in the eastern and western expressions of identity in architecture is apparent in the design of streets. During my undergraduate dissertation I noticed a common phenomenon in Indian cities that could be true for any medieval middle-eastern or Asian city. I named it ‘individual identity within collective conformity’. I observed that in the old cities of Jaipur, Jaisalmer or Ahmedabad, each house was different from the others in the street. Similar but distinctly different. I attributed it to the nature of Hinduism that has influenced the Indian psyche for a millennia. Hinduism, being polytheistic, tends to offer as many different ways of salvation as there are individuals who seek it. This attitude nurtures multiple expressions. But this argument didn’t sound convincing as it failed to explain the apparent dichotomy between collective conformity and individual identity. On my first visit to the UK, the first thing I noticed about the cities was the fact that all the houses looked exactly the same as the others in the street, with minimum individual expression. One of the reasons for that is that Europeans have been experimenting with the principles of city planning and urban design for a long time. The design of a city as one congruous whole has been at the heart of the city builders’ vision. Planning laws are directed towards preserving the character of a city as a whole, its distinct quarters as well as its streets. Individual buildings are treated as part of something larger and radical deviation

Traditional markets in the old city of Ahmedabad

Shops on the ‘Asian’ streets of Birmingham Shops on the ‘Asian’ streets of Birmingham

44

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

from the fabric around is not tolerated. Such architecture displays fewer contradictions, lots of subtle variations and a dominating harmony.

effort. To grasp the architecture of cultures that are distant, historically or geographically, is to begin to understand those cultures.

I think this contrast of expression in eastern and western ways can be related to the common human tendency of expressing the aspirations of the people. Mehta and Belk (1991) note that “the western possessive individualism thought to underlie American and European concepts of self is notably absent in India.” Western thought, mainly based on individualism, stands in stark contrast from that of Eastern or Asian ‘mob mentality’. To the eastern mind, the faith, sect, community or family is structured in a hierarchical order and an individual is expected to follow the norms of one of the groups in order to belong to it. Membership of these groups is above the recognition of individual self. The suppressed eastern self finds its expression in being different from the others; architecture is an expression of individualism. In the western world, strongly individualistic, there is nevertheless a strong yearning for communal spirit and group identity, expressed architecturally through the creation of a harmonious whole. This difference in attitude provides a context in which to examine the relevance of expression of identity.

When one culture doesn’t consider imported elements ‘other’, or ‘alien’ or ‘threatening’, both foreign cultural elements and those produced locally are seen as equal contributions to a common goal. In this case, the local context is not really considered defective or uninteresting, but is expected to reach beyond its local identity. This phenomenon is observed throughout history in all parts of the world, particularly, in the case of India where many invading cultures brought in their unique influences and became assimilated into an indigenous Indianness. Sometimes a cultural practice may acknowledge that it lacks the necessary components for renewing itself, for adapting to a changing social context. When for various economic or political reasons, it starts losing a sense of pride in its own history and existence, it turns to other foreign cultures for inspiration and imports cultural elements from them. This situation is prevalent in India today. Again, here, I am not stating that looking towards other cultures and adapting their elements is wrong, However, I definitely want to

The mural on the wall opposite the Gurdwara on the Smethwick High Street sums up the ideal streetscape of a multi-cultural city in today’s Britain.

CONCLUSION Design is a culturally responsive and a participatory process. Historically, cultural practices are inherited as traditions that are reinforced through institutions such as the family, places of worship, work environments, housing, neighbourhoods and even cities. These practices are also socially mediated and negotiated through interpersonal relationships between individuals and groups. The identity of a community crosses borders with its members, gets modified according to the new context and in the process, over time loses its relevance. I believe that strong cultural expression leads to the creation of ghettos, making other communities apprehensive about a community. Striking a balance between cultural expression and traditional local character is the key to achieving a comprehensive, all-encompassing solution. Every culture is continually forced to determine its position toward outside influences in order to preserve or redefine its own identity. The threatening intrusion of a foreign culture is often characterized as an ‘invasion’. This ‘colonization’ is a threat to the host society. When this sense of threat is born out of a frustrated feeling of superiority, it generally leads to partiality and reactions of hatred. My view is that, this is exactly what is happening in most western cities which have significant migrant communities. Hardy (2003) wrote that the world’s cultural heritage belongs to all of us. Things that appear alien can become part of you if you make the

raise questions about the way it is happening. Adopting alien features is one thing, modifying them to suit our own requirements is another and imitating blindly without understanding is a different thing altogether. That is as much an injustice to the ‘donor’ culture as it is disrespect to the ‘borrower’. Continuity and change are the major factors which drive the process of creation and expression of identity. But again, the idea of continuity and change is quite subjective. Sometimes something seems to be changing but actually, at the core, remains the same. For example, Indian people’s wish to express themselves individually has been in existence from ancient times up to the present day. Sometimes, something seems to be continuing but is actually losing its essence, continuity being only skin deep and not reaching the soul. For example, in religious architecture of Indians in the UK, the great Indian architectural tradition is reduced to motifs, symbols and pastiche patchwork. After saying all this, I do agree with the idea that adventurous change is always better than suppressive continuity. Fear of losing something can never be allowed to overpower the joy of creating something new. I see meaning in the lonely temple shikhara in the middle of industrial England as much as I see hope in south facing glass walls in Ahmedabad. If we allow ourselves to learn from the mistakes we make today, cities of tomorrow will seem habitable and the places of joy. Continuity of identity is as important as its meaningful

New Ways of Looking at Heritage: Processes

45

manifestation. On that positive note, I end with a quote from ‘Tradition and the Individual Talent’ by T.S.Eliot: “Yet if the only form of tradition, of handing down, consisted in following the ways of the immediate generation before us in a blind or timid adherence to its successes, ‘tradition’ should be positively be discouraged. We have seen many such simple currents soon lost in the sand; and novelty is better than repetition. Tradition is a matter of much wider significance. It cannot be inherited, and if you want it you must obtain it by great labour. It involves, in the first place, the historical sense, which we may call nearly indispensable to anyone who would continue to be a poet beyond his twenty-fifth year; the historical sense compels a man to write not merely with his own generation in his bones, but with a feeling that the whole of the literature of Europe from Homer and within it the whole of the literature of his own country has a simultaneous existence and composes a simultaneous order. This historical sense, which is a sense of the timeless as well as of the temporal and of the timeless and of the temporal together, is what makes a writer traditional. And it is at the same time what makes a writer more acutely conscious of his place in time, of his own contemporaneity.”

References: 1. Fishman, Joshua A. (1973), Language and Nationalism: Two Integrative Essays, Rowley, MA: Newbury House. Gellner, Ernest (1983), Nations and Nationalism, Oxford: Basil Blackwell. 2. Sinha-Jordan, Sumita, Can Diversity make a Difference?, GBER Vol. 2, No. 1, p. 15-18 3. Hardy, Adam (2003), Multi-culturalArchitecture, gber (Global Built Environment Review) Volume 2 Issue 3 4. Mehta, Raj; Belk, Russell W. (1991), Artifacts, identity, and transition: Favorite possessions of Indians and Indian immigrants to the United States, Journal of Consumer Research, 1991 Mar, v17 (n4), p. 398-411 5. Miller, Barbara D. (1995), Precepts and practices: Researching identity formation among Indian Hindu adolescents in the United States, In Cultural practices as contexts for development. New directions for child development, No. 67.; Jacqueline J. Goodnow, et al., eds.. Jossey-Bass Inc, Publishers, San Francisco, CA, p. 71-85. 6. Nair, Savita (Fall 1995), Masala in the Melting Pot: History, Identity and the Indian Diaspora SAGAR: South Asia Graduate Research Journal, v2:2 7. Nasser Noha (2003), South Asian Ethnoscapes: the Changing Cultural Landscapes of British Cities, gber (Global Built Environment Review), Volume 2, Issue 3 8. Puar, Jasbir K. (1995), Re-situating Discourses of “Whiteness” and “Asianness” in Northern England: Second Generation Sikh Women and Constructions of Identity, Socialist Review; 24, 1-2, p. 21-53 9. Yiftachel Oren, Haim Yacobu (2001). Urban Ethnocracy: Ethnicization and the production of space in an Israeli ‘mixed city’, Environment and Planning D: Society and Space 21(6), p. 673–693

46

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Websites: 1. http://www.gngsmethwick.com/ 2. http://www.mandir.org/ 3. http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php?title=Guru_ Nanak_NSJ%2C_Soho_Road%2C_Birmingham

Cultural Heritage As A Driver For Integrated Development In Punjab: The Case Of Nabha

implemental role is assumed by a development agency, that steers the initiative through consultation with state-marketcivil society, it is argued, is most conducive towards the sustainability of the development initiative.

Yaaminey Mubayi The Nabha Foundation, New Delhi

EXPLORING THE SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL SETTING: THE CASE OF PUNJAB

Gurmeet S. Rai Cultural Resource Conservation Initiative, New Delhi

Punjab is a state of complex contradictions. Behind the veneer of a thriving economy, high-income conspicuous consumption and affluent lifestyle indicators, lies the dark reality of perilous macro-economic figures, environmental disaster, alarming unemployment, “missing women” and widespread drug abuse. The proverbial self-sufficiency and resourcefulness of the people, once the subject of hyperbole, is now in the way of their acquiring their share of investment, both social, in terms of development aid, as well as financial and commercial.

“Culture is more than just a jewel in the crown of development… UNESCO defends the case of the indivisibility of culture and development, understood not simply in terms of economic growth, but also as a means of achieving a satisfactory intellectual, emotional, moral and spiritual existence. This development may be defined as that set of capacities that allows groups, communities and nations to define their futures in an integrated manner.” --The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization The last century saw a substantial shift in the paradigm of development, from a technology-centric model evolved as a result of western industrial advancements, to a more holistic view taking into account the multi-faceted needs of Globalization. The end of the Welfare State following the oil crisis of the 1980s led to a series of structural adjustments in fiscal economies initiated by the IMF-World Bank. This had disastrous results in countries which did not have the financial capital reserves to withstand the pressures of unemployment and privatization, notably the Third World countries. It soon became apparent that for these countries to survive and participate in the global economy, alternative perspectives of what constitutes ‘wealth’, ‘well-being’ and ‘development’ need to be recognized. Amartya Sen’s work, particularly his theory of individual freedom as forming the core of the state of wellbeing, is seminal to the comprehensive analysis of the i globalised economy . Individual freedom as a means to poverty alleviation is one such fundamental approach to understanding the demands of economic development in the 21st century. Approaching the state, the market and civil society from an integrated perspective, Sen’s theory states that the quality of life should be measured not by quantum of wealth, but by the individual’s freedom to choose its application to develop his/her well-being. This highlights the multi-dimensionality of ‘development’, rescuing it from a linear trajectory. It brings into the spotlight the importance of difference, of which Culture is the prime signifier. The following paper seeks to explore the potential role of cultural heritage in evolving a framework for development in the north Indian state of Punjab. India as a whole, is rich in tangible and intangible cultural heritage. Built heritage is a ubiquitous form in our urban and rural landscapes. Issues of identity, values, attitudes and aspirations are expressions of our intangible culture. Thus any development paradigm must engage with these fundamental values in order to be appropriate and sustainable over the long term. The argument negotiates between the three primary sectors of the state, the private sector and civil society and presents a case for an integrated approach involving the participation of multiple stakeholders. Such an approach, in which an (i) Sen, Amartya (2000), Development as Freedom, Anchor Books, New York

ii

Punjab is regarded as one of India’s most advanced states. Being the cradle of the Green Revolution, it acquired a very high growth rate between the mid-60s and the 80s, recording an annual compound growth rate of 8.4% against a national average of 4% in the late 60s. Ranking first in per capita income in 1964-65, by the 70s, Punjab was a role model of development for the other states. It was displaced by Maharashtra in 1993-94, and as a result of the Insurgency, there was a slowing down of development, the growth rate having fallen to 3.58% against the national figure of 5.91% in 1998-99. The primary sector of Punjab’s economy is agriculture and livestock, which comprise more than 40% of the gross state domestic product. This sector has shown a decline in growth since the 1970s, leading to stagnation. This sector employs the largest share of the workforce, more than 50%, a factor that has remained constant and not shown a healthy shift into the secondary and tertiary sectors, which have a higher income potential. This indicates that a large number of people are trapped in agriculture and need to be shifted to other sectors. The state cannot therefore, be said to be industrially advanced since the share of the industrial sector is less than 20% of the economy. Unemployment rates are high in Punjab: in the rural sector 2.6% as against the national average of 1.9%. Urban areas are only marginally better off. The unemployment is primarily amongst the educated youth, indicating that nearly 20% of the age group between 15-35 years is unemployed. There is also a high degree of underemployment, particularly because of increased mechanization in agriculture. The Work Participation Rate amongst females is an abysmal 17%, much lower than the least developed states. This is compounded by an adverse sex ratio and gender indicators, making Punjab notoriously unfavourable in terms of gender development. This indicates a potential crisis in the social and cultural environment as well. In addition, there is over-exploitation of ground water and the land due to over-dependence on agriculture, the wheatpaddy cash-cropping cycle being the most destructive. The current pattern of agriculture is thus non-sustainable, both demographically/socially, as well as environmentally. A large scale increase in government as well as private investment is necessary to pull Punjab out of its downward spiral. The state government, while acknowledging its responsibility to (ii) UNDP, Delhi (2004),Punjab Human Development Report New Ways of Looking at Heritage: Processes

47

the socially and economically disadvantaged sectors, cannot overlook its role in creating a favourable environment for the growth of the private sector, which can provide opportunities and employment on the required scale. The state needs a massive increase in infrastructure, both urban and rural, which can come about through a combination of government and private sectors. SUSTAINABLE TOURISM POTENTIAL FOR GROWTH

DEVELOPMENT:

Tourism development, involving the mobilization of multiple sectors ranging across heritage, livelihoods, urban and rural infrastructure and the environment, has long held the potential to be a key economic driver. The Charter for Sustainable Tourism (International Conference on Sustainable Tourism, Lanzarote, 2003) affirms the “need to develop a tourism that meets economic expectations and environmental requirements, and respects not only the social and physical structure of destinations, but also the local population.” The tourism industry worldwide is a global giant, second only to the oil industry. According to World Tourism Organization, international tourist movement generates an average of US $ 500 billion, which is expected to double over the next decade. Thus, tourism can be harnessed as a significant force for poverty alleviation, the protection of traditional cultures through participatory management, employment generation as well as foreign exchange earning. This has important ramifications for the developing world, as the last decade of the 20th century saw a growth of 154% in the export value of tourism. Tourism is one of the major contributors to the Indian economy as well, and is envisaged to experience a growth spurt within the next decade. In order for heritage sites to be ‘marketed’ from a tourism perspective, it is essential to have in place a management structure that is rooted in local development and is sustainable. The first principle of the International Cultural Tourism Charter (ICTC) adopted by ICOMOS in October 1999, states that “ Since domestic and international tourism is among the foremost vehicles for cultural exchange, conservation should provide responsible and well-managed opportunities for members of the host community and visitors to experience and understand the community’s heritage and culture at first hand.” SUSTAINABLE TOURISM AS A DRIVER FOR DEVELOPMENT: A CASE FOR CULTURAL HERITAGE Heritage as a thematic area also expresses the peculiar contradictions inherent in the society and culture of Punjab. While there is a conspicuous lack of monumental built structures, there is a multiplicity of sacred buildings, Hindu, Muslim and Christian, in towns and the countryside. Apart from the famous pilgrim centre at Amritsar, there are few massive and ancient temples and shrines of national consequence. Yet there is no dearth of “little heritage”, rural and urban temples, forts and palaces of tremendous local value. The fierce independence and sense of individualism displayed by the populace is offset by their strong links of loyalty and attachment to their past, be it feudal identity or ties with their land. These are the particular paradoxes of a frontier land, where the key to deciphering the significance of the tangible heritage lies in the intangible, in the values and aspirations of the people. 48

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

In the state of Punjab, with its complex development issues such as a high per capita income yet a stagnant economy and alarmingly low gender and human development indicators, sustainable tourism development with cultural heritage as its focus could well be the key for revitalizing the society and economy at a level that is deep, holistic and sustainable. For instance, the State Govt of Punjab proposes to evolve and implement a programme for sustainable tourism development through two important cultural and symbolic rubrics: the Freedom Struggle and the notion of Pilgrimage. The two encapsulate the most significant values and aspirations of the people of Punjab, and are inextricably linked across history by a common thread. They represent a cultural ethos that celebrates the freedom of the spirit and the fight for human dignity. Thus we see that culture and its manifestations are a living and vital part of a community’s consciousness, and can play an important role in the contemporary development of the region. CULTURAL MODELS

HERITAGE

MANAGEMENT

The following arguments illustrate various approaches adopted for the conservation and management of cultural heritage in India. The issue of sustainability is examined both from the perspective of the built heritage/site as well as its stakeholders, those who have an interest in its continued existence. The argument focuses on a particular model where multiple stakeholders’ interests coalesce to bring forth a sustainable paradigm for growth, wherein the interests of heritage dovetail with the interests of the community and the region. Scenario 1: The State Model The first scenario looks at heritage conservation as a predominantly state-sponsored and state-managed activity. This is where the inception, implementation and management are undertaken by the state, and the communities, those people who physically inhabit the space in and around the site, lack a sense of ownership. For example in India, the Archaeological Survey of India is an agency of the Central Government that possesses the mandate to conserve and preserve built heritage, and all the historical monuments under it are owned and managed by the state. The national legal instrument governing the ASI and its functioning is the Ancient Monuments Act of 1958, which functions in conjunction with a number of specific State laws as well as the State departments of Archaeology. As we are all aware, all such properties protected under such laws, whether national or state, are cordoned off, with a fixed boundary and a blue board outside. The local communities or the public at large visit such sites to admire them like artifacts. They do not participate in their management, and, specifically, derive no share of revenues generated by them through tourism and other activities. Scenario 2: Non-governmental initiative The second scenario is one of non governmental, multiple agency collaboration to carry out heritage management. This is where we began our work as conservationists where we work on historic buildings that are not under the ambit of the ASI. An example can be made of a small Krishna temple in Punjab that was restored under a UNESCO/UNDP initiative

iii

in 1999 . This was a site exemplifying the ‘little heritage’ of Punjab, an 18th century historic building situated in a village whose community functioned as caretakers through a multiplicity of linkages with the site, links that were not based on any statutory mechanisms.

of detailed public consultation. Owing to the multiple stakeholders and the number of technical teams involved there was a lot of transparency in the system in terms what was studied, produced and implemented. This multiplicity reinforced the accountability structure.

This was a small temple in a rural community of village Kishankot, with a population of about 600 people. The initial project brief consisted of the restoration of the temple building and its beautiful wall paintings, over 3000 sq. feet of mural of the Pahari school. Once the work began, however, it was soon apparent that this was not a simple process. There was a whole community structure to be dealt with, a caste hierarchy that needed to be understood, the political affiliations within the rural landscape of Punjab. Cultural heritage was an extremely contested space – this was a clear message. Thus, for the sustainability of the initiative, people had to be brought onto a common platform, and this comprised the work culture and principles of labour, or ‘seva’ as it is termed in local parlance.

THE NABHA QUILA PROJECT We now arrive at the Nabha Quila, an 18th century building situated in a small town in the Punjab countryside, and a site that is unprotected by state legislation and is in an advanced stage of dilapidation. The lessons learnt from the above scenarios clearly indicate that heritage conservation initiatives require a management structure for sustainability. However, apart from monumental sites that are directly under management of the state, and where stakeholders are held in situations of accountability through statutory mechanisms, for non-protected sites like Kishankot, a credible and accountable structure is extremely difficult to generate and sustain.

What was learnt was that the base of conservation work had to be different from what the market dictated it had to be, and sensitive to the comfort level of the community. As opposed to an external monitoring system it was important for the project implementors to self evaluate the project at every step. Flexibility of the programme and its targets was essential. For instance, when the conservation and revitalization of the water tank was conceptualized, the initial targets and terms had to be completely reworked during implementation. It was a learning experience for all agencies and personnel involved. However, the problem with this initiative lay in the NGO style of working, wherein the project remained a oneoff event. It lacked the scale and the public accountability structures that are a given in a government initiative, for instance. The project was conceptualized, implemented, monitored and evaluated but ultimately there was no public accountability for the structures and activities. Scenario 3: State partnership with a professional agency The third scenario is one where the state works together with a technical agency for heritage conservation and management. For example, in the case of the Red Fort in Delhi, this is a high-profile site with a huge tourist focus and is a national symbol for the country. It is protected by the ASI, which collaborated with a technical agency in the preparation of its Comprehensive Conservation Management Plan. This was a transparent and public process, monitored by the Supreme Court through an Expert Committee appointed for the purpose. The site was very definitely in the public eye, with considerable media attention focused on it. There were multiple stakeholders, ranging from the numerous departments of the ASI as well as security and other agencies located in its premises. There was a large public interaction, with a historic market within the compound as well as the context of the Walled City of Shahjahanabad. The tourist element added a complex dimension to the project. Thus, the systems and plans recommended were initially generated by technical agencies of repute, and thereafter vetted through a process (iii) “Cultural Heritage and the Promotion of Understanding in the Punjab, India”, part of the UNESCO Culture of Peace Programme for the year 2000. This project won the UNESCO Asia Pacific Award in 2001.

The Nabha Quila (Credit: Sanjit Das) The Nabha project is different from the aforementioned three scenarios, in that there is the catalytic presence of a privately-funded development agency that has initiated the project. The effort here is to guide the conservation process in such a way that the private sector and the government both are involved and a process is set in place that can be replicated in other areas. In the absence of protection of the site through legislation, the development agency has attempted to create the appropriate dynamic through interaction with the government, that will eventually lead to both state recognition of the heritage as well as the private sector and civil society being involved in its management through an appropriate programme for reuse. Nabha- The backdrop of a former princely state Claiming descent from Jaisal, founder of the State of Jaisalmer in 1156, the founder of the Sikh dynasty of Phul, was Chaudhri (Governor) of a country located at the south east of Delhi. Phul’s descendants founded three states: New Ways of Looking at Heritage: Processes

49

Patiala, Jind and Nabha. Nabha was founded by the greatgrandson of Phul, Hamir Singh, in 1755.

house terrorists in the height of Khalistani movement in the late 1980s.

Hamir Singh’s son Raja Jaswant Singh (1783-1840) became the ruler. He had two sons namely Raja Devendra Singh and Ranjit Singh. Raja Devendra Singh had two sons, Raja Bharpur Singh and Raja Bhagwan Singh. Raja Bharpur Singh died in 1863 prior to Raja Devendra Singh. Raja Bhagwan Singh ruled from 1864-1871, he also died without an heir. According to tradition, Hira Singh, a distant relative in a neighbouring village was decided upon as the next in line on the recommendation of the Maharajas of Patiala and Jind. Raja Hira Singh, who ruled from 1871-1911, was a wise and stable ruler, and was honoured with G.C.S.I. and G.C.I.I. titles by the British government. His reign saw increased prosperity, trade and industry in Nabha. He was a great patron of building works, and much of the current built heritage of Nabha, including Ripudaman College and many other buildings, dates back to his period. His only son was Maharaja Ripudaman Singh (1911-1923) or Gurcharan Singh, who became ruler in 1912 after Raja Hira Singh.

Like many other cities of India, Nabha has landmarks called “gates” which roughly circumscribe the city. In Nabha, these are named Patiala Gate, Duladhi Gate, Mehs Gate and Boda Gate. Apart from these, there are a number of old private havelis in the walled city area that are of immense heritage value, with traditional courtyards, jaalis (trellis windows) and wall paintings in the style of the region.

Maharaja Ripudaman Singh was educated in England and nominated to the Imperial Legislative Council by the British Government in 1907. However, far from facilitating the colonial agenda as anticipated by the rulers, he showed a strong streak of self determination which resulted in his getting the Anand Marriage Act passed, thereby achieving legal status for the Sikh marriage ceremony. In 1911, he assumed the gaddi (throne) of Nabha according to traditional custom, without obtaining the sanction of the colonial government. His continued defiance of the government and his sympathy for the Nationalist cause led to his forced abdication and exile in 1923. In 1947, Nabha formed a part of Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU). At a subsquent reorganisation, Patiala was created as a district and Nabha formed a subdivision in Patiala District. The modern Nabha is a thriving, if somewhat dusty town, in the heart of the agricultural belt of the Malwa region of Punjab, about 20 kilometers from Patiala. It is home to an agricultural ancillary industry on a small to medium scale, mainly combine harvesters. Nabha boasts of several institutions and heritage sites which are somewhat unusual for a town of this size: 1. Punjab Public School (PPS), Nabha is one of the more well known “public schools” in India (other notable schools of this league being YPS Patiala and Mohali, Scindia School, Gwalior, MNSS, Rai and Sainik School, Kunjpura. 2. Ripudaman College, an undergraduate institution situated in a beautiful heritage building complex that used to be the former Summer Palace of the Maharajas. 3. Hira Mahal, another royal property constructed by Maharaja Hira Singh 4. Numerous samadhs, or memorials to the former rulers, the most ornamental being the Jaswant Singh samadh in the PPS grounds 5. Lal Kothi, an exquisite sandstone structure adjacent to the grounds of Ripudaman College. Another Lal Kothi is located in the Bir, the city forest, and was used as a hunting lodge by the former Maharajas. 6. A factory of Glaxo Smith Kline 7. A historic jail, known to have admitted Jawaharlal Nehru during the freedom struggle, which was used to

50

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Scope and Issues Nabha is a small town in India, an entity that is at the vanguard of the new trend of urbanism wherein there is a much deeper and more basic transformation in values, lifestyles and urban infrastructure than the metropolitan development of the past decades. This is truly the marginal zone where the rural meets the urban, the traditional, the modern, and the prevailing view of the Indian village being an untouched “island” in space and time, unaffected by global trends, will dissolve forever. The challenge is to see that the transformation will occur in an inclusive and supportive environment, where community values, traditions and cultural forms are not mindlessly sacrificed under the onslaught of globalization, and simultaneously, progressive thought and action is not needlessly obstructed by obscurantist beliefs. The aim is to have a dialogue between the past and the present, a dialectical approach to development, wherein programmatic actions are judiciously selected and implemented from multiple sectors, in the right balance between the State, Market and Civil Society. Role of the development institutions Thus far, the high income indicators in Punjab have prevented adequate attention being paid to the social infrastructure by both the government as well as development agencies. Hence, the traditional patterns of residual social policy, welfare-driven and aid-based development initiatives have not been propagated at the grassroots level on any scale. This can be regarded in a positive light, as there is scope for an innovative pattern of growth that is focused on local needs and not a prisoner to the limitations of prevailing development patterns in a ‘one size fits all’ manner. Punjab can generate its own growth trajectory that springs organically from its particular conditions, and can utilize its stakeholders in an appropriate manner in synchrony with its past and present. Nabha, with its manageable scale and size as an administrative sub-divisional unit, as well as its history as an individual princely state of considerable repute, can be a perfect vehicle to showcase this process. The Nabha Foundation The Nabha Foundation has been established in response to a felt need for a holistic pattern of development in Punjab. It seeks to bring together multiple stakeholders, the state and union governments, national and international development agencies, academic and research institutions and above all, the people on the ground, to engage in a creative dynamic of action. Created as a Corporate Social Responsibility unit of a private sector firm, the foundation demonstrates the dovetailing of family links with Nabha and a market based motivation to invest in the growth potential of the region. Here, we see the coming together of commercial interests with the

sensitivity to ensure that social and cultural infrastructure is sufficiently upgraded to optimize the development of the place. The Nabha Foundation seeks to confront developmental challenges in Punjab with an integrated, multi-sectoral approach, recharging traditional skills with market dynamism. At the same time, it seeks to temper commercial development with sensitivity to social, environmental and cultural needs. Above all, it seeks to draw from the intellectual legacy of the late rulers of Nabha, a strong development orientation, encouragement of civil society and democratic institutions, and a reaffirmation of faith in justice and the rule of law. Despite its small size, Nabha has a distinct cultural identity, drawing from its past as a prominent princely state of Punjab as well as a small-scale center for manufacturing of crafts, iron work and other skills. There are a number of ‘prominent families’ of Nabha, descended from the rulers and ministers of the former court. These bear a unique local influence as well as accountability to the public. There are a number of local civil society groups and NGOs working on diverse issues pertaining to public welfare. There are traditional craftsmen and women, carrying on traditions of metal work, embroidery, and other local handicrafts Approach The problems besetting the region are common to the rest of Punjab, comprising low human development, particularly gender indicators, dependence on agriculture in a climate of economic stagnation, widespread unemployment and underemployment, inadequate health care facilities, insidious spread of drug and alcohol abuse, and ecological crisis with soil and groundwater depletion. Bearing in mind the particular historical and social background of Nabha, the Nabha Foundation has adopted an integrated development strategy for the region, one that is not merely sensitive to cultural particularities, but one that actively promotes the role of culture as a catalyst for mainstream development. The relationship between heritage and its regional context is a symbiotic one. For instance, built heritage can encourage and sustain the economic upgradation of the region through appropriately structured tourism initiatives, as discussed earlier. The sustainability of built heritage cannot be ascertained without going into the problems faced by the people and confronting issues of health, gender, education and livelihoods. Thus, a holistic view of the development challenges is taken, and a strategy for development evolved that takes the community, the state and local administration, the local institutions and the private sector interests on board as stakeholders. The Nabha Process The Nabha Quila is located in what was once the heart of a square city with a circular dome. The city was founded in 1755 with the fort as the predetermining element. Most of the architecture of the period in Punjab has multiple courtyards, square shape, single entry. The fort was built over a period of 150 years and one can see three distinct layers of architectural expression and a wide use of different materials used over a span of a century and a half. Post independence the fort was being used as government offices and the people using it were not interested in the

maintenance of the structure. The building is in a serious state of structural decay due to water ingress, growth of vegetation, inappropriate materials used for repairs and loss of important structural materials due to vandalism. There are other issues like the loss of cultural association by the local community due to the absence of any continuous or appropriate usage of the core historical edifice and lack of clarity and grandness in access to the fort. So the key areas that the project wants to address are the following: • Conservation of the historic fabric. • Socio-economic sustainable reuse plan. • Integrated urban development strategy. Any new reuse plan has to safeguard the sanctity of the fort. • Implementation through the community. The project is in partnership with the government of Punjab through the involvement of multiple agencies such as the Public Works Department, Punjab Infrastructure Development Board, Department of Culture, and Department of Urban Development along with the Nabha Foundation as the private sector partner. The entire mission objective of the Nabha Foundation is to promote socioeconomic and cultural development of the people and the city of Nabha and the surrounding areas. The Nabha Foundation carried out a feasibility study and prepared the initial concept of leasing the Quila for conservation and development as far back as 1996, and presented it to the Government of Punjab. However, an appropriate mechanism for carrying forward the initiative had not yet been evolved, both on the part of the Foundation as well as the state government. By 2004, the Nabha Foundation carried out another study and a Detailed Project Report was generated which was submitted to the state government as an unsolicited proposal. By then the Government of Punjab had set up a very interesting system, which was that the Punjab Infrastructure Development Board, that was actively promoting public private partnerships in the development of infrastructure, was designated as the nodal agency to design and negotiate this heritage project. Here, we see a mainstreaming of heritage as a development area at the government level, a trend that has grown into countrywide initiatives like the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. The Detailed Project Report is not merely a plan of the city and the site, but a strategic document that elaborates the interdisciplinary methodology, the phases of planning and their rationales, opportunities for future development as well as a strategy and rationale for reuse of the complex after conservation, as an institution for rural management education. Therein lies the uniqueness of the proposal, which lists out the methodology of its sustainability in the future, and from whose vision the Nabha Foundation draws its entire programme for integrated development. The key areas of focus are: • Conservation, history and culture • Socio-economic development across a wide range of issues • Up gradation of existing institutes • Development of new institutions

New Ways of Looking at Heritage: Processes

51

The two parts of the DPR are, first, the Historic Building Precinct, i.e. the fort and second, the Zoning and Urban Development Pilot Projects. The document subsumes the following methodologies: 1. Architectural documentation of the complex 2. Condition mapping 3. Building materials and techniques survey 4. Historical research 5. Assessment of the significance of the historic precinct. 6. Structural condition assessment 7. Study of the morphology. While Part I looked at the precinct of the Quila, the Part II looked at the designation and development of the guidelines for the institutional zoning. Most of the educational institutions of Nabha, and there are quite a few, are all in the areas surrounding the fort, so it was recommended that the whole area could be turned into an institutional zone and guidelines developed for this zone. The other crucial point was the protection of the natural and manmade cultural resources of the town and environment friendly waste and water management. The projects and programmes of the Nabha Foundation in the areas of health, livelihood, environment etc. draw from this initial vision. In brief, the dynamic of development in Nabha has begun through multiple sectors, and the Quila could become a spatial focus for the multiple initiatives, as well a benchmark for best practices in developing a process to mainstream heritage. The project team is multi disciplinary comprising conservation architects, architects, structural engineers, material scientists, art conservators, urban designers and planners, landscape and environment planners, social scientists and historians. OTHER DEVELOPMENTS IN NABHA The Foundation’s initiatives in health, education and livelihood have already had a substantial impact over the past two years. In the area of heritage, other sites for

The Nabha festival 52

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Hamir Singh Samadh: before restoration (Credit: CRCI) conservation besides the fort were selected for their strategic significance in covering a cross section of issues, relating to conservation material and processes, crafts and skills, regional and dynastic significance and community identity. The order of their implementation is also significant in elucidating the stages in which the region was impacted, the Hamir Singh Samadh: after rising comfort levels with restoration (Credit: Sanjit Das) the citizenry enabling the Foundation to take on bolder and more deep-rooted issues. For instance, the Foundation’s work began with the conservation of Hamir Singh Samadh. 1) Hamir Singh Samadh: This site is dedicated to the founder of the state. It is located in a congested neighbourhood adjoining the Quila, and was the site of a garbage dump prior to conservation. Its restoration

has involved making a statement about the Foundation’s commitment to Nabha’s heritage, and is aimed at revitalizing neighbourhood linkages for sustainability 2) Duladhi Gate: One of the original four gates of the city, it is situated on an arterial road, showing the importance of linkages, between past and present, between the outside world and Nabha. This project has involved a number of interactions with local authorities, municipal bodies, traffic police, shopkeepers who are stakeholders in the property and should ensure its sustainability, residents who are stakeholders and depend on the property in a symbiotic relationship. 3) Jaswant Singh Samadh: In honour of Raja Jaswant Singh who defied the British rulers during the first war of independence in 1857, it is situated in the grounds of PPS. Its other significance is as an example of a building of great skill and beauty. The conservation process also involved local skill-building, with workers voluntarily acquiring skills in lime carving. 4) Nabha Festival: The Foundation has instituted an annual festival that celebrates local talent, skills and crafts as well as gives it visibility to the outside world. It has contributed in building up an enthusiasm for local culture amongst the community, particularly in the schools and colleges. In conclusion, the Nabha process has broadbased the heritage initiative by contextualising it within the discourse of mainstream development. Further, by situating it within the purview of state development mechanisms it has gained public accountability and transparency of procedure, while routing it through the public-private partnership, it has given it the financial viability that can only be gained through appropriate private sector intervention. The learning from this process is: 1. It is a participatory process, where situations and their solutions are viewed from the bottom up. Moreover, the Foundation has a local base in Nabha, employing local talent and resources. 2. It is multi stakeholder project, where the state, civil society and the private sector are in constant interaction to creatively evolve a new developmental paradigm. 3. Cultural heritage and infrastructure learn to fit together and adjust. For instance, the designation of PIDB as the state nodal agency has involved considerable rethinking of prevailing norms for infrastructure projects, given that national and international norms for heritage need to be taken into account and the established formats for BuildOperate-Transfer projects are not appropriate here. 4. The community has been engaged at multiple levels, their needs, skills, values, attitudes and memories are called upon to reinforce the development dynamic in the region. In this scenario, sustainability is most likely, owing to the broad base of the initiatives, the combination of statutory support through state involvement, financial backing by the private sector and a consultative interaction with the public.

New Ways of Looking at Heritage: Processes

53

Cultural Metamorphosis, Building Traditions And Search For Architectural Identity In Africa: A Case Study Of South-western Nigeria Oluseyi Timothy Odeyale Department of Architecture, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria INTRODUCTION Africa is regarded as the oldest continent in the world. The beginning of modern man as well as the root of western civilization can be traced back to this continent. Africa played a significant role in the development of certain sciences. Such connections can be seen in the Egyptian civilization around 3000 BC. It has been established that the Kushite civilization (found in old Ethiopia) had a system of writing which dated back to the fifth century BC (Martin and O’Meara; 1995). Africa has been regarded as the “dark continent” by the European explorers who came circa fifteen century- this comprised of the Portuguese, Dutch, English, French and Spanish explorers (Ashun; 2004). However, it is noteworthy to say that Africa was not dark before the advent of the Europeans. Africa had been literate well before the colonial ingress. Such literacy is seen among the Axum of Ethiopia, as their classical language was expressed in written form by fourth century AD. Literary works were recorded in learning centers of Timbuktu (Mali), and Djenne during the fifteenth century and in the Swahili city states of the East African coast (Martin and O’Meara; 1995). PRIMITIVE AFRICA, CULTURE AND DYNAMICS OF CHANGE Egenter (1994) commented that anthropologists were shocked to discover that certain ethnic groups which had been viewed as primitive also possessed quite complex [e.g. linguistic or social] systems of order, despite the externally primitive looking circumstances in which they lived . Cultural metamorphosis refers to the major and subtle changes that occur within a society, whether they may be desirous or not. Culture has to do with the beliefs of the people, which may be tangible or intangible. Culture and human development

Fig. 1: Mud houses and granaries in West Africa

54

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

are actively related. The culture of a group of people has several distinguishing characteristics; it is based on symbol, it is both shared and learned, and it is usually socially inherited with far reaching consequences on the way and manner of living of an individual. Culture also has to do with the way of life of the people; it may be material or non material. The material culture has some aspects reflected in the historical buildings and carved wooden objects, which form an essential part of the traditional built environment (see Fig. 1 and 2). Culture is the most important concept in anthropology (the study of all aspects of human life, past and present). Anthropologists commonly use the term “culture” to refer to a society or group in which many or all people live and think in the same way. Likewise, any group of people who share a common culture—and in particular, common rules of behavior and a basic form of social organization—constitute a society. Thus, the terms culture and society are somewhat interchangeable. However, while many animals live in societies, such as herds of elk or packs of wild dogs, only humans have culture (Haralambos; 1991; Bodley, J; 1994). Evolution of Culture Culture developed together with the evolution of the human species, Homo sapiens, and is closely related to human biology. These distinctively human physical features began to develop in African ancestors of humans more than four million years ago. The earliest physical evidence of culture includes crude stone tools produced in East Africa over two million years ago. There is a general consensus among mainstream anthropologists that humans first emerged in Africa around that time. Since then men have spread throughout the world, successfully adapting to varied conditions and to periodic cataclysmic changes in local and global climate. This led to the emergence, around the globe, of remarkably different societies with separate cultures, and these cultural differences persist to the present time. The comprehensive process of societal change resulted into varied development of the physical environment across the globe (compare Fig. 3-5). These changes are referred to in this paper as cultural metamorphosis. It is debatable whether these differences are merely incidental artifacts arising from patterns of human migrations or whether they represent an evolutionary trait that offers an explanation to our success as a species (Gilbert et al; 1994). By analogy with biodiversity, it could be inferred that the long term survival of life on earth depends on it. Similarly it

Fig. 2: Huts and village life (Source: Addo; 2006)

Fig 3: Drawings of primitive house forms and symbols across culture. (Source: Egenter; 1994)

can be argued that the conservation of indigenous cultures may be as important to humankind as the conservation of species and ecosystems is to life in general. Characteristics of Culture Culture has several distinguishing characteristics. 1. It is based on symbols—abstract ways of referring to and understanding ideas, objects, feelings, or behaviors—and the ability to communicate with symbols using language. 2. Culture is shared. People in the same society share common behaviors and ways of thinking through culture. 3. Culture is learned. While people biologically inherit many physical traits and behavioral instincts, culture is socially inherited. A person must learn culture from other people in a society. 4. Culture is adaptive. People use culture to flexibly and quickly adjust to changes in the world around them. Westernization, Metamorphosis

Acculturation

and

Cultural

The intrusion of Europeans in the third world has sometimes led to the destruction of existing culture. Gilbert et al (1994) noted that only where urban patterns were long established, for e.g. in the Sudanic belt and the Yoruba nation, is European culture less influential. This assertion should not be over-stressed, for the intrusion of the western culture (westernization) has led to a considerable erosion of traditional values. This is not a total destruction, but more of a subtle change. Westernization and the process of acculturation are closely related. “Westernization is a

process whereby traditional long-established societies come under the influence of western culture affecting such matters as industry, local technology, language, politics, law, government, diet values, lifestyle and religion”(www. wikipedia.com). Acculturation involves changes that occur within the social fabric of a group or cultural change that occurs when two different groups come into direct continuous contact resulting into evident or marked changes in cultural attitudes and pattern of either or both groups. Conrad (2005) opined that different degrees of domination, destruction, resistance, survival, adaptation and modification of the native culture follow inter ethnic contact. Such contact often resulted into a “cultural shock”. This cultural phase was more evident during the colonial era. Application of military force to repress the civil reactions during the colonial era eventually led to a “cultural collapse” or ethnocide. This cultural collapse and subtle change is quite evident in the built environment. The colonial master brought in building styles and design, foreign to the tropical condition and the long established housing layout configuration of the host communities. Building Tradition in a Yoruba City-using Akure as case study Akintoye (1971) identified the beginning of the nineteenth century as “an era of intense tumultuous and far-reaching changes in the history of the Yoruba in south western Nigeria”. Marked changes in the socio-cultural and economic structure were brought about by external factors such as intensified trade with Europe, spread of Christianity New Ways of Looking at Heritage: Processes

55

Tables 1: Measure of Factors influencing development of building types in South West Nigeria Factors

Education

Strong % Average % Weak % Total

84 12 4 100

Capital City 72 24 4 100

Commercial Activities 68 24 8 100

Agarian

Industry

32 52 16 100

28 16 56 100

Admin. & Banking 64 28 8 100

Organised Society 20 60 20 100

Source : Author’s Research (2005)

and western education. Akure is among some of the Yoruba towns that came under the influence of western culture through education, colonization and the spread of Christianity (Akintoye; 1971; Osasona; 2002; Olotuah; 1997). The area under review involving south-west Nigeria comprises of mainly the Yoruba speaking group. Akure is situated in the world map at latitude 7º15’ north of the equator and longitude 5º15’ east of the Greenwich Meridian. Situated 250 m above sea level, Akure is the capital city of Ondo state, Nigeria and has large granite deposits along the road to Ado-Ekiti. It is regarded as part of the north-eastern region of Yoruba land. The area is made up of Akures, Ekiti, Igbominas, and Akokos in the North West. It is 104 kilometer East of Ibadan and 311 kilometer North East of Lagos (Odeyale; 2005; Akinbamijo et al; 2002). On a recent survey conducted on some residents in Akure, some factors were identified as having strong influence on the attendant changes in culture and the built environment. Such factors include spread of western education, location as capital city, commercial activities, administrative role, agrarian activities, and organized societies (see Table 1). THE SEARCH FOR IDENTITY AND HOUSE FORM DETERMINANT Primitive buildings are those produced by societies defined as primitive by anthropologists. It needs to be mentioned that the term primitive does not connote the builders’ intentions or abilities but rather the society in which they build (Adeyemi;

1994). To a large extent “primitive” connotes certain level of technological attainment and societal arrangement. To the future generation our building today will be primitive. Vernacular, folk, or traditional houses are those which have not been designed by architects, but by local builders. Their design may be influenced by formal architecture, but they embody cultural traditions which are a regional expression of the way their builders and users viewed their world within the constraints of their economic circumstances. Housing is subjected to such factors as “social structure, climate, economics, technology and culture”. Other factors include defence (giving rise to fortresses and impenetrable fence walls and gates), accessibility, physiography and orientation. Khan (1998) asserts that these factors, except culture, are form moderators, and culture is a determinant factor. Housing symbolizes the socio-cultural heritage of a people and culture thus exercises an over-riding influence on the type and form of houses evolved (Denyer; 1978). The configuration expressed by the building in a community is a pointer to its search for cultural identity and self actualization. Building Traditions, Climate and the Need for Shelter Shelter is of supreme importance to man and it has been identified as a prime factor in man’s struggle for survival. Rapoport (1964) commented that primitive man developed various dwelling forms alongwith food taboos and restrictions within several economies of scarcity. The climatic determinism view in architecture suggested that the primitive man’s concern for shelter is borne out of the need to protect itself from the harsh weather and climate. Some building forms in Africa point to climatic solutions; but the fact that building form cannot be explained in terms of climate alone, needs emphasis as well. However, the importance of climate in building forms and types can not be ignored completely- consider the igloo in the Artic and the movable structure of the nomadic Arabs in Sahara Desert.

Fig. 4 & 5 : Tracing the path of Cultural metamorphosis and building tradition in Africa. (Source: Akuffo; 2006) 56

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Fig. 6: Traditional materials aptly put to good use in South Africa

Factors shaping the developments of Building form in Africa The development of building types and forms is not tied only to climatic considerations; other factors identified include related economic activities, critical social activities (including cooking and childbirth), ceremonial rites, religious beliefs and restrictions, prestige, owners status and modernity (Adeyemi; 1994; Rapoport; 1964). JUXTAPOSITION OF ANCIENT AND MODERN IN A GROWING CITY Nigeria is the most populous African country and its urban population amounts to more than the combined total urban population of the other West African countries put together. The urbanization process in Nigeria predates the arrival of the Europeans. This is a different situation from that of most parts of Africa, where urban development was initiated during the colonial period. Nevertheless, the contemporary urban system of Nigeria is an outcome of a multitude of forces of which colonialism is a key part. Before the coming of the British, a well-developed system of cities had existed in Nigeria. The system of cities, however, was not integrated but was composed of various isolated sets of cities which related to existing sociopolitical groups. Colonialism brought a superimposition of another system on these indigenous sub-systems. Thus, the contemporary national urban system of Nigeria represents an amalgamation of these different components. City centre as a place of Growth and observable acculturation Urban centers are usually the hub of commercial activities in the urban system and they are sometimes referred to as the heart of the city. Louis Kahn referred to it “… as the cathedral of the city”. That is, the activities of the city revolve around the core area, also referred to as the downtown area, the city center, or the Central Business District (CBD). Most African cities, exhibit such characteristic of growing out of a city center. Examples of such African cities are Cairo, Johannesburg, Accra, Ibadan, Nairobi, Maiduguri, Kano and Kaduna. Such a centre of the city will have a concentration of banks, offices, shopping complexes, post offices, markets and all such activities (Okoko; 1999). The city core, mostly in Yoruba urban centers, marks the beginning or source of development of the city with its well illustrated traditions.

Discussion of Research Findings According to Scargil (1979), “a house type also seems as a mirror of cultural traditions.” Education is seen as the major organ of change bringing civilization, urbanization and acculturation of the people, which invariably leads to development. Urban development can be viewed as changes brought about through the process of growth, expansion or urbanization of the rural place, especially the evolution of a city from its original small settlements to what it is in the present time. Four prominent factors are identifiededucation, commercial activities, capital city privileges and banking- in a study conducted in Akure by the author (Table 1). In the survey conducted on some residents of Akure, 80% of the respondents believed that education played a vital role in the development that impacted on the identities and cultural heritage of Akure. Next in line, were commercial activities and the capital city privilege of the city. 32% figured “capital city placement” as being very high in its influence and 36% considered it high, a sum of which yielded 68%. Another 68% believed commercial activities helped in the transformation of the value of heritage in the city (refer to Table 1). The above factors are enough to attract large numbers of the population from other interior parts of the state, bringing subtle changes in the beliefs, norms and way of life due to the intervention and intermingling of diverse cultures resulting in rapid urbanization. According to Karl Marx, “the urbanization of the country side” leads to city formation. This is particularly true of Akure. Many Africa settlements came as a result of the coming together (conglomeration) of small, adjacent settlements, each with its distinct traditions and mythologies, all having their roots elsewhere. Some of the factors that contributed to the urbanization process are: - Surplus agricultural input coming from the villages. This was corroborated by Palen (1987) who stated that “… before urban revolution can take place, an agricultural revolution was necessary”. - Population increase which is reinforced by the Akure large heart of hospitality, - Education and Civilization, - Religion – Christianity and Islam - Creation of Ondo State out of the old Western Region of Nigeria in 1976, making Akure its capital city.

New Ways of Looking at Heritage: Processes

57

The development brought about due to the administrative role it has been playing as the headquarters of Ondo province since 1920 during the colonial era, plus the role played by P.O.E.T (Population, Organization, Environment and Technology), all contributed to the development which ubiquitously works on the urban heritage prevalent in Akure today. The dynamics of change also reflects on the physical (tangible) aspect of the heritage- structures formerly constructed of mud have been demolished to give way to new buildings constructed with modern materials like sandcrete blocks, roofing sheet etc. Churches in Akure like the Sacred Hearts Cathedral along Oba Adesida Road have undergone two reconstructions from what it used to be in the early part of the century. In 1919 it was a mud building, later reconstructed in the 1950s. This was later destroyed in 1962 to make way for the new Sacred Hearts Cathedral, still standing today. The Muslims also moved their mosque from the old mud brick at Arakale to the center of the town opposite the main market or Oja Oba. Historical Continuity Historical continuity is a must for a dynamic society which desires to have memorable legacies. A contrary method is a certain path to anarchy and confusion. The high standard of yesteryears within the ambit of morals, ethical conformity and respect for humanity are the hall marks of our treasured heritage. It is imperative for us, to preserve outstanding buildings, monuments and artifacts of the past, for generations yet unborn. RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION Cultural heritage is widely recognized as the most important input in defining the national and ethnic cultures in any nation. Nigeria inherits great cultures of the Benin, Yoruba and other northern Kingdom of Hausa-Fulani origin, which bequeathed an impressive body of plastic, music and literary arts. The Nigerian government, notwithstanding their political backgrounds and developmental orientations, proclaimed their intention to preserve the cultural heritage and allow for its full recognition. The National Archives, the National Museum, the National Library and all the existing universities have taken over the task to work on research, restoration and preservation of the cultural heritage. Both federal and a few state agencies working in this field are fully supported from the federal funds. Although, a lot of work has been done in research, systematization and preservation of cultural heritage, much still needs to be done. There is a need for a well established documentation on cultural heritage, as well as a need for a well organized service for its restoration and preservation. The old quarter arrangement has given way to the modern type. The traditional Yoruba “Agbo ile” with the adaptation of Uwa has grossly been lost to urban development. The influence of Christianity and education has resulted in many of the young men refusing to participate in fetish festival and mothers warning their daughters not to partake in Egungun (masquerade) dances in order to forestall negative repercussions. Preserving these quarters and other traditional settlements would mean turning them into fund generating entities serving as tourist institutions. The development and proper placement of a high standard maintenance culture, in all levels of government across the federation is required for realistic progress. Researchers should also be encouraged to dig deep into the details of

58

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

the historical past, to unravel the significance of such past cultures to our present needs, through the arrangement of adequate funding. Modern structural materials can be used to stabilize the structure of the old buildings taking a cue from the example of the Leaning Tower at Pisa in Italy built since the 1600s. The Government should take a more active role in the issues of urban heritage.

References: 1. Adeyemi, E.A. (1994), “Alternatives Theories of House Forms”. Unpublished notes in Dept. Of Architecture, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria. 2. Addo, J.O. (2006), How vernacular and environment shape an ‘inno - native’ contemporary response in architecture. Cd-rom : Proceeding of the Africa Union of Architects XXXIst Council Meeting and West African Regional Congress, GIMPA, Accra, Ghana 3. Akinbanjo, O & Olanrewaju, D. (2002 ), “Environmental Health and Target Audience : A Pragmatic Panacea Alleviation in Nigeria cities” in African Journal of Environmental Studies volume 3 N0 1 & 3, p. 82-91. 4. Akintoye, S. A. (1971), Revolution and Power Politics in Yorubaland 1840-1893, London: Longman, 5. Akuffo, S.(2006), Saving African Metropolises: Case Study of Accra: – Growing By Chance Or By Design?. Cd-rom : Proceeding of the Africa Union of Architects XXXIst Council Meeting and West African Regional Congress, GIMPA, Accra, Ghana 6. Ashun, A.T. (2004), Elmina, the Castle and the Slave trade. Accra: Nyakod Printing. 7. Bodley J. (1994), “An Anthropological perspective”. From Cultural Anthropology: Tribes, States and the Global Systems 8. Conrad, P. (2005), Window in Humanity, New York; McGraw Hill. 9. Denyer, S. (1978), African Traditional Architecture. New York: Heinemann, p. 160-166. 10. Egenter, N. (1994), Semantic and Symbolic Architecture. Structural Mundi: Lausanne., p. 6-12. 11. Gilbert, A & Gulger, J. ( 1994 ), Cities, Poverty and Development: Urbanization on the Third World; Oxford University Press, Oxford, p. 17-20. 12. Haralambos, M. Holborn, M. Heald, R.(1991) Sociology Themes and Perspectives. Third Edition, Collins Educational, London. (Lewis 1982). 13. Martin, A. and O’Meara, E. (1995), “Africa” Indiana: Indiana University Press. 14. Rapoport, A. (1969), House form and Culture. Eaglewood Cliff, N.J.: Prentice-Hall. 15. Odeyale T.O (2005), “Culture and human development city dynamics and historical development in Akure”. A paper presented at International Conference on Human Development held at Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria. 16. Okoko, E.E. (1999), Ife Social Sciences Review; Journal of the Faculty of Social Sciences Obafemi Awolowo Univeristy, vol 16, No. 1, p. 113-119. 17. Olotuah A. O (1997), “The House in Nigeria: The Phenomenon of Change from the Traditional to the Contemporary”. In The House in Nigeria, Conference Proceedings Bayo Amole (Ed) O.A.U Ile-Ife, July 23-24, p. 36-39

18. Khan, Hasan-Uddin(1998), International Style: Modernist Architecture from 1925 to 1965, Taschen Publishers, New York p. 7-9. 19. Osasona, C.O (2002), Transformation in the Traditional Yoruba Dwelling: A Case Study of Ile-Ife, Journal of Environmental Technology Volt 1 p. 1-15. 20. Palen, J.J. (1987), The Urban World. New York: McGraw Hill, p. 7-9. 21. Scargil, R (1979), The Form of Cities, New York: McGraw Hill Website: 22. http://home.worldcom.ch/negenter//16 BooksOnAA_E.html (retrieved on 15 Nov. 2006)

New Ways of Looking at Heritage: Processes

59

Jaipur As A Recurring Renaissance Dr. Shikha Jain Director- Development and Research Organisation for Nature, Arts and Heritage (DRONAH), Gurgaon and Affiliate- Jaipur Virasat Foundation (JVF) INTRODUCTION The article reviews the intentions behind the renowned 18th century Jaipur city plan and further summarises subsequent major urban transformations within the walled city in the 19th and 20th centuries. It presents a reinterpretation of the Jaipur plan based on earlier maps and perceptions of historic visitors and indicates that the planning of Jaipur needs to be understood as a process. It informs about the changing concepts in British period that led to contrasting approaches of modernisation and museumisation of the walled city along with loss of certain traditional systems – a trend that continued till the post-independent period. Finally, it concludes with the present day approach to the walled city fabric. It describes the recent heritage initiatives of the government, of international organisations, efforts of local NGOs and residents’ participation and reaction in the remaking of the walled city as the 21st century Renaissance city. It also explains the process of the making of a Heritage Plan for the city to achieve this vision. THE 18TH CENTURY VISION Beyond the academic debate on application of Mandala in the grid-iron planning of 18th century Jaipur, lie two significant facts responsible for the origin of the city and its subsequent layout. These are: a) the need of a new capital for Dhoondhar as the earlier one of Amber built on a hill was getting congested and, b) Jai Singh’s vision of the new capital as a strong political statement at par with Mughal cities and as a thriving trade and commerce hub for the region. Subsequently, the sandy site on the plains south of Amber and an open, clear grid iron planning of the city with commercial streets of monumental scale can be attributed more as a pragmatic response to the above factors as opposed to adherence to the traditional treatise of the Vastu Shastra. This vision was translated into a city plan that integrated traditional planning guidelines with contemporary Mughal architectural vocabulary and showcased a political will to define new concepts for a trade city that became a norm for the later towns in the adjoining Shekhawati region. The city was truly built with extraordinary foresight and futuristic planning and is probably the only 18th century walled city in India that can still cater to the present day pressures of vehicular traffic on roads. Background - Amber had served as the capital of Dhoondhar for several centuries and the Kachchwahas had gained considerable significance during the Mughal reign. During this period, the city had expanded and by the beginning of the 18th century, it had become very congested with no scope for expansion on the existing hilly terrain Hence, the most obvious site for the new capital was the valley located south of Amber and the plains beyond, a terrain that was supposedly the bed of a dried lake. The physical constraints that informed the building of Jaipur have been well enumerated a number of times.i To summarize briefly, these included the hills on the north that housed the fort of Jaigarh and the Amber palace beyond, 60

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

and the hills on the east, which contained the sacred spot of Galtaji. Beyond the depression formed by a low-lying marshy land on the northeast, there was a slight rise of the terrain and a ridge running from west to east inclined at 15 degrees towards North, which now exists as the main road from Chandpol to Surajpol. On the western edge lay the hills of Nahar Garh while the southern end was again marked by a low hillock called Shankar Garh, which is situated beyond the existing road. Evolution of the Plan - The town planning principles of Jaipur were not much different from its predecessor cities in the region. It is its location on a plain that lead to a practical adoption of the grid-iron pattern with wide tree lined avenues at Jaipur- a revolutionary pattern in the light of the earlier Rajput hill towns like Amber. The basic plan of Jaipur was derived, by marking the loci using the surrounding topography of the site as explained below: a) The first step was to demarcate the centre near the water body of Talkatora in alignment with the sacred topography of Ganesh Garh (a temple also built by Jai Singh) on the hills in the north. The centre or nucleus of the city had already been established at the Jai Niwas with the installation of the idol of Govinda Deva in 1715 AD (Nath, R; 1996). The act of installing the Kachchwaha deity consecrated the centre and a site was then identified for the Chandra Mahal where Jai Singh would reside as Lord Govind Deva’s minister and rule the city on his behalf. b) The next step was identifying the main axes of the city. The sacred Galtaji, an important pilgrimage centre since the 16th century located on the eastern hillock, was another locus to be incorporated in the east-west axis. Incidentally, this axis was aligned with the natural ridge running at a slight angle of 15 degrees to the northeast. Stretching in line with the foot of Nahargarh hill on the west for about 4 km till the sand dunes on the foothill of Galtaji, this ridge marked the main east-west axis with Suraj Pol at the eastern end and Chand Pol at the western end. c) This was followed by the marking of the north-south axis in alignment with the highest point in the north being the Jaigarh fort (with the ancient Rama Harihar and Kala Bhairav temples in the complex acting as religious markers) and that in the south being the hillock of Shankar Garh (marked by an ancient Shiva temple, which is worshipped by the royal family till today on the day of Mahashivratri). The crossing of the two cardinal axes defined the main public square of the city called the Badi Chaupar or Manak Chowk. Since Jai Niwas, consecrated by the idol of Govind Deva, was not just a feature to be accommodated in the Jaipur plan but the centre for the generation of the city plan, a road parallel to the north-south axis and situated at an equal distance from Jai Niwas was located on the west. This created the second town square i.e. Choti Chaupar or Amber Chowk and effectively placed the Palace Complex in the centre of the city. Another parallel road on the eastern side was marked at an equal distance creating the (i) See Roy, A K (1978) History of the Jaipur City, New Delhi. Manohar Publications; Davar, Satish (1977) “A Filigree City Spun Out of Nothingness,” Marg 30, No.4; Tillotson, G. H. R. (1999), The Rajput Palaces, New Delhi Oxford University Press; Sachdev, Vibhuti and Tillotson, Giles (2002), Building Jaipur: Making of an Indian City,

[1] Marking the genius loci of the city on the terrain

[3] Marking the north-south axis and Badi Chaupar

[2] Marking the east-west axis on the natural ridge

[4] Marking Govind Dev and Palace as the centre and sub divisions on the east-west axis

Fig. 1: Evolution of the Jaipur Plan (18th century)

Ram Chowk or Ram Ganj Chaupar as the third square of the town. Thus the east-west axis of the town was divided by three perpendicular roads into eight portions with the central ones of equal size and the outer ones as per the remaining dimensions till the Chandpol in the west and Surajpol in the east. These three squares or chaupars worked as the centres and sub centres for further subdivision and

structuring of the Jaipur city. All important temples and significant havelis of the leading courtiers and merchants were marked on these squares or chaupars and along the axes. The city was divided into seven sectors or chowkries on either side of the axes with the eighth one in the northeast falling in a low lying, unusable area.

New Ways of Looking at Heritage: Processes

61

An earlier construction plan of the city (Map No. LS/17 in the Kapad-dwara collection at the City Palace Museum, Jaipur) shows similar centric demarcations of the chaupars with reports on the construction progress written on all sides of the roads and chaupars. Since this is the only available earlier construction map of Jaipur at present, it had been earlier assumed that the western sectors or chowkries i.e. Purani Basti, Topkhana Desh, Visheshvarji and Modi Khana, shown on this map, came first whereas the eastern sectors or chowkries i.e. Topkhana Hazuri or Ghat Darwaza, Ramchandraji and Gangapol, came up later. But LS/17 is possibly only a part plan of the city as evident from similar part plans of the eastern sectors or chowkries mentioned in the ‘Catalogue of Historical Documents in Kapad-dwara, Jaipur, Maps and Plans’ specifically Plan No. 113,199, 200, 204 and

Pundrikji, Yajanshala (near Saraswati Kund), Badal Mahal, Rajamal Ka Talab and Rajamal ki Haveli, Jaleb Chowk, Ram Chowk, Pahad Ganj, Suraj Pol, Ram Ganj, Badi Chaupar, Shiv Pol and Chand Pol were complete. The present plan of the walled city of Jaipur shows seven city gates: Suraj Pol in the east, Chand Pol in the west, Shiv Pol or Sanganeri Gate on the north-south axis on the southern end with two other gates i.e. Kishan Pol or Ajmeri Gate and Ram Pol or Ghat Gate also on the southern city wall. In the northern end it shows the Dhruv Pol or Zorawar Singh Gate and the Ganga Pol on the north-east. Two other existing gates are the New Gate, which was initially like a chor darwaza and was later increased in size by Sawai Ram Singh II and, the Char Dawarza on northeast which was a four-sided gate built for emergencies. Brahmapuri, the Brahmin colony to the northwest of the palace was entered through another gate i.e. the Samrat Pol. The main markets, shops, havelis and temples on the main streets were constructed by the state, thus ensuring that a uniform street facade is maintained in Jaipur. Although there is no definite data, locals state that around 400 temples were built in Jaipur during its planning. A K Roy (Roy; 1998) mentions that there are more than 1000 temples of various sizes in Jaipur with 606 within the walled city as registered temples with the Devsthan department in 1973 . A detailed analysis of the hierarchical layout of main temples with reference to the city streets provides useful information about Jaipur planning. Whether the temples were built in the reign of Sawai Jai Singh or later, is of little relevance

Fig. 2: The Govind Dev temple still acts as the religious nucleus of the city

294. (Singh and Bahura, 1990). Besides this, the entries in Siaha Huzur about Jai Singh’s visits on Chaitra Vadi 10, s. 1790 (19th March 1733) mention gates and markets in the eastern sector such as Ram Pol, Ram Chowk, Pahad Ganj, Ram Ganj, Suraj Chowk and some important havelis indicating that the main landmarks in the eastern sectors, at least on the major roads, had also been constructed in the initial planning of Jaipur.ii Hence it can be inferred that all the sectors or chowkries of Jaipur had been demarcated initially along with the placement of major gates and landmarks, though the infill of eastern sectors was done much later due to difficult site conditions such as presence of sand dunes. Markers in the Plan - The planning of Jaipur is rooted in the centric Indian philosophy with the temple of Govind Deva defining the centre that lead to the genesis of the city plan. Govinda Mahal as the centre further extended into the political centre with the Chandra Mahal Palace occupying an equally dominant position, thus symbolizing the Kachchwaha rulers’ status as representatives of Govind Deva. A complete matrix of sub centres was further marked in the city by locating other temples at strategic points in a hierarchical arrangement addressing the main deity, Govind Deva. In 1729 merchants were invited through despatched letters and were given special incentives and prime location to settle in the city. In contrast, the Rajput nobles were also allocated land in Chowkri Topkhana Desh but they had to pay a loan from their revenue collections. By 1732, the construction of Govinda Mahal, Brahmapuri, Haveli of (ii) See Bhatnagar, V.S. (2002), Life and Times of Sawai Jai Singh, Jodhpur: Book Treasure, p. 332

62

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Fig. 3: City Palace with Chandra Mahal behind

from planning perspective, as all the important temple sites, specifically on the main commercial streets had been marked in the Jaipur plan in his reign.iii Even today, the important temples with shikharas can be observed at four most important locations in the city along the cardinal axes i.e. the Laxmi Narayan Temple at Badi Chaupar, the Rama temple at Choti Chaupar, the Murli Manohar temple at Ram Ganj Chaupar and the Kalka temple opposite to the main Sireh Deodhi entrance to the Palace. It is interesting that in all these temple, the idol is facing towards Govinda Deva, the main deity of Jaipur. Other important temples with shikhara are the temples on the surrounding hills such as Surya temple, Ganesh Garh temple, Vardraja temple, (iii) This fact was mentioned by Dr. Chandramani Singh in a discussion and it is also evident in an earlier map of Jaipur published in Susan, Gole. Indian Maps and Plans. Manohar publishers. New Delhi . 1989. p. 195. The original map can be seen in the City Palace Museum, Jaipur. An interpretations of this map has been presented in Fig. 4.

Shankar Garh temple etc. Most of the remaining temples inside the city were built in the shikhara less, haveli temple style. A definite hierarchy of temples and wells (both constituting ritual spaces) can further be observed inside the chowkries in the layout of the sectors. Besides locating the temples, it was the land for the houses of important nobles that was marked on the main streets and allocated as per caste, rank and financial status. Thus the main commercial streets of Jaipur had the primary purpose of trade with series of equal size shops and the urban façade was further enriched by punctures of entrances to Haveli temples in between. The havelis ( term used for medieval north Indian mansions belonging to nobles) of Jaipur range from a single courtyard house form to an assemblage of multiple courts. Majority of the havelis have one or two

Fig. 5: Plan of Chaumoo Haveli, Jaipur

Fig. 4: Reinterpretation of a 18th century Jaipur plan

courtyards. However, an increase in the status of the owner or in the number of family members resulted in an increase in either the scale of the haveli or the number of courtyards. In Jaipur, the number of courtyards in a haveli may vary from one to seven. At times a single haveli had many courts, such as in the case of the Natani Haveli in Chhoti Chaupar, or a complex like the Nawab ki Haveli in Tripolia Bazzar. The location and the type of haveli were determined by the owner’s social, political and financial conditions that is, the caste, occupation and relation with the ruler. Like the political centre at the city level, which is represented by the City Palace, the haveli of the most influential aristocrat is demarcated at the sector level. As in the naming of the town, the naming of the cluster or the street is associated with the political or religious centre and is often named after the most influential aristocrat in the cluster. The scale of the dwelling in the cluster established the status of the owner. The association of a particular haveli with the temple or well in the cluster also emphasized the status of the owner. The paths and chowks associated with the cluster were also named after the most influential haveli owner in the cluster e.g. Pandit Shivdin ka raasta in Chowkri Modikhana, Uniara Rao’s raasta etc. A number of dwelling units that comprised i) ‘caste clusters’ which consisted of groups of people of the same caste and occupation, for instance the Brahmin havelis in Brahmapuri or brass workers’ houses in

Thateron Ka Raasta ii) ‘fraternal clusters’ comprising of families of two or more brothers such as Bhatt Haveli in Chowkri Modikhana iii) ‘single family clusters’ consisting of a single family and its zenana and infrastructure of servants, for example, the Tatterkhana House in Jaipur iv) religious clusters’ formed around a religious cult as in the case of the Dadupanthi havelis. The smaller houses of the general public were more as infill in the sectors and initially of temporary nature as described by several foreign visitors to the city in that period. The visitor’s experience in Sawai Jai Singh’s Jaipur is well documented in the narration of Tieffenthaler‘s visit (Tillotson; 2006) in 1750 that describes Jaipur as a beautiful, modern open city with wide roads that can take 6-7 vehicles in a row. He further describes the unique water system of underground canals that was specially devised for the water supply in the city and the square central tanks that were located in the Badi Chaupar and Choti Chaupar. Dimensional Norms - In Jaipur city planning, specific terms for measurements were used. ‘Sawaya’ , a quarter extra, is expressed in the complete planning and details of Jaipur. Even the allotment plans of Jaipur show that the rectangular plots reserved for special people were one quarter extra (Singh and Bahura; 1990). Strict building by-laws were enforced in Jaipur to control the height of building, the height of ground floor etc. The width of the main roads was 39 ¼ gaz, iv secondary roads were half this size while the tertiary roads were a quarter of this dimension. The width of the square chaupars was three times that of the main street i.e. 117 ¾ gaz. Although A K Roy confirms some of these measurements (as equivalents in feet), he states that there were no specific rules for smaller roads. Some maps in the Kapad-dwara mention rastas of 4 ¼ yards and 5 ¼ yards, suggesting that the width of a smaller lane was a possible outcome of the site’s specific context, though as a norm the sawaya would be added to the whole number. Similar ‘sawaya’ terms were used in the measurement of courtyards, plots and rooms. A traditional mason Kalyan in Jaipur quoted ‘jaag sawaya kothi puni’, a local Dhoondhari phrase for the construction of a house and a well. ‘Jaag’ and ‘kothi’ mean a house and a well respectively and ‘sawaya ‘ and ‘puni’ are quantitative terms indicating a quarter extra and a quarter (iv) Gaz is the traditional unit of measurement in India, In Jaipur planning 1 gaz = 0.838metres New Ways of Looking at Heritage: Processes

63

less than the whole value. Taken in its entirety, the phrase means that for the construction of the house, one should entirely use dimensions that are a quarter more than a whole number. Another traditional local mason, Lalit from Govindgarh gave thumb rule formula for the courtyard: ‘teen-terah, aath-atharah’ (literally, 3-13 and 8-18), indicating that the size of the court can vary from a width of 3 gaz-13 gaz and length of 8 gaz –18 gaz depending on the size of the plot while a third mason gave actual sawaya dimensions of courtyard for specific plot sizes. The planning of Jaipur by Sawai Jai Singh was further developed and monitored by his renowned counsellor Vidyadhar. It included innovative concepts in traditional planning guidelines along with an appropriate adaptation of the terrain itself. This unique city plan has positioned Jaipur as a must see city for domestic and foreign visitors right from the 18th century onwards. 19TH CENTURY TRANSFORMATIONS – WITHIN AND BEYOND THE WALLED CITY Influences of the British and a modern outlook of Sawai Ram Singh II contributed to significant urban transformations in the city in 19th century. The city extended beyond the old city walls, adapted newer modes of transport such as the railways with a railway station located on the western outskirts, started using gaslights on the streets and adopted modernised drainage and piped water supply system. There were interesting additions in the urban fabric within the walled city with new buildings constructed in the Indo Saracenic vocabulary such as the Mubarak Mahal within the Palace Complex, the Naya Mahal or Vidhan Sabha in line with the earlier Hawa Mahal and the Rajasthan School of Arts on the main commercial street. Most of the construction works were carried out by the newly set up PWD (Public Works Department). The extension outside the walled city respected the earlier planning to an extent and retained the principal southward axis of the Tripolia Gate, the Palace and the central Govind Dev temple. This axis extended into magnificent British period garden immediately outside the walled city i.e. the Ramniwas Bagh that was later enhanced with the visual focus of the monumental Albert Hall Museum. Jaipur Nama (Tillotson; 2006) provides interesting perceptions of foreign visitors to Jaipur during this period. A narration of the visit by Jaquemont in 1832 gives a clear

picture of the main commercial streets of Jaipur in the 19th century. “On each side, under the arcades of the palaces and of the temples and houses, there are the shops of the artisans, whom one can see working at their trades almost in the open air: tailors, cobblers, goldsmiths, armourers, pastry-cooks, confectioners, coppersmiths etc. The grain merchants occupy quite spacious straw huts, built out of a kind of crude trellis, which form a sort of lane down the centre of the principal streets. These stalls are removed whenever the maharaja comes out of his palace. Their habitual presence greatly impairs the appearance of the city centre. They obstruct both the squares and the crossroads.” (Tillotson; 2006; p. 96) This description reveals that temporary structures – more as encroachments existed even in those periods, which were removed in the presence of the ruling authority. Another interesting excerpt from Jacquemont’s description of the inner city area is: “The blocks formed by the intersection of the principal streets are pierced by smaller ones, tortuous alleys that mostly lead to a dead end and to small houses, the homes of the poor and the middle classes. There is not a single one where even a bullock-cart could pass. Either the roofs are thatched or else there are masonry roof terraces, but the walls are always of stone, and it is this above all that gives Jaipur its appearance of prosperity beyond any other city in India, and perhaps even throughout Asia.” (Tillotson; 2006; p. 97) Jacquemont also comments on Jaipur as a thriving city for trade and commerce forming trade links between north and south-west India from places like Kashmir to Bombay as well as between Delhi, Agra, Banaras and western Rajasthan. Similar comments of Rousselet’s visit in 1866 are recorded where he appreciates the unique layout of the city and its cleanliness (Tillotson; 2006). Along with the modernisation of Jaipur in terms of infrastructure and transport, this period saw a parallel movement of museumisation that is marked by activities such as the ‘Jeypore Exhibition’ held in the Naya Mahal and the making of the ‘Jeypore Portfolio of Architectural Drawings’ by Swinton Jacob. Aimed to promote the traditional arts and crafts of Jaipur, this movement at the same time also created a distance between the modern and the traditional. The city was distinctly marked into new and old areas. A fact that is best described in Rudyard Kipling’s observation in 1887 - “The result of the good work is that the old and the new, the rampantly raw and the sullenly old, stand cheek-byjowl in startling contrast. Thus, the branded bull trips over the rails of a steel tramway which brings out the city’s rubbish, and ‘the painted bullock cart’ catches its primitive wheel in the cast-iron gas lamp post.” (Tillotson; 2006; p. 168) This was the beginning of stark contrasts both in the urban fabric and in the social lifestyle that has further increased with time and can be observed in most traditional Indian cities today. Though technological advancements and facilities such as piped water supply were inevitable with the changing times, they did result in a simultaneous loss of the traditional water network such as the underground canals and tanks within the city. 20TH CENTURY AND THE POST INDEPENDENCE SCENARIO – JAIPUR AS THE STATE CAPITAL

Fig. 6: Mubarak Mahal in the City Palace Complex with Indo-Saracenic vocabulary

64

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

The 20th century observed further modernisation and urban renovations within the walled city, pioneered by the famous Mirza Ismail who was appointed as the Prime

Fig. 7: View of Mirza Ismail Road outside the walled city

Fig. 9: A commercial street view

Minister of Jaipur in the early 20th century. A number of new colonies such as the Bani Park came outside the walled city. The ritual of closing the city gates at night followed since the making of the city was stopped in 1923 due to inconvenience caused to travellers arriving late night from the Railway station. Living outside the historic city walls became a fashion, also evidenced in the ruler’s lifestyle as Sawai Man Singh II finally moved out of the City Palace to stay in the Ram Bagh Palace on the southern outskirts in the 1940’s. Nobles emulated this trend and moved from their havelis into grand British style bungalows such as the Chaumoo House, Nayla House etc. built outside the walled city. A number of renovations within the walled city under Mirza Ismail included the restoration work of the city walls and gates and, converting the inner temporary houses in the sectors into more permanent structures. A detailed study of the inner layout of a chowkri or sector clearly shows

While the local elite adapted western values and lifestyle at a fast pace, the international visitors continued to glorify the traditional and historic city. Probably, it is this tourism potential of Jaipur that has helped the city to maintain both its urban fabric to an extent and to continue its traditional arts and crafts. It still functions as a flourishing trade centre for Rajasthan in gems, jewellery, marble and local crafts work such as textiles, footwear etc. and the wide commercial streets of the walled city cater well to the increasing flux of tourists. However, the inside fabric of the city is slowly getting lost as the local residents find more economic gains and comfort in converting their residences to commercial spaces equipped with modern facilities. WALLED CITY AS LIVING HERITAGE– GLOBAL APPROACH AND LOCAL CONFLICTS Since the inception of Jaipur, it has been an international tourist destination and its unique planning has fascinated many researchers, academicians and urban planners. These

Fig. 8: Plan of Chaumoo haouse located outside city walls

the urban morphology as more organised in the peripheral areas facing the commercial streets and informal in the inside lanes. Immediately after independence, the unique open planning of Jaipur city played a crucial role in the selection of Jaipur as the capital of Rajasthan State. This positioning of the city further strengthened its earlier potential for trade and tourism with additions of a number of hotels to cater to the increasing flux of national and international visitors to Jaipur. The Rambagh Palace, the then abode of the ruler, pioneered the concept of heritage hotels in Rajasthan state.

Fig. 10: Condition in the inner sector or chowkri New Ways of Looking at Heritage: Processes

65

Table 1 – Conservation and Urban Renewal Initiatives in Jaipur since 1971 S. No.

Walled City Renewal Initiatives

1

Master Plan Proposal with Specific Heritage Development Works

Year

Organisation Responsible

1971

JDA (Jaipur Development Authority)

No enforcement of works listed in the Master Plan

Identified 300 buildings for conservation, but due to lack of legislation, some of them have totally changed or are demolished.

2

Study of Heritage Buildings within walled city

1985

Ford Foundation and JDA

3

Conservation and Restoration works on heritage structures

1995

Avas Vikas Sansthan and Department of Tourism

1998

JDA

Few works in process

5

Operation Pink, removal of encroachments in main commercial streets of the walled city

2001

JMC (Jaipur Municipal Corporation)

Successfully executed at that time

6

Heritage walk in the Chowkri Modikhana

2001

INTACH and JVF

7

The Asian Development Bank project of infrastructure - Reuse of wells and repair work in the walled city/ installation of sewage pipes

2001

ADB & JMC

8

Multi-storeyed parking options within walled city

2002

JMC, JDA and CTP (Country and Town Planning)

Does not involve conservation professionals and proposed design might be a threat to the historic fabric

9

Jaipur Heritage International Festival

2003

JVF

Successfully continuing and now has UNESCO endorsement

10

A revitalization proposal for Chowkri Modikhana

2004

Asia Urbs

Well researched and documented but not executed because of lack of cooperation from JMC.

Master Plan -2011 addressing needs of the walled city.

4

factors have increasingly put pressure for the conservation and sustenance of this historic city. Moreover, recent trends in heritage conservation globally, visits of international celebrities such as President Clinton in 2001 and Prince Charles in 2006, as well as central urban renewal incentives such as JNNURM (Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission) have revived the local administration’s interest in the conservation of the walled city. A number of conservation initiatives for the walled city have been taken by international organisations, NGOs and local government authorities since Jaipur became the capital of Rajasthan. These are briefly enumerated in Table 1. More recent initiatives by Government of Rajasthan since 2005 include conservation of city gates, Amber Palace, Jaleb Chowk in City Palace and Ghat Ki Guni heritage zone, lighting of several monuments, making of Heritage Acts and Laws and Empanelment of Conservation Architects 66

Outcome

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Proposals were made but there was no implementation

Walks are still continued by JVF but infrastructure conditions in the walk area have become worse Some works were executed but not effectively

to prepare Conservation Proposals for Grade I and Grade II monuments. Though several heritage initiatives for the renewal of walled city have been taken up by the government, NGOs and private sector but they are piecemeal and uncoordinated. These initiatives involve multiple agencies participation with no hierarchical boundaries. Hence, even despite some commendable initiatives: · There is no authentic Heritage Register of all heritage properties of Jaipur till date. · The ground conditions have worsened in the walled city with encroachments, congestion, poor solid waste management etc. · There is no nodal agency for Heritage Conservation and Management

The economy of Jaipur today relies heavily on heritage tourism and cultural industries with at least 30 percent of Jaipur’s population living and working in heritage structures within the walled city. This historic core spread in an area of 6.7 sq km now has the highest density of 58207 persons/ per sq km. Around 3000 tourists visit the city everyday. While the residents of the historic cities vie for modern facilities and architecture and often emulate the newer city architecture in the confines of their historic setting, the tourist continues to search for the authentic historic fabric and traditional setting. REINTERPRETING JAIPUR AND THE MAKING OF A HERITAGE PLAN The increasing tourist and local pressures in historic Jaipur and the inefficacy of continual conservation efforts by multiple organisations have finally lead to the formulation of JHERICO (Jaipur Heritage Committee) that includes government organisations such as the Jaipur Municipal Corporation, Jaipur Heritage Development and Management Authority, Department of Art and Archaeology and NGOs such as Jaipur Virasat Foundation.

Fig. 12: Building the Heritage Register as per typology

Fig. 13: Building the Heritage Register as per typology

Fig. 11: Craftsmen working in the inner sectors

The committee is in the process of making a Heritage Plan for Jaipur city that proposes to review the historic fabric of the city and integrates the 18th century unique planning of Sawai Jai Singh’s Jaipur to the ‘21st Century Renaissance Vision’ of the local residents and NGOs. To fulfil this intention it takes into account not only the historic city planning but also its adaptation to the present trends within the walled city mainly - migration of upper class, changing landuse from residential to commercial, deterioration of historic fabric and lack of infrastructure and management. It intends to translate the Heritage Vision for ‘Jaipur’ into policies for site operations, suggest strategies at planning level and project level, identify the priority areas as per heritage significance and funding and provide direction to move with a particular focus. The plan emphasizes on a people based approach and relies on feedback of experts, residents and visitors for finalisation. It also realises that effective implementation is only possible with support of interest groups in the city of Jaipur and devises strategies where implementation is not totally dependent on government authorities but can be initiated by local residents and NGOs. It is formed as a living document that will be reviewed regularly and will be revised every two years. The Heritage Plan of Jaipur distinctly categorises the present day heritage resources and heritage managers for Jaipur city and outlines the heritage objectives. Besides policies for data collection and documentation, conservation and urban renewal, interpretation and heritage awareness and heritage valuation, it presents an action plan that identifies planning level and New Ways of Looking at Heritage: Processes

67

PLAN PROCESS-DERIVING URBAN CONTROLS

SHIKHARA TYPE Shikhara Temple at Chaupar No permanent additions in front facade Facade to be restored in its form

HAVELI TYPE 1 Haveli Temples on main streets-Type 1 Central and side chatris to be retained and not allowed to cover except with jalis as approved The symmetry of openings to be retained with no addtions

HAVELI TYPE 2 Haveli Temples on main streets-Type 2 No permanent additions in front facade

HAVELI TYPE 3 Haveli Temples on main streets-Type 3 No permanent additions in front facade

No signage or hoardings will be permitted on the facade

No signage or hoardings except name of temple in specified format will be permitted on the facade

Facade to be restored in its original form using materials as specified in the conservation toolkit

Facade to be restored in its original form using materials as specified in the JHERICO conservation toolkit

Facade to be restored in its original form using materials as specified in the JHERICO consevation toolkit

Fig. 14: Evolving urban controls for the city

project level activities for the heritage resources namely, heritage sites outside the walled city, walled city fabric, cultural heritage, archeological/archival heritage and the natural heritage of Jaipur. It analyses the relevance of each within the contextual framework of ownership, heritage significance and economic potential. Besides the policy framework and an action plan, it also aims to build a comprehensive heritage register of all typologies and evolve heritage guidelines and byelaws for each type. Whether the plan document will be realized in part or whole on site is difficult to say but nevertheless, it is an ambitious attempt to reinterpret the historic core of Jaipur and adapt it to the present urban pressures. It is a collaborative effort of the residents, visitors and heritage managers of the city to rebuild it into a 21st century renaissance city keeping in mind two basic ingredients that lead to the making of the 18th century Jaipur – a great urban vision and flourishing trade and economy to realize and sustain the vision.

References: 1. Asher, Catherine (2000), “Mapping Hindu Muslim Identities through the Architecture of Shahjahanbad and Jaipur” in Gilmartin et al (eds.), Beyond Turk and Hindu: Rethinking Religious Identitites in Islamitic South Asia, University of Florida Press, Gainesville 2. Bahura, G. N. (1978) Ramvilaskavyam, City Palace Museum, Jaipur 3. Bhatnagar, V. S., (2002), Life and Times of Sawai Jai Singh, Jodhpur: Book Treasure, p.332 4. Gole, Susan (1989), Maps and Plans of India, Manohar Publishers, Delhi 68

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

5. Jain, Shikha, (2004), Havelis: A Living Tradition of Rajasthan, Shubhi Publications, Gurgaon 6. Jain, Shikha (ed), (2005), Princely Terrain: Amber, Jaipur and Shekhawati, Shubhi Publications, Gurgaon 7. Nath, Aman (1996) Jaipur, The Last Destination, I B Tauris & Co. Ltd. 8. Nath, R. (1996), “Sri Govindadeva’s itinerary from Vrindavana to Jayapura c. 1534-1727” in Case, Margaret (ed), Govindadeva: a Dialogue in Stone, IGNCA Publications, New Delhi 9. Roy, A K. (1978) History of the Jaipur City, Manohar Publications, New Delhi. 10. Parikh, Nandkishore (1984) Rajmahal aur Raniwas (Hindi), Rajasthan Patrika, Jaipur 11. Sarkar, Jadunath (1984) A History of Jaipur, Manohar Publications, New Delhi. 12. Singh, Chandramani and Bahura, G. N. (1990), Catalogue of Historical Documents in Kapad-dwara, Maps and Plans, City Palace Museum, Jaipur 13. Sachdev, Vibhuti and Giles Tillotson, (2001), Building Jaipur: Making of an Indian City, Reaktion Books, London 14. Tillotson, Giles (2006), Jaipur Nama: Tales from the Pink City, Penguin Books, New Delhi

Linking Heritage And Development Practices INTBAU India The following panel discussion, held on 13th January 2007 as part of the sub theme on “New Ways of Looking at Heritage” during the International Conference on the Development of Indian Traditions was an attempt to anchor ideas with their implementation on policy formation and linkages with the government. A discussion on how innovative practices towards both tangible and intangible heritage contribute to sustainable forms of development was held. The role of culture as a resource for development of tourism, arts and crafts was discussed. The role of heritage as a locus for community participation and empowerment was also pondered upon. Overall, there was an attempt to understand who owns heritage- the intellectual property rights, the means of representation and how a place comes to be called one’s own. The Panelists • Richard Engelhardt (Chair of the session) Regional Advisor for Culture in Asia and the Pacific, UNESCO, Bangkok • Debashish Nayak Advisor- Heritage Cell, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation • Gurmeet Rai Director, Cultural Resource Conservation Initiative • Shrashtant Patara The Shelter Group, Development Alternatives • Aruna Paul Simittrarachhi Regional Program Advisor for the South Asian Countries, Habitat for Humanity International Richard Engelhardt: We are examining two streams, out of which one is “process”, i.e. how do we go about doing things, and how the process itself becomes the end. There is never an end to culture because culture is a continuing factor. But we are embedded in the process all the time, though it needs to move forward and be amended if on the wrong track. We cannot put our mind steadfastly on a fixed goal and declare failure if that goal moves, as culture is a moving target. Therefore, we want to think about process along with sustainability. These have been our two tracks, i.e. “sustainability and development” and “heritage’s contribution to process”. It seems we are embedded in this paradigm shift or in fact we are engendering a paradigm shift. We are moving away from a bi-polar thinking of heritage or development, of new or traditional. A bi-polar model was something received from the past but is in fact modernism. A bi-polar way of viewing the world is a modern philosophical concept. In fact the post modern era that we are embedded in, or at the fag end of, is characterised by a reintegration of culture and environment. In fact, the World Heritage Convention, which set the framework for global heritage conservation, was the first international instrument of the post modern

era. And it facilitated this embedding together of culture and development. This has become the mantra of what we are doing with heritage as embedded in sustainable environmental concerns. Thus rose the idea of sustainable development and heritage being not just a component but an anchor for sustainable development. So from this perspective, I would request the panelists to provide some provocative observations and suggest ways of moving ahead. Debashish Nayak: From the beginning we realised that we have beautiful and fantastic cities. The question is on what we do with them and how to connect this process to the mainstream, and secondly on how to get people to accept any such initiative in a much broader way. Subsequently, 10 years ago, we decided to empower the municipal corporation, as this organisation possesses a broader network to reach people, and is run by democratically elected representatives. This was one way of connecting with people and involving them in the decision making process. In a number of places where we started work, one of the predominant questions among the community was on the definition of heritage and why a particular building should not be pulled down. People also have this very limiting idea that heritage is only “built”, and the fact that it goes beyond built form is not generally understood. To make citizens understand the meaning of heritage and how it impacts their day to day lives has been a struggle. This starts from their eating habits, crafts, and lifestyle and eventually how this reflects on their building practices. The question of how to link heritage with development depends on how we lead or upgrade our living status and situations. Fortunately, for the last few years, the Government has been advocating the agenda of the JNNURM, which in fact provides a complete toolkit for heritage conservation on its website. The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, a progressive body, appreciated our previous work and invited us to set up a heritage cell. It was an interesting challenge to create within the regular municipal structure a special context from where to initiate heritage related work. While working on this, it was realized that it isn’t important to just make laws- INTACH was founded in 1984, listing of heritage regulations was carried out in Bombay, and in Delhi, heritage walks were initiated. Instead, there was a need to put together the various components in a way that connected directly with people, made them conscious of what they have and what they want. This was because it was realised while working in Ahmedabad and other cities, that even though people live in their cities, they don’t know their cities. It was thus decided to initiate a programme of heritage walks, as exists all over the world, including Delhi. These walks were started to act as catalysts for the initiative. They were promoted through the municipal corporation so as to integrate them into the agency’s primary developmental agenda. In Ahmedabad, this project has been very successful for the last ten years, and every morning, a group of volunteers take people on walks around the city. The walk tries to connect the different cultures and forces existing in the city. For instance, one typical walk would begin from a temple and end at a mosque. Through this process, one realized that there were around 60,000 properties worth looking at, with 15,000 of these having now been listed as heritage properties. In the matters of finance, there are various levels of funding. Possibility of help from HUDCO was difficult, as housing New Ways of Looking at Heritage: Processes

69

finance companies give loans for repair of buildings that are only less than 15 years old. But after following up with HUDCO for 5 years, they were finally convinced to provide loans for older properties. This was albeit at a higher rate of interest at 3%. The municipal corporation now provides free consultation to people on how to get their properties restored. But this was only one side of the coin, as convincing people to get their buildings restored was a separate matter. Ultimately, it was realised that people were actually getting the interiors renovated, namely the toilets, kitchens and the bedrooms, thus almost planning the heritage structures anew. People are also very unsure about conservation as they feel that the government might snatch away their property if declared of heritage value. So it took a long time and effort, but ultimately, the people in the relatively progressive state of Gujarat, finally realised the benefits of restoring their heritage properties. By now almost a hundred buildings have been restored, and many are big projects enlisting community level fund raising. Many other cities are also recognising the efforts in Ahmedabad. Many people are now convinced on and appreciate the basic benefits of this process. Initially, “heritage” wasn’t talked about, and no heritage law was published, leading to politicians not accepting this approach. But later, special measures like the Municipal Corporation reducing the floor space index and other incentives like lower taxes for older buildings were brought in. These were brought in gradually over a 5-6 year period. Bit by bit, we introduced different legal procedures and also convinced people on the need for conserving heritage. The media also played a very important role in writing about heritage from time to time. Thus, it is a continuous process and the success of our effort lies in linking heritage with people’s everyday needs. It is also very important to link the enhancement of people’s own prestige with the development of their heritage building. Richard Engelhardt: The challenge emerging from the above description focuses on how to embed heritage conservation issues in government policies. Heritage conservation and the continuance of evolved knowledge as embedded in heritage, traditions and society cannot be sacrificed if sustainable development is to be achieved. Countries as diverse as China and Bhutan are embedding this into their policies. Everyone must be aware of Bhutan’s “Gross National Happiness Indicators” which make the direct connection that “heritage conservation” equals “sustainable development” equals “good governance”. Just last year, China also issued a new set of sustainable development guidelines as a checklist. Debashish Nayak: At the end of the day people need to see concrete, brick and mortar work to restore buildings or structures. There is also a need to have community participation in accepting that effort. In Japan, there exists a governmental process guiding communities to form a group. They are then given general guidelines for their evolution and are entitled to hire a government paid expert to plan for them. In Taiwan as well, master planning process encourage the community to do the same thing. The professional thus continuously coordinates between the day to day activities and their integration in the main planning process. The integration of these two levels is vital.

