Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation_Research Symposium Proceedings by Avanipublications

N O R M A

ECOLOGIES OF ADAPTATION Research Symposium Proceedings

Edited by Meenakshi Dubey, Sebastian Joseph, Soumini Raja, Thushara K

Research Symposium Proceedings

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Edited by

Meenakshi Dubey, Sebastian Joseph, Soumini Raja, Thushara K

Sponsored by Stapati 5/2759 C, Kalipoika Mini By Pass Road Calicut – 673 004 Kerala, India

Published by Principal, Avani Institute of Design Ambayathode, Koodathai Post, Thamarassery, Calicut, Kerala - 673573 India https://avani.edu.in

Publication date June 2022 ISBN 978-93-5636-535-3

Copyright Paper contributors retain copyright and grant the symposium proceedings right of first publication with the work as simultaneously also licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.

Editorial Advisor Bijoy Ramachandran

Contents Convenor’s Note

Advisor’s Note

Acknowledgements

Thematic Descriptions

Theme 01: Re-narrating Histories Theme 02: Living and Working: Realities of Domesticity Theme 03: Magnitude of Displacement and Inequities Theme 04: Vulnerable Ecosystems and Resilience Theme 05: Design Pedagogy and Practice: Bracing for ‘Uncertainty’ Theme 06: Vulnerable Ecosystems and Resilience Notes by Panelists Living & Working : Realities of Domesticity Neelkanth Chhaya

Domestica Elastica

11 14

Zameer Basrai

The Tree of Knowledge: Getting Real about Socio-nature

Himanshu Burte

Home: When Feet Dwell

Deepta Sateesh

Shock and Aftershock: (Im)mobilities, Resilience and Policy Response in the Wake of COVID 19

Mukta Naik

The Urban Symbiome: A Template for Worldmaking in the Pluriverse Sarosh Anklesaria

Collaboration for Resilience

The Machine is the Home for Living Being Cyborg / Becoming Architect

Jahnavi Phalkey

Rohan Shivkumar

Maintenance, Architecture and Critical Intimacy Shubhra Raje

Paper Abstracts Importance of Loss in Design Education: Mourning as Critical Pedagogy

Abu Talha Farooqi, Simran Raswant

Community Driven Approach for Conservation of Cultural Heritage : A Case Study of the Riverfront of Agra

Afifa Nuzhat, Shahim Abdurahiman

Architectural Adaptations of the Virtual Social Space Aleesha Antony, Vidya Ajith Menon

Contested Grounds: Relooking Claims on The City Aswin Senthil

Architectural Practices: Embracing Adaptations of Habitation Athira Balakrishnan, Kevin Mathew, M Sanjay Kumar

Flood Mitigation Measures in the Context of 2018 Kerala Flood: A Case Study of Chengannur Region in Alappuzha District

48 51 58 62

Aysha Vazna

Navigating the “Urban Mess”: Learning from Disabled Geographies

Fathima Jilna, Nima Viswanatha, Reshma Mathew

Revisiting the Machine for Living In An “incomplete”, conceptual and abstract design idea for a small dwelling unit in the context of Kerala, India Jose Benoy K C

Finding Frugality Seeking Vernacular Modernisms and Evolving a Modernist Vernacular

Kanishka Prasad

What is Home? Refugees, Forced Migration and its Impacts on their Mental Health

Krishna Salim, Varshini Penneru

Responsive Pedagogy in the changing Landscapes of Architectural Studio Practice

Transformation of Public Space Design in In-between Spaces after COVID 19

Museums in the Times of Pandemic

Meenakshi Dubey, Thushara Koraprath

Murat Sönmez, Ayça Yılmaz

Prarthana Narendra Hosadurga

A Normal - Fluid and Flowing – Adaptations around Water Systems in the City of Vijaypura

