New Architecture and Urbanism : Development of Indian Traditions

Contents: Preface. Acknowledgements. Introduction: why tradition matters/A.G.K. Menon. Tradition and our built environment: 1. Growth: maturity or over-development?/Leon Krier. 2. Tradition and innovation/Raj Rewal. 3. Globalisation and tradition/Robert Adam. New ways of looking at heritage: processes: 1. Spatial narratives in traditional Indian architecture: an interpretation for contemporary relevance/Yatin. 2. Sense of identity, continuity and context/Pranali R. Parikh. 3. Cultural heritage as a driver for integrated development in Punjab: the case of Nabha/Yaaminey Mubayi and Gurmeet Rai. 4. Cultural metamorphosis, building tradition and search for architectural identity in Africa: a case study of South-Western Nigeria/Oluseyi Timothy Odeyale. 5. Jaipur as a recurring renaissance/Shikha Jain. 6. Linking heritage and development practice. New Ways of looking at heritage: contextual frameworks: 1. Heritage - a key resource for sustainable development: an international perspective/Minja Yang. 2. Conceptual framework of Vaastu/Sashikala Ananth. 3. Heritage as a living and evolving process: graphic transcription and analytic study of architectural proportions in Mayamatam/Vinay Mohan Das. 4. Evolution of an indigenous planning system/Ranjit Sabikhi. 5. Transforming historic city centers: integrated approach of urban design and historic preservation/Krupali Uplekar. 6. The Raj versus the Republic: the legacy of Lutyens/William Koehler and Madhu C. Dutta. 7. Dismantling cosmopolitanism: transformations in the sacred heritage of the non-monumental in the Konkan/Smita Dalvi and Mustansir Dalvi. 8. Developing local capacities for conserving heritage at heritage sites in the Asia and the Pacific/Richard Engelhardt. Sustainable places and communities: 1. International capital, NGOs, architects and communities - the case of Karachi/Arif Hasan. 2. Partnering with the poor for better housing/Aruna Paul Simmittrarachhi and Naresh Karmalker. 3. Infrastructure development through community consensus: a strategic approach/Deependra Prashad. 4. Transformations occurring due to socio-economic pressures/Amit Bhatt, Prerna Mehta and Sarika Panda Bhatt. 5. Isolated by elitism: the pitfalls of recent heritage and conservation attempts in Chennai/Pushpa Arabindoo. 6. Urbanization, farm land and the form of public space/Narendra Dengle. Sustainable buildings: 1. Earthen architecture in Auroville - linking a world tradition with modernity/Satprem Maini. 2. Evolving traditional practices for sustainable construction in the present/Ashok Lall. 3. Sustainability in building and urban scale in Iranian Arid old cities/Marziehsadat Nematimehr. 4. From pattern languages to generative codes: a report on recent work of Christopher Alexander and colleagues and its application to the regeneration of traditional settlements/Michael Mehaffy. 5. Climatic responsiveness in traditional built form of Lucknow/Mohammad Arif Kamal, Najamuddin and Pusphlata. 6. Is tradition green?. 7. Traditional context: constructivist approach in the design studio/S. Badrinarayanan. 8. Traditional and contextual relevance for education in architecture and urbanism. Continuing traditions in new architecture and urbanism: case studies in form making: 1. Building construction and the decorative crafts: the endangered traditions/Nimish Patel and Parul Zaveri. 2. Reflections on the narrative of place: the infinite conversation/Rasem Badran. 3. Tradition as an expression of time/K.T. Ravindran. 4. Bhadli Village, Gujarat/Brinda Somaya. 5. A socio-political analysis of traditional building in tourism: the legacy of Geoffrey Bawa/Channa Daswatte. 6. Building with Bamboo/Prasad Jonathan. 7. Evolving a vocabulary of architecture/Gerard da Cunha. Continuing traditions in new architecture and urbanism: case studies in place making: 1. Place making in India: some streets in a small town, a historic precinct and a Haat/Pradeep Sachdeva. 2. Qualitative evaluation of the pedestrian environment: a case study of the commercial hub of Chennai City/Rakesh K.S. 3. New urbanism and its relevance in India/Dhiru Thadani. 4. The pattern method/Tariq Yohiaoui. 5. Interface between traditional urbanism and the legislative framework/A.K. Jain. 6. Strategies for continuing traditions in new architecture and urbanism. Illustrated essays and studies: 1. Re-thinking our present Modus Operandi/Ruturaj Parikh. 2. Contemporary relevance of traditional principles in architecture and urbanism/Saptarshi Sanyal. Theme based graphical slides. Academic committee.

“This book on “New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of Indian Traditions” builds on the contributions from various architects, planners, educationists, decision-makers and 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 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 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.” (jacket)