70

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

In Ahmedabad there are 600 neighbourhoods and it was realized that 120 of these were clean and well maintained; while in others the quality of life was deteriorating. The reason for the maintenance of these neighbourhoods was the adoption of the old Indian tradition of a “Panchayat”, where a group of five people manage and administer the day to day activities of the community. So we mapped and recreated this management process in the other neighbourhoods as well to examine where it works and where it doesn’t. The politicians did not appreciate this though and were scared of this people-empowerment process. This linking of the community with planning projects is an important process helping in developmental efforts. Shrashtant Patara: I can offer a contrary view to the whole discussion. As Richard mentioned, there may already be a paradigm shift taking place in terms of how we understand issues of conservation of heritage and how we link them to developmental practice and good governance. This example shows what we face on a day to day basis. Our organisation does a lot of work in the Bundelkhand region, especially Orchha, which is a historical town lying somewhere in between Jhansi and Khajuraho. We are a group of architects, engineers and sociologists, who are trying to work with the local community to enable them to not only conserve, but capitalise on their heritage. This was much more difficult than when we were called upon by the Municipal Corporation of Orchha, to take up certain initiatives. This was because, being a municipality, it is much easier for them to decide, for e.g. on whether they’d like a market or a bus stop developed in a stylistically linked fashion. There is a desire in the professional community to do something with the somewhat interested community, but with a total lack of resources or empowerment to put those intentions into practice. In comparison, a municipality can act much faster. Our work has mainly been to see how 3 simple development goals can be fulfilled in poor and rural communities. One is the goal for income, not necessarily from a regular job but only livelihood security. The second is a desire for a clean and healthy environment and the third is a desire for social empowerment that gets vocalised through access to education. Looking at these three goals and identifying how heritage can play a role in development practices, we see the following: Heritage is a real source of ideas, traditional knowledge, inspiration and references of skills that people have. More importantly, heritage is also a platform and opportunity because of the renewed interest in heritage rich areas, to create the resources that we need to accelerate sustainable community development. Heritage is a major opportunity for pushing faster various aspects of community development. Once the importance of heritage is realised, a few important questions come to the fore. Are we looking at people’s strengths or is it a problem? The problem-solution, needresponse paradigm is being questioned. The first thing is to unearth strengths and identify the kind of initiatives which can be launched on these strengths. Examples of these strengths include “traditional knowledge and skills” or “solidarity of the community” which can form the basis of action. We start with strengthening local institutions like the women’s group or the village as a whole, and look for the inbuilt solidarity which, once brought on surface, can be the basis of action.

There is a very strong human dimension to this, as this is basically about people and what they can do. This leads us to the question of ownership in launching a sustainable community development process. Are the people who embody the heritage being made the shareholders, not stake holders- which is a soft term and easy to use? If you look at a typical heritage building being turned into a hotel, then there will be a desire among the people who are investing to own the asset. But a distinction can be made between the asset and what is happening. The question here is, are the people being made actual shareholders and are they the actual decision makers? There is an infinite number of possibilities that open up once you look at these potential strengths and examine the question of ownership.

interesting thing is that it is focusing on the issue of strengths and looking at heritage as a knowledge resource. Every magazine, whether it is the Economist, India Today or Forbes talks about knowledge and information as the most valuable commodities for development in the 21st century.

Richard Engelhardt:

We as practitioners only practice from one project to another and don’t find time to examine whether a theoretical framework informs our work. Heritage and Development are two processes happening in parallel, one being internal and the other, external. And as a conservation professional, on entering a particular situation, the external aspect involves the measurable output according to which the work is going to be judged. The internal process is based on people’s culture, memory and history which is etched in their DNA.

That is exactly what we should be thinking and the directions that we should be looking at. As architects and urban planners there are new skills to be learnt as we have a very different shareholder base than clients who have been trained to be served. Aruna Paul Simittrarachhi: When we talk about development practices, we need to turn back to ourselves and ask what the assumptions, the presumptions and the beliefs we have about development. How appreciative are we of the gifts that each person possesses, because every person is born with a gift to share. Are we convinced of this idea, and can we take steps, so that the skills of the person grow and the community grows along with him. For e.g. in rural areas, communities like the potter community are neglected and considered untouchables. There are other communities under the schedule castes who are neglected too. These people possess many skills in terms of construction techniques and traditional practices but they are still neglected and looked down upon. On approaching a community who used bamboo extensively, we realised that they did not appreciate its value and their own skills. They were not aware that bamboo is strong and renewable, and is therefore to be appreciated as a building material. Even in English we use the word “tatty” for bamboo walls, which is not an appreciative word, thus creating a bad mental image. Therefore, we have yet to accept the riches within the communities and the people. By Heritage, we mean the values, the beliefs, the richness of a culture, and how we can tap these resources for development. Unless the people are involved in the struggle of overcoming a problem, they will never overcome it. While talking about growth, development, sustainability, only the true involvement of people can make things happen. Therefore, process should concentrate on exploring the talents of each person and on exposing him to a world of knowledge. All the religions have talked about ‘vidya’ and ‘avidya’, about ignorance leading to a person’s downfall. In India, as we have so many heritages, culture and richness of tradition, how far are we going to help people realise the importance of cultivating and developing these. Our organisation is trying to work with small groups, like the micro finance groups and illiterate groups by helping them understand, read and write, and move forward for their own development. Richard Engelhardt: There is consensus evolving out of this discussion and the

A friend of mine once said that the important thing to understand about culture as a resource is that it is accessible to everyone and cultural knowledge is evenly distributed and cannot be monopolised by any particular group. So when we are looking at universal development and issues of poverty eradication, we have to look at the knowledge resources embedded in our heritage. Gurmeet Rai:

As Leon Krier mentioned, while working on a particular site, people come and talk to us about their traditions and feelings for their heritage. These people who get drawn here are usually the most vulnerable segment of the society. In our experience of working at unprotected monuments, it is the youth, people without jobs, women and children who come and hang around the site. Therefore, when looked at in this manner, heritage conservation can actually be a tool for healing in the present day. How can this internal get institutionalized in the external process? Initially, it was only the department of archaeology and the Ministry of Culture that one was interacting with to make any heritage project happen. But over the years, there has been a change and there are now, many more resources for the projects through the tourism ministry. The next step would be to move towards urban and rural development with heritage consciousness as part of it and to put a framework in place to institutionalise the internal process. We have world heritage cities all over the world except in India and the reason is because we haven’t taken our heritage development and conservation sensitive to our cultural traditions into the urban framework. So when the world heritage society turns around and says that we realise that India has a lot of heritage but how are you going to manage it we really don’t have any answers because we are still working with tools that are hundred years old, developed by the colonisers and they really need to be reworked so that they can be appropriate to the present day context. I would urge INTBAU, The Nabha Foundation and practitioners to actually look at one town and Nabha could be a starting point. Thus, we can actually translate our concerns of the internal and the external processes within the current legal framework, and make a plan for Nabha to see how we can link heritage with development. Richard Engelhardt: The “Enquiry by Design” tool seems an interesting way to structure this. Many of us who have worked in educational institutes all our lives, are sometimes at loss at not having a structure to help us deal with such issues.

New Ways of Looking at Heritage: Processes

71

To follow on with what Gurmeet Rai said about heritage conservation touching the most vulnerable sections of the society, this is always a big problem for the developmental agencies. How does one approach the pockets of vulnerability? One can develop people who are already developed pretty easily, but people who have fallen through the holes are extremely difficulty to get at surgically. In terms of healing, I would like quote an example from my work at the Security Council, when we were dealing with the Cambodian peace process. The four contending factions of the Khmer Rouge would just not talk to each other and would also not come to the table. Once, while sitting with the Prince, who later became king, I expressed my wish to be actually conserving “Angkor Vat”. The Prince jumped at the idea and expressed that this could be made a platform for our dialogue. This happened and the four factions came to the table and for the first time a dialogue took place. The ceasefire followed along with the demobilisation of the troops subsequently. Most of the men in the country were in the army and after demobilisation, didn’t know what to do. So we provided them jobs at Angkor, where they did all sorts of work from gardening, conservation to acting as tourist guides etc. This resulted into Angkor Vat becoming the driver of Cambodia’s economy and it lifted it out of economic disaster. Not only has Angkor become the biggest conservation work site in the world, but is also the largest economic spinner as a single monument in the world. This is an example of up scaling conservation issues to the national level and the impact they can possibly have. OPEN HOUSE Matthew Hardy: The “Enquiry by Design” process, is the trademark of the Prince’s Foundation, INTBAU’s sister organisation. INTBAU uses a similar community based approach, terming it “design workshops”. Both the methods are very similar to the “Charrette” method which is use in the United States. Therefore, it is something on which a lot of organizations are working on as a consultative community based approach. Naresh Karmalker: Identifying the meaning of heritage beyond the buildings and structures, and examining community inheritances and traditions sounds very interesting. This brings me to the area of work called the Official Level Enquiry. It has been around for 20 years or more and has been very effective in pushing urban revival. As Shrashtant Patara mentioned, it is important to find what gives people pleasure and excitement in the place they live. What are those heritages that they are proud of and what do they want to conserve? And the moment this heritage dialogue is widened from just the structure, it encompasses everything. And when the community backs this, it make all the difference. Currently, this seems to be divided. On one hand are the government sponsored and backed conservation projects which look at monuments etc. These end up in a wonderful state of renovation, but with a huge entry fee where locals don’t have access. On the other hand, in a community led, community owned and community desired initiative, it is a completely different story. This is possible despite the long processes required to work with the community. For e.g., in Mumbai, when we were working in solid waste

72

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

management 10 years ago, we came upon this concept of a street community, called “Advanced Locality Management”. While there are thousands of street communities, for the purpose of conservation, it is still a small group which could be talked to about heritage. Therefore, besides the elite large scale conservation projects looking at heritage at that scale, these small groups could work on heritage along with their existing concerns of garbage control and street lighting. There is therefore a need for inclusiveness for all, and conservation architects and other professionals need to upgrade their skills in creating an atmosphere where people can take pride in what they have, their traditions and be empowered to own these. This is the only sustainable way we have seen that one can bring about change. Ashutosh Sohoni: A couple of issues common to the creation of the heritage buildings and reflected in the heritage process are “Patronage” and “Political ideology”. None of the architecture of the cities comes up without being influenced by these. Patronage and Political ideology have influenced the creation of all things. How do we explain the role of these factors in the heritage process? How do we raise patronage, who could be the patrons and how can we facilitate patronage? Unless we can find an answer to this question, I don’t believe this process is moving ahead. Debashish Nayak: In answering the above, I would remember our bumping into the term “Patronised development”. A few months back, when we went to survey some of the restored buildings in Ahmedabad, we noticed a drastic improvement in the total well being of the families. In every family there was a change for the better, whether in terms of getting a job, being able to rent out a part of the house, admissions in good schools or colleges, etc. Another thing that we observed was that the community had became much stronger. Earlier people had started leaving the old city of Ahmedabad, having given up on it. But pursuant to the starting of the restoration and conservation work, and media attention which accompanied it, people began to realise their own power. They formed groups and came to the Heritage cell for technical assistance. In fact the first community project there was supported by The World Development Fund. It was a one-to-one project i.e. the community would put one rupee and one rupee would be contributed by the organization. This worked quite well, and interestingly in one instance, on a very dilapidated house. People were delighted at this possibility of restoring their houses, and didn’t want to leave their old structures anymore. Currently in fact, the number of people coming to the fore to get their buildings restored is so huge that it is becoming quite difficult to reach everyone. But that is a separate issue. The most important achievement has been the building of faith which the community achieved within itself, which one never thought possible earlier. Even in Calcutta, there are around 400 palaces and originally, none of the incumbent families knew each other. When the heritage movement started there, instead of attending political party meetings, which are very important and well organised in Calcutta, the people instead chose to attend heritage meetings. Today, every family in north Calcutta, a heritage zone, know each other and are doing their own meetings, working with the municipality, doing restoration and jointly managing litigation matters. Heritage’s biggest achievement

can be to bring people together as a community, rebuilding their faith in themselves and empower themselves.

is taken up, it will take the cause of sustainability, heritage and responsible development a lot further.

Shrashtant Patara:

Richard Engelhardt:

The issue of patronage is quite challenging, in terms of what it has brought to the heritage process. According to me, patrons bring vision and resources to a project, and help set up a process to get things going. Good patrons also bring about a measure of accountability to the process. Now whether this is ultimately a positive or negative influence is not for me to say, but in my personal opinion, there should be no need for patronage. There is a way out, particularly in context with this discussion, where we are linking heritage with development. In Development, almost by definition, one has an external change agent coming into the process. The processes that the external change agent sets up could ensure that the community develops a vision and generates resources, although it did not uptil now. But there is no reason why a community, which is strong and united, could not raise investment for whatever they wished. An external change agent could also set up a process that is robust and bring in accountability. Therefore, in my opinion, we must look at all the functions that a good patron performs, and see whether in development practice, those same project functions can be fulfilled from within the community itself.

This discussion has produced a wonderful convergence of ideas and has certainly consolidated the past ten years of a definite paradigm shift in the understanding of heritage, where it can be found, its uses, culture and the seamless nature of this heritage from the past into the present. Heritage is a living resource for future development and this paradigm shift shows that whereas in the past, heritage was a purview of the politician, it has now become the responsibility as well as the prerogative of every person.

Richard Engelhardt: In a democratic and contemporary society, the government functions as a patron through the tax structure and reinvestment in the democratic structure, for e.,g. in the making of schools, hospitals, concert halls and public parks, etc. which were privately initiated in earlier times. Pushpa Arabindoo: There is a problematic interface between heritage and development in talking about the issue of encroachments. There is no way to say that we have to remove encroachments to make monuments visible or accessible. So the question is how you deal with encroachments with regards to heritage so that they don’t continue to be problematic to each other? Richard Engelhardt: This is reverting to the issue of good governance. Takahiro Noguchi: The urban culture has been contesting for space post modernity. And the notion that culture is a resource for development is really a big paradigm shift. It has not been properly thought about, theorised or studied because the ramifications are still quite new. And it is important for the all the practitioners to explore the impact of this shift, its meaning and possibly its pitfalls. Nimish Patel: Ashutosh has brought up a very significant point about patronage. To me, every single one of us is a potential patron. We need to look at the definition of resources differently. Patronage of resources does not necessarily mean finances and each one of us is in a position to support a cause, whether big or small. Therefore the exchange of money is not the main point. Patronage has a very large definition and it is the one tool that we have missed out on. And if such patronage

New Ways of Looking at Heritage: Processes

73

New Ways of Looking at Heritage: Contextual Framework

Heritage- A Key Resource For Sustainable Development: An International Perspective Minja Yang Director- UNESCO office in New Delhi This article explores the meaning behind urban patterns, natural heritage and the interface between nature and the culture of the residents through the initiatives taken up by UNESCO in India. These projects fall in the realm of urban conservation for development, the first one being a network established at the initiative of UNESCO with the support of the Ministry of Urban Development of the Government of India. The Network of Indian Cities of Living Heritage was launched in September 2006 with an inaugural conference at Jaipur, in collaboration with the Jaipur Virasat Foundation and the Urban Development Department of Rajasthan.

the States of India refer to “urban heritage”. This has made it one of UNESCO’s objectives for India, to adopt a legal definition of heritage that goes beyond monuments – the grand architectural masterworks of religious, royal or official nature. One also needs to add here, the fact that buildings of vernacular architecture- of which there are many in India, given its vast geographical area and varying physical and climatic features- are not legally protected as “heritage”. This amounts to saying that history is only made of what rulers, soldiers and the religious order have done, and ignoring the role of the common people like the farmers, fishermen, the craftspeople, the merchants, the industrial workers etc. Protection of the built heritage of India must include what makes India exceptional- or credibly incredible. UNESCO defines culture in all its form, as a way of life, and needless to say, the diversity of the Indian population makes its culture truly incredible. Why lose it?

The genesis of this network was to seize the opportunity of the dynamics being created as a result of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) under which substantial funds are being made available for sixty three cities, of which ten are to be “heritage” cities. Why designate just ten as heritage cities when heritage exists in all the cities? All cities should benefit from the upgrading of urban infrastructure and, at the same time be able to valorise their heritage through this Mission. The intent was to meet the challenge of guiding Indian cities into the 21st century by demonstrating, through concrete examples, how a city can become a vibrant urban centre with all the modern infrastructure and amenities while maintaining the wealth of its heritage, the wisdom and memories of its past. Showing how “traditional” is modern, and “heritage” is contemporary, is UNESCO’s aim, by showcasing to the world that Indian cities, perhaps the earliest in the world, have evolved into modernity without breaking from their past. The JNNURM set up a task force on heritage, chaired by Charles Correa and UNESCO was asked to become a member. Prof. A.G.K. Menon led the group for setting the guidelines that cities should follow in reviewing the City Development Plans, which all the cities have to prepare in order to be eligible for the grant from the JNNURM. This was considered a long awaited opportunity at the UNESCO World Heritage Centre since, up till then not a single Indian city had been listed on the World Heritage List. Of the twenty six sites in India on the List, twenty are cultural sites, most of which are monuments. Not a single town or urban area is officially recognized for its “outstanding universal value”. This is regrettable, given the fabulous urban heritage in India depicting the long and illustrious narrative of the Indian city, forming an integral part of the global story of humankind. One of the challenges of working in India is that whenever one talks of heritage, it is synonymous with “monuments”. This may perhaps be attributed to the fact that the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the Union Government’s heritage conservation body has been mandated primarily to protect monuments and archaeological sites under the Antiquities Act; and that none of the Town and Country Planning Acts of any of

Heritage is not just about monuments (top)Heritage is as diverse as the cities themselves- the layout, the pattern, the planning and growth of a settlement (above) and the way a settlement has evolved in relation to its natural surrounding (left)

New Ways of Looking at Heritage: Contextual Framework

77

A city’s heritage is also about its streets (above & right) and the interface between nature and the culture of its residents (below)

It came to UNESCO’s notice that the majority of grants submitted under the JNNURM were for infrastructure, which is understandable given the desire of the people for functioning physical services. Heritage is not just about street patterns, public space; it also deals with gutters, sewages and other basic utilities, road upgrading, even airports and underground metros. It also involves making sure that the developers and people understand how to deal with it correctly so as not to ruin the urban morphology, the street pattern, the skyline of the town, the vistas and the perspectives of the historic built environment that give the city a sense of history within contemporary life. It is about living in the present and doing your daily errands while walking through centuries of history. The beauty of the Indian built environment is the spatial organization of the houses and the link between private and public spaces- the gradual path leading from the public street to the semi-private area and into the inner courtyards. Such a journey leading to the intimacy of the inner private spaces can be experienced in the Chettinad houses of Tamil Nadu. UNESCO has recently joined forces with the Chettinad Heritage Committee and the French NGO, Arche-S, to safeguard and develop the heritage of these houses. In a few cities like Kolkata, the attention is shifting more and more to the public buildings, but the private houses are yet to be considered of any heritage value. The State Governments and Central Services tend to invest more in their official buildings, such as the State Secretariat buildings and railway stations, which become a matter of pride. Donors and international development banks have now begun providing soft loans for the conservation of this type of heritage but the conservation of private property is still not considered to be a priority. UNESCO 78

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

A city’s heritage is about courtyards (above left), gardens, private buildings, facades (above right), public spaces (below), markets, indoor spaces, detailing, crafts, festivals and rituals(bottom)

has consistently maintained that the historic houses that make up the streetscape should be recognized as a part of the public space and should receive government attention. Tourism is now recognised as an important economic sector. This has resulted in development banks like the Asian Development Bank and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation providing soft loans in India, for the conservation of historic water bodies as well as of major heritage sites, such as Ajanta and Ellora, although, much of heritage still remains in the non-aid sector Still, there is a lot that is left to be done, for example in the rehabilitation of historic markets. In parts of Africa and the Magreb State, especially Morocco, significant loans have been provided to safeguard traditional markets, which are now major tourist attractions. In Senegal and Cambodia, among other countries, the Agence Francaise de Development, the French Development Agency has financed the renovation of fabulous market halls of great architectural value which have brought “heritage” to the daily life of the common people. In the Mediterranean countries there is a big movement to revive the traditional market but some have become too gentrified with the boutiques of top designers, thereby replacing the shops of the craftspeople. These renovated markets are void of any interest if the craftspeople are not around to animate it, along with the vegetable stands and fishmongers, and the pots and pans of local fabrication. UNESCO has always equated cultural heritage to people’s livelihoods and festivals and rituals. The 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Heritage was held to highlight the importance of governments in supporting communities in order to safeguard their culture while evolving into modernity. Governments, by seeking international recognition of their representative

intangible heritage which is in need of urgent safeguarding, can demonstrate to the international community their commitment to the protection and contemporary value of not only the masterpieces of this heritage but also the more ‘modest’ traditions of their citizens.

In India, more than any other country, there exists such a rich variety in heritage, both the built and the living, that every corner of the country is replete with spectacular heritage. What is distressing is that much of it is not understood to be heritage. Priceless buildings, villages and towns of breathtaking beauty and great significance to the history of this nation are being destroyed and being replaced by an ocean of chaotic urban growth- buildings not only devoid of any aesthetics but even those that are structurally dangerous. In spite of the fact that 70% of India’s population still remains rural, the urban pressure is immense. The urban population of India may only be 30% of the national total but in terms of numbers, it represents the second largest urban population of the world; and about the same

Threats- Migration, poverty, ever increasing pressure on the city infrastructure, poor urban development, lack of maintenance & management, real estate pressure, environmental degradation

New Ways of Looking at Heritage: Contextual Framework

79

as the entire population of the USA; or close to 70% of the entire European Union or the African continent. There is a continuing infrastructural pressure as well as a mounting aggravation in the quality of life in the urban areas. Even in the areas where the government is spending funds on infrastructure, there exists the same sorry state of dysfunction due to the lack of maintenance. There is a lot to be done in terms of training to build capacities in government public services as well as in building institutions to meet new needs. Another grave problem facing the Indian cities is the pressure on real estate. The scale of the demolitions of illegally constructed buildings in Delhi over the last one year is staggering. While it sets a good example in stopping illegal constructions, not only in the heritage protected area covering 100 metres surrounding the protected monuments but even in the 200 metres thereafter of the controlled area, it is disconcerting to witness the huge loss of resources. There is a need for investigations on how these illegal buildings came about. This is not to blame anyone but in order to ensure that such a ridiculous wastage of valuable resources is not repeated.

Heritage is a resource for urban regeneration

The bigger question that needs to be addressed is how one can make modern contemporary living compatible with heritage conservation. UNESCO is convinced that it is possible to preserve the historic areas, or at least essential parts of them, while introducing modern facilities at the same time. There are examples, primarily in Europe, where urban regeneration has been possible, thanks to the impetus given by the existing heritage; and where private sector investments have been harnessed by the government for creating an enabling environment. Moreover, due to such policies and programmes, new employment opportunities have been created through the revival of traditional skills and community-based socio-economic development efforts. UNESCO is not a funding agency like the World Bank or the Asian Development Bank, and cannot invest huge sums of

Hampi

80

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

money in revitalisation and renewal projects. Its work is more about promoting technical solutions that are appropriate to the social and economic conditions available in the communities. It is essentially a solution exchange agency. In India, urban planning is a concurrent subject and has been de-centralized. Consequently, a lot of local initiatives that have led to interesting and successful solutions in urban renewal, even conservation or monumental conservation, are not necessarily known to other states. This necessitated the creation of this network to permit the exchange of ideas between the Indian cities and the experts, and also to facilitate international co-operation for urban renewal through heritage in a more organised manner. UNESCO’S objectives are to address the following issues: • Interpretation • Community awareness • Protection • Capacity-building • Sustainability issues • Linkage of development paradigms with the work practices UNESCO’s involvement in Hampi, which dates back to 1999, revealed that the urban development department of Karnataka did not think it necessary to integrate heritage protection into the Master Plan. Even on the map of the Master Plan, it was not deemed necessary to plot the protected heritage monuments, nor to demarcate the 100 metre protected area around the ASI protected monuments, the riverbank protection area or the protected forest reserve, despite the existence of the various laws for their protection. The prevalent view was that the Master Plan is only meant for development and infrastructure and not conservation, in spite of all the required laws being applicable. This indicated serious gaps in the understanding, of the professionals in charge, on urban and territorial management. Despite having had well-meaning intentions, there existed a lack of sensitisation on the issue. The unavailability of maps posed another problem, the maps being either outdated or only the revenue map being available. The legislation and the regulatory framework need to be addressed and appropriately revised. There are no specific building regulations or urban design guidelines for the 100metre ASI notified area around monuments and in the 200-metre controlled area, other than the issue of a nonobjection certificate by ASI. This leads to value judgement by individual ASI officers which might make them the target of criticism even if they are trying to do an honest and professional job. The recognition of the importance of the natural and urban setting needs particular attention. Highlighting the heritage in public spaces is also a priority. Even if public space may

not have had a big traditional role in India in the past, this is going to become important because life styles and the way of community exchange are changing. One also needs to take into account the risk factor, bearing in mind the environmental context. This is where the

Base map of Hampi (above); Vernacular architecture of the region (above left); Outside one of the many monumnets in Hampi (left)

to thirteen. There are seven French cities which have come forward to help UNESCO in this initiative as “international partners”. Their support is going to be more in terms of technical advice on methodology, governance issues on cultural resources management (as conservation is mainly about governance), and not necessarily financial support.

natural and the heritage conservation plan links with the master plan. There should be a concerted effort by the conservationists to work with the town planners. The close to ten-year effort in Hampi has been worthwhile in this regard. The town planners of Karnataka are beginning to understand that the conservation plan is a part of the urban and regional development plan, and needs to be integrated in the Master Plan. There needs to be a holistic approach to territorial planning. In Luang Prabang, Laos, UNESCO has helped the national and local authorities in not only developing guidelines for the World Heritage site, but also for the surrounding area to ensure a territorial coherence. This will ensure that the future town extension plan and activities are in harmony with the core World Heritage protected area. Moreover, efforts are on for establishing a biosphere reserve in the Khan River Basin where Luang Prabang is situated, with the help of the authorities. This will enable the tourism development in the natural scenic areas near the World Heritage town of Luang Prabang to complement the cultural heritage tourism, leading to longer stays and better spread of the economic benefits to those in the entire region. The charter for the Cities of Living Heritage Network was signed by seven Indian cities, which subsequently increased

Various issues need to be addressed: • Awareness of the valuable resources • Questions of ownership; there are multiple owners in case of most heritage buildings • Rent control act • Access to finances UNESCO is prepared to serve, for an initial period, as the secretariat of the Network, facilitating exchange between cities and in developing city-to-city partnerships, involving universities and research institutes and imparting skills for mobilising community participation etc. It is projected that in the future, the secretariat of the Network would become self-sustaining and evolve into a veritable network of the local authorities and the experts. The French Association of Cities and Regions of Art and History (ANVPAH) established in 1985 by the French Ministry of Culture, which now has 130 cities and regions as its members, has joined the Indian Network as an international partner. ANVPAH supports its member cities and regions in creating a heritage cell for the development of pro-active programmes, to animate and involve the local communities in heritage protection and promotion activities. These heritage cells generally have offices in the heritage area neighbourhood. These “heritage houses” have two-three or more full-time professionals and volunteer animators. They get the inhabitants, schools and various associations- be they youth or retired people’s associationsto carry out heritage conservation and public awareness activities. The heritage cells in France are very community oriented. The ANVPAH is supported and subsidised by New Ways of Looking at Heritage: Contextual Framework

81

both the national government and the local authorities. It is indeed very encouraging for UNESCO to have them as international partners for the Indian Cities Network. The Loire Valley Mission is a good example of such a joint collaboration. This Mission was created by two regional governments, four departmental councils and 160 communes of the Loire Valley World Heritage Site. It covers an area of about 280 linear kilometres along the Loire River which is protected under the World Heritage Convention, under the category of cultural landscapes.

All of UNESCO’s actions are grounded in the international cultural conventions adopted by the UNESCO General Conference which is composed of all the governments of the world. In addition to the well-known World Heritage Convention of 1972, there is the 2003 Convention of the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, the 2005 Convention for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, the 1954 Convention that dealt with protection of cultural properties in armed conflict, the 1970 convention on illicit trafficking of cultural properties along with a series of UNESCO Recommendations that cover the role of museums in contemporary society, the significance of historic areas in contemporary life, the impact of public and private works on heritage etc. These conventions and recommendations have and are still playing a vital role in setting up international standards.

Loire Valley World Heritage Site

The Mission of the Loire Valley World Heritage Site is now cooperating with the Association of the Mayors of Mali (AMM)’s River and Heritage Task Force, which groups together 120 communes along the 1,400-kilometre stretch of the Niger River in Mali. Loire Valley Mission is also partnering with the Khan River Eco-Valley of Luang Prabang to protect and develop the heritage along the Khan River, a tributary of the Mekong River. They are ready to support a project for a river in India as well. UNESCO has already brokered a partnership between the Varanasi city authorities and the Rhone River Heritage Mission based in Lyon, France. More recently, the authorities of Logrono city and the regional government of La Rioja of Spain have also agreed to become international partners to the Indian Cities for Living Heritage Network. In addition, several universities in India, France, Italy and Spain have expressed their willingness to join this network. International professional entities like the International Union of Architects (UIA) as well as the United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), which is a federation of local authorities based in Barcelona, Spain, are also keen on supporting the same. UNESCO’s work is not to “import” systems from other countries to India but merely to make available the experiences, both good and bad, of other cities and countries. There are numerous lessons to be learnt from the past-solutions to various types of problems which emerged after a lot of funds and intelligence had been invested. Why reinvent the wheel and repeat the same errors when there is much to be learnt from others? This is true especially in terms of methodologies that can and must be adapted as well as tested to suit the objective conditions and cultural specificities of each city and each country. 82

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

We, at UNESCO, consider it an opportunity and challenge to support like minded individuals and organizations in their endeavour to promote a sustainable future for our cities, by making available its experience as well as of those from around the world, in India and to the global pool of knowledge.

Photographs & Illustrations Credit: UNESCO

Conceptual Framework Of Vaastu Sashikala Ananth Architect- Vadivam, Chennai

or modular planning, alignment of philosophy and design, local building materials, relationship with the environment and finally the aesthetics and symbolism employed in the design which are culturally relevant. MOTHER GODDESS/BHOOMI

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Vaastu as it is being called today was known as the Vaastu Shilpa Shastra until a few decades ago. The principles of this Shastra (scientific treatise) are contained in written texts known for their in-depth analysis of all aspects of building and sculpture. Originally there were 32 texts out of which sixteen Sanskrit texts have come down to us, and a host of local texts in different languages. Some of the texts offer more information on iconography and iconometry, some also offer information on simple rituals in community life. Traditional towns and cities have been described in great detail in the Puranas/mythology and Itihasa/history. The orderly way in which settlements are designed as well as the aesthetic sensibility employed in the design have been eulogized by many historians down the ages which include Marco Polo, Huen Tsang, Domingo Paes and Fernao Nuniz. The discipline in the design as well as the dominant aesthetic metaphor employed in the design has been very distinct to the Indian sub-continent with multiple styles differing from region to region. Underlying the differences there are some unifying principles that have been fostered by traditional communities for centuries and today, it is the job of designers like us to put them together in an appropriate manner for changing times.

The earth nurtures all plant forms and other flora. The tradition considers the Earth/Bhoomi a primary mother goddess while the life energy contained in it is considered a male principle. And since the built space grows out of the earth organically, exploding into form, it is seen as a manifestation of the energy of the female principle. The land/Bhoomi possesses vibrant stillness, which is anchored in the soil, which is energy of the male principle. Though the Earth is considered a primary mother goddess, in the Indian tradition the male and female are inextricably linked. The movement from stillness to bliss is the secret of creation. The still centre within the earth is male/Shivam and the energy that is the energy of creation of manifested reality is Shakti/female. PHILOSOPHIES IN VAASTU Vastu, Vaastu and Prasada Vaastu The Earth is a primary substance or vastu. The life force contained within the earth is called Vastu by the tradition. All objects that occupy the earth and contain this life energy, in turn is also called Vastu by the tradition. All life forms such as plants and trees, buildings and sculptures are all considered alive and part of the whole living subsystem.

The tradition of architecture in this country goes back a long way, with the existence of planned towns such as Mohenjo Daro and Harappa, Dwaraka, Kanchi, Ayodhya and Kashi. The traditional knowledge and expertise is recorded both in the form of texts (known as Vaastu Shilpa Shastras) as well as oral knowledge and skills which continue to be a living practice generally known as the vernacular or folk idiom of building.

Each substance or Vastu is placed on a plane of support. This plane is called Vaastu. Vaastu can be further explained as a living/dwelling space. ‘Vas’ means ‘to be’ or ‘to live’. Vaastu is the individual site meant for building as well as the built form. More specifically the built form is known as Prasada Vaastu.

Unlike the cerebrally evoked systems of philosophy (which developed much later) the Vaastu Shastras maintain that science or vignana, grammar or lakshana, experience or anubhava and integration or samyoga between the Jivatman and Paramatman are all part of the total Universal process. There is no way in which this process can be separated and compartmentalised.

The energy that lies in its unmanifested state in all universal space is known as Paramatman. This name denotes the live energy residing in every particle of universal space. The energy that exists within the human organism (which is also Vastu), is Jivatman. The Jivatman has to be in alignment with the larger collective order, the Paramatman.

THE THEORY OF HOLISM IN VEDANTA, YOGA AND AYURVEDA The philosophies of India constantly shape and re-shape the fundamental belief that the human being is part of a larger cosmic order which is controlled by a ‘primary intelligence’. This intelligence is called God or Atman or Brahman. Every action, every thought, form and result is a part of the Brahman and His plan. Therefore the disturbances in the mind or the body of an individual can be healed or harmonised through an orderly intervention into the total system (soma, psyche, spirit). This is further extended in Ayurveda, where the controlled use of herbs, oils, massage, diet and meditation can bring back most problems of balance to a state of subjective harmony. In Vaastu, this movement of disorder to order is achieved through the application of several types of design parameters. They are namely : Ayadi or beneficial calculation, Pada Vinyasa

Jivatman, Paramatman

Centering – Brahmasthana Experience of centre or centering is spoken about in the field of dance and music as well as in yoga. Creative expression/action is brought from the centre or ‘nabhi.’ In yoga the centering of the body consciousness is an important process towards which movement and meditation are directed. In the science of Vaastu, the centre of the plot is referred to as Brahmasthana. In the building it is important to create a centre, which grows into the total form. For any meaningful action to emerge, the weight and energy of the form has to be anchored in the centre. Siddha Land, water body, forest, tree, stone and other forms that are naturally sacred or holy are said to be Siddha. Land, New Ways of Looking at Heritage: Contextual Framework

83

water body, forest, tree, stone and other forms, which are not auspicious, or endowed with beneficial qualities are, said to be Asiddha. Just as there is the holy and the sacred there is that which is not holy and not sacred. How do we deal with the negative?

In Vaastu, the three Gunas are characterized by the three shapes of: Circle (elongated circle or ellipse)- Tamasa Octagon (elongated octagon, pentagon, polygon)- Rajasa Square (rectangle) - Satvika

Dvaitam and Advaitam

The energy contained within the square and rectangle is the most stable, restful and in equilibrium. This is considered suitable for residences and places of learning.

There are two paths (of devotion/worship) to achieve the ultimate state of dissolution or the sublimation of the Jivatman with the Paramatman – Dvaitam and Advaitam. Dvaitam is the path of the I and the Thou, Advaitam is the path of Thou in the I. Shakti/Shivam Shivam is the infinite consciousness suspended in blissful stillness/Satchit Ananda. It is out of this stillness that the first desire ‘to be’ is born. Shivam is without end, infinite and formless. He is without colour or variety. In the end he destroys everything and brings it into himself. Shivam is the male principle. Shakti is the energy of creation. Shakti during the process of creation is called Kundalini Shakti and is the movement of coiled energy from its resting place in the Mooladhara Chakram at the base of the spine to the Shasrara Chakram at the top of the head. This is seen as the fusing of Shakti and Shivam. Panchaboota In the process of creation as Shivam manifests into the glories of Prapancha/universe of forms/physical manifestation, the energy then moves through the five elements/Panchaboota – fire, air, water, ether and earth. Each element has it’s own characteristic and nature. In an act of creation, the manifested objects become subservient to the cosmic order of Panchaboota. The five elements play a part in the emanated form and each has its location and role, meaning and power. Triguna

The energy contained in a polygon is in movement. It is suitable for centers of energetic activities such as offices, as well as educational institutions. The energy contained in the circle is very high and is considered aggressive. It stimulates the occupant to a very high degree (or the opposite and creates inertia or immobility). This is suitable for stadia, entertainment centers, amphitheatres, council chambers, and sometimes for religious centers such as prayer halls and temples. THE BASIC PREMISE The traditional systems of architecture have accepted the basic principle that the built form is an extension of the individuals’ world of sentient experience. This concept has played an important role in the growth of the various fine arts, be it dance, music or poetry in our culture. A person does not inhabit this earth alone. He/she lives amidst other natural forms and in touch with energies and elements that are perceptible and beyond perception. He/ she inhabits a space. He/she is also vibrating and alive. The outer space is also alive and throbbing. The three rhythms are not always in consonance. To create consonance between the three and thus create harmony and well-being, is the attempt of the Vaastu Shastras. In creating a resonance between the outer space, inner space and cosmic space, the Shastras have brought into operation the concept of rhythm and time. The application of an ordered rhythm in visual space creates a form, which is capable of evoking a spiritual response in the occupants.

Each physical form is a composition of 3 gunas: 1. Satvika 2. Rajasa 3. Tamasa When one of these three Gunas are predominant then the nature of the material object takes on the dominant character. This balance between the dominant and hidden potential is a very significant aspect of Vedanta and yoga. Satvika - pure illumined intelligence of the consciousness, meditative quality. Rajasa - vibrant, energetic, active, inner urge to achieve Tamasa - inertia, aggression, tenacity to hold back for action outside. The effort of every individual is to balance the three natures in such a way as to be functional and capable of acting sensitively and appropriately in a particular context. Rajasa being powerful is positive, but when the system demands a great deal of aggression to get something done Tamasa is required. When the context needs to be understood with tranquillity then Satvika must be predominant. Hence all the Gunas have their relevance and their inherent strengths. 84

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Vaastu Purusha Mandala

In the design of buildings or villages there are three main principles that the designer has to be conscious of. They are namely – ‘Bhogadyam’ or utilitarian value, ‘Sukha Dharsham’ or aesthetics, and ‘Ramyam’ or psychological well being (spiritual satisfaction). The designer has to achieve a harmony between the built space and the natural environment, as well as create a feeling of well-being in the user through the employment of ‘Pada Vinyasa’ or modular planning and ‘Ayadi Porutham’ or sacred measure calculations. VAASTU PURUSHA MANDALA VINYASA

AND

PADA

The built space is created according to the impulses of the earth, in consonance with the waking and slumber of the earthly energy. Vaastu or Bhoomi is vibrating and alive. This is the space of the earth or land. This energy resides in the earth and is called by various names such as Vaastu Nathan, Boomi Purusha, and Vaastu Purusha. This is the energy of the material substance Pada Vinyasa is the method by which a site of land is divided into a uniform grid. By this method, more manageable units are created, within which the design may be conveniently laid out. The planning principle known as Pada Vinyasa has relevance in the design process for several reasons. One is its practical application. The other comprises of meanings and qualities that have been invested into the physical form of the earth which have a powerful impact on the psyche and spirit of human beings. An important axis that runs through the building is the central axis of the Brahma Sutram. This is usually the East-West axis. The North-South axis is known at the Soma Sutram. The central point where the axes cross is an extremely significant point since this is the place of the focusing of energies. All inter-sections of the padas or modular lines(energy rays) are treated as live energy points. And as such, planning is carried out with great care so that the lines of energy are not cut or reduced in any way. The Vaastu Purusha is considered to be awake when he is oriented towards the cardinal points, and is said to be asleep

when oriented towards the non-cardinal points like the NE, SW, SE, NW. During the period of Dhanur (December-January), Mina (March - April), Mithuna (June-July), Kanya (September October), it is considered inauspicious to begin building activities. During the period of Mesha (April - May) Vrishabha (May - June), Kataka (July - August), Simha (August - September), Tula (October - November), Vrichika (November December), Makara (January - February), Kumbha (February - March) it is auspicious to build. The spin is clockwise and around its own centre. Similar to the Vaastu Purusha, all living beings are also material in their origins. Hence, they too are earth substance. It can be said that we too are earth or Bhoomi and the energy within us is Vaastu Purusha. When the earth is dormant, the Vaastu Purusha is considered to be asleep. At this time it is not beneficial to begin house-building activities. The shastras state that this ‘wrong’ time could lead to negative effects on the residents. One must learn about the cycles of the earth before beginning auspicious acts. The face of the Vaastu Purusha is oriented towards the position of the sun, says the text. On the opposite side will be placed the feet of the Vaastu Purusha. His left hand will be placed below, the right hand above. COSMOLOGY IN VAASTU Every aspect of each of the directions must be understood by the designer as well as the occupant so that the built form blends with the natural environment. Brahmasthana - This is the centre of the plot. In the design it is important to create a centre for the building, which grows into the total form. This growth out of the centre is comparable to the ‘experience of centre’ that is spoken about in the field of traditional dance and music where creative action is brought out from the centre/Nabhi. In yoga the centering of the body consciousness is laid emphasis on. For any meaningful action to emerge, the weight and energy of the form is anchored in the centre. The Brahma Pada or Veethi - This is the central area of the total form, which includes the central point. In the process of design the Brahma Pada is considered to have very high concentration of energy of the total form. Therefore traditionally it was either opened out as the courtyard or made into a central hall for collective gathering. The Deivika Padam or Veethi - This is the first concentric space around the central Brahma Pada. In this space the energies are considered to be fairly high and so the allocation of passages and rooms for collective rather than individual use such as dining, family rooms are recommended here. The Manusha Padam or Veethi - The second concentric space, this space is considered to contain energy which is fairly comfortable for human activity and therefore all activity rooms such as kitchen, bedrooms, study areas, Puja and rooms for individual use may be placed in this part of the layout.

Vithi or Pada Vinyasa: 1) Brahma; 2) Ganesa; 3) Agni; 4) Jala; 5) Naga; 6) Yama; 7) Kubera; 8) Deva; 9) Pisaça

The Paisaacha Padam or Veethi - The final concentric space which can contain the storage areas, outer verandah, external walls, outer walkways as also activity areas such as bedrooms and work rooms. In general Manusha and

New Ways of Looking at Heritage: Contextual Framework

85

aesthetics, colour, form, would have to be extrapolated in a harmonious manner with the shapes that have been chosen for the design. Traditionally there were only five colours (Panchavarna), namely red, yellow, green, blue, white. Black is also used, but only to enhance the other colours. Shades of colours were not used until recently. The traditional colours were made of natural materials and possessed certain properties that were intrinsic to the material. Therefore today, when these colours are being made artificially, the characteristics have to be re-examined.

Padas – Tiruvannamalai Temple

Paisaacha may be considered together for all special activity areas. In the final built form, the outer peripheral rooms would contain the specialised activity such as sleeping, cooking, storing, bathing while the inner areas would be for relaxing and conversing. This does not mean that a living room cannot be on the outer side but it certainly means that a bedroom cannot be in the centre. Even from the practical aspects of fresh air and sunlight this principle is very sensible. PRAKARA BIJAM In the temple complex the position of the garbhagruha is considered the most important. This position is seen as the moolasthanam of the complex. Taking this as the basic unit the rest of the complex is laid out as multiples of the module. Hence, if the garbhagruha is taken as x then the prakaram will be 1x on either side of the sanctum, and in front there is a projection of the module upto 3x which forms the mukhayamam of the temple. In this rectangular form the garbhagruha is like a seed that constantly expands outwards to form the 1,3,5,7 prakaras. SHAPES AND COLOURS The shapes used in the tradition- square, triangle, polygon, rectangle, circle, ellipse, oval, or free form- have been analysed according to the suitability for human use. Some lend themselves better to physical use than others, some create spiritual well being, others add to the energy levels and so on. There is no good or bad shape, only different levels of usefulness and comfort. For each of these shapes, Ayadi or beneficial measure calculation can be made, and specific patterns of interactions built up based on the pattern of interior. The choice of shape would affect the management style, lifestyle and activity patterns. The choices of

86

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Crimson or Red - The colour of aggression and passion, celebration and joy. Maroon/Kaavi - The colour of the earth, and also of auspiciousness. White - Traditional paintings used a great deal of white. It is the colour of the moon, purity and piety though it also denotes sorrow and widowhood in certain contexts. Blue - The colour of the sky and the waters. This is an oftused colour to indicate vastness and eternity. Green - The colour of plants, prosperity and fertility. Green is used for creating a feeling of aliveness and fulfillment of earthly pleasures. Yellow - Yellow ochre are colours denoting birth and growth. They are associated with spring. Yellow is also an auspicious colour, and is employed to represent spiritual awakening. Black - It is often used to indicate counter religious symbols such as black magic rites and worship of the lesser gods. It is also used to represent austerity and penance. Black in a limited application ensures the containment of negative vibrations in an entity, hence black thread, beads, bangles and so on. SYMBOLS The lotus is a very significant symbol for explaining form and aesthetics in the Indian tradition. Take the example of a pond filled with water, after the rains, with perfect lotus blooms among the floating green leaves. Undulating dunes surround the pond, and it is there like a jewel, shimmering and perfect. This same form, becomes totally different when the water has dried, and the lotus lies above the squelching mud; and then there is the other time late in the night when in the star light the lotuses are tightly closed, and the surface of the pond is rippling in the darkness. In all this the pond, the flowers, the water, the environment are creating different patterns, each unique in its own way, in the different configuration of rhythms and proportions, and in varieties of relationships with the space around. It is not possible to call one ‘better’ than the other, the entire process of unfolding from one form into another are perfectly balanced within and without. The built form too can perhaps be like this – in relationship, in form, in the way it is expressed inwardly and outwardly. In every stage of expression and evolution of a home there are multiple forms that can be achieved. When the form is a result of an organic growth or movement of the basic elements then the result is capable of imparting aesthetic delight and contentment in the occupant. Symbolism and mythology depicted in traditional buildings possess both secular and spiritual connotations, which lead

to a significant connection between the residents of the building and their specific cultural heritage. AYADI PORUTTAM : There is a technique of checking the width of a building, its perimeter, or its module, for benefits which are recommended by the vaastu texts. There are usually 6 or 11 types of calculations, which are carried out for the benefits, known as shadasayadi or shodadayadi respectively. Shadasayadi is the more commonly practised system. • N x 8/27 remainder to be checked against the table for dinam or star sign. • N x 8/12 remainder to be checked against the table for ayam or income. • N x 9/10 reminder to be checked against the table for vyaya or expenses • N x 3/8 remainder to be checked against the table for yoni or direction • N x 4/9 remainder to be checked against the table for amsha or characteristic • N x 9/7 remainder to be checked against the table for varam or weekday. Here N stands for the number to be checked; dinam, ayam, vyaya, yoni amsha and varam are different types of benefits recommended by the texts. This calculation has been dealt with in detail in the authors’s book, Penguin Guide to Vaastu. After making these calculations, a suitable number is chosen for the width, perimeter or basic module of the building. It has been found to be very effective in bringing about positive energies into the building, as well as in creating well-being among the occupants. PROFESSIONALISM VS ACCOUNTABILITY In the last two decades the Indian reality has undergone vast changes both in the organisational level and in the sociocultural level. Economists and sociologists have written in serious journals and in popular magazines about this ‘threshold of flux’ in a variety of ways. From a mechanical aping of western values and behavioural patterns the changing face of India has now come to another threshold of re-examining its traditions. This is a healthy step and some of us who have consistently stayed on this edge for over 12 years welcome the change but with some notes of caution. Let me clarify this paradox to the best of my ability. It is a welcome change to have qualified ‘professionals’ who clearly state their task objectives, define job parameters and deliver the services within stipulated time boundaries. For example when an architect starts his preliminary dialogues with a client and with a minimum of fuss goes about his task of giving a finished building to the client in the envisaged time, and within the budget allocated, a minor miracle has taken place. So also with a lawyer who completes a law suit proceeding or a manufacturer who hands in his product. But .... there is a major ‘but’ here. In the entire process several aspects of the professional services are either conveniently forgotten or never even considered. 1. Is the client ensured that the final design he has been offered is actually what he requires and desires or is he convinced that it is a desirable product because of ‘imaginary’ market forces at play such as ‘this is the

fashion I assure you’ etc.? 2. Has he/she been made to understand his own half formed needs through democratic processes or is he being told ‘I am the designer so I know better’? 3. In amalgamating the latest products in the design, is the basic needs of a client (which is to feel at home and comfortable in home/office) being met? 4. Is the designer holding in his/her mind the commitment and accountability to the environment, the cultural ethos and the larger context of human collectives? It is easy to say that all the professions are corrupt so why the hell should the architect alone be accountable, but who is going to take the step? Is the architect taking steps to ensure the upgrading of building skills and or the absorption of the skilled craftsman in his locale? ACCOUNTABILITY IN THE TRADITION The idea of accountability or social commitment is not a new fangled notion which has been taken from the alternate movements of the west. There has always existed the strong value of the professional in this country. The vaidya not only looked after the sick and the ailing but also helped in maintaining hygiene, sanitation, diet etc. for the healthy. The architect likewise had the responsibility for the source of materials, depletion and replanting of forests, well being of building related craftsmen, education and enlightenment of the common man/prospective clients, understanding and extending the frontiers of social metaphors of aesthetics and so on. “A ‘Sthapati’ is on who establishes, arranges, and erects structures. He should be well versed in the texts, concepts and theories. He should act from a basic commitment, and with compassion. He should have expertise in mathematics, history, mythology, and painting. He should be well travelled and hence have extensive exposure. He should be a truthful person, who is contented within himself and in control of his desires.” It is also stated that: “only the mind of a happy designer can create forms capable of creating well being and happiness in the user. The sorrow of the designer gets communicated to the product of his creativity.” The Shilpi or designer had to be an expert in the following: 1. The Designer had to understand the philosophies and the beliefs of the people whom he served. His building designs, be they religious, administrative, residential, civic or otherwise, should reflect the character and beliefs of the people. 2. The designer should be widely traveled and well read so that he would be able to respond to multiple needs of the client. This does not mean that he would put in a Spanish courtyard in a house in Mettupalayam. After having understood the varieties of solutions he/she has seen the designer would adapt it to the local lifestyle. 3. The designer had to be compassionate and yet confident, sensitive but with strong convictions, open and yet committed to the local way of life, with a strong sense of aesthetics and beauty but not obsessed with the need to push only his point of view, with a deep love of the natural environment and hence capable of designing and building without either laying waste the local systems or dominating the existing landscape.

New Ways of Looking at Heritage: Contextual Framework

87

Ashram at Kollur designed by Sashikala Ananth

4. The designer would take on the responsibility for the needs of the craftsmen who would work under him/her and in exchange they would give their best efforts to the building in hand. There are many more of these concepts but I will restrict this article to only these four points. REDEFINING THE ROLE The time has come for many of us who take our role as professionals very seriously, to redefine and extend the contemporary frontiers of architectural consultancy. In the face of the terrifying effects on the environment and the needless celebration of wealth in some of our ‘fancy buildings’, we need to deal with this subject with a certain amount of seriousness and care. Some of the points I would like to raise to ponder over and perhaps get together to institute are as follows: 1. The design of a building is not only an opportunity for each of us to climb up the mythical ladder of success and power. It is essentially an expression of the need of a group of people. We are channels of these aspirations. The human responsibility would have to be the most primary one to each of us designers. 2. The building cannot stand alone. It must, in its very existence, create connections with the existing environment, be it other buildings, open spaces, vegetation, animals or people. As designers we have a responsibility to the entire sub-system. 3. The design of the facade, the use of certain materials, the impact of the building on the viewer must all be part of a larger perspective and not a result of personal needs, to be different and to be featured in magazines. 4. The work force which executes the building is not a faceless ‘gang’ but multiple sources of energy and creativity. As of now we are not tapping the resources of the artists in our society at all but arriving at the ‘workability’ of the task based only on cost/time factors. Hence the possibility of achieving something skillful and aesthetic which is a result of a team effort does not take place and the design ends up as a personal property of the exalted architect. This process is a leftover of the colonial practice of exploiting local resources. It is not

88

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

the orientation of a leader of a community of builders who serve their own people. 5. New directions and solutions can come up if the present secretive boundaries of individual offices with their successes and captive clientele can be broken and greater interactions between designers, builders, craftsmen, traditional scholars in the field of vaastu, manufacturers, and prospective clients (from industry and the general public) can be instituted. This calls for dedicated interventions from many of the architects. Perhaps one of the first steps in fostering this change would be if seminars can move from endless verbalisations into actual action, based on meaningful dialogues and field application.

Heritage As A Living & Evolving Process: Graphic Transcription And Analytic Study Of Architectural Proportions In Mayamatam Vinay Mohan Das Senior Lecturer, Deptt. of Architecture & Planning Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology, Bhopal

INTRODUCTION Ancient Indian Architecture Philosophy: Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy (1877-1947), a pioneer in the field of traditional philosophy of Indian art stated in “The fundamentals of Indian Art” that the design of buildings, towns etc. suggest and symbolize the Universe; the site of a temple or town was laid out in relation to astrological observations; every stone had its place in the cosmic design, and the very faults of execution represented the imperfections and shortcomings of the craftsman himself. In his opinion this holistic approach to design resulted in a wonderful, beautiful and dignified architecture, and such conceptions were reflected in the dignity and serenity of life itself. Under such conditions, the craftsman was not an individual expressing individual whims, but a part of the Universe giving expression to the ideals of its own eternal beauty and unchanging law.1 Therefore, for any architecture to be perfect, it had to satisfy parameters such as astrological observations, principles of eternal beauty, laws of nature etc., as defined in the texts of that age. This could have been done only with detailed project planning and execution. The existence of ancient monuments can be taken as an indication of presence of multidisciplinary and multilateral knowledge2 base of design and managerial skills. The architect (sthapati) was the central figure in the entire scenario and with his team of assistants the work was executed. For any architectural project, perfection in all aspects was the most sought after goal. Documenting and Understanding Ancient Indian Architecture One of the early pioneers of Indology, and the founder of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal was Sir William Jones (1746-94).3 Archaeological and historical pursuits in India started with his efforts, who put together a group of antiquarians to form the Asiatick Society on 15th January 1784 in Calcutta (now Kolkata). The publication of a periodical journal named, Asiatic Researches was started in 1788. In the Researches, surveys carried out by the society were published to make the public aware of the antiquarian wealth of India.4 In the same decade, William Hodges, the first of the British professional landscape artists to visit India, spent over three years in the country from 1780 to 1783 and painted amongst other subjects, the architectural heritage.5 He published his reflections on the country’s architecture partly in the notes accompanying his series of aquatints, ‘Select Views in India’ (1785-88) and then more coherently in his ‘Dissertation on the Prototypes of Architecture: Hindu, Moorish and Gothic of 1787’. This material was repeated and amplified in his volume of memoirs, ‘Travels in India’ of 1793. In all his works, Hodges clearly perceived that Indian architecture had

its own conventions, which were quite unknown to Europe. What his work lacked entirely was any reference to the Shilpa Shastras, the traditional and time-honoured texts in which the local conventions relating to architecture were clearly explained.6 The Archaeological Survey of India has been involved in architectural surveys of monuments till date and has a very rich collection of architectural documentation.7 The research in this area can be classified into two categories, namely, Field work and Theoretical work. The above works can be classified as field work. In the theoretical research front, the first person who attempted to understand ancient Indian Architecture was Ram Raz.8 Since 1812, Ram Raz collected ancient architectural treatises in Sanskrit and toiled to decipher their mysteries. The result was ‘The Essay on the Architecture of the Hindus’, posthumously published in London in 1834. Ram Raz’s book was a path-breaking work in the field of Hindu architecture. He was the first Indian scholar to study the principles of Hindu architecture as reflected in the ancient Hindu architectural treatises. His work was also quoted by Owen Jones9 in chapter 13 ‘Hindoo Ornament’ of his book ‘Grammar of Ornament’. Another researcher in this area, Dr. P.K. Acharya, 10 also selected the Manasara for translation and graphical transcription. His work is available in a number of volumes first published from 1934 to 1946. The treatise ‘Samrangana Sutradhara’ was selected by Dr. D. N. Shukla11 for his research on Indian architecture and published in 1960. The Mayamatam, another architectural text was translated by Dr. Bruno Dagens which was first published in English in 1984 by l’Institut Francais d’Indologie, Pondicherry and Bharatia Institute, New Delhi. The same work was then published in a bilingual edition in 1994 and contains critically edited Sanskrit text which is an improvement over the earlier edition as it contains explanatory footnotes, analytical table of contents and a comprehensive glossary.12 Adam Hardy13 researched the Temple Architecture of Karnata Dravida (North Karnataka). He has been interested in relationships between architectural history/theory and practice. He opines that architectural history may be approached through the eyes of a designer, while architectural design can be informed by an understanding of principles and processes underlying traditional architectures. His work on temple architecture was published in 1995.14 A chronological listing of most of areas of research and researchers are given in Table 1. However, this list is not an all inclusive list of areas of research and researchers and their supporting organizations. MAYAMATAM As per Dr. Bruno Dagens, a prominent expert on the Mayamatam who has edited and translated the book, the body of Sanskrit literature dealing with architecture and iconography is voluminous, even scattered and insufficiently surveyed and it is matched by a vernacular literature, more scattered and less known. In the extensive and widely disseminated range of works in this area, the Mayamatam occupies a fairly well defined place. It is a general treatise, a vāstushāstra, written in Sanskrit but originating from Dravidian India, most probably the Tamil area; it is part of the Saivite āgamic literature without the connection being underlined by any pronounced sectarianism and its drafting must have been done during the Chola period, at the time when the architecture it describes had reached the peak of its maturity. New Ways of Looking at Heritage: Contextual Framework

89

Table 1 A Chronological List of Research in Indian Architecture and Allied areas S.No.

Circa

Work

1.

1780..

Architecture field work

2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17.

1780.. 1810.. 1840.. 1890.. 1905 1920… 1910.. 1930.. 1930.. 1940.. 1960.. 1960.. 1970.. 1980.. 1990.. 1990..

Architecture field work through paintings Architectural theoretical work History of Indian and Eastern Architecture Architectural Documentation Indian art, architecture, aesthetics Indian art, temple architecture The Ancient and Medieval Architecture of India Sculpture analysis and theory Architectural translation and graphics Indian Architecture documentation Hindu Architecture treatise translation and research Architectural theory and analysis Indian culture Architectural translation of Sanskrit Text Architectural documentation with labeling and analysis Architectural documentation and analysis

It can thus be assigned a chronological bracket which goes from the early 9th century to the late 12th century.15 The Mayamatam published by the ‘Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts’ is in two volumes with a total of 36 chapters and an appendix. Volume I has 22 chapters and the remaining are in volume II. It is a large text comprising of 3336 verses in all. The chapters can be classified under areas of town planning, residential architecture, religious architecture, religious rituals, iconography, interior design, renovation work, vehicle design. The chapters of architecture and planning are from 1 to 30 having 2626 verses. However, the parameters listed above appear in more than one area in the volumes. For example, rituals are described in: Chapter 4- Taking possession of site; Chapter 8- Offerings; Chapter 9-Village planning; Chapter 12- The foundation deposit; Chapter 18- Making of roof and completion of works; Chapter 24- Gateways; Chapter 27- Features of houses for the 4 classes; Chapter 28- First entry into house.

Persons William Jones, and Archaeological Survey of India William Hodges Ram Raz James Fergusson Bannister Fletcher Ananda Coomaraswamy Stella Kramrisch E.B.Havell Alice Boner P K Acharya Percy Brown D N Shukla Madhusudan A Dhaky Kapila Vatsyayan Bruno Dagens Adam Hardy Pierre Pichard

It was decided to select this book since it is a well structured book, complete with exhaustive explanatory footnotes. An added advantage was that it had both the Sanskrit text and English translation on adjacent pages (Sanskrit on the left page and English on the right one) so that the words and their exact meanings could be easily identified. METHODOLOGY AND SCOPE The process followed for the exploration of architecture as described in ‘Mayamatam’ is given in Table 2 below. The exercise of tabulation has been very helpful in a more in-depth understanding of the text as every technical term has become clear. Doing this on a computer also helps in finding the same word and its different interpretations depending on its context in the ślokā. General words have not been translated and put into appropriate cells in many cases by me.

Table 2: Methodology Step 1 Step 2 Step 3

Step 4 Step 5 Step 6 Step 7

90

Studying a chapter; Reading the Sanskrit text and its English translation. Tabulating the word to word meaning of the Sanskrit text and English translation. In this process, adding notes wherever an alternative interpretation is possible, or some additional translation is to be done. Based on the understanding, cross referencing and library survey (ASI publications, books by various authors), making first drafts of the sketches on a square grid sheet along-with comments. The interpretation is of two types, one is sequential and the other is an integration that is a figure made from information present in different places in the text. Making final sketches on a square grid sheet along-with comments and cross-references. Preparing CAD drawings and Three dimensional CAD models of each sketch. Presentation of data and findings in the form of sheets, models, tables, images, slides etc., depending on the purpose of the presentation.

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Table 3: Tabulation and notes for Vedibhadra Socle

Table 4: Alternative interpretation to original translation

Explanation of Process followed with the help of examples:

Fig.1: Final sketch of ‘vedibhadra’ socle.

Steps 1 to 3: In Mayamatam the chapter 13 is titled ‘The Socle’ (Upapitha). The Socle is a building part which is placed beneath the base (adhishthana) which acts as a supplementary base and makes the building more high. The verses 6 to 8 describe a socle named ‘vedibhadra’ type 1. After studying and understanding the text, the word to word translation is tabulated. The tabulation alongwith comments are shown in Table 3. In chapter 15 ‘Dimensions of Pillars and Choice of Materials, in verse 29, the translation of one New Ways of Looking at Heritage: Contextual Framework

91

13.6 Vedibhadra socle Type I Vertical Divisions: 12

Elevation Fig. 2: CAD drawing showing section and elevation of ‘vedibhadra’ socle

Section

Thus, in this way, the descriptions are taken up for graphic transcription and visual interpretation. Though the Mayamatam has many areas like planning, interior design, vehicle design, material specifications, technical information etc., the scope of this study is limited only to architecture and the visual analysis limited to geometric and proportional analysis. The drawings thus prepared can be used to demonstrate the buildability and visual appeal of the Sanskrit verses.

Fig. 3: View of ‘vedibhadra’ socle

phrase in the ślokā offers an alternative interpretation. The details of the verse and the alternative interpretation are shown in Table 4. Steps 4 and 5: The final sketch of socle ‘vedibhadra’ drawn on a square grid sheet is shown in Fig. 1. The various profiles of mouldings are designed after a study of photographs and drawings of monuments, Archaeological Survey of India publications and personal interpretation and inputs. Steps 6 and 7: After the sketch, the drawing of the same socle is made on computer using CAD software. The names of the sub parts, that is, mouldings are added and the proportional dimensions are also added as shown in Fig. 2. A perspective view of the same is shown in Fig. 3.

The above was an example of a drawing being made by referring a sequence of verses. The following is an example of a drawing of an architectural example being made by combination of sequential interpretation and integration of information appearing at various places in the text. Making of single storey temple Kesara: Description: (verse 19.33-34) The Kesara comprises a forepart in the middle of its façade. There are aediculae at the level of the roof, some at the corners and others in the middle; there is a false dormer-window above the forepart. The attic and roof are circular or square; (the width and the projection of) the median forepart are respectively three and two fifths, three and two sixths or three and two sevenths (the width of the building). Temple Kesara has been designed with the following cross references within the Mayamatam as given in table 5.

Table 5: Characteristics of Kesara a single storey Temple Width Height Height base Height pillar Height entablature Height roof Height attic Height vedika Height freize (prati)

As per v 19.1 is Adbhuta mode that is 1:2 as per v 19.2 ½ ht pillar as per v 14.15b,47 2 ht base as per v 15.4 ½ ht pillar as per v 16.48 2 or 3 X attic height as per v 18.2 2 or 1 X its stereobate height (vedika) as per v 18.2, or 2 X vedika height as per v 19.19b 2 X freize (prati) of entablature height, 1 X prati height as per v 16.51 1 module, or ½ , ¾ module as per v 16.29b

Note: for all building parts and proportion mentioned above, only one dimension is chosen of the many dimensions prescribed in the above referred verses. The computer generated stage wise models of the temple Kesara are shown in Fig. 4 to 12.

92

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Fig. 4: Stage 1: Base

Fig. 5: Stage 2: Pillars

Fig. 6: Stage 3: Walls

Fig. 7: Stage 4: Handrail

Fig. 8: Stage 5: Entablature

Fig. 9: Stage 6: Roof

Fig. 10: Stage 7: Attic (Griva)

Fig. 11: Stage 8: Shikhara Fig. 12: Stage 9: Complete View with Kuta & Koshtha

Fig. 13: Width to Length ratios for Pavilions

New Ways of Looking at Heritage: Contextual Framework

93

ANALYSIS AND RESULTS This research is in progress as a Ph.D. work by the author. The following is a presentation of the on-going analysis and results. These are subject to alterations, if any, as per inputs of experts and peers. Plan Proportions The plans of temples, houses, pavilions etc. were mostly square or rectangular. The length and widths were defined in cubits or in parts. The names and corresponding proportions of total Width: Length for Pavilions, Halls and Houses are given in Table 6 and proportions for pavilions are shown in Fig. 13. Grids in Plan The plans of houses, pavilions and halls were divided into number of parts in width and length thus creating a grid. These grids could be 5 x 5, 4 x 6 etc. These parts were made into open courts, verandah, gallery, rooms, etc. as per the prescription. An interesting feature of the grid for pavilions was that the distances were given as clear distance between pillars and not the centre to centre distance. This peculiar grid demarcation was perhaps helpful in having the right proportion of the void with respect to the mass, which is not possible if centerline distances are given as then the width of the pillar would change the void proportion. An example of divisions of a pavilion described as ‘Mangala’ having 10 x 12 parts is shown in Fig. 14.

Table 6a: Names of width to length proportions for Pavilions: S. No. 1. 2. 3. 4.

Name Chhanda Vikalpa Abhasa Jati

W: L W: (W+1 unit) W: (W+2 unit) W: (W+3 unit) W: (W+4 unit)

Table 6b: Names of width to length proportions for Halls: S. No. 1. 2. 3. 4.

Name Chhanda Vikalpa Abhasa Jati

W: L W: (W+1 unit) W: (W+2 unit) W: (W+3 unit) W: (W+4 unit)

Table 6c: Names of width to length proportions for Houses: S. No. 1. 2. 3. 4.

Name Jati Chhanda Vikalpa Abhasa

W: L W: (W+2 unit) W: (W+4 unit) W: (W+6 unit) W: (W+8 unit)

Elevation Proportions Similarly the elevation was designed with certain Width to Height ratios. The names of these for temples and houses are given in Table 7 and Fig. 15. Elevation Sub-Divisions The elevation was sub-divided into the Socle (up-peetha) (optional), Base (peetha), Pillars (stambha), Entablature (prastara), Attic (greeva), Roof (shikhara), and Finial (sthhupi). The heights of these levels were in proportion to each other. For example for a two storey temple, the total height is divided into 28 parts comprising of a Base of 3 parts, first storey of 6 parts, Entablature of first storey of 3 parts, second storey of 5 parts, Entablature of second storey of 2 parts, Stereobate of attic of 1 part, Attic of 2 parts, Shikhara of 4½ parts and Finial of 1½ parts. Fig. 16 shows these subdivisions for a two storey temple in Sarvakarmika mode.

Fig. 14: Divisions of pavilion ‘Mangala’

SHANTIKA

PAUSHTIKA

JAYADA

Fig. 15: Width to Height Ratios for Temples (general)

94

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

ADBHUTA

SARVAKARMIKA

Table 7a : Names of height to width proportions for Houses: S. No. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Fig. 16: Vertical proportions of two storied Temple in Sarvakarmika (1:2) mode

Name Shantika Paushtika Jayada Dhanada Adbhuta

W: H 1: 1 1: 1 ¼ 1: 1 ½ 1: 1 ¾ 1: 2

Table 7b: Names of height* to width proportions for Temples (general): S. No. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Name Shantika Paushtika Jayada Adbhuta Sarvakarmika

W: H 7: 10 6: 9 5: 8 4: 7 3: 6

Table 7c: Names of height* to width proportions for Single storeyed Temples: S. No. 1. 2. 3. 4.

Fig. 17: Ratios of Pillar Height, bottom diameter and top diameter

Name Shantika Paushtika Jayada Adbhuta

W: H 7: 10 1: 1 ½ 1: 1 ¾ 1: 2

*The height is defined in two ways: including sthupi and excluding sthupi (v.11.20)

Numbers Apart from the proportions, the numbers of various building elements was also considered important in the design of buildings. For humans, odd numbers were prescribed whereas for Gods the numbers could be both even and odd. The texts prescribe a number of dimensions, proportions etc. For example, the number of foreparts or porches (bhadra) in a pavilion could be from one to four (Refer Fig. 18). CONCLUSION Fig. 18: Numbers of foreparts in a pavilion

Building elements The building elements like pillars could be designed with a number of interdependent dimensions and proportions. The bottom diameter of a pillar could be 1/10 to 1/8 of its height; the top diameter equaled 11/12 to 5/6 of bottom diameter (Refer Fig. 17). Thus, the proportional relation of the pillar with other building components was maintained and in this way the entire building was a set of inter-related dimensions.

Ancient Indian architecture has a well defined series of proportions for plan, elevation and building elements. Proportions are prescribed for micro, meso and macro levels which are time tested and are still appreciated in this age. This is mainly due to the nature of the Mayamatam text itself and of its subject which allows the specialist to give an interpretation, whether it be personal or guided by the fashions of the time and place. The phenomenon is only possible because inspite of their doctrinaire character, this treatise, and others of the same group, leave to architects the right to originality in the exercise of their art; in other words, tradition is a guide more than it is a restraint.16

New Ways of Looking at Heritage: Contextual Framework

95

References: 1. Coomaraswamy, A. K. (1985), - ‘Chapter 1, Aims of Indian Art’, p. 11, in Fundamentals of Indian Art-vol.1, The Historical Research Documentation Programme, Jaipur. 2. Chhaya, H D (1998), - ‘Vedic Spirit in Architecture’, Architecture + Design, p. 21-25 3. www.kamat.com/kalranga/people/pioneers/w-jones. htm. (Retrieved August 24, 2004 ) 4. http://asi.nic.in/index2.asp?sublinkid=28, (Retrieved November 2, 2006 ) 5. www.kamat.com/database/content/landscapes/ william_hodges.htm, ( retrieved November 2, 2006 ) 6. www.newstodaynet.com/2005sud/05dec/ss8.htm, (retrieved August 23, 2006 ) 7. http://asi.nic.in/index2.asp?sublinkid=29, November 2, 2006 8. www.newstodaynet.com/2005sud/05dec/ss8.htm, (Retrieved August 23, 2006) 9. http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/DLDecArts GramOrnJones, (Retrieved August 23, 2006) 10. Acharya, P. K., (1934), Architecture of Manasara, Illustrations of Architectural and Sculptural objects. (Manasara series vol V), Oriental Books Reprint Corporation, New Delhi. 11. Shukla, D. N., (1960), Vastu-Shastra Vol. 1, Hindu Science of Architecture, Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi 110055 12.Dagens, Bruno, (1994), Mayamatam, Vols. I & II, Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, New Delhi & Motilal Banarasidass Publishers Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi. 13. www.cardiff.ac.uk/archi/school/staff/hardya.html, (retrieved August 24, 2006 ) 14. Hardy, Adam, (1995), Indian Temple Architecture: Form and Transformation, , Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, New Delhi-110001 & Abhinav Publications, New Delhi 15. Dagens, Bruno, (1994), Introduction, pg lxiiii, in Mayamatam, Vols. I & II, Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, New Delhi & Motllal Banarasidass Publishers Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi. 16. ibid, - Introduction, p. ci Acknowledgements: The author is thankful to the following for their contributions in this research work: • Prof. H. D. Chhaya, (Ex. HOD Department of Architectural Conservation, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi). • Akash Trust, Pondicherry • Rishabh Software, Vadodara • Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India.

96

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Evolution Of An Indigenous Planning System Ranjit Sabikhi Architect, New Delhi

Town planning and urban design have existed in India from ancient times and there are elaborate treatises testifying to this fact. Reference has been made to them from time to time but they have largely been interpreted in superficial terms. The result has been the arid mechanical layouts that characterise most of our current development. The traditional towns and cities of India have certain strong common characteristics. Sometimes based on geometric layouts as defined in the ancient classics, they have largely evolved and developed on an organic pattern of growth. In fact the form represents a fusion of the geometric framework with organic growth, and it is through the organic development that the sequence of eloquent townscape spaces have emerged, linking and unifying the fabric as it evolved through the ages. These have found expression in various historic towns throughout the country. In scale they range from individual buildings to groups and clusters of buildings, sometimes extending to the scale of large and complex urban spaces. Together they bear evidence of the richness of urban development through history in India.

exquisite examples of a sophisticated system on the basis of which light and air may be brought into the inner reaches of an intense development without, in any way, compromising the basic needs of privacy. The richness of the resulting spatial structure with its fluid relationship of spaces on different levels is a direct expression of a totally inward looking plan Datia Palace, Madhya Pradesh form. A similar richness and variety of spatial organisation is available in another single building complex – the fort at Amber near Jaipur. Here within the fort walls is a complex system of spaces which include a temple, the public and private spaces of audience for the Maharaja and the series of courts defining the private quarters of residence. All of these are organised around spacious courtyards providing

Taking a selection of examples, one would like to draw attention to this treasury of resources and inspiration that have largely remained ignored in relation to current developments in town planning and urban design. Some of our forts and palaces are excellent examples of single building urban complexes. One of the most interesting of these is the palace at Datia. Built essentially as a solid square fortress with very few openings to the outside it presents on the inside a marvellous geometric organisation of space on several levels. The courts on different levels organised in relation to a strongly defined geometry are

Amber

a sequential relationship from part to part. But the most interesting part of the complex is the area that consists of the retainer’s residences. Small in size and sandwiched to one side against the fort wall, these one and two storey units are excellent examples of closely packed residential development, each with their own courts and terraces at different levels. The period of Mughal rule saw the development of beautiful gardens, palaces, forts, mosques and cities. Spread

Plan of Datia Palace, Madhya Pradesh

Fatehpur Sikri

New Ways of Looking at Heritage: Contextual Framework

97

Plan of Fatehpur Sikri

across the country from the Deccan to Kashmir and beyond, these urban complexes reached their high point of development under the rule of Akbar and Shahjehan. Akbar’s palace complex at Fatehpur Sikri, though occupied for a relatively short period of time, is the most significant complex of urban design that has survived from the Mughal period. Grand yet human in scale the series of inter linked courtyards that define a hierarchical relationship culminating in the great mosque and the triumphal gateway (the Bulund Darwaza) constitute one of the most skilful and sophisticated exercises in urban design. Shahjehan’s contribution to architecture, town planning and urban design was the most extensive throughout the period of Mughal rule. Apart from the various individual

Shajahanabad

98

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

buildings such as the Taj Mahal at Agra, the Jama Masjid at Delhi, and the Ana Sagar Pavilions at Ajmer, it is the larger complexes such as the groups of buildings within the Red Fort at Delhi, and within the Fort at Agra that testify to considerable urban design skill. The integration of the courts, gardens and pavilions have created some of the most memorable historic spaces. Shajehan’s tour-de-force, however, was Shahjehanabad of which the Red Fort, the Jama Masjid and the fabled Chandni Chowk or Moonlight Way formed an integral part. These major buildings along with the Fatehpuri Masjid, on the axis of which the Chandni Chowk was aligned, defined the basic axial and geometric structure of the city. Beyond this framework, the city developed on an organic basis and the rich tapestry of mohallas and katras emerged over time as an expression of the prevailing social order. The resulting spaces Shajahanabad plan

defining the sequence of pedestrian movement have built up a townscape of a high order. A townscape that however due to lack of maintenance and over intensive use, is no longer recognised and appreciated, and is fast falling apart. Despite its unfortunate current condition, the walled city of Shahjehanabad is a unique example of town design. Outwardly cramped and congested, it has in fact an organised network of semi-private and private courtyards that occupy approximately twenty five percent of the total space– part of an order that is more meaningful both in climatic and socio-cultural terms.

by the pink colour that was mandatory for the facades of all its buildings. The spatial variety and richness of the palace complex is in itself a unique piece of urban design. Rajasthani towns are essentially settlements in the desert and reflect very clearly the characteristics of an oasis. The Thar Desert, except in parts, is not quite the vast sand wastes that one imagines deserts to be. Nevertheless vegetation is sparse and the dry climate results in dust laden winds which scourge the area. Water is scarce, and lakes and natural reservoirs are few and far between. Towns in Rajasthan are placed far apart in the desert. Concentration is fostered and the towns form densely packed settlements turning their back on the desert. The closely spaced buildings and the network of narrow streets effectively shelter them from the worst of the elements, the sun, and the hot dust laden winds. An enclosed and sheltered environment in the desert is as much a psychological need as a physical one – a haven of refuge from the vast desert wastes. This need for concentration, for huddling within the walls of the city was further accentuated by the requirements of defence. The isolated outposts in the desert needed to be guarded and protected. The fort and the city walls dominated the skyline of Rajasthani towns. From miles away the forts and the battlements appear on the horizon as symbols of impregnable cities.

Jaipur

The city of Jaipur is another example of traditional town planning that has survived intact up to present times. Part of a pattern with the great towns and cities of Rajasthan, it is a sophisticated example of a planned grid layout imposed on the landscape. Following the tenets of a vastu-purusha mandala, the town has nine squares with the palace complex dominating the central heart of the city. Despite this rigid framework the organic development of the different segments over time created a lively and vibrant city unified

Jaisalmer

This concentration in most of the Rajasthani towns has resulted in a unique sense of urbanity. No matter how small the town, the feeling of enclosure is paramount. Climatological requirements have given form to the nature of development. Variation between day and night temperatures is considerable. Even during the day there is much difference between the temperatures in the shade and under the sun. It was essential therefore that as much cool air be trapped as possible within the development at night and retained during the day. The resulting form is a series of deep courts, where the cool air is retained at lower level and the sun does not penetrate very deep. Similarly the streets are narrow and winding with the buildings on either side much higher than the width of the street. The street itself being in shade most of the day, allows comfortable conditions for movement throughout the town. Further the winding development apart from the breakdown of the street into small visual units, also helps to enclose and retain the cool air with only a slight induced draft suggesting a continuous flow of air during the day.

A significant aspect of Rajasthani planning is the sequence of spaces that characterise their towns. This, in addition to the sense of urbanity, is one of the most important lessons that can be learned from New Ways of Looking at Heritage: Contextual Framework

99

Rajasthan. The build up at each level establishes a clear relationship. In the same manner as the rooms around the central court of each house is related to it, the court of the house is in turn related to the street via the entrance or chabutra. The street is not a long indefinite space, but is broken down into small visually appreciable units. A bend in the road, a turn or a projecting house defines each unit. Moving Traditional street in Rajasthan from space to space is a pleasant experience, the scene continually changing as one moves from one part to another. Much of it has been conceived in terms of pedestrian movement and everything is scaled down to the speed at which one would move through the development on foot. The street spaces also change according to use. Every now and then an open space with its projecting platforms serve as a meeting place for the area. Where more intensive use and crowds are expected the street widens and becomes comparatively straight. Spaces become wider but only comparatively, so the sense of scale relating to the gradual development from one part to another is not lost. While most Rajasthani towns reflect many of these basic characteristics, there is nonetheless a definite individuality about every town. This is defined by the architecture of each place. A peculiar treatment in each place helps to underline the continuity of spaces in each town. In Udaipur almost all the buildings are whitewashed, in Jaipur all are painted pink and in Jaisalmer every building is built of the yellow sandstone of the area. Although a certain overall order is established there is no regimentation. Each unit is different from the next, yet the basic harmony of relationship is such that infinite variation is possible within its limitations.

Temple at Srirangam

It is only when one looks at the large numbers of historic urban spaces and complexes across the country that one becomes aware of the vast schism that exists between the urban culture that once conditioned development and the actual town planning and urban design achievements in India of more recent times. Somewhere the sequential chain of indigenous town planning broke down with the decline of Mughal rule in India, and the pattern of planning as followed under British colonial rule took an entirely different course turning its back on most of what had gone on before. It is the colonial inheritance that still dominates our thinking in planning and urban design. Apart from the fact that it was basically an alien imposition, this was further complicated by the growing technological needs of the industrial revolution. The railways and the motor car in the hands of the civil engineer made demands on a scale and in a fashion that put an end to all thoughts of graceful urban spaces, pedestrian streets, and their part in the integrated fabric of the city. Instead of the roads being the arteries that fed the urban fabric they became vicious

The history of urban development in India will not be complete without some mention of the temple cities of South India. The temples at Srirangam, Chidambaram and also the Meenakshi temple at Madurai are cities in microcosm. Within the concentric wall enclosures are a whole variety of gateways, halls and water tanks defining an intricate organisation of spaces. Within the outer walls are also a rich complex of dwelling units all forming part of the vast urban canvas.

Temple at Srirangam- Plan

100

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Imperial Delhi- Plan

scalpels that cut across the city dividing it into a series of unrelated fragments. Starting with the garrison towns and cantonments the British went on to develop the “civil lines” in all the major towns and cities. Inspired by Ebenezer Howard’s Garden City idea and coupled with the need to keep themselves well removed from the native quarters, these civil lines became rambling grid layouts with isolated houses on vast areas of land. They had none of the closeness and security of the vernacular towns. The surveyor’s layout dictated the straight roads and the houses were set well back in their own haven of privacy. With such layouts there could be no sense of enclosure or urban design and the city became a sprawl. The climax of the Garden City movement in India was reached with the building of Lutyen’s plan for the city of New Delhi. It was a degenerated concept of the principles so clearly enunciated by Ebenezer Howard. Howard had sought a balance between town and country and a symbiotic relationship between the city and the surrounding farmland that it depended upon, but this was reduced in the Indian context to the picturesque suburban sprawls that characterised the British settlements. Lutyen’s plan for New Delhi provided two major urban complexes – the grand Central Vista dominated by the Secretariats and the Viceregal Lodge (now President’s Palace or Rashtrapati Bhawan) and the commercial centre of Connaught Place. Apart from these the city as such for all its splendid avenues and trees lacked any urban character and was aptly dubbed as an “overgrown village”. Post Independence planning and urban design throughout India has taken as its model, the “surveyor’s layout” and the transplanted European concept of the city beautiful as mistakenly interpreted from Ebenezer Howard’s garden city idea. As space standards became more stringent the same model was squeezed tighter and the same concept of front, rear and side setbacks was reduced to a state of meaninglessness in social and cultural terms. The whole concept had been reversed and where previously with narrow streets and closely built houses designed around internal courtyards it had been possible to retain a strong sense of privacy within individual units, now with the European concept of outward looking houses even with street widths of two or three times that of the traditional lanes one had a sense of being on top of one another with little or no privacy within the dwelling units. This approach unfortunately permeates all aspects of planning today. Architects and planners have had several opportunities to build complexes that could have defined a new trend in urban design in India. Most of them have sought inspiration from post war British, American and European examples. These have sometimes resulted in very pleasant developments, but have failed to evoke any strong emotional response in ethnic terms. Many of the major projects executed in the last thirty years have been those sponsored or developed by the government agencies. Some of them have been built as part of the Master Plans prepared for the growth of major cities. The Delhi Master Plan which became law in 1962 envisaged the building of several major urban complexes within the city. It is of interest, at this point, to draw attention to the fact that even in Europe at the turn of the century the well

Delhi

known Viennese planner Camillo Sitte had attempted to remind his colleagues that the planning and design of urban spaces and the location of major buildings consisted of recognising the basic close-knit fabric of development and the placing of important buildings and urban squares and spaces as an integral part of it. The concept of isolated high rise tower blocks or a series of separated multi-storeyed buildings is a direct offshoot of the Modern movement. As it gained momentum it developed a grammar of town design and urban development that consisted essentially of having a series of separate structures sometimes of varying heights, defining and delineating the urban spaces of the city. Coupled with this approach came the concept of areas or buildings zoned for specific uses only. Post war town planning in Britain and Europe espoused this concept as a way out of the confused conditions created in their urban areas by the pressures of the Industrial Revolution. In the Indian context this had little or no validity as it merely served to cut across the existing framework of all traditional towns and cities, where a close link prevailed between dwelling units and the place of work- invariably a mixture of use even within the same building was common. Instead of rationalising the existing framework and recognising its merits and disadvantages, a totally new concept of single use zone planning has been introduced which apart from being unsuitable has been largely found to be unimplementable. Although, by and large, few architects and planners outside government service have had the good fortune to obtain any sizeable urban design commissions, they have nevertheless been appointed as planners for several new educational campuses. These have been spread all over the country and this is an area where architects have had reasonable opportunity to build and control a total environment. The campus for the Indian Institute of Technology at Kanpur and the Indian Institute of Management at Bangalore are two notable attempts at creating unique integrated environments. Apart from these few large scale design projects one must take note of the singular lack of creation of meaningful spaces in relation to the large areas occupied by housing in all our towns and cities. This is the fabric that keeps steadily growing, and constitutes the largest imposition on the environment. This has been, in almost all instances, uniformly dull and banal and is the direct result of the framework of controls imposed by our town planners. It is the framework itself that now needs urgent re-examination. New Ways of Looking at Heritage: Contextual Framework

101

Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur

Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore

Without a drastic overhaul of our set back regulations and three dimensional controls we cannot possibly expect the creation of any comprehensive urban structure. Related to the subject of set backs and controls is also the need for urgent re-evaluation of the validity of high rise development in our context. There is no doubt that with the growing pressures of urbanisation, greater intensification of development is inevitable. But it is also clearly established that considerably higher densities can be achieved with comparatively low rise structures. This is not possible without evolving a new framework of controls. A framework that could also build into it greater consideration for townscape and the development of a system of urban spaces. Consideration could also be given to the establishment of an integrated pedestrian and bicycle network of movement that would extend over large areas without crossing any traffic roads. Such a network is an urgent requirement considering the fact that large numbers of our urban population cannot afford any other system of transport.

Asiad Village, Delhi- Plan

The development of an indigenous framework for urban design could, in individual towns and cities, attempt to give identification to local customs and characteristics suggesting deeper socio-economic and cultural roots. In this process we need to assess traditional social and cultural institutions and re-consider the validity of their re-expression in modern terms. The katras, the mohallas and the chowks that were the expression of the extended joint family system and clan relationships also fostered a strong sense of psychological and physical security. Some recent housing projects have attempted to recreate these values in current terms and these suggest new directions of interest. If the larger mass of housing that is now being implemented on a colossal scale by developers across the country were based on clear concepts of spatial organisation, pedestrian linkages etc., it could contribute in a big way to restore some measure of structure to the massive urban sprawl that characterises most of our cities. To build this anew, with the high pressures of urbanisation that we currently face, constitutes a major professional challenge. A challenge that can only be met with the total commitment of available professional and management expertise to the task of urbanisation. The present influx of foreign planners being commissioned for several new townships makes one feel somewhat wary of what the future holds for us. A lot will depend upon the kind of direction that our own committed professionals can help to define.

102

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Yamuna Apartment, Delhi

Transforming Historic City Centres: Integrated Approach Of Urban Design And Historic Preservation Krupali Uplekar, Assistant Professor, University of Notre Dame, USA Introduction The cities we see today are a product of civilization and urbanization as evolved in the past 400 years or more. Over time, cities develop a complex form with a multilayered structure. The numerous micro environments created within the city affect the way in which it responds to the demands of its inhabitants. Today’s city is made up of many layers of transformations- transformations that have taken place due to a change in function, to which the city may have responded; changes that demand the reconfiguration of city areas etc. Such changes create an addition to or a reduction from the city’s quality. Every century has made its own contribution to each city, while deducting and adding to the it’s comprehensive growth story. Cities currently are facing the cumulative effects of these various phases, which in total could lead to problems in the near future. Some of these phases would also result in severe and drastic consequences leading to far reaching transformations. From the beginning of the 20th century, the density that a city was planned to carry had already been surpassed. This resulted in creating sprawl on the outskirts, driven by the people who wanted to enjoy the twin benefit of both the city and the fresh and luxurious lifestyle of a rural environment. (Trancik; 1986). A broad look at some of the major cities around the world, as well as the studies conducted by various urbanists, has revealed that the cities are undergoing a change from being centre based cities to the periphery (Koolhaas;). The cities are thus also getting fragmented and disturbed in the process. What makes a successful city and a positive urban environment? What is common between Delhi, Kyoto, Rome, Paris, St. Petersburg, Venice, Dresden, London and Charleston?

day to day life of the local people, thus generating the right kind of urban, architectural and preservation mix. The urban setting is a magnet which pulls many. What brings people to cities? High living and working standards, better employment opportunities, entertainment facilities, and most important of all, a city with its own special identity. But cities today have changed beyond recognition due to the ever increasing needs of their population and infrastructure. The need to move rapidly through the city brought in high speed motorways, the need to have high quality shopping brought in experimental concepts like malls, together with shopping zones on the outskirts of the city. These and other components of Globalization have left a large impact on new building construction everywhere, where a hi-tech building aesthetic presents a culture of sameness everywhere, and cities lose their special identity and differentiation in the world. Lost spaces, underused and deteriorating spaces, provide exceptional opportunities to reshape an urban centre, so that it attracts people again to the centre and counteracts sprawl and sub-urbanisation. Designers of the physical environment possess the unique training needed to address these critical problems of our day, and can contribute significantly towards restructuring the outdoor spaces of the urban core. The meaning of transformation Knowledge of building materials was handed down from one generation to the next in the past. These materials were utilized and their effects and quality were continually assessed over these years. Materials having the largest possibility of fulfilling all requirements of the building industry were the successful candidates and their usage was refined over time. But two things changed in the last century: 1) Advances in the use of synthetic products with little or no research about their after-effects on health and the environment. As the market changed from being composed of a small number of people, with money to build large, monumental constructions, into a situation where more and more people could build and also consume a varied set of products related to the building industry, little thought was given to the after-effects of these materials.