100

Ecologies of Boat-making: Narratives of Adaptations in Kuttanadu

103

Pluralities and Punctuations: Spatial Negotiations in Fickle Environment

106

Symposium CFP

112

Program Schedule

114

Credits

116

About the Contributors

118

Paper Contributor’s Biographies

122

Reshma Susan Mathew Sebastian Joseph

Soumini Raja

Convenor’s Note, Advisor’s Note, Acknowledgements

Convenors’ Note

Convenors’ Note Meenakshi Dubey, Sebastian Joseph, Soumini Raja, Thushara K

The Avani Annual Research Symposium 2021, “ Ecologies of Adaptation” was held on 04 and 05 September 2021. Avani Annual Research Symposium is envisioned as a platform to conduct critically engaging, honest and fearless enquiries and to provide opportunities to young scholars to develop original research in contemporary issues of design and built environment with the potential to be translated into a form of scholarship of global relevance. In March 2021, as academic campuses across the State of Kerala reopened after the first wave of COVID 19 pandemic, we got a window of opportunity to be back on Avani campus situated in Thamarassery, Kerala. The idea of Avani Annual Research Symposium 2021 was discussed and it was decided that, unlike the first symposium we were confident to host the symposium on campus. We had expected and hoped that the pandemic would be under control and we would be back to “Normal”. The second wave of COVID 19 established that our expected “Normal” was far away and we needed to continue adapting our modes of academic operations. As the constraints of an impending lockdown became evident, we decided to steer the symposium back into an online mode with added emphasis towards creating opportunities to empower and encourage young scholars, including members of the Avani community to undertake original and critical research in the field of built environment and design. We also saw significant opportunity in situating the Symposium as the cornerstone of our academic practice and pedagogy at Avani, by plugging the 2021-22 academic studio inquiries, deep rooted into the symposium sub-themes, offering students to engage with the themes and offer critical scholorship on Ecologies of Adaptations. We the convenors came together based on our diverse experience working across multiple design studios and disciplinary engagements within and outside the Avani community. We were joined by Ar. Bijoy Ramachandran, founding partner at Hundredhands and Avani Advisor. He brought with him decades of experience both in critical spatial practice and design pedagogy. Since June 2021, we have discussed and questioned the nature of Normal? and deliberated on how we could adapt to the impending conditions and situations, brought to the fore once again by the spike in COVID 19 cases across the world. These discussions became the foundation of the Avani Annual Research Symposium 2021- Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation that intended to Avani Institute of Design

Meenakshi Dubey, Sebastian Joseph, Soumini Raja, Thushara K

examine the ecologies as design ontologies in sustaining human lives to move forwards. We received 20 plus research abstracts from young scholars and graduate students from across the country, including one from the Department of Architecture, TOBB ETU, Ankara, Turkey. All abstracts touched upon at least one of the 6 core themes of the symposium - Re-narrating histories, Living and working: realities of domesticity, Magnitude of displacement and inequities, Vulnerable ecosystems and Resilience, Design pedagogy and practice: bracing for ‘uncertainty’, Collaborations for a resilient future. Observing Avani academic values that are rooted in collaborative academic practice and sustained shared thinking, the symposium became the starting point of a continued engagement between the paper contributors also as peer reviewers. To give context and strength to the domains, over the two days of the symposium, five moderated panel discussions were held, each including two keynote lectures by academic and professional practitioners invited from around the world. These sessions were moderated by faculty colleagues from SEA Mumbai, WCFA Mysore and SEED Kochi offering support through the CONNECTED COLLABORATIONS initiative. These discussions and deliberations held over the two days set the tone and direction for future academic and research engagements at Avani. There were also curated panel discussions hosted by the convenors in which the research abstracts and their aims were discussed, offering insights into the themes, disciplinary crossovers and methodological experimentations undertaken by the researchers. This Research Symposium Proceedings is a result of revisions made by the authors based on multiple rounds of peer reviews. We deeply acknowledge the support offered by Ms. Sumitra Nair for copy-editing the abstracts. The collective effort by the contributors, curators, advisors and staff at Avani, resonate the camaraderie that is significant to the growth of the academy. This book will be followed by an edited volume of 10 best Symposium papers scheduled to be published in the month of August 2022.

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Bijoy Ramachandran

Advisor’s Note Bijoy Ramachandran

It was a privilege to collaborate with the Avani Institute of Design to help put together this symposium. Much of this is the result of the work of a team of incredible teachers from the Institute - Soumini Raja, Meenakshi Dubey, Thushara K. and Sebastian Joseph. They posed the fundamental questions that form the basis for the Symposium - What is Normal? And what does a return to Normal mean? Given the experience of the past two years, and our rush to ‘get back to life as usual’, the symposium urges us to consider what this return means. The symposium brings together an incredible lineup of academics. architects and thinkers who help us navigate these questions in the contexts of our communities, sanctuaries, ecology, design pedagogy and direct our gaze to other essential inquiries and set, at least in terms of aspirations, a path to a more resilient and an equitable future. Five tracks were articulated for discussion: 1. Living and Working / Realities of Domesticity This track looked at the changing nature of public and private space in the light of the pandemic seeking to establish fundamental shifts in how we live, work and engage with each other. 2. Vulnerable Ecosystems and Resilience Methods of documenting our environments and techniques of representation betray our biases in terms of how we imagine both vulnerability and resilience. The pandemic has brought to light communities that have been able to negotiate these difficult times effectively and others that are surprisingly disenfranchised. A constructive engagement with our communities and ecosystems require a fundamental understanding of what is at risk. 3. Design Pedagogy and Practice / Bracing for ‘Uncertainty’ The past two years have been challenging with regards to architectural education. Are there new pedagogical methods this difficult time has brought to light

Avani Institute of Design

Bijoy Ramachandran

- methods to work remotely and effectively and how can these new techniques reach everyone? 4. Magnitude of Displacement and Inequities The pandemic has revealed deep schisms within our communities, particularly in the construction industry. How can practice address these issues of deep-rooted inequity? There is also a real threat that this crisis may actually be the opportunity nation-states will use to garner more power, increase surveillance, curtail freedoms, and so on. It is time to be vigilant. 5. Collaborations for a Resilient Future What are the lessons of these past two years? Are there new ways to collaborate and articulate shared ideals? What are the tools for this new way of working? Should there be a shift in the way we see patronage and architectural commissions? The pandemic has forced many practices to re-frame the way they work as a group, seek new commissions and collaborate with potential stakeholders. In the context of our rapid return to ‘business as usual’, these symposium threads are an urgent call to action - to pause and reconsider this frenzied rush to get back. Working with my colleagues at Avani has been an incredibly rewarding and illuminating experience for me. We were fortunate to get a great set of panelists who, through their work and concerns have shown us the path forward.

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements This symposium publication is a collective means of catharsis from the team of convenors as academicians, educators, practitioners positioned amidst spatial and social isolation during the second wave of pandemic. What began essentially as a camp with a handful of us questioning the shifting grounds of design pedagogy and practice in this moment of uncertainty, later emerged as a large group of friends and colleagues making the conversations extremely fruitful intellectually and otherwise. This publication covers 16 extended abstracts cross cutting the 6 themes of the research symposium along with speaker abstracts. During the course of editing this publication, we made repeated approaches to the paper presenters, speakers, moderators and the responses were always courteous. Special thanks to all the three. Many people were generous in offering their advice and thoughts. We would particularly like to thank Ar. Bijoy Ramachandran for his role as symposium advisor and for also supporting the coalition wholeheartedly all the way up to the publication of this volume. The editors of this publication would like to thank the Avani Institute of Design Governing Council, the faculty cohort and admin staff for their generous support and encouragement. We are also very thankful to Sumitra Nair for taking up the arduous task of copy editing the manuscript and thus vastly improving it and also seeing to it that we didn’t fall too far behind the schedule. As editors of this book, we hope that the proceedings will be meaningful for all types of readers within and outside the architecture academy.

Avani Institute of Design

Thematic Descriptions

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Thematic Descriptions

Thematic Descriptions Theme 01: Re-narrating Histories Human histories have been narrated through the dynamic construction of time and space. Historicities are powered with events as outcomes of decisions, conflicts, loss, and despair, manifested and built as edifices - as embodiments of time in space. Is there a NORMAL history? Do the PAUSES have power to re-narrate the past? How would our ecologies of history adapt to the PAUSES? How do we look back at these disruptions and see how society and the physical landscape were altered by these PAUSES’? If empathy, care and compassion replaces power in their renewed manifestations, what then would the architecture of our re-narrated histories be? Theme 02: Living and Working: Realities of Domesticity The public and the private have constantly been in a state of flux, often negotiating with the self and the city; the urban environmental fragilities have expanded and contracted the elastic nature of self and space. Collapse of the public, contraction of the domestic space and the altering nature of work powered by technology and the world wide web have all generated intrusions into that which we call the domestic. During the pandemic, we experienced workspace windows open into our bedrooms, board meetings and classrooms situated on our kitchen counters. We loitered into our balconies and ate with our neighbors as they transformed into the public. We saw too much of ourselves on screen more than what our mirrors ever reflected. What is NORMAL in the domestic? What do PAUSES mean to the human body and its elastic perimeters? What are the realities of domesticity in fickle environments? How do we negotiate, appropriate and occupy spaces NORMALLY? Theme 03: Magnitude of Displacement and Inequities The exposed longstanding structural drivers of socio-economic inequities, such as precarious and adverse working conditions, growing economic disparities , antidemocratic political processes and institutions are key determinants interlinked with Identity, based on where they are, who they are, what they have. From lost livelihoods, greater digital divides and forced migration due to massive disruption of employment conditions (unable to work from home) resulting in displacement and homelessness to exclusion, segregation and collapsing community assets, the current catastrophe has