The answer is ‘people’. People who live in these cities, enjoy living here. When queried, they usually define these cities as “historical in character, with walk able urban density and a lively urban core comprising of residences, cafes and small businesses.” Add to that, it is the people who come from all over the world, to see these destinations, as tourists. They also generate considerable income, assisting the economic growth of these cities. In making a successful city, a combination of factors are at work, which each city strives to fulfill, but many times struggles to reach. The successful cities usually have another thing in common. The historical component of each of these cities has been preserved in its urban setting and integrated in the Parallel of historic city centres (Sketch courtesy: Leon Krier) New Ways of Looking at Heritage: Contextual Framework

103

Traditional City Form

Modern City Form (Source: Trancik, Roger; 1986)

Rome and the Vatican- City spaces with a flavour of its own

2) Precedence given to faster construction over quality. The Media today plays a major role in people’s understanding and acceptance of quality through trends. This was not the case before. Media, being consumer oriented, now defines the kind of quality we ask for. We see this not only in the building industry but in every part of life – through usage of synthetic clothes, fast food products, and the resulting issues of global warming and personal health etc. As we enter the 21st century, there exist many pressures on the younger generation, to work effectively and be a good producer and to keep up with new developments and technology. Technology has made life easier, but also difficult and complex in a way, with fast-growing, user-friendly appliances like computers, cell phones and other media communications. Technology and Communication have developed manifold with the introduction of airplanes flying at 800km/hr, magnetic trains running at the speed of 300km/ hr and high speed information transfer. As globalization slowly becomes a part of daily life and technology touches new boundaries, these mediums also start having a major imprint on urban planning and architecture. It is thus that modern cities are losing their special urban structure, their inherent compact densities and are being replaced by scattered individualistic built forms. The urban spaces thus created represents a loss of both quality and character. Cities of Today Cities today are in turmoil. This conflict lies between the acts of clinging to a past and preparing for the future. When one looks at Asia, one observes that large portions of the rural population are moving to cities, with the hope of better living and employment opportunities. This migration of people causes enormous pressure on these cities, which are consequently ever expanding. In this process, although old 104

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

architecture is reused, but new, fast and cheap construction also finds a quick way into the city’s planning system. The most visible example of this change lies in China. A fast developing nation, with vast amounts of labour power, China has become a country that affects the economics of various businesses around the globe. Shanghai is a developing city with the potential of soon becoming the economic center of Asia. The new extension of Shanghai, Pudong, is a fast growing development on the east coast. Started since 1990, it has already covered an area more than that of old Shanghai towards the west coast of the city. The old city centre has an engaging character with its traditional architecture, and is popularly known as the bund; this area represents the essence of Shanghai. New developments in Pudong are intended to hold the same or higher density than in old Shanghai. It has been designed with new infrastructure ratios, new façade to the street ratios and the FSI (Floor Space Index) which creates high rises, which do not relate to the street or in any way contribute to the urban character. A large number of people still frequent the west coast of the old bund but the new developments fails to attract large crowds on its fresh new streets. China is still on a path of development and a timely relook at current trends could make a difference. On the other hand, developed nations like America, a land of credit cards and virtual money, are very strong both economically and politically. In comparison to the vast histories of other countries, America is a very new nation, and thus has cities which have been developed based on experiences of other places. Although these new cities have been planned for today’s scale and urban fabric, they still show urban areas like Chicago, New York and San Francisco, which possess a special character where people flock to live. In these areas, urban density is extremely high in downtown areas which in turn are surrounded by residential neighborhoods of a special or traditional character. On the other hand the old European cities already have the advantage of a dense

historic urban fabric which can be reused along with a new fabric which can be created on the old available built-up space, thus retaining the compactness of the past historic city. However some of these cities are facing a decline of population. Reasons like unemployment and economic decline have lead to people moving to other cities with higher economic potential. Over the past century, city centers have transformed. Many cities have been left with a reduction in both quality and substance. The compact and dense urban form of cities is lost in many cases. Most new buildings are being planned to be foreground buildings, with less emphasis to its contribution to the urban and street character. Therefore, it is urgent that we Bund area in Shanghai. Shanghai was first developed by Europeans who used the city as a port and integrate the new with the old, and integrate business centre for China the commercial with the residential. This is important to create both urban character and to invite pedestrian interest People are becoming more aware of these transformations. As they become visible in every part of our lifestyle, it is inevitable that people react to them. This is manifested in the growing awareness for green buildings and organic food, amongst others, the starting signs of a movement which should become a way of life in a decade or two. Therefore, this age has the potential of creating positive change and will be looked at as an era where people connected back to nature, an era for the sustainability movement. There are of course unacceptable undercurrents also moving ahead under the garb of sustainability, but this should ultimately give way to a true connection to the natural world through appropriate architecture and usage of building materials. If this is to be Today Pudong, new development on the other side of the Huangpu River, is a place for high-rise achieved, science and technology could residential and commercial development prove to be important assets for architecture and planning. The role of Historic Preser vation in Urban Development Historic Preservation has been seen for a long time as a field completely separated from architecture, urban planning and the economic development of a city. It has even been seen in a negative light as coming from a community of people who actually intend to obstruct economic growth of an area by creating dogmatic rules within the process of redevelopment. But now, even the methodologies of Historic Preservation are changing and there is an approach to an integrated view of Preservation and Urban Design. Buildings from the past are intrinsic to the planning system and need to have an equal and well integrated place in the present urban fabric “Usage” or the “Urban Function” of a preserved or restored building is another important issue, which needs to be part of the planning approach. Many a historic downtown in major cities turn dead in the evenings, as their restoration is directed at a “Museum” usage or to host only public

Sketch describing transformation of a German city centre (Sketch courtesy: Leon Krier)

New Ways of Looking at Heritage: Contextual Framework

105

Balance of urban growth, relation of historic and new buildings (Sketch courtesy: Leon Krier) Diagram of Washington D.C showing how roadways and parking lots have destroyed the consistency of the urban fabric. Without the paved surfaces buildings have little, if any, relationship to one another (Source: Trancik, Roger; 1986)

functions, with a lack of a full functional utilization of a place, including for later working hours. This has led to many places remaining just reflections or shadows of their past. The integrated approach including both preserved and new architecture could create an urban character that would attract people to use these urban spaces for varying activities throughout the day. As we integrate traditional architecture in the contemporary context we need to find ways and means to integrate preserved old buildings to act and function on a day to day basis. And this usage must be based on contemporary need. As, Jaquelin Robertson, the present laureate of the Richard Driehaus Awards for Architecture and Urban Planning said “In an ideal world, landscape, architecture, urbanism and Preservation would be practised as one profession.” I would like to conclude with another of Leon Krier’s sketches, indicating the necessity of creating a balance between preservation and development. In today’s contemporary world we are living two parallel lives, where we see “futuristic architecture” completely independent and segregated from the preservation movement. Realization of the fact that the historical buildings we treat as our past are actually our future is extremely important. In fact, the architecture that is being pursued today is an effect of the Stockholm syndrome we survived at the beginning of the industrial revolution. As a tradition based architect but also as a preservationist, I hope that more of us can be involved in combining the past and the future to form a clear identity. We also hope to bring together traditional new architecture and preservation as a single entity, which it anyway was, formerly. From compact 106

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

void and solid spaces formed in classical city form, to the condition of cities today in their fragmented state; the outpouring of the city to the suburbs and the periphery; and large formation of voids in the city centre. What potential do these empty sites hold for the future and how the utilization of these sites can help curb the problems of urban expansion in rural areas to some extent are questions we need to answer as we approach our near future.

References: 1) Duany, Plater-Zyberk & Co. (1999), The Lexicon of the New Urbanism 2) Trancik, Roger (1986); Finding Lost Space Theories of Urban Design; Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York 3) Koolhaas, Rem, “Contemporary City” 4) Urban Design Compendium (2000); English Partnerships + The Housing Corporation 5) Koolhaas, Rem (1995); Delirious New York: A Retroactive Manifesto for Manhattan; The Monacelli Press, New York 6) Humpert, Klaus; Brenner, Klaus; Becker, Sibylle (eds.) (2002); Fundamental Principles of Urban Growth; Müller + Busmann, Wuppertal 7) Duany, Andres; Plater-Zyberk, Elizabeth and Speck, Jeff (1999); The Rise of Sprawl Suburban and the Decline of Nation the American Dream; North Point Press, New York 8) Krier, Leon; “The Reconstruction of the European City”

The Raj Versus The Republic: The Legacy Of Lutyens Dr. William Koehler College of Management University of Massachusetts, Boston, USA Asst. Prof. Madhu C. Dutta Wentworth Institute of Technology, Boston, USA The present-day Indian capital of New Delhi has served as the seat of rule for a full range of indigenous and foreign empires, from various Hindu and Muslim dynasties through the Mughals and the British. Its geographically and economically strategic location and historic importance made it the logical choice for the seat of the Republic of India upon independence in 1947. Based on the plans of the British architect Lutyens, New Delhi’s architecture reflects that imperialistic heritage; as the seat of the Raj from 1911 until independence, Delhi bears a lasting impression of British imperialist rule and culture. The question of the appropriate path in India’s post-Independence struggle to establish a renewed collective national identity—a struggle hampered by Partition, religious strife, linguistic and ethnic diversity, poverty, and staggering misrule—is open to debate. Several key aspects are nonetheless clear. The commission for the Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts (IGNCA), the most extensive project in government architecture in the nation’s history, represented a powerful opportunity to assert a post-colonial Indian identity in Lutyens’ Delhi. American Ralph Lerner was awarded the prize and commission; Lerner’s plan, however, designed in conscious harmony with the overall style of Lutyens, reinforced the Raj at the expense of the Republic, and elevated 150 years of foreign hegemony over 5000 years of opulent evolution. A subsequent project of equal import—Raj Rewal’s Parliament Library—presents us with a fascinating counterpoint to Lerner’s IGNCA. While Lerner’s project is embedded in the imposing Western style of Lutyens and New Delhi, Rewal’s work speaks to all eight incarnations of the ever-shifting capital of India, Delhi- old and new. India’s identity must be embedded in the legacies of the rich, broad history of Indian civilizations while paying homage to the more recent forces—indigenous changes, conquest and colonization—that have shaped India. This identity must also reaffirm India’s freedom from its colonial shackles, however mixed the view of those shackles. Cultural production, in all manifestations, inheres in a people; architecture in particular is a tactile, lasting expression of national identity, literally rooted in a nation’s soil, tying this form of cultural production most closely to a nation’s collective sense of self. This paper explores the implications of Lerner’s design for the IGNCA in light of Indian history, culture, and politics, analyzing the symbolic importance of the IGNCA with respect to Indian national identity. In comparison with the designs of other recent public buildings in Delhi, most notably the Parliament Library of Raj Rewal, Lerner’s IGNCA design is conspicuous principally for its reiteration of Britain’s cultural stamp on India.

The city of 8 capitals It would be misleading and even inflammatory to contend that Delhi somehow represents India writ large; Delhi is, nonetheless, undeniably Indian. From its birth nearly three millennia ago as the Indraprastha of the Pandavas to its 1911 designation as the new seat of the Raj, replacing Calcutta, to its near-unanimous selection as the capital of independent India in 1947, Delhi has been a showcase of power, wealth, and culture. Delhi has served nearly continuously as the cradle of empires of different stripes, whether Hindu, Muslim, Christian, or (largely) secular, and bears the legacy of its pivotal role in world history. Unlike Washington, D.C., however, built specifically as the symbol of a newly-independent nation, Delhi traces its history as a capital to the seven prior royal centers of power that comprise the city today.

The City of Eight Capitals: • Indraprastha • Quila Rai Pithora • Siri, Tughluqabad

• Jahanpanah • Firozabad • Shajahanabad • New Delhi ( Source : www.greatestcities.com )

The Imprimatur of Lutyens The Qutub Minar, Red Fort, and Humayun’s Tomb may be the most striking elements of Delhi’s opulent architectural history, but an eclectic, nonetheless distinctive set of styles, lending a characteristic feel to the city, has emerged over time. Available materials certainly shaped design, but Delhi is characterized by a creative, manifestly Indian architecture, one partly inspired by forms and aesthetics of those cultures that have shaped other aspects of Indian life. The changes brought—and wrought—by the construction of earlier manifestations of Delhi, such as Ferozabad and Purana Quila, pale by comparison to those of the “New

New Ways of Looking at Heritage: Contextual Framework

107

• Babur • Humayun • Akbar • Jahangir • Shah Jahan • Aurangzeb Alamgir • Mohammed Ibrahin

Mughal Ascendence: The Red Fort (left) & Humayun’s Tomb (right), ( Source : left- www.indianholiday.com; right- www.cs.utah.edu )

Delhi” of Lutyens and Baker. The majesty of Lutyens’ plan, from the India Gate to the Rajpath, from Connaught Place to the Viceroy’s Palace, was one borrowed from Paris and Versailles, Wren’s London, and L’Enfant’s Washington D.C., from English and Greco-Roman ideals; indigenous inspiration was slight, perfunctory, and adjunctive. The orthogonal, Western geometry of the Viceroy’s Palace, Secretariat, and Parliament buildings would appear perfectly congruous in L’Enfant’s Washington Mall, while the radial streets of Lutyens’ design evoke the layout of Paris, with the Rajpath as the Champs Elysee. That Lutyens considered the splendor of Delhi’s monumental architecture more nuisance than inspiration only lends credence to the argument that New Delhi could have just as easily been built in any world city. While this does not detract from the exquisiteness of the Viceroy’s house or elegance of the Rajpath, it does raise the question of whether his design is appropriate for the capital of postcolonial India, and whether subsequent public architecture in Delhi should buttress the prominence of New Delhi at the expense of its seven sisters. Majestic Hegemony The British Empire arguably represented the prototypical example of “Hegemony” as employed by the Italian Marxist political philosopher Antonio Gramsci. Gramsci developed a more nuanced, culturally dependent view of the myriad ways in which a ruling class—either in the sense of direct political or military rulers (“political society”) or intellectual or economic elites (“civil society”)—exerts power and

imposes not only its will, but also its values and worldview, on subordinate groups or classes. The impossibility of governing such a huge, poly-linguistic, culturally alien, and religiously divided population against the will of the majority meant that the British rule in India could only succeed to the extent that Western ideals, technology, economic systems, language, and cultural production held allure for the Indian people. The British did not desire (and, of course, could never have achieved) the neartotal extermination or expulsion of an entire indigenous population, as occurred in Australia and North America, but rather sought the political, economic, and cultural (read: racial) subordination of the Indian people. The Indian Administrative Service, the English medium school, cricket, Kipling, the Indian Railway Service, and Victoria’s Jubilee each did more to further English power in India during the century preceding the establishment of New Delhi than did the British armed forces. English colonial rule in other places, from South Africa to Arabia, from the South Pacific to the Caribbean, likewise flourished only when the Empire successfully imposed its cultural hegemony—the term’s irony notwithstanding—on subject peoples. Mere political and military dominance allows for at most an extractive economic relationship, as largely characterized the situation of the Spanish Empire’s South American colonies or Germany’s African colonies. To govern, rather than merely rule, the British Empire successfully reshaped Indian culture and society, in no small measure through the building of New Delhi. The principal British objectives guiding the design for New Delhi—a design that served as so much more than

New Delhi: The new colonial capital ( Image source: left- www.britannica.com; right- www.indiatravelnet.com )

108

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Muslim versus Hindu, lighter-skinned Aryans versus darkerskinned Dravidians, higher caste versus lower caste—the British expanded their domination, whether directly or by proxy, over nearly 500 million people with a markedly small military presence, an administrative service completely dependent on indigenous labor, and a somewhat larger contingent of British merchants, professionals, dependents, and those who had simply “gone native”. None of the innumerable symbols of the subordination of the Indian people to British colonial rule carries the same psychological impact as does the towering domination of Lutyens’ New Delhi over the sprawl of India’s greatest city. Lerner’s Design

( Image source : www.unbf.ca )

simple “urban planning”, indeed as a manifestation of British political and cultural hegemony over the “Jewel in the Crown”, British India—were well-served by the transformation imposed by this plan. Lutyens’ intention was not to imbue the new symbol and administrative headquarters for British rule of the subcontinent with a sense of Englishness specifically, but rather to ensconce India more firmly in the long arms of European culture. The tangible, practical legacies of the nearly three centuries of British presence in India span all aspects of life in the subcontinent, from the Indian Railway Service to its near-stifling bureaucracy, from its educational system to the near-ubiquitous basic fluency in the English language among India’s middle and upper classes. The utility of many of these borrowings, integral to India’s present-day burgeoning economic role in the global economy, has not been lost on the Indian people. No equivalent ancillary benefits, however, stem from the majestic yet imposed grandeur of the architecture of India’s capital. New Delhi serves primarily, enduringly, as a painful, shameful reminder of India’s protracted subjugation to the will of a small island nation 13,000 kilometers to the northwest, the beauty of Lutyens’ masterwork evoking the stateliness of a foreign occupying power. From the time of Job Charnok’s establishment of a trading post in what is now Kolkata in 1690 to the departure of Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of India, in 1947, British policies in India were geared towards the glory and benefit of the British Empire, with the Indians serving as secondclass adjuncts to that empire at best. English rule was in fact somewhat more nobly intentioned than that of almost all other imperial powers, the United States included, if only because the English displayed a more abiding sense of long-term interest in development, rather than the simple resource extraction that characterized, for example, Iberian rule in South America. Tapping into internal divisions—

Ralph Lerner seemed at the time an unlikely choice for the project, as an American—rather than an Indian, or even a British, architect—of still-limited reputation. His winning plan—orthogonal, commanding, majestic, and somewhat aloof and uninviting—has won extensive praise and heavy criticism. Issues of implementation aside (Lerner was removed as the architect of record in 1993 for his excessive—even by Indian standards!—delays in delivering plans and failure to oversee the work), critics have described the work as derivative, unimaginative, and unduly conformist, while his defenders have pointed to the lush gardens he planned for the expansive courtyards, his creative employment of materials, and his use of natural light for the interior spaces. The architectural elements themselves are subordinate to the cultural, political, and symbolic significance of Lerner’s design. Lutyens’ Delhi, as the ultimate expression of British domination over India, is too much a part of Delhi—and of India—to be forsaken, but it cannot function as the central architectural motif of the new nation. There is much to like in the plan of Lerner’s IGNCA; however, no architectural work—this one far more so than most— exists in a vacuum. Sociocultural, political, and symbolic concerns are paramount in public architecture; Lerner’s design displays a blithe lack of awareness of the broader issues involved in this project. The Iconography of Independence Its victory in the struggle to regain its sovereignty was the beginning, not the end, of the new nation of India’s campaign to establish an autonomous, autochthonous identity. Partition and lingering communal violence, unchecked population growth (and the ever-concomitant unchecked poverty), aggressive, hostile neighbors, mercantilist economic policies, dynastic one-party rule, and staggering corruption had served until fairly recently to relegate the Republic of India to second-class status on the world stage. India’s emergence from the shadows of its long history of subordination to foreign powers, whether Mughal or British, has been a laborious process. As numerous other monumental public construction projects, from the Pyramids to the Great Wall, from Brasilia to Astana, have clearly demonstrated, architecture and urban planning not only reflect, but also define, regimes and civilizations. No other person has been as thoroughly identified with postcolonial India as has Indira Gandhi— “Indira is India, India is Indira” was far more than a campaign slogan—and no other architectural undertaking has offered India the same opportunity for self-representation as has the Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts (IGNCA). In the words of the

New Ways of Looking at Heritage: Contextual Framework

109

Lerner’s IGNCA ( Image source : Dutta, 2007 )

architect himself, the site for the IGNCA is “quite similar to the Mall in Washington D.C., in both its spatial character and national importance” (Lerner Associates website). This opportunity, however, to recast the public face of India was squandered by the endorsement of the design of American architect Ralph Lerner. Scores of architects submitted plans for the massive undertaking, the largest public building expenditure in India’s brief history, and the proposals reflected a wide range of styles and influences. The privileging of Lutyens’ New Delhi over the Delhi of seven previous imperial capitals— mirroring the history of India writ large—buttressed the notion, within and outside the country, that India’s most recent colonial overlord still dominated the national psyche and shaped the country’s self-image. Rather than asserting India’s independent identity, the design of the IGNCA left the Republic in the long shadow of the Raj, reinforcing India’s lack of national self-esteem at precisely the point in time when the Indian people ought to have been embracing their nation’s evolving role on the world stage.

The message Rewal conveys, while working under the same stringent limitations that Lerner followed, is one that differs markedly from that of Lerner. Rewal’s design draws upon the Delhi of Humayun and Shah Jahan, of Victoria and Indira Gandhi, of Lutyens and Baker, clearly intimating that India is indeed greater than the sum of its unequalled architectural, cultural, and political history. Rewal’s plan does not deny the reality of the 250 years of British presence and rule and the Raj’s lasting impact on the maddening pastiche that is India; nor, however, does it reduce India to the simple status of former colony whose significance derives largely from its Commonwealth status and whose present-day achievements stem largely from the civilizing foundation

Rewal for the Republic The circular, jaggedly rectilinear design of Raj Rewal for the Parliament Library—a project similar in scope, though not in architect’s fees, to the IGNCA—draws its understated inspiration from the geometry and attention to detail of Hindu and Muslim architecture of the past millennium, rather than from the grandiose splendor of the Lutyens’ buildings that surround it. Rewal’s plan draws its stature from its landscape, while Lerner’s IGNCA is built commandingly upon a commanding site. It is nonetheless impossible to overlook Rewal’s library. Rewal’s design demonstrates how utilizing geography differs from working with it. Internally, the spaces are warm and inviting despite the building’s scale.

110

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Rewal’s Parliament Library ( Image source : www.architectureweek.com )

laid by benevolent English (read: “white”) rule. Rewal’s Parliament Library may not embody the full grandeur of Lerner’s IGNCA, but it does nevertheless embody India. For such a work of monumental public architecture, the latter is infinitely more significant. Metonymy versus Synecdoche No built environment exists is a vacuum; architecture cannot be isolated from considerations of physical, material, or cultural surroundings. Ralph Lerner’s IGNCA is a beautiful, elegant complex, conveying simultaneously the splendor of its geographic milieu, the majesty of nearby architectural works and the stateliness of its namesake and purpose. Lerner’s design remains intrinsically troubling, though, more for what it is not than for what it is. Lerner’s design blends too well with its surrounding early 20thcentury government buildings, thereby identifying the New Delhi of Lutyens as India’s architecture. One may argue correctly that the monumental British architecture in Delhi has become yet another aspect of the unbelievably rich built environment of India. The metonymy of equating one aspect of this varied history to the totality of Indian architecture is in itself a fatal flaw. When that one aspect happens to be the shining example of British rule in India, an India still beset by nearly insurmountable difficulties in establishing a secular, modern character independent of the long shadow of colonialism, this flaw grows to epic proportions. Architects designing private construction can sometimes safely ignore the broader cultural implications of certain design decisions. Public construction of almost any type, but especially “showcase” public spaces such as the IGNCA, must be planned from the outset with such considerations at the forefront. Lerner’s Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts conveys a certain message about the state of Indian architecture and culture: it suggests that indigenous forms of architectural expression are inferior to those created by India’s British colonizers, that India’s national identity derives its significance in large measure from its colonial past, and that Western cultural production is inherently superior to that of India. In stark contrast, Rewal’s Parliament Library, which suitably complements the adjoining Parliament Building of Lutyens, is an eclectic yet coherent work that mirrors the nation itself: proud and respectful of its history in all eras, but unafraid to embrace modern developments and sensibilities. The counterpoint that Rewal’s Library represents, highlights the ideological shortcomings of Lerner’s IGNCA in stark relief. That Rewal is an Indian architect, while Lerner is an American, should be immaterial; what matters is that Rewal’s work acknowledges, and incorporates elements of the rich traditions that comprise India’s architectural landscape.

and historically Indian styles. While paying homage to the strong, if still foreign, British influence on Indian culture and society, as epitomized in the Viceroy’s Palace, Government Square, and Rajpath, Rewal’s Parliament Library smoothly blends, and harmonizes with, the architecture of all the major influences on Indian culture. Rewal’s design thus expresses a vision of the Desh that acknowledges, values, and assimilates the series of cultures that have left their marks on it. By subordinating each subsequent ruling culture under the historical umbrella of a mosaic nation, the message of the design becomes one of complexity, of continuity and cohesion within change. The problem with Lerner’s work may therefore ultimately not be so much that it privileges the colonial masters over the liberated subject peoples. Rather, the fault lay in the fact that a country with as fragile a sense of national patriotism as India can only establish itself through an expressed ideology, a set of national myths and symbols, and cultural production that are as inclusive and “pan-cultural” as possible—neither Hindu nor Muslim, neither urban nor rural, neither Tamil nor Bengali nor Punjabi. Lerner’s IGNCA does not reflect the multiplicity that is India and thus serves to detour the Republic of India from the staggering, Herculean task of uniting those without a common language, ethnicity, political history, religion, or lifestyle into one India. Such is the only path that holds continued promise for a country still struggling to become a nation.

References: 1. Ganju, Ashish M.N. (1999), “Lutyens’ Bungalow Zone”, Architecture + Design, Nov-Dec. 2. Irving, R.G. (1981), Indian Summer, Yale University Press- London. 3. Lang, J., Desai, M. and Desai, M. (1997), Architecture and Independence, the Search for Identity - India 1880-1980. Oxford University Press- Delhi. 4. Mital, Ranjana. (1999), “The Dilemma of Densification”, Architecture + Design, Nov-Dec 5. Niranjana, T., Sudhir P. and Dhareshwar, V. (1993), Interrogating Modernity, Culture and Colonialism in India. Seagul Books- Calcutta. 7. Taylor, B. B. (1992), Raj Rewal, Mapin- Ahmedabad

What is India? Perhaps no nation is as impossible to characterize, to summarize in a few stock phrases, as is India. Thus, categorizing a particular architectural work—or even an entire urban scheme—as “Indian” is certainly problematic; the many streams that have washed across India are all part of Indian soil. That soil, however, has tended to break down and assimilate, over time, any foreign architectural influences. The plan of Lutyens, somewhat understandably, drew primarily upon Western styles and European tastes; that Lerner’s design did so as well is less understandable. Rewal’s Library does not clash with Lutyens’ design, but is nevertheless far more evocative of more traditionally New Ways of Looking at Heritage: Contextual Framework

111

Dismantling Cosmopolitanism: Transformations In The Sacred Heritage Of The Non-Monumental In The Konkan Smita Dalvi Assistant Professor, Pillais College of Architecture, New Bombay Mustansir Dalvi Professor, Sir JJ College of Architecture, Mumbai The main findings described in this paper are the result of a project called ‘Navi Mumbai (Raigad) Heritage Projecti: Identification, listing and grading of structures and precincts of cultural, historical or architectural importance that merit heritage conservation in Navi Mumbai notified area, which falls under district Raigad.’ This project was completed in April 2006 and submitted to the MMRDA’s (Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority) Heritage Conservation Committee. The project set down guidelines for preservation specific to the identified structures in Panvel, Uran and surrounding villages in Raigad district in the Konkan. It is from this region that this paper derives its case studies in transformation of the sacred heritage of the non-monumental architecture. In addition several examples from other parts of the Konkan shall be cited for comparison. The Konkan The Konkan includes Thane, Greater Bombay, Raigad, and Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts. Raigad forms the historic region of western India, immediately south of Bombay. In Raigad, Uran and Panvel are the main urban centers, and Alibag is a district center. Raigad, on the Konkan, established foreign trading ports with Greece as early as the 3rd century BC. In the 17th century it became a Maratha stronghold. With the advent of the Portuguese and British, the port cities were further developed, yet now have lost their former importance. In the 70s, New Bombay (Navi Mumbai) was carved out of existing districts Raigad and Thane. Navi Mumbai was developed as a complete self-contained new township across the harbor from the Mumbai Metropolis. Navi Mumbai Although popular belief has it that the area was tabula rasa, the reality is that the areas appropriated to form the new city are historically significant to the development of Western Maharashtra. The Towns of Panvel and Uran, within the Navi Mumbai Notified Area in fact predate Mumbai in historical vintage. There are several significant sites in the region dating back from the early eighteenth century at the peak of the Peshwahi period, and building activity flourished through to the time of Indian Independence. These reflect the constructive genius of the original inhabitants. (i) The Navi Mumbai (Raigad) Heritage Project was funded by the MMRDA, carried out by Smita Dalvi (Project Supervisor) and her team from Pillais College of Architecture, Panvel.

112

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Panvel and Uran The historic settlement of Panvel is 300-years old, developed around trade routes (both land and sea), during the time of Maratha/Portuguese/British dominance of the Konkan region. During this time, building activity in these townships was generated by the affluence due to trade. This can be seen in the large Wadas and the buildings that came up during the relative affluence of the Peshwahi and post-Peshwahi period. Uran is a more contemporary name given to Karanja, formerly an island, or ‘Bet’. Uran’s unique context is that of a harbor whose use dates back to the Mauryas and Silharas. The waters around Uran have been witness to several sea battles between the Marathas, the Portuguese and the British. The Patronage of families- The culture of the common folk The social/religious structure in the towns of Panvel and Uran was/is eclectic. There are large populations of Hindus, Bohras and Jains who form the trading communities. There used to be a significant presence of Bene-Israeli Jews, but these have dwindled over recent times. The impetus of trade and the social pro-activeness of its trader families made towns like Panvel and Uran market centers. Several influential families made important contributions over the last three hundred years to the creation of an urban image. These were either merchants or families with administrative clout. These affluent families like the Bapats, the Gulves, the Puraniks, the Banthias, the Parmars, the Munots, the Bhaijis and the Tungekars seamlessly plugged into the extant traditions, enhancing them with their wealth and continuing older values. They became the patrons and city fathers, building mosques, temples, derasars and water tanks for public use, not as kings showering largesse, but as citizens participating in the communal processes of urban life. In the process they created several “cool town centers, for both sacred and social uses” (Heschong; 1990), that still exist, if only precariously, today. Many of the structures built under their patronage still carry associations of local history and collective memory. “All urban communities, whether they have developed gradually over time or have been created deliberately are an expression of the diversity of societies throughout history” (ICOMOS; 1964). The fact that the larger locations of Panvel and Uran on this part of the coast did not form any seat of power, but derived their sustenance from trade and transport, points to the domestic nature of their sacred sites. These religious structures are indicative of the public projects in the towns, of greater patronage from the wealthy citizens and spaces for community participation. Sacred Architecture- The monumental and the domestic There are two discernable types of sacred architecture in the Konkan. Certain temples and mosques display a monumental character, and are significant in their presence over the city skyline. Monumental temples display the Peshwahi or Maratha style, which combine the features of Dravidian and Islamic style in a graceful synthesis, especially in the stucco articulation of the shikhara and in the interiors. The Shikharas of these temples tower over the surrounding landscape forming landmarks in the skyline. Islamic architecture displays the Deccani style, emphasized by bulbous masonry domes, either over the prayer halls or

The ‘monumental’ Ballaleshwar Mandir, Panvel and the ‘domestic’ Virupaksha Mandir, Panvel

the tomb chamber in Dargahs. Such sites, although located strategically, are few in number. Far more ubiquitous and pervasive is the non-monumental sacred architecture following a domestic scale. It is this second type that creates the urban fabric of the towns of the Konkan. This cuts across religious lines. Most part privately built places of worship display a typical form of construction associated with the Konkan. This typology has emerged out of locally available building materials and building/craft practices, and responds to the climate of the Konkan. The non-monumental, privately built places of worship display typical Konkan style timber frame construction with sloped roofs, detailed with open fronts of teakwood framework with infill. This typology has emerged out of local materials, craftsmanship and climate. As such they share such characteristics with the domestic architecture also predominant in these towns. The domestic typologies in the Konkan are 1. Wadas: courtyard houses with timber frame construction, typifying a particular way of life. 2. Muslim houses with front verandahs and highly ornate neo-Baroque features on facades, sometimes combined with vernacular features in timber. 3. Colonial Bungalows adapted to a local lifestyle.

Domestic Architecture- Wadas of Panvel

construction and deep sloping roofs, fitting in neatly within the residential fabric of the townscape.

A cosmopolitan self-similarity

These buildings are truly non-iconic, giving no overt symbols of faith and one could be easily mistaken for another. It is only in the interior spaces that the accoutrements of religious ritual show the places to be what they really aremosques, temples, derasars, agiarys or synagogues. Sacred architecture in Navi Mumbai is best read in continuity with similar sites all over this part of the Konkan in that they reveal a non monumental, non iconic aspect, that is at once contemplative, urbane and self similar.

The Domestic scale is significant in the way it is reworked into the design of the sacred structures. When built, irrespective of religious denomination, they take from the building traditions of the domestic houses, built of timber

These modest structures stand as functional objects for active reverence, not as iconic image builders for a particular community. This indicates a remarkable cosmopolitanism seen in the development of Konkan society over the last two

The Jami Masjid, Owe; The Ramdas Maruti Mandir, Panvel and the Beth-El Synagogue, Panvel New Ways of Looking at Heritage: Contextual Framework

113

hundred years, with an interchangeability of surnames, clothes, food habits and rituals, and the all-pervasive use of Konkani-inflected Marathi as the language of public discourse. Case Study- Temple The Podhi Mandir, in Panvel is a timber frame structure supporting a hipped The Jami Masjid, Uran- exterior aspect and interior aesthetic timber roof. Typically, the entire temple front, instead of having a solid wall, is in the form of timber framework with an infill of vertical MS rod grill. This very traditional Konkan style open front temple is organized into a sabha-mandap and a Garbhagriha which are separated by a grill above the lintel level, and MS rods below. The sabha-mandap typically is divided into a nave and two aisles along the supporting posts with very low- The Jami Masjid, Vijaydurg (left), The Jami Masjid, Achra (right) level wooden railings. It shares all its typological features of planning and construction with the Virupaksha Mandir. The temple is elegant and well preserved, a much-loved place of worship. Case Study- Precinct The Deulwadi Precinct in central Uran, has ten temples strung out in a small area, displaying both a domestic and a monumental scale. The proximity of these many temples makes this area sacred both in its extent and its usage, and is identified by a banyan tree, well, deepa stambhas and open space. The Ganpati Chowk with Hanuman Mandir, Ganesh Mandir and Lakshmi Mandir abuts the road on one side and Ram Mandir at the starting point of the busy Bazaar Peth. Case Study- Mosque Mosques in the Konkan are mostly built with private initiative. Several features on the mosques conform to the domestic architecture of the Muslim town houses, ornamented with Islamic elements from Bijapur, as well as Classical elements like Corinthian pilasters. This mix is representative of turn of the century Muslim domestic architecture. The Jami mosque in Uran was built by Hazrat Shaikh Mulla Husain Tungekar a prominent and wealthy citizen from Uran’s Konkani Muslim Community, and represents, among many other sub-cultures, the contribution of the Konkani Muslims to its development. On the other hand, the mosques at Vijaydurg and Achra, although accorded the status of Friday Mosques, are entirely functional and domestic in scale reflecting on the everyday qualities of practised faith in its aspect.

The Deulwadi Precinct, Uran

114

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

The Umrigar Agiary, Uran and the Jain Derasar, Kapad Galli, Panvel

Case Study- Agiary The Umrigar Agiary in Uran (1904), a ‘Nhallo aatish’ (small fire) was built as a private initiative by Sheth Kuverji Adelji Umrigar and Sheth Khurshedji Adelji Umrigar. In the beginning of the 20th centuryii there was a sizable presence of Parsi community (around 800) in Uran. These families were mainly in the business of distilleries. Presently, only a handful remain. Case Study- Derasar The Jain Mandir in Panvel’s Kapad Galli is a nonmonumental, Town Derasar (Jain Temple), built in timber. The small but influential Jain community mainly consists of merchant families, their houses and shops being either on the same street or in nearby areas. The influential Parmar, Munot, Banthia and Gandhi families came together to construct the much-needed Derasar.iii (ii) Plaque on the verandah of the Agiary & conversation with the present caretaker, Mr. Kersi Sui (iii) Conversation with Shri Lalchand Parmar, a trustee

Synagogues in Nandgoan, Panvel and Revdanda

An unselfconscious syncretism The cosmopolitanism seen in Kokani society over the last three centuries is reflected in the lifestyle and mores of all Konkanis, whether Brahmin, Koli, Bohra, Dakhani, Parsee, Jain or Jew. In no one community is this displayed better than in the Bene Israelis- the native Jews of the Konkan. The Bene Israelis served variously with the Maratha Angrias, the Siddhis of Janjira and the East India Company (Israel, Date NA). Small pockets of these communities still exist all over the Konkan, although many had migrated to Israel upon its formation. In the 1971 census, there were 850 Bene Israelis counted in the Kulaba District. Today, approximately 5,000 live in Bombay and the surrounding towns and villages of Maharashtra (Schwartz, 2003). In the erstwhile Kulaba (now Raigad) District the Bene Israelis are completely integrated with their neighbors. Even today they have surnames like Penkar, Divekar or Ashthamkar (identified by place names), men have names like Bapuji, Abaji and Tanaji, and women are called Sonabai, Bayna or Ambai. They accepted the traditions and practices of both the Muslims (specially in the sacred- ‘masheed/masjid’ for synagogue and ‘Kazi’ for Rabbi) and of the Hindus (weddings rituals include the ‘sakharpuda’ etc). In this day-to-day manner, the Bene Israelis practise an unselfconscious syncretism, which is the hallmark of the Konkan. Between 1840 and 1896, the Bene Israelis established 12 synagogues all over the Konkan, from Bombay to Revdanda. Few of these are extant and in use today. However, they too display a domestic scale like other sacred spaces in the Konkan. These synagogues are generic examples of the non-monumental, community built, Konkan style, place of worship, in timber construction reflecting the unique generic pattern of building irrespective of religious affiliations. Built in timber on brick or laterite masonry, these ‘masheeds’ are identifiable as Jewish only in the accoutrements of their interiors with the Teba, the Hechal and the Tamid. The Beth-El Synagogue was built in 1849 on Panvel’s main street. It is well maintained and still in active use today with several faithful visiting it from the region and even abroad. Far less well looked after is the Jewish Burial Ground in Panvel occupying a small plot with mainly neglected graves. The presence of this burial ground is an indication of the presence and the social significance of the members of the Jewish community in Panvel in the 19th and the first half of the 20th century. Many tombstones and cenotaphs bear inscriptions in three languages, Hebrew, English and Marathi simultaneously. A few older looking tombstones however bear inscriptions only in Hebrew. The names suggest that the Jewish people here had adopted Marathi

surnames, like ‘Bension Solomon Bhoparkar’ or ‘Sasoon M. Khandalkar’. There is a significant epitaph in Marathi on a tombstone addressed “Dear Husband…. ”iv In a poetic vein, the wife compares her husband with ‘Ek-vachani Ram’ and ‘Gangajal’ and seeks God’s blessing for the same husband for the next seven births. The inscription is signed by one Ruby-Bai Benjamin Chincholkar. The example of the Bene Israelis is replicated in the traditions of several other communities in the region. The covert syncretism forms the binding glue that holds the community together. This is further embedded in the structures created by these communities, from abodes to places of worship. Public life and the public aspect of buildings emerged over several generations of unchanging existence and got concretized. Change was slow in coming, but as in the case of Panvel and Uran, when it did, it was fast, and is irreversible. The palimpsest of Navi Mumbai Navi Mumbai came as an external project palimpsest on this extant situation. A project not of the making of local inhabitants but that of Bombay, across the pond, as it were, that kick-started the accretion of knowledge and urbanization, brought in change at a pace unimagined before and over thirty years engulfed two municipal councils older than Bombay. This is not to say that the change has been negative. This part of the Konkan has been deprived of development as compared to the other parts of Maharashtra and the project of New Bombay plugged the Konkan into the larger process of development of Maharashtra. This (iv) The entire Chincholkar epitaph (translated from Marathi) reads as follows: Benjamin Aaron Chincholkar (mechanic) B. 1910 D. 1983 “Beloved husband, You have made the great leap in the sky to the other side. Without you I cannot recognize myself. You were caring, and steadfast like Rama, who kept his singular vow, and all that I have left now Is the memory of your name. Whatever you said turned out true and I can only recollect those experiences. You loved your children beyond compare, that love is left with us. I have never stopped reminiscing, all that was good about you, pure as the Ganges, I ask for you in all my later lives. This is all the blessing I ask from the almighty.” Your wife Ruby-bai Benjamin Chincholkar

New Ways of Looking at Heritage: Contextual Framework

115

The remains of an earlier townscape, and the challenge of RCC

has brought with it affluence, affordability, an increased spending power that has changed desires and aspirations. Sites of contest and revision The rate of change in municipal towns is unregulated and largely ad-hoc. This has led to the inevitable proliferation of RCC framed multi-storey buildings that are, very quickly, changing such towns that have a composed face to start with. Scale, construction, technology and aspect are fast transforming the towns that had hitherto developed slowly. As in every area surrounding a metropolis like Mumbai, Panvel and Uran too are pies being subdivided by the builder’s lobbies for speculation and profit. In such places only heritage legislation may stand between the older urban character and contemporary anonymity. The builders target plots in the middle of towns and those of the largest size. Thus the older large and sprawling wadas in these towns that formed the rich backdrop of community life are now under threat of being lost forever. The current owners of the wadas, who face high costs trying to maintain these large spaces, feel compelled to let go of their estates for the large sums the builders offer them. The busy roads on which these wadas abut that are scaled to these G+1 structures, now become scale-less when G+4 buildings tower over these narrow streets. The fact that these new constructions are patronized by the citizens without much resistance is indicative of upward mobility and a lifestyle based on cities much larger than Panvel and Uran. Dismantling identities

the

cosmopolitan-

Seeking

new

One manifestation of this is to upgrade one’s living condition and environment, at least as perceived by the

Hanuman Mandir, Panvel- before and after ‘Jirnoddhar’

community. This has led for the different communities in the Konkan, which until this point existed in an urban cohesiveness, to seek an identity in their structures that now represent individual religious identity and not the social identity that was for long its hallmark. The influx of wealth also expresses itself in the desire for the monumental. Thus sacred sites are now ‘ground zero’ for these expressions. The ‘tamir’ of mosques and the ‘jirnoddhar’ of temples has led to the dismantling of several domestic scaled buildings to be replaced by the monumental shikharas, minarets or domes all built in the technology of reinforced concrete, all expressing a larger than life semantic, quite without aesthetic precedent, where big is big for its own sake.

Mosque on M.G. Road, Panvel- Photo from 1993 (left) and today (right)

Aspirations driving change The irony here is that this change is emanating from the community itself. The attitude here is not self-reflexive, but mainly aspirational. The community is at ease with these changes. What has become irrevocable is that the image of the city is being transformed into one where the skyline now clearly identifies the new changes as religious landmarks that are visibly different from one another. The dismantling of the older non-monumental self-similar structures also signals a de-cosmopolitanization of the small towns of the Konkan, creating a rip through the fabric of urban community. Most of the non-monumental religious structures are built in a common unselfconscious tradition that is largely self-similar and cuts across religious lines. It is these characteristics, now fast disappearing, that need a priority in preservation. The case for controlled change

The Virupaksha Mandir, Panvel- then and now

116

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

One point in the favor of controlled change is that the models for change may come from the heritage building themselves. There are clear examples of temples that are G+1 for functional purposes that do not detract from the scale consistent with these areas and in fact offer a distinct typology that can be followed whenever the pressures of

expansion are evident. In the Vinayak Mandir at Kegaon, a Ganesh temple built with private initiative, is located non-intrusively in the wadi of Kegaon village. Here a timber framed Mangalore hipped roof supported on TW rafters forms an attic level overlooking the main mandapa below. The attic level is formed with teakwood boarding on teakwood joists. The front verandah has a lean to roof in timber. Above the garbagriha rises a domical shikhara on a drum, but of a scale much smaller than the height of the mandapa itself, which has the aspect of a typical Konkani town house.

community at large that change, such as it is, is inevitable, and the old is constantly under pressure to give way to the new. This is where the issue of preservation through legislation comes into direct conflict with its ultimate beneficiaries. In the Raigad district, as in the rest of the Konkan, the issues of continuity and change are confronted, rather awkwardly. The processes of change depend on whose point of view is being taken. The several points of view, though legitimate in themselves, sit side by side uneasily- where the first step in addressing one point of view would be to the perceived detriment of the other. Here, the sacred sites reflect both the need to preserve, as well as for the local community, the desire to change. Whereas one cannot make a case for up-gradation to stop merely by putting these building in a list and legislating, the heritage gets a much better chance of being conserved by gaining acceptance as ‘one’s own heritage’ within the community itself. Any heritage listing will need a sustained programme of awareness creation in order to be successful on the ground.

Vinayak Mandir, Kegaon

Guidelines for preservation As part of the ‘Navi Mumbai (Raigad) Heritage Project’ notifications, specific guidelines were proposed for the nonmonumental sacred spaces in terms of possible changes, repairs, additions, alterations and renovations: 1. Changes, repairs, additions, alterations and renovations required on religious grounds, mentioned in sacred texts, or as part of holy practices laid down in religious codes should be permitted. These are subject to their being in accordance with the original structure, design, aesthetics and other special features. 2. Utmost care should be exercised while permitting ‘jirnoddhar’ or ‘tamir’ of the non-monumental, Konkan style shrines with timber construction and of temples in Peshwahi style, in order to preserve the few remaining structures in these styles, their original scale and aesthetics, in material and detail. The repairs should be carried out, as far as possible employing the same material, construction techniques and ornamentation. 3. When balance FSI is available on the plot, additional floor space, if desired, may be added to a ground storey shrine by introducing an upper storey. This should be done by carefully dismantling the existing timber roof and putting it back on the upper storey. The upper storey should be constructed in the same construction style, fenestration design and materials as the lower storey. As far as possible all existing elements should be reused. 4. Addition or reconstruction involving more than ground plus one upper storey should not be permitted. Heritage Conservation and Fast Knowledge The issue of heritage conservation has developed a keener resonance in the era of fast knowledge. Heritage legislation breathes easier in an environmental stasis, when buildings so identified continue to remain so and only face the natural structural ravages of time. It is when the buildings are fore grounded in the identity and aspiration of its users or the

This analysis offers some vital clues whether to conserve such sacred sites and how to go about doing it. A strong case has emerged in favor of their conservation. “Whether the sacred sites are large or small, whether they are at the center of the towns, in the neighborhoods, or in the deepest countryside, establish ordinances which will protect them absolutely- so that our roots in the visible surroundings cannot be violated.” (Alexander, 1977) Absolute protection calls for specificity in legislation and notification. When it comes to places traditionally accepted as sacred by an entire community, no other method of preservation can be adopted before ensuring the preservation of such sites by law. Not doing anything will mean a place falls into ruin at nature’s pace. Intervention, if misguided or with malafide intent can destroy heritage overnight.

References: 1. Heschong, L. (1990), Thermal Delight in Architecture, the MIT Press. 2. International Charter For The Conservation And Restoration Of Monuments And Sites (ICOMOS) (1964) 3. Aalekar, Dr. B. (1970) Panvel Shaharatil Mandire. Navakal(Marathi), Daily Edition, May 11. 4. Alexander, C., et al. (1977), A Pattern Language, Oxford University Press, N. Y. 5. Centenary Souvenir of the Panvel Municipal Council (1957) 6. Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency, Thana dist (1882). Vol XIII, part I 7. Israel, B. (date NA), The Bene Israel of India, OUP. 8. Schwartz, B. (2003) India’s Bene Israel, B’nai B’rith Magazine, Summer Edition. From < http://bnaibrith. org/pubs/bnaibrith/2003_sum__india.cfm?india=3 > (Retrieved December 10, 2007) 9. Uran Municipal Council, Centenary Celebration Volume (1987)

New Ways of Looking at Heritage: Contextual Framework

117

Developing Local Capacities For Conserving Heritage At Heritage Sites In The Asia And The Pacific (With Specific Reference To The Indian Context) Richard A Engelhardt Senior Advisor to UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture I THE INTERFACE BETWEEN CULTURE, CONSERVATION AND TOURISM DEVELOPMENT

Fig. 1: The cultural patrimony handed down to the present generation presents a tremendous resource for development – particularly in rural areas where a strategy of urbanization and industrialization is inappropriate.

Over the past three decades, India, like many developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region, has experienced unprecedented economic prosperity brought about by strategies based on capital investment in infrastructure for industry, agro-business, urban renewal and tourism (Fig. 1). However successful as short-term economic drivers, these strategies have exacted a heavy toll on the natural and culture heritage resource base of the region – the very same resource base that these strategies depend upon for their long-term economic sustainability and, hence, political viability. The debate over the environmental sustainability of development strategies has, in recent years, become wellarticulated and raised to national political platforms. In India, for example, environmental protection legislation is among the most rigorous and scientific of any in the world, and, as a result, the Ministry of Environment has a powerful voice in national policy-making. This recent political visibility of the environmental conservation lobby is probably attributable to the rate at which natural resources have been depleted within living memory. The obvious and alarming rate of pollution of all environments from air and water and the depletion of all natural resources from forests to the seas has underscored that these resources are not inexhaustible, as once was thought. However, cultural resources– when they have been considered at all within the development paradigm– are typically, but incorrectly, still seen as inexhaustible. Hence cultural resources are erroneously perceived to be impervious to neglect and invulnerable to over-exploitation. Even when the sensitivity of cultural resources is acknowledged

Fig. 3: The Golden Temple in Amritsar, a prominent example of the country’s rich traditional built heritage, has been proposed as one of India’s future World Heritage sites.

118

Fig. 2: The Taj Mahal World Heritage site is one of the most popular destinations in the country. The boom in cultural tourism has created opportunities for growth as well as challenges for sustainable development.

by policy-makers, as has been the occasional case when the rapaciousness of the tourism industry has exposed acts of blatant cultural commodification (Fig. 2). Regulatory mechanisms have proven to be inadequate in preventing the continued degradation of the authentic cultural heritage. When the over-exploitation of a culture heritage resource becomes so unbearable it cannot be ignored, the most common response is to blame local inhabitants for their neglect and to put severe restrictions on their use of the site and its resources. In extreme cases, local populations have been relocated out of “protected” areas altogether – often under the guise of urban “renewal.” Historic districts have

Fig. 4: Traditional trades, such as exquisite Fig.5: The patterns of everyday life and community masonry works, are still alive in India but at risk ritual events contribute to maintaining age-old patterns due to the growing preference for modern building of social cohesion. materials and techniques.

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

lost their traditional inhabitants and have been repopulated with more affluent carpet-baggers or even, tourists. This strategy, however, only hastens the deterioration of the heritage through the loss of traditional custodians and endogenous techniques for sustainable management of the heritage. Consider traditional India. Consider the enormous amount of accrued knowledge and skills held locally in the cultural heritage -- in the built heritage of homes and shops, in heritage practices embodied in traditional trades and arts, in age-old knowledge communicated through rituals, festivals and even the calendar of everyday life (Fig. 3, 4 & 5). It is obvious that urgent, strategic and comprehensive action is needed to protect the community’s and the world’s culture heritage assets. Only through community stewardship of the heritage, can it be ensured that the heritage will be protected everywhere, and that its protection will be sustained over the long-term. Sustained, universal stewardship is a pre-requisite for the survival of cultural heritage. II STRUCTURING AN EFFECTIVE COMMUNITY BASED APPROACH Sustainable heritage conservation depends upon the commitment and involvement of local communities. Conservation policies, if they are to be successful, need to promote local community stewardship of the heritage as well as provide socio-economic benefits for local communities. As such, a direct link must be made between the safeguarding of the heritage and socio-economic development. Therefore, for the past decade UNESCO has focused on developing the capacity of local government, communitybased institutions and NGOs to successfully manage their heritage resources for both conservation and development – particularly tourism development.

traditional technologies and know-how. The methodological approach used for implementation of this programme involves initiating a variety of community participatory activities which act as catalysts for local community interest groups to assess the unique characteristics, strengths and economic potential of the elements making up their physical as well as intangible cultural heritage, and then to design a community action plan to self-develop these elements in a way which is both profitable and sustainable. Through the programme, assistance is provided in the form of practical, technical peer advice and, if needed, small “start-up” grants or loans. The programme’s implementation strategy demonstrates how heritage conservation can be an effective tool for job-creation, income generation, thus poverty alleviation, by promoting custodianship over the heritage and by empowering local communities to develop their heritage in a responsible, sustainable and profitable manner. Through this strategy, heritage preservation becomes a development activity that stimulates economic opportunities by using traditional skills and indigenous resources available in the community. The LEAP programme aims to catalyze an attitudinal change that will result in universal involvement, individual commitment and local community stewardship over the cultural heritage. This is done by demonstrating that heritage conservation makes good developmental sense – both in economic and in social terms. The 10-Step Action Programme Although the specific culture conservation goals of each community may differ, a common structure has been developed to guide action to meet these goals. We call this framework the LEAP 10 Step Action Programme. STEP 1 The first step in the process is to encourage

In the Asia-Pacific region, a demonstration programme has been developed called “Integrated Community Development and Cultural Heritage through Local Effort,” popularly known as LEAP. The basic idea behind the programme is to assist small and medium-sized traditional communities, many of which are economically stagnant if not impoverished, to make a successful economic “leap” into the future using the conservation and development of the local heritage as the springboard. In this process local stakeholders are encouraged to assume an active stewardship over the heritage and are empowered to develop that heritage in a responsible, profitable and sustainable manner– for tourism, and other uses. The basis of the LEAP strategy to empower local communities in heritage conservation is to ensure participation of the indigenous populations and local communities in the conservation and management of their heritage resources. This can only be done if the end result of the conservation and management practices provides economic and social benefits for the community, while safeguarding and maintaining social and cultural traditions. This strategy calls for the deliberate designation of heritage conservation as a development activity that brings economic opportunities, creates jobs, and generates income based on

Fig. 6: Thorma preparation in Tawang Monastery, Arunachal Pradesh as part of the UNESCO Cultural Survival and Revival project helps promote a stewardship ethic and community participation in historic conservation.

New Ways of Looking at Heritage: Contextual Framework

119

activities that promote a stewardship ethic and community participation in historic conservation (Fig. 6). STEP 2 The next activity involves hands-on training among local stakeholders to develop management plans for both preservation and development of their historic site (Fig. 7). STEP 3 The identification of pilot projects within the community is the next step. This is done on the basis of community-based participatory research work to identify locally significant sites and heritage properties for protection and possibly, adaptive re-use (Fig. 8). STEP 4 Research, development and training in low-cost, traditionally-appropriate and historically-accurate techniques for building maintenance and restoration (Fig. 9). STEP 5 Re-invigoration of and economic support for traditional building and associated trades necessary for the maintenance of heritage sites in an authentic manner (Fig. 10).

Fig. 8: During the restoration of Krishan Temple in Punjab (UNESCO Heritage Award of Distinction 2004) initial research showed that the alleviation of under-employment, improvement of community relations within a multi-cultural village, promotion of community co-operation, and re-motivating village leadership, were the means, not just the end, for the eventual restoration of the temple.

STEP 6 The sixth LEAP action is to promote and provide training to preserve indigenous artisan skills and other intangible cultural activities which have potential marketappeal and can be developed into income-generating professions (Fig. 11). STEP 7 The next activity is the training and promotion of

Fig. 10: One of the mandates for conservation work at Krishan Temple (UNESCO Heritage Award of Distinction 2004) was facilitating community stewardship. Here, villagers were trained in the traditional method of making lime plaster for walls, floors and roofs, thus helping revive a nearly-lost building technique.

community-based and controlled tourism industry-related occupations grounded in the accurate interpretation of the unique local culture, history and environment (Fig. 12).

Fig. 7: Dadabhai Naoroji Road project (UNESCO Heritage Award of Merit 2004), has mobilized local shopkeepers and homeowners to revive the Victorian heritage streetscape by putting into place urban design guidelines for signage, street furniture and facades.

STEP 8 The eighth LEAP activity assists in curriculum development for both formal and non-formal education in local history, heritage conservation and small business management skills in the culture industries (Fig. 13). STEP 9 There is also the need to set up revolving loans and low-interest credit schemes for conservation, maintenance and business development (Fig. 14). STEP 10 Finally, in order to learn from one another’s experiences, a final LEAP action is to link communities and individuals together through practical seminars, a newsletter, and an email discussion group for the exchange of technical and other relevant information (Fig. 15). The strategy of this programme is to create activities which are sustainable so that they bring lasting economic benefits to the communities who engage in them and which do not, therefore, require continued assistance and financial support from outside sources.

Fig. 9: Instead of sandblasting, hand tools were used in the careful removal of cement wash on the brick fabric and limestone decorative ornaments at DBS House in Mumbai (UNESCO Heritage Award of Merit 2001). Weathered decorative parts were filled with limestone putty and washed with lime as a protective coating.

120

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

The results of these activities must also be replicable. The aim is to engender strategies and activities which, with site-specific modifications, can be applied elsewhere. The strategies and activities developed should result in a multiplier-effect. It is intended that national authorities will

Fig. 11: A unique intangible Buddhist cultural heritage of the Himalayan regions is sand mandala preparation. At Sa Ngor Chotshog monastery in Sikkim, as part of the UNESCO Cultural Survival and Revival project, this is passed along within the monastic setting from elder lamas to younger lamas.

Fig. 13: The age-old tradition of manufacturing and conserving manuscripts in Tawang Monastery, Arunachal Pradesh is being documented to serve as teaching materials in local heritage conservation training.

Fig. 12: The restoration of a former residence into the boutique Hotel de l’Orient (UNESCO Heritage Awards Outstanding Project, 2000) in Pondicherry, undertaken with sensitivity to its fusion of Tamil and colonial architecture, resulted in a viable and commercially successful cultural tourism

Fig. 14: The magnitude of the heritage in India requires the need for innovative approaches to funding conservation works, including both public and private involvement.

Fig. 15: Building strong networks between heritage community members, relevant government agencies and NGOs creates a platform for long-term exchange.

see the value of promoting community-based activities with regard to the preservation and safeguarding of their traditional heritage, and in doing so, embed these strategies into their national policy.

management tools for all project sites. Among these tools are the following:

III DEVELOPMENT OF MANAGEMENT TOOLS To meet the growing demand for technical and managerial expertise at the grass-roots level and because communities share many of the same practical problems in conserving local heritage, UNESCO has developed some common site

Hoi An Protocols for Best Conservation Practice In Asia And The Pacific In the past, conservation rules and guidelines have been formulated from experiences with structures and materials specific to the European context. In order that the special characteristics of Asian building materials and techniques, as well as uses and cultural meanings, can be coherently taken into account during conservation, UNESCO regional experts have developed a set of guidelines outlining best New Ways of Looking at Heritage: Contextual Framework

121

Fig. 16: The Ahhichatragarh fort and palace complex in Rajasthan (UNESCO Heritage Award of Excellence, 2002) was commended for its “rigorous conservation process combining the application of modern scientific techniques with the revival of traditional crafts and materials. The removal of unsympathetic additions and the introduction of new infrastructural services allow the complex to accommodate modern use while preserving the sense of place embodied in the exquisite architecture and landscaping.”

conservation practices for the region, known as the Hoi An Protocols to the Nara Documenton Authenticity. Heritage Homeowner’s Manuals Designed as a practical tool to guide homeowners in the routine maintenance and preventive conservation of their historic houses, the Heritage Homeowners Manuals return responsibility for maintaining historic structures back into the hands of the owners of these buildings themselves. Asia Pacific Heritage Conservation Awards Since 2000, the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for Culture Heritage Conservation have been bestowed on individuals and organizations within the private sector, and public-private initiatives, for the successful restoration and adaptation for viable re-use of historic structures in the region. Many awardees and entries have set technical and social benchmarks for conservation in the region, including several from India (Fig. 16 & 17).

Fig.17: The Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum in Mumbai (UNESCO Heritage Award of Excellence, 2005) has been “restored to its historical splendor through a pioneering public-private partnership between the municipality of Mumbai, the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) and the Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation.”

This is a regional network of universities and other heritage training institutions to conduct research and offer training in the management of culture and heritage resources. This new “virtual” academy has a variety of functions, all aimed at upgrading the professional capacity for culture heritage conservation and management in the Asia-Pacific region. Establishment of Information Networks Fostering, facilitating and strengthening the communication and lateral links between heritage site managers themselves and with other professionals in their field is one of the priority strategies and activities of LEAP. It is a goal of the programme to provide and foster the means whereby site managers and communities can learn and share from each others’ experiences.

IMPACT Responsible Tourism Series. Resulting from many requests from LEAP site managers and tourism industry personnel for guidelines and real-life examples of sustainable tourism practices, IMPACT is a series of case studies exploring issues of tourism and cultural preservation. SEAL of Excellence for Handicraft Products In order to encourage the diversification of high-quality cultural products in a community, UNESCO sponsors a complementary programme which awards a “seal of excellence” to handicraft products that meet standards of workmanship and authenticity. This SEAL of Excellence is used as a marketing tool to promote community-based cultural industries (Fig.18 & 19).

Fig. 18: In South Asia, the SEAL programme has recognized outstanding crafts products including ceramics, represented here by one of the awardees in 2006.

UNESCO-ICCROM Asian Academy for Culture and Heritage Management The most recent initiative has been the establishment in 2002, under the joint auspices of UNESCO and ICCROM, of the Asian Academy for Culture and Heritage Management. 122

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Fig. 19: The sub-continent’s intricate metal work has also garnered attention, with this example of local craftsmanship winning SEAL recognition in 2006.

IV CONCLUSION The LEAP Project demonstrates that heritage preservation is a development activity that can bring socio-economic benefits to the entire community through a wide range of employment and income-generating activities. The project has likewise succeeded in catalyzing a grass-roots movement for heritage preservation, mainly because the project has demonstrated to a local audience that heritage properties have economic values, and that the preservation of their local culture and heritage can form the very basis of sustainable development. The project is stimulating a paradigm shift in heritage conservation– from an elite technical specialization practised only by a handful of experts into a popular grassroots movement where individuals assume responsibility for, and local communities take on the stewardship of the heritage (Fig. 20).

Fig. 20: A new approach combining top down and bottom up conservation strategies is essential for the long-term sustainability of the heritage.

The preservation of world heritage is such a vast undertaking that, in the long run, it can only be successful if there is active participation by local communities everywhere. The LEAP project has pioneered in developing new approaches in the areas of conservation and site maintenance, drawing on local traditions, techniques and knowledge. Now we must find a way to join forces to expand that effort to one of universal stewardship over the heritage. By focusing on local ownership of heritage and local control over its preservation and future use, we will be assuring the survival of that heritage, for its position will be secure at the very centre of human development.

Photographs & Illustrations Credit: UNESCO

New Ways of Looking at Heritage: Contextual Framework

123

Sustainable Places and Communities

International Capital, NGOs, Architects And Communities: The Case of Karachi Arif Hasan Architect/Planner, Karachi, Pakistan INTRODUCTION Pakistan’s urban areas face the same problems as other urban areas in South and South-East Asia. Two of these problems have been of immense concern to “civil society” organisations in Karachi. One is housing and infrastructure. This has been a concern for many decades. The other is more recent and is related to what I call “the neo-liberal urban development paradigm”. Pakistan requires 350,000 new housing units per year for its urban areas. The formal sector is able to supply only 120,000 housing units per year. The demand-supply gap is accommodated in katchi abadis (squatter settlements on government land) or through the Informal Subdivision of Agricultural Land (ISAL) on the periphery of cities and towns. It is estimated that nine million people live in katchi abadis in the urban areas of Pakistan and another 15 million in ISALs. Both type of settlements are unserviced to begin with but over a 15 to 20 year period they manage to acquire water, electricity, gas and some sort of social infrastructure. However, sewage invariably flows into cesspools or into the natural drainage system. Karachi, the country’s largest city (population 13 million) has an annual housing demand of 80,000 units. In the last five years the formal sector has been able to provide 26,700 units annually. The demand-supply gap has been accommodated in katchi abadis whose population is now over six million. Between 1992 and 2003, 25,438 housing units have been demolished as a result of mega projects and to satisfy the land hunger needs of a strong politicianbureaucrat-developer nexus. Almost all the evictees moved to new katchi abadis far away from the city centre.

Since 1973, the government has been operating a ‘Katchi Abadi Improvement and Regularisation Programme’ funded with loans from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. Through this programme people pay for land and development and acquire a 99-year lease. The programme has improved and regularised only 1.5 per cent of katchi abadis per year. This means that the existing katchi abadis would be regularised in 75 years. Thus the programme has not been a success. The major reason for the poor performance of the programme is that there has been no proper community participation in it and as such cost recovery through lease charges has been poor. The programme has increased Pakistan’s foreign debt which is difficult to repay (Hasan, Arif; 2001). Developing infrastructure in low income settlements in a conventional manner is far too expensive. The Pakistan government has been taking loans from IFIs for this purpose. However, the scale of the problem is so enormous that not even a fraction of the requirement can be tackled through the loan process. In addition, loans come with conditionality, foreign consultants and often with international bidding for implementation. All this increases costs by more than 300 per cent as compared to normal government projects. Karachi is also Pakistan’s industrial and services sector hub. About 75 per cent of its population works in the informal sector, 65 per cent belongs to the lower income group and about 60 per cent are below the age of 25i. Thus, the problems of the poor and the young have to be addressed if a just and conflict free city is to be created. The Karachi Master Plan 1975-85 gave priority to these problems and to the less privileged citizens of the city. The Karachi Development Plan 2000 sought to create a monitoring system related to these issues. It is true that none of the two plans were able to achieve their objectives but the planning process gave priority to social issues and their physical requirements. However, in the last decade, the whole approach to planning has undergone a change in Karachi and this change is reflected in the new under-preparation Master Plan. The local government is obsessed with making Karachi “beautiful” to visitors and investors and is desirous of making it a “world class city”. What this actually means has never been explained but it is one of the objectives of the Karachi Master Plan 2020ii. In addition to being a “world class” city, Karachi has to develop “investment friendly infrastructure”. Again, what this means has not been clearly defined. However, it seems from the programmes of the local government that this means building flyovers and elevated expressways as opposed to traffic management and planning; high-rise apartments as opposed to upgraded settlements; malls as opposed to traditional markets (which are being removed); removing poverty from the centre of the city to the periphery to improve the image of the city so as to promote direct foreign investment; catering to tourism rather than supporting local commerce; seeking the support of the international corporate sector (developers, banks, suppliers of technologies and the IFIs) for the above. The above agenda is an expensive one. For this, sizeable

Sanitation- a major issue

(i) Worked out by the author from the data in Karachi Master Plan 2020 draft and the projection of the 1998 Population Census Reports of the Government of Pakistan. (ii) This is part of the Mission Statement of the Karachi Master Plan 2020 draft. Sustainable Places and Communities

127

loans have been negotiated with the IFIs on a scale unthinkable beforeiii. Projects designed and funded through previous loans for Karachi have all been failures (ADB-793 PAK; 1996). Given this fact and the fact that local government institutions are much weaker in technical terms than they were in previous decadesiv, it is unlikely that the new projects will be successful. Also, it is quite clear from the nature of projects being funded that they are not a part of a larger planning exercise. In addition, they are increasingly being floated on a BOT process. It is quite obvious that projects have replaced planning and that the shape of the city is being determined increasingly by foreign capital and its promoters and supporters. This project based “planning” process is also anti-people and has resulted in increased evictions both of settlements and hawkers and the creation of conditions which make it difficult for working class people to access previously accessible public space. As a result, multi-class public space for entertainment and recreation is rapidly disappearing in Karachi. In addition, the power of the national and international corporate sector has strengthened the already existing nexus of developers-bureaucrats-politicians and as such, existing legislations and bylaws and zoning regulations are being bypassed far more easily than ever before. This increasing strength of the nexus, backed by foreign investment, has weakened government institutions and the democratic political process. As a result, negotiations between the decision-makers and community and interest groups are no longer possible. It seems that the government has become deaf to the concerns of the more vulnerable sections of society who form the majority and of the environmental and human rights lobbies. Similar complaints have been made to the author by academics, professionals and NGO representatives of other Asian cities such as Delhi, Bombay, Dhaka and Phnom Penh. Interaction capital is buying up the beaches of the city for commercial and recreational purposes. The city government is also interested in “gentrifying” them. This process is going to have a major physical, social and environmental impact on the city. For example, the city government has built a park along six kilometres of the beach. Though the park is most welcome, its development has removed all hawkers, sea-shell salesmen and performers from this stretch of beach and replaced them with expensive food outlets as a matter of policy. As a result, low income families can no longer enjoy this beach. Another project called Defence Housing Authority (DHA) Beachfront Development is under construction. It is a 1,500 million US dollar development along 14 kilometres of the beach. It is being carried out by investments from Dubai and Malaysia based companies. Much of this project is on reclaimed land and restricts public access to the beach. Multi-storey office blocks; theme parks and expo centres (experience in Karachi shows that such parks are too expensive for the poor and expo centres are not used by (iii) Between 1976 and 1993, the Sindh province in which Karachi is located borrowed US$ 799.64 milion for urban development. Almost all of this was for Karachi. Recently, the government has arranged to borrow US$ 800 million for the Karachi Mega City Project. Of this, US$ 5.33 million is being spent on technical assistance being provided by foreign consultants. (iv) Budgets of government planning institutions have increased considerably in the last decade. However, good professionals are no longer attracted to government jobs because of better opportunities in the private corporate sector, NGOs and international agencies. In addition, there is a major migration of professionals to the First World.

128

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

them); railway tracks along the water’s edge (NED University students research shows that the fare will be Rs 90 per trip and as such unaffordable by poor and lower middle income families); condominiums and exclusive clubs (which will certainly be cordoned off for security reasons); expensive water sport facilities and most surprisingly, multi-storey car parks on the water’s edge, have been planned. An existing and potential multi-class recreational and entertainment asset, visited by the more than 300 thousand Karachiites every weekend, is being usurped for the exclusive use of the rich and powerful (www.urckarachi.org). Similar plans are being developed for another 8 kilometres of beach which is frequented by Karachiites in a big way over the weekend. Over here, Sugarland City is building an elite township which is going to displace old villages, a wildlife sanctuary (run by the World Wildlife Fund) and over 300 weekend residences along beach. No consultations have been held regarding this project and nor have any detailed plans been made available to the public (www. youtube.com/watch?v=gzWRhoew2vE). In another move, the government has sold two islands on the outlet of the Korangi Creek, an abandoned bed of the Indus river and a protected IUCN site, to a Dubai based company for US$ 43 billion for similar developments. These islands have been used by fishermen from time immemorial for fishing related and cultural activities. The islands are ideal for the development of eco-tourism which could have integrated the biodiversity and the fishing communities and their activities into a development plan – but that did not happen (www.pf.org.pk). The developments described above are bound to have serious ecological repercussions. They are being built by destroying the mangrove eco-systems and through land reclamation tampering with the coast line of a region that is subject to violent cyclones. They are adding to sewage and solid waste problems of an ecologically sensitive area. They are also adding over 80 thousand vehicle trips per day to an already congested coastal road network. In addition, these developments are adversely affecting the biodiversity of the region and the possibility of developing eco-tourism for the citizens of Karachi. However, the most serious repercussion is social. Karachi’s lower, lowermiddle and middle-middle income communities are being denied access to the beaches of the city. This, coupled with evictions of formal and informal low income settlements due to the construction of mega-projectsv and the clearing of low income housing on “valuable” land is further dividing the city into rich and poor areas, both physically and socially, leading to the exclusion of the poor from civic life. The “investment friendly” infrastructure that is being developed is “signal-free” roads. These are being created on existing corridors by building flyovers and underpasses at important junctions and closing all other entry and access to these corridors. Although this has facilitated movement, especially during non-rush hours, it has created enormous problems for pedestrians wishing to cross the roads. In addition, public transport cannot stop on these flyovers and underpasses and has to use the old routes below the (v) The Lyari Expressway, considered by planners and academics as unnecessary, is being constructed. It is displacing 25,000 families, over 8,000 businesses and adversely affecting the education of about 26, 000 children. For details see Hasan, Arif (2005), The Political and Institutional Blockages to Good Governance; The Case of the Lyari Expressway in Karachi; Environment &Urbanization Volume 17, No. 2, October.

flyovers which have become increasingly congested as a result of them not being made a part of the “signal-free” roads schemes. As such, the commuters and the pedestrians have not benefited from this enormous expense. It is not possible to prevent the onslaught of global capital. However, it is possible to develop some basic principles for urban planning as a result of which a level of social equity can be achieved and ecological damage can be contained. For this to be achieved, it is recommended that for all urban planning in Karachi four basic principles should be adhered to. These are: one, planning should respect the ecology and the natural environment of the region in which Karachi is located; two, landuse should be determined on the basis of social and environmental considerations and not on the basis of land value or potential land value alone; three, planning should give priority to the needs of the majority of the population which in the case of Karachi belongs to the lower income and lower-middle income classes, the majority of whom are pedestrians, commuters, informal settlement dwellers and workers in the informal sector; and four, planning should respect the tangible and intangible cultural heritage of Karachi and of the communities living in it. These principles do not suit international and local capital, developers and politicians and professionals who serve them. However, an organised civil society consisting of professional institutions, concerned citizens and community organisations can push for this planning agenda and succeed, if it is properly organised and if its advocacy is supported by solid research. Civil society and concerned citizens in Karachi are coming together to challenge this new agenda. THE WORK OF THE ORANGI PILOT PROJECTRESEARCH & TRAINING INSTITUTE AND THE URBAN RESOURCE CENTRE The work of two organisations, with which the author has been associated with over the years, deals with the two issues described in the above Introduction. The first is the Orangi Pilot Project-Research & Training Institute (OPPRTI) and the second is the Urban Resource Centre (URC) in Karachi. The OPP-RTI is one of the institutions of the OPP. The two organisations work closely together and their work is briefly described below.

The town of Orangi

Programmes have been developed around these four issues. The sanitation, housing and education programmes are explained below. Sanitation Programme The OPP-RTI divides sanitation into “internal” and “external” development. Internal development consists of sanitary latrines in the house; underground sewers in the lane; and neighbourhood collector sewers. External development consists of trunk sewers and treatment plants. The results in Orangi and in 284 other locations in Pakistan have demonstrated that communities can finance, manage and build internal development provided they are organised and are provided with technical support and managerial guidance. Local governments can support the process by building external development provided they accept the “internal-external” concept and train their staff in the OPP-RTI methodology and in working with communities. The technical assistance of the OPP-RTI has consisted of providing communities with plans, estimates of labour and material, tools, training for carrying out the work and supervision of work. OPP-RTI’s research has developed new standards, techniques and tools of construction that are compatible while being affordable to poor communities and are compatible with the concept of community involvement in construction.

The Orangi Pilot Project-Research & Training Institute

In Orangi 96,994 houses have built their neighbourhood sanitation systems by investing Rs 94.29 million (US$ 1.57 million). Local government for the same work would have invested Rs 604.17 million (US$ 10.06 million). All sewage discharges into the natural drainage system as for over 80 per cent of Karachi (Government of Sindh report; 2005).

Orangi is one of the 18 towns of Karachi and 85 per cent of its population lives in an agglomeration of katchi abadis. The town has a population of 1.2 million living in over 100,000 houses built informally. The OPP was established in Orangi in 1980 with the purpose of overcoming the constraints faced by the government in regularising and improving katchi abadis. The objective of the project was to: i) understand the problems of Orangi and their causes; ii) through action research, develop solutions that people can manage, finance and build; iii) provide people with technical guidance and managerial support to implement the solutions; iv) in the process overcome constraints that governments face in the upgrading of katchi abadis.

The process has consisted of mobilising communities. Meetings were held in the lanes and people were told that if they form a lane organisation and elect, select or nominate a lane manager then they could apply to the OPP-RTI for assistance. Once a lane applied for assistance, the OPP-RTI sent its team to survey the lane and a map and estimates for its development were prepared and handed over to the lane manager or the lane team. They then collected the money from the residents and organised the work with OPP-RTI technical supervision and managerial guidance. The OPPRTI did not touch the money of the lane organisations and confederations. It was the lane managers/committees that managed the funds and kept accounts.

Participatory research identified four major problems: i) Sanitation and Housing; ii) Employment; iii) Health; and iv) Education. Sanitation was considered the most important.

Initially, only those lanes could participate which were near a natural drainage channel into which they would discharge. Later, lanes that were far away from the drainage system Sustainable Places and Communities

129

Lane surveys (left) and Preparation of maps (right)

began to apply. For them to dispose into the natural drains, collector sewers were required. This led to the creation of a confederation of lanes that financed and built the collector sewers. In certain wards where the confederation of lanes was strong, the elected ward councillors funded this effort. The lane was chosen as a unit of organisation since a typical lane in Orangi contains between 20 to 50 houses. It was thus small enough to be cohesive and since everyone in the lane knew each other well, there were no problems of mistrust involved. It was clear to the OPP-RTI from the very beginning that the natural drains into which the sewage was being disposed could eventually be converted into box trunks with treatment plants where they meet the natural water bodies. The OPP-RTI sanitation programme has been scaled up by the local government by building external sanitation in Orangi. The OPP-RTI supported community sanitation disposes into the natural drainage system of Orangi. The local government is now converting these natural drains into box trunks designed by the OPP-RTI and supervised by community activists trained at the OPP-RTI. It has also been scaled up by government agencies and departments adopting the OPP-RTI concept and methodology with the OPP-RTI as consultant and trainer. The scaling up of the programme through NGOs and CBOs has led to the creation of partnerships between them and local governments. The OPP-RTI strategy for supporting NGOs and CBOs wishing to replicate its programme evolved over time and after many failures. The strategy is explained in Box – 1. 46,821 houses outside of Orangi in 11 Pakistan towns at 284 locations have built their internal sanitation at a cost of Rs 88.15 million (US$ 1.46 million). The replication projects have been able to mobilise Rs 146 million (US$ 2.43 million) from local government funds for building “external” development and sewage disposal systems not only for their settlement but for large areas of the town and/or city. In two replication projects water supply systems have also been laid on an “internal-external” basis. In three small towns the replication project has become consultant to the government for water supply, sanitation and road paving projects all being built on the “internal-external” concept. The OPP-RTI partner CBOs and NGOs have learnt how to make maps (some use computers for the purpose and some also use satellite images and GIS) and develop extension literature. Their activists are constantly negotiating with local, provincial and federal government representatives and agencies (OPP quarterly report; 2006).

130

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Before

After

A Community Development Network (CDN) has been established linking up all the partner organisations who meet every quarter as a different replication project and present and discuss developments that have taken place in their programmes. Local government officials of the area are also invited to the CDN meetings and site visits are arranged. Some partners are stronger in community participation and others in technical matters. They contact each other directly for support and often plan joint negotiations with government agencies (OPP quarterly report; 2006). One of the most important initiatives of the OPP-RTI has been the mapping of Karachi katchi abadis and the natural drainage system of the city. This mapping has been done by young community members (supervised by OPPRTI staff) who have undergone a six month to two year training course at the OPP-RTI in surveying, mapping, estimating, community mobilisation and in some cases, architectural design. The programme is known as the Youth Training Programme (YTP). As a result, 334 katchi abadis which constitute over 60 per cent of the total katchi abadi population have been mapped. The mapping documents existing sanitation and water infrastructure, solid waste situation, schools and clinics. The survey of the 334 katchi abadis has shown the extent of people’s work. There are 224,299 houses in 19,463 lanes in the surveyed settlements. 62 per cent of these lanes have sewage disposal facilities and 50 per cent have water lines, both laid on a self-help basis. Approximately Rs 334.48 million (US$ 5.6 million) have been invested by the people in this work. Government investment has also been made for sanitation and water supply but most of their work is on main sewers, drains and water mains. The survey results show that the “internalexternal” concept of the OPP-RTI has been unwittingly followed in an unplanned manner by the government

Before

After

and the communities. Furthermore, 1,041 clinics and 773 schools have been set up by entrepreneurs and/or charities in these settlements as compared to 12 government clinics and 143 government schools (Rehman, Perween; 2004). Through the YTP the drainage system of Karachi has also been documented. 102 nalas have been surveyed along with their catchment areas and it has been established that over 80 per cent of Karachi’s sewage is planned to dispose into the natural drainage system. The mapping process led the OPP-RTI to propose alternatives to the various IFI funded and government projects for Karachi. These alternatives, consisting of transforming the nalas into box trunks with treatment plants where they meet perennial water bodies, has now been accepted by the government agencies and work is being implemented. This alternative is at a fraction of the cost of previous government funded IFI projects and requires no foreign loans. The alternatives proposed by the OPP-RTI also led to the cancellation of an ADB loan of US$ 70 million for the Korangi Waste Water Management Project. Finally, in August 2005 the federal government asked the OPPRTI Chairman to prepare a sanitation policy for Pakistan. After a number of provincial level workshops, a policy that promoted the OPP-RTI internal-external concept was prepared and endorsed by a stakeholder workshop. It was approved by the federal cabinet in December 2006. Meanwhile, the persons trained by the YTP with OPP-RTI support have also established a Technical Training Resource Centre (TTRC) which is providing assistance to the Orangi union councils in documenting their infrastructure and identifying projects. The union councils, which are the lowest rung of local government, do not have this capacity.

CBO Map making

However, the most important result of the OPP-RTI work has been the development of CBOs, NGOs, activists and educated young people who have become involved in the improvement of their settlements and have developed skills of collective negotiations with the government on the basis of sharing development with the state (financing, building and maintaining) rather than just lobbying for it. In addition, according to surveys, infant mortality in those parts of Orangi which acquired a sanitation system in 1983 has fallen from 130 per 1,000 live births in 1982 to 37 per 1,000 in 1991. Most observers and official sources agree that the most important factor for this is the construction of underground sewers (Zaidi, Akbar; 2001). Residents interviewed said that they spent much less on curative health than they did previously. In the case of Faisalabad, where the programme has been replicated, private medical

Box – 1: OPP-RTI Strategy for Supporting NGOs/CBOs • CBO/NGO or community activists contact the OPP-RTI for support • OPP-RTI invites them for orientation to the OPP-RTI office in Karachi or directs them to one of its partners • After orientation CBO/activists convince their community to adopt the programme • They create a team of a social organiser and a technical person who are trained at the OPP-RTI and/or on-site in their settlements through visits by the OPP-RTI staff • The training is in surveying, mapping, estimating, construction supervision, documentation and accounts • Training does not have a specific period. It continues throughout the life of the project • OPP-RTI arranges financial support for the team and related expenses through WaterAid or through its own funds. Initially, this support is about Rs 200,000 (US$ 3,500) per year • Invariably the CBO-NGO comes into contact with local government departments as its work expands • When that happens local government representatives are invited to the OPP-RTI for orientation • If they are convinced they send their staff for training • Neighbourhood settlements contact the CBO-NGO for replicating the programme when they see conditions change in their neighbouring settlements

Sustainable Places and Communities

131

practitioners have left the settlement because of a decline in diseases and hence of income (Alimuddin et al; 1999). Housing Programme The housing programme is another important initiative of the OPP-RTI. The programme was initiated in 1986 after a study of the “sociology, economics and technology” of housing in Orangi. Research identified that the local component manufacturing yards (known as thalas), which provided concrete blocks and other building components to the house builders, were the most important players in the housing drama. In addition, they also provided skilled workmen and credit for house building. Research also identified that a major cause of bad housing construction in Orangi was the result of poor workmanship among skilled workers and/or the house owners. Problems related to a lack of understanding between the thala owners, skilled workers and the house owners were also identified as a major cause of substandard, expensive and incomplete construction. Therefore, the OPP-RTI decided to upgrade one thala. Concrete block making was mechanised, regular curing was initiated, masons at the thala were trained, pre-cast concrete roof components were introduced and cheaper and better aggregate sources were identified. House owners were informed as to what they should expect from the thala and how they should cost their construction before beginning it and how they should take care of issues such as light, ventilation and hygiene. Today 103 thalas have adopted the OPP-RTI model and Orangi has become a major exporter of concrete blocks and pre-cast roofing elements. Annually more than 2500 houses in Orangi benefit from the use of improved building components and the advice package (OPP quarterly report; 2006). One of the major concerns of the OPP-RTI was related to the quality of components being manufactured at the Orangi thalas. Here the TTRC has been used for providing advice to house builders. The TTRC designs the houses and/or extensions and in the process also looks at the quality of the components purchased by the owners. For this the TTRC charges a small and affordable fee. A mobile supervisory team has also been set up that roams around Orangi and provides advice (if required and solicited) by the house owners who are building their homes. So far, the TTRC has trained 148 masons and has also provided design inputs for 99 school projects (OPP quarterly report; 2006). Education Programme The OPP-RTI Education Programme consists of supporting young educated men and women in establishing

Teachers’ training

132

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

schools. As a first step, Rs 15,000 (US$ 250) are provided as a grant for beginning a school in a house. Once the school takes shape, a credit of Rs 20,000 to 30,000 is provided for setting up classrooms. SKAA’s support has also been sought for the provision of land for the schools. With the passage of time, through accessing government and/ or NGO teachers training programmes and inputs from local activists and organisations, the schools become stable formal educational institutions. So far, the OPP-RTI has arranged for 491 loans for upgrading the schools. 45,527 students, including 21,579 girls, are enrolled in these schools and 2,604 teachers, of which 1,892 are women, are employed by them. A school owner’s association, which meets regularly, has been established. Urban Resource Centre URC is a very different organisation from the OPP-RTI. It was set up in 1989 by young graduates, teachers of architecture and planning, NGO activists and community leaders. The community organisations and networks developed by the OPP have become an integral part of it. The basic objective of the URC is to influence the planning and implementation process in Karachi and to make it more environment and poor friendly by involving communities and interest groups in this process. To further its objectives, the URC collects information regarding the city and its plans and disseminates it to the media, NGOs, CBOs, concerned citizens and formal and informal interest groups. It analyses local and federal government plans for the city from the point of view of communities (especially poor ones), interest groups, academia and NGOs. This analysis is done with the involvement of interest groups and CBOs through the holding of discussions on the subject with them. On the basis of these analyses the URC holds forums in which all interest groups, including the government agencies and the media, are present so that a broad consensus may be arrived at. In addition, it seeks to identify and promote participatory research and documentation on major issues in Karachi and to monitor developments and processes related to them (www. urckarachi.org). As a result of the URC’s process, issues related to landuse, transport, evictions, hawkers’ rehabilitation and integration into planning, inner city environmental and degradation problems have all become important media and civil society issues which they were not before. Due to the URC’s work, there is now very little difference of opinion left between the URC’s point of view, the point of view of the print and electronic media and of different citizens’ groups and environmental lobbies including the architecture and planning academic institutions. On many issues there is also an understanding between the URC and a number of government professionals and bureaucrats. Due to the research, informed questioning, involvement of interest groups and preparation of alternatives and modifications to government plans, the URC process has managed to bring about fundamental changes in the thinking of government agencies with regard to mass transit, sewage disposal and certain aspects of housing. It has resulted in the cancellation of a US$ 70 million ADB loan for a sewage project and its replacement by a cheaper project which does not require a loan. It also helped push forward abandoned Northern Bypass project which is now under construction. It also contributed to the proposal for revitalizing the

Karachi Circular Railway which earlier had been done away with. The URC was also involved in the public hearings that led to the cancellation of the privatisation proposal for the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board. Recently, it has collected 4,655 signatures from 73 organisations and from 89 low income settlements of Karachi against the DHA’s Beach Project. It has also initiated a Secure Housing Initiative (SHI) whereby settlements under threat are documenting their history, government and community investments in their infrastructure, issues related to land title, and details regarding the families living in them. This information is being used for lobbying against evictions and for developing support for the SHI. It was realised by the URC Chairman that elite support was required for a number of issues that the URC had identified. As a result, the URC Chairman contacted some prominent Karachiites who then got together to create the Citizen’s Coalition. This is a very different initiative from the OPP or the URC. It was created by 22 prominent citizens (including two ex-judges of the Supreme Court) who were very concerned at the ecological damage and social fragmentation that was being caused by the Beach Development Projects. This association was then joined by a large number of professionals, businessmen, media personalities, journalists and even executives of the corporate sector. THE ROLE OF ARCHITECTS AND ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS In both the projects described above, the role of architects and academic institutions has been very important. There are a number of reasons for this. One, the Principal Consultant (now Chairman) to the OPP-RTI, since a year after its formation, is an architect. He was also a teacher at the Department of Architecture and Planning (DAP) at the Dawood College in Karachi. He was able to involve his students in the work of the OPP-RTI. The current Director of the OPP-RTI and the Joint Director were both students at DAP. The Director teaches regularly at DAP, University of Karachi and also at the National Institute of Public Administration where government bureaucrats are trained. Two, in 1980, professors at the DAP, Dawood College introduced the Comprehensive Environmental Design (CED) Project for final year students at the undergraduate level. CED consisted of identifying a problem area in Karachi and making students study it. The class was divided into four groups. The administrative group studied the governance systems in the area and identified their constraints, potential and problems. The physical group studied the physical conditions and their causes and repercussions. The economic group studied the economic activity in the area, its problems and the causes for it. The social group studied the sociology of the area, identified community organisations and their linkages. All four groups were asked to identify who did what and how, in their respective field of study and to relate their findings to the larger Karachi context. Workshops and juries during the process brought the four groups together to create a synthesis after which the individual students were required to develop an architectural input which could help overcome some aspect of the problems that they had identified.

that it were graduates of the CED Project who approached the professors at Dawood College and complained that as architects they were not using the knowledge that the CED had provided. It was due to this that it was decided to set up the URC with their involvement. It is also important to note that the majority of persons working on community driven (as opposed to NGO driven) projects are graduates of DAP (Ahmed, Mushtaq; 1998). The CED tradition has been continued at the newly established DAP at NED University where the majority of teachers are ex-graduates of Dawood College.In the Citizen’s Coalition as well, architects have played an important role and the Institute of Architects, Pakistan, has recently been very active in questioning the foreign funded mega projects for Karachi and proposing alternatives. The problem of architectural education in Pakistan has been the absence of its link with social, administrative and environment related reality. In the absence of this reality, innovation becomes difficult and teachers tend to teach as they have been taught. The full potential, that the two projects described above have in modelling certain aspects of architectural education and in influencing policy, has not been fully exploited. For this a larger awareness of the problems that they seek to address needs to be created. This can only happen if a network of different NGOs, professional organisations, prominent citizens and CBOs is created. The URC believes that such a network can come together on a one point agenda which is “no development without consultation”. This is currently being promoted and it is hoped that it will take shape. If it does then perhaps the four principles of sustainable urban development which have been expressed in the text above will form the basis of future planning for Karachi.