Avani Institute of Design

Thematic Descriptions

exacerbated the existing social vulnerabilities in society and amplified its impacts, hence fundamentally being “non equalizers”. How have we managed the divide? What are our recovery practices? How do our knowledge systems, responses and outcomes reflect and respond to perpetual PAUSES? What does it mean to give agency to the marginalised and the displaced? What does NORMAL mean in a world of inequities? Theme 04: Vulnerable Ecosystems and Resilience The ecosystem of human inhabitation is constantly vulnerable to recurring shocks, thrusts and collapses. In the face of unpredictable challenges, ecosystems rupture - be it the environmental attributes, socio- economic structures, political and institutional systems. The global PAUSES pose disruptions to the various realms of contemporary human society in the face of uncertainties, subverting the normative concepts of living. With the rapid onset of the pandemic, we are witnessing the immediate ramifications on the socio- ecological systems and its compounded repercussions leaving potential long term impacts on the ecosystem which causes certain enduring cracks in the fragile built and unbuilt envelopes of existence. It has then revealed the ecosystem vulnerabilities and systemic challenges in adaptation. What could be the emergency recovery plan? Can we be responsive to these persistent uncertainties, and be responsible in creating models of sustenance and resilience? Is it the time to ponder on our role as design practitioners and actors in the current scenario of rifts and PAUSES, working in the interface of social lives of people, within these infinite web of systems and cycles? What could be an advanced perspective of generating a design discourse for evolving, resilient and buoyant ECOLOGIES OF ADAPTATION, which can survive, sustain and progress? Theme 05: Design Pedagogy and Practice: Bracing for ‘Uncertainty’ The unfolding effects of the current global pandemic has presented us with myriad new and unprecedented pedagogical challenges. Design pedagogy and remote learning, is quite unthinkable for a profession that typically thrives on the interactive, vibrant social and physical encounter/engagement with its environment. This emergent crisis has exposed institutional cracks such as educational inequities and systemic injustices amongst the learning community; The least privileged, most marginalized bearing the brunt. What is an inclusive and accessible pedagogy of design education? How can design practice and pedagogy respond to recurring PAUSES? What are the new pedagogical topographies of care, compassion, collaboration and connectedness? What is the future of Design practice in the face of looming uncertainties and long haul of recurring PAUSES?

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Thematic Descriptions

Theme 06: Collaborations for a Resilient Future The unexpected occurrences and unscaled events continue to cause disruptions to ecosystems bringing human systems to a grinding halt. These events are often unprecedented, while sometimes repeating in the living memory of the planet and its people. What does our future look like? If the pauses and challenges are here to stay, how do we reclaim, repossess and re-adapt the envelopes of inhabitations? What does collaboration and reciprocity mean in an inequitable, at times socially- physically distanced world? In search of a holistic approach to envision a resilient future, what could be the emerging coherent models of collaborations and cross disciplinary approaches, which can prepare and equip the ECOSYSTEM to sustain and adapt to environmental PAUSES? How do we envision Ecologies of Adaptation for a resilient future? Is there a collaborative design discourse in collectively addressing the challenges of an impaired world? What is our reset time?

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Notes by Panelists

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Neelkanth Chhaya

Notes by Panelists Living and Working : Realities of Domesticity Neelkanth Chhaya

In order to fully grasp the implications of the term “domestic”, we should really explore its origins in the Roman lifeworld. Though in the distant past, Roman political and legal notions have affected and continue to undergird European thought significantly. And of course, contemporary discourse - especially since the extension of colonialism across the world - regarding space, place, politics and law issues out of Eurocentric thought. In that mode of thinking, Domestic Space can be seen as the counterpart, the polar opposite, of Public Space. The etymology of the word domestic is instructive. The root word in Latin is “domus”. Broadly domus might be understood to be what we call home. However, if we go deeper, we can note that the domus was generally the town house of a patrician, a freeman. The domus was the place of familia, or lineage, and was ruled by the paterfamilias. In turn, the paterfamilias is the main male member, the father, by whose name the domus has to known. The paterfamilia’s duty was to ensure the well-being, safety, security and most importantly continuation of the lineage. This meant also the preservation and upkeep of property – hence the domus is valuable private property to be defended. The paterfamilias also needed to lay down the customs and standards of behaviour, and these would be differentiated by gender and age. Finally since the lineage of ancestry and its ethos and repute had to be upheld, and since the lineage was known by the ancestral name, the domus was also the site of identity. Thus domus is the manifest form of patriarchal lineage, or patriarchy; it manifests the power and agency given to the male; it is the manifestation of notions of private property; and finally it is the representation of identity. All this can only happen in the well-defined and defensible inner space of domus. Domus is then an enclosure, completely subject to its own internal regulation, of course as defined by the paterfamilias. The domus is certainly not a place of work. Ideally the patrician should not have to work,only depend on the work of others and the produce of the land. Ironically only patricians can participate in the res publica, the Forum of public decision-making; that is, only those who need not work, may participate in the public, or outer realm. On the Avani Institute of Design

Neelkanth Chhaya

other hand, those who worked, the plebeians, could neither live in domus but mostly in collective dwellings called insulae, nor could they participate in the res publica, the forum. Neither the owned and protected inner nor the open outer space was available to them. And of course, work is not part of the patrician domus. In fact, work belongs neither in the domus, nor in the res publica. ***** We see then that the domestic can then be the arena of the play of patriarchal power, of the contentious operation of private ownership, it becomes the tool for strengthening the notions of identity and it demotes work to a less prestigious position. All these factors, architecturally, are made manifest as the formation of a defined, delimited, bounded enclosure, an inside. As the experience of the pandemic has shown with heightened intensity, all these four factors foster violence, and the inside can exacerbate the play of all these. We need to therefore look at other ways of conceptualising our notions of inhabitation. ***** Other cultural systems have viewed human inhabitation in different ways. Firstly, in many cultures, the notion of “private” ownership is only allowed with reference to artefacts, not places. Thus ownership of land and residence is a “borrowing” from the commons, the concept of bhogavato (Gujarati) or usufruct prevails. Also such use of the commons is not infinitely extendible in time, unlike “ownership”. Finally, the place cannot be “enclosed” or permanently changed – it has to remain part of the commons. Thus the user is subservient to the common good, whereas the owner has power over what is owned, and all that is within it, including people! At an extreme, for example, in many parts of Africa, each individual built and used a hut, and that hut was allowed to disintegrate and return to the soil on the death of the individual. Thus, home was a collection of individuals, not an enclosure that was owned and controlled by a single individual. Also of interest is how nomadic peoples view inhabitation. For the maaldharis of Kutch, the journey across the land was not led by an individual leader but was a collective activity of together following the herd of animals. The group itself was not

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Neelkanth Chhaya

a permanent and unchanging identity-based cohort, but was formed every year by voluntary collaboration. The overnight or longer term place of habitation was known as the “padaav” (from the root word to fall!) - literally where the group had fallen ! Thus inhabitation was transient, accidental, a gift of the landscape, and a result of voluntary collectivity! The urdu language is also rich in terms that note the transient acceptance of rest. The word “muquaam” signifies a pause in a journey. A related word “jagah” means place or situation. Interestingly words related to jagah are surat (face, appearance) halaat (state of being) etc. All these words refer not to a fixed, enclosed domain, but to a state of existence, more temporal than spatial. The pause then is not a definable object with an inside and an outside – it is an intersection of paths, a coming together of many directions. The human sojourns on earth, is a wayfarer, moves through life enjoying and suffering the vicissitudes of earthly existence, meeting other wayfarers from time to time, and dispersing and finally disappearing again. ***** We can sense now a different notion of being at home. In the world as much as in the house, never outside, and under little pressure of identity and norms perhaps. Being at home then might mean receiving from the commons rather than taking over. Certainly a gentler, kinder way of living and working! I end with an inspiring quote from anthropologist Tim Ingold, which might well guide our discussions at this gathering: Places, then, are like knots, and the threads from which they are tied are lines of wayfaring. A house, for example, is a place where the lines of its residents are tightly knotted together. But these lines are no more contained within the house than are threads contained within a knot. Rather, they trail beyond it, only to become caught up with other lines in other places, as are threads in other knots.Together they make up what I have called the meshwork (Ingold 2007a: 80). References Tim Ingold, Being Alive, Routledge, 2011.

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Zameer Basrai

Domestica Elastica Zameer Basrai

Is the process of normalising post pandemic that of circling back to what was previously ‘normal’? If so, this normal was and is anything but desirable. This normal has harboured years of social inequity, political dystopias and an ever accelerating environmental crisis. Hopefully the pandemic has created an ‘abnormal’ that is now a permanent contestation. We inhabit a poly cosmology. Many worlds co-exist but these worlds are “interignorant systems” or “spheres” as described by Peter Sloterdijk, the German philosopher. In this poly cosmology, each world is understood as complete. With the onset of the pandemic, some of these inter ignorant systems were forced to contend with another. As the spheres press against each other to collapse or combine, one gets a peek into another world view. It has become more difficult for the once indifferent worlds to ignore climate change, our impact on the planet and the fragility of the eco system we inhabit. With monumental change at our doorstep, the home assumes a stoic, anchor-like position, one that holds on. Its role in providing intimacy, escape and reflection becomes paramount. But like our world, the house is not complete. The pandemic has shown that from the smallest to the biggest, and from the most modest to the most luxurious, every home has possessed multiple levels of flexibility and has accommodated much more that what it was previously ever expected to. The significance of spaces, and their proportionate domains have changed drastically. Some homes became hyper connected, others forgoing their vital function of sleep to enable them to take on small scale production. Work places have been carved out from the tightest of spaces. Some homes were abandoned for temporary homes at places of work. New residual spaces were created in bustling homes, and we’re occupied by smaller animals. Thresholds have thickened. Palatial homes were reduced to a few essential rooms with the sprawling estates used a buffers from the outside in fortresslike arrangements. Second homes were equipped with first home features. It is not new to observe that the home has permanently stretched and its immense capacities to accommodate live and work has been experienced by all. To conclude, the home need not be a barricade to the outside world but a place receptive to external stimuli, a location within a larger fluid, continuous field. In that, the home can participate in the change we must bring about. 14