References: 1. Hasan, Arif (2001), Working with Communities, City Press, Karachi 2. ADB-793 PAK (1996), Evaluation of KUDP and Peshawar Projects 3. URC website www.urckarachi.org. 4. Karachi Waterfront website http://www. youtube.com/ watch?v=gzWRhoew2vE. 5. Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum website www.pf.org.pk. 6. Government of Sindh (2005), Report on the Task Force on Municipal Services, February 7. OPP (2006), 108th Quarterly Report; December. 9. Rahman, Perween (2004), Katchi Abadis of Karachi: A Survey of 334 Katchi Abadis; OPP-RTI. 10. Zaidi, Akbar (2001), From the Lane to the City: The Impact of the Orangi Pilot Project’s Low Cost Sanitation Model, WaterAid, UK 11. Alimuddin, Salim et al (1999), The Work of the Anjuman Samaji Behbood and the Larger Faisalabad context; IIED, UK 15. Ahmed, Mushtaq (1998), From Architecture to Development and Beyond, ArchiTimes

As a result of the CED, a whole world of katchi abadis, inner city issues, community organisations and activists, hawkers, bribe taking government officials, middlemen and problems related to local commerce surfaced. It is important to note

Sustainable Places and Communities

133

Habitat For Humanity International Partnering With The Poor For Better Housing Aruna Paul Simittrarachhi Regional Program Advisor & Country Representative (Nepal), Habitat for Humanity International Naresh Karmalker Program Advisor (Planning, Monitoring & Evaluation) – Asia Pacific Habitat for Humanity International INTRODUCTION Habitat for Humanity is an international ecumenical Christian NGO with an aim to eliminate poverty housing from the face of the earth. Since its inception in 1976, Habitat for Humanity has built and sold more than 200,000 homes to needy people across the world by way of noprofit loans. Currently operating in a little over 80 countries, Habitat has succeeded in reaching out to more than a million people living in conditions of poverty housing across the urban and rural divide. In the last 10 years, Habitat for Humanity’s traditional approach of building single homes for individual families has undergone a radical transformation. From a practice that was centrally driven with a set approach and design, Habitat has moved to a more grassroots-led approach wherein the community of need itself makes decisions about the type, design and size of its home. Added to this is a continuous attempt to bring down house-costs through innovative technology as well as to respect traditional architecture and forms by increased use of local materials and practices. This learning process has led to the discovery of innovative housing practices across the world that are based on traditional grassroots wisdom and technology that is sustainable, replicable and affordable to the poor. This paper will try and shed some light on Habitat’s methodology as well as highlight certain innovative peoplefriendly housing solutions from a few of the countries that Habitat operates in. THE HABITAT METHODOLOGY Traditionally, the methodology employed by Habitat is as follows. When a need for housing in a neighbourhood is communicated to Habitat by a local individual or agency, a situational analysis is carried out to ascertain the feasibility of the project. Once the project is given the green signal, a local Habitat unit is established in the area. This unit publicizes the intent of Habitat to provide homes to the poor in the community through no-profit loans. Applicants are screened and selected against universal Habitat family selection criteria. Families whose income falls within the approved range for the country and who do not have access to regular credit channels are selected. A mortgage deed is drawn up for each individual family and once the formalities are completed, a house is built for the family. The family commences repayment of their loan once the house is completed and they have moved into their new home. The methodology described above is based on a few core

134

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

principles that are outlined below and which still hold good: i. Simple, Decent Affordable Homes Habitat promises its home partners a ‘simple, decent and affordable’ home. It does not give grants for house construction since it believes in giving the community a hand up instead of a handout. Habitat houses are sold to the community through a no-profit loan repayable in easy installments. Loan repayment periods vary from a minimum of 3 years in Asia and up to 20 years in the U.S.A. The minimum house size meets UN standards of 225 sq. ft. by area. House sizes and designs vary from country to country based on the need of the people, the local architectural environment and keeping within the maximum size limit decided by Habitat. However, Habitat endeavours to provide for its home partners in each case a house consisting of at least two rooms, a safe kitchen and a toilet. ii. Volunteerism & Sweat Equity Since inception, Habitat for Humanity has been a volunteerled movement. People from all walks of life can contribute to the construction of Habitat houses. A key partner in the house construction process is the home partner herself. She is expected to provide all the unskilled labour involved in building her own house as well as to contribute to the construction of her neighbour’s house. In this way Habitat not only tries to build community but also provides an avenue for the home partner to become an equal contributor to this endeavour. This principle is termed as sweat equity. iii. A house for a house The repayment that comes in from a group of Habitat home partners is rolled back in the community until poverty housing is completely eradicated from the area. Thus, essentially, the repayment of a house contributes towards providing a house for another member of the same community. In order to safeguard the cost of the house over the loan payback period, a small inflation adjustment is made to the loan repayment amount. iv. Fostering local leadership & community ownership Typically Habitat programs are executed through locally governed structures called affiliates. An affiliate is set up in the area where a need for housing has been established and is governed by a board constituting local community leaders. In recent times, this model has evolved to partnership programs with other NGOs, local GOs and other like-minded organizations where Habitat either plays the implementing role or comes in as a technical advisor. In all cases, the accent is on allowing the community to take charge of the program. This principle is also reflected in the home partner community choosing their design, making bulk material purchases to lower costs and monitoring and evaluating the construction process. NEW APPROACHES Over the last few years, a number of exciting innovations have been made to Habitat’s traditional methodology. A few of these are described in some detail below: i. The Savings-led Approach to Housing – Save and Build Since the sustainability of Habitat’s ‘revolving fund’ in the community depended on the ability of the home partner to pay back her loan, it was difficult for Habitat to select

families with incomes below a certain level. Thus, a large majority of the poor were deprived of the opportunity to own their own secure home. Habitat’s Save & Build came to their rescue. The main objectives of Save & Build were as follows: a. Enable low income families to own a house. b. Make repayment affordable through building in stages and manageable through peer pressure as well as peer strength c. Make the program community-owned through its active involvement. d. Build more houses with less capital input to make the program more sustainable. How does it work? Save and Build begins with a group of low income families, typically 12 in a group, coming together to cooperatively generate cash income, set aside savings and contribute labor and materials. Saving at the rate of about 16 US cents per member per day, the group saves enough over six months to build the first house. At this stage, Habitat and its collaborative partners provide matching funds for the construction of two additional houses. These first 3 houses go to the neediest families in the group chosen by the group itself. At the end of 24 months all families in the group have had their housing needs met. Thirty-month loan payback periods are the norm in this methodology. Save and Build has proved to be an ideal methodology even for families reliant on seasonal work who otherwise would not meet conventional income criteria. Groups elect their own leaders, often women, who manage /monitor members’ savings, decide which families are housed in what order, and provide sweat equity. Repayments are made to the group account and later forwarded to Habitat. The Save and Build approach has enabled Habitat to serve more than 10 times the families it would have served through its conventional model. ii. Building in Stages/Incremental Building While Save & Build succeeded in allowing Habitat to reach out to a poorer segment of society not served by its traditional model, this approach still excluded a large segment of the population that was too poor to save even US 16 cents a day. Habitat’s Incremental Building approach or Building in Stages provided a way out. How does it work? In this approach, the family is initially assisted in coming to a decision as to which part of the house is the first priority for them to move towards better housing conditions,

Incremental Building

A typical ‘Building in Stages’ approach

without the loan being a burden to them. In Vietnam, for example, the families are assisted in water and sanitation solutions or home improvement first and the journey starts from there towards a complete house. In Nepal, in the Lankathari Village Development Council (VDC) where the community consists of very backward and low caste “untouchables”, the first improvement is limited to a good roof and pillars to hold the roof. iii. Housing Microfinance Learning from the experiences gained through the Save & Build and Building in Stages approaches, Habitat for Humanity decided to partner with Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) who already had a history of forming and managing savings and credit groups. These MFIs had huge membership but had hitherto never looked at including housing in their portfolio. The result has been that Habitat for Humanity has managed to reach out to many more families without having to invest in the group formation and management process which was never its core competence but was so for the MFIs. Through this, the poor have truly taken a leading and active role in the program. For example among the families served through this approach in Nepal, not only have the most neglected amongst them been catered to, but 62% of the investment for the housing has come from the very same members of the community. Microfinance offers much better repayment terms than do informal sources of money lending (loan sharks) and such a loan (MF) can be a supplement or an alternative to saving toward shelter improvement. Our experience has gone to demonstrate the truth of a fundamental expectation of microfinance that “…economically active poor people can finance their housing needs incrementally, affordably, and under conditions that allow the financial provider to cover all associated costs.” (Daphnis & Ferguson, p 1) The impact on sustainability is seen when we make a comparison of the program in Sri Lanka and in Nepal (Table 1 & 2). Our discovery supports what Ferguson explains in the following “…the home is the most important asset poor people ever own. Sometimes it can be a productive asset, for instance in the case of home-based micro-entrepreneurs. Even in the cases where the home is not systematically used as a place of business, microfinance institutions have long observed that clients use loan proceeds to improve their living conditions. … (Therefore) … such a loan can be a supplement or alternative to saving toward habitat improvements. This suggests a fundamental expectation of

Sustainable Places and Communities

135

Table 1 With every $ 1000 within 10 years Families served– Sri Lanka (statistics from 1997 to 2005) Prior to Save and Build

With Save and Build

# of families served with every $1000 (In 2002)

1

32

# of houses constructed in 5 years (Up to 2005)

962

4000

962,000

800,000

External Investment (US$) (Up to 2005)

Table 2 Habitat Nepal, within the first year of operation, was able to reach 630 families through this model as against 870 in eight years under the conventional method. 1997 -2005

2005-2006

# of families served

870

630

External Investment (US $)

1,740,000

198,702 (38%)

micro finance– that economically active poor people can finance their needs incrementally, affordably” (Daphnis & Ferguson, p 3) iv. Use of Appropriate Technology In recent times, Habitat has exceedingly explored the approach of using local materials and employing traditional building approaches. As much as this has been due to the ever-present necessity of lowering the house cost, this decision has also been influenced to a great deal by the demands of the community itself. Bamboo Housing For example, Habitat Nepal has switched from the traditional brick and cement block houses to building mostly bamboo houses. In Nepal, the indigenous bamboo is suitable for building houses because it is easy to use, environmentally friendly and durable. The rural community can also turn to growing and harvesting bamboo as an income generating activity. Moreover, Habitat provides value addition by teaching the community to treat bamboo properly and, on occasion, plaster it with cement or clay, causing these houses to last longer. HFH Nepal employs bamboo technology by using woven bamboo strips plastered with cement or clay for the walls of a house. Six bamboo pillars support the roof and the walls, providing added resistance to earthquakes. Building earthquake-resistant houses is vital as Nepal lies in a seismically active zone, and major earthquakes in 1934 and 1988 caused thousands of deaths and left hundreds of thousands homeless. Since the bamboo is treated to prevent termite or other insect attacks, the bamboo pillars and walls can last for a good 30 years. The pictures above show two models of the bamboo houses built by Habitat for Humanity in Nepal as well as the bamboo treatment training provided to a group of architects visiting the program. In places where bamboo is not available, sun burnt clay bricks are used and these are made by the community. In

136

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Bamboo house in Nepal with concrete pillars and plastered with cement

Bamboo house with bamboo pillars

cases where home partners do not have enough land to make bricks, other members often offer any surplus land to do so. The Construction Committees formed by the members of the MFIs or Village Banks, together with HFHI, provide support in drawing up estimates and also delivering materials to the site. The Committee buys the material in bulk, reducing the cost of material and transport and further easing the burden on the poor.

Training architects to treat old bamboo (left) and new bamboo (right)

In some countries like Papua New Guinea, timber from community forests is used for building. Members spend days cutting and sawing enough timber for the houses to be built within the community. They themselves come up with policies on how to protect their forest by replanting and using less timber. Steel Frame Construction One of the challenges encountered by Habitat for Humanity, especially when working in the urban areas, has been the difficulty in sourcing raw materials locally in enough quantity and at a good price. This has led to other options being sought. One such option is the Steel Frame Construction technology perfected in New Zealand that has been adopted in the Philippines for an urban shelter development initiative. This cutting-edge technology promises a typhoon and earthquake-protected

structural design. It is volunteer-friendly and cost-efficient with a typical unit costing Philippine Pesos 50,000-55,000 (US$1,000). Other characteristics of the methodology: • Uses Galvanized Aluminum for the frames and roofing offering rust and heat protection • Used extensively for both commercial and residential use • A Row of 8 Units can be built in 15 days with minimum paid skilled labor DISASTER RESPONSE SOLUTIONS A recent addition to Habitat’s portfolio is its foray into disaster response. This endeavour has been a learning experience for Habitat, given its history of traditional

Different phases in constructing steel frame houses in the Philippines

Sustainable Places and Communities

137

complete home-building solutions. However, through diverse experiences with handling disaster programs over the last few years, right from Hurricane Mitch in the US, to earthquakes in Gujarat (India) and in East Timor right through the recent tsunami, Habitat has succeeded in developing diverse models in keeping with local needs and resources. For example in the Pakistan earthquake last year, the response was in the form of temporary shelters as we see in the pictures below. These kit houses, constructed with GI sheets, could be assembled within 40 minutes. Besides this, the materials used in these shelters can be reused for the permanent shelter. This is in keeping with Habitat for Humanity’s philosophy that keeps a long-term perspective of providing permanent housing even to those affected by disasters after the initial emergency solutions have been provided. EMPOWERING THE COMMUNITY TO CREATE BETTER HOUSING The core of Habitat’s housing philosophy is the involvement of the home partner, and virtually anybody who wishes to get involved, in the housing program. The insistence on the home partner providing sweat equity, working on their neighbour’s houses as well as providing whatever raw material they can makes them equal partners in the project and goes a long way towards their empowerment. Again, every effort is made to source the skilled labour as well as the raw materials from within the community thus emphasizing the concept of self-reliance.

In Nepal, the Virtual Habitat Resource Centre takes the shape of a number of Village Orientation Programs. Through the Village Orientation Program group committee members, the selected home partners and the masons drawn from the local community are informed about their roles in the housing program as per the Program Implementation Approach. This details out how the housing micro finance system will work within the community and the different roles that will be played by the partners. The designs of the houses and the technology adopted will also be explained and training imparted by Habitat to make this design work. For example, in the eastern part of Nepal, within the period from 17 Nov 2005 to April 2006 a total of 87 Village Orientation Programs have been conducted. As a result ¾ 106 masons have been trained within this period. ¾ 27 executive members of partner organizations and 60 Construction Committee members have been made aware of the community housing program.

Installation of corrugated GI sheets

Fixing of Foam Insulation

Family moving into almost complete house

Portable sawmills- Solution for future permanent shelter in remote areas

Bagalkot (Pakistan): Earthquake response

138

The next step is to get entire communities to take responsibility for and undertake steps towards a better habitat for everyone in their village. One example of how Habitat is attempting to empower the community and build capacity within is that of Virtual Habitat Resource Centres. Virtual Habitat Resource Centres are mediums of taking simple house construction and repair methodologies to the community without the need for a physical structure to house the effort.

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Materials Quantity Foundation Rubble 1 cubes Sand ½ cube Cement 2 bags Masonry 2 days Walls Doorframe 01 Window frames 02 numbers Bricks/ 2000/ Cement Blocks ( 16”x4x8”) 650 6mm steel bars 03 numbers ¾” metal 11 cubic ft Masonry 6 days Shuttering planks 70 feet Binding wires 250 gr. Wire nails 250gr. sand 1 cube cement 8 bags Roof 2”4” coconut Timber (main Beams) 5x12 Asbestos Sheet 12’x8 sheets Tiles (+ then rafters and reefers) 650 + Ridge tiles 18 L. Hooks 7” 20 Nails 01 kg Carpentry 01 day Flooring Rubble for paving 1/4 cube Cement 3 bags Sand ½ cube Masonry 01 days Door and window panes with fittings all Carpentry 1 day transport construction supervisory charge (10% of the cost)

Contribution made by Me (H/O) Habitat Others Cost

Foundation Details An extract from the booklet “My Dream House”

Sustainable Places and Communities

139

¾ 10 program staff have gained better knowledge and skills on the community housing program. ¾ 12 Group Promoters, 90 percent of them women from within the same locality, have been trained. At least 4000 women from 80 women’s micro finance and village bank groups (each M/F Group consists of 50 members) have been informed about the community housing program. The most appropriate design for their houses, based on the available raw materials and their own saving capacity, is decided by the members themselves with technical assistance from Habitat. To facilitate this, a booklet titled “My Dream House” has been designed. One of the leading members of the group or the appointed Group Promoter within the village assists the home partners to understand the estimates and the commitment required of each partner to make the dream house possible. An extract from the same booklet that shows the Bill of Materials with the contribution of all partners is shown below. CONCLUSION Habitat for Humanity has come a long way since its inception in 1976 when the thrust was on providing complete houses to individual families. Today, thirty years down the line, Habitat is continuously seeking ways of reaching out to even poorer families, involving entire communities in decision-making processes and providing technological solutions that are environmentally friendly and build on local traditions and resources. This journey truly promises to be an exciting one and we invite you along for the ride!

140

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Infrastructure Development Through Community Consensus: A Strategic Approach Deependra Prashad Architect/Planner & Visiting Faculty, School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi. City In-migration has always been the bête-noir of planners and city governments. In-migration has often led to informal settlements springing up within urban centers or semi-formal settlements on urban fringes. Under whose responsibility do these fringe settlements fall for providing infrastructure and services? These peri urban populations tend to live in a vacuum, with neither the traditions and social cohesion of rural life, nor the cosmopolitan & modern lifestyle of the city providing comfort. Almost always, conventional centralized planning procedures have been unable to cope up with such areas needs of revitalization and renewal. Local Participatory planning, on the other hand, through the work of individuals and civil society organizations tries to fill in the gap in such areas. Community based Planning in current parlance has often been put forward as a solution, for tackling not just such areas, but almost all planning evil. In case of Urban Planning & Design, “evil” could be defined simply as that kind of urban planning which does not lead to any outcomes. (with the worst being those which do not even lead to any “actions”). But Community based planning approach has also faced handicaps, when faced with complete urban chaos. In the peri-urban scenario of a multitude of urban development issues crying for attention, is there a single best approach to planning, or many? What works, and where? In light of the above questions, we could broadly categorize the planning approach into the following 3 types: a) Conventional Master Planning, based on statistics, figures and colour blobbed landuse maps on paper, which creates huge plans that are usually unrealizable, either due to financial constraints or a lack of understanding of ground realities in cities, in addition to the unclear political and executive ownership of these documents. Planners in these situations have more often than not felt shy of outcome (end state) planning. b) The Second method, named Strategic Planning is based on a set of Planned city based programmes which link with each other and form a full plan, the execution of one strategically linked to the initiation and success of the second step. Closer to the ground situation, it has increasingly coming into planner’s and the Executive’s vocabulary and is replacing master planning, which used to formerly rule the roost. c) T he final and the most activist method is Action Planning, where the stakeholders are galvanized into action through an important/ relevant issue, Various Planning Approaches

brought together into a community planning workshop. The outcomes, in terms of common ground, is realized on the basis of immediate actions based on the stakeholder’s willingness & availability of finances. Action Planning steps are typically small in scale. Due to the widespread ineffectiveness of the First method, applied long since the modern planning paradigms overtook our urban areas, the third mode has found wide acceptance in a world bent on quick decisions and actions. The third method, i.e Action Planning is supposed to have prevented the creation of unrealizable visions of conventional master plans. But, it is also true that the immediacy of that tool has led it to be sometimes used/misused by replacing vision planning with a set of immediate actions with questionable efficacy. The second method has thus been looked at increasingly to provide a link between various action planning steps, together with community interaction mechanisms and workshops. But how does Strategic Planning work in the real world, where a lot of opposing criterion determine the parts or action steps. Can there be a beginning-to-end plan with clear links between the action steps which occur sequentially: a clear wholistic overview which follows up with its subparts, and then its details. Our understanding of the complex urban situation and varying agendas precludes this possibility. Then what is really the operational effectiveness of the Strategic Planning Process? This paper tries to examine this question in light of a project conducted by the author in the peri urban areas of Delhi. The project is an education based initiative “AANCHdAL” with an NGO, CARE India’s and the author’s involvement on Delhi’s urban fringe and the surrounding rural areas. In this case, a sequence of varied initiatives, unusually came together to create a strategic infrastructure development plan, thus creating a case for an “on-your-feet” sequencing. Context The Peri-Urban Settlement under question is located on the north-western fringe of the city of Delhi in Ghaziabad district, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It faced fairly common developmental issues including population rise, influx from the rural areas and the rise of small scale manufacturing activities. The Project area included a settlement which came up in the early 80’s with (1115 + 1468) families in 2 adjacent neighbourhoods, and was sanctioned as a legal settlement by the physical development authorities. It got built in as a dense locality with single or double storey Brick/RCC structures built by the residents themselves, now approximately 3-21 years old. The houses were mostly single

New Delhi: A growing city with rapid peri-urban expansion Sustainable Places and Communities

141

roomed or bigger and the roofing materials predominantly included “sandstone with iron girders” or “RCC”. A few neighbourhood segments developed linearly, while some came up organically. The incumbents were primarily of the lower income group and worked as constructions workers, laborers and semi skilled craftsmen.

Decrepit urban character

local politicians lacking any initiative, there was a complete absence of investment coming into the area to alleviate its problems. The AANCHAL Program With such a wide roster of problems, a strategic input required a developmental catalyst which could activate on its own, irrespective of the incumbent government and developmental agencies. This required the identification and introduction of certain key actions and interventions which might make a difference, and link up into a worthwhile overall scheme. But to extract the best output from the community, and to build the intervention’s credentials, an entry point was needed. This was provided by an education based project initiated within the community. Named “AANCHAL”i, this was based on an “Area Approach for Nurturing Child’s Holistic Development and Learning”. Aanchal promoted the concept of better preparing pre-schoolers, for the purpose of ultimately reducing dropouts or out-of school children

The Project Area’s polluted open spaces & Overflowing side drains

At the outset, a huge handicap to the settlement was the absence of municipal services except on the periphery. This was despite its approved status. This problem exists with most unauthorized and later-authorized neighborhoods within the country. Although the Buildings structure were hard “pucca”, the streets were mostly unpaved with a few stretches of “khadinja” (brick paved) flooring. The unpaved streets thus had problems of choked, overflowing and polluted side drains and water logging on the paths, which exacerbated problems arising from bad hygiene. Environmentally, the area left a lot to be desired, with problems of solid waste management, intermittent water supply, and the streetside mixing of soil and waste water. Garbage disposal in the open spaces degraded land quality and also created groundwater pollution. Drinking water was in short supply, and as a good estimate, the inhabitants wasted 20% of their livelihood time and good financial resources in procuring water either from the surrounding colonies, through bottled water or through municipal tankers. Public and Community infrastructure even in terms of gathering spaces or open spaces were generally absent with a deteriorated quality of housing and building stock. These infrastructural problems existed despite good land tenure, as 79% of the houses were self owned. Although the area was predominantly residential, some commercial and manufacturing usage occured as well. A greater social handicap was the low levels of education and commensurate low awareness in health and hygiene. Broadly speaking, the settlement lacked both social and political clout to put pressure on urban development agencies. And with 142

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

The Pre school Centres

in later stages. It empowered certain community women to offer their services as “Pre-School Centre” teachers, and offer their homes as a pre-school centre for 2 hours every day. The school teachers for their function, got a small honorarium and in due course a lot of respect from the surrounding community. The program catered to a dire requirement, where, in this settlement, the literacy rate was only 50%. Only 10% of the children were attending pre school. The program simultaneously provided training to these women in child hygiene and the usage of innovative Teaching-Learning Materials for improving their effectiveness. Simultaneously, other initiatives were proposed for the holistic urban development of the area. These were linked to providing a safe, hygienic and healthy environment to the children. The program was planned both at the: - Micro level for improving the residential based educational spaces. (i) Aanchal literally means a protective piece of cloth. The Program’s official name is AANCHdAL.

- Macro level for community open spaces and infrastructure upgradation. This infrastructure upgradation scheme was based on consultation with the community as expectation from government structures was practically nil. In the community planning scenario for urban development the following generic questions have always emerged... ... Do community discussions build on or confuse ideas? Do all voices in a community planning workshop count? For example, a discussion on the fate of the commercial centre might put the residents and shopkeepers at wrong with each other, with the residents maybe looking for a pedestrian comfort zone and the shopkeepers wanting priority to the well heeled, car based rich gentry. ...Does a mix of tangential agendas put together result in worthwhile action strategies? ...Are the swathes of writing and paperwork put together useful in the long-term? …What is the relevance of immediate actions vis-à-vis the long term vision? ...Do community planning workshops really help retain the local flavour, identity and ownership in urban renewal and place making?

Government, despite understanding the issues, was also hesitant due to its previous experience with the infrastructure provided. These had gone unmaintained together with cases of vandalism, as there was an underlying lack of local ownership. The absence of both local taxation and a long term plan also precluded any government endeavor. Alternative Strategies But this setback forced the program to reexamine the hugely narrowed down possibilities for action for physical infrastructure upgradation. In this scenario, instead of developing an alternative big plan, we decided to refocus on smaller things nearer the base of the ‘possible actions’pyramid. Utilizing the “Bottom-up” system as a foundation, a strategic plan was initiated with smaller action steps.

Current methods invoking the community’s or private sector involvement Recent tools, which the government and public institutions have woken up to, for engaging the community, include “Public Private Partnerships”, “Private Investment “ with add-on tools like “Transfer of Development Rights”. Others like “Inviting objections to policy documents”, “Stakeholder’s consultation” and promoting local action with Resident welfare associations under the “Bhagidari” (partnership) Scheme in Delhi directly invoke democratic debate. These vary in terms of their methodology for identifying stakeholders and the involvement expected of them. One end of this methodology shows a multiplicity of voices, often leading to a loss of focus. On the other hand, too much centralization of the process creates an ineffective consultation and proposals end up suffering a lack of substantial ownership. Therefore development of effective structure for community consultation is really an ongoing and evolving process. With all these questions in the horizon, a large scale community consultation workshop was organized with the various stakeholders, such as Local NGO’s, Social Activists, Local Educationist and health Workers, Local and State govt. representatives, Planners and Architects and of course the local residents and politicians. Various problems and their solutions were discussed together with the possible contributions of the local populace in tackling them. A no. of “honourable” ideas emerged in the workshop but in due course, lacked any progress, initiative or follow-up. The

....does Conventional Community Consultation help?...... and how?

Workshop tools for improving interactivity with pre school teachers for the purposes of improving interior educational spaces

The focus thus shifted to the Aanchal program’s primary contact within the community, i.e. the pre school teacher. Small workshops were designed to educate these teachers on creating a better learning environment in their preschool interior space. The workshops included a critique on the various factors which impeded smooth functioning of the teaching space, including Light, Ventilation, Space configuration, display and storage spaces, circulation and the safety issues with children. This analysis was done utilizing graphic/ diagrammatic tools which the teachers could relate to easily. The workshops by the author involved both aspects which they could self-manage and others where extraneous help was required. Based on these, a survey of the 105 centres was conducted and sug gestions for improvements, repairs and innovative Booklet detailing Level 1,2 plan suggestions additions Sustainable Places and Communities

143

Level 1: Repairs, inoovations and new additions carried out in preschool centres

enlisted. This process and its outcomes were documented and disseminated through a detailed booklet wich listed the building related concerns and the commensurate solutions in the local language. The suggestions were ultimately executed utilizing part funding from the NGO, part from the residents

themselves and a more than welcome input of the resident’s own labour. Innovative furniture pieces which could double up for both display and storage and thus save space were designed and well accepted by the children. As a follow-up on this action step, the centre exteriors and open spaces were also addressed, by the addition of missing parapet walls, brick jalis, staircase railings, and sunshades outside windows on the outer envelope. The execution of these by the community’s workers also helped in generation of local employment and promoted the usage of familier and upgraded building methods. The overall effects of this intervention, which can be referred to as level 1, were positive and energized the program in a number of ways: • As this was a group effort put in by civil society, architects and the community, there was a further expectation of improved teamwork. • When this program was disseminated in the surrounding areas, it was noticed, visited and appreciated by the govt. and there rose an expectation of matching action by the government. • As the community got energized by small results from which their children directly benefited, there was expectation of better cooperation between community groups themselves.

Level 2: Improvements in the streets surrounding the pre school centres

On the basis of these observed and felt benefits, the program used this stage as a launchpad for “linked” community scale works, which in other words, consisted of the next step in the Strategic Plan. Community Level Infrastructure as part of Plan Level 2 included work in the streets outside the centres, which were unsafe and unhygienic for children. The initiative included street levelling, cleanliness from garbage, paving and repairing side drains and edges of handpumps etc. and was carried out around the centres by the centre teachers, parents in adjoining and nearby homes and through project funds.

Level 1: Improvements in the building envelope

144

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

This further provided impetus to take on plan level 3 for the development of Open spaces catering to all age groups and genders. This was required in the absence of any maintained open space due to a lack of preservation of such spaces by the local. Thus, small community workshops were planned

would complement the educational program and also develop intra-community interaction and cultural activities. The workshops showed that although there was a vociferous need for the better utilization of these spaces, there were many doubts and counterpoints from the residents living just adjacent. A redirection of effort was needed towards the non-controversial segments of the land and therefore, those components on which consensus existed were prioritized. The workshops again avoided plain discussions and used graphic tools, where plans and sketches were drawn out based on the suggestions of the participants. The plan included an open air amphitheatre, an exterior classroom board with a rain cover, a children’s play space, play courts for young adults and children, platforms for women’s activities and seaters/ walkways for adults. All of the construction utilized local labour and easy to procure material like brick and sandstone.

Usage of Graphic Tools in the workshops

Parallel to this effort, the local development authority also pitched in with matching action and helped create boundary walls to the parks and greenery, and also committed to help maintain these spaces. Small scale solid waste management initiatives, water preservation awareness and garbage bins helped reduce pollution and bad hygiene in the most visible spaces. Most importantly, the people had a stronger commitment to preserve and maintain the infrastructure created. A more confident program thus moved on to extrapolating the “Area approach” to the surrounding rural areas as well, where 50 pre-school centres were opened and open space development was carried out. At this level, again, local labour and materials in the villages were key. These also raised the profile of the program to enable discussions with the urban development agencies for wider investment in these areas.

Level 3: “ Open space development” scheme.

This Strategic Plan was thus developed as a set of linked objectives, with one developing from the other, and can be better understood in the following comparison. Infrastructure additions carried out in open spaces & its Design Development

for the design of these, and were attended by edge residents, political leaders and local NGO workers. A design brief for these spaces was simultaneously developed, and included in its criterion the needs of all segment of society, be it men or women and all age groups from the young to the old. The brief emphasized creating structures and spaces which

Level 3: The govt. pitches in with boundary walls for the open spaces

Strategic Planning Usual city planning processes look at the broad plan and then stepwise go down into the details of the urban plan, from street layouts and plot development, to service layouts, followed by the architecture of individual buildings, and then the building interiors and so on. In this particular case, the Strategic Plan turned the usual sequence on its head and reversed the approach. Here, the attempt was to examine whether a small childcare and literacy program could grow into and lead to linked actions for urban infrastructure and environmental upgradation within the scope of neighbourhood revitalization initiatives. The program did manage this, by starting small, and following a “detail to whole” sequence, as given below. • Initially, the Interior teaching spaces in the Pre school worker’s home were looked at, followed by the quality of the exteriors and the building envelope. Sustainable Places and Communities

145

Level 4: Plan extrapolated to surrounding rural areras, developing pre-school centres and useful open spaces

• Next, Safer play areas for children were examined together with adequate service availability for children. • Following this, an emphasis on safe and hygienic streets was developed involving the neighbours, local hospitals and environmental specialist groups. • Later, the Open spaces were addressed for the purposes of children and in addition of various community activities. This involved all the interested community, local schools, local government and the local community leaders. • Finally the program was extrapolated to the surrounding rural areas and involved the District Government, NGOs and district level politicians. This “detail to whole” approach presents a viable alternative to the conventional way. This aids the strategic sequencing of objectives and could be of assistance in running programs of a varied nature with a more realistic baseline. Very interestingly, it also utilizes those same restraining forces within the community, for. e.g. lack of education, into a primary driving force which mould the starting action steps of the plan. The individual action steps create realistic short term projects on the basis of all available financial and people resources, and the linking helps all these steps gel into an overall strategic objective. “Planning is Linking Thinking with Action”: ….said “John Friedmann” setting out a more activist orientation of planning Conversely, the output of analytical planning, embodied in the master plan, lacks the scope for dynamic adjustments, flexibility, constitutional acceptance and results in either long delays in implementation or unimplementable projects. There is a strong need to relook at Comprehensive Master Plans, and their significant distance from the ground situation. This distance also occurs due to the time take taken for them to be prepared. In the time it takes for them to get ready for implementation, the ground reality has already changes, making these grand plans irrelevant both in time and space. 146

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Endnote The strategic plan tried to create new opportunities and facilitated emergance of position overlaps among participants (residents, government, commerce, politicians), i.e, stakeholders, who might otherwise have problems in working with each other. The strategy tried to restore urban life by going from discrete smaller initiatives for preschool children to a larger holistic outcome for the whole community. The issues of safety and health/hygiene are important and have needed addressal in the plan. Very importantly, this paper and case study emphasizes the usage of physical resources, including open spaces, streets, water supply, existing built volumes and the residents’ public and cultural needs, into an integrated “strategic planning” methodology for creating sustainable benefits. Acting closer to people’s needs, this helps prevent centralized generalization, and holds vast potential in imparting local flavour and ownership to urban regeneration efforts. The plan’s Key Actions and Interventions are based on the participatory method, which act as a developmental catalyst. Community Consultation as part of the scheme has also helped in the following ways: • Community consultation represents all interests and promotes debate between all. More importantly it helps create community ownership towards the plan and towards the future realized manifestations of the plan, i.e. the infrastructure created. • Community Consultation through a mediating organization, helps put all the communication lines in place, for e.g. in between the residents and the government. This mediation could be handled by a civil society organization, community groups and in some cases a dexterous local government as well. But a special effort is required at the initiation of community consultation to understand the true stakeholders, decision makers, opinion makers and avoid just anyone who walks into a workshop. • These consultations need to be customized for separate

needs depending on the scale of the discussions, i.e. at the household level, neighbourhood levels and the overall city scale. • Initiatives like the National Urban Renewal Mission are also including preconditions for constituting citizen advisory panels. Any positive outcomes from these, not only enthuses the local political leadership to “take credit”, but also encourages further such projects since the initial pessimism has been done away with. • Most importantly focus must to be on those community planning tools which allow participants to “Act, React and Interact”. A huge benefit was seen in utilizing graphic tools for increased interactivity with the participants. This can be largely facilitated by architects and hugely contribute to the process, instead of purely verbal discussions. Design professionals are thus currently faced with a dilemma in terms of identifying their own roles. From the conventional “Architect and Urban designer (Team Leader and Expert) + Client + Contractor” relationship, they have had to move to roles like that of facilitators and enablers of urban change and transformations. If the profession responds positively to this challenge, there exist immense possibilities within the field.

References: 1. Friedmann, Thomas (1988), Planning in the Public Domain, From Knowledge to Action, Princeton Uinversity Press, Princeton 2. Baross, Pal (1991), Action Planning, IHS Working Paper Series, No.2, IHS, Rotterdam 3. Davidson, Forbes, Planning for Performance: Requirements for Sustainable Development, Habitat International, Vol 20, No.3, p. 445-462, UK 4. Prashad, Deependra (2002), Participatory Planning for Large Scale Infrastructure, Architecture + Design, Jul-Aug, p. 72-79. 5. Prashad, Deependra (2002), Cities on the Edge, Architecture, Time Space and People, Vol 2, Issue 4, p. 10-16 6. Delhi Brotherhood Society (2001), Household Survey, Rajiv Nagar & Pappu Colony 7. Congress for New Urbanism website : http://www.cnu. org/

Sustainable Places and Communities

147

Transformations Due To Socio - Economic Pressures Amit Bhatt Architect, IL & FS- IDC, New Delhi Prerna Mehta Architect/Town Planner (Housing), New Delhi Sarika Panda Bhatt Architect, New Delhi 1. BACKGROUND The world took 1800 years to reach its first billion population, 130 years to reach the second billion, while it took just 60 years to cross the five billion mark. Today, more than 50 per cent of the world’s population is living in urban areas. According to the United Nations, cities in developing countries are growing by over one million people a week. Economists and policy-makers now acknowledge cities as ‘engines of growth’, an indicator of development and a major contributor to national economy; it is apparent that it is accompanied by growing disparities as well. The World Bank estimates that there were some 500 million poor urban dwellers in the year 2000, based on its “one-dollar-aday” income-based poverty line; worldwide, 30 per cent of poor people live in urban areas.’ 2. STUDY AREA PROFILE Delhi is located in northern India between the latitudes of 280-24’-17’’ and 280-53’-00’’ North and longitudes of 760–50’–24’’ and 770-20’-37’’ East. It shares its border with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and has an area of 1483 sq. km. Its maximum length is 51.90 kms and greatest width is 48.48 kms. The Yamuna River and terminal part of the Aravali hill range are the two main geographical features of the city. The Aravali hill range is covered with forest and is called the Ridges while the river Yamuna is Delhi’s main source of drinking water and a sacred river for most of the inhabitants. 2.1. Demographic Characteristics The population of Delhi has grown exponentially over the years. It was 13.85 millions on 1st March, 2001 as against 9.42 millions as on 1st March, 1991 that reflects a decennial growth of 47.02% after 1991 census. The annual average exponential growth rate of population of Delhi was the highest (6.42%) during 1941-1951 due to large scale migration from Pakistan to India after partition in 1947. Since then the annual growth has been recorded 4.22 % during 1951- 1961, 4.25% during 1961-1971, 4.25% during 1971-1981 and 4.15% during 1981 1991. The corresponding percentage at All-India level was 21.34% which is almost double the national average. 2.2. Urbanisation Urban face of present Delhi relates to 17th Century when Shahjahanabad was built, which is now called Walled City. Major change and expansion of Urban Delhi from its original area and face of Shahjahanabad started in the second decade of Twentieth Century when Britishers planned New Delhi,

148

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

the Capital of India. Second major expansion started on partition of the country in 1947 with the huge number of refugees coming to settle in Delhi. Subsequently, migration started to this city of opportunities and availabilities from adjoining States of UP, Haryana, Rajasthan for employment. In 1901, 52.76% of the population of Delhi was urban, it was 93.18% in the year 2001. The urban area in Delhi territory has increased from 22% in 1961 to 62.5% of the total area in 2001. Delhi has witnessed a phenomenal and sustained urbanisation since 1931. 2.3. Migration It terms of migration trends it can be seen from Table 1 that majority of migrating population in Delhi comes from the neighboring state of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, contributing to almost 50% of the total migrating population. In fact the neighboring states of Delhi i.e. UP, Haryana, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh account for about 70% of the total migration. Table 1: Trend in Migration Sl no.

States

P e r c e n t a g e o f To t a l Migration (1981-1991)

1

Uttar Pradesh

49.61%

2

Haryana

11.82%

3

Bihar

10.99%

4

Rajasthan

6.17%

5

Panjab

5.43%

6

West Bengal

2.79%

7

Madhya Pradesh

2.71%

8

Other States

10.48%

Source: Economic Survey of Delhi 2004-2005

2.4. Population Density Density of population is one of the important indicators to study population concentration. It is defined as number of persons living in per sq. km. The rapid urbanisation of Delhi has resulted in a sharp increase in the density of population. According to Census of India, the density of population was 274 persons per sq. km. in 1901, this increased to 1176 persons per sq. km. in 1951 and 6352 persons per sq. km. in 1991. In the year 2001 the said figure was found at 9340 persons per sq. km. The density of population in Delhi is the highest among all States/UTs in the country. 2.5. Economic Profile Delhi reports one of the highest per capita incomes among Indian states. In 2003–04, per capita income, estimated in constant prices at Rs. 29,231 was nearly two and a half times the all-India average of Rs. 11,972 (Fig. 1). Over the years, Delhi has emerged as a major trading, commercial, banking, insurance, retail and entertainment centre of India. It has capitalized well on the new economic opportunities that arose after 1990. Between 1993–94 and 2002–03, Delhi along with West Bengal, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu recorded the maximum growth rates in per capita income. Today, 78 per cent of Delhi’s State Domestic Product (SDP) comes from a strong and growing service sector comprising of trade, hotels and restaurants, transport, communications, financial and insurance services, real estate, public administration,

About 785 of the households had access to toilet facilities in 2001 as compared to 64% in 1991. About 75% of the household has access to piped water supply whereas 68% of the household had cooking gas as fuel for cooking in 2001 as compared to 46% in the year 1991. Table 4: Facilities Available to Households in Delhi

Fig. 1: Per Capita Income Details for Delhi and India Source: Economic Survey of Delhi 2004-2005

and other business services. Of these, banking and finance, real estate, and insurance account for almost 30 per cent of Delhi’s SDP. 2.6. Social Infrastructure Delhi has a literacy rate of 82, which is much higher than those of its neighboring states (Table 2). The Socio – Economic Profile of Delhi (2004-2005) reveals that during the year 2004-05, Delhi had 4879 schools with 93129 teachers involving a total enrollment of 30.22 lakhs students. Table 2: Comparative Evaluation of Literacy Rates of Delhi and Neighboring States Sl. No.

States

Literacy Rate (2001)

1

Delhi

82

2

Uttar Pradesh

56

3

Haryana

68

4

Bihar

47

5

Rajasthan

60

6 Punjab Source: Economic Survey of Delhi 2004-2005

70

The health facilities offered in Delhi is much better than that in the rest of the country, which is clear from the infant mortality rate which was 30 per thousand population in 2002, while the said figure was 68 per thousand population at national level (Table 3). The per capita expenditure on health in Delhi was 484.98 in 2003-04 while the per capita expenditure on health during the said period at national level was 214.62. Table 3: Infant Mortality Rate (Per Thousand) in Delhi and All India Level Year

Infant Mortality Rate

Per capita Expenditure on Health

All India

Delhi

Delhi

All India

2000

68.00

23.29

137.51

409.19

2001

66.00

24.49

150.19

459.27

2002 68.00 30.00 214.62 4 Source: Economic Survey of Delhi 2004-2005

84.98

In terms of facilities available to the household, it is seen that in 2001, about 93% of the household had electric connection as compared to 79% in the year 1991 (Table 4).

Sl. No

Item

1

Electricity available

2

Households 1991

Households %age 2001 of H.H.

%age of H.H.

1,479,620

79.48

2,371,811

92.86

Toilet facility available

1,179,797

63.63

1,991,209

77.96

3

Piped water supply

1,409,730

75.72

1,924,140

75.33

4

Fuel for Cooking

865,072

46.47

1,737,730

68.03

Source: Economic Survey of Delhi 2004-2005

3. TRANSFORMATIONS Over the years, transformations in urban areas have taken place in varied forms, including those pertaining to size of form, landuse, encroachments, structure heights, floor area coverage, in other words, illegal constructions etc. This has also occurred in the formal developments of the city very much outside the legal framework. Though, the growth may not be in accordance with the planning norms of the city, but its very existence highlights its magnitude. Some of the key transformations occurring in urban areas in general and Delhi in particular are summarized in subsequent paragraphs. 3.1. Types of Transformations 3.1.1. Use affiliation This is a type of transformation that pertains to extent and nature of non-residential use in residential areas and of other uses in areas meant for open spaces. This phenomenon is very evident along the main transport routes and in the developments with smaller plot sizes/ dwelling units. In other words, it can be stated as invasion of stronger land use over weaker in terms of prevailing demand, which is acting as an impetus for growth of a particular land use. For example, at several places in Delhi, the residential buildings along the road or streets near planned markets or business areas are converted to commercial spaces and open areas are being encroached upon for houses, shops etc. The prime reason of this type of transformation is pressure exerted by economic forces, where in the importance of economics prevails over that of habitation. 3.1.2. Built Form The transformation is in terms of extent of consolidation, horizontal coverage, encroachments, condition of structures, streetscapes. To fulfill their need of space people tend to increase the covered area of the plot. There are encroachments on the common open spaces or roads to

Sustainable Places and Communities

149

accommodate their things. The dwelling units are converted to commercial areas for retail shops etc. and the residential activity is accommodated on the additional floor which contributes to the height transformations occurring in the planned developments. This type of informality is seen in formal settlements having very small dwelling units which, as time passes, becomes difficult to manage with. Social pressure is the main reason for this type of transformation where an increasing population needs to be accommodated in the limited planned space. 3.1.3. Time Affiliation This type of transformation pertains to the changes that happen over a period of time. In terms of time relationship, the informal growth may be of temporary nature (which have become permanent over time), permanent nature or appearing before its envisaged time. For example, increasingly frequent usage as periodic markets, roadside selling & ‘teh bazari’ converts these areas into permanent markets etc. The permanent nature of informality refers to the developments fully or partly, those covered under land use or ownership related informality. Social and economic issues both are involved in pushing such type of transformations. 3.2. Transformation of Housing Stock in Delhi

3.3. Area Level Transformations Case studies were undertaken of four distinct type of settlements in order to appreciate the nature and type of transformations occurring in Delhi. These include Pitampura, Rohini, Madipur and Lajpat Nagar. These case studies have been summarized in subsequent paragraphs. 3.3.1. Pitampura

Sl. No.

Utilization for

1991

1

Number of Census Houses

2446143

100

3379956

100

2

Vacant Census Houses

293677

12

377790

11.18

3

Occupied Census Houses

2152466

88

3002166

88.82

i

Residence

171395

79.63

2316996

77.18

ii

Residencecum-other use

88386

4.11

135406

4.51

Pitampura has grown over the years from a non-descript area in northwest Delhi to a potential commercial and retail centre. The retail sector is the prime focus of all the major developers in this area. Major brands and outlets are concentrating on expanding their retail networks in the area. The shortage of quality space in Delhi has been fueling prices northwards in northwest Delhi and many developments are on the anvil in this area. Pitampura is divided into Uttari Pitampura, Dakshini Pitampura & Poorvi Pitampura. The present study pocket lies in Dakshini Pitampura and includes five blocks, each with different characteristics. When proposed, the landuse of the neighborhood was predominantly of residential usage (Table 6) but in last three decades mixed use and commercial evolved considerably. The commercial or mixed land use is concentrated along the main road i.e. 45 and 24 m. wide roads (Fig. 2 and 3). This commercial development is totally illegal and is distorting the property market.

iii

Shop, office

186864

6.68

319233

10.63

Table 6: Comparative Landuse Distribution of Dakshini Pitampura

iv

School, College, etc

2734

0.13

7620

0.25

v

Hotel, Lodge, Guest house,

86170

4.00

6005

0.20

Hospital, Dispensary etc.

3974

Table 5: Utilisation of Houses in Delhi

vi

vii

viii ix

Factory, Workshop, Workshop Place of worship

70386

% of total

0.18

3.27

2001

7661

80165

% of total

0.26

2.67

Landuse

1981

2004

Residential

50.75

44.74

Commercial

2.74

4.44

Public/ Semi Public

4.61

1.82

Open Spaces & Parks

9.9

12.63

Mixed

0

4.37

Circulation

32.0

32.0

Total

100

100

Source: DDA and Primary Survey - 2004 -

-

8249

Other non120831 residential use Source: Socio Economic Profile of Delhi, 2004-05

150

The process of transformation in housing areas operates within a wider socio-economic framework. Also, the process of transformations results not only in changes in the built form of the residences but also in the emergence of various other activities and often reducing thereby the limitations imposed by the planned mono-functional residential image. The data for utilization of houses in Delhi (Table 5) reveals that in 2001, only 77.18% of houses were used as residences compared to 79.63% in the year 1991. Around 4% of the houses belonged to residence cum other use category in 1991 and 2001 respectively. The shop or office use of residences has witnessed a 20% increase from a value of 8.68% in 1991 to 10.63% in 2001. Apart from the said uses about 45 of the houses in Delhi were used for other non – residential uses in 2001.

0.27 4.02

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

The permissible height in Pitampura is 2.5 stories but in majority cases G +2 and G+3 structures were observed. The primary surveys revealed that their is extensive violation of the neighborhood fabric due to commercialisation of residential premises. The major transformation is in the land use pattern i.e. from residential to commercial. There is also encroachment on the public land and people have

Fig. 2: Proposed Landuse along Main Road in Dakshini Pitampura - 1981 Source: DDA

Fig. 3: Existing Landuse along Main Road in Dakshini Pitampura - 2004 Source: Primary Survey

transformed the tenements by covering the balconies and converting the terraces into rooms in order to accommodate the growing household size. Despite the fact that full potential of built-up has not been exploited the living environment is deteriorating with time due to change in original character of the area.

Table 7: Temporal Variation in Landuse Landuse

Proposed (1980)

Observed (2004)

Residential

60

39

Residential + Commercial

0

21

3.3.2. Rohini (Sector 7)

Semi Public/ Institutional

22

22

Rohini scheme was launched in 1980’s to provide housing for the composite society, inclusive of all income groups. It was planned predominantly as residential area for 0.85 million population. However major percentage of the housing was given for EWS and LIG categories. The land use structure of Rohini when proposed showed residential as the predominant land use without any mixed land use option, which is a very evident character of Rohini today. The East Node of Sector 7 in Rohini is one of the first phase developments of the Rohini Residential Sectoral Development in the mid 80s. Over a period of time it is observed that mixed landuse (Table 7) character has witnessed a substantial growth, especially along the main transport routes.

Open/ Green

6

6

Roads

12

12

Total

100

100

Majority of the buildings are G+2, but G+3 structures are also observed, particularly along the major roads and in LIG plots. The primary surveys reveal that there is extensive violation in the colony fabric.

3.3.3. Madipur Located along NH 10 (Delhi - Rohtak Road), Madipur resettlement colony was planned in 1966 for 21,400 persons. Total area under Madipur Scheme was 72.03 acres with 4372 numbers of plots including 92 commercial plots for shops. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) allotted the plots in 1968 on basis of Ration Cards @ Re. 1 as license fee that was increased to Rs. 8/- but was neither paid nor collected. Upon allotment, housing layouts were provided by the authorities. These layouts formed the basis for getting loans and building materials for the construction of houses.

Sustainable Places and Communities

151

Fig. 4: Comparative Evaluation of Proposed and Existing Landuse Source: DDA and Primary Survey - 2006

Over the years, Madipur resettlement colony has witnessed tremendous change in the structure. Due to consolidation and improvement in economic conditions, the allottees have brought in their families/relatives thereby increasing the overall household size from 5 in 1981 to 5.85 in 2005. In the year 2005, 20.54 % of households were observed to be living as a joint family and 71.12% households living as nuclear families. The landuse distribution in Madipur has witnessed considerable change from those proposed in the development plan. Area under residential use has increased to 45% from 31.6% in the year 1968, while that under commercial usage has decreased drastically to 1% from 31.4% due nonutlisation of commercial space (Fig. 4). 3.3.4. Lajpat Nagar Lajpat Nagar was originally an agricultural land on the outskirts of Delhi and was one of the resettlement colonies planned to settle migrants from West Pakistan. The original allotees were people who were staying in Purana Quila campus after migration to Delhi from Pakistan. Lajpat Nagar was initially a suburb in the south of Delhi named in honor of Lala Lajpat Rai. Lajpat Nagar is divided into four parts: Lajpat Nagar I, II, III (north of the Ring Road) and IV (south of the Ring Road). Housing colonies like Amar Colony, Dayanand Colony, Double Storey (also known as Nirmal Puri) and Vinobha Puri are also located in it. Lajpat Nagar was originally planned as a low-rise highdensity residential colony for the refugees by ministry of rehabilitation in 1951. But over the years it has become a major non-hierarchical commercial center serving south Delhi district. Over the years due to the changing landuse the urban form has transformed drastically. It was originally designed to house 45000 populations on 750 acres of land with a density of 150pph but by 1995 Lajpat Nagar had more than 4.68 lakh people with a density of 625pph. In 1960’s the economic position of migrants started improving and hence first transformation started with addition of kitchen, bathroom and toilet on ground floor. This transformation

152

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

along with a provision of a front veranda was legalized in 1972. It was during the 70’s when large number of Afghans and population of Punjab and Kashmir migrated to this place. However by this time various socio-economic changes took place and there was need for more space and specialized areas. Further, the people who had migrated into these areas were mostly traders with substantial financial resources which in turn helped them investin properties. Locational advantage increased with the coming up of Nehru Place which offered tremendous employment opportunities, thereby increasing the demand for cheap accommodation in its vicinity. Hence Lajpat Nagar became an obvious choice. 4. LANDUSE TRANSFORMATION IMPLEMENTATION MASTER PLAN

AND

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) is the nodal agency for implementing the Delhi Master Plan including development of residential, commercial and other landuses. A quick look at the situation reveals that the DDA is also responsible for landuse transformation occurring in the NCT Delhi due to inadequate demand and supply gap. DDA through the years virtually abdicated its responsibility to build commercial space in the city even though it was the key agency to do so, leading to an acute shortage of legitimate areas for shops and offices. Table 8: Comparative Evaluation of Proposed and Built Commercial Spaces in District Centres (in 1000 sq.m.) Sl. No.

Zones

Proposed

Built

%age of total

1

North

987

97

9.83

2

East

762

146

19.16

3

Central

334

327

97.90

4

West

2132

368

17.26

5

South

1022

600

58.71

According to Master Plan 2001, drawn up by DDA and finalised in 1990, the DDA was supposed to build up 64.6 million sq. m. of commercial space in 22 new district centres by 2001. Instead, it set up only three new district centres with only 2.43 million sq. m. of additional commercial space, achieving only 3.8% of the target. In the earlier Master Plan (1961-81) DDA had a target of constructing 24 million square metres of commercial space over 15 district centres. But it delivered only 0.5 million square metres achieving just 2% of the target (Table 8). Hope, opportunity and livelihood drove people by the lakhs to the city which, in turn, created an unprecedented demand for new shops and office spaces. And as the authorities failed to react to the city’s growth, market forces moved in and created commercial spaces in residential areas. The total legitimate commercial space available in the city’s district centres by 2001 was a little over 15 million sq. m., including spaces in those started under the 1961-81 master plan. This was against the DDA’s own projected requirement of over 96 million sq. m. by 2001. Thus, over a period of 40 years (1961-2001), the DDA made available only about l6% of what was needed by its own estimates and promised by the MPDs. Given that the district centres were supposed to account for close to three-fourths of all commercial space in the city with community centres and local shopping complexes accounting for the rest, this enormous shortfall meant the city is seriously starved of commercial space and has adopted its own means for fulfilling it. 5. ISSUES The foregoing clearly highlights that there is a large scale transformation occurring in the city both in terms of landuse as well as usage of premises. The socio-economic factors are primarily responsible for this transformation. The increasing population needs the basic amenity of housing resulting in unauthorized extension, alteration and construction of residential structures. The pressure of market forces coupled with lack supply of legitimate commercial spaces is resulting in transformation of housing stock into commercial properties. Some of the other key issues involved in Delhi are summarized below: • At present, Delhi with its population of 13.78 million is the third largest, fastest growing and most densely populated city in India that is growing by approximately 1,000 persons per day for a number of years • This increase in population, backed with inadequate release of land and funds for shelter and infrastructure is causing rapid landuse transformation and emergence of sub standard settlements • The inadequate development and implementation of Master Plan leaves this task into the hands of market forces causing haphazard development of commercial spaces and transformation of housing stock into commercial properties • Delhi is also the most prosperous amongst the states and union territories of India. The high quality of life offered by Delhi, compared to its neighboring states acts as a pull factor for neighboring population which comes to Delhi not only for employment but also for an improved quality of life • The failure to develop and implement National Capital Region Plan is another issue responsible for increasing the plight of Delhi

6. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS It is clear that transformation is a complex but highly prevalent problem in Delhi. The solutions like demolition and / or regularisation that are prevalent at the present time are nothing but firefighting solutions and do not address the problem of the city in totality. The key cause for these transformations is the socio-economic pressure coupled with a complete failure in planning, developing and implementing the Master / Development Plans. The need of the hour is to develop a holistic solution that is based on the root cause of the problem. The following points highlight the solution generation process to the said issue. • Delhi, and especially planning for Delhi should not be seen in isolation, instead a wider perspective of NCR should be taken into account while planning for the development of Delhi • ‘Land Use’ should not to be understood, merely in the sense of an allocation process, it must be seen in a wider context of “Inclusive Development”. It should be relational space or contextual space, referring not only to the visible elements of Geographic space i.e. physical features, landforms and natural resource elements, but also to the relatively non-visible human values i.e. social relations, culture, hopes and aspirations of the local community. • The existing process of planning i.e. Master Plan approach should be done away with, instead the focus should be on developing a perspective plan (10 years) that would guide the process of development. Based on the perspective plan, Master plans would be made for a period of 5 years and should be followed by Annual Plans. • Redensification should be encouraged on the areas falling in the catchment of mass rapid transit system (Delhi Metro) and also in other areas those have comparatively low Density. • The existing building byelaws should be simplified and made precise to the extent possible in order to make them understand to the common people and should not leave any chance for interpretation • All the sanctioned / approved building plans are to be made available on internet for easy accesses and download • There should be provision for reporting any violation / transformation through internet • A strict and uniform policy on regularisation/ demolition that has been developed scientifically and practically, needs to be adopted and adhered to. • The concept of ‘existing as per completion drawing’ needs to be incorporated where it would be the duty of the premises owner to submit, once in every five year, an certificate / affidavit attested by the registered architect the premises in existing as per the completion drawing • Stress should be laid on Public – Private Partnership (PPP) for planning, developing and implementing the development plans. • Serious efforts should be made for proper involvement of RWAs, CBOs, NGOs etc. in formulation of development strategies. • Any violation / transformation should be dealt with severely, fines should be imposed on modification/ alteration of land or structures to act as a deterrent. Sustainable Places and Communities

153

• The concept of accountability of officers in local authority needs to be incorporated in the system in order to enforce effective implementation of plans and regulations

References: Journals: 1. Risbud, Dr.Prof Neelima (1998), Property market and settlement development – A case study of Rohini Project, Research report, HSMI publication. 2. Singh, Kishore Kumar & Shukla, Shikha (2005), Profiling Informal City of Delhi, Wateraid India & Delhi Slum Dwellers Federation Newspapers: 3. Sharma, Nidhi (2006) , Incomplete survey hits regularization, Times of India, New Delhi, November 29 4. Times News Network (2006), Delhi sealings make Noida’s commercial space costly, Times of India, New Delhi, November 29 5. Singh, Mahendra Kumar (2006), Master Plan focus on mixed land use, Times of India, New Delhi, November 29 6. Singh, Mahendra Kumar (2006), Tony colonies to pay heavy price for legal status, Times of India, New Delhi, November 29 7. Satya Prakash (2006), Laws should be implemented: Sabharwal, Hindustan Times, New Delhi, October 19 8. Verma, Subodh (2006), Too few legal Shops? Blame it on DDA, Times of India, New Delhi, November 17 9. Verma, Subodh (2006), A massive Plan to resettle entire city, Times of India, New Delhi, November 20 10. Roy, Dunu, From home to estate, (available on internet). Articles: 11. Chakrabarti, P.G Dhar (2001), Delhi’s Ongoing Debate on Informal Settlements and Work Places -Issues of Environmental Jurisprudence, International workshop on coping with informality and illegality in human settlements in developing cities, Belgium. 12. Jain, A.K. (2004), Vision for Delhi 2021: A Restructured City, RITES Journal, September Reports: 13. Delhi Development Authority (1990), Master Plan of Delhi-2001. 14. Delhi Development Authority (2005), Draft Master Plan of Delhi – 2021. 15. Socio Economic Profile of Delhi, 2004-05 Thesis: 16. Bhutani, Renu (1995), Trends and transformations in the central Government employee Housing Delhi, unpublished thesis, School of Planning and Architecture. 17. Chitra S. (1991), Housing Transformations in Resettlement colonies case study Delhi, Housing department thesis, School of Planning and Architecture. 154

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

18. Arora, Dinesh (1996), Housing Transformations in Low income housing Lajpat Nagar, Department of Physical planning, School of Planning and Architecture. 19. Jain, Gaurav (1991), Procedures and Practices in apartment Building- case study Delhi, Department of Housing, School of Planning and Architecture. 20. Setya, I.D. (1975), Unintended physical growth in Delhi, unpublished thesis, School of Planning and Architecture 21. Singh, Khurmi M. (1999), Deviations of building byelaws in plotted and group housing areas in Rohini Delhi, unpublished thesis, School of Planning and Architecture. 22. Sharma, Kapil, Transformation towards commercialization in Residential pockets of Rohini, unpublished thesis, School of Planning and Architecture. 23. K. Bharati (1986), Housing Subsystems in Delhi development and policy interaction, Department of Housing, School of Planning and Architecture. 24. Bradoo, Mohit (2003), Development code and its impact on the Planned development, Case study – Delhi, Department of Urban Planning, School of Planning and Architecture. 25. Khosla, Raman (1995), Impact of unintended growth on planned development (Lajpat nagar), School of Planning and Architecture. 26. Marwaha, Shiv (2000), Emerging Dimensions of Housing neighborhoods in Delhi, Department of Housing, School of Planning and Architecture. 27. Saha, S.K. (1970), Emerging residential Form and Structure in Metropolitan areas, Department of Housing, School of Planning and Architecture. 28. Kumar, Vinod (1995), Impact of regularization of commercial activities on planned developments, Karol Bagh, New Delhi, unpublished thesis, School of Planning and Architecture. 29. Yadav, V.K. (1994), Transformations in Public Housing Flats – Case Study Delhi, Department of Housing, School of Planning and Architecture Websites 30. www.delhigovt.nic.in 31. www.ar.delhigovt.nic.in 32. www.socialwelfare.delhigovt.nic.in 33. www.timesofindia.com 34. www.hindustantimes.com 35. www.ddadelhi.com 36. www.ccsindia.org 37. www.bestpractices.org 38. www.citizenbase.org 39. www.hinduonnet.com 40. www.tribuneindia.com 41. www.nflash.com

Isolated By Elitism: The Pitfalls Of Recent Heritage Conservation Attempts In Chennai Pushpa Arabindoo Lecturer in Geography & Urban Design UCL Urban Laboratory, University College London On 4 April 2003, the then Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa informed the State Assembly that the “rundown” buildings on the 30-acre, 88-year old Queen Mary’s College (QMC) on Marina beach in Chennai would be razed to make way for a brand new secretariat complex.i Earlier on in January the state government had inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Malaysian Government’s Construction Industry Development Board for several development projects in the state, including the proposal for an administrative city (housing the secretariat) on the southern outskirts of Chennai. But when the initial feasibility study indicated a time span of fifteen years to realise this proposal, the Chief Minister settled in for an interim alternative to relocate the Secretariat Complex at the site of the Queen Mary’s College. This was not the first time that the state government had sought to relocate the Secretariat. Since the 1980s, it has expressed itself to be inadequately housed in the Fort St. George Complex, also located on Marina Beach, and has time and again looked for alternative sites and accommodation but nothing had come to fruition.ii This time there seemed to be some urgency to the proposal coming at a juncture when Chennai was making all-out efforts to place itself on the network of global cities, with corresponding architecture projects endorsing its commitment to globalisation and high-technology development. The new Secretariat complex complete with ‘state-of-the-art facilities’ was meant to be an exemplar, reinforcing the transnational aspirations of the government. But such intentions proved to be far from ground reality as the proposal provoked protests from a wide range of interest groups beyond anyone’s imagination. Within hours, an impromptu ‘Save QMC’ movement was launched and support snowballed quickly from various quarters including teachers’ associations, women’s groups, human rights, environment and heritage activists. All concerns ranging from women’s education to environment and heritage protection came to a heady mix in this crisis where nine different Public Interest Litigation (PILs) petitions were filed from different quarters including the Tamil Nadu Government Collegiate Teachers’ Association and the Students’ Federation of India, the Citizen, Consumer and Civil Action Group (CAG), and the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH). They all expressed inter-related concerns as the former argued that the location prioritised and privileged women’s education, the CAG petition claimed violation of a host of existing development laws, including the provisions of the Coastal (i) ‘Shifting Secretariat a farsighted move: Jayalalithaa’ 2003, The Hindu [online], 05 April, n.p. [Retrieved March 22, 2005]. (ii) The Fort St. George Complex is under the direct purview of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and is strictly regulated in terms of renovations and constructions that can be undertaken (no construction is allowed within 200m of the Fort). A 10-storey annexe building was built in 1975 but is in a dilapidated condition today with poor maintenance and insufficient offer of facilities.

Regulation Zone (CRZ),iii the Town and Country Planning Act and the Constitution, while INTACH argued that the QMC complex was part of the 12 buildings on the Marina Beach stretch identified as a heritage precinct. The controversy raged through the month of April expanding into the political circuit with various parties getting involved and attempting to arbitrage the crisis to their own advantage. The issue was finally sealed on 22 April 2003 when the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests imposed a blanket ban on demolition or reconstruction of buildings of archaeological or historical importance, heritage buildings and public use buildings on coastal stretches. While it was obvious that the intervention was mainly an act of oneupmanship between rival political parties (the ruling ADMK at the state level and the opposing DMK which happened to be a member of the coalition government at the Centre and whose MP TR Balu held the MEF portfolio), it did little to dampen the jubilant and celebratory spirit of the different activist groups in the city involved in the crisis. It seemed like a truly momentous occasion as interest groups representing different layers of cultural objectives came together and collectively stalled an insensitive development move made by an autocratic state. The QMC catered to the educational needs of women and children from socio-economically under privileged groups, and is historically an edifice of women’s emancipation.iv For the heritage enthusiasts, the complex of 26 buildings is home to historic structures from the colonial era, seen as a crucial component of the celebrated “Madras skyline” worthy of preservation, and for environmental activists, the concern revolved around protecting the fragile, coastal environment threatened by a large footprint legislative complex. It was thus heartening to note that the response to the crisis revealed a tacit coming together of multiple sectoral groups ranging from the elites to the disadvantaged, each drawing on the resources of the other, and the general debate itself being able to comfortably accommodate their various different conceptual frameworks. Such enthusiasm was unfortunately short-lived; with dust settling on the crisis the explicit show of support between the different actors failed to evolve into a long-standing and institutionalised ‘politics of partnership’ which could have been successfully developed to impress upon the state alternative sustainable development visions for the city. Instead, the students went back to their classrooms, opposing political parties disappeared from the ‘crime scene’, and the heritage and environment activists fell back to the comforts of their ‘armchair activism’ writing and whining mostly through the medium of Englishspeaking press about the lack of heritage consciousness in the city. This paper focuses its attention on this particular aspect of heritage activists. Given the elite nature of such participants, a display of superiority and isolationist tendencies doesn’t come as a surprise. But the need for heritage to break the imposed class boundaries and go (iii) With four categories of classification from CRZ-I to CRZ-IV to control the development of land within 500 metres of High Tide Line of the landward side, and many allowances for exceptions, the CRZ is ambiguously worded and has been least effective in controlling development, let alone fighting legal cases with. Yet it is constantly invoked in many Public Interest Litigations (PILs) to argue against proposed new developments such as the one at Marina Beach. (iv) Krishna kumar, A. (2003), The end of a women’s college?, Frontline [online], 20(8), n.p. [Retrieved March 18, 2005]. Sustainable Places and Communities

155

beyond the concerns of one particular class is paramount if heritage is to take on a comprehensive role and be an invaluable part of an alternative development blueprint for the city. It also means, on the part of the elite and middle class activists, acknowledging and incorporating the diverse range of class interests which will invariably clash and collide over competing ideologies and visions of use. It begins first by elaborating the historical circumstances under which heritage activism developed as an elite interest and remained confined to the same for most part of the postcolonial development era.

space across the road was used by the regional government for ‘constructing’ a Tamil identity. In 1968, on the occasion of the Second International Tamil Conference, the government erected statues of ten writers and scholars who contributed to Tamil language and literature (Pandian; 2005). Thus, the national (or in this instance, the regional) self and the colonial other stood side-by-side in juxtaposition, with the latter languishing mostly in neglect, and the former attempting to successfully reproduce postcolonial spaces of power and symbolic authority in a manner similar to that of the colonialists.

Heritage: A Post-colonial Impossibility

Enlightened by History – Elite Pursuit of Heritage

Dickenson (1994) explains that Third World urban concerns are heavily problem-oriented towards the present and the future, under the pressures of which the past is neglected with no time or place for the preservation of historic values. He believes that such protection hardly goes beyond the recondite interests of urban historians, and even though a strong case for the significance of the past for the national identity can be made, he queries the value of the past in the “country of the future”. Such an understanding was so firmly entrenched in planning approaches of most Third World cities that when the UNESCO Charter of 1975 argued for the conservation of the historic quarters or cities, counter arguments were effectively produced to the contrary: ‘conservation takes a disproportionate amount of time, money and administrative and political negotiation… [and] very clear justification is necessary particularly in developing countries, where available resources are usually scarce’ (Shankland 1975, p. 24 cited in Dickenson 1994, p. 23).

It is against this background that elite involvement in pursuing issues of heritage and preservation needs to be understood and explored. While colonialism left heritage concerns in the postcolonial context unresolved, and in many cases the colonial past was seen at best as a prelude to the present and at worst a harbinger of contemporary woes (Dickenson; 1994), the indigenous elites and Englishspeaking middle classes viewed the urban domain as loaded with colonial meaning carried immense value in terms of housing the promises of modernity (Khilnani; 1997). They had gained a lot materially from colonialism and therefore sought to encompass the materiality of colonial buildings and streetscape within the definitions of national heritage and hoping to assist in repositioning “the city” as part of a continuous history which reconnects pre- and post-colonial national narratives with the colonial experience (Coté; 2002).

In addition to this classic development versus conservation debate, there is yet another good reason as to why heritage preservation, particularly in the urban condition, failed to capture the state’s attention in the years of postindependence governance. This had a lot to do with the equivocal nature of the postcolonial ‘historic constructions’ that ensued. Mitchell (2001) outlines the situation of such new nation-states who in order to prove that they were modern also needed to prove that they were ancient, and that ‘deciding on a common past was critical to the process of making a particular mixture of people into a coherent nation’ (p. 212). As a result of this process, any genuine invocation of heritage proved to be awkward and compromised. Moreover, for nations with colonial history and an explicit anti-colonial stance of nationalist historiography such a move instantly negates any attempt in this direction: how was one going to frame the colonial structures of the urban landscape that were clearly part of a past yet denied as ‘tradition’?

Alley (1997) explains that heritage activists and professional elites view heritage not merely from a perspective of political history but more importantly in terms of recognising the need to preserve symbolic structures, its aesthetic values and architectural principles, a position which stipulates that all architectural heritage are equally important and thus need to be retained and preserved. Non-governmental bodies like INTACH engaged in recovering an architectural past emphasise the need for a national narrative of architectural development without any bias or discontinuity. For the new middle classes who had acquired affluence as a result of successful economic development, participation in heritage preservation issues was a public status marker as they sought an alternative to what appeared to be an increasingly aimless regime-driven development (Coté; 2002). In addition, for these social groups, heritage preservation was a system of political protest wherein by expressing interest in a disappearing urban past they were simultaneously expressing concern over the burgeoning pace of urban development and population growth (Jones and Varley; 1994).

But it hasn’t been that easy to rid the urban landscape of the trappings of the colonial past, the refiguring of which with respect to the positioning of representations of the postcolonial nation-state has proved to be a double-sided problem (Alley; 1997). In instances where the colonial material infrastructure posed a structural obstacle and restricted the ways in which landscapes could be modified and redefined in postcolonial India, the nationalist state projected the new nationalism to the people by repopulating adjacent public spaces with newer accounts of political history. For instance, in Chennai, while many of the government departments and institutions moved into the stretch of colonial buildings along the Marina, the public

In this position, heritage supporters, professionals and activists adopted a position contrary to the state’s gestures of a similar nature. In Chennai, when the Chief Minister announced that the new Secretariat would be an exquisite mix of the facade of the Vidhan Soudha in Bangalore and the modern interiors of the Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi, heritage professionals were quick to react with criticism. Condemning it not only as a personalised, obsessive fantasy of the powerful, they also slammed it for its inauthenticity. If the state intended that the mixture of ‘modern’ interior and ‘traditional’ exterior would be the new global, transnationalised imagery of the cityscape, professionals criticised the incongruity of such a proposition. They

156

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

emphasised the inappropriateness of a ‘neo-classical’ building amidst a series of Indo-Saracenic buildings dotting the Marina, criticising the pastiche that was offered as ‘traditional architecture’, one where the skin of the past was used to allow the present in its pursuit of the future.v Sorkin (2000) warns against such superficial concessions when he cautions that space-making could get caught in a matrix of simulation, and ‘[a]s culture is increasingly globalized and the architectural forms of authenticity become even more easy to manipulate and reproduce, we risk a condition of general architectural mendacity’ (p. 61). The validity of such arguments notwithstanding, the efforts of elites and middle classes in stimulating historic preservation measures hasn’t been free of criticisms and scepticisms, primarily revolving around their selection bias, of what constitutes heritage and what is worthy of being preserved. All That Glitters.....: Limitations of Elite Interest in Heritage 1 Surrounding the appropriateness of heritage conservation in the Third World is the looming suspicion that this is yet another of those First World indulgences and fetishisms that have been imposed onto the Third World as a dominant capitalist paradigm by its highly westernised elite (AlSayyad; 2001). At a more specific level are several concerns – first and foremost is the issue of whether heritage is merely a tool for promoting elite self-interest defined narrowly by their sense of aesthetics. Often there is an overriding emphasis on the aesthetic and visual aspects of heritage which is not sufficient to address larger environmental and development pressures.vi As Bhattacherjee (2004) quipped, nothing that is without shine can become heritage, and the ‘choices of the most lowly stakeholders – whose houses were built of wood or thatch rather than stone – are muted or silent, and those whose lives were blighted by massacre, torture and discrimination are also less remembered’ (Harrison; 2005, pp. 7-8). A good illustration of this can be seen in the response of heritage activists to yet another crisis over the transformation of Marina Beach in Chennai. A few months before the eruption of the April 2003 QMC crisis, as a part of the state government’s MoU with the Malaysian Government, a proposal for a 1.5 km stretch of the beach was presented outlining the development of multistoreyed complexes of international standards providing office administration for multinationals and embassies. The plan required modifications to the existing Development Controls Regulations (DCR) which protected the existing ‘skyline’ of Marina and prohibited ‘tall’ structures, and also openly acknowledged that the fishermen settlements or kuppams dotting this stretch of the beach would have to be relocated elsewhere. Environmental activists were quick to jump into the fray in support of the fisherfolk arguing that in a context where the livelihood of ‘artisanal fishermen’ were already threatened by larger ‘developmentalist’ interventions such as mechanisation and industrialisation of fishing activities, combined with the general effects of pollution (v) Ahmed, F. (2003), Teachers, architects flay plan to demolish QMC building, The Hindu [online], 26 March. See also Srivathsan, A (2003), Art for the power hungry, The Hindu [online], 27 April [Retrieved November 24, 2006]. ‘Shifting Secretariat a farsighted move: Jayalalithaa’ 2003, The Hindu[online], 05 April, n.p. [Retrieved March 22, 2005]. (vi) INTACH does repudiate such criticisms insisting that heritage initiatives in India recognise larger issues and adopt a comprehensive framework in its approach. See for instance the collection of articles published in Seminar on Conservation (October 2004, issue 542).

and climate change, the proposed redevelopment of the Marina and the relocation of the fishing communities would vii worsen their already depleted livelihood opportunities . Interestingly enough, heritage activists participating in this debate expressed concern over the proposed changes to the DCR and the impact that multi-storeyed buildings could have on the unique heritage character of this historically significant stretch but not more. Preoccupied with protecting the monuments of stone, not for once did they acknowledge the heritage value of the fishermen huts dotting the Marina and whose presence as a community along the seashore predates the colonial structures. In fact, despite their historic association with this seashore, the hutment clusters have been time and again portrayed as ‘slums’ defacing the beach, making it less attractive for the visitors and tourists.viii It is obvious that the heritage vision of the elites runs the risk of pursuing a kind of monumentalism that emphasises a few significant structures but tends to ignore broader concepts of cultural townscape. If conservation projects are to adequately register the “urban memory” of heritage sites, they must first involve the construction of a social history beyond a history of dominant colonial and indigenous power structures, not simply putting “the native in the picture”, but more generally recognising a broader everyday urban culture, one where conservation projects will be embedded in a yet-to-be-written people’s history (Coté; 2002). Yet even when there is a gesture to recognise the vernacular traditions, it is undertaken only with intentions of promoting its active consumption to the abetment of which tradition is disassembled and rearranged in order to recreate a marketable semblance of “authenticity”. Thus, in this regard, the so-called heritage site of “Dakshinachitra” in Chennai can only be described as an “interpretative” heritage centre refit with new “symbolic economies” (Robinson; 2001) in what Gregory’s (2001) would term as ‘a space of constructed visibility’ within which “tradition” is seen in particular, partial, and highly powerful ways, some illuminated, recuperated and privileged, and others dimmed, marginalised or erased.ix More importantly, in reference to the preference for the built form of the urban landscape, Jones and Varley (1994) note that it is integral to the symbolisation of the elite culture, a particular configuration of power relations. The most flamboyant architecture that is chosen for preservation is often the one that demonstrates the most the symbol of power and planning in the city with renovation programmes implying the conservation of an idea or idealised image of the past as well as the architectural artefact that is then used to recreate an ideal image in order to symbolically “recapture” the city. By employing discourses revolving on pride and dignity in the built environment, the middle and upper classes developed heritage preservation as ‘a tensile (vii) Prominent amongst the supporters was Medha Patkar of the National Alliance of People’s Movements, an environmental activist of repute who has for many years rallied against the Narmada Valley Dam project in India. (viii) See for instance Vydhianathan, S. (1996), Squalor on the shore, The Hindu, 16 September, M1. (ix) See Hancock’s (2002) critique of this project. She sees it as one tied to consumerism and elite perceptions of regional and national heritage, an aspect also noted by the UN-Habitat (2004) study when it mentions that the language used at Dakshinachitra is predominantly English, and ‘the programme of the crafts complex as a whole is directed toward a cosmopolitan rather than a local audience’ (p. 42). Sustainable Places and Communities

157

apparatus of power, knowledge and geography’. (Gregory; 2001; p. 115) Don’t Cast Pearls….: Limitations of Elite Interest in Heritage 2 The marketing of heritage symbols and the conferring of historic status involves a system of selectivity which promotes certain value systems over others and can result in the “disinheritance” of non-participatory, marginalised groups (Robinson; 2001). This is mainly constructed by exuding a sense of respectability, wherein heritage debates are used successfully to pit the cultured, respected self of the middle and upper classes against the uncivilised and dangerous ‘others’ of the lower classes. Spaces that could be potentially contested are appropriated through a discourse and a variety of practices that range from a class-conscious passion for the arts to performative stagings of heritage (Guano; 2003). Addressing this tendency of middle and upper class heritage activists invoking a superior understanding of history and heritage is important in the context of Chennai as heritage activists attend their concerns to historic quarters like George Town in the northern part of the city spatially claimed for their heritage value yet at the same time are ‘home’ to the poorer sections of the society. This claim needs to be located within a larger turn of events affecting the development pattern of the city as a result of which a sociophysical fault line is emerging simultaneously dividing and connecting two different realms of the city, the geographic north and south. Both in different ways are being subjected to an overwhelming bourgeois imagination, a distinction that has been, oddly enough, cemented strongly since the anachronistic debate surrounding the historical authenticity of the city’s name, when in 1996, Madras was officially renamed as Chennai. In a dyadic simultaneous existence, Chennai and Madras exemplify the tale of two cities, where the newly developing, globalising ‘South’ Chennai exhibits an elegant and ordered bourgeois landscape, replete with flyovers and expressways, high-rise buildings, and cleanedup public spaces, while an economically stagnant, ‘North’ Madras portrays filth and decay, and is condemned as a ‘slum’ with poor infrastructure. Given this contrast, heritage activists are focussing on the colonial fabric of ‘North’ Madras whereby the now languishing historic district could be reinvigorated as ‘vintage’ Madras through their efforts. Laudable as such efforts can be there is equally room for concern in this potential resurrection. Even if one acknowledges that heritage conservation has come a long way from its earlier promotion of a much criticised manicured reconstruction of the past (Baig; 2004), stepping away from ‘museumisation’ strategies, current practices still leave plenty of questions unanswered. Much caution needs to be exercised if heritage activists are to undertake efforts at restoring old historic quarters like George Town, celebrated by heritage connoisseurs as ‘the first “planned” native settlement of British Madras’ complete with buildings reminiscent of a colonial architecture (Kalpana and Schiffer; 2003). Today, almost universally in every developing city, historic quarters are receptacles of the poorer and less privileged sections of the society, who under economic and social pressures have transformed the urban fabric of these areas, with such changes rarely meeting the standards of approval of heritage activists.

158

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

As heritage activists enter such districts with proposals for revitalisation projects, they need to do so with the mindset that the opportunity here is not merely for the preservation of a few buildings of architectural merit but of an entire social, cultural and economic landscape and all the activities traditionally and regularly associated with it. The challenge that confronts the effort of heritage conservationists is their ability to reconcile and establish a productive symbiosis between the historic architecture that they seek to preserve and the everyday practices of the social classes that inhabit them, the ecology of the living, particularly when the latter is seen as the cause of ruin or neglect of the former. This pressing contentious issue of heritage or historic apathy is well illustrated by Kaviraj (1997) when he observes that while the poor ‘find it difficult to participate in these highly emotive struggles over the past’, the middle classes ‘would not have shared the poor classes’ indifference or inability to appreciate the idea of the civic’ (p. 109). The fact is that the structures in George Town have been continuously updated through the post-independence decades through extensions, renovations and demolitions to meet the changing functional needs of its inhabitants using and producing an aesthetic vocabulary completely different from the ones prescribed by the heritage preservationists. But as Holston (1991) has emphasised, working-class taste cannot be reduced to the rack of functional necessity where it has no aesthetic distinction, but indeed is driven by a visual calculus of appearances, albeit one that is constructed differently from that of the ‘distinctive’ tastes of the elites and middle classes. But what heritage activists tend to do is disparage such aesthetics as kitsch, vulgar, and demeaning to the significance of the historic fabric, failing to acknowledge the fact that aesthetics is conceived of and experienced differently according to how it is placed within the various kinds of interpretations that people bring to it. Instead of capturing the multiplicity of meanings implicitly present in such spaces, preservation becomes a means of imposing just one meaning congruent with an ideologically defined image of the past, implying the destruction of present ways of life. Informality in Heritage: Reconciling Elite-Mass Conflicts Ignoring the fact that places are born of practice as well as discourse, preservationists exhibit a tendency to join the general bourgeois brigade condemning the presence of informal traders and street hawkers as encroachments and calling for their removal from the public spaces. Historic preservation in this context becomes a special supplement of value that pathologises such quotidian stewardships and is presented as an antidote to the popular practices dominating these spaces. Commenting on the various informal bazaars lining the Victorian arcades in the Fort Area of Bombay, Mehrotra (2000) mentions that if the chaotic marketplace of shops, stalls and hawkers are considered as a symbolic metaphor for the physical deterioration of the Indian city, for the elites and conservationists the Victorian core has acquired an even greater meaning as a crucial symbol of the city’s fast-deteriorating historic image. Consequently hawking is deemed illegal by city authorities who constantly attempt to relocate the bazaars. Such decrees fail to acknowledge that many worlds can inhabit the same space, relating to it and using it in different ways, for doing so would imply that we must accommodate and

overlap varying uses, perceptions, and physical forms. A rehabilitated urban fabric instead subtracts the informal trading spaces out of the equation removing their livelihood opportunities, and turning these spaces over to institutions and groups who are considered worthy of the structures and their history. The Fort Area in Bombay which is the largest conservation area with a third of conservationworthy buildings in the city has become the hub of financial institutions and multinational banks who prefer to be located in a historic environment, often providing financial banking for the restoration processes. Overlooked in this process is the fact that they only do so because such a move instantly gives them an identity and a connotation of having been around for a while (Mehrotra; 2000), allowing in the process global actors to take on a local-friendly look (AlSayyad; 2001). For heritage conservation to have a meaningful social relevance, it is crucial that preservationists clarify and resolve their position vis-à-vis informal traders and street hawkers, particularly in terms of the effect of this economic group (both perceived and real) on the authenticity and sustainability of the built environment (in most cases, historic structures share spaces cheek-by-jowl with the informal traders and dwellers posing a challenge to preservationists). In recent years, with increasing embourgeoisement of the urban debate in Indian cities, the question of ‘illegality’ of informal spaces (including squatter settlements and traders) has become a prime preoccupation requiring immediate redress. Chandoke (1993) traces the source of this problem to the state sponsored development projects and policies where the poor are accommodated in the spaces of production but not in terms of spaces of reproduction, thereby forcing them into ‘illegal’ land occupation. But more lately, the cognitive mapping of the middle classes tends to void out the informal spaces, resignifying them as dangerous areas instead (Guano; 2003). Reflecting on the growing visual economy of commodity aesthetics in neoliberal India, Rajagopal (2001) focuses on how the hawkers peddling on the streets have come to symbolise the disorder of an illicit enterprise and metropolitan space gone out of control. The imagined geography and history of heritage conservationists is cleverly applied to settle the fundamental contest for spaces. The pragmatism of the street traders whose hawking activities are framed in terms of economic survival is illegalised through conservation strategies that propose disciplining the ‘errant’ human bodies to a common economy of order and suggest that hawking activities be legalised and formalised through licensing and regulating their spaces of operation (Rajagopal; 2001). This is the general strategy that is being adopted across major Indian cities and has even been scripted as a national policy on urban street vendors (2006). But the creation of such “spaces of prescriptions” regularising, standardising and making predictable the cityscape rather than the spaces of negotiation that is fluid, individual and improvisational (Gregory; 2001) is superficial as a solution and doesn’t address the structural characteristic of a Third World economy. Gladstone (2005) explains that in India where over 90 percent of the businesses are informal and account for more than 60 percent of the economy’s value added, a nexus of dependency runs as a continuum from the purely informal to formal production. He also clarifies the issue of informality and illegality stating that because economies are informal they cannot achieve the economies

of scale necessary for legalisation and because they remain illegal they continue to be informal. Any attempt to formalise the informal would only adversely affect this nexus of dependency. But the tendency of heritage activists to discipline and marginalise the community of informal traders and street dwellers reveal the inherent tendency of culture to bend and blend itself to the fixed nature of capital as against the ‘informal’ flows of cash economy. Conclusions Both the World Bank (Serageldin and Shluger; 2000) and the UNESCO’s Our Cultural Diversity report (1995) insist that heritage preservation and poverty reduction are closely intertwined as the former can establish a sense of solidarity and empowerment amongst the disenfranchised. While this paper does not challenge this position, it explores the issues of incorporating the protection of built heritage into the general realm of development as a complex iterative process involving multiple actors and partnerships between them. It argues that one cannot get too complacent or seek comfort in the fact that multiplicity of actors automatically ensures an equally distributive partnership. It instead focuses on class lines that divide the different interest groups drawn apart by differing ideologies of heritage and history. The emphasis here is on the dominance of an elite discourse which fails to successfully encompass all social groups, using heritage issues instead to mark the setting of a new order of power and precedence, and fixing the spatial evolution of the city through a one-dimensional accounting of history. Much as there is an emerging concern to link the quality of life, particularly in historic areas, with its built heritage, the issue that this paper raises is whether this notion is defined by a bourgeois normative framework ignoring alternative possibilities. Even though there is a realisation that conservation efforts should not affect the daily living of people who are prominent stakeholders and that they have to form part of the larger economic and social planning for the area, the inability of heritage activists to adopt a reconciliatory position towards the presence of informal traders and street hawkers, and the everyday practices of the poor in general (including their sense of aesthetics) exposes their position to be straitjacketed by very conventional norms of legality and legitimacy, and history and geography. One then wonders whether full justice can be done to the word stakeholder as it is limited to the networking dynamics of ‘legal’ residents and businesses to the exclusion of marginal groups. While conservationists acknowledge the need for stakeholder participation and the involvement of local community, in reality the complex matrix of a diverse range of actors and the contradictions, paradoxes and biases they bring to the issue problematises heritage to such an extent that the elites instinctively shift to a defensive gear, defining and propagating heritage from a dominant, normative perspective. Through examples of recent heritage initiatives and examples in Chennai, this paper draws attention to the still unresolved nature of elitemass linkages underlining these efforts, working at best as a patronage but never lasting as a partnership.

References: 1. Alley, K. D. (1997), Gandhiji on the Central Vista: A Postcolonial Refiguring. Modern Asian Studies, 31, p. 967-

Sustainable Places and Communities

159

994. 2. Alsayyad, N. (Ed.) (2001), Consuming Tradition, Manufacturing Heritage: Global Norms and Urban Forms in the Age of Tourism, London and New York, Routledge. 3. Alsayyad, N. (2001), Global Norms and Urban Forms in the Age of Tourism: Manufacturing Heritage, Consuming Tradition. in Alsayyad, N. (Ed.) (2001), Consuming Tradition, Manufacturing Heritage: Global Norms and Urban Forms in the Age of Tourism. London and New York, Routledge. 4. Baig, A. (2004), The Problem. Seminar, p. 542, n.p. 5. Bhattacherjee, K. (2004) Comment: Renovating The History House. Seminar. 6. Chandoke, N. (1993) On the Social Organization of Urban Space: Subversions and Appropriations. Social Scientist, 21, p. 63-73. 7. Coté, J. (2002) Searching for Semarang: Nation, Urban Memory, and Cultural Heritage. in Logan, W. S. (Ed.) The Disappearing ‘Asian’ City: Protecting Asia’s Urban Heritage in a Globalizing World. Oxford, Oxford University Press. 8. Dickenson, J. (1994), The Future of the Past in the Latin American City: The Case of Brazil. Bulletin of Latin American Research, 13, p. 13-25. 9. Gladstone, D. L. (2005), From Pilgrimage to Package Tour, New York and London, Routledge. 10. Gregory, D. (2001), Colonial Nostalgia and Cultures of Travel: Spaces of Constructed Visibility in Egypt. in Alsayyad, N. (Ed.) (2001), Consuming Tradition, Manufacturing Heritage: Global Norms and Urban Forms in the Age of Tourism. London and New York, Routledge. 11. Guano, E. (2003), A Stroll Through la Boca: The Politics and Poetics of Spatial Experience in a Buenos Aires Neighbourhood. Space & Culture, 6, p. 356-376. 12. Hancock, M. (2002), Subjects of Heritage in Urban Southern India. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 20, p. 693-717. 13. Harrison, D. (2004), Introduction: Contested Narratives in the Domain of World Heritage. in Harrison, D. & Hitchcock, M. (Eds.) (2004), The Politics of World Heritage: Negotiating Tourism and Conservation, Clevedon, Buffalo and Toronto, Channel View Publications. 14. Harrison, D. & Hitchcock, M. (Eds.) (2004) The Politics of World Heritage: Negotiating Tourism and Conservation, Clevedon, Buffalo and Toronto, Channel View Publications. 15. Holston, J. (1991) Autoconstruction in Working-Class Brazil. Cultural Anthropology, 6, p. 447-465. 16. Jones, G. A. & Varley, A. (1994) The Contest for the City Centre: Street Traders versus Buildings. Bulletin of Latin American Research, 13, p. 27-44. 17. Kalpana, K. & Schiffer, F. (Eds.) (2003) Madras: The Architectural Heritage, Chennai, Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage. 18. Kaviraj, S. (1997) Filth and the Public Sphere: Concepts and Practices about Space in Calcutta. Public Culture, 10, p. 83-113. 19. Khilnani, S. (2003) The Idea of India, London, 3rd edn, Penguin Books. 20. Logan, W. S. (Ed.) (2002), The Disappearing ‘Asian’ City: Protecting Asia’s Urban Heritage in a Globalizing World, Oxford, Oxford University Press. 21. Mehrotra, R. (2001) Bazaars in Victorian Arcades: 160

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Conserving Bombay’s Colonial Heritage. in Serageldin, I., Shluger, E. & Martin-brown, J. (Eds.) (2001), Historic Cities and Sacred Sites: Cultural Roots for Urban Futures. Washington, D.C., The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank. 21. Mitchell, T. (2001) Making the Nation: The Politics of Heritage in Egypt, in Alsayyad, N. (Ed.) (2001), Global Norms and Urban Forms in the Age of Tourism: Manufacturing Heritage, Consuming Tradition. London and New York, Routledge. 22. Pandian, M. S. S. (2005), Void and memory: story of a statue on Chennai beachfront. Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, 6, p. 428-431. 23. Rajagopal, A. (2001), The Violence of Commodity Aesthetics: Hawkers, Demolition Raids, and a New Regime of Consumption. Social Text, 19, p. 91-113. 24. Robinson, M. (2001) Tourism Encounters: Inter- and Intra-Cultural Conflicts and the World’s Largest Industry. in Alsayyad, N. (Ed.) (2001), Consuming Tradition, Manufacturing Heritage: Global Norms and Urban Forms in the Age of Tourism. London and New York, Routledge. 25. Serageldin, I., Shluger, E. & Martin-brown, J. (Eds.) (2001) Historic Cities and Sacred Sites: Cultural Roots for Urban Futures, Washington, D.C., The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank. 26. Sorkin, M. (2001), Protecting Architectural Heritage in Expanding Metropolises. in Serageldin, I., Shluger, E. & Martin-brown, J. (Eds.) Historic Cities and Sacred Sites: Cultural Roots for Urban Futures. Washington, D.C., The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank. 27. UNHSP (2004), The State of the World’s cities 2004/05: Globalization and Urban Culture, London, Earthscan.

Urbanization, Farm Land And The Form Of Public Space Narendra Dengle Architect/Conservationist, Pune The process of urbanization in India has had a tremendous impact on small towns, district places, villages and the predominantly agrarian society in this country. Although the rate of urbanization is different in different states, according to the Census of India it is very high in the states which were so far underdeveloped, agrarian and mostly tribal. The previously agrarian communities are being shifted to new places, transformed into nuclear urban communities, and generally other avenues are being preferred, by urban economists, to communities with agrarian traditions. All of this has a major influence on how we are going to read into new urban communities and their urban public space. This paper attempts to examine the phenomenon of the transformation of rural to urban societies and the quality of the relevant public space.

Fig. 1: Farms and fields, Mulshi Lake near Pune

Agricultural land (Fig. 1) is now being considered less important in the wake of the IT industry and other economic avenues, like outsourcing etc, as an effect of globalization on smaller towns in their transit to urbanization. Some economists have been justifying this transformation and are suggesting ways and means of providing better economic deal for farmers and also shifting them to different locations. The four issues that have been discussed by Lavesh Bhandari1 are 1. The fear that has to do with (losing) ‘prime agricultural land’. 2. Productivity of the agricultural land 3. Conversion of agricultural land to industrial/commercial land, and, 4. Agriculture as a major contributor to air/water pollution.