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Himanshu Burte

The Tree of Knowledge: Getting Real about Socio-nature Himanshu Burte

What is the relationship between the tree of knowledge - how we see a tree - and the tree of life - the real tree? What are the consequences of that relationship? In this presentation, I explore how architects’ knowledge of socio-nature may be contributing to its destruction, and how we could turn things around. Broadly, I argue that architects are schooled - like most highly-educated professionals - to situate their design activity within what I have elsewhere called the ‘abstract nature of building’. In dominant architectural discourse, theory, and education, nature as well as building are reduced to abstractions that are only meant to simplify design action. When buildings are realised (in real socio-nature), the mismatches between assumptions underlying either abstraction interact to increase social and natural vulnerabilities. If architects are to reduce the damage that design causes, they need to start paying closer attention to how they know the social and environmental reality they alter at every scale through the smallest of decisions. If they are to actually make the world more resilient, they need to design new ways of knowing, living and building in socio-nature.

Avani Institute of Design

Deepta Sateesh

Home: When Feet Dwell Deepta Sateesh

The monsoon terrain of the Southwestern Ghats is territorialized through an act of colonial power that either settled or marginalized particular peoples, practices, ecologies and, in particular, the weather, privileging a wet-dry binary and spatializing a mobile wet world. These coastal mountains have been inhabited by multitude inhabitants, human and non-human, who understand dwelling in a monsoon terrain by moving, occupying and temporally appropriating dynamic conditions of ‘wetness’ in their ordinary everyday lives (Sateesh, 2020b). I explore indigenous/situated ‘wet ontologies’ (Steinberg & Peters, 2015) that privilege everyday practices across time that continually make home in rain and with wetness. Today, these ordinary practices remain outside the inherited colonial framework, their understanding and ways of living in a dynamic wet ground excluded from dominant narratives and knowledge systems. The Western Ghats is an enlivened ever-changing place that needs to be seen through its particularities in an experiential manner rather than its universal constructions. Local practices are rooted in a particular understanding of dynamic shifting ecological processes and the continual appropriation and reappropriation of terrains across time in the Ghats. Engaging in the Ghats requires a different imagination through everyday ordinary practices, and is temporal and more complex than the rationality of the dominant imagination that has designed landscapes for production and preservation. This new imagination privileges wetness as an ordinary normal condition of the world experienced on foot.

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Mukta Naik

Shock and Aftershock: (Im)mobilities, Resilience and Policy Response in the Wake of COVID 19 Mukta Naik

Many years hence, it is likely that the migrant crisis of 2020 will remain one of the most dramatic memories of India’s COVID 19 experience. The migrant exodus offered a stark example of the ways in which poverty, mobility and inequality have been continually normalised and invisiblised in Indian society. Over the past year and a half, many studies have shown that the pandemic has exacerbated inequalities and deepened social and economic fault lines, suggesting that pathways towards recovery must be inclusionary in nature. Tracing the responses of labour migrants – and understanding patterns of (im)mobility – over this time period offers insights into the resilience and agency of vulnerable groups, in the wake of such shocking events. Moreover, (im)mobility itself can be experiences as a choice or as an inevitability. Can policy and practice – including design practice – move towards such a dual framing, where innovative and sustainable measures to bolster agency for the vulnerable are as important as the delivery of relief or social welfare?

Avani Institute of Design

Sarosh Anklesaria

The Urban Symbiome: A Template for Worldmaking in the Pluriverse Sarosh Anklesaria

Contemporary global models of development remain rooted in a Eurocentric, patriarchal modernity, whose origins can be traced to colonization and its concomitant exploitation of material and labor across geographies. If the practice of architecture remains entwined with the forces of globalization and neoliberal capital, it will continue to contribute directly to myriad, multi-scalar crises—structural inequity, ecological degradation, resource depletion, species loss, and the climate emergency. Over the past few years, “Transition Design” has emerged as a multidisciplinary term across the humanities to advocate for epochal transformations rooted in the interconnectedness of social justice and ecological systems. Transition Design calls for a new civilizational model that displaces contemporary neoliberal global capitalism based upon a Eurocentric patriarchal modernity. It challenges this foundational paradigm to consider other forms and geographics of ethics, a plurality of voices across diverse territories and cultures. This talk investigates the agency of architecture using “Transition Design” as a broad developmental framework, that allows for new processes and new modes of Worldmaking. Furthermore, it foregrounds Arturo Escobar’s Pluriverse, a theoretical construct for a world where many worlds fit, as a design prompt for architecture and the built environment. This entails the deconstruction of the global developmentalist model of late capitalism in favor of hyperlocal, autonomous, and inclusive models of worldmaking that promote planetary solidarity across cultures. Upon constructing this theoretical base, the talk proposes and develops The Urban Symbiome as one such open ended template for architectural thinking. The Urban Symbiome is a hybrid building and a networked landscape—a synthetic construct of the human and the natural world, inspired by progressive, local, and emergent food systems. It connects places of growing, preparation, and remediation through a novel alliance of citizen farmers, builders, scientists, ecologists, consumers, immigrants, birds, bees, bats, butterflies, fish, bacteria, viruses, bioswales, and fauna. Far from a nostalgia for nature or utopia, the Urban Symbiome is tactical in its appropriation of the city, reusing building materials through acts of urban mining—fusing and depaving land through urban farming and commoning - in the process inventing new economies and ecologies that embrace what Ezio Manzini termed a cosmo-localism. In doing so, the Urban Symbiome promotes acts of symbiosis and ecological justice, through new forms of politics and ethics rooted in the pluriverse.

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Jahnavi Phalkey

Collaboration for Resilience Jahnavi Phalkey

We live in increasingly uncertain times. Not too long ago, we got so terribly caught-up in the excitement of rapid transport, the Internet and other digital technologies that we did not grasp – in good time – the equally rapid descent into an inhumane condition. Climate Change, a pandemic and the return of war today threaten the carefully crafted and always tenuous knowledge communities and solidarities of the twentieth century. Our problems have scaled up to the planetary level and our responses – our scholarship and practices - will have to meet them there defying disciplinary traps. On the one hand, deep and rigorous disciplinary training is essential to be able to bring specific skills to the table. On the other, it is equally necessary that we are alert to the blind spots that such training is bound to create. Equally, we must recognise the tyranny of its reward systems! We ‘play the game’ and enact postures to ensure our place on the stage. In doing so, we not only lose sight of our own creativity, but, arguably, begin to settle for low stakes. We live in increasingly demanding times. We have witnessed, globally, an astonishing erosion of the commons including the cultural, digital, and knowledge commons. It is imperative that we return these to ourselves as therein lies the path to better futures. We have the responsibility to bring to any collaboration, the rigours of our own learning and our own practices. Language may well be the starting point for any practice, including architecture. Nina Schallenberg, curator, believes that for the artist Joseph Beuys - “Language was very much a sculptural tool… and at the beginning of his artistic process was always an idea, which needed to be expressed through language.” But at the end of the day, Beuys created art and for that, he also used many other tools the chisel, the pain brush, the hammer and more. In the work of architecture – creating form, shape and space out of anything and anywhere – a specific problem arises today when practitioners hesitate to exceed

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language and description. Ideas inhabit words. Words enable the creation of habitable worlds. But words are not the primary tool of the architect. A humane collective future demands that scholarly, professional and artistic practitioners forego narrow minded indulgence and work in collaboration to adequately address the immensity of the challenges we confront.

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Rohan Shivkumar

The Machine is the Home for Living Being Cyborg / Becoming Architect Rohan Shivkumar

The paper explores the making of the architect in the mediated reality in which we live. Our consciousness of these (un)realities has been further exacerbated in the past two years with the COVID crisis. As we isolated ourselves in our homes, our identities were presented to the world, and indeed to ourselves as performances enabled and disabled by the machine of the internet. Rather than seeing these as compromises to an essentialized identity, the paper argues that these are assemblages within which we perform our roles in the world. Building on Donna Haraway’s conception of the Cyborg, these spaces are within and through which we perform our identities. To ‘be’ an architect is to perform one such identity embedded in ecological, technocratic, aesthetic, social, economic and political processes. Each performance of architecture is contingent upon the affordances these processes allow. The Design Studio within the academic space is the space where these possible performances of ‘Becoming-Architect’ are rehearsed. Embracing the idea of performance as a pedagogic device, it conceptualises the design studio in academia as the space where we design exercises that allow the student to wear the mask of an architect. This mask enables the student to provisionally inhabit the body of the practitioner and meditate upon the ethics, the moralities and the techniques through which she can intervene. It is in the studio that one also gets the student to ask the question concerning ‘betterment’. Rather than see this as a given the students can be asked to critically examine questions of ecological, democratic, historical and aesthetic value, and be able to conceive of the possibilities of intervention accordingly. The paper ends with a series of provocations around the relationship of the machine with the self. Even after the virus is gone, we will continue to exist as cybernetic beings. What will it mean when those cyborgs want to make architecture? Isn’t architecture also a machine- an extension of our bodies? The ultimate machine for living? And doesn’t that machine and its affect, enable us to think of the world in particular ways? What are these new imaginations that are enabled by the digital thinking machine? With the virtual woven through the very fabric of our everyday lives where does one machine begin and the other end? If hope is the primary driver of the architectural engine, what can the future of

Avani Institute of Design

Rohan Shivkumar

pedagogic practice be/become? How does one create the uncertainty necessary for any act of learning when there is succor, shelter and comfort in the familiar? How can one make an argument for danger as a catalyst for growth? How does one learn empathy and compassion when the only interface between you and the other is a screen? How can we in the space of the studio choreograph masquerades to enable performances that mediate between the digital and the analog? Can we engage proactively with these new dimensions of being and becoming? Does it reconfigure what it means to be an architect? Does it reform what we call architecture?