Fig. 2: Ghats of Benares

The author has argued that all cities were always located on the banks of rivers (Fig. 2), which naturally were a prime land. The yield of the agricultural land being very low it was possible to enhance productivity in future. Thirdly, the author argues that the percentage of industrial/commercial land in big cities is only 5-10% and the ‘big ticket items really are housing and transport which occupy 50-70% of land’. Adequate compensation to farmers, shifting them to different locations, is the only answer, according to him. The entire argument is more of a narration as to what is happening now rather than any pointers to sustain agrarian communities. This factor is alarming because it appears that either agriculture is a waste of time and a lost cause, or that it must be replaced by other occupations which are economically more promising. Sadly, there is no pointer suggested to know how in contemporary times agriculture, and in turn agrarian societies, would hope for a better deal in sustenance, both of occupation, as well as culture. Croce said that knowledge is of two kinds: intuitive and logical. Traditionally, it is the farmer, and the agrarian communities, who carried forward the empirical knowledge of climate, types of soil, water, flora & fauna, construction techniques, arts & crafts, songs and musical instruments, costumes and textile and so forth. Urban communities, founded on logical and scientific base, and formal education, would need several generations to make their contribution to this pool of empirical knowledge. The economic benefits, at least for the time being, seem to be monetarily too attractive for most, even farmers who have sold their small farms to industry or other urban developments like housing and roads. The knowledge of the change of seasons and their effect on the environment created cultures of places and communities. It is well reflected and expressed in the performing cultures of rural and tribal communities. It is their observation of life and ecology, which made them realize their interdependence in their own lives. The attitude to sustainability is a result of this long tradition and culture, which came about because of the connection to agriculture all over the world. It has been pointed out by archaeologists, through their research at some of the places like Jerincho and Catal Hüyük that in fact the urban settlements are as old, if not older, than agrarian communities. The conventional sequence of hunting and gathering-agriculture-villages-citiesstates, since then has been challenged by recent discoveries and critical interpretations by scholars and cultural-urban theorists like Jane Jacob, Edward W. Soja and others. These scholars would justifiably argue for ‘Putting Cities First’ by saying that culture was not necessarily formed around

Sustainable Places and Communities

161

agrarian societies alone but in fact was created only in cities. Soja says2 , “In the first chapter of The Economy of Cities, indicatively titled “Cities first-Rural development later”, (Jane) Jacob creatively formulates her “theory of city origins of the first agriculture”. Here are some of her conclusions: If my reasoning is correct, it was not agriculture then, for all its importance, that was the salient invention, or occurrence if you will, of the Neolithic Age. Rather it was the fact sustained, interdependent, creative city economics that made possible many new kinds of work, agriculture among them. (1969:34) Both in the past and today, then, the separation commonly made, dividing city commerce and industry from rural agriculture, is artificial and imaginary. The two do not come down two different lines of descent. Rural work-whether that work is manufacturing brassieres or growing food-is city work transplanted. (1969:16; note the impaired critique of Mumford) I have often asked anthropologists how they know agriculture came before cities. After recovering from surprise that this verity should be questioned, they tell me that the economists have settled it. I have asked economists the same thing. They tell me archaeologists and anthropologists have settled it. It seems that everybody has been relying on somebody else’s say-so. At bottom, I think, they are relying on a pre-Darwinian source-Adam Smith. (1969:42)” The argument does not, however, belittle the effect that the agrarian communities have had on our psyche and particularly on the sensibilities of the urban communities. Gandhiji was emphatic in his perception of Indian village. He wrote, “I would say that if the village perishes, India will perish too. It will be no more India. Her own mission in the world will get lost. The revival of the village is possible only when it is no more exploited. Industrialization on a mass scale will necessarily lead to passive or active exploitation of the villages as the problems of competition and marketing come in. Therefore, we have to concentrate on the village being self –contained manufacturing mainly for use. Provided this character of the village industry is maintained, there would be no objection to villagers using even the modern machines and tools that they can make and can afford to use.”3 Jane Jacob’s view and Gandhiji’s views would seem to clash here in perceiving the meaning and relevance of agrarian communities to contemporary and industrial life of our urban centers. It appears to me that rather than ‘solving the problem’ of who was first-whether the agricultural society or the city- it is perhaps more important to realize what shapes our knowledge and what aspects of knowledge do we consider priceless for our civilizations in future. And, since both- the scientific as well as the empirical knowledge matter to us, one needs to see how these are brought closer to each another and sustained. To integrate the wealth of the empirical knowledge- minus the blind faith- with the knowledge/ research that urban societies are capable of generating, it would be essential to encourage peoples’ direct participation in the urban and agricultural environmentsthrough systematic studies and physical participation. This would not be possible unless these two environments are considered as part of each other, without being judgmental about which of the two is superior.

162

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

The above discussion is aimed at underlining the fact that all traditional architectural concepts, empirical knowledge of concepts, material & construction, as well as, sustenance of life, point towards how we as urbanites resolve for ourselves the relationship between the urban and the agrarian societies, not only theoretically but actually, in addressing the phenomenon of New Urbanization. Preserving fractions of the culture of a bygone era or agricultural society, by merely continuing crafts traditions in architecture, would have the same value as items preserved in museums. For ensuring that the sustainability embedded in the culture of agrarian societies continues to provide pointers into future, it is important to facilitate through planning the togetherness of agrarian and urban societiesboth in economic and social terms. One would have to envision how children of urban environment would also benefit by working on farms during vacations etc and how the empirical knowledge of agrarian communities is effectively transmitted to urban, rational, scientific pool of knowledge. In doing so it would also offer a true choice that is economically attractive and culturally relevant, to either be an agriculturist or an urbanite, or both at the same time. Architecture and performing culture all would then have a better opportunity not only to survive as ‘interesting and curious cultural practices’ but to grow in the times of globalization with new zeal. Kevin Lynch tells us in “Good City Form”, “..A world in which work, residence, and leisure are integrated has been an important goal for many social thinkers. To “urbanize the countryside and ruralize the city” is settled Marxist doctrine. In Cuba, vacant city lots are planted with tobacco, city people are pressed to work on surrounding farms, and isolated rural dwellers are gathered into small urban settlements. The proponents of neighborhood in the United States argue for city forms to produce food and solar panels to make energy just as the progressive urbanization of farm life is reducing the polarity of city and country at the opposite scale. The delights of a landscape in which diverse occupations, residence, and leisure occur side by side are frequently praised in travel literature. These tracts are written by strangers, of course, and we would do well to inquire of the actual inhabitants, who may have diverse opinions. However, memoirs of childhood, at least, make it clear that a fine grain of activity is a beneficial growing medium.”4 Indeed, it would be useful to study these experiments in the erstwhile socialists block to understand the problems with the objective to find solutions to them. It means that one needs to imagine and strengthen plans, which help inter-mingle farm lands and cities-spaces. With that then as priority, one would look at growth of cities and the form of Public Space in cities. The first question, of course, is, who is the public we are talking about? If it is not the richest of the riches and if it is the majority of the population then our approach would naturally express the intention. But as it so happens in a capitalist society, which has now been looked upon with great expectations, as a promise of the paradise, even by the erstwhile socialist countries, both freedom and social strata of the society have given capitalist overtone to our interpretation. The society consists of the very rich and the very poor, as well as, those who are trapped in the middle of the two. But these are economic categories and not necessarily social or intellectual. Open and public space is a need, which must satisfy all people belonging to different economic and social strata. But it is also true that if one mechanically targets the social and economic

strata for conceiving open spaces respectively for them, the share of the social open space goes heavily in favor of the rich and politically affluent. It is evident from the kind of public spaces which are being planned, not only in the industrialized world but also in the fast-developing worldlike Korea and parts of China that these are being thought of as huge entertainment grounds, golf courses, artificially landscaped parks and lakes, which are all out side the old city boundaries, usually measuring in more than hundreds of acres of land. Landscape architects take up challenges to plan these new nandanvans or paradises on earth and we discuss how beautiful these spaces are, or how to emulate these models for the developing world! In the course of the development which has global ramifications it would be necessary to replace the terms ‘developed’ and ‘developing’ by fresh terms which refer to places and people as if their consciousness and aspirations mattered. The developed world has almost become a derogatory term in that while it justifies economic activity, better opportunity, and growth rate, it also has come to symbolize unsustainable ways of living and practicing with reference to ecology and environment. Global warming unanimously declared by scientists in the Paris conference must sound as the warning bell in this regard. Invariably the new public space is planned by amalgamating all such patches of land that are traditionally used as agricultural or horticultural fields falling within rural regions and skirting small towns. Whether for public housing or transport or for industry, this agricultural land is exploited for generating economic activity without reference to agriculture. The process of creating huge chunks of land for parks of hundreds of acres entails losing fertile soil or top soil to pave way for roads, golf courses or parks and entertainment grounds. These large parks, which no doubt hold promise of a great weekend for a family picnic, howsoever hectic and expensive, come as a package, which ignores neighborhood open space hierarchy and public spaces linked firmly with everyday life. Traditional public spaces were not looked upon as an escape from life but as a means to make sense of life, leave alone the gardens planned by and for the kings and rulers. These large recreation parks are likely to obliterate forests and wild landscape since they come as an alternative landscape to forests and farms, hence safer, clinically manicured, well managed and luxurious to spend an expensive holiday. This kind of a mega park therefore proposes an alternative to nature and ecology and gives a standardized version of joggers’ path, paved paths, fountains, vast green land, caged birds and animals, LRT and restaurants. The process to achieve this goal, it advocates, is by acquiring farm land, with large private investment. As any planning gesture would manifest the vision and environmental values of the planners, such mega parks offer an epitome of the capitalist idea of how land could be consolidated, with whose money and for whose benefit and at what cost to society and ecology. Here one might re-examine the idea Le Corbusier was exploring. Tall buildings with large fields between them and traffic elevated at a different level was the vision Le Corbusier was trying to develop. He says, “.. the skyscraper is too small, and destroys everything. We will make it bigger, more genuine and more useful: it will reward us with an immense plot of city green and make a perfect traffic system possible: all of the land for pedestrians and parks, strange one-way viaducts where the 150 km. per hour traffic travels…simply from one skyscraper to another. ..The greenery and above

all the space, of Central Park should be present throughout Manhattan, properly distributed and multiplied.”5 Although Le Corbusier’s city planning concepts have been much debated, I am trying to find more meaning in the ‘properly distributed and multiplied’ greenery that he has referred to in his exploration. I wonder whether the pedestrian space he referred to might be interpreted in locally applicable terms of bazaars and walkways, or pedestrian streets and the large open spaces between multi-storeyed structures as agricultural fields! One might be able to derive a more sustainable meaning out of Le Corbusier’s concept. Urban public spaces also get created by eyeing dump-yards, river banks, or neglected but lawfully obtained land from housing colonies reserved for the purpose. While there is nothing wrong in putting dump yards to a better public use, the measure also betrays apathy on the part of the city administration to create public spaces. City administration would always be able to counter this criticism by pointing to the parks and small gardens made by them in different localities. While whatever gardens and open spaces that we create would always be handy, what one is pointing out is the strength of traditional bazaars and weekend markets as potential contemporary public spaces (Fig. 3 & 4), which need better and closer attention. Most housing colonies believe that they must offer their share of public space in terms of the goodies like recreational clubs with tennis courts, swimming pools and restaurants. These, we convince ourselves, are the new urban public spaces. But are they really that? Playgrounds and indoor courts for sports are quite another matter than public spaces for the common man for his daily activities.

Fig. 3: M G Road, Pune being pedestrianized

Public spaces have to either provide for, or suggest, a community or public activity that society in a given time and space would desperately need. If recreation is not dragged out of our day to day life, then one would realize that it is very much the part of the street, market, chowks and bazaar, all of which are unguarded, un-monitored and truly social of our public spaces. Charles Correa’s recently completed City Centre (Fig. 5) in Kolkata is a fine example of how traditional bazaar (Fig. 6) spaces can be reinterpreted and given contemporary meaning. These spaces by their very nature are public, as they attract people and engage them in activities impossible to de-link from life. These are the spaces that encourage and inspire public contact. It is here that most of the citizens spend time shopping, eating, window shopping, getting informed of public opinion on various issues, etc. These by nature lend themselves to

Sustainable Places and Communities

163

creating a fusion or confluence space in a town. Such space is not religious, neither communal nor anti-social. The street is where one experiences the absence of one’s entity or ego. One’s attention is focused on novelty, economy, and quality of product and space, and in that sense it is a space that has the capacity to improve, enhance and share

Fig. 4: Ravindra Bhan in association with Narendra Dengle, conservation of Model Colony Lake, Pune

both the experience and material benefits. Traditionally the street has been a space for performing artists like vasudev, kadaklaxmi, dombari, bharadi, garudi, too. Besides being folk artists themselves, some also performed the function of social renaissance through story telling and songs. Moving in a bazaar buying vegetables can be an experience that would range from being relaxing to extremely tiring, from rewarding to frustrating but it is also an experience that makes social and cultural exposure as an access to comprehending ground reality at once. In democracy it is inadequate to learn about the happenings in your city through news papers and TV alone. The street makes you face the unexpected with the routine. The unexpected may vary from public demonstrations, protest marches, accidents, death processions of different communities, sound of prayers and film music, cultural festivals, street plays and public sense of rejoice at some success in sports of political victories. It is as important to participate in the busiest of our city spaces as it is to cast your vote in the ballot box in a democracy.

Fig. 7: Ceremonial Lunch at the Ram mandir, Alandi

Fig. 5: Charles Correa, City Centre, Kolkata

Fig. 6: Fish Market, Kudal, Konkan

164

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Fig. 8: Narendra Dengle, Vitthal Mandir, N T Wadi, Pune

though associated with a particular faith, too has a peaceful non egotist atmosphere around it,

Fig. 9: Ahilyabai Holkar Talav, farms near Pune

Public spaces associated with religious centers, (Fig. 7 & 8) especially in traditional communities and in small towns that have not yet urbanized, go beyond the narrow agenda of religious fundamentalism and become centers of arts and crafts. They not only sponsor the sale of art and craft objects but also sponsor their very existence. This is also true of the traditional performing arts as of traditional architecture. Many a temple town like Madurai, Mahabalipuram or even Trivandrum, all would still be considered as good examples of this phenomenon. Water bodies add a very significant dimension to the public spaces which are closely associated with religion. Seas, Rivers, ponds, talavs (Fig. 9), lakes, streams, waterfalls, wells and all natural spots assume meaning and substance in religious terms and become the places preferred to locate religious shrines. These are the places of natural scenic beauty, fresh air and an atmosphere conducive to meditation and peace, and hence revered by people and assume mystical and spiritual significance to life. As opposed to the public bazaars this kind of space, even

But, in reality, Ebenezer Howard’s Three Magnet Theory not withstanding, public spaces ought to be seen as those which help sustain our daily life and provide us with the much needed relief and fun so that we are energized on a daily basis. Public spaces may be seen basically as two kinds of spaces; one, which is closely knit with day to day life, and second, which may be weekend recreational spaces. The hierarchy of urban public spaces which must begin at home, thereby blurring the unnecessary psychological division between the public and the private, would extend to work and bring us back home via the spaces of work, to enthuse us with the wonder of life, on a daily basis! In India, I find that no other place served well, as the daily urban public space than the street and the bazaar. The excellent examples of weekend public space are the ghats (Fig. 10, 11) on the banks of the rivers throughout India. A corniche or marine drives along the beaches also serve as weekend and daily use spaces. These need to be strengthened by imaginatively exploring their potential. The more we think of these spaces, more do we realize how much havoc the private automobile has played with our open spaces. The automobile demands roads, wider and longer roads, flyovers and under-passes, complicated clover-leaf junctions and tunnels through hills and water bodies. The automobile has also separated man from man and isolated him/her from the everyday social-political action taking place in the cityscape. Now, one wants to drive ones own car and also halt, if possible, to buy coriander leaves, newspaper or cigarettes wanting best of both the worlds! Our cities unlike in the developed world have begun to alienate the pedestrian, the wanderer, the stroller, the flaneur. Cities that lose the sense of discovery are either dictatorial in governance or

Fig. 10: Ghat at Menavli Fig. 12: Bazar lane leading to Tulshibaug, Pune

Fig. 11: Typical lane up to the river and ghat, Alandi

Fig. 13: Inside the complex, Tulshibaug, Pune

are bankrupt in ideas. It is often wonderful to come to the place unexpectedly and discover the charming traditional Tulshibaug (Fig. 12 & 13) of Pune. The uniqueness of Tulshibaug is that it is a confluence of four kinds of urban spaces-the residential, the religious, the recreational, and the commercial. Together these four spaces converge to make a bazaar without the chaos that a bazaar usually is. In the street, outside the Tulshibaug courtyard there is the bazaar atmosphere with its usual chaos and buzz. Considering the fact that Tulshibaug was conceived and built almost 300 years ago, albeit in stages, its popularity and continuance should truly be a pointer for planners and the bureaucracy.

Sustainable Places and Communities

165

In the rapid urbanization of small towns, villages and cities, the culture, which emerges from being part of the nature’s cycle in association with agriculture and horticulture, is being replaced with the automobile culture. While the life cycle, which evolved around seasonal changes having direct influence over agriculture, forged bonds with all aspects of life and things in nature, the automobile culture does the exact opposite. It distances people from one another and uses perfectly cultivable land for its own greed. While one appreciates the need for commutation and communication and how vital the same are for a contemporary life, one also must realize that the least conversion of agricultural soil into developed roads that we can achieve, would prove to be a priceless social-cultural asset as discussed above. It is the nature’s ecosystems and primarily the agriculture and horticulture that sustain life and anyone who believes in sustainability must address these issues, directly and immediately, rather than beginning straightaway with traditional crafts. The traditional crafts of a community come about because of the culture of agriculture and societies built around nature’s systems. It therefore follows that in order that the communities and their crafts and ways of living are sustained, the soil and water bodies around which these cultures grew up must be helped and sustained at all costs. It brings us to the question of how we would sustain these agricultural lands under the onslaught of urbanization. Agricultural land is not sustainable unless its market value gets the same respect as the other developable land. To achieve this one needs to try out all possible measure like offering subsidy, incentives and also favorable economic climate in the cities in the process of urbanization, which have within their landscape all existing agricultural lands. The intermingling of the agricultural lands with the urbanized land has several benefits for the society. The respect for and the knowledge of farming community, land, ecosystems and environment will not remain as seminar topics alone but be translated into real issues for children, who may be studying any disciplinefrom engineering to management, or computers to fine arts. We have to sustain the source of knowledge and the empirical knowledge that are available as much through oral traditions as other visible traditions, so as to be able to sustain the spirit that manifested these in life-style, peoples’ convictions and pursuits- from the performing cultures to architecture and crafts. Simply conserving plan-types or typologies or traditional crafts and techniques seems totally myopic if not narcissist, hence, absurd and clichéd. The kind of public spaces that are needed really depends on the above mentioned issues. Depending on how we address the problem of agricultural land, and with it the communities and the disappearance of the access to empirical knowledge in practice, we would know what form of new urban space to expect in future. Do we need the weekend spaces, which promise great family picnics and golf, or Disney Lands, or do we need the everyday urban recreational space rooted in cultural ethos, open to future interpretations is what the question is. It goes without saying that all existing open spaces must be listed and categorized as forests, wild landscapes, farms, baugs, courtyards. As suggested by Prof Mohammed Shaheer at the ISOLA conference on public spaces, held in Pune (February 9, 10 2007), one needs to perhaps bring these existing spaces as part of city’s infrastructure (although these are very much visible spaces and hardly underground). It is infra-structural projects, which receive a lot of aid and grants and therefore 166

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

this would be the most helpful ploy. However, existing open spaces need a thorough and thoughtful categorization so that nothing whatsoever is missed out from the existing hierarchy of open spaces. The major task before the planners would be to imaginatively resolve the odds between the automobile space and the pedestrian space-or even a cyclist’s space. More we think in terms of LRTs, BRTs and MRTs the better it is going to be for our public space. The traditional vocabulary of public space needs reinterpretation in contemporary times. Local terms dealing with streets, ghats, chowks, bazaars, lanes, gallies and so forth need to be interpreted for contemporary society which has changed gear and operates differently. In the globalized and plural societies of the future we need spaces that are fusion spaces which help different ethnic groups and communities to come together with least friction. This itself is a very big challenge that would demand a paradigm shift in our thinking about the urban public space. For this to be achieved, reframing of the city’s bye-laws, conservation principles and marking of heritage zones –all would have to share the same concerns and vision. Approaching developers and builders to find solution to city’s planning and urbanization issues is so much limited in imagination and direction that the same further cripples the entire process of conceiving better alternatives that are more holistic and culture oriented. This demands to encourage a qualified public participation with a strong agenda of environment and ecology and sustainability to replace the modernist dated agenda that the administration seems to be pursuing.

References: 1. Bhadari, Laveesh (2007), It’s not Hammer vs. Sickle, The Indian Express, daily edition-march 16 2. Soja, Edward W. (2000), Postmetropolis-critical studies of cities and regions, Blackwell publishing ltd; UK, p. 4546. 3. Gandhi, M K, (1936), Harijan, 29.8 , p. 226 4. Lynch, Kevin, Good City Form, (1996), MIT Press, p. 269 5. Boesinger, Willy, (1995), Le Corbusier works and projects, Gustavo Gili,S.A., Barcelona, p. 182

Sustainable Buildings

Earthen Architecture In Auroville: Linking A World Tradition With Modernity Satprem Maïni Architect & Director- Earth Institute, Auroville The development of earth architecture in Auroville attempts to link the ancestral tradition of raw earth buildings and the modern technology of stabilised earth. The R&D conducted by the Auroville Earth Institute finds its source of inspiration in the traditional earthen architecture which is found worldwide. Tradition includes the accumulated wisdom and knowledge over the ages and it is our duty to distillate the essence of this genius and use it for today’s development. “Break the moulds of the past, but keep safe its genius and its spirit or else thou hast no future.” - Sri Aurobindo, Thoughts and Aphorisms TRADITIONAL ARCHITECTURE: A SOURCE OF INSPIRATION Since ages raw earth has been used all over the world as a building material to achieve amazingly long lasting buildings. There is hardly any continent or country which does not have numerous examples of earth construction (Fig. 1-6). From the roof of the world in Tibet, or the Andes Mountains in Peru, to the Nile’s shore in Egypt or the fertile valleys of China, many are the examples of earth as a building material. The oldest one can be seen in Egypt, near Luxor, built around 1300 BC: the vaults of the Ramasseum, in the “rest” of Thebes. India also shows very old earthen buildings: Shey palace in Ladakh, built in the 17th century and Tabo monastery in Spiti Valley – Himachal Pradesh, built with adobe blocks in 996 AD and which has withstood 1010 Himalayan winters.

These “world heritage sites” show how earthen architecture has been used for achieving great and long lasting monuments. But vernacular architecture worldwide also shows how a local material has been used to create an endogenous architecture, totally adapted to the local context– social, economical, technical, climatic, etc. Earth architecture and the skill of earth builders disappeared for a century: from the end of the 19th century till the latter half of the 20th century. The Egyptian architect Hassan Fathy was the precursor for the renaissance of earthen architecture in the middle of the 20th century. BUILDING WITH EARTH IN AUROVILLE The creation of the Auroville Earth Institute in 1989, and the construction of the Visitors’ Centre, started a new era in earthen architecture. Since then, the value of earth as a building material has been acknowledged for its economic advantage, as well as its comfort and quality, which promotes indigenous and sustainable development. Today, Auroville can show a wide variety of projects: public buildings, schools, apartments and individual houses. Most of the projects are built with compressed stabilised earth blocks (CSEB), as this technology benefits from half a century of research and development worldwide. Stabilised rammed earth is slowly getting known and a few projects have already been implemented with this technique. MANAGEMENT OF RESOURCES People in so many different cultures worldwide have used earth to build their habitat and they managed the resources in such a way that the buildings were totally integrated in nature and did not degrade the environment. People were sensitive to Nature and respected it. The “modern world” does not seem to have such sensitivity. The Auroville Earth Institute (AVEI) lays a lot of emphasis on the management of resources. If well managed, earthen buildings can be completely integrated into the

Fig. 1: Ramasseum, Egypt, ± 1300 BC

Fig.2: Shey Palace, Ladakh, 17th Century

Fig.3: Tabo Monastery, Spiti, 996 AD

Fig. 4: France, Reyrieux, 18th Century– Rammed earth

Fig. 5: Morocco, North Atlas- Rammed earth

Fig. 6: Burkina Faso, Bobodioulasso Mosque

Sustainable Buildings

169

Fig. 7: Rainwater harvesting

Fig. 8: Rainwater harvesting

Fig. 9: Rainwater harvesting

Fig. 10: Digging a wastewater treatment pit

Fig. 11: Basement floor

Fig. 12: Integrated wastewater treatment

Fig. 13: Wastewater treatment

Fig. 14: Landscaping a wastewater treatment place

Fig. 15: De-silting Tanks

natural environment, as shown in the tradition. But on the opposite side, a mismanagement of resources can lead to the degradation of the environment. Auroville shows quite a few examples of integrated management of soil resources (Fig. 7-15): - The earth pits which are deep are used for rainwater harvesting, wastewater treatment, basement floors, pools - The Shallow ones are for landscape design, work or play areas, gardens, etc. HOUSES Up to 1990 they were not so many architects and most of the time houses were built by people themselves. Since then, architects are designing houses and people often participate, in one way or another in the building process.

Fig. 17: Cost effective houses

170

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Fig. 16: Experimental house

Fig. 18: Cost effective house

Fig. 19: Cost effective house

Fig. 20: Cost effective house

Fig. 21: Dana

Fig. 22: Samasti community

Fig. 23: Auromodele

Fig. 24: Moveable house

Fig. 25: Aurobrindavan

Fig. 26: New Creation Field

Fig. 27: Utility

Fig. 28: House at Nalla Farm

Fig. 29: House at the AVEI

Fig. 30: Community hall

APARTMENTS The construction of apartments started only in the 1990’s. It was not a need earlier, as they weren’t many residents in Auroville. The first development started at Djaima community and after that, the development of Vikas community showed that earth can be used for building a progressive and harmonious architecture up to 4 floors high (Fig. 31-42).

Fig. 32: Djaima community

Fig. 31: Prarthna community

Fig. 33: Staff quarter

Sustainable Buildings

171

Fig. 34: Houses at Prayatna

Fig. 35: Kailash youth centre

Fig. 36: Vikas with 4 floors

Fig. 37: Vikas community

Fig. 38: Apartment at Vikas

Fig. 39: Apartment at Vikas

Fig. 40: Apartment at Vikas

Fig. 41: Apartment at Vikas

Fig. 42: Apartment at Vikas

PUBLIC BUILDINGS Pitanga Hall, built in 1989, was the first public building. The Visitors Centre was started just after that. This Visitors Centre of 1200 m², built by the Auroville Earth Institute, was granted the “Hassan Fathy Award for Architecture for the Poor” in 1992. Since then many projects, such as schools, workshops and a solar community kitchen were built (Fig. 43-57).

Fig. 44: Visitors Centre

172

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Fig. 43: Visitors Centre

Fig. 45: Visitors Centre

Fig. 46: Cultural centre

Fig. 47: Electronic workshop

Fig. 48: Kindergarten

Fig. 49: School at Udavi

Fig. 50: Deepanam School

Fig. 51: School at Pondicherry

Fig. 52: School at Kottakarai

Fig. 53: School at Marakanam

Fig. 54: Kitchen at Vikas

Fig. 55: Solar kitchen

Fig. 56: Solar kitchen

Fig. 57: Solar kitchen

HOLISTIC APPROACH TOWARDS HABITAT AND GREEN BUILDINGS Traditionally, people were building “green buildings”, as they knew how to use natural resources and integrate their habitat in the environment. The “modern development” of the 20th century lost this link. In Auroville, the attempt is to integrate various alternative technologies and renewable energies, so as to promote eco-friendly and sustainable development. In this field, earth, as a building material, plays a major role, but other appropriate technologies like ferrocement, biological wastewater treatment, solar lighting, wind and solar pumping are also extensively used. The most comprehensive achievement in this field is Vikas community, near the centre of Auroville (Fig. 58), which has been created, designed, and built by the Auroville Earth Institute. The experiment of Vikas found its roots in Auroville’s ideals. Nonetheless, its material developments could be implemented elsewhere in the world. Vikas Project was a finalist for the “2000 World Habitat Award”.

Fig. 58: 3rd building at Vikas: 13 apartments on 4 floors

Sustainable Buildings

173

Training courses are a major activity and they started in 1990. Regular courses of 2-week duration are scheduled in Auroville. Major programmes are also organised at Auroville or elsewhere in India and various programmes are also conducted outside India, as has happened in Zaire, Eritrea, Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, France and Israel. Since the beginning of the training activities in 1990, more than 4,300 people from 44 countries have been trained: 4,130 trainees in India (Auroville and elsewhere) and 219 abroad in 8 other countries. APPROPRIATE BUILDING BASED ON EARTH

Fig. 59: Backside of the Training Centre

THE AUROVILLE EARTH INSTITUTE The Auroville Earth Institute (Fig. 59) was previously named the Auroville Building Centre/Earth Unit, which had been founded by HUDCO in 1989. The Auroville Earth Institute is researching, developing, promoting and teaching earth-based technologies that are cost and energy effective. These technologies are disseminated through training courses, seminars, workshops, publications and consultancy within and outside India.

This research aims at making extensive use of stabilised raw earth as the main building material, thereby using a local resource to help develop technologies that are energy saving, eco-friendly and sustainable. The main research and development is focussed on minimising the use of steel, cement and reinforced cement concrete. Note that these technologies are seen only as tools for creating a safe, comfortable, progressive and aesthetic architecture. Compressed Stabilised Earth Block (CSEB) A wide range of equipments for building with earth, including the Auram equipment, has been researched and developed

One of the aims of the Auroville Earth Institute is to give people the possibility to create and build their habitat themselves, using earth techniques. The Auroville Earth Institute is today the South Asian representative and Resource Centre for the UNESCO Chair “Earthen Architecture– Constructive Cultures and Sustainable Development”. Over the past decade, the endeavour to promote and disseminate raw earth as a building material for sustainable and cost-effective development has brought a series of 12 awards: eleven national awards and one international award. Fig. 60: Auram Press 3000

Fig. 61: Wide variety of compressed stabilised earth blocks, by the Auram press 3000

174

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

TECHNOLOGIES

Table 1 – Comparison of building materials in Auroville (September 2006) ENVIRONMENTAL COST CSEB and RE are more eco-friendly than fired bricks

MONETARY COST CSEB and RE always cheaper than fired bricks

STRENGTH CSEB and RE are:

Pollution emission: 2.4 times less than wire cut bricks 7.9 times less than country fired bricks

A finished m3 of CSEB wall is: 19.5 % cheaper than country fired bricks 45.5 % cheaper than wire cut bricks

1.4 times stronger than country fired bricks

Energy consumption: 4.9 times less than wire cut bricks 15.1 times less than country fired bricks

A finished m3 of RE wall is: 21.9 % cheaper than CSEB wall 37.1 % cheaper than country fired bricks 57.4 % cheaper than wire cut bricks Note: RE = Rammed earth

0.5 times weaker than wire cut bricks

from the very onset by the Auroville Earth Institute. It ranges from a press for compressed stabilised earth blocks, quality control devices for block making, handling equipment, hand tools, scaffolding, to rammed earth equipment. The press 3000 is today being sold worldwide – mostly in South Asia and in Africa. A few machines have also been sold in Europe, USA, Arabic peninsula and China. The press 3000 with hollow interlocking moulds was sold in large quantities to Gujarat-India, for the rehabilitation of the zones affected by the severe earthquake of January 2001.

Fig. 62: Stabilised rammed earth

Fig. 63: Stabilised rammed earth

The Auram press 3000 is a multi mould manual press which can fit 16 moulds on it, for producing about 70 different types of blocks, with various shapes and thicknesses. CSEB made in Auroville with 5% cement, have an average dry compressive crushing strength of 50 kg/cm2 (5 Mpa) and a wet compressive crushing strength of 25 kg/cm2. The water absorption is around 10%. Country fired bricks have around 35 kg/cm2 for the dry compressive strength and 12% water absorption.

Fig. 64: Composite plinth beam Fig. 65: Casting a composite plinth beam

Stabilised Rammed Earth The soil is mixed with sand and stabilised with an average of 5% cement. The mix is rammed by hand. Foundations are rammed directly in the trench. It is the cheapest and fastest way to do a foundation. Walls are rammed in between formworks, based on “slipping forms made of plywood reinforced by wooden members. Composite Basement And Plinth Beam Basements are made with CSEB blocks with 5% cement. The plinth beam is cast into a U shaped CSEB. Reinforced cement concrete is cast in the U shape blocks and this is a very neat and efficient way to do a plinth beam.

Fig..66: Composite column 240

Fig. 67: Composite column 290

The latter acts also as a damp proof course. Composite Columns Round hollow CSEB are reinforced with cement concrete. Reinforcements vary with the height and load, but the rod diameter cannot exceed 10 mm for the blocks 290 and 12 mm for the blocks 240. Fig. 68: Single height beam 240

Sustainable Buildings

175

Fig. 69: Double height beam 240

Fig. 70: Triple height beam 240

Fig. 71: 2 m span double height beam 295 1750 Kg/m, 5.54 mm deflection with cracks

Fig. 72: 2.5 m span triple height beam 240 1280 Kg/m, 4 mm deflection without cracks

Composite Beams And Lintels Reinforced cement concrete is cast in U shaped CSEB. The bottom part of the beam is precast in a reversed position on the ground. Once cured, it is lifted and the middle and top parts are built on it.

Fig. 73: Typical sections of composite beams

The blocks are used as lost shuttering, but they also help the compressive strength of the beam.

Fig. 74: “Egyptian shaped” catenary vault, 5 m span, 9 m long, built in 12 days

Vaulted Structures The research on this kind of roofing aims to revive and integrate in the 21st century, the techniques used in past centuries and millennia, such as those developed in ancient Egypt or during the period of Gothic architecture in Europe.

Fig. 75: Bull eye 80 cm diameter, built in 2 days

176

Fig. 76: Catenary shaped vault 6 m span, 3 m Rise

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Fig. 77: Starting a lunette

Fig. 78: Lunette, 1.2 span

Fig. 80: Starting the squinch

Fig. 83: Horizontal courses

Fig. 79: Completed lunette Building a lunette 1.2 m span, 2.20 m rise, built in 3 days with 2 masons

Fig. 81: Starting the segmental vault Fig. 82: Completed vault Segmental vault, 10.35 m span, 2.20 m rise, 6 m long, built in 18 days with 4 masons

Fig. 84: Laying keystones

Fig. 85: Completed vault- Equilateral vault

3.60 m span, 8 m long, built in 36 days with 4 masons (raw construction)

This R&D seeks to increase the span of the roof, decrease its thickness, and create new shapes. Note that all vaults and domes are normally built with compressed stabilised earth blocks which are laid in “Free spanning” mode, meaning without formwork. This was previously called the Nubian technique, from Egypt, but the Auroville Earth Institute developed it and found new ways to build arches and vaults.

The free spanning technique allows courses to be laid horizontally, which presents certain advantages compared to the Nubian technique which has vertical courses. Depending on the shape of vaults, the structures are built either with horizontal courses, vertical ones or a combination of both.

Sustainable Buildings

177

Fig. 86: Auram Blocks 295

Fig. 87: Auram Blocks 245

DISASTER RESISTANCE Since 1995, research has been oriented towards the development of a cost-effective technology which is based on reinforced masonry with Hollow Interlocking Compressed Stabilised Earth Blocks (HI CSEB). Vertical and horizontal reinforced concrete members reinforce the masonry so as to create a box type system which can resist disasters. Two types of blocks have been developed: the square hollow interlocking block 245, which allows building up to 2 storeys high, and the rectangular hollow interlocking block 295, which is used only for ground floors.

Fig. 88: Emergency House 1996 City Summit Habitat Istanbul, Turkey

Fig. 89: Prototype AUM House Assembled in 66 hours New Delhi, India

Fig. 90: Improved AUM House Assembled in 62 hours Khavda, Gujarat, India

In June 1996, at the request of CRATerre and the United Nations (UNCHS/Habitat), the Auroville Earth Institute built a prototype demonstration house of 9 m2 – the Minimum Emergency House, at Istanbul, Turkey, during the “1996 City Summit / HABITAT”. This house was precast in 10 days and assembled in 8 days.

being used in Sri Lanka for the reconstruction of the zones affected by the 2004 tsunami.

Other demonstration houses of 23 m2 were built in India: the Aum Houses. They were prefabricated at Auroville and transported up to New Delhi or Gujarat in trucks. The superstructure of the house was assembled in 66 hours by our 18-men team during the “1999 India International Trade Fair” at New Delhi. This demonstration was granted a gold medal by the India Trade Promotion Organisation for the excellence of the special display. The second demonstration house was built in Gujarat, after the 2001 earthquake, in 62 hours with a 20-man team. This technology has been used extensively in Gujarat for the rehabilitation after the 2001 earthquake. With a six-month technical assistance from the Auroville Earth Institute, the Catholic Relief Services built 2698 houses and community centres in 39 villages. This technology was also transferred to Kutch Nav Nirman Abhiyan. This technology is presently

178

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Note that this technology has not been tested on a shaking table but it has government approvals, as it satisfies all seismic requirements: - The Government of Gujarat, India, (GSDMA) as a suitable construction method for the rehabilitation of the zones affected by the 2001 earthquake in Kutch district. It is allowed to build up to 2 floors. - The Government of Iran (Housing Research Centre) as a suitable construction method for the rehabilitation of the zones affected by the 2003 earthquake of Bam. It is allowed to build up to 3 floors (8 m high). - The Government of Tamil Nadu, India, (Relief and Rehabilitation) as a suitable construction method for the rehabilitation of the zones affected by the 2004 tsunami of Indonesia.

Evolving Traditional Practices For Sustainable Construction In The Present Ashok Lall Architect & Dean of Studies- TVB School of Habitat Studies, New Delhi Abstract In India we have entered a phase of urban growth and development which is unprecedented in its scale and impact. As cities & towns expand and regenerate in response to the economic engines of transnational trade and finance, we see a sudden spurt in building construction. This burst of construction activity spread across a range of city activities and the socio-economic spectrum. Demand for built space for colonising new lands as well as for the upgradation and regeneration of existing built space to higher intensities of use will grow on all fronts. This heralds a paradigm shift in the structure of the building trades, materials of construction and design practice. And, significantly, the increasing consumption of building materials such as glass, cements, metals and ceramics, which are energy intensive in their manufacture, combined with the sheer scale of construction activity, will cause an explosion of CO2 emissions, significantly adding to the spectre of global warming. For this process of accelerated urban development, to be socially and economically sustainable, while curtailing the impact of CO2 emissions attributable to buildings, indicates a strategy of an evolution of traditional building practices in preference to a shift by default to ready-made global technologies and building types. It is argued in this essay that application of the principles of industrial production to traditionally used construction materials, skills and trades, and adaptation of traditional principles would result in several benefits. In the construction of buildings such a strategy would: a) Include human resource of the semi-skilled and skilled personnel in the growth of the construction trade while enhancing knowledge and skill b) Ensure a wider participation in economic processes and promote distribution of wealth. c) Develop efficient utilisation of natural and low-process energy materials to meet contemporary demands – as an alternative to the current trend toward high process-energy materials such as glass and aluminium, thereby limiting the impact of building production on global warming. In the design of the built-space planning & configuration a strategy of adapting climatically suitable models from traditional practices would: a) Produce a more habitable public realm of the city b) Produce an appropriate indoor-outdoor continuum in built space systems c) Considerably reduce the impact of extreme weather on air-conditioning load, thereby curtailing the demand on energy on account of airconditioning. These conclusions are derived demonstrated by case-studies.

theoretically

and

Overview The imminent acceleration of change and economic growth here in India brings us to a critical juncture in the evolution of our towns and cities. While the frenetic increase in financial investments in urban infrastructure and buildings occasioned essentially by the opportunities of global trade has the potential of translating into a “better quality of life for all citizens”, it equally has the potential of exacerbating, by default, our existing economic disparities and their consequent social tensions and conflicts. Important, too, though much more insidious, and therefore easily overlooked, is the impact of CO2 emissions attributable to buildings and urban systems on climate change. The scale of construction activity compressed into a short period of time constitutes an “explosion” of CO2 emissions which will undoubtedly hasten the advent of climate change. Evidently, there is a need for strategic action on both fronts, socio-economic and environmental. It is in this context that I wish to discuss the potential of traditional practices of construction and design of built environments as platforms from which to construct a beneficial strategy. Investment in Urban Development The Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission estimates investment of Rs. 120,536 crores at a rate of Rs. 17,219 crores per annum in basic infrastructure and services of 63 cities across India, spread over a seven year period. This is for the shift in the national economy toward urban services which would contribute 65% of the GDP by 2011 with 40% of the population living in cities by 2021, compared to 28% today. So we have the two overarching processes that will determine the development of our urban environments – Globalisation & Urbanisation. CO2 emissions explosion If this scale of investment is predicted for urban infrastructure it may be safely assumed that at least an equivalent amount would be invested in new built space in the extension of urban areas as well as in the upgradation and redevelopment of the existing built space. Or else, if you consider the increase of urban population by say 30% by 2021, one can estimate the total area of built space that would be constructed to provide for it. Through either route you can convert these into quantities of aluminium, stainless steel, glass, ceramics, bricks… that would be consumed and CO2 emissions that would result from the production of such materials. Just considering the sheer scale of anticipated construction compressed within the coming decade, without going into calculations and numbers, I surmise that this phenomenon constitutes an explosion of CO2 into the atmosphere on account of embodied energy consumed in the production of buildings. This aspect of embodied energy does not find mention in developed countries perhaps because for a stable or diminishing population there is not so much new building to be done. But in our case here in India this must be a central concern. Strategy to limit the impact of CO2 emissions explosion The strategy to limit or curtail the scale of this explosion would call, first, for efficiency in the utilisation of material

Sustainable Buildings

179

resource (good engineering) and then, a preference for materials & systems that incur low processing energy, over those that are energy profligate. In other words – grasses, timbers, stones, earthen blocks, flyash blocks are to be preferred over stainless steel, aluminium, plate glass and ceramics. And, importantly, the technique of using the preferred materials must progressively rise to higher levels of productivity and performance efficiency. The existing base of traditional materials and skills provides a ready platform to develop this strategy. The development of new production methods and building materials or components toward greater efficiency and performance can be achieved at relatively low capital investments, in a short time. This process is already underway, as evidenced by the small and medium scale industrial operation for production of masonary blocks, cladding stones, timber boards and prefab-doors and windows.

Construction using masonary blocks

Cladding stones

Pre-Fab flooring systems

Pre- fab ferro cement cladding

180

Compressed stabilized soil blocks

Flooring: Zero wastage Patterns

Pre- fab ferro cement structure

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Treated timbers from managed forestspre-fab doors and windows

Significant social/economic advantage The most significant advantage of this approach, as against a switch-over to “new technologies”, is that it achieves economic and technical progress without displacing or dispossessing employment, skills and knowledge. On the contrary, it would ensure a wider distribution of wealth while adding value to skill & knowledge of the building crafts. Small span structures All needs of construction for small span structures of upto 4 storeys can be met in these ways – if the professions of architecture and engineering actively promote them.

Embodied energy distribution in short span buildings

Tall or large structures Even for tall or large-span structures which may necessarily require RCC frame construction, there are innovative possibilities to reduce the embodied energy of the structural system. A careful consideration of spatial requirements to limit structural spans controls the consumption of steel in the structural frame. Multi storey buildings using compressive spanning systems for floors- shallow domes, funicular shells, vaulted channels etc.,- are known methods. These practically eliminate the use of steel in floor spans. In any case for infill & finishes– both internal and external, which would typically constitute 30% of the total embodied energy of the building– I would argue that techniques that utilise the wealth of natural stones, timber, flyash and mud block etc. can serve as effective substitutes for burnt brick and concrete block. Stones and timber systems particularly can counter the current preference for “modern” methods of aluminium & curtain glazing. Here is a potential, to be creatively tapped for innovations by local industries, to meet the new needs of quicker construction and higher thermal performance of the building envelope. Fiscal incentives to promote these materials and innovation are urgently needed. The substitution or reduction of high embodied energy materials- aluminium, stainless steel, glass, mildsteel, ceramic & vitrified tiles, Portland cement, burnt bricksin that order of importance, needs to become a design objective. We are currently calculating the reduction achieved in CO2 emissions per unit area of built space in two modern office building projects. When compared to business-as-usual, our rough estimate is that the reduction is in the order of 10 to 15% ; when compared with MNC style business-as-usual, it is in the order of 20 to 25%.

Compressive spanning systems: Shell

Embodied energy distribution in tall / large span buildings

SECTION

F C CHANNELS

MASONARY DOMES

PL AN

Drawings showing usage of domes as spanning systems

Compressive spanning systems: Shallow dome

Sustainable Buildings

181

“Bush fire” of CO2 emissions due to operational energy demand- Airconditioning If the making of buildings for the urbanising & growing economy causes an explosion of CO2 emissions, then a veritable bush fire ensues due to the energy demands for the operation of buildings. Here, I wish to focus on the single most energy profligate operational requirement of modern urban life– air-conditioning. In commercial buildings 60 to 70% of the energy bill is on account of air-conditioning. As this “need” becomes a widespread norm it will be the most significant contributor to CO2 emissions in the operation of Air conditioning trends: Old buildings (above) & New buildings (below) buildings. With an increase in disposable incomes and availability of “cheap” systems, air-conditioned comfort is becoming the norm for middle class life. This is creeping over the existing building stock, and will be expected in almost all new buildings. In Delhi’s climate, for example, where once we managed with the ceiling fans & the evaporative coolers, the transition to air-conditioning causes an eight to ten fold increase in the demand for electricity for an equivalent level of comfort Building envelop design

Models have been tried for various functions and at different scales based on this principle. This practice needs deliberate promotion in city planning, urban design and in framing building bye-laws. Many of the current city-planning systems and building bye-laws foreclose this potential and therefore need urgent revision. These potentials must be seen in opposition to the current dangerous practice gaining ground – buildings that reach out for the sun as monuments to “design”, first constructed as solar cookers and then modified, at enormous energy and financial costs, into refrigerators! Intelligent evolution

New state-of-the-art and hugely expensive “western” technologies for comfort conditioning that aim at increasing the efficiencies of electromechanical systems, though relevant, are not being looked at here. What is pertinent is the design of the built structures themselves to reduce the impact of extreme climates, and thereby effect a direct reduction in air-conditioning loads. Studies show that by careful design of the external envelope of building – preferring small apertures and shading – as was traditional common sense – makes a difference of 15% in air-conditioning load. And by design of appropriate building envelopes that incorporate insulation it is seen that air-conditioning loads can be reduced by 30% compared to a “business-as-usual”. It is possible, at little additional costs to design the building fabric to give a service of 25 sq.mt. of conditioned area served by ITR of air-conditioning as compared to the industry norm of 15 sq.mt. per ITR. Urban fabric design At the scale of the urban fabric this calls for a pattern of building that is derived from traditional practice. Speaking of this part of the country, for example, this means lowrise, high-density patterns producing a sheltered external space. From the traditional form of the desert city, one would evolve to a modified form that integrates vegetation as a climate modifier, and finds the balance of open to builtspace to obtain daylighting & ventilation, while achieving a sheltered open space. The modified microclimate around buildings, in turn, reduces air conditioning loads.

182

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Control window area: 18% of external wall is glazed, rest is opaque Venetian blinds in sandwich windows & external glass is tinted Self-shading for small windows: Deep reveal provides shade Support framework for shading screens: Retract / remove in winter, stretch in summer Forecourt Fountain court Garden terrace Trees and plants: Shade external walls, early morning and late afternoon

of traditional design principles for shelter from climatic extremes for building envelopes and spatial design extended to the scale of the urban fabric needs to be the first strategy toward reducing CO2 emissions on account of air-conditioning. In summary, The threat of global warming is real. It will grow dramatically with urbanisation and globalisation of the Indian economy.

Low rise high density patterns to produce:

• Habitable continuum of indoor-outdoor spaces • Favourable micro-climate

The evolution of traditional building construction & design practices offers a platform that can help mitigate this threat. c) It ensures participation with higher economic status of the building crafts and trades in economic processes of construction leading to a wider distribution of wealth.

This evolutionary strategy has two fronts: In the construction of buildings: a) It develops efficient utilisation of traditionally understood natural and low-process energy materials to meet contemporary demands– as an alternative to the current trend toward high process-energy materials such as glass and aluminium– thereby limiting the impact of building production on global warming. b) It includes existing human resource of skilled personnel in the construction trade, enhancing their knowledge, skill, productivity.

In the design of built-space: a) It adapts principles of climatically appropriate building & urban fabric design to reduce the impact of climatic extremes on the built-space. b)It produces a more habitable indoor-outdoor continuum in the urban fabric. c) It reduces the demand and dependence on air-conditioning – a leading cause of the CO2 bushfire.

Strategy to limit CO2 “explosion” and the ensuing “bush fire” Sustainable Buildings

183

Learning Lessons From Traditional Methods For Achieving Sustainability In Building And Urban Scale In Iranian Arid Cities Marjan Nematimehr Ph.D. Scholar (Urban Design) Shahid Beheshti University, Iran SYNOPSIS This article aims to review the theoretical underpinnings of the concept of “Sustainable Urban Design” and subsequently “Sustainable Architecture” as one of the shaping principles in architecture and urban design in Iranian arid old cities. The paper suggests that through application of the principles of sustainability and through learning lessons from the traditional architectural heritage of the communities involved, one can guide the design toward a more harmonious relationship with its natural settings. The paper consists of two major parts. Firstly sustainable design in general has been discussed with suggestions for the theoretical frame work. Secondly, as a special view, the case study of Yazd old city’s intelligent buildings & the context has been presented as per the theoretical framework. INTRODUCTION Eco-Design as a Concept of Sustainability in Urban Design & Architecture Interest in the urban challenges raised by the growing debates on sustainable development and global environmental change has increased very rapidly in recent years. In this situation any discussion of urban design and architecture which does not address environmental issues has little meaning at a time of declining natural resources. Architecture and its sister art, urban design, are often said to consist of ‘Commodotie, Firmness and Delight’ (Wotton, 1969, Mougtin, 1992). One aspect of ‘Commodotie’ in urban development is sustainability, that is non-damaging to the environment and which contributes to the city’s ability to sustain its social and economic structure. The pursuit of sustainable city structures presupposes also the development of a built environment of quality: one that “Delights” in all scales. By considering the city as a whole including parts and also part of a whole, it is necessary to pay attention to architectural

Fig. 1: Yazd, New developments, (Source: Nematimehr; 2005; p. 154)

184

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

elements and details, the design of architectural units (single building), complexes and urban space, the texture of the city (grid, mass and space), the city as a whole with it’s functional areas, and the urban region, all have to be dealt with in a simultaneous and harmonious manner with the idea of sustainable design in mind. Problem & Goal Contemporarily, much of the design projects for arid zones do not address the particular challenges of the stressed climate. Most of the arid-zone urban patterns throughout the world, especially the modern ones, are products of imported concepts from non-arid regions, which tend to ignore the native historical lessons in design, building materials, housing patterns and energy-saving considerations. The goal of this essay is to introduce and analyze the native and ancient architecture and urbanization in Iranian arid regions, to introduce the way of adaptation and adjustment with circumferential conditions, to discover solutions for architectural design in the future, and finally to revive the native identity. Urban Design and Sustainable Development The object for a framework of urban design in a regime of sustainable development would be to emphasize conservation of both the natural and built environments. • First, principles of sustainable urban design would place priority on the adaptation and reuse of existing buildings, infrastructure and roads together with the use of recycled materials and components. A conservation based approach would enjoy preference: the onus of proof of the need for development would be placed squarely upon the developer. • Secondly, sustainable development places a premium on the conservation of natural resources, wildlife and landscape. Any new materials for building purposes should be obtained from sustainable sources (Moughtin; 1996; p. 11-13). • Thirdly, sustainable urban design is concerned with reduced consumption of energy. This objective can be achieved through the application of appropriate urban form, construction type, spatial distribution of land use and optimal density. In other words, energy can be saved by creating closer links amongst different urban functions, and taking account of the utility of energy consumption (Owens; 1991; cited by Golkar; 2000; p. 76-77).

Goals of Design in Arid Regions In particular, these goals will reflect the need to respond to the problems created by climatic stress: 1. Reduce strong, harmful and dusty winds; 2. Reduce (or possibly eliminate) direct sun radiation; 3. Provide plenty of shadowed public and private spaces where necessary; 4. Establish social proximity within the stressed climate; 5. Create a pleasing outdoor environment within the stressed climate; 6. Plan proximate land uses in neighborhoods so that there is easy pedestrian access to them all (Gollany; 1983; p. 8). Indeed, while we are accomplishing all of the above goals, we shall be emphasizing energy conservation principles throughout.

LEARNING LESSONS FROM THE TRADITIONAL ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE Arid cities in Iran Desert-fringe cities constitute a considerable number of the Iranian settlements. In this region, confrontation and combat against heat and dryness of air and soil has a vital role, so providing shade and finally mitigating the effect of the extreme climate is critical. The central part of Iran is covered by a vast desert measuring thousands of square kilometers in area, with an altitude varying between 500 to 1500 meters above sea level. The central desert is one of the most arid and in summer, one of the hottest places on the planet. Despite this, through the ages, a considerable number of large and important Iranian cities such as Sialk (5000 B.C), Kerman, Yazd, Kashan etc., have developed and thrived on the fringes of this great desert (Beazley and Harverson; 1982:1; cited by Golkar; 2000; p. 76).

Fig. 2: Yazd. Part of Old city, (Source: Nematimehr; 2005; p. 144)

Fig. 3: Yazd. Part of Old city, (Source: Nematimehr; 2005; p. 142)

Sustainable Buildings

185

Top, Fig. 4: The old city of Yazd: Part A of Main structure, between Masjid-I Jami (Friday mosque) and Mehridjerd Gateway When looking at the main structure of the walled city of Yazd, one sees a main passage extending through the heart of the Friday Mosque and the various elements that have grown up around it.

Fahhadan Complex, Detail of Neighbourhood Centre

Below, Fig. 5: Part B of Main structure, Yoozdaran Pathway. (Source: Nematimehr; 2005; p. 179)

186

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Human settlement in the desert could not have been made possible except through the intelligent exploitation of natural resources, and improvement in the harsh climate of the region. Some of the problems that have induced local people in the hot and arid regions to seek inventive remedies are: intense sun and heat at daytime (with a high in summer of 40ºC), wide temperature difference between day and night, extremely hot summers and cold winters, dryness of the air, scanty rainfall, a shortage of water, and hot dust and sand storms. In most of this part, the yearly rainfall is less than 100mm; relative humidity exceeds 20 percent (Golkar; 2000; p. 78).

First principle: Recycling- adaptation and reuse of existing buildings Old traditional cities go through a process of evolution and change which gives their morphology a durable character. For instance, after Islam came to Iran, religious building, such as fire- temples were not torn down, rather, they were maintained and used for mosques. Indeed, one of the virtuous traditions of traditional architecture is that of preserving existing building to be used again and again (Golkar; 2000; p. 80) (See Fig. 6).

As the early urban centers evolved throughout history, the natives learned to understand the nature of the climatic stress imposed by the region, they dealt with the limitation of resources, and they were concerned about conservation of the environmental characteristics. This early urban design experience emphasized site selection considerations, use of slope placement, adaptation of the compact urban form, and development of a special street and alley patternall of which had already evolved in meeting the needs of living in a stressed climate. Case study, Yazd Yazd is one of the outstanding desert cities exhibiting the traits of traditional arid zone adaptation. High radiation and temperature in the summer; diurnal fluctuations of temperature (daily fluctuation of 20ºC in summer); the seasonal fluctuations from the hot, dry summer to the cold, dry winter (yearly difference of 5-9ºC); low humidity (average about 60mm); limited water supplies; and dusty, sandy winds, are the main character of the Yazd climate. The general circulation pattern of the oldest part of Yazd consists of a series of perpendicular narrow passage defined by the sections of the old city walls which still exist. This old section of the historic city of Yazd has experienced few changes (See Fig. 3). After introducing sustainable design in general and suggestions of theoretical frame work, here, a case study of Iranian old city intelligent buildings & contexts has been presented regarding the theoretical framework. In the hot, arid climate of the indigenous settlements of Iran, particularly interesting design solutions are found. As already noted, a sustainable urban design is one that can respond to three basic requirements: ‘recycling the existing buildings, fabric and infrastructure’, ‘protection of natural resources’ and ‘energy efficiency’.

Fig. 7: The demolished condition of the Friday mosque shown with its context (Source: Nematimehr; 2005; p. 119)

Second principle: Protection of natural resources Research on sustainable urban design and architecture, such as Golany’s investigation (1995) , suggests that the indigenous urban architecture in the Middle East has been centered on harmony and adaptation to the local environmental characteristics. Building and urban fabrics within arid traditional cities have developed in a manner as to impose the least damage on valuable natural recourses, such as land, vegetation and water. In the urban scale, compactness of the city absorbs large populations in relatively small surface areas. Use of local building materials, like the earth obtained from digging foundations, landscaping with native plants and integrating in the different scales and levels of the design with the natural environment have been developed in these cities (Golkar, 2000). Third principle: Energy efficiency- reduce consumption of energy The city is an immense artificial project which penetrates

Fig. 6: Yazd. Masjid-I Jami (Friday mosque)- Evolution over the centuries, as ‘the renewal of creation at every instant’ (here form and space). For renewal of creation see Aziz Nasafi; L.V.J Ridgeon; Curzon; 1993; p. 34 Sustainable Buildings

187

Fig. 8: Compactness in Iranian Arid Old cities. From left: Kashan, Birjand, Kerman. (Source: Nematimehr; 2005; p. 62)

its environment and its configuration has an effect on its internal climate as well. However, we can state that in the hot/dry climate, the urban design and architecture can moderate the climate within the city through increasing heat loss during the day but encouraging heat gain at nightespecially in the residential sections. In these cities energy is saved through the application of various methods which can be broadly classified into energy efficiency through “City Morphology & Configuration” and “Passive Energy”. 1. City Morphology & Configuration 1.1. Compactness The definition of compactness refers to a city form that is concentrated and firmly unified in its buildings. Compactness and close or dense configuration is the technique of minimizing the amount of building surface exposed to the direct radiation of the sun. Compactness can be specified in many ways, but it is most clearly evident by the ratio of exposed building surface to the enclosed living volume. This concept is in sharp contrast to the contemporary sprawl and diffused cities. A compact city can be large nonetheless, formed of multiples of compact units interrelated with each other. More than any other pattern, the compact city has the promising potential to ease the effects of a stressed climate. It minimizes heat gain and heat loss and therefore consumes less energy for cooling or heating. Also it allows a very noticeable shortening of all infrastructure network and transportation system. Land saving, accessibility, and social cohesiveness are the other advantages of a compact city. The overall structure of the Yazd old city is compressed and compact. Buildings are very close together, sometimes becoming so much a part of one another that walls are shared and boundaries between them become unrecognizable. 1.2. Mixed land use and neighborhood divisions The concept of mixed use is related directly to the concept of compactness; both are desirable ways of achieving the same goal. In these regions land uses are integrated and yet separated in the same urban fabric- an integrated land use pattern for the residential area where shopping, offices, educational and cultural activities, social services, and restaurants will intermingle with residential land uses. The distribution of the complexes within the town was based on neighborhood division. Mixed use neighborhoods, in the traditional cities of Iran are very closely defined. Towns and cities were usually divided into different religious groups, and different handcraft producers. Each neighborhood was an economic component or administrative part of the

188

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Fig.9: Yazd, Kushk- E- Now, Detail of Neighborhood Center (Source: Tavassoli; 2003; p. 102)

city. Each neighborhood also has one center, architecturally designed according to the social status of the dwellers. For example, in traditional neighborhoods such as KushkE-Now, the center of the neighborhood embodies a combination of residential, commercial and cultural functions. These integrated land uses support proximity, climatic comfort, social interaction, and convenience. (See Fig. 9) 1.3. Ordering Mass & Space One of the main problems in designing single units (buildings) and building complexes in architecture is organizing the mass and space according to the ecological conditions. In order to create better conditions, the concept of the space surrounded by mass has been used in the ordering of mass & space in a single unit and, on a larger scale, in public places. In such an ordering, cool night air is retained in the deep basements and deep court yards and it can be used during the first hours of the day. 1.4. City Network, Street Pattern and Orientation Because of the severity of the climate, orientation of all structures must be carefully determined. Streets, roads and alleys all of which form tunnels of air movement and heat exchange, play a significant role in establishing the city climate. A grid pattern of streets, usually designed east- west and north-south, shades one side of the street only and leaves the other exposed all day. It seems that northeast to southwest direction for the grid will establish an interchange of shadows and radiation along the city’s network. Narrow and winding streets produce minimal heat exchange, and therefore they are normally shadowed and cooled in the daytime and are warm at night. They also reduce the effect of stormy and

Fig.10: From left: Ordering Mass& Space in Houses, Shazdeh School and Vaght O Saat Square (Source: Nematimehr; 2005; p. 52)

Fig.11: Yazd. Narrow and shaded street crossed by mud buttresses or domes. (Source: Nematimehr; 2003; p. 116) Winter Area: Sunny 5-door room

Summer Area Talar & Sardab

Fig.12: Yazd, Mortaz house, from left: First & under-ground level plan and 3-D view (Source: Nematimehr; 2003; p. 102)

dusty winds. Narrow streets may retain humidity within their spaces and decrease ambient temperature throughout the day. (See Fig. 11) 2. Passive System 2.1. Creating a Micro Climate Creating micro-climate to decrease the stress of the climate is one of the significant solutions in these regions. The traditional houses of this zone, have a courtyard around which various closed or semi closed space are situated. The two main areas of the house are the summer area, facing away from the hot afternoon sun, and the winter area. The orientation, by chance, has the summer area facing the i ghibleh . (i) The ghibleh wall faces Mecca, the holy Muslim city.

The main constituents of the summer area are Talar, a semi closed space that faces the courtyard; Badgir, a ventilation wind tower; and Sardab, a deep basement. The Talar and Sardab are generally common in all types of houses although there are more complex types. One of the most conspicuous features in arid-zone cities like Yazd, is the wind tower. The structure is a solid and usually square shaft, 8 to 15m high, with an open colonnade top which carries air down in to the underground chamber. Favorable prevailing winds enter one side of the vents of the wind tower, and are then channeled down into the Talar and Sardab. Here the stream of air combines with the water vapor given off to increase humidity and create a cooler environment. Because of the difference of pressure between the vents of the badgir facing the prevailing wind and the vents facing away from the wind, the air is drawn up from the spaces below and expelled from the tower to rejoin

Sustainable Buildings

189

Badgir:

Summer Area: Talar

4-sided wind tower Winter Area: Sunny 5-door room

Basement: Sardab Fig.13: Yazd, Traditional house- Section, (Source: Nematimehr; 2003; p. 64)

the ambient air stream. In the hot summer afternoons when the external temperatures are high, the inhabitants retire to the Sardab. In the courtyard, there are usually small gardens and a pool to aid summer comfort. Trees often prevent penetration of excess radiation, and a second deeper courtyard may enable underground water to be brought to the surface. The added depth of these courtyards help retain the night coolness for longer periods of time (Tavassoli; 1983). The winter areas of the houses are usually simple. The main elements of the house, the wind tower and deep basement, are climatically useful in the hot, arid zone and are generally

located in the summer area. In the winter area, a seven, five or two-door room is the main element. This area is opposite the summer quarter and takes advantage of the favorable winter sun. The whole spatial structure of the house looks inward to a central space, with parapets built well above the roof lines in order to create shade and preserve privacyall helping residents to adapt to the severe environmental problems. 2.2. Building Materials & Structure Buildings are traditionally built of mud, so they have a low rate of heat absorption and also reflect the sunlight. The partiality, availability, and relatively low cost, as well as the

Fig.14: Yazd, Cityscape of Mud domes, the most common means of covering spaces, and Wind towers (Source: Nematimehr; 2003; p. 64)

skill and experience of craftsmen in working quickly and efficiently with the material has made mud the primary building materials. Mud domes are the most common means of roofing. The form of the dome allows the wind to cool its surface easily, and ensure minimal frequency of intense radiation at any one point. The double dome is an excellent solution to the problem of intense radiation. For more protection, walls and roofs are usually thick so that they can protect the interiors from external heat. Fig.15: Yazd, Traditional house; minimum of openings and divided glass surfaces in windows help in controlling direct sunlight; (Source: Nematimehr; 2002; 64)

190

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

2.3. Openings and Fenestration In these regions, buildings are constructed with a minimum of openings so that the amount of direct sunlight entering

can be controlled. Dividing glass surfaces in windows, which also acts as ornamentation, helps in controlling ingress of direct sunlight. CONCLUSION This article is aimed at a critical analysis of the physical statutes of Iranian desert cities from a sustainable design perspective. The discourse began with clarifying the concept of sustainability that can respond to three basic requirements: ‘recycling the existing buildings, fabric and infrastructure’, ‘protection of natural resources’ and ‘energy efficiency’. These principles have been broadly used in the architecture and urban design of Iranian arid old cities. The paper suggests that through application of the principles of sustainability and by learning lessons from the traditional architectural heritage of the communities involved, one can guide the design toward a more harmonious relationship with its natural settings.

References: 1. Breazley, E. & Haveson M, (1982) Living with Desert. Aris& Philips. 2. Givoni, B. (1988), “Guidelines for Urban Design in Different Climate, Graduate School of Architecture, University of California, LA, USA. 3. Gollany, G. (1983), Urban Form Design for Arid Regions in Golany G. ed. Design for Arid Regions, Van Nostrand Reihold, New York, USA. 4. Gollany, G. (1995), Ethics& Urban Design, John Wiley & Sons, New York, USA. 5. Golkar, K. (2000), “Sustainable urban design within desert- fringe cities”, Sustainable Development of Desert Communities, UNDP- Iran Technical papers#2. 6. Kriken J.L (1983), Town Planning and Cultural and Climatic Responsiveness in the Middle East in Golany, G. (ed.), Design for Arid Regions, Van Nostrand Reihold, New York, USA. 7. Moughtin, C. (1996), “Urban Design: Green Dimension”, oxford, Butterworth Architecture. 8. Nematimehr, M. (2005) “Urban Design in the Inner Core of the Arid Cities, Case study, Yazd”, un published master thesis, Faculty of Urban Design, University of Tehran, Iran. 9. Nematimehr, M. (2002) “Piecemeal growth Case study, Yazd”, un published master thesis, Faculty of Architecture, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran. 10. Owens, S. (1991) Energy Conscious Planning. CPRE. London. 11. Tavassoli, M (1983), City Planning in the Hot Dry Climate of Iran in Golany, G. (ed.), Design for Arid Regions, Van Nostrand Reihold, New York, USA. 12. Tavassoli, M (1993), Urban Space Design2,Urban Planning and Architecture Research Center of Iran, Tehran. 13. Tavassoli, M (2003), Urban Structure & Architecture in the Hot Arid Zone of Iran, Payam, Tehran, Iran.

Sustainable Buildings

191

From Pattern Languages To Generative Codes: A Report On The Work Of Christopher Alexander And Colleagues & Its Application To The Regeneration Of Traditional Settlements Michael W. Mehaffy Centre for Environmental Structure-Europe INTRODUCTION Indian citizens, like American citizens, are all well aware– perhaps sometimes painfully aware– that their country is growing at a remarkably rapid rate today. This growth is economic, and of course also physical: new structures are being built, and in many cases old structures are being destroyed to make way for them. Sometimes natural structures are being destroyed too: wetland vegetation, riparian ecosystems and the like. Some aspects of this growth are clearly very positive, offering benefits of sanitation, education, quality of life, and new opportunities for people who have lacked them for too long. Some aspects are less positive, and are even worrisome contributors to unhealthy processes that may soon become catastrophic – climate change, resource depletion and other grave threats to the welfare of the human species. We talk about growth as if it were one undifferentiated thing, but we are learning today that this is not at all the case. In the natural world, there are highly variable forms of sustainable growth, which create dynamic equilibrium; and there are also variable forms of runaway growth that cause decay or collapse– for example, metastatic cancer, or runaway infections, or the collapse of underlying resources. Christopher Alexander, a Cambridge-educated mathematician and physicist who became an architect and builder, has spent some four decades thinking about this question of the nature of growth, our understanding of it from a scientific point of view, and our ability to shape it in more desirable and more humane ways. From the beginning of his career Alexander has been preoccupied with the problem of morphogenesis: how forms are created, how parts create wholes, and how this happens in nature and also in human constructions. Importantly, he has sought to understand the difference between the two, and the lessons this may offer us for our current challenges. At heart Alexander asks: how can we develop a healthier kind of growth– the kind that repairs and heals and improves, that makes places qualitatively better, instead of worse? How can we preserve and build upon the gifts of the centuries handed down by tradition– not as dead relics, but as a living force that infuses our own time with a greater vitality and robustness? Alexander is not an anti-modernist, but rather a modernist reformer. He wants to know, how can we find a more intelligent kind of technology, more adaptive, more integrative of the wisdom gained over centuries, more enduring and sustainable? What are the “rules of the game,” so to speak, and how do we change those rules to create a more intelligent and wiser human future? Apparently quite a lot is riding on these questions.

192

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

This essay will report on reasons to be hopeful about the answers, particularly those beginning to emerge from the “new sciences” of complexity. It seems many of the answers are indeed to be found in nature, including human nature. Some surprisingly modern lessons are to be found in the rich “collective intelligence” of human traditions, of the very sort that we are presently discussing. THE CHANGING SCIENCE OF URBANISM Over four decades ago, the urban and economic scholar Jane Jacobs famously described the profound revolution then under way in the sciences of complexity, and its intriguing implications for the structure of settlements. In the marvellously prescient final chapter of her 1961 book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, she argued that the then-emerging new science of “organized complexity” was beginning to revolutionize our understanding of what she called “the kind of problem a city is”, and our methods of managing and planning urban environments. Much has happened since that time to deepen our understanding of the processes of organized complexity: the phenomena of morphogenesis and genetic coding in biology; the behaviour of cellular automata, individual elements following simple local rules to produce emergent global complexity; and the self-organizing processes of markets and human cultural activities, which have produced, for example, the rich complexities of traditional settlements through history. In this story the work of Christopher Alexander, by all accounts, plays a highly influential role. Here I will briefly describe his work up to the present day, and the most recent stage in its fruitful evolution. It is heavy on theoretical insights, but rooted in the realities of construction and culture, and in particular traditional culture. In fact it is not a coincidence that Alexander’s first project, as a student, was a village in India, and I can convey his keen interest in collaborating on the challenges presently under discussion at the INTBAU India conference. It would be a nice resonance indeed if his career brought him full-circle to such a beautiful part of the world, facing its own set of challenges with growth and tradition. Alexander has always been concerned above all with the process of creating form, and the way that qualitative characteristics emerge from such a process. He was part of a group of cybernetic theorists in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s that included Herbert Simon, author of “the Architecture of Complexity,” and George A. Miller, originator of the influential concept of “chunks” in information theory. The overriding challenge at that time was to understand the essential structure of information, and its relation to the corresponding reality that the information is intended to model, in what is presumably an accurate and useful way. It is fair to say that Alexander’s first book in 1964, “Notes on the Synthesis of Form,” had a profound effect upon the next generation, not only in planning but also in cybernetics, information theory and other fields. And although he has since moved far beyond many of its precepts and even disowned some of them, the foundations of all of his later work up to the present day were laid here. Like Simon and others, Alexander argued that things go together, roughly speaking, in hierarchies – like the fingers

on a hand, or the limbs of the body. But the “roughly speaking” is the interesting part. For in fact the hierarchies tend to overlap, and interesting and important things happen in those overlaps, and those networked inter-connections. But the problem, as his classic 1965 paper “A City is Not A Tree” showed, is that humans tend to think in hierarchies, and tend to design in hierarchies – with results that can be disastrous for a natural structure like a city. The enforced hierarchical order tends to limit and to sever the essential interconnectivities of the structure, and to destroy the complexity and the life of it. This was not so much an empirical argument, as Jacobs and other critics of the master-planned cities then in fashion employed to good effect. It was rather an elegant and devastating mathematical and geometric analysis, which put the discussion on a refreshingly discussable, sharable scientific basis. It established a simple structural dimension to the problem. THE EVOLUTION OF PATTERN LANGUAGES For Alexander, the obvious challenge that remained was, what methods can we use to overcome this problem? How do we develop tools to successfully manage these overlapping, interactive, web-like structures? That was the basis of the next major piece of work – the development of pattern languages, and the particular library of 253 environmental patterns included in the 1977 book, A Pattern Language. Patterns in this sense may be thought of as recombinable fragments of geometric configurations, which obey a kind of grammar much as a natural language does. Just as a natural language uses a fairly limited set of elements to be recombined into endless possible configurations, so a pattern language is intended to be recombined in a much more flexible, networked kind of way. In this way, the mistakes of an earlier and more rigidly hierarchical approach could be corrected. Alexander offered, in effect, a method by which designers could overcome the limitations of hierarchical thinking, by inter-relating elements of the human environment into an adaptive network. And he noted that traditional cultures have been doing something much like this already for millennia, and that this traditional practice does in fact function as a sophisticated and powerful kind of language for creating the built environment. More than that, it is an expression of the actual structure of things, the way things go together in space. Just as a natural language can describe the endless ways that things can in reality go together, and thereby serve as a useful tool to discover and plan new combinations, so a pattern language can model and guide the assembly of elements of the built environment into new networked configurations. In that sense, such a language is useful because it is open-ended, in just the way that life itself is open-ended. The new pattern language proved itself immensely useful in other fields, including software programming – which itself functions as a kind of language. The breakthrough spawned a new class of object-oriented software, design patterns, leading to familiar innovations like The Sims and Wikipedia, and many other less familiar innovations. The book A Pattern Language had of course an enormous

influence on architecture and planning as well, and in fact is said to be the best-selling treatise of architecture in history; a quarter-century later, it is still a perennial strong seller. It was a major influence on the US New Urbanism movement and related movements elsewhere. But for Alexander that wasn’t enough; merely having the letters clustered into some beautiful words was hardly sufficient to show you how they should go together into sentences and essays and poems– how, in the case of architecture, one could get to the formation of coherent and beautiful structures. It is one thing to put nice words together in rudimentary form, like an elementary reader. It is quite another thing to produce Shakespeare. In effect this was the enormous qualitative gap that Alexander sought to close– or to take the first important steps toward closing. EXPLOITING THE MORPHOGENESIS

PROCESS

OF

Hence Alexander believed his work had to deal more directly with the problem of process. What is the process by which this language is actually used effectively to create form? What are the steps one must go through? Whereas pattern languages were about the structure of things, offering a kind of library of recombinable fragments of that structure, perhaps this new work would be about the process of creating that structure. The library this time might be of recombinable fragments of steps, rather like the steps in a recipe, that tell you how to get from one stage of form to the next. Alexander’s insight came again from traditional cultures, as it so often did. He observed that building traditions guided individuals in specific steps of building, and in how those steps should respond to their context. Often very sophisticated ancient codes functioned to do this. Often more direct linguistic concepts and “rules of thumb” guided individuals and groups – the guidance refined and handed down in tradition. But in the technology of the last several centuries, this delicate contextual structure was swept away, replaced by a more powerful but at the same time cruder, anti-contextual system, that tended to ignore or even to destroy the contextual structure - often with disastrous results. The effort to sort out this structural question, and to offer not just simulacra of the past, but new methods based upon the ancient insights and useful for a modern context, would take him on a surprising 30-year odyssey. He would have to confront fundamental scientific and metaphysical questions about the nature of order itself. My aim here is to give you an overview of this odyssey, and its parallels with the larger changes in scientific thinking about the structure and processes of nature. I will bring this discussion back home to the present day, and the search for useful new tools that can revive and sustain our cities through a daunting new age. We can then assess Alexander’s contribution to it, and next steps to be taken. Alexander took his odyssey beyond human traditions, to ask basic questions about the processes of growth in nature. He made a simple, even obvious observation: nature regularly and almost effortlessly, it seems, creates a vast range of successful living forms, from astonishingly simple ingredients. These structures are exquisitely well-adapted, beautiful, sustainable. What are the processes it uses to do Sustainable Buildings

193

this? And what can we learn from those processes for our own human applications? To answer that question, he drew on insights from many fields, including embryology, physics and others. And he came to one central conclusion: nature does not use a “plan” in the usual sense, but rather, it acts to transform an existing whole into a new whole. In doing so, it preserves the structure of the earlier whole, but it often amplifies, articulates and deepens it in some important way. We can see that process of transformation very clearly in the biological patterns of evolution. Alexander noted, intriguingly, that we can also see it in our own built history– in the structurepreserving transformations of the Piazza San Marco in Venice over 1,000 years, for example, where at every step, the whole was maintained. At no point was the piazza entirely bulldozed and rebuilt according to some architect’s bold new vision. It was rather a continuous evolution, with human plans playing a disciplined role within what could be seen as a kind of “dance of the centuries.” But the steps of such a “dance” can appear deceptively simple and humble– much as a mere 26 letters cluster into words, sentences and soliloquies and create the complex beauty of Shakespeare. When presented with the 26 letters alone we might wonder how we could possibly create something so rich from such modest parts; but Shakespeare clearly did. So, too, in the process of creating form, as we see all over in nature, the steps can seem exceedingly simple and modest. But the key is in how they combine, how they multiply in repetition-- much like the way two colours of putty will mix surprisingly quickly after just a few repeated folds, or the way a marvellous animal shape can result from just a few relatively simple steps of folding paper in Origami. There is an exponentially multiplying interaction between the parts, which manifests over repeated steps. It turns out that this is very much how forms develop in embryology, through a very similar kind of “unfolding” process. This occurs not only in the DNA and RNA molecules, but also in the protein structures that they then form, that subsequently bend, fold and interact, and form various products, including tissues. These tissues then divide, fold, differentiate and articulate into new structures. In addition to the simple parts – just four molecules in the genetic code– all of this rich complexity comes from relatively simple steps too: combine, divide, fold, merge, and so on. This “complexity out of simplicity” is a key to understanding the processes that create richly articulated, differentiated, living structure. It is at the heart of what biologists call “adaptive morphogenesis”– underlying the creation of thriving, stable ecosystems.

fully-developed models of reality. They produce powerful economies of scale because they allow for standardised repetition. But they also tend to impose rigid artificial aspects on the reality, instead of adapting to it to the very fine degree that nature requires. Nature too uses templates, on occasion, or something like them. One might think of DNA as a kind of blueprint. But nature is much more subtle than current human technology: there is no little model of a finger encapsulated in the DNA molecule; it uses a strategy that is at once far simpler than that, and far more complex and sophisticated in its output. For every finger produced is a marvel of uniqueness, sophistication and complexity. The human version of a template, though it has been enormously effective in conventional technology, is a far cruder and less elegant device. The implications of that are significant. THE NEED FOR TECHNOLOGY

A

MORE

ADAPTIVE

Perhaps an even more sophisticated, more “modern” approach, would re-integrate these other powerful processes into human methods – including the powerful if often unconscious processes of human tradition. Perhaps nothing less would be required to create the kind of welladapted, sustainable, balanced structure that nature had done, and that was beginning to look like an essential requirement for a prosperous human future. Alexander came to see that even his pattern language was guilty of the “template” limitation. If people used the language to come up with a design, planned in advance, without a careful generative process for adapting the form, then the form simply wouldn’t have that living quality that was needed, and that was achieved by previous generations across so many cultures. The reform of our unsustainable modern processes of morphogenesis was still incomplete. ALEXANDER’S OBSERVATIONS NATURE OF ORDER

ON

THE

Alexander asked himself, what were the methods that people could use to apply these kinds of processes to acts of building (and other form-making) in a modern age? What insights would they be built upon, and how would they function? And over the last several years, Alexander has released his four-volume work, The Nature of Order, which lays out his answers – or at least the first part of his answers. As I will discuss shortly, there is still a major element of work to be done. Here I will outline several of the key concepts of this work. Centers

This was a major revelation for Alexander. It was not lost on him that age-old human processes share some aspects of this structure. He observed the way traditional craftspeople took relatively simple steps to gradually weave stunningly beautiful patterns in carpets, or the way traditional citybuilders took small steps to position their houses and the spaces around them, gradually building up a marvellous urban structure with exquisite traits.

One needs a useful diagrammatic model of the structure of things that is undergoing a pattern of growth – an analytic understanding of the essence of what is going on geometrically. For Alexander, that model is a system of centers. Every form can be understood as a system of centers in some relation to one another – one inside another, one forming part of a boundary around another, and so on.

Our “modern” methods, he noted, are based on a very different, radical approach: creating templates and “blueprints” ahead of time, which can be thought of as little

A system of centers can have a hierarchical relationship, a networked or semi-lattice relationship, or some combination. It can have all of the kinds of relationship that Alexander

194

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Fig. 1: The Nolli Plan of Rome, which can be analyzed as a series of nested (hierarchical) and overlapping (networked) centers.

and other theorists described, in critiquing the limitations of modern design methods. Thus the model offers a powerful way of modelling the structure of form, and the transformations it undergoes– and also its limitations. There are echoes of Alfred North Whitehead’s “Categoreal Scheme”, and echoes too with theoretical physics. There is also an echo in the work of Herbert Simon and The Architecture of Complexity. But there are also unique insights that have gone on to prove themselves useful foundations for the rest of the work. Fifteen Properties Alexander then made an interesting observation: in spite of the endless variety of configurations in which centers can be found in nature, he found that one can distil them down to just 15 different classes of organization, or geometric properties. Every form of structure that he was able to observe could be grouped into one of these classes. This scheme of classes turns out to be very useful in analysis and, Alexander believes, in aiding as a design tool. I will outline the 15 classes here briefly. 1. LEVELS OF SCALE: Structures of centers occur in similar configurations at different scales, often spanning a vast range of scales. This is similar to the familiar concept of fractal structure. 2. STRONG CENTERS: Certain centers will have greater prominence than other, and may attract sub-structures around them. 3. BOUNDARIES: Centers may form linked structures that wrap around other centers, forming a boundary. 4. ALTERNATING REPETITION: Centers may form alternating pairs that are then repeated in chain-like structures around other structures. 5. POSITIVE SPACE: Where structures of centers wrap around and enclose space, that space also forms an efficient structure of centers, without crowded, wasted or asymmetrical regions.

6. GOOD SHAPE: This is in effect the inverse of the above: where structures of centers form larger clusters of centers, these larger structures are also efficient, without crowded, wasted or otherwise disordered areas. 7. LOCAL SYMMETRIES: While the configuration of centers at larger scales can be highly asymmetrical, local areas often tend to form highly symmetrical clusters. The Nolli Plan of Rome (see Fig. 1) is a particularly clear example of this. 8. DEEP INTERLOCK AND AMBIGUITY: Adjacent regions may interlock in a mutually dependent way, to the point that there is ambiguity of one form in relation to another. An obvious example is the optical illusion of a vase-face shape, in which each shape has its own coherent relation to some external structure, or can be seen ambiguously as the profile of a radically different form. 9. CONTRAST: Adjacent regions may be abruptly discontinuous. 10. GRADIENTS: Adjacent regions may exhibit a gradual gradation between them. 11. ROUGHNESS: A region may have a complex structure at finer scales that appears chaotic or “rough”; it is in fact a form of transformed structure at finer scales. 12. ECHOES: A region may exhibit partial symmetries with other entities (symmetries in the most general sense, i.e. isometric configurations). 13. THE VOID: A region may have no centers within it. 14. SIMPLICITY AND INNER CALM: A region may have deceptively few centers within it, with a surprisingly strong effect upon a viewer. 15. NOT-SEPARATENESS: Every region is linked ultimately to all other regions, including the viewer and their world, and ultimately the cosmos. The property of not-separateness exhibits this linkage to the viewer, which can evoke a profound feeling in response. Alexander observed and reported the 15 properties phenomenologically, but then began to seek clues to their underlying formation and arrangement. He came to understand that they arose naturally as a result of the natural transformations in the processes of morphogenesis. That is, the process of structural development leads to these classes of order, through the workings of the transformations. (There is more detailed discussion of this in The Nature of Order, but I will not go into it here.) Alexander pointed out that the 15 properties can be seen all over the natural world. Interestingly, he noted that many contemporary structures lack one or more of the properties almost entirely. This is because, he argues, current processes of morphogenesis are highly limited and artificial, as they are affected by the limitations of human thinking, and the segregation of “planning and design” as an abstract function, from the rest of the process of morphogenesis. Once again, the “template” approach is showing its drawbacks as well as its advantages. Structure-Preserving Transformations We mentioned the notion of transformation earlier. This is a more complete description of the general process. It is best illustrated with the following example.

Sustainable Buildings

195

Fig. 2: The 15 Properties of Natural Morphology in which centers may be structured.

The series shows a drop of milk hitting a thin layer of milk covering a hard surface. Note the initial sphere, a simple center in the middle with no articulated centers around it. It strikes the surface, and its symmetry is immediately broken. The result is not chaos, but a new kind of organization. The displaced milk rises up and forms a ring, a boundary around the original drop. The ring expands, and as it does so it too becomes unstable– the equilibrium between gravity and velocity is exceeded– and its symmetry is broken as well. But again, the result is not chaos but the articulation of new structures– arm-like appendages, and at their ends, like exclamation points, new baby spheres (Fig. 3). The overall structure exhibits the features of organization, not unlike an organism. There is a unity of form without the overall composition. There is a hierarchy between the center, the ring, the appendages and the small spheres. There are interconnections between the different arms, which can be seen to slightly perturb each other. There is an irregularity too, which is intricate, varied and unique – not exactly like any other milk drop. It is not a perfectly repeated pattern, but it is a well-organized one all the same. What is significant is that this structure has arisen as a direct result of the steps in the transformation. The structure of the original sphere transformed into the ring, which transformed into the appendages, and finally to the little spheres. It did not simply disappear, to be replaced with a new structure inserted into the environment, assembled from parts according to a template. That is the exceptional, limited and extreme method that is unique to contemporary human beings. Nature of course is full of far more complex examples – perhaps nowhere more than in embryology. 196

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Fig. 3: The structure-preserving transformation of a simple milk drop.

Unfolding We are learning a great deal about the processes that occur in the morphogenesis of organisms. Again, we see that there is no simple “blueprint” within DNA that contains a little image of the structure to be built. Rather, DNA is a code that functions more like a recipe that drives sequential mixing, dividing, folding, separating and articulating of new structures, from the protein structures to the structure of cells to the structure of tissues and body parts. There is a process of unfolding, not unlike the sequential folding patterns of Origami, which creates various symmetries and transformations of parts.

Fig. 4: Morphogenesis in biological processes - Development of an angiosperm seed: Shepherd Purse

What is interesting for our purposes is that the DNA in some way guides the process, like a recipe, with instructions for the various steps. A similar process can be observed in human processes, including cooking recipes and medical procedures. The steps are very simple, but their effect becomes sequentially more profound, resulting in a delicious meal, or a process of complex healing. Urban environments, too, reveal a similar kind of process. A similar process can be observed in the function of traditional urban codes. Relatively simple rules guide builders through various steps of construction, specifying contextual responses, such as position of windows relative to previously built windows, and so on. The result is an emergent, contextual form. Alexander has found that traditional building processes used a similar kind of stepwise guidance, or “rules of thumb.” THE RE-INTEGRATION QUALITATIVE

OF

THE

Alexander is hardly the first to note that methodologies since about 1600 have discounted the qualitative aspects of experience, regarding them as “mere” psychological phenomena. This was an extremely useful tool to dispense with highly variable and unreliable phenomena. But modern science has come up against the limits of this tool, which is in fact a kind of trick – what the philosopher and mathematician Alfred North Whitehead memorably called “an omission of part of the truth.” In fields as diverse as neuroscience, anthropology and medicine, the qualitative experience of value has made an insistent return to the scientific purview. Perhaps nowhere does this reintegration seem more necessary than in the fields of the human environment, where “quality of life” and “the quality of a natural environment” are hardly trivial aspects of what is going on. Indeed, they are increasingly being seen as the very essence. The realm of medicine is already largely sympathetic to this point of view, for in fact it has no alternative. The first

thing that a doctor does with an ill patient is not to run a battery of quantitative tests and analyses, which would quickly turn into a kind of medical snipe hunt. Instead the doctor knows to ask the simple qualitative question, “how do you feel?” In effect, practitioners in the built environment must do likewise. For Alexander, the qualitative is not some trivial psychological side-effect, nor is it some mysterious unseen realm. It is quite literally right before our eyes, in the structure of things. What we call “matter” is matter precisely because it “matters” – it has a qualitative experiential effect upon us, and only then becomes a “fact”. As Alfred North Whitehead observed, this is the actual order of things, and the customary inversion of it is a trick, an abstraction – “nothing other than an omission of part of the truth.” Thus, Alexander sees quality as an emergent phenomenon in the structure of the world, no less than life itself. Living structure inherently incorporates, or has aspects of, the qualitative as well as the quantitative, in equal measure. We cannot separate them, except in the most temporary and provisional way, if we really want to understand what is actually going on in our world. This is not inconsistent with a view emerging among many complexity scientists, who have concluded that significant further scientific progress is not possible without such a reintegration of the qualitative. The biologist Brian Goodwin in particular, a former Board member of the Santa Fe Institute, has written eloquently about the emerging “science of qualities”, tracing its roots back to Whitehead and beyond. Alexander fits well within that emerging tradition. GENERATIVE CODES Alexander has proposed that steps of “unfolding” similar to those in nature could be established today in a modern technological context. Such steps would amount to a modern “generative code”, very different from the parameter-based or use-based codes of conventional practice. A generative

Sustainable Buildings

197

EACH STEP IS ALWAYS HELPING TO ENHANCE THE WHOLE

Fig. 5: Structure-preserving Transformations in Piazza San Marco in Venice over several centuries.

198

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

code could be thought of as a new kind of design-build “operating system”. In such a generative code, the design phase would no longer be a distinct segment from the construction phase; instead, a stepwise process would guide designer/builders through the sequence of construction, and indeed, on to maintenance and repair. Because the process is a transformation of existing conditions, and not an insertion of a radically new template-based design, there will be a particular emphasis on diagnosis of the existing conditions and the changes needed. This process is necessarily qualitative. Moreover, it must involve not only expert practitioners with a range of areas of expertise, but local residents, who can serve as “canaries in the coal mine” to detect important qualitative and contextual issues.

In design-build systems, cost management frequently arises as a major concern. Many items require ordering in advance to be cost-effective. Many items cannot be changed during construction except at significant cost. There is always the grave danger that the process will “paint itself into a corner,” and changes will be highly wasteful and cause delay. But there are methods that manage costs and capture efficiencies comparable to more conventional processes. First, while the process is stepwise, it is not reversible. A decision that is made at one stage is not revisited later – only the finer articulations follow. An organism that has formed, say, an arm, goes on to form hands and fingers; it does not go back and change the arm. Second, technologies are already evolving rapidly toward design-build and adaptive methodologies. A century ago Henry Ford stated that a buyer could “have any color as

Fig. 6: Examples of Alexander’s projects using generative methodologies. The individual forms may appear simple and even humble, but the complexity arises from their interconnections rather than from extravagant attempts to create novel forms. The result provides ample creative novelty, but at more subtle experiential scales.

Sustainable Buildings

199

long as it was black.” Today a buyer can virtually create a custom car from the showroom. Just-in-time delivery is making it unnecessary to order and stockpile materials in advance to capture economies. One-off processes and niche marketing are moving the economy toward much more adaptive processes. But much more work remains to be done to develop functional generative codes – and a number of pilot projects are already under way. For example, the form-based code of Andres Duany and others, called a “SmartCode”, is being supplemented with generative steps for diagnosis and layout. One of the most hopeful efforts in now under way in New Orleans and on the US Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, where “Neighborhood Rebuilding Centers” are being developed with generative tools for the rebuilding of neighbourhoods. We do hope that there might be opportunities here in India for a project. What are the elements of such a generative code? We can broadly summarise them here: 1. The code, in some way, specifies a step-wise, generative process. 2. It specifies that in that process, human beings will take certain rule-based actions, in combination with evaluations based upon feeling, and in adaptation to what came before. 3. At each step, it acts upon the then-existing condition as a whole. 4. At each step, it identifies the weakest parts of the structure and acts to improve and amplify them. 5. At each step, it may apply previously-coded solutions and patterns, and adapt them to the novel conditions. 6. At each step, it differentiates the space by specifying new “centres” 7. The centres are differentiated via 15 “structure preserving transformations” 8. Infrastructure follows. As with the morphogenesis of organisms, where the tissues come first, and the veins and ducts follow, the human patterns and human spaces come first, and then transport, sewers and the like follow – not the reverse. 9. Similarly, visual expression follows. The human patterns come first, and then the visual ideas and “signifiers” follow – not the reverse. Otherwise we are simply making people live in disconnected sculptures, however worthy as such. 10. At the end of each cycle, the result is evaluated and the cycle is repeated. THE IMPLICATIONS FOR THE REGENERATION OF TRADITIONAL SETTLEMENTS Clearly it will not be enough to consign a few traditional structures to fossil-like preservation in museums, while the rest of the world is continually swept away and reinvented in a shiny new form. As I think this discussion begins to show, such a tabula rasa approach, which once seemed so modern, is a relic of the science that underlay an earlier industrial age. We now see that it is inconsistent with the evolutionary processes that produce adaptive morphogenesis, and achieve the sustainable equilibrium we seek. It is unsustainable, and it threatens our very survival.

200

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

The evidence is increasing that we must re-assess and reform our methods of producing environmental structure. We must create a more sophisticated, more evolutionary kind of “operating system” for growth. Nor, this discussion suggests, will it be enough to merely copy the traditional structures from another time, including urban structures or urban patterns. As we see, there is always a transformation going on in any living process, and to keep traditions alive we must also revive the evolutionary processes that produced them. Tradition, as Goethe observed, is the tending of the fire, not the worship of the ashes. Much remains to be done, and we are keen to discuss opportunities for further development. But Alexander’s hopeful message is that the patterns of a more healing kind of growth are already all around us. We can find them in the structures of nature, and the processes that produce them. We can find them in the collective intelligence of traditional structures and traditional knowledge, ready to be revived and regenerated, as part of the living tissue of our globe. The writer Jorge Luis Borges put it best, “that between the traditional and the new, or between order and adventure, there is no real opposition; and what we call tradition today is a knitwork of centuries of tradition.” Let us only resume that knitwork, and discover the renaissance that nature offers us.

References: 1. Alexander, Christopher (1964) Notes on the Synthesis of Form, Oxford University Press, New York 2. Alexander, Christopher (1965) “A City is Not A Tree,” Website of Resource for Urban Design Information, http://www.rudi.net/pages/8755 (retrieved December 11, 2006) 3. Alexander, Christopher et al. (1977) A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction, Oxford University Press, New York 4. Alexander, Christopher (2004) The Nature of Order, CES Publishing, Berkeley, California 5. Goodwin, Brian (1994) “A Science of Qualities”, in How the Leopard Changed its Spots: The Evolution of Complexity, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York 6. Jacobs, Jane (1961) The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Viking Press, New York 7. Whitehead, Alfred North (1938) Modes of Thought, MacMillan Publishing, New York Website: 1. www.livingneighborhoods.org (Centre for Environmental Structure - Europe is a knitwork of centuries of tradition)

Climatic Responsiveness In Traditional Built Form Of Lucknow Dr. Mohammad Arif Kamal Assistant Professor, Department of Architecture College of Environmental Design King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals Dhahran, Saudi Arabia INTRODUCTION Today we live in an energy intensive built environment with the hope for a better quality of life. Architecture developed in this industrial age is highly dependant on mechanical controls resulting in high level of energy consumption. Buildings, as they are designed and used today, contribute to serious environmental problems because of excessive consumption of energy and other natural resources. The close connection between energy use in buildings and environmental damage arises because energy intensive solutions sought to construct a building and meet its demands for heating, cooling, ventilation, and lighting, which causes severe depletion of invaluable environmental resources. Modern technologies are adopted without studying their suitability with regard to culture and climate. In the past, people built their houses in harmony with the environment as well as with optimal utilization of the available local building materials. The use of natural and passive means in traditional houses was very effective in providing a thermally comfortable space, which was warm in winter and cool in summer. This was the result due to repeated cycles of trial and error and the experience of generations of builders. The indigenous architecture evolved through the entire spectrum from individual building to settlement pattern, responds through form, thermal mass, spatial hierarchy, activity pattern, material and construction. An architectural heritage that survived for centuries because of geometric, technical and constructive principles that worked for the society, is being sadly destroyed under the guise of modernization. Traditional buildings are being abandoned, as it is perceived that they reflect underdevelopment and poverty.

temperature and relative humidity were measured outside the building and in different indoor spaces for every two hours for a complete one-day cycle for each building with the help of digital thermo hygrometer. 3. Comparative analysis of the thermal performance of the buildings. NATURAL AND PASSIVE TECHNIQUES EMPLOYED IN TRADITIONAL BUILT FORM OF LUCKNOW The traditional buildings in Lucknow have employed some ingenious natural and passive features and techniques in order to maintain thermal comfort within the building. The various passive design features that have been employed in the traditional residential buildings in old settlement of Lucknow have been identified and explained in terms of its climatic implication, the conceptual understanding thereof and its effect on the building design. Town Layout The layout of the old town is the first defense against the harsh climate of Lucknow. The buildings are joined close to each other to form a dense cluster. The houses, share walls and this minimize the surface exposed to the sun. The house plan and design is characterized by a courtyard type house, sometimes with an underground level. The house opens on to narrow streets through a hierarchy of spaces that become the interface between the street and the house. This helped the buildings to shade one another as well as to shade the streets by the balcony and sunshade projections or by the buildings opposite. With fairly high buildings and width of streets rarely more than three meters, one can move around the town in cool shade (Fig.1). A study of street section design in response to solar geometry reveals a sophisticated relationship between street width, building height and projections to create a cool shaded environment in hot summers by mutual shading. The major streets are oriented almost E-W and minor streets at right angles to these and are in the direction of the prevailing wind, which creates a low-pressure area in the open space thus moving the air from the streets into the living spaces.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The present study hypothises that the traditionally constructed and designed houses are considered to be more climate responsive as compared to the houses designed to modern constructional designs. The research methodology involves identification of various natural and passive design features that have been employed in the traditional residential buildings in old settlement of Lucknow. The research also involves the study of thermal performance through on-site monitoring of two traditional houses and one modern dwelling unit of Lucknow. Both quantitative and qualitative methods of gathering data were used. These included: 1. Recording of the physical form and construction systems of the buildings and settlements. 2. Recording the thermal performance in all the three buildings during the period of climatic extremes. The experiments were conducted during the third week of January 2004 and first week of June 2004. The

Fig.1: Narrow streets providing a cool shaded environment

Sustainable Buildings

201

Orientation

Water Body

The houses generally open on the major streets (E-W orientation) and onto the minor street (N-S) orientation. Considering (for simplicity) an E-W street orientation, in summer the sun would be shining on the south facade from 9.30 a.m. to 2.30 p.m. The corresponding solar altitudes during this time are 54o to 86o and even small horizontal projections are sufficient to shade the south facing buildings. The north face of the building receives solar radiation before 8 a.m. and after 4 p.m. with solar altitude being less than 35o. At this time the building opposite shades the northern facade even if the street is relatively wide. For streets oriented N-S, the summer sun shines on the east facade till 11.30 a.m. and the west facade after 12.30 p.m. The solar altitude during these periods varies from 0o to 79o. With a narrow street, the building facades would be shaded before 10.30 a.m. and after 1.30 p.m. Thus, solar radiation would be incident on the E-W facades for no more than an hour each which is taken care of by the massive wall construction.

Water body, fountains and water cascades can be found in the palatial buildings of Nawabs. Water bodies have been provided in front of the building, within the building or on the terraces. Baolis or underground step-wells have been provided in few of the bigger buildings or kothis. The smaller residential houses generally do not have any water body, but in few buildings water fountains can be found which are located in the central courtyard. Evaporative cooling takes place due to the presence of water that makes the environment cool.

Vegetation The bigger traditional houses or kothis of Lucknow have bigger gardens and baradaries. A baradari is a pavilion having twelve doors or arched openings for the purpose of airing while it shelters the inmates from the sun and rain. The smaller traditional houses have a few small trees and shrubs planted mostly in the courtyard. The vegetation near the vicinity of the building helps in creating comfortable environmental. Plants and grassy covers reduce temperatures by absorption of solar radiation and cool by evaporation. Sometimes the trees also shade the building as well as the nearby spaces, which reduces the heat gain (Fig. 2)

Fig. 3: Evaporative cooling due to water fountain

Verandah Verandahs are found widely in the traditional buildings of Lucknow. The verandahs are generally located at the entrance or around the courtyard, shading the peripheral rooms. They function as a transitional space between enclosed rooms and outdoor spaces. Verandah provides shade to the walls to reduce heat gain. Verandah on the southern face is the most effective building element, which allows the sun to reach the interiors in winters, and prevents it in summers. Thus, verandahs screen interior space from the penetrating rays of the subtropical sun and prevent wind-blown rain from entering living space.

Fig. 2: Vegetation giving cooling effect due to evapo-transpiration

202

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Fig. 4: Verandah acting as a buffer space Courtyards

Courtyards The courtyards can be found in most of the traditional buildings of Lucknow. They are mostly centrally located and are completely opened to the clear sky or partially shaded with overhangs. This also provides shaded spaces which results in reducing heat gain. Such spaces are commonly referred to as microclimate modifiers. The centrally placed courtyard provides light to all the spaces and also provides air movement due to induced ventilation through the openings on the walls facing the courtyard. The functioning of the courtyard during the 24-hour cycle can be subdivided into three phases. In the first phase, cool night air descends into the courtyard and into the surrounding rooms. The structure and the furniture are cooled and remain so until late afternoon. In addition the courtyard loses heat rapidly by radiation to the clear night sky. Therefore, the courtyard is often used for sleeping during summer nights. During the second phase, at midday, the sun strikes the courtyard floor directly. The warm air begins to rise and also leaks out of the surrounding rooms. This induces convective currents, which may provide further comfort. At this phase the courtyard acts as a chimney and the outside air is at its peak temperature. The massive walls do not allow the external heat to penetrate immediately. During the last phase, by late afternoon, the courtyard floor and the interior rooms become warmer. Most of the trapped cool air spills out by sunset. After sunset the air temperature falls rapidly as the courtyard begins to radiate rapidly to the clear night sky. Cool night air begins to descend into the courtyard, completing the cycle.

Fig. 6 High ceilings increase the volume of air space to heat up.

The bigger palatial houses or kothis have a greater ceiling height, which varies from 16 to 18 feet whereas the ceiling height in smaller traditional houses varies from 12 to 14 feet. Greater ceiling heights improve environmental conditions in summer time by permitting warm air to rise. Greater ceiling height increases the volume of the enclosed space, thus it takes more time for the internal air to get heated up as compared to the buildings of low height ceilings. Massive Walls The walls of traditional buildings are massive with a thickness varying from 45 cm to 60 cm. The thick walls are constructed with lakhauri bricks and mortar of lime and surkhi. The walls are sometimes pointed or mostly finished with lime and stucco plaster. Thermally heavyweight construction is part of the climate responsive strategy for both the cool and the warm period. Buildings with high mass structure utilize their thermal storage capabilities to achieve cooling in different ways: (i) Damping out interior daily temperature swings (ii) Delaying daily temperature extremes (iii) Ventilating, flushing the building at night. Furthermore the thick walls, in addition to their insulating properties, act as a heat reservoir. During the hot day, the heat flow from exterior (due to solar radiation) to the inside is retarded and during cooler hours a part of the stored heat in the walls is released to the interior. This results in a minimization of temperature change inside the building. On the other hand, in winter, heating requirements are reduced due to the heat stored in the walls and which is radiated during the night.

Fig. 5: Courtyard inducing air movement

High Ceilings One of the features associated with most of the traditional buildings of Lucknow is a high ceiling. The height of ceiling in traditional buildings depends on the building typology.

Fig. 7: Massive walls increases time lag

Sustainable Buildings

203

the room to take its place. Thus it creates a stack effect. A typical vent near the ceiling increases the velocity of air entering into the building and hence resulting in lowering of the pressure at the ceiling level, thereby inducing the hot air under the roof to flow out through the vent. In this way air is kept circulating through the room under the roof. Ventilators also function as clerestory windows to light the interior spaces, which do not have any exposed surface to admit light through window openings. Fig. 8: Heavy roofs provide insulation.

Heavy Roofs As walls have been protected from solar radiation due to orientation and mutual shading, the main area of solar heat gain in buildings becomes the roof. The thickness of roof varies from 30 cm to 45 cm. Basically two types of construction techniques are used for roofs and floors. One method used is by laying closely spaced timber beams covered with reed or grass matting and a thick layer of lime concrete on top. The second type of roof construction comprises of Jack Arch Roof with lakhauri bricks on steel girders covered with thick lime concrete with brick ballasts and surkhi. In both cases the roofs and floors are finished with lime and cement plaster. The massive roof construction of thickness ensures a very small decrement factor and a large time lag. Openings At higher temperatures, ensuring air movement in the built space through openings provides human thermal comfort in traditional buildings. When buildings are tightly clustered together, it is generally difficult to let winds into the house and air movement due to temperature differentials is usually too sluggish to cause any comfort unless special design features augment it. Hence the windows in traditional houses of Lucknow are bigger in size to facilitate ventilation. They are efficiently shaded from direct solar radiation. However, in winter when there is no special need for air movement, window apertures are opened during the day to store the thermal radiation and are kept shut at night. Windows also provide sufficient daylight into the interiors of the buildings. More window openings can be found on the north and east side of most of the traditional buildings which facilitates natural light and air movement to reach indoors without increasing heat gain. Small or less openings are provided on the south and southwest side to prevent heat gain.

Fig. 10: Ventilators expelling warm air

Jharokhas Jharokhas are another characteristic feature of traditional buildings of Lucknow. In tune with the need for privacy for women, facades are characterized by small openings often in the form of jharokhas, elements essentially generated by social customs of allowing women to peep out without being seen. These are infact, small size openings that can be found on the outer surface of the building facade. They create suction effect to facilitate forced air movement from the exterior environment into the interiors of the building. In most of the buildings Jharokhas are provided on the upper floors. Sometimes they are projected in the form of small bay windows and are richly carved.

Fig. 11: Jharokhas induce forced air

Skylight Skylights can be found in some of the traditional buildings of Lucknow, especially in the bigger residential buildings such as kothis and havelis. The skylight above the central space lights the interior space naturally. Skylights provide satisfactory lighting for activities that can tolerate large variations in illumination level. They are mostly located on the North side of the building and even allow these areas to gain some heat. Openings in the skylight create stack effect or induced ventilation in the surrounding spaces. They are sometimes fixed with tinted glass for decorative effect. Overhangs and Balconies

Fig. 9: Shaded Windows as openings

Ventilators Ventilators are prominent features that are found in almost all the traditional buildings. They are manually operated and provided just below the ceiling. The warmer air rises and leaves the space and cooler air from the court enters

204

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Balconies and building projections are another characteristic features of traditional buildings in Lucknow. The advantage of the structural projections is to shade the building from direct solar radiation, which results in the reduction of heat gain. The depth of balconies and overhangs has been judiciously provided so as to cut off the solar radiations in summer and allow the winter sun to come into the building.

Surface Texture and Colour In Lucknow textured surfaces are used in the exterior finish of the building facades, which are likely to be exposed to sun. The walls are sometimes pointed or mostly finished with lime and stucco plaster. The elevation of a typical traditional house is treated with stucco on motifs and floral patterns made up of lime plaster. Obviously the use of decorative carved surfaces is not governed by the need for sun control only but also used for its decorative effect. The external surfaces of traditional buildings in Lucknow are generally painted with light colours that reflect solar radiation (in order to have minimum absorption). Whitewashing reduces the absorptivity of the wall surface, minimizing the effect of solar radiation on internal climate and tends to stabilize the internal temperature.

Fig. 12: Overhangs and projections shading the building from direct solar radiation

Balconies have been projected in front of large openings to prevent direct solar radiation to enter the rooms through these openings. Jaali If the courtyards are the largest holes in a traditional house of Lucknow then on the other end of the scale are the intricately carved stone jaali. The advantage of a jaali is that it blocks the direct rays of the sun and yet permits air to enter the room and is designed to grant privacy. Jaalis and screens not only have the advantage of interrupting solar gain, but also to reduce glare, Fig.13 (a) : Jaalis facilitate cross ventilation, filter facilitate ventilation and light, allow controlled view, and cast screening effect intricate and playful shadow pattern sthat continually change.

Fig. 14: Textured exterior surfaces for less absorption of solar radiations

THERMAL PERFORMANCE OF TRADITIONAL HOUSES After a careful archival survey of the traditional and modern day buildings, two traditional residential houses were selected for conducting experiments and analyzing the thermal performance of each building. The two traditional houses are of the courtyard type having different floor area but of same building form. The criteria for the selecting the traditional residential buildings were based on: (1) being moderate in size, (2) containing traditional architectural elements, and (3) could be accessible to the investigator. Both the two traditional buildings are located in chowk, an old settlement of Lucknow.

Fig.13 (b) : Jaalis facilitate ventilation and screening effect

Case Study 1: Rizvi House This is a traditional courtyard house in Chowk at Lucknow, built around 1915 basically to serve the purpose of ‘Janana Sustainable Buildings

205

Fig.15: Ground floor (left) & First floor (right) plan of Rizvi House

Imambara’ or ladies mourning place (Fig.16). The mourning still takes place at the time of Moharram (first month of Islamic calendar) in the Majlisi or the ‘mourning hall’ and for the rest of the time of the year the Majlisi is used as a living room. It is a double storey building with a small central courtyard of dimension 7.05m X 6.4m surrounded by living rooms on three sides and entrance on the north side of the courtyard (Fig.17). The Majlisi is a double height hall, which opens to three imambaras in the front and two mosques at both level on its right and a room on its left (Fig. 18). Features of Rizvi House The building is slightly shifted towards west maintaining the NE-SW orientation (Fig.15). The maximum openings and the entrance are on the NE side i.e. the windward direction. There are few openings on south east side and no openings on southwest side. The absence of the openings on exterior surfaces helps in reducing heat gains. The main entrance opens into the narrow shaded street, which induces cool air from the street into the building. The courtyard facilitates shaded spaces and facilitates ventilation in the interiors through the openings facing the courtyard. The projection of eaves in the courtyard provides shade from direct solar radiation into the rooms, which opens into the courtyard.

Fig.16: View of Rizvi House

Fig 17: View of Courtyard

Fig.19: Summer temperature profile (left) and winter temperature profile (right) of Rizvi House.

206

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Fig.18: Double Height Majlisi

The jharokhas on the northern face of the building catch prevailing wind and hence provides air circulation into the rooms on first floor. The masonry walls are 18” thick constructed with lakhauri bricks and finished with lime plaster. The roof is 14” thick constructed of jack arch with lakhauri bricks on steel girders and finished with lime concrete. The massive walls and heavy roofs offer greater thermal resistance and hence increase the time lag. The exterior and interior of the building is white washed which helps in reflecting solar radiation. Case Study 2: Qaiser Jahan House This is a courtyard house of late Mrs. Qaiser Jahan Begum in Nakkhas at Lucknow, which is around 125 years old. The entrance of the house opens into a narrow street (Fig.20). There is an entrance lobby, which opens directly into the courtyard. The square shaped courtyard of dimensions 10.75m X 10.0m is centrally located, enclosed by rooms on three sides and an entrance on the west side. The eastern side of the courtyard has a double height hall (Fig.21) and on the other three side of the court are single height structures. The double height hall opens into an Imambara and two bedrooms. This double height hall is also used as a ‘majlisi’ or mourning place during Moharram. On the north side of courtyard is the kitchen, a bathroom and a toilet and on the southern side of the courtyard are two living rooms. Features of Qaiser Jahan House The house opens into the narrow street, which is shaded by the balconies and projections of the buildings on both sides. The entrance to the house is through a lobby, which opens into a central courtyard. As the courtyard gets heated up during the day the hotter air rises and denser, cooler air, which is drawn from the shaded streets, rushes into the courtyard and hence induces ventilation in the interiors of the surrounding rooms. (Fig. 22) The absence of the openings on exterior surfaces helps in reducing heat gains. The double height entrance on the south west side provides shade to the building from the afternoon sun. The thickness of the wall is 24” and constructed of lakhauri bricks finished with lime surkhi plaster. The roof is 18” thick constructed of brick ballast mixed with lime surkhi mortar laid on timber sheets supported by timber beams. The massive walls, heavy roof and timber ceiling offer greater thermal insulation and hence increase the time lag. The ventilators near the ceiling facilitate stack effect and extract the warm air from the rooms. There is also evaporative

Fig.20 Entrance opening in a narrow street

Fig. 22: View of Courtyard

Fig.21 Double Height hall with timber ceiling

Fig.23: East Side Elevation

cooling due to vegetation in the surroundings (fig.23). The exterior of the building is plastered with lime mortar and whitewashed, which reflects the solar radiation to some extent. There is also a reduction of heat gain by providing textural shading due to ornamentation and stucco work on the building facade. THERMAL HOUSE

PERFORMANCE

OF

MODERN

Case Study 3: LDA. House This building is a M.I.G. residence, which was built by the Lucknow Development Authority in Aishbagh, around 40 years back. (Fig. 25). It is a double storeyed building with living room, kitchen, toilet and one bedroom on the ground floor and one bedroom and toilet on the upper floor (fig.26). The construction consists of 9” thick load bearing brick masonry walls and 6” thick roof. The heights of the rooms are 3.0m and openings are of dimensions 0.9m X 1.2m Features of L.D.A. House This building is a part of semi detached row housing and it is compactly planned residence with a small front and

Fig.24: Summer temperature profile (left) and winter temperature profile (right) of Qaiser Jahan House.

Sustainable Buildings

207

rear yard. There are only few openings, which open into the front and rear yard, which obstruct the free movement of the air and do not provide cross ventilation. The living room is located on the western side without proper shading, which causes discomfort in summers. The roof of the first floor is 4” thick R.C.C. construction finished with small brick ballast and cement sand mortar. The roof is a major source of heat gain for the upper floor due to absence of appropriate terracing. There is no proper projection over openings and on the terrace level on south and west side to shade the walls on first floor. This causes the walls to heat up and hence permits the heat into the rooms through conduction. The plastered exterior surface with whitewash reflects solar radiation to some extent. INFERENCES 1. The data collected shows that the indoor air temperature in the two traditional buildings is 2- 3o C lower in summers and 2-3o C higher in winters as compared to the indoor temperatures in L.D.A house. 2. The difference between the sky and indoor temperature in traditional buildings is greater than the indoor temperature in L.D.A. house suggesting more comfort level in traditional buildings. 3. In traditional houses, the amplitude of indoor air temperature was not more than 4-5°C while the outdoor temperature fluctuation was of the order of 18-20°C. 4. In summer the mean maximum indoor temperature of different rooms of the traditional house was 1012°C lower and mean minimum temperature was 3-4°C higher than the outdoor minimum temperature whereas in L.D.A. house the mean maximum indoor temperature was 5-6°C lower and mean minimum temperature was 78°C higher than the outdoor minimum temperature. 5. In winter, in traditional houses there was 4-5°C temperature difference between mean maximum indoor temperature of different rooms and maximum outdoor temperature and 5-6°C temperature difference between mean minimum indoor temperature and the minimum outdoor temperature whereas in L.D.A. house there was difference of 8-9°C between mean maximum indoor temperature of different rooms and maximum outdoor temperature and 4-5°C temperature difference between mean minimum indoor temperature and minimum outdoor temperature. 6. The indoor peak temperatures occurs at about the same time as the outdoor peak temperature in traditional

Fig.25: View of L.D.A. House

Fig.26: Ground and First Floor Plan of L.D.A. House

buildings i.e. the time lag is around 24 hours due to massive thickness of walls whereas in L.D.A. house the indoor peak temperature is around 6 p.m. in the evening as the outdoor peak temperature is around 2 in the afternoon. 7. The courtyard system in traditional buildings ensured ventilation through the building even during the periods when the outdoor conditions were calm. The courtyard temperature was 1-2o C higher in late afternoons and 23o C lower in early morning as compared to the indoor temperatures of the rooms. 8. The areas of the building directly exposed to the

Fig.27: Summer temperature profile (left) and winter temperature profile (right) of L.D.A. House.

208

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

sun were 2-3o C higher in traditional buildings due to thick massive walls whereas in L.D.A. house it was at times 7-9°C higher than the corresponding ambient air temperature. 9. Building elements such as shading devices, buffer spaces like courts, verandahs etc. wind catchers screens, recessed openings, water body, vegetation helps in lowering the day temperature in traditional buildings whereas there are hardly any or few features which can be found in modern day houses. CONCLUSIONS In Lucknow, the layout of town is the first control mechanism against the climate. The buildings clustered together, separated only by narrow shaded streets. The street orientation ensures that the building facades are either shaded by overhangs, balconies, jharokhas, chajjas ,projections, or by the opposite building. Due to the shadow patterns, the building receives minimum radiation from direct solar exposure, which results in reducing peak heat flux into the building. The greater ceiling height increases the volume of the enclosed space, taking more time for the internal air to get heated up. The verandah served as a buffer space between the interiors and the outside environment. There is a time lag due to thick masonry wall and heavy roof construction system found in traditional houses of Lucknow. The courtyard system ensures ventilation through the building even during the calm outdoor conditions. The openings such as windows, ventilators and skylight provided cross ventilation, by creating stack effect. The ventilation apertures such as jharokhas, jaalis induce forced ventilation into the interiors of the buildings. The vegetation near the vicinity of the building reduces the heat gain by shading the building from direct solar radiation and cooled the interiors by evapotranspiration. The other landscape elements such as fountain, baoli (an underground step well or water tank) provided thermal comfort by lowering the air temperature due to evaporative cooling. The analysis of the experiments infer that the traditional building form, structure and materials were selected to suit the climatic conditions to ensure optimal comfort from climatic factors invading indoors, without mechanical means, i.e., heaters, fans, coolers, air conditioners etc. The principles of good thermal design used in traditional buildings are still valid today and it would still be possible for modern designers and architects to incorporate these design principles in buildings, which are suitable for modern day living to conserve energy and provide better thermal comfort. The solution perhaps lies in rediscovering the features and techniques used in the traditional buildings in recreating the contemporary architectural form. It is important for an architect to understand how to blend lessons from traditional heritage with modern technology in building design. Hence, it is essential to take the wisdom of the past and evolve a built form, which will be more humane more climate responsive and more environmental friendly.

Reference: 1. Ali Sayigh, A. Hamid Marafia (1998) Vernacular and contemporary buildings in Qatar, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Volume 2, Issues 1-2. Sustainable Buildings

209

Is Tradition Green ? INTBAU India This Panel Discussion, held on 14th January 2007 during the International Conference on New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions, dealt with the sub theme on “Continuing Traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism” in order to the address the increasingly pertinent query, “Whether ‘green’ should be a paradigmatic model to architecture and urbanism in modernizing India”. The primary issues raised were whether modern functionality in architecture overrides tradition, and whether the ‘Green’ approach in building just helps objectivise a traditional approach, which might otherwise be based on subjective criteria like collective memory. There was an attempt to understand the gap between upgraded traditional methods and modern hi-tech technology. The Discussion sought to answer whether modern technology and materials ensure true ‘green’ or just a green label as compared to a traditional approach in construction, materials and details. It also debated whether embodied energy or lifespan costs should be considered the criterion for understanding the ‘green’ approach, and which of the two approaches worked towards a truly environmentally sustainable outcome in building. The Panelists • Ashok B.Lall (Chair of the session) Architect & Dean of studies, TVB School of Habitat Studies, New Delhi • Gerard da Cunha Architect, Goa • P.C.Jain Delhi Head, CII Green Building Centre • Arvind Krishan Professor, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi • Nimish Patel Architect, Abhikram, Ahmedabad • V.Suresh Head, Good Governance India Foundation and Former CMD, HUDCO Ashok B.Lall: In order to view the subject of this panel over a broader frame work, an interpretation of the question, “Is Tradition Green” in different words is required. Rasem Badran’s work, steeped in tradition, began as being gentle and inclusive. Over a period of time, it became more exclusive, grand as well as brutal, the reason being the enormous concentration of wealth in certain places, a pattern which is spreading across the globe. On the other hand, in the works of Geoffrey Bawa, K.T. Ravindran, Gerard da Cunha and Nimish Patel, another pattern emerges through a distribution of initiative and wealth. It manages to retain the gentleness and the inclusiveness and still pursue development.

210

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

The current state of ongoing large scale development is bound to have major repercussions. This form of building is exacerbating the release of carbon dioxide due to energy over consumption, causing global warming, hastening the imminent melting of ice caps and the consequent inundation of islands. Within a period of 20 – 50 years, the inhabitants of such islands would have to move out. Therefore, the question that this forum intends to take up needs to be posed from a broader perspective. Nimish Patel: Tradition is construed as something which has lasted for centuries and has not been affected by passing phases. Traditional materials like lime, which have lasted for ages but have been forgotten over the last 60 years, need to be revived because they add to the life of buildings at a very low cost. It creates temperature differences from the outside to the inside, generates work for the craftsmen and allows multiple uses of that material in a variety of shapes, forms and textures. A traditional approach is definitely green, all the more because it is not governed by a market driven economy and the consequent usage of market driven materials.. V. Suresh: Green is not just a colour; but it reflects all that is embodied in nature with respect to land, water, air and the foliage all around. If traditional building construction has been able to stand the test of time, it is because it respects the changing seasons of nature in terms of heat, rain, snow and dust, which are the features of the external environment. For instance, in the ‘ikora’ (a kind of bamboo) wall housing of the buildings on the hilly terrain of the north-east, the mast is built as low as possible with clay on either side, making these earthquake resistant. The latest technologies being discussed in that region are bringing to fore the same traditional methods, of building framed structures with plinth, lintel and extra beams to withstand the forces of nature. Another example is the bunga walls of the Kutch region, which have been shown to withstand earthquakes. These are simple yet effective structures. According to Laurie Baker, traditional building related constraints like sloping roofs or verandahs to keep out extreme rain in the hot and humid environment act as a hat and boots to a building. Similarly, the havelis of Rajasthan are built to cope up with the dry arid weather of the desert. This approach is all about observing nature and responding to it. It is also about using natural resources that have rich potential, be it stone, bamboo, timber, lime or earth. Very high levels of energy are required to manufacture materials used in contemporary buildings. On the other hand the traditional construction materials have the least amount of energy utilization because they are nature’s formations created over a span of time. These materials should be given precedence over processed materials like glass, steel, aluminium, plastics, etc. that are manufactured using very high levels of energy. Processing also converts Limestone into a high-energy intensity form like cement with the usage of other materials. And, similarly, plain earth is converted into bricks. Traditional systems primarily utilize compression structures, be it the arch, the dome or the corbel and not tension based structures. Therefore, one experiences a feeling of

peace, tranquillity and a sense of beauty in these buildings. They also possess the right amount of space, externally and internally, for the various activities. Most importantly, their charm has not diminished over the ages. On the other hand, contemporary architecture with its reinforcements and embodiment of enormous energy adds a streak of arrogance to the landscape. Green is not just a colour, but epitomises all the aspects of making a sustainable building with environment friendly, ecologically appropriate and energy saving methods. The new vocabulary of “green building” is coming to the fore not only in terms of the materials used and their production but its subsequent usage, whether residential, commercial or institutional. Energy is an important concern and traditional buildings have been able to provide required environment and design for this. This comparison will arise continually as modern buildings use high amounts of energy for their continuous sustenance unlike traditional buildings which are low on energy consumption. At time of the evolution of these traditional building techniques, the available energy forms were few and therefore these methods automatically gained widespread usage P.C.Jain: I would like to present a slightly different viewpoint. Traditional buildings have always been ‘green’ without any doubt. This was due to their usage of natural ventilation, evaporation cooling, etc. For e.g., how did they keep cool during Shahjahan’s time? The forts were made of thick walls, and there were small windward openings along with large leeward openings where the wet curtains would cool the hot air coming from outside. Similar methods were used in Jaisalmer and other places in Rajasthan. But tradition being ‘green’ does not answer our contemporary needs. We are now living in the computer age and most of us work from 9 to 5 or sometimes even 9 to 9. As a result, today’s lifestyle demands that we use some sort of artificial methods for comfort. Though comfort is really a state of mind, we still need to provide some physiological comfort in buildings. In case of schools, residences, clinics, etc., one can provide natural methods of cooling, for e.g. utilization of water to bring the temperature up to a comfort level. But what does one do about modern buildings with curtain walls, glazed structures, glass houses, etc. which are totally alien to our environment? The idea of bringing the “Green Building” movement to the country is to minimize on energy consumption, though we cannot do away with additional energy completely. But, one need not waste 15 watts per square foot when one can do with 7 and one need not have 200 square feet per ton when one can do with 400. This is the essential premise of the “Green Building” movement. Arvind Krishan: It’s been largely assumed that tradition is green. But, the crux of this argument lies in the definition of ‘green’ and more importantly, on its overall sustainability. Is it sustainable in its ecological context, in the function that it has to perform and most importantly, is it sustainable for tomorrow? Does it respond to the future generations for whom this legacy in being built? Is Tradition Green and is it always green? It has been largely assumed that it is always green but I would like to put forth a slightly different viewpoint.

We have researched and worked on contemporary buildings using various traditional techniques. There is a certain romantic notion behind the assumption that tradition is always ‘green’, which needs examination in its totality. When one says that tradition is ‘green’, it is important to understand the processes that go behind it - the process of design, building and the usage of the traditional platform. The inevitability of the situation is that the maximum numbers of buildings are being built for the sector which demands artificial controls. For example, the so-called IT Parks are buildings that have become very prevalent and these are contained buildings. On the other hand, a building as a form is also situated in a certain time and place, and is always interactive with its surroundings. How does one respond to these opposite ends of the spectrum? One of the important tasks is to find a method of interpreting tradition and translating it in the modern context. Otherwise, it is a little misjudged to suggest that building the way we have been doing over the centuries is the only right solution. The learning principles to be derived from tradition are the lessons that nature bestows on us. But how do we define nature, which is complex in terms of the site that the building sits upon, and in the way the building has to respond to climate. When a road is constructed or a building is built, we degrade land. Tradition responds to this kind of responsibility by using natural materials and by the manner in which the built forms are generated wherein the materials used would bring in the elements of nature. The other lesson concerning tradition is based on the parameters on which it works. Tradition works on the principles of natural ventilation and natural lighting and by providing the required thermal conditions through an interface between nature and built form. Can these lessons be translated into the modern context, into for instance an IT Park or a five star hotel? If we don’t find an answer to this, we will ourselves be overwhelmed by the present systems of looking at or defining ‘green’, such as LEED or other star rating systems that are now coming up in India. If we do not find a way of explaining, processing or evaluating a design, there won’t be any suitable alternative. Therefore, the way about is to translate the traditional process into the modern context in the most holistic way. One of the scientific processes that has been developed and is now being used extensively is “the Ecological Footprint”, wherein every design, every building and settlement, regardless of its location would have an ecological footprint which can be controlled and evaluated. Gerard da Cunha: I will discuss the question of “Is Tradition Green” based on the issues one faces while designing in Goa, utilizing the traditional Goan house as an example. The first issue is that of the material used in building. Local stone, which has been used traditionally, and is quarried nearby, is viable even today instead of cement blocks which are currently becoming prevalent in modern day houses. On the other hand, the traditional Mangalore tile or wooden roofs aren’t feasible anymore due to the depleting forest resources and the rising prices of wood. People also prefer a permanent roof which affords better security as well as negligible maintenance. The same can be said for the wooden doors and windows. The lavish and formal design of these houses were meant for large families where privacy was not an

Sustainable Buildings

211

issue. In today’s changed time, this kind of house is not in preference anymore.

building designs are created, a lack of appropriate byelaws supporting sustainable design comes in the way.

But in terms of climatic design, many lessons abound here. For example, the Goan house had a courtyard, which drew the hot air out and created a draught. Conversely, the older houses were built on much larger plots which don’t exist anymore and a courtyard now becomes quite difficult to incorporate in the design. The windows in Goan houses started from the floor level since in a hot and humid climate, it is very important to have air passing over the body. Another important climatic feature was a specific tile on the roof, which took the hot air out without trapping it in the living space. In addition, at the top of the wall, an opening would pull the hot air out. These are some of the aspects that need to be imbibed from tradition. Therefore, certain practices can be borrowed from tradition, but without direct replication. In fact, if one were to build a traditional Goan house today, it would be a waste of money and resources.

S. Badrinarayanan:

While designing a house today, the most important thing is to make the least impact on the resources of this fragile earth, and that depends on the choice of materials. For instance, instead of Jodhpur sandstone or Italian marble for a house in Goa, one might try and utilize locally available materials. Sensitivity to the site, whether in terms of following the contours, instead of cutting, or in terms of saving a tree, is quite important. This sensitivity is not just traditional, but is important in general for professionals, who need to play a proactive role in such decision making. Recycling in also important, for instance in using old bottles as fillers in old walls and roofs. It can play an important role in today’s context because older areas are being renewed and broken down, creating a large potential for usage of this recycled material. All of this needs to work together with new scientific principles, for e.g. that of a shaded wall, as important environment friendly design criteria. Ashok B.Lall: Summing up all the presented thoughts, the most pressing issue for the environment, at a global level, seems to be the issue of reducing the consumption of fossil fuel energy in the built environment. This critical and central issue can be addressed in two ways - one is the type of materials used and the way in which it is used in buildings to provide for today’s needs. The other is the configuration of the usage of these materials to minimize the need for conditioned comfort inside buildings. At the same time, there is also the issue of defining ‘need’ itself. The necessity of an IT Park or a five star hotel cannot be disputed, but within these, there may be some variations that can be expressed . And with some imagination, the IT scenario can be created at home and the necessity for artificial comfort and central conditioning done away with. Therefore “need” as a definition of the issue, while dealing with the energy consumption of materials or preservation of the environment, should also be subject to questioning. OPEN HOUSE Arun Bhandari: Nowhere in the entire National Building Code is the idea of sustainability discussed. Why is this the case and when and how will this issue be raised? Moreover, even though good 212

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

The need of defining the kind of architecture we produce is relevant. Does the architect also, sometimes, need to take on the role of educating the client? It would be useful if the nature of this ‘need’ to interact with the client could be illustrated. Delegate: There is a need to communicate to the public at large that ‘Tradition is Green’ and disseminate the need to adopt traditional practices in the present day scenario. There is also a need to teach our architects that it is their job to educate their clients in this regard. It would be important to create suggestions, which can go on to be implemented at a later stage not by the corporate sector but also, by the people who are building small buildings, whether residential, commercial or industrial. Anjali Krishan Sharma: Gerard talked about incorporating selective traditional practices as he is doing in his buildings. If on one hand we associate continuity and tradition as synonyms and on the other, one continues with this selective process, then over a period of time one would be, in some way, rewriting the whole essence of the idea of tradition. Gerard da Cunha: It is the sensible thing to do. Tradition offers us a lot of wisdom and we must sensibly make use of what is applicable today and change that which isn’t. For instance, it is useless borrowing historical façade details from the west. But if one needs to use GI sheeting then one should use it and let it form its own language. We must move forward with our traditions even if we need to change it sometimes. Arvind Krishan: Tradition is not something to be fossilized. It does not have to be replicated the way it was employed a hundred years ago. When we talk about tradition going forward, we are talking about adopting the design principles incorporated in the tradition. They are to be respected and they must also evolve. Blindly using traditional materials would be a futile exercise. For.e.g., Goa is in the lower latitude of the country and there exists a huge amount of radiation. To cut this radiation, traditional materials can be substituted with those which use less resources and energy and are more effective for this purpose. Regarding the NBCC, after a huge discussion on the issue of whether one can have a chapter on energy efficiency, it was decided that certain elements that were required- in terms of lighting, the way of building- would embed issues of sustainability and reduction of energy consumption. There is also a parallel exercise that is almost completed now, called the ECBC, “the Energy Code for Building Construction in the Country”. The draft has already been circulated and once it has been formally notified, it will be in force. The central question is whether legislation is the only answer. The answer really is the initiative, and the imaginative,

innovative aspect of design which has to come inherently from the architect and not from outside. If the assumption is that the law courts will enforce sustainability, then we are making a big mistake. Regarding the issue of bringing all this into the public realm, we have already been trying to do our best for the past thirty years. This discussion is, in a way, a reflection of what has been happening over that period. Ashok Lall: For environment sustainability and energy conservation issues, the engineering as well as the architectural disciplines must integrate and view the problems in perspective. Apart from that, all the other disciplines should be associated as well. P.C. Jain: Besides energy, water is also an important conservation issue. Water is precious and is running out. The objective of “zero discharge” is important, which means that the water received at a site during rains should be harvested and recharged with zero discharge to the outside. Recently, a green building has been designed in NOIDA with 146 work stations, zero artificial lighting and an air conditioning load of just 400 square feet/ton, half the normal amount. Therefore, it is possible to design a building while conserving energy and still creating comfortable conditions, together with harnessing of daylight and minimum usage of water. V.Suresh: We don’t have to swing like a pendulum between one extreme of using traditional forms and the other extreme of modern, high-energy, glitzy box like structures. What we need is balance, and options which can combine the merits of design, planning and materials of both traditional and modern forms. The need is for intermediate, appropriate and sustainable options. There is a lot of misinformation, or lack of information regarding the building code. There exists substantial amount of information and coverage on sustainable development in the approximately 1233 pages of the National Building Code. Secondly, Legislation and building regulations do help to some extent, for e.g., solar energy, which is being tapped in a large way and water harvesting; but cannot be the only criteria. The creativity of the designer should bring forth sustainable options with legislation providing the enabling framework.

Sustainable Buildings

213

Development Of Indian Traditions: Constructivist Approach In The Design Studio S Badrinarayanan Visiting Faculty School of Planning & Architecture TVB School of Habitat Studies, New Delhi Before we embark on the rather ambitious task of addressing the issue of tradition and culture in architectural education in India, it would be pertinent to clarify one’s stand on the issue. The most natural questions to follow would be: A. What traditions and whose cultures? B. Should one take a conservative or a progressive stance? C. What is our authority as educators to decide on the above? At any given time in history these choices have been faced time and again by individuals and civilizations. The essential question is not of traditions but whether the choice to follow them be left to individuals or be usurped by the authority of institutions--be it family, community, school, college or state. It is this very fundamental question that will have far reaching implications on both the choice of our educational material and the appropriate teaching methodology. As far as the first question of what tradition and whose culture-- Can we start by understanding what confronts us on a daily basis; i.e. our ‘selves’ and our immediate context? The reality is that each of us has many simultaneous layers of identities and ‘selves’. In India, some of these are chronological, sedimentary layers of feudal culture, colonial culture, consumer culture and now the most fashionable, eco-culture. While the older layers lie half-erased and dormant, depending on the situation one or the other might suddenly (and embarrassingly!) reveal itself in our behavior, institutions and cultural expression. The difficulty is that one cannot isolate one layer in place and time, a mythical golden period, to claim that is our true, authentic tradition. We have to start by seeing what we are simultaneously at present, warts and all. This also naturally includes all that surrounds us in its present heterogeneous, hybrid glory. To address the second question of conservative or progressive, one can look to nature for inspiration. Analogies have been drawn between genes (genetic information that replicates itself) and memes (bits of cultural know-how passed on from one generation to the next by imitation)). Just as genes compete for selection, so do memes for survival (Csiksenzentmihalyi 1996). Just as species evolve through selection and genetic mutation, so do cultures evolve through selection and innovation. Without getting caught in the moral debate of whether ‘survival of the fittest’ applies in the case of cultural selection, one can instead learn from the fact that nature does not entirely wipe out less evolved life forms in favor of more evolved ones. If that was the case, the planet would have been overrun by the apes. In other words, monopoly, whether in life-forms, ideas or practices does not seem to be sustainable in the long run. The real miracle of nature is in spite of ceaseless competition, there exists a dynamic web of co-existence and interdependence where complex life forms depend on relatively simpler life forms and vice versa. 214

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

In nature, life forms constantly adapt themselves to changing contexts to survive and if these changes occur too rapidly, they perish and so it is with cultures which cannot adapt to changing conditions. As in nature, in culture too ‘pure’ strains are vulnerable to attack by disease and ‘hybrid’ ones are more robust. In history, very often the search for collective cultural ‘authenticity’ and ‘purity’ has been driven by anxiety about self-identity and has led to denial, stagnation, and violent acts of ‘cleansing’. What sets human beings apart is that we are blessed (or cursed) with a conscious awareness of the choice of our memes while other life forms (at least so we think) merely follow the genetic ‘program’. In fact here is where education plays a critical role. An ideal education would be that which passes on the relevant memes to the learner, while making the individual acutely conscious and aware of that inherent sense of choice. It would foster criticality (Crysler 1995) about what to stop, what to start and what to continue from tradition and the norm. It would encourage ‘self ’reflection, awareness and compassion for the ‘other’. Real education would be a transaction of empowerment, not enslavement. There have been debates on the nature of knowledge and knowing and that has led to many philosophies and theories. The primary debate has been whether knowledge exists outside the self (objectivist) and is passively absorbed by the self or is it actively constructed by the self (constructivist). The following table (Fig.1) explains the two radically different approaches further. If the above table is reminiscent of the classic binary division of ‘left brain Vs right brain’, and therefore an ‘either-or’ argument, it isn’t. The objectivist idea of knowledge corresponded to our earlier understanding of the human brain as a ‘processor’ of random, independent bits of information. This mechanistic model has been replaced by our present understanding which indicates that the brain is a ‘creator and sustainer of patterns’ which are based on a sequence of our lived experience. It has been found that we can only ‘know’ something through something that we know already. The most recent neurological research has established that the anatomy of the human brain does correspond to a large extent as postulated by the constructivists (Zull 2002). If all learning indeed involves this subjectivity of the ‘self ’, does it mean that objectivist approach is better suited to science subjects? How are we to transfer existing canons and theories that have developed and evolved over centuries of human experience and thought? Interestingly, research indicates that even scientific principles are ultimately internalized and assimilated by learners though a process of ‘active construction’ (Zull 2002). This fundamental breakthrough in the understanding of how humans learn begs a corresponding paradigm shift in the educational process; from that of ‘instruction’ to that of ‘facilitating knowledge construction’; pedagogy that helps learners relate to an existing body of knowledge through their personal experience while nurturing their innate sense of enquiry, intelligence and imagination. Constructivist approach therefore seems to be more appropriate to fulfilling the true purpose of education mentioned earlier. In the objectivist approach, the equation of power and authority is heavily tilted in the teacher’s favor. It does not

OBJECTIVIST

CONSTRUCTIVIST

• One correct way to structure world in terms of properties, entities and relations

• Many ways to structure the world, determined by experience and interpretations of the learner

• No prior knowledge or experience required. Prior knowledge might cloud understanding

• New knowledge is built on prior knowledge and experience

• Meaning is external to the learner and is independent of the understanding of the learner

• Meaning is imposed on the world by us and is indexed by experience

• Knowledge can be fragmented into specialized categories

• Knowledge is integrated and proceeds from simple wholes to complex wholes

UNIVERSAL: Regardless of self, time or place

CONTEXTUAL: Rooted in self, time and place

TEACHER CENTERED

LEARNER CENTERED

Fig. 1 (source: http://www.personal.psu.edu/txl166/kb/theory/obj_con.html)

encourage multiple perspectives, and neither does it foster self- reflection; in fact it neutralizes the learners. For the purposes of critically examining self, culture or tradition, the objectivist approach to education has been found to be too canonical, universalized and therefore clumsy. All discussion on education within the objectivist frame of reference is naturally restricted to syllabus and curriculum, implying that merely restructuring the content automatically translates into effective education. With new developments in knowledge or techniques, more and more ‘subjects’ simply get ‘added’ without ever bothering to know how is it all to be integrated in the learner. It is hoped of course that it would all happen automatically. Perhaps we need to pay more attention to how we teach what we teach i.e., worry less about defining the ideal ‘knowledge of architecture’ and worry more about ‘architecture of knowledge’; the process of how is architectural knowledge acquired, assimilated, integrated and applied in the real world. The best knowledge would be ‘how to learn’ so that it remains a self-sustained, life-long project for the learner. Unfortunately, Architectural Education in India, like all other education for that matter, seems to be cast and continues to function ostrich like in the objectivist mode. It treats all learners as ‘empty vessels’ (Crysler 1995) and does not seek to engage with the learners’ ‘selves’ and lived experience. Instead culture, tradition and history are projected as exotic, external, fixed concepts, represented by important dates and iconic monuments. This distancing of our daily lived experience and the educational process has created a catastrophic chasm between our academic nevernever world and the real world. In order to understand this remoteness it is important here to subject the culture of architectural education in the country to some scrutiny. The first fundamental issue is our attitude to knowledge itself. The Brahminical notion of knowledge as exclusively accessible to a select few, and learning as repeating rituals mechanically after the master without asking questions bestows enormous, unilateral power to the teacher (Eck 83). This equation is

one of learner’s absolute reverence and prostration to the unquestioned authority of knowledge, which is met by a stoical aloofness by the ‘Guru’. The ‘atelier’ model is useful for learning by observation and imitation of the ‘master’ but does not systemically encourage self-enquiry, criticality or reflexivity. Secondly, this pattern of supplication and aloofness is played out again in the administration of architectural education (Menon 2001); from the lower most rungs of hierarchy of our over-bureaucratized colleges and universities, right up to the regulatory authorities and ministries. This mindless recourse to endless set of blanket rules and procedures in the face of diverse ground realities has been ascribed to imperial British rule and the post- colonial aftermath (Nair 2002). The third layer to this pattern of authority and aloofness has to do with the idea of the profession as a technocracy. With the import of modernism soon after independence and the many foreign or foreign-trained architects being patronized by the government and the private sector (Chatterjee 1985), the all round message seemed to be to forget the past and listen to the new experts. Bauhaus stood for the promise of Nehruvian socialistic ideals but came with its own problems. The architect was seen as a creative, individual genius, totally self-absorbed, aloof, and speaking an abstract language that only other architects could understand. The movement of Modernism treats histories and cultures as ‘blank slates’ on which anything new could be written (Hurtt 2002). This alienation from culture in the garb of ‘objectivity’ continues to be all pervasive in contemporary architectural education in India (Mazumdar 1993). The aloofness reflects in the manner in which architectural problems are framed in the design studio (as self-referential puzzle- solving exercises involving only a site plan and a building program, without reference to contexts), transacted between tutors and learners (over the shoulder, tacit, instructional desk-crits) and evaluated (browbeating juries that destroy self-esteem of learners (Doidge et al’s 2000).

Sustainable Buildings

215

To sum up, the three B’s that come in the way of our critical immersion and intelligent response to tradition seem to be the Brahminical notion of esoteric knowledge, aloofness of Babudom and Bauhaus induced cultural amnesia. All three assume a universal authority that undermines the learners, their lived experience and their diverse learning contexts. Each of these three syndromes is damaging enough by itself, but in combination they seem to reinforce and feed each other in a self-stoking manner. If the issue of diverse traditions and cultures is to be addressed in our architectural education, it is essential that these assumptions of power be first dismantled and devolved from our system and that we actually start engaging with the learners as though they mattered. They are not ‘empty vessels’ but living repositories of our diverse culture who are struggling to construct meaningful lives in a fast changing world. However, one has to tread with caution that in our eagerness to overthrow existing institutions and introduce ‘sweeping reforms’ as it only replaces one authority with another, as all earlier failed revolutions have shown in history. Instead it would be wise as educators to become aware of these layers of authority and aloofness that lie within our own psyches and first address them at a personal, individual level. To conclude on a constructive- (ist ?) note, it is suggested for discussion and dialogue that the above ideas, when translated in to actual practice and policies in architectural education, could mean that we ‘stop’, ‘start’ and ‘continue’ the following from the present: Stop ! • Projecting culture and history only as static concepts represented by iconic monuments, but also demonstrate them as continuities in contemporary practice • Following linear process of case study + analysis + synthesis = design in the design studio • Relying on disconnected ‘episodic’ learning experiences that do not ‘add up’ • Underestimating learners’ ability to handle complexity • Concentrating only on ‘geniuses’. Instead reform pedagogy to improve overall average competence levels • Exclusive access to architectural education, only to English-science-math-urban backgrounds • Imposing centralized, all sweeping bureaucratic norms on educational policies based on culture of mistrust Start ! • Making content and skills more relevant to the learner, based on contemporary realities • Using authentic rather than hypothetical situations for learning • Becoming critically aware of architectural ‘memes’ that are being passed on and their contemporary relevance • Making learning process more experiential, reflexive, cyclical, and sequentially coherent • Adopting explicit, transparent and transformative teaching methods • Routing understanding of culture and history through the ‘selves’ of learners, involving personal speculation and imagination • Exploring better methodological tools to understanding

216

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

culture at undergraduate level • Communicating to the learners the joy of making ‘aha’ connections between specialized knowledge categories • Restoring learners’ trust in everyday lived experience as valid source of learning and production of new theories • Making the evaluative process transparent to inform further learning rather than as ‘judgment’ Continue … • To present contemporary architectural problems in all their complexity of contexts; physical, personal, social, historical, economic, environmental • To engage consistently with the question of tradition, modernity and transformation throughout education • To actively encourage multiple perspectives and peer dialogue amongst learners • To provoke individual introspection, enquiry and encourage independent judgment; Make learners self motivated, self aware and self regulatory • To proactively encourage diversity of approaches in various institutions in their definition of educational contexts and pursuit of quality • To document and share such diverse teaching-learning experiences • To have more forums of dialogue like this

References: Journals and papers: 1. Crysler, C, G. (1995), Critical Pedagogy and Architectural Education, Journal of Architectural Education, Vol. 48, No. 4, p. 208-217 2. Doidge, C. et al. (2000), The Crit, Oxford: Architectural Press 3. Mazumdar, S. (1993), Cultural Values in Architectural Education: An Example from India, Journal of Architectural Education, Vol.46, No.4, p. 230-238 4. Menon, A.G.K. (2001), Reforming Architectural Education: The Role of Experimentation, Seminar on Architectural Education in India, Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute of Architecture and Environmental Studies, January 4, 5, Mumbai 5. Salama, A, M. (2005), Skill based/ Knowledge based Architectural Pedagogies: An argument for creating Humane Environments, 7th Intl. Conference on Humane HabiateICHH-05- The International Association of Humane Habitat IAHH, Rizvi College of Architecture, Mumbai Books: 6. Chatterjee, M. (1985), The Evolution of Contemporary Indian Architecture, Architecture in India: Festival of India exhibition publication, Electa, Paris, p. 124-126 7. Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1996), Creativity; Flow and the Psychology of discovery and invention, 8. Eck, D.L (1983), Banaras: City of Light, Penguin Books, New Delhi 9. Hurtt S.W. (2002), Seven Myths of Modern Architecture, Windsor Forum on Design Education, Windsor, Florida, p. 25

10. Nair, R.B, (2002), Lying on the Postcolonial Couch: The Idea of Indifference, Introduction, Oxford University Press, New Delhi 11. Zull, J. (2002), The Art of Changing the Brain: Enriching the Practice of Teaching by Exploring the Biology of Learning, Stylus Publishing, LLC Websites: 12. http://www.personal.psu.edu/txl166/kb/theory/obj_ con.html), ( Retrieved on June 12, 2005 )

Sustainable Buildings

217

Tradition And Contextual Relevance For Education In Architecture And Urbanism INTBAU India This Panel Discussion was held as part of the sub theme on “Sustainable Buildings” on 13th January 2007 during the International Conference on “New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions”. It was a dialogue on the modernist bend of current architectural education and studio tools, while attempting to formulate possible alternatives to ensure the simultaneous understanding of “Context, Continuity and Construction”. It sought to bridge the gap between “Romantic notions” in teaching traditional approaches and the realities of current professional practice, and understand the implications of standardisation in architectural education to bring about order and quality assurance. It was also an attempt to facilitate a link between Architectural and Planning education and community participation in place-making to help create true community leaders rather than just “sculptor” architects. The Panelists • Kulbhushan Jain (Chair of the session) Architect and Faculty, Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology, Ahmedabad • Narendra Dengle Architect, Pune • M.N. Joglekar Director, Vastukala Academy, New Delhi • Suneet Paul Editor, Architecture + Design magazine, New Delhi • K.T. Ravindran Dean of Studies & Professor, Urban Design, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi

While we do not want tradition to become a heavy baggage that we have to carry, we also cannot close our eyes to it. This discussion would, hopefully, be able to address this issue from a perspective which is acceptable, logical and which does not curb today’s aspirations either. It would perhaps also make it more relevant to the context in which we are working without becoming stylistically retrograde. Narendra Dengle: Tradition has to be understood under three heads, namely philosophical, crafts and visual. If we look at the architecture of any civilization it would have all the above mentioned traditions. To develop these three traditions one would have to work on each of them individually without losing the perspective of how they link with each other. We cannot simply say that only a certain crafts tradition is to be revived, as this process needs to incorporate the other two as well. Secondly, while talking about the styles, the crafts or the techniques of construction, a particular art form or artifact is associated with a particular religion or faith. We need to see how we can traverse from a culture of religions to a culture of sensibilities. This approach would bring us to the geography of sensibilities. When we discuss regionalism or critical regionalism, what is the kind of region that we are talking about- is it still a political region, a wider political region or a region made up of the neighboring countries? Perhaps we need to understand and decode the region of sensibilities, the geography of sensibilities. And thirdly, in a pluralistic society that we are talking about, we have to encourage different ways of looking at architecture. We have to have plural ways of looking at architecture and develop suitable new ideas. Prof. M.N. Joglekar: Rather than exclusively dwelling on the philosophical aspect and concentrating on just how to teach in the design studios, we have to look at it from a much wider perspective. But, the approach isn’t necessarily just by means of a syllabus review etc. Looking into the context of our subject of discussion, we’ll also have to address the issue of “what else” and not just “how to teach it” in the design studio. Suneet Paul:

Prof. Kulbhushan Jain: In the field of architectural education, a lot of work is carried out by institutions particularly on field trips which are primarily to historical sites. The Louis Kahn Trophy is an award presented for historic studies being conducted by various schools. This is an enormous work which has been going on for the last twenty years. Approximately 50-60 presentations are created every year and we need to see how these can be better integrated into the overall educational fabric. These studies need not turn into a basis for design work by students and is not an effort to revert back to the method of designing as was prevalent during historic times. In architectural education, one is not pushing to create replicas of traditional elements like the “Rajput chhatris”- an element which Lutyens describes as ‘ridiculous’ while discussing the ‘Indian Traditional Factor’. Instead, we have been part of a large pluralistic system where the approach is free and unconstrained. Therefore, to revert to a system which would just take us back in time is not the idea in architectural education. 218

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

In looking at reviving traditional practices in construction and design process, it needs appreciation that in spite of us being a developing nation and having absorbed so many foreign influences, Indian architecture has been able to retain some kind of a balance between modernity and traditional beliefs. India is still more than 60% rural and we have not yet felt the pangs of urbanization, leave alone the pangs of globalization. This is because one cannot interpret globalization simply as just glass boxes developing all around, but as a process also connected to the fast pace of urbanization. India being a developing nation now also absorbs and appreciates that pace of development. It is another matter that the developed nations have already gone through this process and currently, their concern is primarily the gigantic energy over consumption issue, an issue which has become global to some extent. But contextualizing the situation in India, we have been able to strike a kind of a balance, the credit for which goes to our system and its influences, like the

madrassas, the pathshalas and the colonial universities. This emulates how in summers we wear light T-shirts but in winters we have to clad ourselves in warmer clothing, and is a continual process of contextualizing oneself. In terms of architectural education, there exists plenty of reading material in our libraries on western and modern architecture but not on traditional Indian architecture. The process of Documentation is of prime importance if we are genuinely concerned about reviving traditional methodologies of construction. Currently, there is hardly any documentation available on traditional methodologies except for a few stray books on the science of Vaastu. Besides that, neither any genuine construction method nor any design approach exists as a document which can be referenced. The second issue points to the awareness of and discussions on reviving traditional methodologies. It is not just students, but the faculty in architecture schools as well, who need sensitization. Only if they themselves believe in traditional sensibilities, will they percolate through to the students. The faculty in schools can also make a vast difference at their own personal level. For the purpose of academic improvements, though we usually talk about big changes in the curriculum , individual faculty effort is as important. For e.g. places like the Anangpur Building Centre where cost efficient traditional design systems are taught could be taken up for generating appropriate lessons. And there are many others but lesser known centres. This is one way in which students can be attuned to looking at appropriate alternative methodologies for construction. It is important to also note that while there may be architects like Hafeez Contractor, who can be said to perpetuate glass boxes, there are other architects like Gerard da Cunha, Brinda Somaya and others who maintain a balance with tradition and showcase important lessons for future practitioners.

as to make it more culturally oriented. Basic Design was originally developed in the west, to bring arts & crafts closer to industrial technology. This exercise, since the Bauhaus, primarily addresses this factor and continues to do so even today in most institutions of architecture. The skills of observation of the society, nature and culture can be brought into this. These skills of interpretation and decoding perception are very critical to basic design studies. S. Badrinarayanan: There is an anxiety of identity in society which also reflects in our architects. We need to find various ways and innovative means for the transformation and translation of our local identities to global. At the same time, we need to understand and appreciate our regional individuality from a global point of view. Shashi Mesapam: Students’ aspirations for design are synonymous with doses of self expression. This is a significant issue that needs to be addressed as well, in order to understand the psyche of the student and guide him towards being a more responsible and conscientious architect. Prof. Kulbhushan Jain: Though, it is undisputedly a must to address the philosophical aspect of the issue, we need to also take an activist approach to bring an understanding and appreciation of the tradition to the students. This does not mean that tradition is something that we need to chain ourselves to. With a deep rooted understanding of the same, we also need to imbibe models of architectural education followed elsewhere. This is the age of information and to face such problems one needs to be prepared for a variety of influences.

Prof. K.T. Ravindran: At one level it seems that tradition is something which is dead, or has been left behind and something needs to be done to revive it from its comatose state. This is hardly the case. Tradition is alive in this very moment, in every pulse of every individual and we are the continuity of that tradition. In fact, it is in our response that it is vested. With this underlying idea of tradition, we can examine how architectural education in our country has continuously eroded that vibrant quality which is present in our traditions. This quality perhaps cannot be compartmentalized or counter pointed with modernity as modernity is not the monopoly of any particular line of thinking or culture. In fact, modernity is a very natural phenomena and a natural expression of life which is continuously changing. Basic Design is a fundamentally skewed approach in our education. Architectural education currently has a strong design bias within a modernist frame, with too much emphasis on form making. It is a pity that we are not learning from the city, which is the biggest laboratory for architects and planners. This education seems to be trapped in morphological structuralism. Commercialism is rampant all around us, the society is in disjunction with nature and the profession seems to have been taken over by the manufacturing lobby. Narendra Dengle: Basic Design, as is being taught, needs different inputs so Sustainable Buildings

219

Continuing Traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism: Case studies in Form Making

Building Construction And Decorative Crafts: The Endangered Traditions

concentrate on bringing to fore the ‘Processes’ that made these ‘Products’, worthy of being a part of India’s cultural heritage.

Nimish Patel & Parul Zaveri Architects- Abhikram, Ahmedabad

The above premise, in understanding the underlying principles of the architecture of our historic settlements, is based on the inferences drawn by the authors, over past 27 years of their design practice, with work concentration in Rajasthan.

The Case and the Premise: We believe that the continuity of all our relevant cultural traditions is a responsibility every Indian has to live up to. Some of these traditions are reflected in the wide range of decorative as well as construction crafts, demonstrated amply in our built heritage. In fact, a large number of our traditional craftspersons, with their vast and immense wealth of knowledge, about the understanding and use of traditional materials, crafts and technologies, remain one of the most valuable, and yet the most under utilised, resources of India. In the past decade or so, the directions of contemporary Indian architecture, and those of the living & continuing traditions of architecture have been questioned, by many design practices in the country. They have raised the general awareness levels about our built heritage, amongst the professionals of architecture and its related fields, as well as amongst the people at large. We believe it is extremely important to take this understanding, a step forward in the practice, as well as in the resultant actions. So far, the professionals in the field have been able to project the ‘Products’ as a significant part of our heritage. Now it is essential to support and also

Traditional details blended with contemporary processes

The paper attempts to present one of the perspectives of the contemporary Indian architecture movement, which recognises the importance of the cultural heritage, accepts its role & relevance in the present context, supports the need for its continuity, and discusses the issues involved as well as the possible directions of efforts.

India’s rich built heritage

Continuing Traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism: Case Studies in Form Making

223

Before (above) and after (right) images of Conservation work in Amber, Rajasthan

The Contention: Universally, most of the efforts to conserve the Architectural Heritage have focused extensively on the protection of the ‘Products’, and has ignored the ‘Processes’ which made the Products worthy of being a part of the Heritage. This disproportionate attention has resulted in the near extinction of the ‘Processes’. Many such Processes, still surviving in India, are also heading for extinction, more a result of the lack of their use than of any other reason. They embody as well as represent the wealth of a body of knowledge, which is neither fully documented, nor documentable & will disappear as a result of lack of its use. This knowledge is as much part of our Heritage, as its ‘Products’ that we call Heritage. There is an urgent and an important need to recognize that there exists and continues to exist even today: • A vast body of knowledge encompassing the understanding of the wide range of construction materials and technologies evolved and developed over centuries, and carried from one generation to the next one, through the capabilities and skills of the traditional craftspersons. • Communities, which specialized in, and developed, the crafts that covered all aspects of the design and the implementation of the Built Environment. This invaluable asset is rapidly disappearing and warrants immediate attention. The responsibility primarily rests with all of us, who are connected with the processes of the Built Environment. Unless we focus our attention towards generating employment for the skills of these traditional craftspersons, through our design projects, the craft is likely to disappear soon. Its time we woke up to the needs of the craftspersons to find employment, only then will the vast body of knowledge and our cultural heritage survive.

224

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

The ‘Process’ (below) is as much a part of our Heritage as the ‘Product’ (above)

An Understanding: As an active practice, we have attempted to achieve these objectives through a varied range of craft dominated projects. Towards this cause we have tried to develop an understanding of crafts, and realised that: • Crafts were integral to and integrated with the design and construction processes. • Crafts enhanced the value of the products. • The use of crafts increased the options of creating greater variations in design. • Crafts are highly developed skills, through centuries of understanding of the long term behaviour of the materials, the environment and the methods of using them judiciously for all our needs. • These skills are genetically inherited and developed from a very early age. They cannot be learnt through present education processes. • Crafts were integral to Architecture almost till the end of the Art Deco period, and have begun to disappear more rapidly from the Modern Movement period. • They have resurfaced recently, but more as articulation and fashion rather than integral to the design processes of architecture. The Attempts and its Processes: As Indians, we felt it was our responsibility to work towards ensuring the continuity of this wealth, this body of knowledge, and the continuity can only be ensured through the increased use of the crafts and skills in the contemporary context. We therefore felt that all our actions must lead to increased use of the traditional crafts and skills resulting in employment generation of traditional craftsmen. We were unable to do this because we were the products of our education system which does very little to increase our familiarity with our materials and our craftsmen. We needed a change in approach because there is a difference in the sequences of thoughts, decision making and execution, between the traditional and contemporary processes. Our present understanding of these sequences did not work if we wanted to increase and integrate the use of crafts in design. We needed to change our perspective and our mindset.

Continuing Traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism: Case Studies in Form Making

225

From our learning and experiences we drew a few inferences or decisions that were inevitable to this process. They were: • We removed the hat of an architect we were wearing, and became human beings again, so as to develop a better understanding of architecture. • We understood that the strength of architecture of India was in the anonymity of its architect. All our buildings must reflect the personality/aspirations of the owner, not ours. • We must bury our ego deep in the ground and work with greater humility to promote the notion of collective responsibility, as against individual freedom. • We accepted that the craftspersons had more knowledge than we did, about the use of traditional materials in contemporary context. • We understood that for the knowledge to flow from the giver to the receiver, the giver has to be on a higher plateau than the receiver, both literally and figuratively. • We did not need to train the craftspersons, they were already trained. But we needed to retrain and re-educate ourselves. • As seen in traditions, we also decided to offer opportunity for creative inputs at all levels of implementation and not restrict it to the design studios of our office only. • We insisted on going to the craftspersons, not the reverse, to accord them the respect they deserve and command. The above inferences and decisions have remained with us since, and constitute the basis of most of our designs and decision making processes. They also reflect in the case study. 226

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

The Case study: The Oberoi Udaivilas, a traditional crafts dominated contemporary resort at Udaipur. The Oberoi Udaivilas, a newly built heritage resort at Udaipur, demonstrates the beliefs and convictions of our design practice, in attempting to find for the new developments in historic settlements, an appropriate balance between continuity with the past without fossilising it and a change for the future without making it incongruent with its contextual surroundings.

Continuing Traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism: Case Studies in Form Making

227

228

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

The project generated through its design and implementation processes, employment for more than 300 traditional craftspersons, with specialised skills covering numerous traditional crafts, for a period exceeding 3 years. This has been achieved without compromising with the needs and conveniences of the 21st century, with blending the use of State of the Art technologies, and by maximising the use of local traditional materials, technologies and crafts.

Continuing Traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism: Case Studies in Form Making

229

The project, recently voted as the 3rd best hotel in the world by Travel + Leisure, represents one of the possible emerging directions for contemporary Indian architecture, in and around our historic settlements.

230

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Reflections On The Narrative Of Place: The Infinite Conversation Rasem Badran Architect- Dar Al Omran, Amman, Jordan This essay focuses on three topics. First, the pre-architecture process explaining the stages which shaped my compatibility and understanding of my surroundings. Second, the paradigm of the design process and finally, actual examples of the work done by Dar Al Omran in the past few years. PRE ARCHITECTURE: Growing up in an environment which encouraged great respect for any expression of art, especially the Islamic, helped develop an understanding of rural culture. It helped widen my perspective towards understanding the difference between rural culture, with its complete untouchable sense of definition, and the urban civil environment, with its details within the refined elements. The many cities I lived in shaped my lifestyle pattern and guided me towards the infinite area of design. Beethoven’s music was the reason behind studying in Germany where I initially dabbled in aeronautics. Later I decided to move from the aerial context to the earthly context of buildings. As my study period in Europe coincided with the students’ reformation movement there, we rebelled against the long incumbent academic concepts and learnt the value of freedom of speech and the need for activism. In my analysis and vision opposition to the set systems by defying the boundaries was important in creating unencumbered design. Nevertheless, academic life in Germany helped develop new frontiers in terms of ideas and models for designing man-made environments and also in fact, in art and music. Direct contact with prominent practitioners like Yona Freedman, Stockhausen and others helped in a big way and put my thoughts in direct contradiction to the prevalent thought processes of the time. I was also involved, at that time, in the well recognized architectural complex at Munich’s Olympic Stadium.

1. Time: Architecture as an evidence of time reveals the hidden aspects of any culture. Our understanding of time is not necessarily static (numeric-constant) but also dynamic (cosmic-variable). It constitutes the Modes, by which we define the continuity of space accordingly (the memory). 2. Place: Our understanding of architectural space, in its spatial definition is organic and vital (human) and not only geometric (mechanical – repetitive). It earns its significance through man’s intervention. It brings un-programmed events to surface, which evokes human awareness through activating what is called The Social Urban Fabric. 3. Man: Man, being a composer and receiver, has the ability to compose new meanings and create events, by producing an intimate zone within the Urban Fabric, generating a dynamic Human Urbanism (vitality).

Space creation- in a field by a marriage procession

PARADIGM: The Narrative of place is initiated with an understanding of its characteristics which leads to the formulation of a Narrative of events related to it. It is a product of coexistence between man and place, which is constantly changing over time.

Space creation- by the man by just being there

Through this tripartite interrelationship (Time, Place and Man), the place’s coexistence can be perceived by the continuous dialogue between what is called symbiosis and suggestive narratives which is provoked through intuition. 1) Symbiosis: Being in Symbiosis, evokes the understanding of “the space of probability”, which is initiated through the coexistence of opposites and different phenomenon and time spans. It generates the continuum of human urban events. 2) Suggestive Narrative:

Change over time: Stadium converted to a praying ground in Riyadh

It is the ambiguity that leads to continuous accumulative creativity. It is exposed to all probabilities and readings. It is the non-linear/indefinite, which produces the chaotic

Continuing Traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism: Case Studies in Form Making

231

behavior of the fractal. It differs from the linear order (Euclidian – definite). The outcome, therefore, reflects harmony in non-homogeneous diversity, generating a continuous changing field condition, which provokes human curiosity and participation. 3) Intuition: Intuition is the ability to visualize a place’s hidden qualities, and to predict through a serial narrative within the culture. It is a method of thinking which leads to the understanding of Symbiosis in relationship with the Suggestive Narrative. This can be comprehended through questions like “who are we”, “where are we” and “how we behave” etc. WHO, - is the spiritual and psychological content which is embraced by the culture of the place, through the following visions: • It is the collective mind, which transcends the physical domain of the sacred in space and time. • Values, which are enhanced by the spiritual relationship between man and his creator (production constitutes an act of worshipping). • These spiritual values produce levels of contemplation about the MACRO COSMOS and MICRO COSMOS (The Instinct) • It is achievable through the “Third Eye” which contrasts between Az-Zaher (The Manifest) and Al-Batin (The Hidden). (Metaphorical) • It is a level of comprehension in which the macro and the micro act harmoniously together. (Enrichment) • It is the mind, which transforms the simple abstract image to a volumetric one; it is the Dialogue between the surface and the spatial. (Creation) • It is the mind which interprets living phenomenon into an abstract expression, which links beauty, meaning and clarity together. (Abstraction) • This produces celebrative expression, which transforms reality into abstractions. (Transformations) • It is envisioning the universal nature, which adds a sense of variability to the nearby physical, and to the far removed metaphysical. (Contemplation) • It is the energy that stimulates and activates human intelligence (Innovations) • It is the energy (light) with which man and all living beings engage in a dialogue. (Intuition)

• The dialogue between traditional and contemporary, the tangible and intangible, reality and fantasy • The shifting from rural to urban and the co-existence of both • Craftsmanship juxtaposed to technology. This dialogue evokes human creation to generate the living space. HOW, - is materialized through the interaction between WHO, WHERE and WHEN, which leads us to continuous events and addition. It is acknowledged through the inherited accumulative values, visions and perceptions in achieving a physical statement of the man made environment in the MICRO as well as in the MACRO scale through the following categorization of the living space and fabric: In the Macro scale: • Street pattern (the urban fabric) (the Social Tissues) • Urban morphologies (Cosmic Skin) • Urban elements • Transformations (spaces of sequential orders Humanizing the experience of open spaces) • Gates (sense of privacy which maintains the social bonds)

Al Amin Mosque, Beirut- initial sketches analysing the contextual, social, sacred and cosmic aspects

WHERE, - searches for the spirit of the place and its behavioral patterns, through the following observations: • The sunny and the shaded • The humid and the arid • The coast and the plain • High and Low • Cool and Warm WHEN, - is the question of time and its evolution, which is dominated by what and how WHAT, - is the act of consciousness and predetermination, which defines an approach to the universal phenomena. It is: • The tendency towards the communal versus the cellular.

232

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Harmony between the urban tissue and the built structure- sketch juxtoping the King Abdul Aziz Historic Centre with its surroundings

Building (left) or train? (right) - The industrialization of Living

In the Micro Scale: • To sense the place (the enclosure of the introverted) and the living wall (art of the surface) (Visible) • The spherical roof (the art of natural light) • Science in building - sound waves (the art of sound) • Technology (the art of Weight) - Domes (metaphysical) - the cosmic approach - Walls (physical) - logic of the material - Ecology (the art of natural wind) (invisible) - Human intervention (climatic treatment – wind towers – ventilation towers) - Breathing skin + garden

The creation of a memorable and valuable space is an outcome of the cultural, environmental and social interactions in the Micro scale, with its sensitivity and spirituality. This is in symbiosis with the Macro scale with its cosmic knowledge (context). This is what the Islamic civilization seeks by considering the Whole without denying the Particular.

Looking back at what has occurred in the past 50 years, it is annoying to discover that we are living in meaningless cities built as temporary seasonal fairs replaced by other new structures, to fulfill the demands of the consumers. This has come at the expense of human coexistence and moral values and his/her memories of the living space.

The Grand Mosque, Justice Palace, And Old City Centre Redevelopment, Riyadh

The objective of presenting the following projects is to bring to the surface the Urban Morphology developed in any part of the work which represents the micro whole, which in turn creates a balanced and homogeneous Macro living fabric. DESCRIPTION OF PROJECTS:

Acknowledged more for its role in urban development than for its architectural quality, this project addressed the problem of urban space in the centre of a modern metropolis.

The Grand Mosque, Riyadh

Continuing Traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism: Case Studies in Form Making

233

The Grand Mosque- six years ago

People in the mosque square

The project intended to revitalize the centre of Riyadh in addition to creating a contextual feeling within the buildings in order to restore the energy present, devising a livable human space that carries a defined history and awakens the values and memories of an important historical place with rich cultural, economic, social and political legacies. This is articulated in the introduction of commercial use into its program, where the variety of functions in the mosque within represents a typical pattern in Muslim societies. The objective was to integrate the mosque with the surroundings in such a way that it becomes an active social place. The project is composed of the Grand Mosque and the Justice Palace, surrounded by an urban infill, which constitutes of all kinds of retail functions and shops on the lines of the traditional mosques in cities like Fas and Marakesh. The complex demands of a new program on an old site was met with a solution that responds to the local lifestyle, climate, and physical surroundings, maintaining the permanence of this ‘sacred historic place’ in addition to reaching harmony and balance between the spiritual, intellectual, and material needs of the Muslim. The spatial character and iconography of the project provide a sense of continuity with the historical context, and the reinterpretation of the language of traditional Najdi architecture demonstrates a mastery of building techniques and a deep understanding of the local culture. This is well portrayed in the sensitive sequence of courtyards where a modern urban complex is created while still retaining the essence of its traditional frame.

References to the old mosque & the new interpretations

Interplay of light and shade, typical Usage defining the spaces in the of Islamic architecture mosque

The use of modern materials and technology, such as air conditioning, is unobtrusive and does not detract from the quiet sense of ‘fluid sacredness’ penetrating the orderly pillared grid of a mosque.

Justice Palace

234

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

It was awarded the Aga Khan award in 1995 for its great impact in changing the social behavioral pattern of the downtown city of Riyadh.

King Abdul Aziz Historic Centre, Riyadh

King Abdul Aziz Historic Centre, Riyadh (left), with its surroundings (right)

Conceptualised as a living museum which enhances the cultural and the social value of the old fabric of the city of Riyadh, this is one of the biggest buildings in the city. A master plan was done after which architects from Saudi Arabia, Canada and Japan shared the work. It consisted of conservation works as well as the construction of new buildings aiming to preserve the main historical characteristics and features of the old buildings.

The project consists of three main parts clustered into a traditional urban fabric of courtyards and narrow alleys. 1) The new Al-Darat building, consisting of the administration building and museum, which responded to the demolished old fabric of the city. 2) The second part: the renovated Al-Murabba Palace, and the Treasury, which was housed in the renovated old mud structure, revealing the tissue of the old mud quarters. 3) King Abdul Aziz Mosque which was reconstructed and remodeled. The project image was inspired by the architectural heritage of Najd blended with a sensitive use of modern technology. The design encourages a pedestrian culture within the complex. The Remembrance of the place has been created with an attempt to revoke the spirit of the place.

Remembrance of the place- the place (left) & its interpretation (right)

The art of shading- with natural and built elements

Continuing Traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism: Case Studies in Form Making

235

King Abdul Aziz Mosque, Al Kharj This rural mosque represents the oasis morphology from an environmental and spatial point of view. It illustrates the simplicity and humble relationship between the mosque and the surrounding community. It includes a retail area and a vegetable market.

Interiors of the mosque

Interpreting the surrounding morphology: King Abdul Aziz Mosque, Al Kharj (below)

Yarmouk University Central Library It is one of the prominent buildings in Jordan. The concept was built on the library as a micro-city, having different layers of enclosures which interacts with the cosmic changes (light and shade). In addition, it breaks the stereotypical image of conventional library enclosures

Yarmouk University Central Library (above); view (left)

Souq Abu Dhabi Interestingly, this market is also called the Indian market. This was an attempt to create a city within a city resulting in a climatically oriented fabric that uses the passive energy and technology supported by the concept of the tent structure. The whole façade as well as the roof have been climatically designed to suit the traditional climate. 236

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Design sketch- View of the traditional market at Abu Dhabi

Design sketch- Interior view

View showing the climatically designed facade and roof

Design sketch analysing the ecological and climatic order of the traditional buildings (left) & its interpretation in the market complex (right)

The aim was to provide an architecture that reflects the rich heritage of souks and marketplaces in this part of the world, honours the culture of the people and becomes a focus for them.

Continuing Traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism: Case Studies in Form Making

237

Tradition As An Expression Of Time K.T. Ravindran Architect & Dean of Studies- SPA, Delhi Architecture is as much a continuum of time as the manifestation of time as space and form. Tradition is not merely the fossilized remains of a previous time which need to be revived or used in a formalistic way. Tradition exists as fragments of the memory of a land; it is in the psyche of every individual. Our country has always been in a sandstorm of these memories, each particle having encapsulated within it generations of knowledge and culture. The act of design, in terms of tradition, is a collision of these elements and their consequent coalescence to create something new. A new thing means something that is not resistant to change- which is, in fact, defined by time. However much one may try to freeze time in the forms that one creates, time moves through the inner spaces, into the psyche of the user. The act of design involves creating spaces that are not resistant to change; which are willing to move with time; which are, in fact defined by time. The form is just an envelope that modulates the experiential flow. The following two projects talk about such architecture. They

Fig 1: Lakshadweep

238

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

are the result of the cumulative consciousness of a group of people working on them for years and therefore, defined by their ideas and psyche. Jawaharlal Nehru Lakshadweep

Junior

College,

Kadmat,

Located in the Arabian Sea, Lakshadweep is a group of 36 islands half a kilometre wide and about 10-11 kilometres long. The people of these islands have been living here for almost 1200-1300 years. Ninety four percent of the population is Islamic and exists in groups of close communities. The islands are surrounded by the sea and the lagoons with no fresh water sources. The only source of water is the rain and the sweet water lens that is formed below the white sandstone layer below the sand, with a greater concentration at the northern tips of the island (Fig. 2). If too much water is extracted at a time, the sweet water lens would be permanently mixed with the sea water. The extremely fragile physical environment and the tradition bound ancient Islamic society of the islands has generated an equally delicate architecture. The traditional language of the islands is a direct response to the immediate environment and the Islamic building traditions of coastal Kerala.

In response to the fragile balance of nature, the following 10 significant design decisions were incorporated: • Water intensive in-situ concreting is minimized. • Materials brought in from the mainland • Paving and hard-surfacing minimized • Two parallel water systems. Salt water provided for toilets. Organised water harvesting systems • Treated sewage not permitted to go into sub-soil strata • Building located to save every tree • Buildings located behind tree cover, with roof heights below tree cover • No roads and paved paths- open sand access to buildings • Compound walls are avoided wherever possible • To resist high wind velocity, 33 to 35 degrees slope for tile roofs The architectural expression of the project is that of a cultural specific design which blends into the existing social fabric of the place and its people. Traditional form as configuration links the campus to the settlement. Traditional form enhances the sense of belonging in a society and, at the same time is instrumental in negotiating change.

Water Table

Ocean

Fresh Water

Lagoon

Zone of Mixture Salt Water

Fig 2: Water table situation in Lakshadweep

Fig 3: Traditional form holds hand with the foliage in a collective dance

Fig 4: Traditional form as configuration links the campus to the settlement

Fig 5: Traditional form defines interiority and movement of light

Continuing Traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism: Case Studies in Form Making

239

The buildings are organized randomly, without paved paths, to protect the contiguous visual character of the land and extend the visual experience of the settlement. Tightly designed individual buildings are scattered in the landscape, unconnected by pathways or roads, merging with the landscape. The campus consists of two separate clusters, seamlessly connected to the adjoining land and water. To conserve scarce land, most buildings are two-storied though their rooflines are well below the tree canopy. The buildings are set back behind the tree cover from both the lagoon and the sea edge so as not to mar the visual integrity of the island’s view for the approaching boats. 1. Principal’s Residence 2. Pavilion 3. Games 4. Curved Wall 5. Common Room 6. Dining 7. Kitchen 8. Girl’s Hostel 9. Dormitory 10. Admn./Library 11. Classroom/Lab

Fig 7: Site Plan- Cluster 1

Fig 9: Section

Fig 10: Traditional form connects the inner and the outer

240

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

1. Kitchen 2. Dining 3. Common Room 4. Reading Room 5. Table Tennis 6. Gymnasium 7. Warden’s Residence 8. Boy’s Hostel 9. Dormitory 10. Veranda

Fig 6: Site Plan- Cluster 2

Fig 8: Traditional form modulates experiential flow

Antarbharati Sanskriti Kendra, Banabhatta Parisar, Rewa, Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh, being surrounded by seven states has cultural influences pouring in from all sides. Rewa is located on a plateau that descends from the stone hillocks called Suhaag Hills. The abundance of sandstone in the region gives the project its expression of materials, very different from that of the previous one. The land still holds the ruins of stupas, which form the major source of form. The rocks have on them, rock paintings dating back thousands of years

Fig 11: Collective memory- Rock painting from the Suhaag hills

Fig 12: Sources of form- the land

The collective inheritance of five thousand years of history informs the position on culture from a contemporary standpoint. Inter communal equity is a central value in the contemporary progressive mindset. The spontaneous power of tribal art, and the studied intensity of the classical, both have been brought together in an interactive relationship in the form. It is this shared tradition that is evident through American writer John G. Neihardt’s quote, “Then I was standing on the highest mountain of them all and around about beneath me was the whole hoop of the world. And while I stood there I saw more than I can tell and I understood more than I saw: for I was seeing in a sacred manner the shapes of all things in the spirit, and the shape of all shapes as they must live together like one being.” Fig. 13 captures the primarily colonial architecture of Rewa, the erstwhile capital of the royal state of Rewa. Some of the structures date back from the Buddhist era. The region is very poor, the literacy rate is only around 36% and the population is largely tribal; nevertheless, there exists a strong culture of dance and performances. The entry point to the site is based around a tree, which is revered by the tribal people of the region. Fig. 14 shows the ritualistic threads they have tied around it. The site has a huge rock formation on which a part of the project is located (Fig. 15). The first visit made to a site is significant. It is a communion with the site, where one is not analysing anything or coming up with ideas for the building. The time that one spends at the initial stages at the site enters one’s psyche directly and it is through this that one is able to relate to the place emotionally. The project covers an area of ten acres, and like the previous project, is government funded and built by the PWDs. A multi-dimensional cultural centre spells diversity in content, activity and form, telescoped into each other, in that order. Architecture encompasses all three into a mutually interactive whole.The plan is derived from the

Fig 13: Sources of form- architecture of the town

circular dance formation shown (Fig. 16). There are many allusions to Buddhist and various dance forms in the design of the complex. Fig. 18 depicts the direct interpretation of the dance mudras into a plan. The limbs of the dancer turn into inter-connecting corridors, the forms of the square components acting as the bodies of the various functions. The experiential flow of these spaces is a derivative of the continuity of the intersecting corridors as well as the stillness of the forms. The dancer and actor define space by movement and sound while being absolutely centred in the emotion. Repose and vibrancy are simultaneously present in the act of performing. The dancer/actor is communicating with the self and the Other at the same time. Communication is the key intent that informs the act; reaching out and stimulating is the result of the act; multiplying rhythms of movements, its modes. The profile of the buildings is low and earth hugging, but modulated as a skyline that is reminiscent of the rock paintings and mountains that characterise the Bundelkhand

Continuing Traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism: Case Studies in Form Making

241

Fig 14: Sources of form- the site: the tree with ritualistic threads tied around

Fig 16: The circular dance formation

Fig 15: Sources of form- the site: the rock formation on the site

landscape (Fig. 19). The buildings are strung linearly, with an external finish that is evocative of the nature of the site and the locale. Beaten metal craft of the Agharia tribes substitutes industrialised metalwork to create cast iron colonial elements surrounding the building blocks and their capitals. The spaces between the squares, each with a side of eleven metres, are used for seating.

Fig 17: Site Plan 6 main components of the brief:

• PARAMPARA: a museum of arts and crafts • PREKSHA: a professional repertory with indoor and outdoor theatres and auxilliary facilities 242

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

• VEEKSHA: an audio and video research centre • DEEKSHA: a central training facility • SAMVAD: a modern conference hall facility • MANEESHA: a central library facilit

Fig 18: Interpretation of dance mudras into the plan of PREKSHA (right)

Fig 19: The low, earth hugging profile of the buildings reminiscent of the rock paintings and mountains of Bundelkhand

Fig 20: The two coloured rocks strewn over the region were juxtaposed in the texturing of the building

Fig 21: Cast iron colonial elements transformed into the beaten metal craft of the Agharia tribes

Tradition is manifest at every moment as response to an inner rhythm that is space, form and structure. That same rhythm resides in our speech, our music, our movement, our relationships, our dance, our performing arts, our spirituality, our architecture, and our relevance. The time is then embodied tradition. Continuing Traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism: Case Studies in Form Making

243

Bhadli Village, Gujarat: Rubble To Renewal Brinda Somaya Architect- Somaya & Kalappa Consultants Pvt. Ltd, Mumbai FOREWORD There is no doubt that today, for various reasons, our influence on society as architects is diminishing. We have to broaden our role to affect positive change. Today, we architects have a vital role in shaping our environment & should go beyond the design of individual buildings. We have to establish systems & principles for the growth & organization of our cities & our environment. Architecture must arouse, inspire and feed the human spirit. The need is for professional concern with the environment and an improved quality of human life for all people. Hence the need is to train a new kind of professional who can intervene and be effective both in our poorer villages and our wealthier urban areas. We need designers who can plan, design and implement new developments working interactively with the community at large. If we follow the role of the traditional architect, we cannot meet this need. We have to go beyond buildings and work with programmes that transform society. Design has to be a process. I believe this can be done without compromising on creativity, innovation or quality of design. That is perhaps true of many of the nations of this region, but the demolition man is busy at work in many of our cities wiping away the past at a frenetic pace. I believe that if we want the future generations to feel a link with their cultural and historic roots, it is imperative that we preserve the physical heritage of the past. If that link is lost, people will loose their sense of identity, their national pride and finally their self-esteem. ‘RUBBLE TO RENEWAL’: AN ARCHITECTURE OF HOPE The earthquake-January 26th 2001 – It was a Friday. As it was our republic Day it was a holiday. I had moved into a high-rise apartment in Mumbai (Bombay) just a few months earlier. I was sitting at the dining table having a leisurely breakfast when I felt the floor below me shake. I first thought I was having a giddy spell and stood up, but then I notice the ceiling lights were swaying from side to side. It

was an earthquake. It was several hours later that we found out that the epicenter of this earthquake was in Kutch in Gujarat. It measure 7.9 on the Richter scale and took place at 8.50 am with its epicenter near Bhuj in Kutch district. I had been to Bhuj many years earlier. The erstwhile Maharaja was a client of mine and I had gone with my family to his `Raj Tilak’ or Coronation. We had wined and dined at this place and it had been two full days of celebration. My next trip to Bhuj was going to be very different. Shortly thereafter I received a telephone call from Sunil Dalal. Sunil Dalal, is one of those rare people, who believes he has been sent to earth to do ‘seva’ or service for the poor and needy. A young man, he runs the ‘Jasoda Narottam Charitable Trust’ (The Pentagon Trust), a family charitable trust. His lovely wife Swati was connected to one of the most respected NGO groups in Kutch, Shrujan. I had just completed designing an emergency trauma centre in a Municipal Public Hospital in Bombay for Sunil and we had got to know each other. Sunil said he wanted to do something for the earthquake relief and would I be willing to help? Naturally the answer was yes.

Children of the Village

The important next step was to locate a village that needed help the most. We soon realized that all did, but the most important aspect of reconstruction was that we had to find a village that wanted us to help them where the villagers could be part of the process. Sunil and his family finally located Bhadli, an hour’s drive west of Bhuj. Bhadli was unusual, in that it had a large number of Hindu and Muslim families. It was 60% Hindu and 40% Muslim. (The % in India as a whole is approximately 80% Hindu and 18% Muslim). Bhadli Village is approximately 40 kms west of Bhuj. It is a village of 1500 people and there are about 325 houses. There are two tube wells and one surface well and the village has electricity. There are approximately 30 telephones in the village. The village consists of farmers, handicraft workers, poultry farmers and agricultural workers. There is an 11 – member village panchayat that takes decisions for the village. There was a school that taught children from grade one to seven with seven teachers.

When our team reached Bhadli soon after the earthquake

244

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

There was also a small dispensary in the village. For further education and hospital treatment the villages have to go to the adjoining village which is 8 kms away. Secular Nature of the Village

The villagers wanted us to help. Sunil took a decision not to wait for government aid so as to eliminate government red tape. He told me whether the government aid comes or not, we would go ahead anyway! Swati and I then visited Bhadli in early June. It had been five months since the earthquake, but the scenario hit me hard. There was rubble everywhere. People were living in the open. School had not reopened. In our village of Bhadli we met a couple whose three sons were all lawyers in Baroda. The sons had offered to pay for the reconstruction of their home so

New School Building Complex

Old Well

Opening day of the School Complex

they proudly told me they did not need government money. This old man kept following me as I walked around the village and said he wanted to show me his house. When I went, there was nothing but open land and a shed on one side where his wife was cooking in the open. They had also neatly stacked their old doors and windows for reuse. Other villagers came up to us to hurry and rebuild the school. They said once the children started working and earning, their parents would not send them back to school. The principal was almost crying when he told us this. The school and community centre is now constructed. The most important Muslim villager was the one who took us around. He did ‘tie and dye’ work and was quite well off. He had already begun on the reconstruction of his house with his own money, but was very sympathetic to the plight of the rest of the villagers. We then went round to the harijan

part of the village, where the poorest of the poor lived. As fourteen of them never had ‘pucca’ houses, the irony was that they would not be entitled to government aid because they had not “lost” their homes. When I told Damu, my architect friend in NYC, he took on this mission and has been collecting money for us for these fourteen harijan homes and of course Sunil will always fill in the deficit! We learned from Sunil that a village panchayat had been formed with Hindus (patels and banias and harijans), Muslims and a woman representative. Three cheers! We went and met the committee at the home of the woman representative and sat in her courtyard and discussed our plans. They gave us ideas and subsequently we presented the school plans to them as well where we received a lot of valuable input.

Completed Village

Continuing Traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism: Case Studies in Form Making

245

Money from the government had started flowing and this helped the ‘Jasoda Narottam Charitable Trust’ to achieve some of their goals for this village. These include water harvesting, improving the sanitation and water supply conditions, building a community centre, a crèche and a women’s working area in addition to the school. Apart from the school none of these facilities existed earlier. Kutch is the home to the highest density of craftsmen and women in India. The fabrics are world famous and include tie and dye work, embroidery, printed and woven pieces of cloth. These bright and colourful textiles are known all over India and in many parts of the world as well. It is a major source of income especially for the women On my way back from Bhadli I went to Bhuj and visited the palace. The earthquake had spared no one. The palace was severely damaged. We had sat, during the Raj Tilak in the Maharaja’s garden amongst Italian marble statues enjoying the evening celebrations. Today I saw only broken pieces of marble. The palace needed reconstruction as well. Where does one begin? Kutch is rich in art and architecture and one cannot even imagine when the repair of the wonderful old buildings will take place. At that time we were more concerned with ensuring that everyone had a roof over their heads and we began with Bhadli. The construction work on the houses began in August 2001. The total number of houses reconstructed in Bhadli village were 124. The homeowners have then added extensions to their houses depending on future needs. A school and community centre has also been constructed. A new community centre created a meeting place for villagers which did not exist before. It consists of a ‘Balvadi’ (a children’s playschool), primary school, Women’s activity centre and a community hall. A creation of these public places resulted in Bhadli becoming a magnet for the surrounding villages which do not have these facilities. The Dargah and temples have been built by the villagers themselves. The Muslims have helped build the temple and Hindus helped build the Dargah. Different cultures and Religions co-exist in perfect harmony and work collectively for the uplifltment of their village. The Bhadli project has been nominated for the ‘2007 Aga Khan Award for Architecture’. KUTCH: AN OVERVIEW Geography of the region: Covering an area of 45,612 sq.km, Kutch lies in the state of Gujarat, on the West Coast of India. Topographically, Kutch is divided into 5 distinct regions: (1) The Great Rann, or uninhabited wasteland in the north, (ii) The Grasslands of Banni, (iii) Mainland, consisting of planes, hills and dry river beds, (iv) The Coastline along the Arabian Sea in the north, and (v) Creeks and mangroves in the west. More loosely, the southern portion of the Rann is considered an island, with seawater inundating the land for most of the year. The mainland is generally plane, but has some hill ranges and isolated hills.

followed by Muslims who form 9% and Jains who make up 1% of the total population. The region is sparsely populated in comparison to the large area of land, but the settlements are densely populated. Seismic History: The earliest earthquake recorded in Kutch dates back to 16th June 1819. Since then, over 90 earthquakes of varying intensity have struck the region, but none as severe as the most recent one. Climate: Kutch has a tropical monsoon climate with an average annual rainfall of approximately 14 inches. The temperature ranges from 2 degrees Celsius in the winter to 45 degrees Celsius in the summer. The three main seasons are: (i) Summer, from February to June, (ii) Monsoon season from July to September, and (iii) Winter, from October to January. Government Efforts: The Government of Gujarat has negotiated a loan of $ 500 million from the Asian Development Bank for the rehabilitation project that is estimated to cost $ 625 million. The main concerns of this project will be reconstruction of housing facilities and improvement of basic infrastructure. The government also approached NGOs and private organizations for assistance in rebuilding damaged villages where the damage sustained exceeded 70%. In most cases, the government also provided certain guidelines. NGO Efforts: The concerted efforts of NGOs from across the country and the globe ensured that immediate relief was provided to the villagers, in the form of temporary housing, medical supplies, food and clothing. The main concern that followed was the repair and reconstruction of the villages to enable the villagers to return back to normal as soon as possible. The Pentagon Charitable Foundation is one such organization that has collaborated with the Shrujan Trust, an NGO known for its commitment to the people of Kutch, to rehabilitate Bhadli Village, 45 km from Bhuj, which suffered 90% overall damage. Occupation: Bhadli village is predominantly an agricultural village with about 50% of the population engaged in cultivation. However, due to the scarcity and salinity of ground water, and lack of a major market, handicrafts soon became the occupation of choice.

Demographic distribution: Kutch has approximately 950 villages inhabited by a diverse population. Hindus constitute 89% of the population, 246

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

The Villagers lived in the open after the earthquake

Damage sustained: The earthquake destroyed 90% of the village. Nearly all the old houses, which constituted 75% of the village collapsed or developed major cracks. A major school was also destroyed and is no longer functional. The villagers have managed to recover 80% of their belongings from the rubble. School: A co-ed primary school with strength of 222 students and 7 teachers was fully functional before the earthquake. The school had from classes I to VII, with children of ages ranging from 5 to 14 years. Morning or afternoon sessions were held, depending on the season. In addition, a small kindergarten with 52 students was taught by 3 teachers, and functioned for 7 months of the year. The primary school needs to be rebuilt, and the possibility of the addition of a secondary school needed exploration. Medical Centre: The previous medical centre was mainly a small dispensary, with 3 doctors who are currently incapacitated. For major medical problems, villagers depend on a hospital 8 km away from the village. A better medical centre equipped to handle more complex medical problems could be added, provided there is enough demand and there are qualified doctors and nurses to staff it. Internal Roads: School Building after the earthquake

Some areas in the village have tar or stone roads, laid by the villagers. Circulation within the village is adequate during the winter, but the road becomes hot during the summer and muddy during the rains. A better system of paved/tar roads would serve to connect the village more efficiently. Road connections to neighbouring towns and villages would help the villagers trade their goods in a larger market. Village Lane Electricity: Only 75% of the houses have electricity connections, but face problems with voltage fluctuation. Also, there is no street lighting in the village apart from in the main square. With the rehabilitation process, provisions could be made to add street lighting and also make electricity connections available to the houses that did not previously have them. On the 26th of January 2001, a devastating earthquake of magnitude 6.9 (7.7 according to US sources) on the Richter Scale struck the state of Gujarat. The epicenter of the earthquake was situated around Bachau and Lodai on the main land fault and the thrust movement along this fault is considered to be the cause of the earthquake. According to the Gujarat Government, the earthquake affected 7,904 villages and a number of urban centres,

School Wall with the Map of India, after the earthquake

taking approximately 18,000 lives and causing over Rs. 2500 Crore in property damage. In addition, power stations were damaged and water and sanitation services across the region were rendered virtually useless. A disaster of this magnitude necessitated a massive rehabilitation program requiring both government and private aid.

Continuing Traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism: Case Studies in Form Making

247

FACILITIES THAT REQUIRE REPAIR AND UPGRADATION: Housing: With almost the whole village in ruins, the immediate need was the reconstruction of houses with sensitivity to the inhabitants’ specifications and requirements. Above all, the situation that occurred after the Latur earthquake wherein a large number of new houses remain uninhabited due to lack of consideration for the villagers’ needs had to be avoided. Majority of the houses in the village were two or three room houses with a kitchen, and a toilet outside the house. Other features included courtyards, cowsheds, looms or grain storage depending on the profession of the resident and verandas. Special attention was needed towards features typical of Kutch, such as niches in the walls for storage and decoration and embellishment of walls. The other type of housing consists of Bhungas, which are essentially circular mud huts constructed on a low platform with a deep overhanging thatched roof. Additionally, housing needs to be designed, using appropriate materials, to withstand earthquakes of large magnitude and extreme temperature fluctuations throughout the year. Caste/religious sensitivity and proximity to the fields should be incorporated into the village plan. Approximately 50% of the raw material for reconstruction is recoverable, including most of the doors and windows. The debris may be used in the aggregate for the roads or pavements, barring those for which appropriate disposal sites will have to be identified. Water Supply: Given the arid conditions and dependence on agriculture in Kutch, the water tables have been falling over the years and high levels of salinity in the ground water further compound this problem. Of the three original wells, only one bore-well was functional and was located 1.5 km outside the village. However, this well had almost been exhausted and there was a need for a new source of water, for which the villagers were going ahead with another bore well. The entire village has been crossed with PVC pipelines for water circulation along with the internal pathways, but as such there is not steady water supply to the houses. The main source of drinking was the well and there was no water treatment or purification system in place. The village had two rivers that were almost dry. All these factors pointed to a dire requirement for watershed management.

New House under Construction

New House under Construction

doors and windows on the top and bottom always end with an r.c.c. member, thus avoiding cracks during movement of the base. Shear keys at the base of the plinth, above the r.c.c. and in between the plinth beam and wall will be added to avoid displacement. Climate Resistant Features:

Proper sewage and sanitation systems:

The roof should continue on the sides till the ridge, forming an r.c.c. gable, which in turn supports the roof. Generally, Mangalore tiles are placed on purlins rafters and battens made of wood, which is now replaced by minimal steel angle or pipes. This system is inadequate because the tiles are not anchored and any strong wind will lift them off. No cantilever or overhanging should be provided on the gable side of the roof so as to avoid capture of wind during storms. However, on the other 2 sides, the roof can project beyond the walls to have effective drainage and also to protect the wall. The last row of Mangalore tiles of the roof overhang should be screwed down to the batons to avoid uplift by wind.

The new houses needed to include toilets and there was a need for adequate provision for drainage and sewage disposal. The previous sewage and sanitation systems were outdated and not very effective. New, efficient systems were needed to be added, or the existing systems could be modified.

Openings for ventilation in toilets and store-rooms should be of the minimum size required so as to avoid dust and the intense heat conditions prevalent in the area. The villagers prefer to have the openings higher up on the wall using r.c.c. jalis, which allow the exchange of air through small openings and also keep out birds and rodents.

Seismic Resistant Structures:

Proposed housing units:

The basic criterion for making a house seismic proof is to make it a homogeneous unit. The plinth is made of random rubble available in the village and is lined with an r.c.c. plinth beam, 1’6” above ground level. Similar to this, three other r.c.c. beams occur at the sill, lintel and roof base. The r.c.c. members are interconnected with vertical steel rods encased in concrete at every T and L junction. The openings for

The three main housing types are designed with 250 sq.ft, 350 sq.ft, 450 sq.ft as the maximum built up area. The first two modules have a living room and a kitchen, whereas the last module has two living rooms and a kitchen. Each housing unit will have a verandah. If an individual owns a larger plot of land, these units can be combined to form a large unit.

248

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Individual needs: Along with agriculture, bandhni making and handicrafts are the main professions of the villagers and adequate provisions need to be made to accommodate the materials and tools used, either within the house or outside. The villagers require space in the courtyard to store the material, work, dry the cloth, mix dyes and other activities. They prefer not to carry out these activities inside the house because of space constraints. In case the house does not have a courtyard, storage lofts should also be provided inside the house. As the villagers cook on wood fire chulhas rather than gas stoves, the kitchens need to be well ventilated and a non-mechanical system for removal of smoke needs to be devised. An alternative design solution is to replace outer walls of the kitchen with bamboo or MS jalis that will allow the smoke to escape and will keep out animals. Sufficient storage and seating area should be provided in the kitchen. Need to revise plans provided by the Government: Although the modules supplied by the government were adequate and functional, they were not designed in accordance with the specific needs of the people. Certain key features were not given importance and the underlying character of the village was not incorporated into the design. Hence the existing plan had to be modified. The five basic criteria that governed the basis of design for the new housing plan were (i) the character of the village, (ii) the needs and necessities of the villagers, (iii) the available space and cost of construction, (iv) need for structure resistant to seismic activity and climatic extremes and (v) the use of indigenous materials and the re-use of recovered material.

A rebuilt house

Artwork in the house

using available rubble. These areas can be used to carry daily activities and will also serve as a proper pathway in the rainy season. This rubble can also be used to make raised seating around trees.

Maintaining the character of the village: A verandah is essential for the houses because it forms a covered outdoor seating area and is used for a variety of activities. Houses that have courtyards can be oriented in such a way so as to avoid direct sunlight, as per site conditions. In houses that face the street, the verandahs form otlas or raised seating. Reuse of material: A large number of doors and windows are still in a fairly good condition and can be used with some repairs so as to lower costs. These will also help maintain the character of the village. Certain areas of the courtyard can be paved

Old doors repaired & reused

Decorated window of a new house in Bhadli

Rebuilt house near completion

The construction work for the new houses began in August 2001. Over 60 houses were complete and were being used. After the completion of these houses the villagers, on their own, did not start any type of embellishment on them. The embellishment of homes takes place in various parts of Kutch, but somehow due to the trauma of the earthquake that was not happening. As architects, we wanted to bring that cheer and colour and the sense of identity back into their homes. We first thought we would motivate them with the idea of a competition, but that did not get any response. There was one Muslim family who were staying in their ‘Bunga’ while their home was being built. The Bunga had patterns and this family showed keen interest in wanting to bring in colour to their home. We brought in the paint and soon other villagers collected to see what this homeowner was doing to his house Soon, a Hindu homeowner got enthused and brought in his friend who was an artist in the adjoining village. His house soon got worked on the many faces and the process had thus begun. The colours and designs were the homeowners’ choice. These two homes had worked as catalysts for the rest of the village. Slowly but steadily, other villagers began the creative process in their own ways on their homes. Doors, windows, interior walls, floors all got decorated. Some created the tulsi platform outside their home thus

Continuing Traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism: Case Studies in Form Making

249

Watershed Management

recreating the individual identity of their home. Our job was now complete and the villagers could take over. We could now proceed with the construction of the school and community centre. The villagers would take care of their homes themselves. By rebuilding their homes in their original location, we preserved the identity of the homeowners and the village itself. Watershed Management: In addition, watershed management and renewable energy sources are also being addressed in Bhadli Village. The Sajjanand Charitable Trust and Vivekanand Research and Training Institute are jointly working in these two areas. Monthly meetings in the village motivate the villagers and help project implementation as well as an exchange of ideas. The V.RT.I. has photovoltaic cell lamps, solar cookers etc., which are made available to the villagers with subsidized loans. The goal is to enable Bhadli to have renewable energy sources in every home and an adequate watershed management programme within the next two years. CONCLUSION There is more to conservation than looking after individual buildings of architectural and historical importance. The idea of group value and area conservation have come in due to a combination of the poor quality of many new buildings and the loss of familiar landmarks. Surrounded by accelerating change both in technology and society, people find comfort in familiar surroundings. Hence the importance of ensuring that earthquake devastated families returned to their original parcels of land was paramount. Here lies the success of Bhadli Village.

250

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

The Architecture Of Hotels: The Legacy Of Geoffrey Bawa Channa Daswatte Architect- MICD Associates, Madiwela, Sri Lanka Introduction The architecture of the modern Asian Hotel is now taken for granted. But this was not always the case. The earliest hotels built for organized tourism was mostly built in the tropical modern style related to the international style then prevalent in architecture. Tourism, the world’s largest industry has played a major role in the economies of south and South-East Asia now for well over 40 years. Although the notion of travel to exotic locations is not a new thing – Thomas Cook took his first travel groups to Egypt in the late 19th C – its transformation of the Asian landscape is relatively recent. Organized tourism as we see to today came to Sri Lanka for instance in the 1960’s when the then government saw the potential it offered for creating employment in an economy that was hitherto dependent on the export of tea, rubber and coconut. With changes in the world markets for these items, new avenues of industry were explored and a ministry of tourism and a tourist Board was set up for its promotion. Until the 1960’s the only places that people could stay if they travelled around Sri Lanka were the government circuit houses also know as ‘rest houses’ a legacy of the Dutch and British Colonial government. Situated in Prime locations these rest houses provided simple fare in terms of food, a clean bed and bathrooms for the few people who traveled for pleasure in that time. In addition to these, there were the Grand Colonial hotels and clubs in the main centers such as Colombo where the Galle Face Hotel (Fig. 1) opened its doors in 1865 and the Grand Oriental a little later, the Queen’s Hotel in Kandy, The Grand in Nuwara Eliya, the New Oriental Hotel in Galle and the Grand Hotel in

Fig.1: The Galle Face Hotel

Anuradhapura – so few they can all be named. With tourism promotion taking and active role in the economy it was felt that the places that people could stay should be made attractive to visitors and have more facilities. Initailly the old rest houses were refurbished to provide a more overtly “cultural” experience to the tourists. The Bentota Beach rest house on a spectacular site on an old fort where the Bentota River met the sea was refurbished and redecorated by a local bon vivant Bevis Bawa with help from an Australian artist staying with him, Donald Friend.i This redecoration was one of the first attempts to add a flavor of the contemporary local scene of handicrafts and art to a tourism establishment in Sri Lanka. Bevis Bawa was already well known in local and even amongst some foreign travelers through the beautiful garden he had created for himself at Kalawila about 5 Kilometers from Aluthgama on the western Coast of Sri Lanka. The garden was created from a tropical landscape into a personal fantasy in Fig.2: The Hunas Falls Hotel which Bawa Lived. This early attitude of needing to provide a cultural experience to the visitors was not always the generator of buildings as the industry began to grow fueled by the holiday package markets of the 1970’s and the demand for rooms became greater. The hotel is a building type, which provides experiences that allow people to escape from the drudgery of everyday existence. It suggests that the hotel as a morphological /genotype is consistent with being a sanatorium for the tired soul, and many a resort had been built in many parts of the world such as Hawaii, Rio de Janeiro and even Bali based on the international style of architecture that was in vogue at the time and looking just that- sanatoria. The Pegasus Reef Hotel, the Hunas Falls hotel (Fig 2) and the Tangalle Bay Beach seek to provide

(i) See Donald Friend diaries, the National Gallery of Australia, 2005 Continuing Traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism: Case Studies in Form Making

251

accommodation in modernist inspired architecture in stunning tropical locations. In fact the sanatorium model is hard to escape in some cases where the building simply provides accommodation from which one moves out to experience the landscape and the culture around. These buildings many of which, particularly the Tangalle Bay Beach hotel were interesting and inspiring buildings in themselves, they did not provide an experience that was rooted in the particular place, but a different more conceptual experience rooted in the architecture alone. The Bay Beach hotel for instance provides a fabulous experience of the possibilities of concrete and its malleability and attempts to capture the essence of living on a ship. Explorations in Traditional Construction in the contemporary practice of Architecture For sometime however architects and other interested individuals in Sri Lanka had been looking back at their own building traditions for inspiration. Minette de Silva, in 1950 recently returned from AA .Very much a part of the modernist debate on tradition and modernity, she was inspired by the local techniques of construction and local arts and crafts, ii to make them a part of the buildings she designed (Fig.3). She was even involved in the creation of a small tourist development close to the now world heritage site of Sigiriya using local materials and technology with a view to sustainability long before its time. Barbara Sansoni, a designer of textiles and founder of the Sri Lankan Handloom house ‘Barefoot’ for her part wrote an article for the local newspapers in praise of traditional buildings and there simplicity. Earlier an article by a British architect Andrew Boyd appeared in the Ceylon Observer Pictorial of 1939 titled “Houses by the Road” which appreciated local buildings and techniques. Geoffrey Bawa who had trained to be a lawyer came to

The first of the houses that displays this is the ASH de Silva house in Galle which he built for a doctor on a sloping suburban site (Fig. 4). The planning is clearly modern and rooted in the tradition of Mies van der Rohe and others. However in its actual manifestation as a house it is clearly rooted in Sri Lanka with a small courtyard replacing what in the van der Rohe house would have been a fireplace. A further opportunity to continue with these explorations came with a commission that was given to him by Ena de Silva (Fig 5). This lady, a scion of an old Sri Lankan family wanted a house that suited a modern lifestyle in terms of space and convenience, but rooted in the local traditions of building and history. One request was that there should be no glass. The house is now a classic of Bawa’s work and very cleverly integrates the advantages of a concrete column and beam construction with local building traditions. The modernist flowing plan breaks from the traditional Sri Lankan house which is a series of cells arranged around a courtyard, yet is very much in a local idiom that it is hard to believe it is a modern house. Here imported steel and concrete is used minimally with traditional building materials of lime, wood and terracotta tiles combined with river stones and cut granite. This emphasis on sustainable local material and skills use in construction is further seen in the estate bungalow in Polontalawa built in 1965, where Bawa and his partner Ulrik Plesner built a house by literally plotting it on the site full

Fig.4: The ASH de Silve house

Fig.3

architecture through a clearly modernist education at the AA. Whilst this was clearly reflected in his early work and iii he continued to use it in many buildings , in the houses he did he began to develop a new vocabulary that was rooted in the local traditions of construction. Bawa strongly believed that while an architect was essentially a manipulator of space and spatial experiences, the construction was best left to those who knew best about it. His relationship with a master crafts man Shahabdeen in many of his early works in legendary in the Bawa circle of friends and assistants. (ii) See de Vos, Asley; de Silva, Minette; Sirivardena, Susil (Eds.) (1998), Minnette de Silva – Life and work of an Asian Woman Architect, Ed. Minette de Silva (Pvt.) Ltd. (iii) See Robson David (2002), Geoffrey Bawa: the complete works, Thames and Hudson

252

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Fig.5: The Ena de Silve house

of boulders and rocks using sticks and stones! Here in a remote part of the north western province concrete is used very minimally – in effect one large beam spanning two boulders - to create a modern house of extraordinary elegance using materials that were found well within the area. The use of sustainable and affordable materials for construction was also brought about by the sheer lack of funds. At the farm School for orphaned girls run by the Good Shepherd congregation in Hanwella (Fig 6)

constructed in 1967 the organization simply had no spare money to indulge and architect. The materials for the construction of this elegant group of buildings come from within a kilometer radius of the site, with most from within the site. Traditional building techniques used once again for a modern need and use. This restriction of materials of foreign origin is not only because it was a conscious architectural decision, but also that they were simply hard to come by. In the 1960’s the then socialist government followed a policy of self-reliance that not only restricted the import of many goods from abroad, but also imposed heavy duties and taxation on those few things that were brought in. This made it more profitable to use as little of these as possible with more emphasis on the use of local materials and methods of construction. This renewal of interest in traditional building techniques for contemporary architecture led to a resurgence of the industry that produced these materials. The main components were still much a part of the building tradition of Sri Lanka, such as brick and mortar. These were then used to construct modernist inspired houses with smooth plastered walls made of brick standing in for the clean concrete walls of modernism with sloped corrugated sheet roofs hidden behind brick parapets to visually simulate flat roofs. But other finishing materials such as terracotta floor tiles, half round terracotta roof tiles and the use of materials such as coconut and other timbers for exposed roof construction and even fenestration gained a revival.

Fig.6: School at Hanwella

a town square. The simple vocabulary of white lime washed brick walls, and terracotta half round tile covered roofs mixed with an extensive planting of frangipani trees (plumeria rubra) make it very definitely connected to the place in which it is built where most of the local construction that survived had half round tile covered roofs.

The Development of a ‘ Tourism Style’ All this interest in the use of local building techniques in the constructions of buildings was first synthesized for a building for tourism when in 1965, the architect Geoffrey Bawa’s many schemes for building hotels came true with the construction of the Blue Lagoon Hoteliv(Fig.7). This is built like a traditional rest house with a main reception building connected to a dining pavilion with the accommodation placed in villas set around the grounds. Here for the first time Geoffrey Bawa brings to the design of a hotel certain aspects of his work rooted in the local traditions of building, on the development of which he had been working with for a few years.

Fig.8: The Bentota Beach Hotel

Connected to this development are perhaps the seminal works of Asian tourism architecture. Bawa built the Bentota Beach Hotel and the Serendib hotel for different tourism markets. They represent two completely different spatial experiences but use the same local materials and techniques. The Bentota Beach Hotel replaced the old rest house that stood on the site and was to become the centerpiece of the tourist resort, while the Serendib was to replace the functions of the rest house on an adjacent site. In these two projects were initiated two very important aspects of the architecture of Asian tourism. They were the need for a clearly articulated sequence of arrival, and the suggestion of a story that roots the building to its place. This had to be done using space and the available materials.

Fig.7: The Blue Lagoon Hotel

After the Blue Lagoon Hotel, Bawa was commissioned to design the tourist resort for Bentota which he master planned. One of the commissions he had was to create a tourist village.This he designed as a series of terracotta tile covered walkways around a series of courtyards and (iv) See Robson David (2002), Geoffrey Bawa: the complete works, Thames and Hudson

Fig.9: The Serendib Hotel

Continuing Traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism: Case Studies in Form Making

253

At the Bentota beach (Fig.8) the traveler is confronted with an almost forbidding arched stone entranceway with allusions to the Old Dutch fort that had stood here in the 16th C. The visitor is then drawn up stone stairway by the brilliant colors of a cloth batik ceiling to the reception pavilion which in turn opens into a water filled courtyard and from there through another open pavilion to a view of palm trees and sea. Space and materials are here used to provide a sense of ease at the point of arrival for a guest. The bedrooms themselves area arranged in two levels above with private balconies looking out to sea and again uses timber for its external structure, the whole alluding to the timber super structures of south Asian buildings such as the Palace at Padmanabhapuram in India.

Fig.10

Fig.11: The Triton Hotel

At the Serendib Hotel (Fig. 9) the arrival is less protracted, but equally memorable. The visitor alights under a soaring porte cochère and proceeds down a passage with a distant view of the sea to a small courtyard with a bubbling pool that is overlooked by the reception area. The dining room and lounge beyond open directly to the lawns that lead to the beach and the sea. The rooms themselves are housed on either side of this arrival and dinning area on the ground and the floor above and very cleverly tucked into what appears at first glance an old colonial warehouse such as that may have been used by the Dutch in the 17th C. But by cleverly cutting out parts of the roof as light wells that open into gardens inside the building, lining the walkways to the rooms, this simple structure is transformed into a modern building for tourism.

allowing ventilation and openings on opposite walls provided for cross ventilation. Furniture was mostly built in with brick and terracotta including the cupboards and dressing tables. Locally manufactured modern handloom materials provided the soft furnishings and added color to the whole ensemble. The white-washed brick walls, polished terracotta tiles with roofs with open frameworks and covered in corrugated sheets laid over with the half round terracotta tiles amidst groves of Frangipani trees became to be identified as a clearly modern Sri Lankan style of architecture. The simple vocabulary Bawa had used in the Bentota tourist village to build a series of building including a police station, Bank and railway station in addition to the shopping areas was an accessible language that began to be copied and filtered down to the general population when it came to building for tourism.

In both cases the original rooms were designed to be used without air-conditioning, then a very expensive luxury. Small louvered timber shutters provided privacy while

Bawa repeated this approach in his projects for his old friend, the Australian artist Donald Friend, now settled in Bali. Bawa took what were essentially traditional forms

Fig.12: The Lighthouse Hotel

254

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

and materials of Balinese construction and readapted them to allow for the lifestyles of the modern jet setter. A traditional bataran base of a Bale Agung with its huge solid brick base was adapted as a building with private and therefore less open bedrooms at the bottom and an open sided sitting room on top (Fig 10). The many pavilions of a Balinese home compound was easily adapted as a series for entertaining and sleeping pavilions, thus creating a Balinese architecture suited to a different lifestyle other than Balinese. In his later works for hotel companies in Sri Lanka, Bawa developed a contemporary vernacular vocabulary that married beautifully the advantages of modern materials available to architects in the changing technical and economic scenario around him. At the Triton Hotel (Fig 11) for instance a simple concrete frame structure is married with a traditional tiled roof with long eaves to create an impression of a series of garden pavilions connected by courtyards in this otherwise massive 185roomed hotel. At the Lighthouse hotel (Fig 12) more massive brick construction technology is used to make a series of massive warehouse like structures placed on an undulating site by the sea and interconnecting them with open loggias and verandahs that use a concrete frame.

benefited directly from it rather than through a trickle down effect if only the local tour companies handled it. This transformation is something that will have happened inevitably. But in Sri Lanka at least it has been something that has been part of the industry for a long time leading to very interesting holiday experiences such as Unawatuna and Hikkaduwa Beaches in the South coast .

Fig.13: The Four Seasons Hotel

Fig.15: Readaption of traditional building

This architecture was certainly not straightforward traditional building. It was traditional building methods and techniques used in conjunction with some modern materials to create an ambience clearly rooted in the place. It celebrated the simple pleasures of life such as a breeze blowing through a verandah lounge and moonlight streaming in through lattice covered windows. This approach has been repeated now in many parts of the world where the vernacular and traditional methods have been adopted to build for tourism giving the visitor a stylish contemporary lifestyle they are used to but close enough to an authentic experience of the environment, culture and art of the place they are visiting (Fig.13) cultural

Another effect of this choice of materials and architecture was that there emerged an interest in the conservation and modification of old buildings that many of these ideas emerged from for the use of buildings in tourism. The Club Villa or Mohotti Wallauwe ( Fig.14) as it is now known was originally bought by Bawa as a seaside cottage for his country residence, but soon saw its potential as a tourist hideout. He conserved and added to this small 19th C house to recreate and ambience of the place if not a replica of it to make this one of the first small boutique hotels in Sri Lanka. Many such have followed and today Sri Lanka and Asia have a plethora of these beautiful and creative re-adaptations of traditional buildings leading to their conservation and protection (Fig.15).

This approach to using traditional methods of construction had a significant effect on the putting the tourism industry in Sri Lanka at least on an egalitarian footing - a tourist hotel need not be a place that is something far removed from the everyday experience of Sri Lanka and its buildings. This served to take the industry to the grass roots communities in the areas with tourists living very closely with the local population. The social repercussions of this have been many, and in democratic societies almost unavoidable, trade in sex and drugs being the most talked about examples. Economically however it allowed for a greater distribution of the Tourist Dollar amongst the communities that then

Another beneficiary of the local approach to buildings in the tourist industry has been local artists, arts and crafts. Bawa strongly believed that an architect while catering to the functional and technical aspects of architecture, Vitruvius’s commodity and firmness, had to also dwell into an emotional aspect of architecture, the delight. This, Bawa’s work has plenty of, where the buildings not only delight the user, but the delight that was part of the creation of the structure is seen in it. His architecture did not restrict itself to simply being an arrangement of space for functions but be engaged with all aspects of the space including furniture and decoration. To this end many artists who eventually became friends were engaged to provide various materials.

The effect development

on

Socio-economic

and

Fig.14: The Club Villa

Continuing Traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism: Case Studies in Form Making

255

Fig.16: Sculpture by Laki Senanayake at Lighthouse Hotel

Fig.17: Ceiling at the Bentota Beach Hotel

The sculptor Laki Senanayake has almost invariably a place in many a Bawa project where he uses art as a focus in many places in his buildings. At the Serendib hotel a sea queen greets visitors near the entrance, a peacock dances to delight the diners at the Bentota Beach Hotel and a palm tree is the focus of the main lounge at the Neptune hotel. In later works a large hand painted mural engages the users of the main stair taking them through a botanical drawing of a rain forest, and at the Light house hotel a scene of battle between the Portuguese invaders and local inhabitants distracts the arriving visitor until they have climbed a full fifteen feet into the main level of the hotel to be confronted with a stunning view of crashing waves (Fig. 16). All this used traditional metal working techniques and local craftsmen to produce them. The local metal workers were made to experiment and use the traditional techniques to come out with new forms and aesthetic experiences to their trade.

invented a particularly Sri Lankan style of Batik through the work she did for the Bawa hotels and other projects. Her first major commission was for the ceiling at the reception of the Bentota beach hotel (Fig.17), with later works emerging at the triton Dining room, the suites at the Kandalama hotel and bar at the Lighthouse hotel.

Ena de Silva, Bawa’s client and friend was also an artist in her own right who used traditional regional techniques in her work. She almost single handedly

The other local industry to benefit and perhaps find its own due to this transformation in the design for tourism was the Sri Lankan handloom industry. Bawa worked almost exclusively with the local handloom house called Barefoot started by Barbara Sansoni. Barbara took the local weaving techniques and came out with her own unique style of cloth that was modern yet rooted in traditional technique. Brilliant color combinations inspired by the in environment around her, Bawa regularly used her work in his buildings for the tourist industry as curtains or bedspreads and sometimes, ceiling fabric and even in uniforms (Fig.18) This work, originally experimental has now led to a revival of some of these traditional crafts and they have developed a unique modern Sri Lankan identity, ensuring their future survival. Conclusion It seems than that the work of Geoffrey Bawa in his work on tourist hotels managed to synthesize a ‘style’ that somehow rooted the building in its place and related it to the landscape. Each building integrated to the context and culture within which it was built and as all great works of art also managed to show some aspect of the place and culture that would not have been otherwise obvious.

Fig.18: Use of modern fabrics with traditional techniques

256

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

The use of traditional building methods was not something that was pursued for its own sake, but because it was economically, environmentally and socially acceptable and mostly necessary. In today’s practice however traditional building is often taken to symbolize a particular experience rather than to experience a place and culture. Bali may

be experienced in Bangalore and Ubud in Unawatuna. This globalization of so-called traditional building seems to take much away from the origins and meaning of using traditional building techniques for tourism in our Asian cultures. Architectural culture at least, somehow seems to be an interchangeable commodity to be experienced wherever one feels like it, devoid of the actual people and language and scenery that spawned it. This particular approach certainly takes away from any idea of sustainability and appropriateness that traditional building may have brought to the tourism industry in the beginning. In a radical departure from his usual oeuvre, in building perhaps the most beautiful hotel he ever built, Bawa appears to abandon all that is traditional. In the Kandalama Hotel (Fig.19) built late in his practice Bawa opted for a less obviously traditional palette of materials. In the middle of a forest in North Central Sri Lanka the 160 bedroom hotel had to make as minimum a mark on the ground as possible to abide by the conservation guidelines that were imposed on it. On the fifty acres of monsoon forest allocated for the project any traditional construction method would have meant a large area of vegetation to be cleared. Bawa instead chose a concrete frame structure that was seen as scaffolding that the jungle might take over with a concrete flat roof planted over with grass and wilderness to reduce the thermal loads that may effect the atmosphere in this area. The simple structure also sits above the ground leaving the original profile of land to flow beneath it with the rain into the magnificent 4th C artificial lake that it looks onto. The jungle has now part reclaimed the building, the wild vegetation of the tropical monsoon forest, all but covers the entire building with monkeys wandering its highest terraces and birds nesting outside the toilet windows, and at night the guests share there corridors with bats lizards, huge moths and fireflies.

architecture - and there never has been – that is in conflict with the human purpose behind it. …..Unless whatever life it set out to serve is lived fully in it, a building fails as architecture, and when I say fully, I mean both physical and spiritual contentment. This is a large territory to conquer, but anything less cannot be enough. We here in Ceylon, in the past decade or two, have been forced to look more closely at ourselves, to rely on our own thoughts and efforts. In architecture this means we have to look again at our country – its lush beauty, rains and sun, dramatic sky and fertile land. Perhaps from this follows the second fundamental rule: that a building in Ceylon must be in accordance and sympathy with this ambience. These two rules take us a long way. To me they seem inviolable. But there is one more, a technical rule: there must be a knowledgeable and true use of the materials with which you build.” Geoffrey Bawa, “A way of Building”, Ceylon Times Annual 1968, AJ 1969

Fig.19: Kandalama Hotel

In abandoning traditional building techniques however, Bawa has not abandoned the value of a traditional building. One that is made to suit the land that it rises out of and become one with the context it is in and makes the user mindful and respect that environment and context. For in the end, not all the traditional techniques used in building can disguise an architecture that lives outside and desecrates its context. Bawa’s attitude to architecture seems to point the way. “There is no easy way, full of intellectual signposts, leading to good and satisfactory architecture. But there are rules. Not new ones, but some old and strong ones, and though obvious, sometimes ignored. First and most important, a building must, at the very least, completely satisfy the needs that gave it birth. There is no good Continuing Traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism: Case Studies in Form Making

257

Building With Bamboo: Continuing A Tradition In A Modern Context Prasad Jonathan D. W., Architect- Inspiration, Cochin Introduction: India has a rich tradition of building with Bamboo. With about 125 species spread across eighteen genera, the availability of bamboo resources in India is the second largest in the world ranking only behind China. There are about 1,500 documented traditional uses – from cradle to grave – of bamboo, inclusive of construction. With the backing of over 20 years of research done in structural application of bamboo by Shri K.R. Datye and Shri V.N. Gore of Geo-Science Services, Mumbai, together with in-house inputs in architectural design, structural RCC and ferro-cement design and inputs from our expert craftpersons and whole construction management team, we at Inspiration have attempted to make use of this highly renewable and versatile material in today’s context. One of our earliest usage of bamboo constitutes a bamboo reinforced road-base, covering an area of 6000 sq.m., at a site with marine clay soil and surrounded by backwaters. Our other non-building but structural uses of bamboo include a water tank of capacity up to 20,000 liters, culvert

of length 14 m and width 4m and a retaining walls 3m high for over 25 m length. Our own office premises in Cochin, Kerala, covering an area of 2750 sq.ft, is a first of its kind structure and an experiment where we have attempted to develop a technology (bamboo and reinforced plaster) for using bamboo in floors, walls and roofs in ways that meet our contemporary needs - an effort for which we have been honoured with the National award by HUDCO. A Resort at Kumarakom, for Abad Group of Hotels, is the place where we have attempted to take the afore mentioned technology to a higher degree of perfection – prefabrication - where it caters to the high end clients of the tourism industry. Our next step is in improvising on the prefabrication of wall, floor and roof bamboo panels, optimizing the properties of the various components constituting it, to help in our attempt to bring it into mainstream architecture. This paper outlines in detail the design and construction of our office in Ernakulam, Kerala - our first step in the direction of bringing about a paradigm shift in the use of materials - and the future prospects in front of us. About Inspiration ‘Inspiration’ creatively combines a group of architects, planners, infrastructure engineers, structural and construction management personnel, interior and product designers, administration and finance personnel, horticulturists, trained artisans and technicians – all under one roof. With over 18 years of experience in the field of nature friendly designs and constructions, Inspiration today enjoys a niche clientele in the field - ranging from individuals, business houses / corporates, Government departments and NGOs who aspire for environmentally sensitive habitats/ development. Our primary objectives as an organization, an eco-sensitive design group are to • disseminate regional planning concepts to limit urban sprawl; and at same time preserve and regenerate built and natural heritage. • pioneer design and development of Walkers’ townships, Eco villages, nature friendly institutions, communities, resorts and residences. • initiate extensive rain water harvesting and biomass regeneration projects • design and commission decentralized solid waste, decentralized sewage and waste water management systems. • bring in viable renewable energy applications. • optimize bio climatic design of buildings and use of low energy local materials. • anchor investments in high value nature friendly projects.

The administration and design studio block of the office.

258

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Solar power for Mitradam Energy centre, Ernakulam.

Planted gravel filter at Hotel Sarovaram, Ernakulam.

Residence of Mr. Gopinath, Ernakulam.

Office premises of Kerala Horticulture Development Prog.

‘Swaswara’ resort at Gokarna, near Goa.

• adopt internationally accepted design and construction standards. • give high priority in observing social commitment guidelines with respect to eco-ratings, disaster preventives, care towards elderly, disabled and the under privileged. • evolve and inspire aesthetic standards integrating and balancing all of the above.

set up a design and construction team which can deliver site and need specific nature friendly developments as a ‘customized product’.

We as a team have been involved in the design and construction of over 400 projects, over the last 18 years, including individual residences, institutions, hotels and resorts, community housing, conservation of heritage buildings, water management projects and walker townships. A significant aspect of our work has been our effort to

It was in this context that when the time came to build our own office we felt the need to take a step or join in the direction of bringing about a paradigm shift in the use of materials from the centrally produced, energy intensive to the locally available, renewable, non-energy intensive and sustainable. The search brought us to bamboo.

Our in-house team helps in translating a holistic space design integrating infrastructure systems, landscape and interiors, with optimum structural systems and be managed and built within budgets and time lines.

Continuing Traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism: Case Studies in Form Making

259

Shri.KR Datye and Shri.Vilas N Gore are structural and geo-technical engineers based in Mumbai, who have done over 20 years of research and field tests in application of bamboo as a structural material. Their inputs together with in-house inputs in architectural design, structural RCC and Ferro cement design, and inputs from our expert craftspersons and whole construction management team, helped us in our attempt to make use of this highly renewable and versatile material in today’s context. What we wanted was. . . • to be able to accommodate the whole of our multifaceted staff team. • to retain all the trees in the premises. • to have optimum natural lighting in every corner during daytime, and good natural ventilation and thermal comfort. • we were clear that what we are trying to achieve is a modern building, in the sense that it would have to have all the conveniences, facilities and requirements that a conventional building of this nature would have. We of course had to take a lot of other factors into consideration. . . • the building had to resist 200 kmph cyclonic winds and earth quake of intensity that can occur in the region. • weak soil. • high water table - ground dampness. • insect, termite and rodent attacks were also to be prevented. • to satisfactorily meet all of the above requirements at less than market costs prevalent in our area for a building having so many features.

The deck and directors cabin.

The Design The building planning concept is woven around openness in plan that keeps the communication flowing yet maintains privacy. The orientation of the building is such that the north east morning winds blowing over the pond gets cooled and flows into office areas. Passages act as buffer zones stopping the rain and harsh light from entering workspaces. The layout can be broadly classified into the following spaces: • Public spaces: Reception area acts as a public space linking the entrance and the workspaces. • Semi private spaces: The deck, pantry and conference act as semi private spaces. These are places such that they do not disturb the private and executive zones. • Private spaces: They form a link between semi-private and executive spaces. And yet maintain a level of privacy. It consists of the Administration and Design office. • Executive spaces: This is constituted by the architect’s cabins. They form their own entity yet get a view of the work spaces.

Plan of the ground floor of the office accommodating the reception, a meeting room, the deck, administration wing and the pantry.

The first floor houses the engineering and the design studio connected by a corridor. At the center of this corridor is a director’s work space. The staircase part also acts as an entrance space below. The first floor plan of the office

260

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Sectional view through (from left to right and bottom to top) the administration wing, design studio, the deck and directors cabins.

Birds eye view of the whole office complex.

The Structure Covering an area of 2750 Sft, our office is probably the first and largest of its kind and an experiment where we have attempted to develop a technology (bamboo and reinforced plaster) for using bamboo in floors, walls and roofs in ways that meet our contemporary needs. Bamboo is used in combination with RCC (columns), ferrocement (beams), and a limited quantity of reinforced plaster so as to arrive at an attractive functional and replicable combination of technologies.

The deck with the director’s cabin above overlooking the RWH pond.

It is noteworthy that almost 25% of the bamboo used in the building was cut from the immediate premises of the building. The Foundation Considering the weak soil and the high water table the structure stands on column footings about 3 feet deep. Standing the structure on stilts helped prevent the dampness from seeping in and also safeguarded the bamboo from termite, insect and rodent attacks. The maximum load on a column is 30 KN and an isolated footing is provided for the foundation.

The foundation Continuing Traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism: Case Studies in Form Making

261

The Floors, Walls and Roofs

by one column is 30 KN and an isolated footing of size 1m x 1m is provided to take the load.

The infill floor, walls and roof of the building are constructed using microsteel reinforced mortar bamboo composite.

The building was monitored for two years on a weekly basis. Observations were made in the X, Y and Z axis for displacement and no displacement was observed.

Large glazed windows are given all along the inward looking walls which give ample protected lighting and ventilation. The temperature difference between the exterior and the interior averages 4-5 degrees on a hot summer day.

Micro-steel-reinforced mortar-bamboo composite wall panels. The slender frame of the building.

Preservative Treatment All bamboo used on the building has been given preservative treatment. At the time of construction water based CCA treatment was given. A pressure of 3.5 Kg/cm for one hour was found to be sufficient to achieve a retention of more than 8 Kg/m3 (dry salt) in split bamboo. Presently we are into Liquid Organic Solvent Preservative (LOSP) cold dip treatment for in-situ bamboo. It is a nonhazardous trichlorophenol formulation which can be used to replace water soluble preservatives. Other Features Glazing along inward looking walls.

Apart from the bamboo structure other features of the office complex include…

Finishes While we have gone in for a predominantly red-oxide finish with stone slab inlays in certain places for the floor, putty finish over the plastered side of the composite panel for the walls and mangalore tiles for the roof, this kind of construction technology allows for almost any kind of finish desired. Loading The dead load of the composite is 1500 N/m2 and the live load is taken as 4000 N/m2. The building is also analyzed for wind and earthquake loads. The maximum load taken

Red-oxide floor finish

262

An Anaerobic treatment plant (DEWATS) treats the sewage and waste water generated in the office. The system consists of an anaerobic baffled reactor, planted gravel filter and polishing pond. The treated water is recycled for gardening. Rain water is harvested and the pond acts as a beautiful landscape element. Here it is worth mentioning the method of water proofing for the pond: local clay forms impermeable lining in wet condition. An LDPE geo-fabric liner protects the clay from drying, cracking and leaking. In an attempt to minimize river sand mining and its consequences, manufactured sand was used instead.

Interior walls finished with putty;

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Mangalore tiles over bamboo roof.

Split bamboo being stacked for drying in covered space after LOSP cold dip.

The LOSP cold dip tank.

The polishing pond with the planted gravel filter in the background.

Significant Achievements We found that. . . • Bamboo replaces almost 80% of structural cement and steel, without compromising on any of the qualities that make use of RCC popular. • The self weight of the building is reduced by around 50% in comparison to a conventional building of the same nature, which can be very advantageous when used for a multi-storied building as the basic building frame can be made much lighter. • This technology can, with some more effort, be easily adapted for standardization and assembly line production of prefabricated components. Our other projects in Bamboo

The rain-water-harvesting pond as seen from the viewing deck.

Pre-cast ferro-cement beams have been used as an alternative to RCC. This reduces both the quantity of steel used and the cost.

This office building of ours is fortunately the first structure in bamboo that we managed to construct. Having the advantage of an in-house construction and crafts team we were able to design and execute several other structures in bamboo. Given in the following pages are some of the structures. . .

Continuing Traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism: Case Studies in Form Making

263

‘Whispering Palms’ Holiday resort for Abad group of Hotels at Kumarakom.

Pathway leading to the standard cottages

A pool villa

The interior of a standard cottage

Pathway leading to the standard cottages

The outdoor toilet of a standard cottage

Demonstration buildings for Kerala Forest Research Institute, Nilambur, Kerala.

View of the complex showing three bamboo buildings each highlighting a different category of application – residential, office and medium rise. All components – floors, walls and roofs -are of bamboo

264

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Administration Building for Socio Economic Unit Foundation, Alleppey.

Conclusion I would like to conclude giving an example which illustrates the Potential of Bamboo. Bamboo grows very fast and is highly renewable. To build 1000 houses of bamboo annually, material may be taken from a 60-hectare bamboo plantation, which can be replaced in 5-7 years. If an equivalent project used timber, it would require 500 hectares of forest cover and it would take decades to replace. Bamboo, unlike cement and steel, helps in decentralizing the construction process’ which has both economic and more importantly ecological advantages. SEUF is an NGO working in the field of water and sanitation and this was out first structure in bamboo having a circular form.

Our upcoming projects in Bamboo and our Dream project. Our upcoming bamboo projects include • Back Packer Resorts, Alleppey, Kerala. Accomodation for approx 240 back packers • River Valley, Trivandrum, Kerala. An IT office complex, approximately 40,000 sft in area. We of course are dreaming of the day when we would be commencing the construction of a 15 storeyed high rise building in bamboo.

Continuing Traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism: Case Studies in Form Making

265

Evolving A Vocabulary Of Architecture

brief of the project and also handle the potential of the site. I explain my thesis here with specific examples as an exploratory journey.

Gerard da Cunha, Architect, Goa While working in a particular region, research about the place on how the inhabitants traditionally solved their basic problems of shelter, is essential. This might be the choice of materials, the techniques deployed due to the limitations of the material and how they tackled challenges posed by the climate in the form of rains, the storms and the variations of temperatures. Next, we look at the local genius, the aesthetics being created in terms of the craft employed in the building, how they enclosed space and how they presented their buildings to the Gods. Trying to adopt an evolutionist ideology in my design process, my belief is that the only way to design effectively is to let the design evolve during the act of building. It is impossible to decide everything in advance, and the site provides the best position from which key decisions can be made. Therefore, it is important that the architect is also the builder. And when he lets the workers participate in the process of building, that’s when it is possible to recover craftsmanship. The starting points of the design are the clues provided by the site and the regional vernacular. From there on, the language of design is provided by materials in terms of structure, texture and colour. The T- Square and the computer are shackles on creativity. In the beginning of any design effort, I use my research as a loose starting point. Like vernacular examples, I try and use a holistic system of construction, which automatically creates its aesthetic. It is important to me that the system or language I evolve should be capable of solving the complex

The hotel now owned by the Taj Group of Hotels

266

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Nrityagram

Nrityagram Dance Village – Bangalore. This was an idealistic project for the famous Indian Classical dancer Protima Bedi. She wanted to recreate a village which would nurture Indian Classical dance, which was otherwise on a decline. Her dance village would teach according to the ancient Guru Shishya Parampara where the Teacher and the student would live in close proximity so that the art would get passed on. It also included an adjoining site for a resort. The site was a rather poor one, 400 mts x 100 mts of slightly undulating land with small mango trees. Subsequently, another seven acres were bought. The basic planning was of a village which was to grow spontaneously along a pedestrian spine. A service road was planned along the periphery. I moved from Goa to Bangalore and lived in this place in a tent for over a year as I studied how local village buildings were constructed and how local craftsmen worked.

The local system of construction- a framework of rough granite columns, beams, lintels and slabs

The first building under construction

The building had a foundation of random rubble of granite, in mud mortar, and a slab was introduced at plinth level to handle settlement. The workers used random local stones in mud mortar and made the plinth beam in granite. There was also plentiful usage of a particular brown stone found on the site. Another local system of construction was the use of a framework of rough granite columns, beams, lintels and slabs, where they used granite posts a foot by 8 inches and put beams on top and slabs across. It was very cheap and came from a distance The Nubian dome of a few kilometers around. The system however meant that the design of building had to be rather simple. Something, which I was not used to doing as I was more inclined towards curvesd forms. I therefore decided to use the Nubian dome. I married the Nubian dome into the plans creating a varied plan. In this structure the larger spaces such as the living and bedrooms are placed under the domes while the service areas such as the kitchen, toilets are placed under slabs. The system thus evolved could take on a more complex brief as seen in this Kathak Gurukul i.e. the teacher’s house, with separate living areas of the girl students, the boy students and a

Model of the Kathak Gurukul

practice hall. The structure of columns was in the middle and on the exterior I used walls and on the grid I kept openings which could be used as doors, or windows or any other use I could put it to. The Nubian dome was very simple to build and the village masons perfected it in a few days. Soon, they could build a dome of four meter span within a day. As I was living on the site, my approach to working drawings was very basic. I only used a scale. It was a crazy method of design where I drew up detailed plans at 1:50 before I started building

One of the architect’s drawings used for the construction of Nrityagram

Continuing Traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism: Case Studies in Form Making

267

and made sure it worked. I then drew the foundation plans and then threw my drawings away. I started my building using the foundation as a drawing board, after which I detailed down the various aspects on small pieces of paper at 1:1 or 1:5. It was a completely psyched approach to build. When one lives on the site one spends a lot of time doing strange things like these. A depression on the site became the water body of the hotel project. The slabs and domes, along with a creative use of material resulted in a rather interesting architectural landscape. The whole thing was a combination of various things like a column and beam construction along with domes. Various interesting things have been attempted without deviating from the structural systems. The buildings were made in only mud and stone and therefore were allowed to develop their own shapes. The cob web block which houses the suites came out the way the structure dictated. The partition walls in the hotel rooms were rendered with mud plaster with mythological scenes painted on the same. The stones within the insides of the building were not dressed. This place is now owned by the Taj Group of Hotels. The Gateway of the dance village was inspired by a Torana, the sacred vedic and Buddhist entrance. Grass thatch became the roofing material is the large span Yoga centre. The buildings were a product of the construction systems and had repetitive external wall systems with Masonry and then an Arch. The Arch could be bricked in, include a door or a window inserted or could be just left open.

The Gateway of the dance village inspired by the Torana

Vidyanagar – Karnataka. The project is in the Hot Arid region of South India close to the World Heritage site at Hampi. It is a company town attached to a large steel factory. There were many constraints related to the remoteness of the location, urgency in completion and a low budget. I visited numerous company towns and realized that it had been a badly handled subject, with a master planner making a land use plan and individual designers later placing a school, market, or housing complex within. No account was taken of the spatial aspect of the town and there was no discernable network for the services. I therefore decided to create a township that was: · Unique in its identity · Comfortable in this hot climate · Safe for children

268

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

The cobweb block which is a part of the hotel

The Yoga Centre

The hotel

· Where houses are homes and have individuality (not identified by mere numbers) and are built largely with prefabricated systems. · Flexible in its planning to cater for expansion and change. · Modern and uses state of the art technology. · Visually interesting with wonderful streetscapes, unfolding views, surprises and vistas. · Urban in character. · A result of the lie of the land and inspired by the region. · Meant primarily for people, with services and traffic being secondary. Services must be put in a network to cater to expansion and change.

Vidyanagar township

We felt the need to go down and do something very interesting but realized that it was more of a management problem than purely a design issue. One had to co-ordinate various consultants, for e.g. in plumbing and electrical work etc., who had their own issues. The client wanted 600 houses in 300 days and no delays. He wanted to avoid deviations in the design of the house, with every general manager having the same number of windows and therfore it was quite difficult at that point to marry all conflicts. We began with the cluster design, wherein the various units formed building blocks which could be joined together in various ways thus creating interesting streetscapes. The unit had to be capable of adjusting to the varied slope of the land. In this idealistic layout, 4 clusters of 18 houses each overlook an open space which is connected to the neighborhood park. The whole area is free from vehicular traffic. The masterplan of the site which has about 10000 people living here includes all expected facilities such as the market, a club, hotel, schools, temples and the area’s airport.

The cluster

The type IV units were used as corner units. Each unit was designed permitting the roof of one to be used as the terrace of another. Local stone was used at the lower levels and a system of concrete joists was present to support a stone slab roof. The open space within each cluster was landscaped in a different manner. The major open spaces accommodate the public gardens. Each unit had a different plinth level and each home has either a garden or a terrace which is used extensively for sleeping and external living.

A typical house in the township

The type IV corner unit (above) & type V unit (below)

Continuing Traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism: Case Studies in Form Making

269

A clock tower at one of the nodal intersections

The main open space with the larger playground

Many of the streets have an interesting geometry. There exists an alternative pedestrian system of pathways as well. It is in the form of a pedestrian spine, going through the town, where one can go from the club to the shopping center, from there to the playground or the theater. The entire pathway system was shaded by trees. Important vistas have buildings as focal points and public buildings are designed around courtyard spaces. The market place also has a park in the centre where stone pergolas have been used as shading devices for buildings. Important buildings such as the temple have gateways providing them importance. The gateway to the temple is a large pagoda all done in stone. All these various touches add a great deal in contributing to the overall feel of the place.

Pergolas are used as shading devices

The shopping centre with a central garden

The shaded streets of the township

Gerardia- Museum of Houses of Goa This is a personal project where I built a centre for my little kingdom. The site is located about 7 kms from Panjim and is in a beautiful valley. I bought this triangle to create a roundabout as I possess a number of buildings all around. It had to help sort out the traffic problem to my wife’s school and also house a little Museum on the traditional Goan House. Nisha’s playschool

Museum

To spring

llage

i To v

Architect’s house

city To

Architect’s office

The site for Gerardia

270

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

View of the building at night

Gallery Toilet

Gallery

Kitchen

Gallery/Theatre

Reception

Plans of (from left to right) the ground floor, levels I, II and III

I placed the building like a traffic island along with parking. The building envelope was trianglular and an acute triangular plan was used with a little spiral staircase placed in the centre. I cut off the corners so that traffic could flow around easily and corbelled out to complete the triangle above. The reception, toilet and café are at the ground level. At the first level is Gallery 1 with two little balconies at the two ends. At the second level is Gallery 2 with little cut outs at the ends. The third level is theatre is Gallery 3 which also houses a theatre where people can sit and watch a film. From the road it looks like a ship and from the left it resembles a fish. Giant grinding stones are used as columns at the ends.

Level II with details of Goan Architecture: doors, windows etc.

Gallery 3/Theatre

Gallery 2

Gallery 1 Ground Floor

Section

Level III with the theatre (with a screen that can be pulled down)

Giant grinding stones are used as columns at the ends

In conclusion, it must be emphasised that the process is very important in realizing the design. The next important thing is your response to the site. The last thing is the usage of the local element in terms of the structural system, the materials and the local genius of the place.

Continuing Traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism: Case Studies in Form Making

271

Continuing Traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism: Case studies in Place Making

Place Making In India – Some Streets In A Small Town, A Historic Precinct And A Haat Pradeep Sachdeva Architect & Designer, New Delhi These examples of completed and ongoing urban projects depict the process of Place-Making from conceptualization to completion. These projects in the urban realm examine the synergies between our urban, cultural and architectural heritage. The intention is not to produce architectural objects or urban intrusions, but to create a place, which is rendered meaningful by the people for whom it is meant. This involves a deep understanding of the traditions and the values of the place and its people and it is on these subtle and simplistic sensibilities that these projects are based.

design of the project began by creating a central open place for the public with the crafts shops and the food stalls on either side of it. The intention was not to have too many shops and to provide a lot of space for people to walk around. The crafts shops are towards the front and the food stalls at the back, keeping in mind how fond the people of Delhi are of eating. If the arrangement had been otherwise it is quite possible that one would not even have made it to the crafts shops! The Haat always has a festive air about it. It is meant to be a platform for craftsmen from all over the country. They are given the shops for a period of two weeks at a time and this way no one has permanent occupancy. This is the reason for its changing moods; every fortnight the place is different. Furthermore, the place is always animated by people and ongoing activities, which lend to Dilli Haat its effervescent character. The Haat was visualized as a place that would be democratic in character, such that the rich and the poor

Dilli Haat- Food and Crafts Bazaar, New Delhi The project, which was completed 15 years ago, has established itself as a benchmark, and is one of India’s most successful public spaces built in recent times. This place acts as a hub for the people of Delhi to come and spend their leisure time, and has become a popular tourist destination as well. The project is an urban renewal project built on top of a concrete slab, wherein the site has been reclaimed over a storm water drain. The brief given was for a crafts market but subsequently it became a food and crafts market. The conception and View towards Dilli Haat from entrance forecourt

1. Entry Plaza 2. Craft Area 3. Food Courts 4. Aurobindo Road 5. Tickets and Offices 6. Nallah (drain) 7. Line of original Nallah 8. Concrete slab Dilli Haat: Plan (above) and Section

Continuing Traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism: Case Studies in Place Making

275

The Haat always has a festive air about it

Dilli Haat: Entrance forecourt

could both feel comfortable here. It is in achieving this that the project can be considered the most successful.

mud phuska terracing done on the top. If one were to drive around western UP or Haryana one would come across the traditional jaalis which formed the inspiration for a series of jaali designs on the buildings and the boundary wall etc. of the Haat.

A distance of about 25 meters towards the front acts as a buffer between the busy Aurobindo Marg and the Haat. This entry plaza is accessed from the side, which ensures that people do not spill out straight on to the road. The sequel of spaces as one moves along came to be somewhat dictated by the existing nullah slab that the Haat is situated on, since it is not possible to build on top of it. When the project began, this natural drain leading into the Yamuna had already been boxed in over a stretch of about a kilometer or so, of which the Haat was to cover about 600 meters. As a result, the structures built in the Haat lie either on the edge of the retaining walls or beyond because of the mud filled in the nullah. The site was actually a dumping ground when the construction started and therefore, it was a couple of years before it became popular. In 2003, Dilli Haat was made completely accessible and was the first tourist complex in New Delhi. Though the place may not be completely visually disabled friendly, the physically disabled find it quite user friendly.

Yet, it is not a traditional vernacular vocabulary that the project draws from. It has adopted the regional language of local, simple materials in an attempt to create a Traditional materials and elements used language that the people in the construction of Delhi who visit and especially the crafts people coming here can identify with. 37mm thk. sandstone coping brick parapet

Roofing detail for shops

Disabled friendly architecture

The various materials used are from the surrounding regions but have been interpreted in a way unique to the project. Brick, which is commonly available in the region, has been employed along with slate from Himachal Pradesh. Sandstone slabs, traditionally used in Rajasthan, have been used for the shop roofs with pre-cast concrete beams. Earthen or clay pots have been used for insulation and

276

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

There was another project across the road, which was taken up five years back and was to connect to Dilli Haat. It was to be a flower market but it has been on hold for the last three years since the New Delhi Municipal Corporation has decided not to go ahead with it for the moment. The idea was to create the same mood here and connect the two bazaars through a pedestrian subway since, at the present a huge interchange exists between the two making it difficult for pedestrians to cross. It was also proposed to provide some shops in the subway so that people would feel safe while using it. The parking problem at Dilli Haat would also have been solved, by adding a large parking section near the flower market. This market too, was supposed to be built on the nullah(drain). It was conceived to have a large roof.

Streetscaping in Nanded, Maharashtra This project is under development and the construction is about to begin. It comes under the Government of India’s National Urban Renewal Program. The streets in Nanded face problems similar to that of most Indian towns and cities. The streets seem to be designed only for cars and do not provide for the movement of all the users of a street. The picture depicts what a typical street in an average small town looks like, with a wide variety of users• Pedestrians • Cyclists • Cars • Buses • Auto rickshaws • Cycle rickshaws • Two wheelers • Pushcarts • Hawkers • Beggars A typical street view • Animals

Plan of the project area

vendors being an integral part. They are very different from the streets in Europe, America or even South East Asia and may be said to have a parlance similar only to that of South Asia.

Indian streets are not even car oriented except in the metropolitan cities. The pictures illustrate the present scenario wherein the issues of around 80% of the users are not addressed. The project covers 50 kilometers of the key streets of this historic town of Maharashtra, which inter-connect the entry points to the core city area. The project operates on the premise that public spaces in the city are primarily meant for the people and not only cars. People need space to walk, public transport and safety. The architect needs to make it a safe, friendly and pleasant experience. The designing of a street section should be carried out by an urban designer or an architect and not engineers, as has traditionally been the case. It is an essential design job and engineers really do not have any idea about how these things work. A sustainable road infrastructure needs to be developed that caters to all the users by allocating appropriate spaces for various functions and requirements. The streets and pavements in India are multifunctional, hawkers and

Dilli Haat: Plan (above) and Section

The various components of a street design would be • Motor Vehicles lanes • Non Motor Vehicle Lanes • Pedestrian Footpaths • Bus Stops • Cycle Rickshaw Stands • Auto Rickshaw Stands • Tree Positions • Planters • Hawker Platform Space • Street Lighting • Raised safer pedestrian crossings cum traffic calmers • Pedestrian Refuges • Tactile Warning Blocks • Toilets • Urban Utilities • An Accessible Environment for all users These pictures in the following page show the proposed street plan and section for an existing precinct of Nanded incorporating all the components listed above. Instead of the bicycle lanes provided in many countries, a Non Motor Vehicle lane has been provided which is meant for cycles, cycle rickshaws and pushcarts. Swinging this lane across creates zones for hawkers, auto rickshaw stands and on street parking for two wheelers. Space for urban utilities like transformers etc. has also been provided along with toilet blocks by combining two multi-utility zones. The proposed multi-utility strip would take care of the problem of people jostling against each other due to overcrowding, and also provide for street lighting and other related activities. All this has been done within the framework of the existing street sections. Nanded has a very well known Sikh Gurudwara and a whole pedestrian precinct has been created around that. Plans to have completely pedestrian areas are underway based on the

Continuing Traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism: Case Studies in Place Making

277

Proposed general street plan with the various street components discussions with the users. As a designer one should also take care not to take an overtly rigid stance on making sections completely pedestrian. The street plan for this area shows the bio-filtering swales, the Non Motor Vehicle lane, space for hawkers, cycle and cycle rickshaw stands, and a 6 meter wide pedestrian walkway for emergency vehicles to move across. The photomontages present the proposed look of the streets. The project demands an understanding of the

Photomontages of the proposed look of the streets usage patterns of the spaces to enable sensitive design response and intervention. The focus of the design process is to understand traditional usage of the public domain and organize as well as distribute the spaces according to the current activity patterns. This process of design draws upon resources provided by a large number of experts and organizations with expertise in issues related to hawkers, non motorized modes of transport, pedestrian behavior, traffic calming, barrier free movement etc.

18 m Right of Way

Road no: 3 Location: Gurudwara gate no. 1- Keli Market Total length: 0.72 km Road no: 4 Location: Keli Market - Barki Chowk Total length: 0.32 km

Proposed street plan and section of one of the streets

278

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Master plan for the Redevelopment of the Jama Masjid Precinct, Delhi

The Jama Masjid

Location of the site

The project calls for a contextual response to the surrounding urban fabric and the historic setting. The walled city of Shahjahanabad has been an active urban settlement for the last 300 years. Within this dense urban precinct, the Jama Masjid acts as an urban magnet around which a bustling economy has established itself.

The area at present is in poor condition and needs urgent intervention. There exists a lot of disjointed area; the people are crammed in here and the open spaces cannot be used. Sporadic and ad-hoc infrastructure improvements and planning interventions in the area have been inadequate

Jama Masjid is locaed within the dense city of Shahjehanabad in catering to the needs of the growing number of users and their changing requirements. A draft plan of this historic precinct has been completed. The areas of intervention are the disjointed spaces around the mosque and the surrounding roads. The plan shows the

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Jama Masjid Building Jama Masjid Grounds Erstwhile Edward Park Area Peripheral Road Network Arterial Road Network

The Areas in and around Jama Masjid taken up for redevelopment Continuing Traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism: Case Studies in Place Making

279

peripheral road and the supporting arterial road network around which the master plan is situated. Detailed studies of the day and the night-time usage of this area were carried out. The Master Plan has been prepared on the basis of such surveys of the area as well as inputs from the Civic Agencies, Service Infrastructure providers and the Government of Delhi. The master plan proposes the central area to be a pedestrian zone along with consolidation of the open spaces followed by their development into plazas and green spaces. Motorized traffic is to be separated from the nonmotorized traffic by providing bi-directional cycle lanes on both sides of Subhash Marg and on the inner side of the peripheral street network. The Jama Masjid grounds are to be extended to increase the holding capacity of the mosque. Historical routes to the Red Fort and the circumambulatory route around Jama Masjid are to be re-established. Multiple pedestrian routes are to be created to increase permeability and connectivity across the precinct. Meena Bazaar is to be relocated and a large underground parking, that would accommodate tourist buses and connect to the pedestrian spine linking Jama Masjid and Red Fort, is to be created. A Tourist Interpretation Centre would also be located off the pedestrian spine. The plan also envisages redevelopment of the Mazaars and the Dargahs of the area.

Road Section

The final plan shows the proposed reorganization with clearly defined movement networks, for pedestrians, cyclists, buses and motor vehicles, and consolidation of the unutilized open spaces. The idea is to cover all the users and to do it in an empathetic way, which ought to be an essential approach in our country. For example, hawkers need not be relocated; instead an informal space should be created for them and not an overtly structured one. Apart from the provision of facilitates for the tourists and pilgrims, the project also envisages the creation of open plazas for informal entertainment theaters keeping in mind the strong tradition of poetry, mushairas and theatres etc. of Old Delhi. The road sections are similar to the ones discussed for Nanded with the exception of introducing state of the art common utility ducts since the peripheral roads feed the major parts of the city. The redevelopment plan not only involves a beautification process of the area, it also aims for a complete upgradation of the urban infrastructure. The project provides an opportunity to revitalize a place of outstanding heritage value to the city.

280

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Jama Masjid

Red Fort

Proposed re-organization

Evaluation Of The Pedestrian Environment – A Qualitative Approach: A Case Study Of Thyagaraya Nagar, The Commercial Hub Of Chennai City Rakesh K.S., Assistant Professor, Deptt. of Architecture Sathyabama University, Chennai 1. BACKGROUND It’s on foot that you see people’s faces and that you meet and experience them. That is how public socializing and community enjoyment in daily life can most easily occur. And it’s on foot that one can be most intimately involved with the urban environment: with stores, houses, the natural environment, and with people. (Jacobs, Allen 1993) Pedestrian spaces are becoming increasingly rare nowadays. The explosive increase in vehicular traffic has relegated the pedestrian to subways and over bridges. A pedestrian is not taken into account in the planning and design of traffic and transportation systems with the importance imparted to vehicular modes of travel. What is frequently overlooked is the fact that at some point or the other, every person is a pedestrian. So, serious thought should be given to the various issues relevant to pedestrians such as pedestrian safety, convenience and amenities. Pedestrian spaces have a long history. Most of the older towns in India as well as abroad, display a degree of respect towards the pedestrian which is higher than modern day cities. One of the obvious reasons is that walking was a significant mode of traffic in those days. The Industrial era and the advent of the automobile signaled the decline of walking and its associated spaces. Indian cities have not yet reached the level of western cities in terms of vehicular volume, but they are growing very rapidly. With a major percentage of trips performed by walking, logic dictates that pedestrians deserve more respect in the overall urban scheme. Various studies have demonstrated the benefits that could accrue to a city by the creation of proper pedestrian spaces – improvement in circulation of people, better areas for shopping, attraction for tourists, higher rental values, increased opportunities for leisure, better environment for residential areas, helps in environmental protection, increased scope for conservation, helps in promoting intellectual social relations and in projecting a better image of the town and its administration.( Shelley, Anne; 1976) As Jane Jacobs said “Streets and their sidewalks, the main public places of a city, are its most vital organs. Think of a city and what comes to mind? Its streets.” (Jacobs, Jane; 1961) Streets function as: • Utilitarian equipment, • Cultural manifestation, and • Local focal points. ( Kroll, J.; 2001) As utilitarian equipment, streets must provide safe, comfortable, multimodal mobility and direct and equitable access to commerce, culture and recreation.

As cultural manifestation, major streets and plazas can provide a forum for the celebration of public events and common purposes. Such public spaces then become stages for the expression of larger social and political concerns. Parades, protests, and revolutions are temporary guests of grand streets and plazas which make them possible. As local focal points, streets are unique grounds for individual and community growth. Even in a fast-pace world, such a pedestrian realm affords belonging and love of place. These three principal street functions provide various stages for the personal experience of walking. This personal experience takes place in a physical, social, and cultural milieu. Any method that attempts to evaluate this multifaceted personal experience should be equally rich in analytical rigor and insight. Currently available methodologies of assessing service levels for pedestrians are unable to analyze the entire spectrum of the walking experience. Encouragement provided to walking creates a better awareness of a street or an area. People tend to become conscious of the character of a street, its buildings, their detailing and the small open spaces abutting the street. Walking is the ideal way by which a person can appreciate the urban environment. A person needs to walk leisurely, absorb the sights and sounds, experience the smells wafting through the breeze and jostle with fellow shoppers and pedestrians in crowded markets for space. As Colin Buchanan points out: “Walking is also an integral part of many other matters, such as looking at shop windows, admiring the scene, or talking to people. In all, it does not seem to be far from the truth that the freedom with which a person can walk about and look around is a useful guide to the civilized quality of an urban area.” (Buchanan, C; 1963) Pedestrian networks encourage people to stand and talk to each other, to simply stand and observe any activity going on, to listen to street musicians, etc. Thus, the street becomes an extension of the home. Safety and security of children and elderly people are no longer issues of importance. Street hawkers, food vendors and sales kiosks lend interest and diversity to the street scene. Therefore, it is not just from the point of tourists or shoppers that pedestrian facilities should be looked at. The entire gamut of street life should be covered, from shopping corridors, parks, residential front gardens, squares for ceremonies, meeting points, parade grounds, spaces for street entertainment and much more. 2. OBJECTIVES • To highlight issues relating to pedestrian facility planning • To look at alternative approaches to pedestrian space standards vis-à-vis IRC guidelines. • A report of the existing status of pedestrian facilities in the area under consideration. • Analysis of the existing facilities from a qualitative viewpoint.

Continuing Traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism: Case Studies in Place Making

281

3. ISSUES These are a few fundamental questions which could be categorized as various issues relating to pedestrian spaces: 1. Issues relating to visual and sensory perception, imageability and aesthetic impact. • How does one evaluate the quality of a pedestrian environment? • Does the introduction of a pedestrian area help to improve the imageability and quality of life of an urban area? • Does the Architectural environment influence the quality and success of a pedestrian area? 2. Issues relating to climate, vegetation and topography. • How does climate and vegetation exert an impact on the usage of pedestrian areas? • How does topography of an area influence the usage of a pedestrian area? 3. Issues relating to design parameters and standards. • What are the problems afflicting existing pedestrian areas? • Are they being effectively used? • Does the size and function of a city matter with respect to its pedestrian areas? • How do Land use patterns influence usage of pedestrian areas? • Should the context (location, land use) determine standards for pedestrian areas and facilities? 4. Issues relating to user-friendliness and pedestrian convenience and satisfaction. • Can user perception be utilized to frame context specific standards? • Can user perception be harnessed to evolve a tool to document the contribution of pedestrian areas to the quality of life of an urban area? 5. Issues relating to social (culture, lifestyle), economic and religious aspects. • How do we provide the pedestrian his due share of the street? • How do our culture and lifestyle exert an impact on the usage of pedestrian areas? • How does the economic condition of an area affect usage of pedestrian areas? 4. GUIDELINES AND STANDARDS 4.1 IRC The Indian Roads Congress (IRC) has stipulated standards for pedestrian facilities like Sidewalks, Guard Rails and Pedestrian Crossings – both at-grade and grade-separated (Indian Roads Congress, 1998). But these lack the “human” element like aesthetics, scale, form and proportion. Pedestrian amenities and street furniture do not find a place in these standards. Context-specific standards according to the location in the city, hierarchy of streets and functions of streets have not been thought of.

282

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

There have been no comprehensive standards developed for the Indian context especially in metropolitan cities as far as accessibility criteria and pedestrian spaces is concerned. The IRC guidelines for pedestrian facilities provides details of sidewalks, guard-rails and crossings – at-grade and gradeseparated. Sidewalks: • Sidewalks should be provided on both sides of the road. • The width of sidewalks depends upon the expected pedestrian flows, subject to a minimum of 1.5 metres. Table 1

Width of sidewalk(m)

Capacity in no. of persons per hour All in one direction

In both directions

1.50

1,200

800

2.00

2,400

1,600

2.50

3,600

2,400

3.00

4,800

3,200

4.00

6,000

4,000

In shopping areas, the width should be increased by 1 metre which is treated as “dead width”. Where sidewalks abut buildings and fences, the dead with can be taken as 0.5 metres. For areas of heavy pedestrian activity such as bus stops, railway stations and recreational areas, the width of sidewalks should be suitably increased to account for accumulation of pedestrians. Guard-rails: • Guard-rails could be considered at hazardous locations along straight stretches, at junctions / intersections, near schools, bus stops, stations, subways, over bridges and in central reserves. Crossings: • Cross-walks of width 2.0 to 4.0 metres should be provided at all important intersections and such locations where substantial conflict exists between vehicular and pedestrian movements. They should be at right angles to the carriageway and properly marked. • Grade-separated crossings are warranted when the volumes of pedestrian and vehicular traffic are very large, vehicular traffic demands uninterrupted flow and at-grade crossings fail to mitigate the problems of pedestrian-vehicle collision. 4.2 HCM and LOS The HCM 2000 defines “Level of Service” as follows: “A qualitative measure describing operational conditions within a traffic stream, based on service measures such as speed and travel time, freedom to maneuver, traffic interruptions, comfort, and convenience (HCM 2000, p. 5-8.). This definition of level of service applies to all transportation

modes, motorized or non-motorized. Walking is treated as a variation of motorized traffic, the transportation modes being separated only by space and time. “The qualitative measures of pedestrian flow are similar to those used for vehicular flow, such as the freedom to choose desired speeds and to bypass others” (HCM 2000, p. 11-1). The HCM attempts to make walking an equal among all transport modes, but it does so only on its terms of service measures. The LOS system is remarkable for its lack of relevance to the personal experience of walking. LOS is based on chronological time. The quality of walking is, however, determined to large degree by psychological or perceived time. For instance, a lively and vibrant sidewalk tends to make slow speeds acceptable, even enjoyable. But, according to the HCM methodology - a high crime area, where pedestrians are hardly seen for obvious reasons, provides good LOS.

Fig.2 Typical pedestrian spacing

Thus a pedestrian facility provides a high LOS if few pedestrians are present, and the best possible pedestrian LOS is achieved with one pedestrian present, or none! A logical conclusion since pedestrian LOS is operationally defined as freedom to maneuver. This pedestrian perspective is unsettling and grotesque, however, when we want to understand and improve the pedestrian realm from a social, cultural and economic point of view.

Fig.3 Waiting at curbs at an intersection

4.3 Aranya – An example of Indian standards.

Fig.4 Gazing at the wares displayed by street vendors

Fig.1: Aranya – Levels of Accessibility. Architect B.V. Doshi in the Aga Khan Award winning project “Aranya” – a housing project at Indore had developed a “Levels of Accessibility” scale for various facilities, but it was purely restricted to a residential layout. (Vastu-Shilpa Foundation. 1990) 4.4 Edward Hall & Robert Sommer Edward Hall (Hall, Edward T. 1990) in “Hidden Dimension” and Robert Sommer(Sommer, Robert. 1969) in “Personal Space” have developed standards for typical pedestrian spacing (Fig.2), waiting at curbs at an intersection (Fig.3), stopping and gazing at the wares displayed by street

Fig.5 Listening to street musicians perform

(Desirable moving space bubble 4’-6” long by 2’-2.5’wide)

Continuing Traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism: Case Studies in Place Making

283

Fig.6 Personal Standard

vendors (Fig.4), street musicians (Fig.5) and typical densities in public spaces (Fig.6, Fig.7, Fig.8 and Fig.9). These are graphical representations of the basic terminology developed by Robert Sommer in “Personal space” for determining the amount of space people want or need.

5. DESCRIPTION OF THE STUDY AREA

Fig.7 Personal (Close Phase)

Thyagaraya Nagar (T.Nagar) is an important sub-centre of Chennai city which is located in the southern part of India. (Fig.10) The study area is bounded by Kodambakkam High road on the north, Mount road on the east, Mount road on the south and the suburban railway line on the west, comprising an area of 6.94 square kilometers. (Fig.11) Its growth in the commercial sector has been phenomenal over the recent years. It has transformed itself into a centre of intense commercial activity from its original residential nature over a period of time. As a result of this, there is a remarkable change in the overall land use pattern and subsequent development of commercial establishments without any comprehensive planning, which has resulted in the overburdening on sectors like land use, services and traffic and transportation network.

Fig.8 Average 6-8 sft. /person (Crowded subway)

Fig.9 Average 10 sft/Person (Crowded sidewalk )

It attracts many people from different parts of the city and its suburbs, owing to its location and transportation links. T.Nagar has the highest commercial catchment population when compared with other commercial centers of the city like Adyar, Nungambakkam, Purusawakkam, etc.

Commercial activity has spread over the years on all the major roads, in a linear pattern. Now it is slowly encroaching on the by lanes of the major commercial streets. Single storey shops have given way to multi storey shopping malls, but with little change in the infrastructure available. Figure 12 and 13 illustrate the cramped nature of the street, packed with shoppers and the feeling is accentuated by the architecture and the wares on display.

Fig.10: The southern peninsula of India

Fig.11 Detailed layout of T.Nagar area in Chennai

284

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Fig.12 Ranganathan Street

Fig.13 Ranganathan Street

Fig.14 South Usman road

Fig.15 South Usman road

Ranganathan Street and South Usman road are two of the most crowded streets, with a wide variety of shops beckoning people from all corners of the metropolis. But, they present a dismal picture as far as pedestrian facilities and amenities are concerned. Sidewalks are encroached upon, pedestrian amenities are non-existent and there is practically no segregation of vehicular and pedestrian traffic. (Fig 14 and Fig 15)

Devi theatre complex and consequently the large number of pedestrians – all contribute to the morphology of informal and unauthorized shops. The entire sidewalk is taken up by hawkers. Unauthorized parking of two-wheelers and auto rickshaws also push the pedestrian farther out into the vehicular carriageway.

Figure 16 uses the same graphical representation for Ranganathan Street, employing the personal space bubble and the moving space bubble. There are no sidewalks. Vehicular movement is restricted so the entire stretch is used by pedestrians. Maintaining the same space standards – 2’6” by 4’6”, this representation reveals the disorderly movement of pedestrians and the resultant congestion on the road.

Pedestrian spaces need to be architecturally designed and properly fitted out. People want to be able to avail themselves of all kinds of amenities in pedestrian spaces. The aim of introducing amenities is to create external spaces in which a pedestrian can feel at ease. According to Anne Shelley, street furnishings are distinctive characteristics and psychologically the design has the effect of a symbol of recognition.

Figure 17 uses the same standard for another location – Mount Road. Here, the trees shade, the subway, G.P.O.,

Furniture, varied architectural features, play equipment, lighting fixtures, landscaping, fountains and works of art

Fig.16: Ranganathan Street, T.Nagar

Fig.17: Mount Road area in Chennai

Amenities

Continuing Traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism: Case Studies in Place Making

285

– these elements could visually integrate the entire space. Provision of resting places – simple sitting areas with chairs, benches or steps where one can have a break – is an important element of pedestrian spaces. The list of architectural features is extensive and includes public conveniences, shoe-shine stands, traffic control booths, sand bins, litter bins, road signs, signboards, information kiosks, town map boards, time tables, calendars of local events, loudspeaker systems, clocks, letter boxes, telephone booths, etc. Corners for playing and games equipment such as lines for games on the floor surfaces, patterned tiles for games, climbing equipment, chess boards, roller-skating rinks, folkdance floors and pram parks constantly increase the range of play and leisure-time equipment in pedestrian spaces. Lighting apart from being a source of illumination is an important design element. The shape of fixtures, type of light (direct, diffused or dimmed), the quantum and colour of lighting characterizes the visual quality of a pedestrian space. The types of elements used in architectural landscaping include flower boxes, tubs, borders, shrubs, potted trees, etc. and could provide much needed visual relief. Fountains and gargoyles, water channels, bird baths, etc. would cleanse the air, cool the microclimate and become meeting points. Works of art like statues, coloured surfaces, mosaics, frescoes, etc. would enliven an otherwise drab environment and would help people to feel at home in them.

abundant. A pedestrian also has to constantly duck beneath or avoid products which are hung up for display. The sidewalk is actually very wide – on an average about two metres – but due to the encroachment by the hawkers and other impediments like lamp posts, electricity junction boxes, telephone pillar boxes, the actual space available varies from two feet to three feet. The canvas sheets put up by the hawkers serve to shade the sidewalk to an extent. This side of the street is also benefited by the abundant tree cover, which is strangely lacking on the opposite side. Most of the pedestrians tend to walk on the carriageway to avoid the obstacles on the sidewalk. Goods are dumped by shopkeepers on the sidewalk. Lamp posts are put up on sidewalks by shops to illuminate their signboards. Two wheelers are parked on any free stretch of sidewalks. (Fig.20) Regulation is equally bad. The entire stretch follows a oneway traffic system but nevertheless due to the enormous number of pedestrians, there are numerous conflict points between vehicles and pedestrians. (Fig.21) Crossings are non-existent except for the two ends of the stretch which are served by traffic signals. Consequently pedestrians tend to cross over wherever they wish, leading to traffic snarls and frayed tempers. Cleanliness is at a premium here in spite of the street being the premier shopping destination for Chennai and the meticulous cleaning of garbage undertaken every morning.

In T. Nagar, pedestrian amenities are virtually non-existent. There are no resting places, no coherent signage system, no unified design language adopted for street furniture, no play equipment, no landscaping or works of art.

Thus, a qualitative assessment needs to be conducted which could highlight factors, such as Safety, Security, Comfort, Convenience, and Attractiveness etc. These environmental factors can greatly influence the pedestrians’ perceptions of the overall quality of the street environment.

The sidewalks– the only area allocated for the pedestrians– are dilapidated and encroached upon by government and illegal structures.

These factors can be analyzed in finer detail and an evaluation and grading method can be devised to assess the street. (Sarkar, S. 2002)

Most of the sidewalk is covered with hawkers’ stalls. This is a unique feature of South Usman road where the formal shops co-exist with the informal hawkers. The stalls are very well patronized by shoppers. Consequently the remaining space is barely adequate for one person to walk. (Fig.18 and Fig.19)

6. EVALUATION

The condition of the sidewalk is poor and in dire need of maintenance. Pot-holes and missing pavement tiles are

Fig.18 A view of the hawkers’ stalls.

286

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

• A checklist could be drawn up, containing a list of preferred facilities and amenities. • Ratings for each of these facilities could be given. • The street could be evaluated against this checklist. • A checklist of preferred qualities/characteristics could be framed with ratings.

Fig.19 A view of the reduced sidewalk

Fig.20 The impediments faced by a pedestrian

Fig.21 Lack of regulation

• The street could be evaluated against this checklist. • A simple ratings scale can be used. A scale of 1 to 5 is sufficient to accurately cover the range of performance: 5 =excellent; 4 = good; 3 = average; 2 = poor; 1 = very poor. 6.1 Facilities and Amenities • Sidewalks of adequate width, • Continuous sidewalks, • Crossings, • Curb-cuts, • Surface design, • Seating, • Informal shopping – vending machines, show cases, books & grocery carts, • Minor architectural features – public conveniences, traffic & police control booths, stands for bicycles & twowheelers, sand bins, litter bins, road signs, sign boards, information boards/kiosks, area maps, advertisement boards, clocks, post boxes, telephone booths, flag poles, etc., • Recreational equipment – patterned tiles for board games, climbing equipment, roadside parks, spaces for traditional/folk performances, • Lighting – decorative, flood lighting, illuminated signs, tree top lighting, • Landscaping – Trees, flower boxes, shrubs, potted plants, etc., • Fountains/water bodies – small water bodies, ornamental fountains, • Art & Artifacts – Sculpture, Paintings, etc. 6.2 Qualities (Allan Jacob) • enclosure/definition, • complexity of path network, • building articulation, • complexity of spaces, • transparency, • buffer, • shade trees, • overhangs/awnings/varied roof lines, and • physical components/condition.

6.3 Evaluation Ranganathan Street S.No.

Facility / Amenity

Rating

1

Sidewalks of adequate width

-

2

Continuous sidewalks

-

3

Crossings

-

4

Curb-cuts

-

5

Surface design

0

6

Seating

0

7 8

Informal shopping Minor architectural features

2 1

9 10 11 12

Recreational equipment Lighting Landscaping Fountains

0 2 0 0

13

Art / Artifacts

0

South Usman Road S.No.

Facility/Amenity

Rating

1

Sidewalks of adequate width

4

2

Continuous sidewalks

2

3

Crossings

2

4

Curb-cuts

0

5

Surface design

0

6 7

Seating Informal shopping

0 4

8

Minor architectural features

1

9

Recreational equipment

0

10

Lighting

2

11

Landscaping

0

12

Fountains

0

13

Art / Artifacts

0

Continuing Traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism: Case Studies in Place Making

287

Ranganathan Street S.No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Quality attribute Enclosure/Definition Complexity of path network Building articulation Complexity of spaces Transparency Buffer Shade trees Overhangs/Awnings/Varied roof lines Physical components/condition

Rating 5 2 2 1 2 0 1 2

South Usman Road S.No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Quality attribute Enclosure/Definition Complexity of path network Building articulation Complexity of spaces Transparency Buffer Shade trees Overhangs/Awnings/Varied roof lines Physical components/condition

Rating 3 3 3 2 2 4 2 4 1

References: 1. Buchanan, C. (1963), Traffic in Towns, The Specially Shortened Edition of the Buchanan Report, Penguin, Harmondsworth, p.56-57 2. Burden, Dan (1996), Walkable and Bicycle-Friendly Communities, Florida Dept. of Transportation. 3. C. Alexander, S. Ishikawa, M. Silverstein, M. Jacobson, I. Fiksdahl-King and S. Angel.(1977), A Pattern Language, Oxford University Press, New York . 4. Fruin, J.J. (1971), Pedestrian: planning and design, Metropolitan Association of Urban Designers and Environmental Planners, Inc., New York. 5. Guidelines for Pedestrian Facilities – IRC : 103 –(1998), The Indian Roads Congress, New Delhi. 6. Hall, Edward T.(1990), The hidden dimension, Anchor Books (Doubleday), New York. 7. Jacobs, Allen. (1993), Great Streets, MIT Press, Boston. 8. Jacobs, Jane.(1961), The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Random House, New York, p. 39. 9. Khisty, C.J.(1994), Evaluation of pedestrian facilities: beyond the level-of-service concept. Transportation Research Record 1438. 10. Kroll, J. (2001), Moving About in a Technological World: A Hermeneutic-Phenomenological Inquiry of

288

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Urban Streets and Freeways as Public Architecture, Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Architecture, University of California, Berkeley. 11. Lynch, Kevin.(1960), Image of the city, MIT Press, p. 9 12. Norberg-Schulz, C. (1971), Existence, Space and Architecture, Studio Vista, London, p. 18 13. Sarkar, S. (1995), Macro level and micro level evaluation of pedestrian networks. Transportation Research Record 1502, 105-118. 14. Sarkar, S.(2002), Qualitative Evaluation of Comfort Needs in Urban Walkways in Major Activity Centres, November . 15. Shafer, C.Scott.(1999), Evaluation of bicycle and pedestrian facilities: user satisfaction and perceptions on three shared uses trails in Texas, Texas A&M University. 16. Shelley, Anne. (1976), Pedestrian areas – From malls to complete networks, Academy Editions, London, 17. Sommer, Robert.(1969), Personal space (The behavioural basis of design), Prentice:Hall, Inc., New Jersey . 18. Transportation Research Board (2000), Highway Capacity Manual, National Research Council, Washington, DC. 19. Vastu-Shilpa Foundation (1990), Aranya– An approach to settlement design, Vastu-Shilpa Foundation, Ahmedabad.

The Relevance Of New Urbanism Dhiru A. Thadani Principal- Ayers/Saint/Gross Architects+Planners, Washington DC, USA Cities are changing the world over. Most are becoming worse places to live. There are many intersecting forces causing this decline: increase in population, failing infrastructure, automobile dependency, outward sprawling development, and an inability to provide adequate housing for lower- and middleincome residents. Are there any solutions to alleviate this accelerating decline? Why are some cities experiencing a renaissance and an improvement in the quality of life for its residents, while other cities experience a noticeable decline? Cities are the largest and most complex thing that we humans make. Despite evidence to the contrary, knowledge exists on how to make cities well and how to reverse the decline. For the past 15 years the Congress for the New Urbanism has been aiding both the private and public sectors by employing the following techniques to improve the quality of life in cities.

1. Streets are for People What makes a city memorable? For the most part, it is a well-defined public realm – public spaces defined by the buildings which front them and peopled by a vibrant street life. A successful public realm is one that people can inhabit comfortably on foot. Unfortunately, most cities emphasize automobile movement while disregarding the pedestrian. Sidewalks are non-existent or permanently in disrepair, often having been dug up for utility upgrading. Today, being a pedestrian in most Indian cities is akin to being a soldier on a battlefield navigating through land mines strewn in one’s path of travel. Traffic engineers often ignore the real needs of pedestrians. For example, parallel parking, essential to protecting and comforting people on the sidewalk, is often eliminated to

speed traffic. Every aspect of the streetscape, including lane widths, curbs, sidewalks, trees, and lighting can be designed to fulfill the needs of both cars and pedestrians equitably. With the growing increase in car ownership, the emphasis seems to be focused only on moving vehicles. Additionally, fence barriers along the edges of streets that enclose pedestrians like cattle should be removed. Pedestrians should be permitted to cross streets at grade at all intersections. Whoever designed an elevated pedestrian crosswalk must have been in an automobile. They do not work. And you only have to walk through a below-grade street crossing once to realize that it is a bad idea. 2. Overrule the Specialists The city, by definition, is a general enterprise, and the specialist is the enemy of the city. Engineers are not alone in their quest to shape the city around specialized needs. The modern world is full of experts who are paid to ignore any criteria that is beyond their profession. Cities need generalists to weigh the advice of specialists against the common good. The traffic engineers in their quest to move traffic propose building flyovers above ground without consideration for what this decision does to the quality-oflife for the local residents who have to look and live with this ugly, noisy monstrosity.

Imagine for a moment if someone was to build a concrete bridge 15 feet from your bedroom window just so that the privileged few could save a few minutes of time driving through your neighborhood in the comfort of their airconditioned capsule. While cities such as San Francisco, Milwaukee, and Washington, DC are demolishing inner-city highways in the interest of quality of life for their residents, cities such as Mumbai have embarked on a ludicrous and expensive endeavor to build new inner-city highways. The department of transportation continues to propose widening existing roads to ease traffic generated by the very sprawl they cause. Each of these approaches may be correct in a vacuum, but are wrong in a city. It is a proven fact that expanding street width and capacity on existing streets only leads to more traffic. This in turn leads to an

Continuing Traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism: Case Studies in Place Making

289

increase in accidents, which causes further delays, nullifying the investment’s goal. The money earmarked for flyovers and inner city highways should be diverted to improving the train and bus network. As all world-class cities have come to realize, investment in public transportation is the only solution to alleviate congestion. Imagine ten years into the future - what will be on these streets when the price of petrol doubles or triples? Buses, not cars. 3. Mix the Uses Another key to active street life is creating a city that pulsates at all times of the day, with neighborhoods so diverse in use that they are occupied around the clock. Eating, shopping, working, socializing, and recreation – these activities are mutually reinforcing and flourish in each other’s presence. The best parts of all cities have this diverse mix of uses. Neighborhoods are alive during the day when residents are away at work, because workplace and retail are active. Viceversa in the evening - when the offices and shops are closed, the residences keep the neighborhood vibrant and safe. Moreover, many businesses such as restaurants, general stores, and health clubs rely on both daytime and evening traffic to cover their rent. The key is to stop building single use zones, such as Nariman Point and Bandra-Kurla, which are predominantly workplaces. These places are unsafe in the evening due to a lack of activity. Similarly, stop approving gated residential enclaves, which are mono-cultures and eventually become residential ghettos. 4. Hide the Parking Lots In most Indian cities the vast majority (90%) of the population are pedestrians. The city is obligated to make the pedestrians feel safe, comfortable and entertained. As the infatuation with automobiles increases in India, so too will the need to house these machines. There is nothing more boring than walking past a parking lot. Whether they are open-air or six-stories tall, parking lots must be banished along any street that is inhabited by pedestrians. In the hands of a skilled designer, parking lots are easy to hide. It only takes a 25-foot deep wrapper of housing or offices to block an unsightly parking lot or garage from view. New parking structures can easily be built above street-level shops. Enlightened cities all over the world are putting this requirement into law. 5. Small is Beautiful People are small when compared to automobiles, and most world-class walkable cities acknowledge this fact with small blocks, small streets, small buildings, and small increments of investment. The Fort District in Mumbai owes much of its success to its tiny blocks and fine grain that creates an incredibly porous network of streets. Pedestrians like to criss-cross through the fabric, intelligently looking for the shortest routes between two points. Unfortunately, government planners propose development roads that create obscenely large blocks that make the city impenetrable. For example, in southern Mumbai there is only one east-west connection between the two coastlines. This problem also exists in the northern part of the city. Land for street rights-of-way needs to be acquired to help create a true network of streets. 290

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Although 25% of India’s population resides in urban cities - and this number is rapidly growing - building height is another place for smallness. Today’s building codes prevent the making of Marine Drive, one of the most memorable parts of Mumbai. Imagine Marine Drive as illegal. Tall buildings place undue stress on a small land parcel. By concentrating population in a single point within the city, all systems are pressured, including accessibility, parking, garbage removal, water and utility supply, to name a few. In the long run, this creates an unhealthy, unsustainable living condition. A healthy real-estate development community is one that encourages incremental growth, not mega-structures. 6. Save That Building. And, by the way, Remove that Billboard. How many buildings need to be torn down before a city learns the lesson? Every city deeply regrets and laments the destruction of its heritage. As a society that pays homage to its elders, historic preservation may be the best way to respect our ancestors. But, it is also justified on economic terms. Market economies suggest that the differentiated product is one that commands a monetary premium. This is why cities like Savannah, Georgia and Miami Beach, Florida can point to historic preservation as the key ingredient in recent booms. It isn’t always easy to find a productive use for an empty old building, but tearing it down makes that outcome impossible. Additionally, billboards and hoardings illegally installed on buildings and along the highway must be removed. Cities should rise beyond crass commercialism and the visual assault on the human senses. 7. Build Normal (Affordable) Housing Affordable housing remains a crisis in all cities, and the solution is not to build housing projects in the suburbs, which taxes the poor resident with the longest commute. Rather, to be successful, affordable housing must do two things: be integrated with market rate housing, and look like market-rate housing. Despite the best-intentioned efforts to provide affordable housing, architects should not be permitted to experiment on the poor or pioneer new design styles in the name of the poor. Most housing projects that have been built in recent years play geometric games that only their designers can understand and appreciate. Experiment on the rich; they can always move out. The poor do not have a choice. Housing for the poor should provide smallerthan-standard apartments, but they should be stylistically compatible with their neighbors and the context. There should be no visible stigma attached to living in subsidized housing. 8 Build Green / Grow Green People have been talking about sustainable architecture for decades. However, given the burgeoning population of Indian cities, they cannot afford to be anything but sustainable. History shows us that as a country becomes more affluent, it becomes dumber by being more wasteful of its resources, recycling less, creating more solid waste, and increasing its dependency on artificial cooling and lighting. This is absolutely true for Indian cities. As the city increases in wealth the less it seems to care about sustainability.

Architects and developers get lazier when it comes to designing buildings that truly respond to the environmental conditions of a place. As children we never relied on air conditioning for comfort because the buildings we occupied passively kept us comfortable. Ceilings were higher, transom windows above doorways permitted air circulation, and windows had deep overhangs that shaded interior spaces as well as provided protection from the heavy monsoon rains. The city needs to mandate that all new buildings be smart by using less energy than their predecessors. As an example, every residential dwelling in Israel obtains its hot water from roof mounted solar panels. This is a viable technology that can easily be adapted to the Indian context. There is also a strong correlation between green tree cover and real estate value. Greener environments translate to higher the real estate values. The new development at Powai in Mumbai is a perfect case study proving this theory. All cities should plant more trees. 9. Question your Codes The existing building codes that govern new development within the city are made up of incomprehensible statistics like floor area ratios (fsi), setbacks and open space requirements that ignore the differences between pleasant and unbearable urbanism. They make the city’s traditional urban form, the most loved places within the city, illegal to emulate. Codes must be based on a picture of what is desired to be built, not statistical manipulations. Close your eyes and imagine what you want the city to be, and then write a code to achieve it. Around the world, a new generation of design ordinances is gaining favor among city planning officials. Referred to as form-based codes, these ordinances regulate what really matters: a building’s height, disposition, location, relationship to the street, and where to place parking. Cities including Arlington, Virginia, and Miami, Florida are adopting form-based codes for their neighborhoods. 10. Don’t Forget Beauty Joe Riley, Charleston, South Carolina’s Mayor since 1968, reminds us that cities should be places that make the heart sing. For many citizens, especially those too poor or infirm to travel, the city is an entire world. For this reason, the city should, not only be proudly maintained, and function properly, but also afford moments of beauty. Yet the city routinely builds to the lowest denominator, when it comes to building public schools, parks, and government buildings – the only investments that belong to all the citizens of the city. In the interest of short-term frugality, the city cheats itself out of an honorable public realm and a noble legacy. This was not always the case, and it need not continue. Building great cities is civilization’s greatest achievement. This legacy can and must be continued.

Continuing Traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism: Case Studies in Place Making

291

A Pattern Book Approach Tariq Yahiaoui The Prince’s Foundation

INTRODUCTION to The Prince’s Foundation The Prince’s Foundation for the Built Environment is an educational charity founded by HRH The Prince of Wales to improve the quality of people’s lives by teaching and practising timeless and ecological ways of designing, planning and building.

retail outlets were located in separate locations in a very distinct pattern of growth that relied mainly on the use of the locomotive to reach out to community facilities and to daily needs. Whereas, the traditional model had all these components integrated into a whole where every day needs were within easy reach from all the residents of a neighbourhood, and where there is a permeable network of streets that were safer to walk and providing easy access and a choice of destinations to community facilities.

We are one of 16 charities for which the Prince of Wales is President, together we comprise the largest multi-cause charitable enterprise in the United Kingdom. The Foundation comprises different departments, which include an Education Department and the Projects Team. The work that is carried out in each one of these departments, whether education, research or practice, informs the work of the other departments. We also reach out to the wider network of practitioners and professionals and some of our senior fellows include: Leon Krier, Andres Duany and Robert Adam. WHY DO WE CARE ABOUT THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT? In the 20th century and in many areas of the world including the UK, new patterns of urban growth have emerged, which translated in the fact that we started building all the components of towns but somehow we forgot how to put them together. For instance, Housing estates, education compounds, business centres, and

Unsustainable vs. Sustainable Growth In many cases, the post-war housing model with its cul-desac pattern was developed next to traditional settlements without even the necessary community facilities, very much like a dormitory estate, adding yet more strain upon the traditional core and upon its movement network. NEW TOOLS TO TACKLE THE PROBLEMS OF THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT In the face of characterless car dependent developments that discourage walkability and social interaction, The Prince’s Foundation employs a number of planning tools to deal with these problems, which include: Pattern Books, Enquiry by Design and Design Codes.

Fundamental Change in Twentieth Century

Projects 292

Education

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Pattern Books: A pattern book is an inventory of urban and architectural forms that identify the characteristics or ‘DNA’ of a place. Pattern books inform the complex make up of a whole set of urban and architectural patterns hence the title pattern book. These patterns seek to record transformations of the key components of the urban form ranging from the scale and character of the various street and block typologies down to details of buildings including massing, scale, proportions and style. The aim of a pattern

Research and Guidance

Outreach and Networks

book study is to provide a useful framework and a set of design tools that subsequent planning and design processes can incorporate with the aim of strengthening the character of a town or in the case of green field development to make a project deeply rooted in its regional urban context Enquiry by Design: The Enquiry by Design process brings together the key stakeholders in an intensive workshop for a proposed project to collaborate in creating a vision for the site through drawing and testing multiple solutions to produce a consensus master plan. An Enquiry by Design is a proactive process rather than a reactive one. Once a collective vision has been agreed for a place it is important to capture this in a set of regulations – namely a design code.

A TEMPLATE OF A PATTERN BOOK EVOLVING INTO A CODE In order to explain the issue of pattern books and codes and more precisely how they can be used to guide developments, the analogy to a recipe seemed quite relevant. • The Town Wide Regulations may be compared to quantities • The Lexicon of Types or the patterns of urban form to ingredients • And The Code to the instructions of how to put it together In practice, the above defined the basis for the structure of a design code document including an inventory of local types and how they can be combined together to define the urban and architectural character of a locality in the UK. The document was submitted as part of an outline planning application for an urban extension of 5500 homes with a high street and the necessary community facilities in November 2006.

Enquiry by Design Design Codes: A town code is a design tool that translates the design vision embodied in the town plan into practical instructions for building the town itself. It effectively sets out the design “language” of a place. This agreed set of rules and guidelines increases the certainty that the vision for the community will be realised, with benefits for all concerned. A town code spans town-wide issues such as street design, landscape structure, building height and land use, through to more architectural elements such as the design of individual buildings, their relationship to the street and the way in which buildings are grouped in blocks. In our built work we aim to: • Engender Social Interaction • Make Places • Allow Movement Logically and Legibly • Sustain Land Value • Build Sustainably and Beautifully

Building sustainably and beautifully

Design Coding

The Town wide regulations are the rules that apply to the development as a whole such as land uses, massing, landscape structure and building materials. Broadly speaking, they include the “brief ” for the development in terms of overall urban structure and movement patterns, uses and their locations, the landscape features to be retained and enhanced, as well as sustainability criteria that need to be responded to.

Continuing Traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism: Case Studies in Place Making

293

The Lexicon of Types consists of the urban and architectural types that, when assembled together, make up the urban fabric. The lexicon of types is generated through a thorough study of local settlements so as to identify the sub components of each one of the components of the urban fabric, i.e. Thoroughfare Types – Private Frontages – Building Types – and Block Types.

Town wide regulations: Land use

THE PUBLIC THOROUGHFARES LEXICON deals with the types of movement corridors (such as main streets, avenues and streets) in terms of right of way, pavement width, street layout, and on street parking relating to each one of these types and their sub-categories as developing from formal to informal. THE PRIVATE FRONTAGES LEXICON deals with the area between the plot boundary line and building line, the importance of which is emphasized by the fact that this is the area that affects the pedestrian the most. The variables within private frontages include the extent of the setback of the building line and combination of architectural elements and boundaries encroaching onto or delimiting this area. THE BUILDING TYPES LEXICON lists all the range of buildings types that would be appropriate for this particular development drawing from the study of precedents from local settlements. Variables within building types include the number of storeys, plot width and depth, and opening arrangements (access & window allingments etc.)

Town wide regulations: Landscape standards

The Lexicon of Types: A - D

Lexicon of Types: Public Thoroughfares

294

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

THE BLOCK TYPES LEXICON deals with the areas of developable land that are made available after a street pattern is imposed and is largely concerned with servicing the plots. This lexicon may focus on how blocks are internally arranged

Putting It All Together: This part of the pattern book may be defined as the section that evolves the document into an operational tool describing how the different ingredients from the lexicon can be combined to create meaningful places. A compositional matrix may be generated to show how avenues – streets – lanes – mews – etc. are composed in relation to not only their ingredients in the lexicon but also in relation to other compositional rules such as regularity of plot width, floor/eaves heights, consistency of building line- and variety of material/colour. This section may also include regulating plans for areas to be developed in relation to a masterplan. Instructions for preparing such plans may be summarised as follows: • Understand the principles behind the structure of the overall masterplan • Identify the area for which a regulating plan is to be prepared and how it relates to the site • Identify how the town wide regulations relate to that portion of development • Study the range of spatial types that are part of the lexicon and the ingredients from which the development is to be made • Review the compositional matrix, which shows how the different street scenes can be composed • Allocate the relevant ingredients from the lexicon to their related sections within the area to be developed.

Lexicon of Types: Block Types

because the other components that make up blocks such as buildings and their frontages would already have been tackled in the above lexicons. Internal arrangements of blocks may include internal courtyards, lanes, mews, or else depending on the context of study. Needless to say that these different arrangements need to be tackled in terms of access, rear boundary treatment, parking arrangements and ancillary accommodations if applicable, utilities servicing and refuse and so on.

Lexicon of Types: Building Types With regard to the fixes in terms of land use, open space and materials, etc., pertinent to the regulating plan’s portion of development, these would already have been referred to in the town wide regulations. In this respect, the regulating plans are to be read in conjunction with the town wide regulations. THE PATTERN BOOK APPROACH APPLIED TO DIFFERENT CONTEXTS Lexicon of Types: Frontages

As explained before, pattern books list the ingredients from which a town is to be made. They contain the Continuing Traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism: Case Studies in Place Making

295

Lexicon of Types: Building Types

Transforming home building

Regulating Plan

Built evidence

296

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Northants

Streetscape with open areas

Streetscape with covered front porches

vocabulary required to compose a town as set out in the lexicon. In order to evolve into an operational tool, they need to include the syntax that manages how the different components of the urban fabric are put together to create places in relation to a context. Indeed, pattern books relate to specific contexts and in that sense are not generic. More precisely, the content of a pattern book will need to relate to be a characterisation study of the region/area for which the document is to be prepared in order to identify the lexicon of types or the urban and architectural ingredients that are appropriate for the location. Types may be imported if absent from a locality as agreed with local people. However, it is worth pointing out that the structure of the document and the way it can be applied to generate regulating plans may be utilised as a generic template for different projects. The template is modified to relate to the local patterns and planning processes found in a particular place.

Continuing Traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism: Case Studies in Place Making

297

Interface Between Traditional Urbanism And Legislative Framework A.K. Jain Commissioner (Planning), Delhi Development Authority

control process, legal and enforcement inadequacies and deficiencies in implementation and maintenance. The fall out of cut throat business competition and political rivalries are exhibited by indiscriminate pasting of the posters, ugly hoardings, signages and outdoor advertisements which deface and damage the Indian cities across the board. ANTECEDENTS

India as a repository of traditional urbanism is unique. The variety of its built environment – settlements, villages, heritage structures, artifacts, streets, parks, water bodies and precincts of historic, aesthetic, cultural and religious significance is amazing. Unfortunately in the recent decades, in a zeal to develop the modern cities and ‘property’ oriented approach of development, the treasure of our traditional urbanism has often been trampled upon. Borrowed concepts of urban ‘aesthetics’ have overlooked the historic, cultural and symbiotic contents of the traditional urbanism. The consequence is evident in overall decay of the traditional settlements. The explanation for this state of affairs is beyond the hackneyed reasons of population growth, changing life styles, urbanization and the forces of economic growth. The malaise is much deeper – which includes the lack of awareness, sensitivity and concern for the traditional values, incapacity of institutional framework, non-responsive organisations, flaws in planning, design and development,

Although there is not much legislative history of urban conservation in India, the initial efforts can be attributed to Patrick Geddes, who promoted the cause of urban improvement by ‘Conservative Surgery’ about a century ago. As a result of his efforts urban improvement schemes were prepared for more than 30 cities in India, Urban Improvement Acts were enacted in various States/ Cities and number of Urban Improvement Trusts were constituted by the Government. However, subsequent conservation efforts focused more upon the buildings and monuments. In 1904, the Central government enacted for the first time, the Ancient Monument Preservation Act, 1904, which was intended “to provide for the preservation of ancient monuments and objects of archaeological, historical or artistic interest” and to prevent the excavation by unauthorised persons of sites of historic interest and value. The Act was applied to ancient monuments which were declared as “protected monuments” and invested the

BOX-1 Acts relating to preservation of Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains in India: 1. The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958. 2. The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Rules, 1959. 3. The Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972. 4. A.P. Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1960. 5. Assam Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1959. 6. Gujarat Ancient Monuments & Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1965. 7. Jammu and Kashmir Ancient Monuments Preservation Act, 1977. 8. Jallianwalla Bagh National Memorial Act, 1951. 9. Madras Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1966. 10. M.P. Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1964. 11. Maharashtra Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1961. 12. Mysore Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Acts, 1962. 13. Orissa Ancient Monuments and Preservation Act, 1956. 14. Punjab Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1964. 15. Rajasthan Monuments, Archaeological Sites and Antiquities Act, 1961. 16. Rajghat Samadhi Act, 1951 (of Central Govt.). 17. U.P. Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Preservation Act, 1957. 18. Victoria Memorial Act, 1903. 19. West Bengal Preservation of Historical Monuments and Objects and Excavation of Archaeological sites Act, 1957. 20. Museums Act, 1961. 21. Salar Jung Museum Act, 1961. Other related Acts i) Town and Country Planning Acts ii) Delhi Development Act, 1957 and other Development Authority Acts. iii) Delhi Urban Art Commission Act, 1973 iv) Urban Improvement Acts v) Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 vi) Various Municipal Acts vii) The West Bengal Prevention of Defacement of Property Act, 1976 (extended to Union Territory of Delhi in 1982). viii) Various DCR (Development Control Rules), Building Bye-laws and Regulations. ix) Delhi Municipal Corporation (Tax on Advertisements other than Advertisements published in Newspapers) Bye-laws, 1996. x) New Delhi Municipal Council (Pasting of Bills & Advertisement) Bye-laws, 1995. 298

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

executive with sufficient legal authority in regard to the monuments in private ownership and the Archaeological Survey of India came into being. The concept of a monument of ‘national importance’ was introduced by the Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Declaration of National Importance) Act, 1951. About 450 monuments and sites in Part B States were included in the national list. Thereafter, the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958, which was broadly modeled on the lines of the Act of 1904, repealed the Acts of 1904 and 1951. This Act in the interests of uniformity and integral policy, proposed to transfer some of the powers conferred on the District collectors to the Director-General of Archaeology. In India several state and Central Acts on conservation of monuments had been framed from time to time (Box-1): Often it is argued that there can be no preservation without legislation and regulations. The restoration could preserve only a few sites, while legislation may preserve thousands. Legislation does not restore buildings but it stops the free run of bulldozers. The prevailing understanding of legislation is a hierarchy of laws – (i) the Constitution (ii) The Acts (Central and State), (iii) Regulations, bye-laws, rules and mandatory administrative/government orders and (iv) Statutory Plans, Zoning, development Controls and architectural controls. No doubt, these can be effective in conservation of traditional urbanism and heritage, but in a democratic context where people are involved, the ‘legislation’ is to be seen in a broader context, beyond its punitive aspect. There are various examples of ‘para-legal’ measures, which have been and can be successfully adopted for conservation of the heritage/urbanism by way of a participatory process. These are often in the form of : • Listing and Identification of Heritage precincts • Policy Planning and Design Guidelines • Charter (e.g. The Athens Charter, 1937) • Code of Conduct and Ethics (Social/Community, professional and religious) • Incentives (such as Transferable Development Rights, waive of Building Bye-laws, such as set backs, Land use

and FAR flexibility through urban design and architectural controls). • Standards, norms and specifications • Empowerment Zone Partnership and Community Enterprise Promotion Listing and Identification of Historic Urban areas/ buildings Heritage precincts areas and places should be listed with following details: • Building, complexes, open maidan/areas including public or private. • Gardens • Natural land area – Mountain, hills, reservoir, riverbanks, seashores, forest area, open area, etc. After listing the administration/municipalities should declare such areas as “heritage area” where demolition or changes or construction should be regulated/prohibited for control. The lists and records of these heritage areas should be widely disseminated to the public, on web sites and to all concerned departments. Policy Planning and Design Guidelines (PPDGs) The PPDGs should be evolved for historical areas, which would not only conserve such areas but also help to revitalize, and maintain them. Saving of ancient monuments, built heritage sites and natural heritage is not sufficient. It would be imperative for city administration to evolve policy for conservation and planning framework. They should involve guidelines for achieving an environment which is hygienic, beautiful and free of pollution. The regulation and control over hoardings, signages, advertisements and street furniture, should also be framed. For the revitalization of historic centres the policy can be the key guidelines: • High-quality refurbishment standards for the restoration of areas and buildings of historic and cultural significance.

Box-2 Some Important Policy Planning Guidelines in U.K. PPG1 – General Policy and Principles This sets out the general principles for the operation of the planning system, including the determination of planning applications. PPG-2 National planning policy in the green belts. PPG-3 – Housing General policies in relation to housing, affordable housing, housing land availability and new settlements. PPG-4 – Industrial and Commercial Development and The role of the planning system in relation to industrial and Small Firms commercial development. PPG-5- Simplified Planning Zones PPG-6 – Town Centres and Retail Developments

PPG-12 – Development Plans and Regional Planning Guidance PPG-15 – Planning and the Historic Environment PPG-16 – Archaeology and Planning PPG-23 – Planning and Pollution Control

The general nature and role of SPZs. Including the sequential approach to selecting sites for development for retail employment leisure and other key town centre uses. Government Policy in relation to the Development Plan process. Comprehensive advice on controls for the protection of historic buildings and conservation areas. Policy on archaeological remains on land Including advice on issues relating to contaminated land and waste.

Continuing Traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism: Case Studies in Place Making

299

The Athens Charter, 1931 The Athens conference of 21-30 October 1931 concluded with an exhaustive Charter for the protection of monuments. I. Doctrines, General Principles When as a result of decay or destruction restoration appears to be indispensable, and when the occupation of buildings ensures the continuity of their life, the historic and artistic character of the past should be respected, without excluding the style of any given period. II. Administrative and Legal Measures The differences existing between various legislative measures adopted by different countries for the protection of monuments of artistic, historical or scientific interest are due to the difficulty of reconciling public law with the rights of individuals. Legal and administrative measures should be keeping with local circumstances and with the trend of public opinion so that the least possible opposition is encountered, with due allowance made for the sacrifices owners of property may be called upon to make in the general interest. Public authorities in each country should be empowered to take conservation measures in case of emergency. III. Artistic Enhancement of Ancient Monuments In the construction of buildings, the character and external aspect of cities should be respected, with special consideration given in the neighbourhood of ancient monuments. All forms of publicity, erection of unsightly telegraph poles, tall shafts and noisy factories should be suppressed. Certain groupings and particular picturesque perspective treatment should be preserved. A study should also be made of the ornamental vegetation for preserving their ancient character. IV. Restoration Materials All the resources at the disposal of modern technique and reinforced concrete should be judiciously used, particularly in cases where their use makes it possible to avoid and dangers of dismantling and reinstating the portions to be preserved. V. Deterioration of Ancient Monuments In each country, the architects and curator of monuments threatened by atmospheric agents should collaborate with specialists in the physical, chemical and natural sciences to determine the methods to be adopted in specific cases. The International Museums Office should keep itself informed of the work being done in each country and mention should be made of it in its publications. The removal of works of art from the surroundings for which they were designed should be discouraged in principle. By way of precaution, original models should be preserved or casts should be taken wherever they do not exist. VI. Technique of Conservation In the case of ruins, scrupulous conservation is necessary, and steps should be taken to reinstate any original fragments (anastylosis) whenever possible: the new materials used should in all cases be recognizable. When it is not possible to preserve excavated ruins, accurate records should be compiled before filling-in operations are undertaken. With regard to consolidation or partial restoration of other monuments, a thorough analysis should be made of the defects and nature of decay as each case needs to be treated individually. Technical work undertaken in excavations and preservations of ancient monuments calls for close collaboration between the archaeologist and the architect. VII. Conservation of Monuments and International Collaboration The question of conservation of the artistic and archeological property of mankind interests the community of the States, as wardens of civilization they should closely collaborate with each other. Qualified institutions and associations should also be given the opportunity of manifesting their interest without any manner prejudicing international public law. The best guarantee in the matter of preservation of monuments and works of art derives from the respect and attachment of people themselves. People should be taught to abstain from disfiguring monuments, and take pride in the concrete testimonies of all ages of civilization. Each country or the institution created for this purpose should publish an inventory of monuments, with photographs and explanatory notes. They should maintain records of preservation work nd feature them in their publications, with copies deposited with the International Museum Office. Resolution of the International Committee on Intellectual Co-operation, July 23, 1932 The International Committee on Intellectual Co-operation requests the Assembly to address the following recommendations to Member States: That States acting in accordance with the League of nations Covenant should establish closer and more concrete cooperation with each other for purposes of ensuring the conservation of monuments and works of art; That member States should ask educationists to teach children and young people to respect monuments, whatever the civilization or period to which they belong and that this educative action should also be extended to the general public with a view to associating the latter in the protection of the records of any civilization. Recommendations of the Assembly of the League of Nations, October 10th, 1932 The Assembly, approving the resolution adopted by the International Committee on Intellectual Co-operation and acceding to the latter’s request that it should communicate to the members of the league the recommendations drawn up by the Athens Conference concerning the conservation of historical monuments and works of art, Entrusts to the Intellectual Co-operation Organisation the task of transmitting the said recommendations to the Governments on its behalf.

300

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

• Restoration work to adapt a building to new demands. • Traffic improvements and pedestrianisation to increase public use and improve business opportunities. • Reintegration of historic centres into mainstream city activity involves the clear definition of functional requirements. • Improved environmental standards. • Tourism and cultural opportunities aimed at the attraction of business. All towns, cities and regions display a particular blend of problems and potentials – this blend is the manifestation of both external influences and internal characteristics. The style of approach to regeneration has evolved over the years, and policy and practice reflect dominant socio-political attitude. The regeneration of urban areas can be seen as an important element of regional and national success. Urban regeneration is a comprehensive and integrated vision and action which leads to the resolution of urban problems and which seeks to bring about lasting change in the economic, physical, social and environmental condition of an area that has been subject to change. Code of Conduct and Ethics To make conservation and urban regeneration a sustainable proposition, it has to be self-supporting and self-starting. For this, a code of conduct has to be evolved which should promote: (i) Investment of the Community/NGOs and their accountability (ii) Incentives (iii) Bankable project approach (iv) Mobilising private sector investments (v) Minimum intervention of controlling authority (vi) Leverage strategy to trigger the process of urban renewal by private/community investment. It is pertinent to create partnerships and commitments among the stakeholders and actors who have an interest in the conservation areas. Private investments can be attracted through tax incentives, and financial and economic viability can be ensured by taking up ‘bankable projects and financial institutions. Technical assistance to heritage conservation projects can be provided by the local bodies/NGOs. Procedures and Code of Conduct will have to be evolved for effective participation of the NGOs, the Cooperative, Community and the private sector. The Code of Conduct should also cover the following: • Dissemination of information, public awareness, documentation related to conservation/ heritage • Training and capacity building for craftsmen, professionals and local bodies • Implementation, monitoring and awards for projects of Conservation of heritage • Restoration, urban renewal and rehabilitation • Repair and maintenance of heritage buildings • Traditional crafts/craft person • Professional ethics (including for the cooperatives, RWAs, NGOs and the community)

Incentives and Waivers Incentives and encouragement should be given to the owners and occupants of heritage buildings/zones and to help in matters concerning listing, preparation of interventions and implementation. Such incentives may comprise the following: (i) Adaptive reuse projects with the involvement of private/public sector investment; (ii) Land-based ‘remunerative’ projects and other ‘nonconservative’ conservation/rehabilitation projects; (iii) Tourism development projects which generate profits; (iv) Home improvement loans for home owners/renters through formation of cooperatives as has been tried in Mumbai for repair of chawls; (v) Infrastructure and upgradation schemes for Inner city/heritage zones and financial resources geared towards urban heritage zones; (vi) Area-based transformational urban renewal of dilapidated old areas and public housing, and (vii) Enveloping of selected Inner City areas by community initiative through minimum controls and incentive zoning (realization of FAR incentive and mixed land use) Often the Plans provide for FARs, which are generally much less than the existing. This is a major disincentive for urban renewal, and as a result massive unauthorised reconstruction and conversions of land use take place. It is necessary not only to allow minimum existing FAR and ground coverage, but also give an incentive FAR and adopt mixed land use zoning. In Mumbai the Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) is being applied to privately held/owned premises which are listed monuments, located in prime locations,. To encourage owners of such monuments to invest in the conservation and renovation of such monuments and discourage them to aim only at the demolition of these buildings, they shall be offered alternative plots of land for development to compensate for the loss of development potentials in the plots occupied by the monuments, and to cover renovation costs of these. An indispensable pre-condition is of course the availability of government owned land that can be bartered for the TDR arrangement. Waivers of building bye-laws for protection of heritage include set back, marginal open spaces, height, etc. The waiver of master plan reservations if they affect heritage sites should also be considered. These demand a framework of comprehensive development plans for heritage zones and definition of clear goals of the conservation policy emerging from ground level experience. Standards, Norms and Specifications For conservation of traditional urban centres and heritage, the standards, norms and specifications often prove to be quite effective. Some of these can be mandatory, while many others can be semi-legal by way of administrative/ government orders or by way of approved of plans and schemes. The pertinent areas of the standards, norms and specifications can be the following: • Urban Design Guidelines • Architectural Controls (height, regulated zone, prohibited zone, elevation, style, openings, building bulk,

Continuing Traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism: Case Studies in Place Making

301

FAR, ground coverage - inclusive buildings, landscape, utilities, public toilets etc.). • Development specifications (roads, footpaths, solid waste disposal, drainage, electricity, water bodies, rain water harvesting etc.). • Structure/Building Standards (safety, retrofitting, specification for building materials and quality of construction, adoption of National Building Code, etc.). • Maintenance Guidelines/Code. • Hoardings, advertisement boards, signages, outdoor display structures, dish antennae, communication towers etc. A major para legal provision can be Empowerment Zone Partnerships and Community Enterprise Promotion for urban regeneration. Various types of partnerships prevail in urban sector, such as given in Table 1. For greater success of the partnerships it is necessary to further the concept of “Empowerment Zone Partnership”, which requires deregulation, devolution and decentralisation together with coordination, allocations and leveraging at all

the levels – Government, Local Authority and Community (Table 2). CONCLUSION In a zeal to develop the “modern” cities and ‘property’ oriented approach of development, the treasure of our traditional urbanism has often been trampled upon. Beyond the hackneyed reasons of population growth, changing life styles, urbanization and the forces of economic growth, the malaise is much deeper. It includes the lack of awareness, sensitivity and concern for the traditional values, incapacity of institutional framework, non-responsive organisations, flaws in planning, design and development control process, legal and enforcement inadequacies and deficiencies in implementation and maintenance. In a democratic context where people are involved, the‘legislation’ is to be seen in a broader context, beyond its punitive aspects.There are various examples of ‘paralegal’ measures, which have been successfully adopted for conservation of the heritage/urbanism by way of a participatory process. These require concerted actions by the government, local bodies and the community.

Table 1 Types of Partnerships Type Area of coverage Development partnership joint venture Development trust

Informal arrangement

Single site of small area e.g. town centre. Clearly defined area for regeneration e.g. neighbourhood or estate District or city-wide.

Agency

Urban / sub-regional.

Strategic

Sub-regional / metropolitan

Range of partners

Activities

Private developer, housing association, local authority Community based organisation with aid from local authorities. Private sector-led. Sponsored by chamber of commerce/ development agency. Terms of reference from sponsoring agency through an agency / development company independent of the partners. All sectors

Commercial/non profit development for mutual benefit. Community based regeneration, concerned with creating community benefits. Place-marketing, promotion of growth and investment.

Multiple task orientation, usually within a designated time-frame.

Broad strategy for development, as a catalyst / guide. Implementation is often through third party vehicles, including development companies.

Table 2 Government Level

Local Authority

Community Level

• Remove regulatory barriers • Invest state resources/funds

• Involve the entire community

• Simplify programme rules

• Decentralise

• Plan comprehensively.

• Co-ordinate programme

• Devolve & Decontrol

• Leverage private resources

• Invest broad resources

• Co-ordinate programme and agencies

• Streamline planning, monitoring, implementation processes and ensure accountability

• Simplify procedures and approvals

302

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

References: 1. Cantacuzino, Sherban (1987), Blueprint for conservation in the Third World, Mimar 24. 2. Cantacuzino, Sherban (1985), A Policy for Area Conservation in India, FRAC. 3. Delhi Development Authority (1990), Master Plan for Delhi-2001. 4. Delhi Development Authority (2005), Draft Master Plan for Delhi-2021. 5. Doctor, Rob (1996), Integrated Conservation of Urban Heritage. 6. Govt. of Maharashtra (1995), Heritage Regulations / List of Greater Bombay, 7. Richard, Groves (1991), Development of Urban Renewal Programme in India. University of Birmingham. 8. Hyderbad Urban Development Authority(1997), Conservation of Heritage in Hyderabad-Regulations and List. 9. HUDCO (1996), Shelter. Spl. Issue on Indo-Dutch Workshop on Urban Heritage, June. 10. ICOMOS (1991), Guidelines for Training and Conservation. December. 11. INTACH & CSD (1993), Mehrauli Urban Heritage Project. 12. INTACH (1997), Listing of Heritage buildings in Delhi. 13. Jain, A.K. (1994), The Cities of Delhi, Man. Pub. Co., New Delhi. 14. Jain, A.K. (1995), Planning Approach for Conservation of Heritage, ITPI, Journal, March-June. 15. Jain, A.K. (1998), Delhi 50 years of Triumph & Tragedy, ITPI, Journal, Dec. 16. McCallum D. & Steinberg,F (1987), Approaches to Housing Renewal, Urban India. Vol.XVIII, No.2, New Delhi, p. 20-26. 17. MOUAE (1996), Report of the Steering Committee on Review of MPD-2001, reprinted by DDA (1997) 18. Naidu, Ratna (1994), A Conceptual Framework for Renewal of Walled Cities in India, Ekistics, Sept.-Dec. 19. Ribeiro, E.F.N. (1992), The Listing of Buildings and Sites and Archaeological Historical and Architectural Significance in the Context of the Bombay, Seminar Paper, Max Mueller Bhawan, Mumbai, October. 20. Peter, Roberts & Sykes, Hugh (Ed), Urban Regeneration – A Handbook, Sage, London. 21. Rao, G.B.K. (1977), Legislation for Conservation and Management of Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Ruins, July-Sept. URP Thought. 22.Steinberg, Florian (1996), Conservation and Rehabilitation of Urban Heritage in Developing Countries, Habitat International, June.

Continuing Traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism: Case Studies in Place Making

303

Strategies For Continuing Traditions In New Architecture And Urbanism INTBAU India The Panel discussion was held as part of the plenary session of The International Conference on the development of Indian building Traditions held on 14th of January 2007. This was an attempt at taking a sustainable direction towards retaining and reinforcing belief in the strength and vitality of traditional concepts, typologies and methodologies. The Panel discussion and the conference itself brought together voices representing all corners of India and the world in an effort to create a suitable action strategy for promoting these traditional methods. This forum and this publication has aimed at the ultimate creation of a context specific framework and guidelines to help mainstream traditional methods into new architectural and urban design endeavors all across the country. This could be brought about by creating appropriate examples and general and statutory guidelines to help change the mind set of the people commissioning buildings, urban projects and space creation. In this endeavor, the output of the forum in terms of the INTBAU-Nabha Declaration endeavors to formulate a clear path to lead forward towards this goal. The Discussion also puts the Declaration into perspective for the future. The Panelists • A.G.K. Menon (Chair of the session) Architect, New Delhi & Chair, Academic Committee • Robert Adam Architect, UK & Chair, INTBAU • Rasem Badran Architect, Dar Al Omran, Jordan • Nimish Patel Architect, Abhikram, Ahmedabad • Gurmeet Rai Director, Cultural Resource Conservation Initiative, New Delhi • Richard Engelhardt Regional Advisor for Culture in Asia and the Pacific, UNESCO, Bangkok A.G.K. Menon: This forum has come up with quite a remarkable and compelling INTBAU Nabha Declaration, which could serve as an apt starting point for this discussion. The features of the Declaration might help generate policies which might be utilized by all the interested stakeholders of this process. The aim of this Declaration to lead to a new kind of architecture and urbanism which would be ensconced in the traditional values which have been put forward by the forum.

304

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Gurmeet Rai: As a practitioner who has been engaged with the Nabha project, I consider this Declaration as an interesting paper and my main concern would be to figure out how the same could create a lasting impact. It would be useful here, to reflect on the words of Patrick Geddes; who came to India and spoke on conservation surgery in Indian towns and the need to improve the condition of our old cities. Interestingly, he held that one needed to think global, but act local. Today, the kinds of projects being taken up under the National Urban Renewal Mission are neglecting the small and medium towns. As a result, it is the metropolises and other big cities that are compelled to absorb the expanding urban population. The small and medium towns need to be immediately focused on, wherein Nabha can provide the opportunity to develop a model, which can be replicated. Unfortunately in the planning process, the urban planner or designer is usually hardly ever involved. The technocrat is generally completely ignored in discussions, with the spotlight being on the bureaucrat or the politician. In order to make an overall impact on policy, the designer ought to be involved in the planning process, which can then be forwarded to the government. Many more demonstration projects like Nabha are needed as well. In fact, Nabha would provide a very interesting laboratory to test whether our enabling tools need to be just reinterpreted or altered. Robert Adam: On a slightly different note, the effects of this Declaration could be made visible through a demonstration project. If it works, this Declaration can have a far-reaching impact. The structure of this document can make it very effective and a great deal can be drawn from the various ideas, views and examples contributed during this forum. This document would not only be useful for usage and implementation purposes, but also provide assistance in the communication of the ingrained ideas to various stakeholders, such as bureaucrats. As it develops authority and credence, the document could help develop an action plan consisting of step-by-step guidelines. Once it does that, it can have a destination, a purpose, an impact, and would thereby help Nabha in emerging as an example. Richard Engelhardt: Whatever we see, document and live through is undergoing a paradigm shift, wherein heritage and tradition are not mere elite resources to be fossilized. They form a universal resource for development and hence are significant for the vitalization of the community, whether traditional or newly emerging urban communities. There is a direct link between heritage conservation and the continuation of traditional practices, particularly in the built environment. This relation underpins sustainable development, which in turn is essential for good governance. It is a sort of virtual circle, wherein the role of INTBAU India needs to be analyzed The INTBAU Nabha declaration should be taken up as a real blueprint for action. Moreover, it ought to establish a professional code of practice for INTBAU practitioners to follow, and go on to become a powerful way of interacting at the governance level. For this, the Indian membership

needs to obtain the tools required to put this framework into practice. For example: • INTBAU could become a knowledge hub for information on the traditional built environment practices, which could be used by both practitioners and academicians. • A directory of traditional practitioners could be created along with licensing or registration for these people. • Structural models need to be devised for stakeholder consultations, if we really want to convert stakeholders into stockholders. • INTBAU could look at creating a compendium of best practices with an analysis of their success and the things that could be learnt from them. • Finally, the role of various professional groups (doctors, architects or engineers) should be acknowledged in suggesting changes to the framework of regulations, guidelines or legislation, in order to ensure the best standards of practice, at the local, state or national level. This is where the declaration should make a difference. Rasem Badran: As practitioners, the dilemma that most of us are facing is in the way we look at the past. There are times when we need to understand the economic, political and geographical circumstances. In addition, working on a new project with cultural values also necessitates dealing with the local community. It becomes like a cultural agenda wherein one deploys tools to delve into childhood memories and interpret the written agenda of the past. There are two domains, the constant and the variable- the variable being the tool to implement or transform mental ideas into a physical form, and the constant being that which does not change with time. If one could use these to understand the value of heritage, then even contemporary designs could be approached in a manner, which creates continuity between the past and the present, giving a direction to the future. Within every ancient city, one can find a huge gap in the sensibilities. A vacuum exists between the past and the present. In order to bridge this gap between the physical and the metaphysical, the material and the spiritual, tools need to be invented to create a time scenario that is harmonious with regard to man, time and the place. Nimish Patel: The INTBAU Nabha Declaration is very important because the work in Nabha dates back to the time before heritage conservation became a separate field on its own. INTBAU should promote many of its local chapters all over India and the whole issue can become a movement if INTBAU facilitates this spread in small and medium towns. Focusing on the possible strategies for continuing traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism, we notice that our built environment is based on three things-building materials, building technology and the human skills. In order to make a strategy we must increase our familiarity with all of the above- both contemporary and traditional- that we have at our disposal.

Giving it an economic perspective, the Government of India spends approximately 0.1 Million Indian Rupees on producing a graduate in this country. Applying this figure to the approximately 3 million building or decorative crafts people in the country, having a training of a number of years. Multiplying these figures, we come to a figure of 300 Billion Rupees, which is the minimum asset value of the knowledge and skill of our crafts people. This is freely available to the government, but we are still just debating on whether and how to disseminate this resource. On the other hand, if some outsider were to invest this amount in India, the treatment would be quite different. It is now urgent that we endorse and promote the vast range of materials, range of technologies and human skills that we have gathered over thousands of years. A.G.K. Menon: The major points which have emerged from the discussion are as follows: To carry forward the agenda of the INTBAU Nabha Declaration and this forum, it is important to create demonstration projects rooted in the ground reality. The Declaration would also help in building communication with the government for the promotion of traditional methods in building. There must be many such declarations, to help expose the peculiarities in each local situation. Within this, INTBAU India’s role would include providing a blueprint for action with the possibility of the organization becoming a knowledge hub for people to carry this message forward. The professionals must make themselves familiar with the various local processes available within the country and utilize traditional knowledge as a valuable resource for their work. Similarly, community based methods must be given importance with a view to turning stockholders into stakeholders. It is the intimate relationship between culture and its complexities which might provide the answers. Therefore, it is important to raise the literacy about the role of heritage in developing the future. OPEN HOUSE V. Suresh: Nabha could be the starting point to define the way forward. There could be a declaration for every city over a period of time. The first step could be to identify 4-5 deliverables of a sustainable city, for e.g., housing, water management, waste management, which could be concentrated on. A time frame for action could then be set: Immediate (2007 end), Short term (by 2010), Medium term (by 2015) and Long term (by 2020). Secondly, while there are concerns that the existing schemes ignore the small and medium towns, there are parallel schemes for such towns. It is possible to get project reports and funding for such projects, though not necessarily under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission which is targeted towards 63 cities. The Bangalore Agenda Task Force is an example worth examining in this regard. In specific places, one has to work within the framework of the city area. Herein, agencies such as HUDCO, Punjab Urban Development Authority, Punjab Water Supply and

Continuing Traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism: Case Studies in Place Making

305

Sewage etc. might be important for the work in Nabha. In Punjab, the focal points in the neighbouring villages need to have improved connectivity to reduce migration to the bigger cities. The INTBAU Nabha Declaration should engender a clear-cut agenda for improving the living standards of the marginalized sections of the society, in terms of housing, water, sanitation, etc., as well as the social and spatial development of Nabha. If this pilot project can demonstrate measurable results, it can be forwarded at the government level and be replicated in different parts of India. Debashish Nayak: A support system needs to be built for these suggested changes to the current approach. This must be based on an appropriate strategy for generating policies, besides the good intentions of working with traditions. For example in Ahmedabad, under the previous tax policy, an unused building was taxed only one third of the actual amount which led to owners closing up their heritage properties, sometimes causing their collapse. The policy has now been revised and a used house invites only half the taxed amount leading to more people using these properties. There is a need to consider such policy changes to encourage people to look at heritage conservation as an important issue. Also the unspent money in the local municipalities and the MLA, MP funds can be put to good use by creating detailed project reports with the required groundwork. These can be later brought forward on the ground. Another suggestion is for urban labor to be segregated according to their skills. Therefore, a lot needs to be done by policy makers and strategists to address all such intentions adequately. Secondly, best practices also need to be documented, and the following example is of the City Manager’s Association, which has branches in over 90 cities with their head office at Ahmedabad. They have compiled a book, “Best Practices of the Municipalities of India”. To quote an example from the book, a municipality has put a timer on streetlights for switching them on and off. The timer costs Rs.600 but saves on the huge electricity bills, which are otherwise generated. The idea was so successful, that many municipalities have replicated it, making such an exchange of best practices, a highly helpful strategy.

regulation zone where it is extremely difficult to get permission for the conservation effort of any heritage building due to a lack of government initiative. Ashok B. Lall: There still seems to be a divide between those who are going to do things- the designers, the experts etc.- and the ones for whom things will get done. But if one can turn this relationship into a potential osmotic relationship, then the process of getting things done would become simpler. To enable that, schools, training centers or other communitybased institutions need to be introduced where the knowledge of design along with the advantage of heritage can be transferred effectively to the local populace. They should then be able to take on the work as they used to, in the past, so that there is no need for an outsider to come in and do it. This should be the central objective in the setting up a project. Matthew Hardy: In all of these projects, there is an exchange between people with technical knowledge, architects, planners, sociologists and the people who live there. The local populace has all the expertise in its local area; it knows the problems, the issues, the climate and the history. Exchange between the two is important so that both the parties learn from each other. Navin Piplani: The INTACH India Charter for Conservation can be read in conjunction with the INTBAU Nabha declaration since a lot of similar points, like new developments in historical areas and the meaning of heritage, were touched in both. Reading them together would help in coming up with more solutions. Michael Mehaffy: Based on the experience of the Venice Declaration which took place last year, it is important for the INTBAU Nabha Declaration to stay more focused on an action based approach and constantly work out steps towards improvement.

Merle Kindred:

Maliha Sultan Chaudhry:

The financial considerations to make INTBAU survive and grow are very real. One possible source of funds might be to tap into the Indian Diaspora who may be interested in investing in the maintenance of the traditions of their country.

There has been criticism of the wrong practices that are taking place currently, for instance, the skyscrapers of Gurgaon. Could there be a strategy to stop such wrongdoings?

Kiran S. Kalamdani:

There is no way to stop a certain process of globalization taking place. The objective instead is that more and more of us should try and do things that we believe in, which would not include building skyscrapers. This lies in the force of one’s conviction and one’s ability to convince the community on this count. The point of partnerships with other organizations or charters is also significant and another useful document is the Heritage Tool Kit. This talks about how heritage could be used to improve the social and economic conditions of cities. It is a very simplistic document that attempts to give a step-by-step action plan.

An organization called the Intermediate Cities and World Organization networks between approximately 90 small cities across the world. The success stories of these cities are available on their website and they could act as a useful reference point. In India itself, there are many initiatives on heritage conservation already underway, and their websites too could provide a more concrete body of knowledge in order to avoid the repetition of mistakes. Such examples include Matheran, which is a part of the eco-sensitive

306

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

A.G.K. Menon:

Naresh Karmalker: There is room in this declaration for partnerships beyond that between architects and the urban planners. As it is a holistic kind of an idea, more players and stakeholders need to be involved. The idea of setting up centers to transfer the technology and the learning skills has already been put to action by many organizations. INTBAU needs to get into partnerships with such organizations. Arunava Das Gupta: The INTBAU Nabha declaration has to be more inclusive of expertise beyond just the architectural community, by others that have as much stake in, as well as an understanding of, the development of tradition, specifically with respect to anthropology and economics. Ashutosh Sohoni: We have a strategy for heritage and conservation. The objective should be to take these thoughts and ideas beyond the community of designers and architects. One of the ways to bring about this shift in thinking is to educate children who are at an impressionable age so that over a period of time there will be total change in the way society looks at heritage. A.G.K. Menon: Hopefully, many events would be planned in various places so that the message can be disseminated to a wider audience and in many other ways. For instance, the exercise INTBAU started the year before last was a wonderful strategy on how heritage could be used in city development and renewal. We can proceed with our agenda through such exercises with support from schools, professionals and officials.

Continuing Traditions in New Architecture and Urbanism: Case Studies in Place Making

307

Essays and Illustrations on “Contemporary Relevance of Traditional Principles in Architecture & Urbanism”

Re-thinking Our Present Modus Operandi Ruturaj. F . Parikh, D.C.Patel School Of Architecture, Vallabh Vidyanagar Contemporary architectural scenario has given rise to a level of ambiguity unlike any other design field. The present urban landscapes have drastically modified the unilateral design approaches that were once in practice. The post-modern scenario has repeatedly tried to intervene and bifurcate the attitudes towards design thus creating a plethora of options and approaches. Thus the contemporary architectural practice is presented with multilateral challenges to pursue a unidirectional aim. Do we stand at the end of a tradition or at the beginning of one? Le Corbusier once famously quoted that the streets are no more than a means to get the trucks to the construction site. The strength of the statement is an example of an attitude wherein the architect completely ejects himself from the strongholds of the contextual forces. The question is whether the attitude of an architect to be committed only to his project is responsible to have given rise to the present sterile urban environ?

Previously, the art of building was a part of strong social setup and was passed on from generation to generation as a part of tradition. It was an organization which celebrated the eventful topography, adopted to the principles of communal living and thus giving rise to a distinct architectural pattern innate to that region. Any settlement thus became identifiable to the place where it stood. Factors like socioeconomic hierarchies, power structures and functionality were always prevalent. They were a part of the understated building patterns which in turn regulated the process of building even in a spontaneous system of growth. Issues like proximity, security and religious beliefs were regularly addressed and incorporated in the process. From brilliant edifices, breathtaking squares and photogenic streets to meticulously planned fort walls, effective storage and drainage systems and well placed institutions have been built by our unanimous past. The streets of Siddhpur, the squares of Jesalmeir and the houses of Chettenad had no single architect behind them.

The world we live in is a heterogeneous web of cultures, religions and schools of thought. The need of the hour in this rapidly developing era is to come up with fast and effective developmental schemes. There is a requisite to break away from the old silhouettes and create new skylines. But how far in the bargain should the principles of traditional approaches be neglected? How detached should the present architectural practice be from the social, cultural and economic roots of the context? Are there lines required to be drawn or have we already crossed all of them and declared ourselves free from our roots. Are regional forces behind any project addressed as challenges or discarded as hurdles in modern design approaches? The question is how to practice the modern and address the rooted. Is there a possible approach wherein both the schools of thought can come up with an in-between approach and implement it for cohesive development? We still have to learn a lot from our own architectural heritage. Take a walk on any street of your old or fortified city. Ask if what you see does reflect principles of cohesive development. Ask also if it has variety and diversity to offer enough to arouse interest. Do the things that catch your eye present themselves as uncanny fragments of a built environment or do they belong to the place where they stand?

The old fortified town of Mumbai, India is a unique example of how the original settlements of any city are foresighted enough to still be vital in functioning of the town.

Built environments of our past were seldom planned and developed with the benefit of designers and master plans. Instead they were a result of spontaneous development by the passage of time, lay of land and daily life of the people. Still they did reflect a sense of being rooted and a sense of belonging to the place. Still they did respond to the sun, the wind and the rain. Still they had a sense of order in the organic spontaneity of their development. Still they had elements that signified social, political and economic hierarchies.

Essays and Illustrations on “Contemporary Relevance of Traditional Principles in Architecture & Urbanism”

311

The fortified town old of Baroda houses most of the government institutions and administrative establishments around a lake precinct.

Structures like EllisBridge, Ahmedabad, India, have served their cities for more than a century and are still their integral parts.

Streets of old planned or organic towns like these in Siddhpur, India, still preserve the essence of the once upon a time street markets that played major roles in the development of the town.

Most of the settlements that now form a part of the old towns are losing their race against time. They form an unchanging part of dynamic developments in their surroundings and are reduced to being merely silent spectators to the surge of spectacular and aggressive growth in the surrounding areas. These older parts of towns or cities have been built by exploiting the skills of local craftsmen and conscious use of locally available materials. The present lifestyles in and around these built fabrics are condensed continuities of the original ways of life of the people. We still see a photograph of a corner house of an anonymous street of some part of an anonymous town and identify the place where it stands with accuracy. The sense of identity was never lost in the process. As time went by, the “Builder” transcended from being a mere craftsman to a visualizer. From comic book instances of Asterix and Obelix being ordered by queen Cleopetra to build a pyramid to realisition of Le Corbusier’s urbanism in the town of Chandigarh. Projects got driven from a vision of a single creative mind and the effort was now to realize those visions. The architect slowly became a single creative 312

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

driving force behind any project. Thus the occupation of space-making transcended from a collective local phenomenon to a commodity of hiring a creative mind. Architecture, since this transition metamorphosed into a profession and the old settlements lost their evolutionary significance. The local craftsmen were reduced to mere laborers and their skills were exploited. There was a drastic change in the way we looked at buildings. Architecture slowly became a field driven by global economic, developmental and technological forces instead of being driven by the forces of local landscapes. What was once a human occupation of space-making was now a commercially available commodity. In the bargain, the basic principles of human need of space-making were lost.

Cities lost their inherent identities to become global urban spaces. The change was positive if weighed in terms of developmental attitudes but negative if weighed in terms of experiential, emotional and sensory qualities of a built environment. This drastic change brought in global trends and seldom respected the forces of regional landscapes. This short-sighted and aggressive development gave rise to well developed but sterile urban built environs. The inherent knowledge of building was replaced by modern and global ideologies and approaches towards the built environment. Architecture like every other field was subject to change. The old was replaced by the new. But the change was supposed to be a part of the condensed continuities wherein at every step, we borrow some, modify some and discard some rooted approaches towards the built environ rather than completely replacing them with new design and development approaches. This transition of architecture from being socially driven to economically driven gave rise to two distinct attitudes. These two distinct attitudes namely the developmental and the conservationist failed to strike a balance in order to achieve a cohesive development. In this economically driven development frenzy, the traditional principles of creating a built environ like proximity, built vs open ratios, facade proportions, street width vs height ratios, local centers and focuses, institutional placements, prevalent social hierarchies etc. were replaced by commercial, residential, institutional and industrial zones. The traditionally carried forward patterns of building were replaced by utilitarian building by-laws.

The ruins of the historic towns like these of Mandu, India, are examples of the immense wealth of inherent knowledge of building that was lost in time.

The need of the hour for the governing bylaws is to imbibe the traditional developmental patterns in modern day town planning. The developmental attitude to look forward and act and the conservationist attitude to look back to protect and preserve, have to come up with an in-between attitude for a far-sighted master plan. The requirement right now is not to preserve the architectural relics of our heritage but to unearth, understand and carry forward those traditional principles which gave birth to those vibrant environs of our past. We should not stand at the beginning or the end of a tradition. We should be a part of the condensed and continues change in the traditional ways that the future generations will find its roots in. We should put forward conscious effort to develop a new modus operandi. Essays and Illustrations on “Contemporary Relevance of Traditional Principles in Architecture & Urbanism”

313

Contemporary Relevance Of Traditional Principles In Architecture And Urbanism Saptarishi Sanyal School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi Today, there is a definite lack of satisfaction with human habitats, which is what makes one evaluate these with respect to the traditional environments that they have replaced or are in the process of replacing with a ‘global’ paradigm of development. These forces are usually related to the assigning of myopic and superficial goals of ease and betterment of lifestyle and living conditions in regions that are understood to be underprivileged by the ‘modern’ world. Jyoti Hosagrahar’s book Indigenous Modernities discusses how global politics and asymmetries of power relations have influenced a society’s understanding of and subsequent engagement with modernity. Thus, the global monster continues to envelope most of the eastern world and threaten the identity of places by diluting the rootedness of these areas. BACKGROUND The history of the present conditions of architecture and urbanism may be traced back to the modern movement and its propagation of industry and machine driven and ‘functional’ internationalist aesthetic that knows no cultures or places. This can be attributed to any industrial product, whether steel or the automobile to Moshe Safdie’s prefabricated dwelling units. The ‘ideals’ of the modern movement were replaced by the post-modern movements’ embrace of the ‘complexity and contradiction’ in architecture and cities. However, even this can be considered as big a pathogen advocating dislocation as the modern movement with its internationalist goals. These pasts have today brought us to a situation that is undesirably eclectic yet placeless, still pushed by industrial roots, and lopsided in addressing the end-users as part of their context, who have been stratified as modern or primitive based on these foreign notions of the same.

Plate 1: Las Vegas, USA and ITO , Delhi, India: Globalization??? (Source: www.away.com, www.thehindu.com, 2006)

314

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Today, THIS is what the global paradigm is essentially manifesting itself as in places with a definite cultural and traditional background, and in the light of THIS contemporary situation, the validity of it shall be critically evaluated against what its replacing. APPLICABILITY OF TRADITIONAL PRINCIPLES TODAY The term traditional may be understood to be distinct from the ‘vernacular’ in design or planning because the vernacular method, specific to a place, through continued practice, becomes a tradition in building. Thus, it can be acknowledged that the ultimate traditional principles in architecture or urbanism at a given place and time is like a knowledge system and has, temporally speaking, maintained a continuity with the changing parameters of its practitioning. Thus, the notion of “appropriateness” has been addressed in traditional building by an information base of the local parameters under which the design and development is taking place. Thus, by looking at the traditional architectural and city-building principles, I am advancing what can be referred to as convergence in design and development action. It is also possible to identify a participatory approach that involves the end-users as they contribute to the process through the traditional knowledge they have imbibed over time. Lastly, looking at the final product of this kind of informed approach, either as architecture or as cities, it is possible to identify a high level of sustainability in it that can adapt to change easily. The convergent approach Architecture or urbanism today is largely solipsistic. This is because they take insufficient parameters into account for determination of quality in development. One of the biggest evidences for this is the fact that boundaries of local governance (municipal wards) are not convergent with the boundaries of local development (sub-zone) in most cities in India. A model that exemplifies convergence in governance and development in planning is the Mughal city of Shahjahanabad, which as far back as 1639, when it was conceived took this parameter into account. Thanas (or wards) were given to different noblemen whose responsibility was to develop, physically also, these areas

Fig. 1: Convergent urbanism in Shahjahanabad (Source: Base maps: Thomas Krafft & Eckart Ehlers,1993; Jyoti Hosagrahar, 2004; Diagrams: Author, base: Atilio Petruccioli, Marg vol. XXXIX, No.1; Inset plates: www.columbia.edu)

under their purview. Shahjahanabad also incorporates a lot of other principles of convergence that shall be discussed below. These, apart from the immediately visible needs of the people, address the latent needs like : 1. SPATIAL QUALITY (comfort and liveability), as demonstrated in the dense dwellings that induce a sense of community and security. That brings us to the social needs. 2. SOCIAL NEEDS (interfaces between public and private domains, apart from the ones mentioned above). This is also demonstrated in traditional housing in other parts of the country like the Brahmin houses in the south called agraharams. Security and convenience in communities are also achieved by traditional mixed-use development as opposed to the conventional land-use one that is heavily dependent on transport networks. Another social need addressed by traditional development is of legibility and familiarity that fosters security and belonging to a place.

3. Examples of the agraharams and other traditional housing also demonstrate the imbibed knowledge about climate (incorporating courtyards in a humid climate) and the use of locally available material. This aspect can be called the TECHNOLOGICAL one. 4. ECONOMIC CONCERNS about affordability and sustainability is practiced not only through the construction with local material but also seen in traditional institutions like the waqf associated with mosques that leases lands to commercial establishments to generate revenue for the upkeep of the mosque. 5. ENVIRONMENTAL. As discussed under the aspect of technology, the materials used in construction have low embodied energy due to their local availability and the buildings are climatologically designed. This makes them environmentally benign. At an urban level also, Bhopal makes us question the ‘modern’ anthropocentric

Fig. 2: Agraharams in Kerala (Source: Sketches: author, Krishna Chandran , 2004; Inset plate: author; Inset text: author)

Essays and Illustrations on “Contemporary Relevance of Traditional Principles in Architecture & Urbanism”

315

Fig. 3: Do-it-Yourself (D-I-Y) models developed for rural ‘common-services-centre’ that is participatory and adaptable to local materials (Sources: Community Services center, author)

site planning as opposed to a traditional environmentally receptive one because rejection of the natural drainage system of the lakes there has led to a rise in the number of mosquitoes because of increase in stagnant water. Thus, to address all problems faced by contemporary development, a traditional convergent approach that is receptive to data from all these dimensions addressing the quality of architecture or cities would have to be adopted to deliver a wholesome living environment that is people centric without compromising the natural environmental factors. Empowerment: Reinforcing local capacities and a participatory approach The existence of local traditional knowledge systems has already been discussed. These are either in the form of local crafts or skill sets imbibed by the people or information about the historical background of a place. To take local knowledge systems into account significantly in development involves the people of a place, which is a bottomup approach to development rather than a centralized topdown one that is detached from local peoples. This is one of the ways in which an informed approach to change or development in an area, region or city can take place. Further, this participatory approach would induce a sense of pride and belonging among the people in concern. And since along with the built and natural environment, people are integral to the identity of a place, this mode of bottomup/ participatory/ decentralized working is one of the most valid methods available for eliminating placelessness and preventing dilution of the cultural capital from a place. The LIFE (Literacy Initiative For Empowerment) under UNESCO also follows this approach and goes to the extent of redefining literacy, respecting local knowledge systems. The loss of cultural capital and knowledge systems is attributed to the dependence of the current consumer market on industry and this leads to the craftsmen of an area migrating to the city as unskilled workers. This may also be one of the valid causes for the urban-immigration problem. Sustainability through change Change being unavoidable, any built product or city can be sustainable only if it allows change through minimal consumption of resources and compromise of the embedded values and quality. This, at an urban level has again been demonstrated by the city of Shahjahanabad that receives densification successfully over a period of 316

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

over 200 years till injected with modern western paradigms of development that are disrespectful to its embedded values. Through architectural endeavours in rural and urban areas, architect Laurie Baker has demonstrated a way of working with local skills and knowledge of building to re-invent architecture in Kerala and in rural areas in the Himachal. This is an attempt at identifying some of the main principles that are embedded in traditional architecture and city-building. Thus, instead of rejecting traditional urban space and architecture, these would need to be conserved so as to act as a reference and provide lessons for future developments. This would be the first step to attaining human habitats that are sustainable in all respects. I shall not even make any allusions to a conclusion in this discussion about the relevance of traditional principles in architecture and urbanism. The objective of writing this material is to look differently at what we consider “primitive”. Ironically, we have imbibed more of global ideas because of our overexposure to them coupled with ignorance about our local knowledge systems - which is why the dissemination of knowledge about these is a critical step to acknowledging their presence and relevance.

References: 1. Bhatia, Gautam (1991), Laurie Baker: Life, Work and Writings. 2. Blake, Stephen P. (1986), Shahjahanabad: Sovereign City 3. Greffe, Xavier (2001), Managing our cultural heritage 4.Grover, Satish (1995), Building beyond borders 5. Hosagrahar, Jyoti (2004), Indigenous Modernities 6. Khan, Hasan-Uddin (2001), International Style 7. Krafft, Thomas & Ehlers, Eckhart (1993), Shahjahanabad: Tradition & Colonial Change 8. Rykwert, Joseph (2002), The Seduction of Place 9. Taecker, Matthew (2000), Urban revitalization and rural restoration ….and many others Websites: 1. Laura Wallace interviews of Amartya Sen, September 2004,www.google.com 2. www.unesco.org/life 3. en.wikipedia.org

319

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Ways of Seeing: Interpreting Heritage and Tradition for Design Education

Ashutosh Sohoni Bowling Green State University, Ohio, USA

321

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Redefining Architecture based on Cultural Evolution

Maliha Sultan Chaudhry Architect, New Delhi

323

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Framework for Heritage: A Case Study of Architectural Lighting Design in Chandigarh & Promoting Tourism through Illumination

Pradeep Bhagat Chandigarh College of Architecture

325

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Role of a Historic Precinct in City Image

Sanjay S. Jado MITS, Gwalior

327

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Mountains- The Spiritual Magnets for the Adventurer: Continuity, Context and Construction in the Himalayan Region

Sarosh Pradhan Architect, Kathmandu, Nepal

329

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Cairo’s European Quarter 19th Century and Early 20th Century Architectural Heritage

Wael Fahmi Helwan University, Cairo, Egypt

331

New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions

Lime Panel

Nimish Patel & Parul Zaveri Architects- Abhikram, Ahmedabad

ACADEMIC COMMITTEE A.G.K. Menon (Chair) is an Architect and Academician, and a Founder member of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) and director of the TVB School, New Delhi. He has lectured, taught and written extensively all over the world and is associated as advisor/chairperson with Delhi Urban Arts Comission(DUAC), Delhi Development Authority(DDA) & National Capital Region Planning Board. He has been the Chairperson of Urban Renewal and Urban Heritage Committee for formulation of Delhi Master Plan 2001-2021. He is based in New Delhi, India Robert Adam His contribution to the classical tradition is internationally acknowledged, both as a scholar and as a designer of traditional and progressive classical architecture. Working in the USA, UK and Europe, he has chaired various bodies including the International Network for Traditional Builing, Architecture and Urbanism (INTBAU). He is a Royal Institute of British Architects Councillor and has been an advisor to the Commission for Architecture & the Built Environment (CABE) and English Heritage. He is based in Winchester in the United Kingdom. S.K. Misra is the Chairman of INTACH, the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage. INTACH has grown from strength to strength under his keen supervision and guidance. There are currently around 117 chapters within the country. INTACH has also taken a lead in organizing craft training programmes, art and craft festivals and heritage walks throughout the country. He is based at the INTACH head office in New Delhi, India Yaaminey Mubayi is a Consultant for Cultural Heritage at The Nabha Foundation, where she is providing inputs in both heritage conservation together with socio-cultural parameters. She has worked formerly with UNESCO and various community development organisations and is involved with various heritage initiatives all over India. She also teaches Conservation Management at the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi. She is based in New Delhi, India Nimish Patel has established the widely regarded and awarded “Abhikram” which has been working in the field of traditional, contextual and sustainable architecture. He has been involved in heritage conservation projects and research in climatically appropriate design in various parts of India. He has published and lectured extensively and has also established the Virasat Foundation to establish the relevance towards traditional decision making processes in the built environment. He is based in Ahmedabad, India Deependra Prashad (Editor) is an Architect & Planner who has been involoved in Research and Construction Projects in the field of sustainable and low energy architecture. He has published on and has provided consultation to both the government and NGOs like CARE, Development Alternatives & UN-Habitat on issues of appropriate building materials, water management, community planning methods & educational infrastructure development. He teaches Sustainable Design at the Dept. of Architecture and Urban Design at the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi. He is based in New Delhi, India Jyoti Soni is an architect and has worked on a range of architectural and developmental projects in Mumbai, UK & the Middle East. She has worked is Dresden on the usage of traditional materials in construction and participated in community planning workshops & NGO lobbies to the government in India. She is currently based in London in the United Kingdom. Saswati Chetia (Asst. Editor & Architect INTBAU India) is an Architect. She has graduated from Maulana Azad National In Bhopal and worked in Ahmedabad and New Delhi on various architectural and research projects primarily based in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana & Rajasthan. She is working as an Architect & Program Manager with INTBAU India and is based in New Delhi, India.

332

List of Contributors Name

Designation & Organization

E-mail

A.G.K.Menon

Architect & Director, TVB School, New Delhi

[email protected]

A.K.Jain

Commissioner (Planning), Delhi Development Authority

[email protected]

Amit Bhatt

Architect-Town Planner (Housing), New Delhi

[email protected]

Arif Hasan

Architect/Planner, Pakistan

[email protected]

Arif Kamal Mohammad

Asst. Prof., Deptt. Of Arch, KFUPM, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia [email protected]

Aruna Paul Simittrarachhi

Regional Program Adviser, Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), Nepal

Ashok Lall

Architect & Dean of Studies, TVB School, New Delhi

[email protected]

Ashutosh Sohoni

Assit. Professor of Design, Bowling Green State University, Ohio, USA

[email protected]

Brinda Somaya

Somaya & Kalappa Consultants Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai

[email protected]

Channa Daswatte

Architect-MICD Associates, Madiwela , Sri Lanka

[email protected]

Deependra Prashad

Architect-Planner & Visiting Faculty, School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi

[email protected]

Dhiru Thadani

Principal, Ayers / Saint / Gross Architects + Planners, Washington, USA

[email protected]

Gerard da Cunha

Architect, Architecture Autonomous, Goa

[email protected]

[email protected]

Gurmeet Rai

Director, CRCI, New Delhi

[email protected]

K.T. Ravindran

Dean of Studies, Prof of Urban Design, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi

[email protected]

Krupali Uplekar

Architect, Asst. Professor,Notre Dame Universty, USA

[email protected]

Leon Krier

Architect and Urban Planner, France

Madhu C.Dutta

Asst. Professor, Network Institute of Technology, Boston, USA

Maliha Sultan Chaudhry

Architect, New Delhi

[email protected]

Marjan Sadat Nematimehr Phd Scholar, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran

[email protected]

Michael Mehaffy

Co Founder, Centre for Environmental Structure, Europe

[email protected]

Minja Yang

Director, UNESCO Office in New Delhi

[email protected]

Mustansir Dalvi

Professor-Sir JJ College of Architecture, Mumbai

[email protected]

Narendra Dengle

Architect, Conservationist, Pune

[email protected]

Naresh Karmalker

Habitat for Humanity India, Habitat Resource Centre - New Delhi

[email protected]

Nimish Patel

Architect, Abhikram, Ahmedabad

[email protected]

Oluseyi Timothy Odeyale

Lecturer and Researcher, Dept. of Architecture, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria

[email protected]

Parul Zaveri

Architect, Abhikram, Ahmedabad

[email protected]

Pradeep Kumar Bhagat

Asst. Professor, Chandigarh College of Architecture, Chandigarh

[email protected]

Pradeep Sachdeva

Architect & Designer, New Delhi

[email protected]

Pranali R. Parikh

Urban Designer, Birmingham, UK

[email protected]

Prasad Jonathan D.W.

Architect, Inspiration, Kerala

[email protected]

Prerna Mehta

Architect - Town Planner (Housing), New Delhi

[email protected]

Pushpa Arabindoo

Lecturer, UCL Urban Laboratory, University College London

[email protected]

Raj Rewal

Raj Rewal Associates, New Delhi

[email protected]

Rakesh K.S.

Asst. Professor, Dept. of Architecture,Satyabhama University, [email protected] Chennai

Ranjit Sabikhi

Architect, New Delhi

[email protected]

Rasem Badran

Dar Al Omran, Amman, Jordan

[email protected]

Richard Engelhardt

Senior Advisor to UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture

[email protected]

Robert Adam

Chair- INTBAU & Architect- Robert Adam Architects, Winchester, UK

robert,adam@robertadamarchitects. com

333

334

Ruturaj Parikh

D.C.Patel School Of Architecture, Vallabh Vidyanagar, Anand, Gujarat

[email protected]

S.Badrinarayanan

Visiting Faculty, SPA and TVB School of Habitat Studies, New Delhi

[email protected]

Sanjay S. Jadon

Reader, Department of Architecture, M.I.T.S., Gwalior

[email protected]

Saptarshi Sanyal

School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi.

[email protected]

Sarika Panda Bhatt

Architect-Planner, Operation Research Group Pvt, Ltd, New Delhi

[email protected]

Sarosh Pradhan

Architect, Kathmandu, Nepal

[email protected]

Sashikala Ananth

Architect-Vadivam, Chennai

[email protected]

Satprem Maini

Architect–Director, Earth Institute, Auroville

[email protected]

Shikha Jain

Director, Development and Research Organisation for Nature Arts & Heritage (DRONAH), Gurgaon

[email protected]

Smita Dalvi

Assistant Professor-Pillais College of Architecture, Mumbai

[email protected]

Tariq Yahiaoni

The Prince’s Foundation for the Built Environment, UK

[email protected]

Uday Khemka

Managing Trustee & CEO, The Nabha Foundation

[email protected]

Vinay Mohan Das

Lecturer, Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology, Bhopal

[email protected]

Wael Fahmi

Associate Professor of Urbanism, Helwan University, Cairo, Egypt

[email protected]

William Koehler

Graduate Program Director, College of Management, University of Massachusetts, Boston, USA

[email protected]

Yaaminey Mubayi

Heritage Consultant, The Nabha Foundation

[email protected]

Yatin Pandya

Associate Director, Vastu-Shilpa Foundation for Studies & Research in Environmental Design, Ahmedabad

[email protected]

Participants of The International Conference on “New Architecture & Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions” held in January’ 07 in New Delhi Name

Designation & Organization

email

A.G.K. Menon

Architect & Director, TVB School, New Delhi

[email protected]

A.K. Jain

Planning Commissioner, Delhi Development Authority

[email protected]

A.Vishal Chand

S.S.S.M’s College of Architecture, Solapur

[email protected]

Abhijit Kondhalkar

Dept. of Urban Design, School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi

[email protected]

Abhijit Ray

Architect, New Delhi

[email protected]

Adriana Duran

Architect, Columbia.

[email protected]

Ajay Kalsi

Noida

Ajit Seshadri

Head - Environmental Wing, Vijay Vigyan Foundation, New Delhi

[email protected]

Alessandro Iacovuzzi

Architect, Politecnico of Bari, Italy

[email protected]

Ameeta Sane

Architect, Mumbai

[email protected]

Amita Baig

World Monuments Fund, New Delhi

[email protected]

Amruta Deshpande

Dr. B. N College of Arch., Ganesh Nagar, Pune.

[email protected]

Anil Laul

CEO & principal architect, Anangpur Building Centre

[email protected]

Anita Bakshi

CEKUL, Foundation for the Promotion and Protection of Environmental and Cultural Heritage, Turkey

[email protected]

Anjali Krishan Sharma

Asst. Prof., Phd Scholar,School of Plannning & Architecture, New Delhi

[email protected]

Anu Singh

Lecturer, Indo Global College of Architecture, Chandigarh

[email protected]

Anuj Kathuria

Sushant School of Art & Architecture, Gurgaon

[email protected]

Anuradha Chaturvedi

Asst. Professor, Architectural Conservation, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi

[email protected]

Anurag Roy

Architect & Dean, Vastukala Academy, College of Architecutre, New Delhi

[email protected]

Archana Khanna Gupta

Visiting Faculty, School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi

[email protected]

Arif Kamal Mohammad

Asst. Prof., Deptt. Of Arch, KFUPM, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

[email protected]

Arun Bhandari

Graduate Scholar, VNIT, Nagpur

[email protected]

Aruna Paul Simittrarachhi

Regional Program Adviser for the South Asian Countries, Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), Nepal

[email protected]

Aruna Sharma

Hindustan Times, New Delhi

[email protected]

Arunava Das Gupta

Urban Designer & Faculty, TVB School of Habitat Studies, New Delhi

[email protected]

Arvind Krishan

Professor, School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi

[email protected]

Ashok B. Lall

Architect & Dean of Studies, TVB school of Habitat Studies

[email protected]

Ashtosh Dhar

Urban Planner, Gujarat Urban Development Company, Gujarat

[email protected]

Ashutosh Sohoni

Asst. Prof., Design, Bowling Green State Univ, USA

[email protected]

Ashwini Kumar

UN Habitat (UNESCO Chronicle), New Delhi

[email protected]

Asmita Divakar

B.N.College of Architecture, Pune

[email protected]

Atish Mandal

Heritage Worldwide, New Delhi

[email protected]

Avni Malhotra

Prog. Officer, Swiss Agency for Development and Co-op. Delhi

[email protected]

Ayodh Kamath

Architect, Kamath Design Studio, New Delhi

[email protected]

Azhar Tyabji

Art historian & community planner, Pune

[email protected]

B.K. Jain

Director of Planning, Delhi Development Authority

[email protected]

Balbir Verma

Balbir Verma & Associates, New Delhi

[email protected]

Bashabi Das Gupta

TVB School of Habitat Studies, New Delhi

Bhavna Muttreja

School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi

[email protected]

Binayak Rath

Professor, IIT, Kanpur

[email protected]

Brinda Somaya

Somaya & Kalappa Consultants Pvt. Ltd, Mumbai

[email protected] 335

Channa Daswatte

336

Architect, MICD Associates, Madiwala, Sri Lanka

[email protected]

Charu Chadha

TVB School of Habitat Studies, New Delhi

[email protected]

Chitra Chandra Shekhar

School of Plannning and Architect, New Delhi

[email protected]

Christiane Brusius

South Asia Institute, Kailash Colony New Delhi.

[email protected]

Commander I.L. Syal

Head Master, The Punjab Public School, Nabha

[email protected]

Czaee Malpani

TVB School of Habitat Studies, New Delhi

[email protected]

Debashish Nayak

Advisor, Heritage Programme, Municipal Corporation, Ahmedabad

[email protected]

Debashree Pal

School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi

[email protected]

Deependra Prashad

Architect & Secretary, INTBAU India, New Delhi

[email protected]

Deepika Saxena

School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi

[email protected]

Devendra Kumar Dwivedi

Lecturer- Economics, Allahabad University

[email protected]

Dhiru Thadani

Principal, Ayers / Saint / Gross, Architects + Planners, USA

[email protected]

Dhruva Kalra

TVB School of Habitat Studies, New Delhi

[email protected]

Dhwani Iyer

Allana College of Architecture, Pune

[email protected]

Diksha Agarwal

TVB School of Habitat Studies, New Delhi

[email protected]

Divya Chopra

School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi

[email protected]

Divya Kush

Architect & Chair, Northern Chapter Indian Inst. Of Architects, New Delhi

[email protected]

Faith Singh

Founder Trustee, Jaipur Virasat Foundation, Jaipur

[email protected]

G.S. Gill

The Nabha Foundation, Nabha

[email protected]

Gayatri Ratnam Rajesh

Faculty- Building Technology, HSMI, New Delhi

[email protected]

Gerard da Cunha

Architecture Autonomous, Goa

[email protected]

Giles Tillotson

Author & Conservationist, Gurgaon

[email protected]

Gurmeet S. Rai

Conservation Architect, Director, CRCI, New Delhi

[email protected]

Himanshu Shard

TVB School of Habitat Studies, New Delhi

[email protected]

J.N. Somya

School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi

[email protected]

Jayashree Deshpande

Faculty of Eng. Member, Academic Council, Pune University [email protected]

Jigna Desai

Architect, JMA Design Co. Pvt. Ltd., Gujarat

[email protected]

Jyoti Soni

Architect, Mumbai

[email protected]

K.T.Gurumukhi

Ex Chief Planner,Practicing Architect/Planner, New Delhi

[email protected]

K.T.Ravindran

Dean of Studies, Prof of Urban Design, School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi

[email protected]

Kamal Chawla

TVB School of Habitat Studies, New Delhi

[email protected]

Kapil Arora

Vice Principal, RIMT College of Architecture, Punjab

[email protected]

Kapil Gauba

TVB School of Habitat Studies, New Delhi

[email protected]

Karan Grover

Architect, Varodara, Gujarat

[email protected]

Kiran S. Kalamdani

Practising architect, urban designer and conservationist, Pune

[email protected]

Kriti Aggarwal

TVB School of Habitat Studies, New Delhi

[email protected]

Kulbhushan Jain

Architect & Faculty, CEPT University, Ahmedabad

[email protected]

Kulwant Singh

Chief Technical Advisor, UN-HABITAT, New Delhi

[email protected]

Laxmi Arya

Architect, Mumbai

[email protected]

Leon Krier

Architect and Urbanist, France

Lipika Swarup

TVB School of Habitat Studies, New Delhi

[email protected]

M.N.Joglekar

Director/Principal, Vastukala Academy, New Delhi

[email protected]

Madhu C. Dutta

Asst. Professor, Wentworth Institute of Technology, USA

[email protected]

Madhu Pandit

Architect, Neeraj Manchanda Architects, New Delhi

[email protected]

Madhushri Gadgil

Dr. B.N. College of Architecture for Women, Pune

[email protected]

Major T.S. Manko

The Nabha Foundation, Nabha

[email protected]

Mala Seshagiri

Chennai

[email protected]

Maliha Sultan Choudhry

Architect, New Delhi

[email protected]

Manan Ahuja

Sushant School of Art & Architecture, New Delhi

[email protected]

Man Singh Rana

Founder- Sushant School of Art and Architecture, New Delhi & Patron- Lutyens Trust, UK

[email protected]

Manoj Kumar

Asstt. Professor, Patna, Bihar

[email protected]

Mansi Chaturvedi

Development specialist, Uttaranchal, INTBAU

[email protected]

Maria Rundqvist

Architect, Sweden

[email protected]

Marjan Nematimehr

Phd. Scholar, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran

[email protected]

Matthew Hardy

Architect, Urban Designer & Secretary, INTBAU UK

[email protected]

Meera Soni

TVB School of Habitat Studies, New Delhi

[email protected]

Merle Kindred

Michigan Tech/Scholar at COSTFORD

[email protected]

Michael Gorzynski

Havard Business School, Boston, USA

[email protected]

Michael W Mehaffy

Centre for Environmental Structure - Europe, USA

[email protected]

Mikael Backman

Urban Planning Unit, Municip. Of Karlshamn, Sweden

[email protected]

Miki Desai

Cept University Navrangpura, Ahmedabad, Gujarat

[email protected]

Minja Yang

Director, UNESCO, Office in Delhi

[email protected]

Mitra Mitra

Architect & Visiting Faculty, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi

[email protected]

Mrinal S.Ram Mohan

TVB School of Habitat Studies, New Delhi

[email protected]

Mrs. Badran

DAR AL OMRAN, Jordan

[email protected]

Mustansir Dalvi

Architect, Professor, Pillais College of Architecture, New Bombay

[email protected]

Namita Goel

Indian Architecture & Builder, Nehru Place, New Delhi

[email protected]

Narendra Dengle

Architect & Conservationinst, Narendra Dengle & Associates, Pune

[email protected]

Naresh Karmalker

Programme Advicer- Asia Pacific, Habitat for Humanity International, New Delhi

[email protected]

Natesan Seshagiri

Architect, member of the steering committee of Hindu Community and Cultural Center in California, USA

[email protected]

Navin Piplani

Conservation Architect, TVB School of Habitat Studies, New Delhi

[email protected]

Neepa Saha

Program Coordinator, The Nabha Foundation

[email protected]

Neeraj Manchanda

Architect, Neeraj Manchanda Architects, New Delhi

[email protected]

Nidhi Aggarwal

School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi

Nidhi Batra

School of Planning & Architecture

[email protected]

Nilanjan Bhowal

Architect- Design Consortium, New Delhi

[email protected]

Nimish Patel

Architect, Abhikram

[email protected]

Nupur Saran

School of Planning and Architecture, Bhopal

[email protected]

Oluseyi Timothy Odeyale

Lecturer and researcher, Department of Architecture, Federal University of Technology, Akure Nigeria

[email protected]

P.C. Jain

Head, CII- Green Building Centre, New Delhi

[email protected]

P.K. Jain

Director, Rajasthan Institute for Conservation of Culture Properties, Jaipur

[email protected]

P.S. Mathur

Secretary, Citifoundation, New Delhi

[email protected]

Parul Zaveri

Architect, Abhikram, Ahmedabad

[email protected]

Payal Kapoor

TVB School of Habitat Studies, New Delhi

[email protected]

Poonam Verma Mascarenhas

Architect, HECAR/ARCHINOVA, Goa

[email protected]

Pradeep Bhagat

Asst. Professor, Chandigarh College of Architecture

[email protected]

Pradeep Sachdeva

Architect & Designer, New Delhi

[email protected]

Pranali R Parikh

Architecture & Urban Designer, Birmingham, UK

[email protected]

Prasad Jonathan D.W.

Architect, Inspiration, Kerala

[email protected]

Preeti Harit

INTACH, Architectural Heritage Division, New Delhi

[email protected]

Prerna Mehta

Architect - Town Planner (Housing), Delhi

[email protected]

Priya Sasidharan

Lecturer, Measi Academy of Architecture, Chennai

[email protected]

Priyaleen Singh

Professor, Deptt. Of Conservation, SPA, Delhi

[email protected]

Priyank Jain

TVB School of Habitat Studies, New Delhi

[email protected] 337

Priyanka Dave

338

JMA Design Co. Pvt. Ltd, Gujarat

[email protected]

Priyanka Kochhar

The Energy & Researches Institute(TERI), New Delhi

[email protected]

Pushpa Arabindoo

Lecturer, UCL Urban Laboratory, University College London

[email protected]

Raghav Kaushik

School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi

[email protected]

Raj Rewal

Architect, Raj Rewal Associates, New Delhi

[email protected]

Rajeev Sethi

Founder & CMD, Asian Heritage Foundation

Rakesh K.S

Asst. Professor, Satyabhama University, Chennai

[email protected]

Ram Sharma

Architect HOD, Sushant School of Art & Architecture, Gurgaon

[email protected]

Raman Vig

Architect & Visiting Faculty School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi

[email protected]

Ranjana Mital

Faculty, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi

[email protected]

Ranjit Mitra

HOD, Department of Urban Design, School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi

[email protected]

Ranjit Sabikhi

Architect- Ranjit Sabikhi Architects, New Delhi

[email protected]

Rasem Badran

Architect- DAR AL OMRAN, Amman, Jordan

[email protected]

Ratish Nanda

Aga Khan Trust for Culture, New Delhi

[email protected]

Ravindra Bhan

Ravindra Bhan & Associates, New Delhi

[email protected]

Reena Surana

HOD, Dept. of Architecture, MNIT, Jaipur

[email protected]

Revathi Kamath

Kamath Design Studio, New Delhi

[email protected]

Richard Engelhardt

Senior Advisor to UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture

[email protected]

Riddhi Vijay Parakh

Dr. B.N College of Architecture, Pune.

[email protected]

Robert Adam

Chair- INTBAU & Architect- Robert Adam Architects, Winchester, UK

robert.adam@robertadamarchitects. com

Robert Patzschke

Patlschke Architecture & Urban Design, Germany

[email protected]

Rohini Shaurya

TVB School of Habitat Studies, New Delhi

[email protected]

Rohini Srivastava

TVB School of Habitat Studies, New Delhi

[email protected]

Ruchita Gupta

TVB School of Habitat Studeis, New Delhi

[email protected]

Rupal Shukla

South Florida Regional Planning Council, USA

[email protected]

Ruturaj F. Parikh

D.C.Patel School Of Architecture, Vallabh Vidyanagar, Gujarat

[email protected]

S. Badrinarayanan

Visiting Faculty, TVB School of Habitat Studies & SPA, Delhi

[email protected]

S.C. Mahagaonkar

Director (Town Planning), Jaipur Development Authority

[email protected]

Sachin Kapoor

The Nabha Foundation

sachin@thenabhafoundation@org

Sanjay S. Jadon

Reader, Department of Architecture, MITS, Gwalior

[email protected]

Saptarshi Sanyal

School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi

[email protected]

Sarah Adam

Robert Adam Architects, UK

[email protected]

Sarah Bancroft

South Asia Correspondent- Corner Stone, SPAB, UK

[email protected]

Sarika Panda Bhatt

Architect/Planner, New Delhi

[email protected]

Sarosh Pradhan

Architect, Nepal

[email protected]

Sashikala Ananth

Architect- Vadivam, Chennai

[email protected]

Saswati Chetia

Architect & Program Manager, INTBAU India, New Delhi

[email protected]

Satish Khanna

HOD, Dept. of Arch, School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi

[email protected]

Satprem Maïni

Architect & Director- Earth Institute, Auroville

[email protected]

Saurabh Tewari

Sushant School of Art & Architecture

[email protected]

Sharat C.Das

Architect, New Delhi

[email protected]

Shashi Mesapam

Research Scholar, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee

[email protected]

Shikha Jain

Director, Development and Research Organisation for Nature Arts [email protected] & Heritage, (DRONAH), Gurgaon & Affiliate- JVF, Jaipur

Shirish Gupte

Architect & Director- Intbau Mumbai

[email protected]

Shivdular Dhillon

The Benediction, Patiala, Punjab

[email protected]

Shrashtant Patara

The Shelter Group, Development Alternatives, New Delhi.

[email protected]

Shruti Joshi

Asstt. Professor, B.N.College of Architecture, Pune

[email protected],

Shubhada Kamlapurkar

Professor, Dr. B.N College of Architecture, Pune

[email protected]

Siddharth Soni

School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi

[email protected]

Smita Dalvi

Asst. Professor, Pillais College of Architecture, Bombay

[email protected]

Smita Datta Mukhija

Architecture, AVESANA, New Delhi

[email protected]

Sneha Gurjar

TVB School of Habitat Studies, New Delhi

[email protected]

Snigdha Saumya

The PRactice, New Delhi

[email protected]

Subhasis Chakrabarti

Chief Operating Officer, The Nabha Foundation

[email protected]

Sudha Nadar

Indian Architect & Builder Magezine, Chiranjeev Tower,New Delhi.

[email protected]

Sumandeep Singh

TVB School of Habitat Studies, New Delhi

[email protected]

Sumit Ghosh

Architect, S. Ghosh & Associates, New Delhi

[email protected]

Suneet Paul

Editor, Architecture + Design Magazine, New Delhi

[email protected]

Sunil David

Director, Habitat Resource Center, HFHI, New Delhi

[email protected]

Sweena Berry

Design & Conservation Consultant, Gurgaon

[email protected]

Takahiro Noguchi

The Nabha Foundation

[email protected]

Tanya Sanyal

School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi

[email protected]

Tariq Yahiaoui

The Prince’s Founation for The Built Environment, UK

[email protected]

Thiruvengadam R.B.

Architect, Mandala Design Forum, New Delhi

[email protected]

Tushar Bhor

Aga Khan Planning & Building Service, Mumbai

[email protected]

Tushar Gaur

BBDN Institute of Technology & Management, Lucknow

[email protected]

Udayan Kumar

Design A

[email protected]

V. Suresh

Head Good Governance India Froundation, Former CMD, HUDCO, New Delhi

[email protected]

Vaibhav Bakhshi

Government College of Architecture, Lucknow

[email protected]

Vaibhav Jain

School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi

[email protected]

Vanya Jain

Sushant School of Art & Architecture, Gurgaon

vanya_savageconjunction@yahoo. co.in

Varun Airy

Sr. Manager, Lloyd Insultations India Ltd., New Delhi

[email protected]

Vas Dev Dewan

Chief Architect, Delhi Development Authority

[email protected]

Vasant Kamath

Kamath Design Studio, New Delhi

[email protected]

Vasudha Gokhale

Dr. B.N. College of Architecture, Pune

[email protected]

Veena Mahadevan

UN Habitat, New Delhi

Vijay Garg

Architect & Hon. Secretary, Indian Institute of Architects, New Delhi

[email protected]

Vijay Xalxo

Habitat for Humanity India

[email protected]

Vikas Sharma

Design Plus, Gurgaon, Haryana

[email protected]

Vinay Mohan Das

Sr. Lecturer, Department of Architecture and Planning, MANIT, Bhopal

[email protected]

Viraj Kataria

Centre for Environment Planning and Technology, Ahmedabad

[email protected]

Vivek Nanda

Director- Alan Baxter & Associates, UK

[email protected]

Wael Fahmi

Principal, Urban Design Experimental Research Studies, CairoEgypt

[email protected]

William Koehler

Graduate Program Director, College of Management, University of Massachusetts

[email protected]

Yaaminey Mubayi

Heritage Consultant, The Nabha Foundation

[email protected]

Yash Pathak

Sushant School of Art & Architecture, Gurgaon

[email protected]

Yatin Pandya

Associate Director, Vastu-Shilpa Foundation for Studies & Research in Environmental Design, Ahmedabad

[email protected]

339

INTBAU Aura Neag (UK) Matthew Hardy (UK) Deependra Prashad (New Delhi, India) Saswati Chetia (New Delhi, India) Shirish Gupte (Mumbai, India) Jyoti Soni (India)

+91-11-40502162 (India), +44-(0)-20-76138520 (UK) [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

The Nabha Foundation Don Mohanlal Amita Kapur Subhasis Chakrabarti Yaaminey Mubayi Takahiro Noguchi

+91-11-46034810, 46034810 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]