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Shubhra Raje

Maintenance, Architecture and Critical Intimacy Shubhra Raje

Avani Institute of Design

Shubhra Raje

I started the year, 2020, with a business-as-usual attitude to work, identifying myself as someone immersed in work. My notion of work understood as my profession and my practice; work as an effort in order to achieve something, and something which is achieved by me producing it…buildings, drawings, sketches, proposals, positions, hypotheses etc. …and then we met a virus, the meeting resulting in, well…my “work” being buried within a lot of other stuff. After perhaps the first month or so, the sheer repetition, the numbness of it all…I finally understood what Meryl Laderman Ukeles meant when she said she felt her entitled and educated little brain go - “so long! I am leaving now. I wasn’t cut out for this. I have to do something new”. Our education, you see, teaches us not to repeat, but to move forward; like the Frontiers man of the great American mythology, always moving into the unknown. Instead, I felt tied down, with the freedom to move and act seemingly trapped within the endless monotony of repetition just to maintain my survival, the survival of my immediate environment, of my shelter. But after a few months, a shift in emphasis began occurring. I realized that I began to do whatever was necessary to enable my brain to thrive. I began to notice maintenance systems around me. Daily, weekly, or seasonal cycles responding to place, time, climate; maintenance cycles calibrated to context. Reminding me that maintenance is forever. Maintenance is universal. An enduring practice which is the very opposite of timelessness, in that it requires our presence. Maintenance, understood as a practice and a mode of engagement helps cultivate a sensibility that allows one to discover the unknown, the mythologized or the paradoxical in the familiar because of the intimacy and proximity with it. Maintenance approached in this manner problematizes creativity, where creativity is not necessarily merely the perpetual pursuit of the new, but recast as the imaginative examination of what we take for granted, especially the dominant mythologies of our profession; an examination that must deal with the specificities of context and how to make it relevant to the design practice, and the way we think about architecture.

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Shubhra Raje

Avani Institute of Design

Shubhra Raje

Maintaining Time So let’s start at the finish - that disciplinary threshold unquestioned and enshrined through our guild-endorsed contracts. With regards to an architectural practice, I have often thought about our expectations of what looks and constitutes “finished” … whether time decays from day one as we move towards a “finish line”/ dates of completion, or whether the materiality of a project is enriched by time.

This notion, of being able to feel the age in something - these have defined the trajectory for the conservation and rehabilitation of a 5000 year old funerary structure - the Shunet al-Zebib - in Abydos, Egypt - where I was part of the archaeological and conservation team under the aegis of UPenn-Yale-IFA (NYU). A conservation effort which acknowledges, and maintains, the multiple histories and the cultural reuse of the Shunet.

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Shubhra Raje

Avani Institute of Design

Shubhra Raje

The structure bears traces from early pharaohnic kingdoms, to the coptic inhabitation of the Shunet in 300-400 AD (where many cells constructed both within the massive walls or attached to them, to abandonement, raiders, and pagan cults post 400 AD - lured by the regional stories and legends of the pharaonic practices of burial of valuables, jewelry, gold etc. Colonial legacies brought with them the scavenging effects of Egyptology - early practices were far more invasive, disruptive and ultimately destabilizing. The significance of the early dynasties were not established yet, and digs were rarely filled back causing walls to collapse. The uses and abuses continue to the present, when many sites become sources for building material or feel the pressure of land acquisitions for settlements and agriculture. The goal has been to preserve the structure as a ruin resulting in a record of its long life on the ever changing landscape of Abydos, and ultimately maintain a tangible connection to the antiquities that echo throughout history. New material, made on site, with compatible composition and strength to the original, is limited to where necessary to stabilize existing walls. New mud brick sections, while distinguishable each season until the are dry, harmonize with the texture of the original eroded wall fabric becoming part of the context and the erosion process of the desert that continues to shape the Shunet.

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Shubhra Raje

Maintaining Culture Several years ago (2013), I became involved in designing a school in central/ central east india. A day tropical climate, moderate for most part with periods of intense heat and monsoons. A rich fertile landscape, heavily extracted, on the surface and below.

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Shubhra Raje

In such a context - we began looking at the notion of built mass and how we could carve it to find space and shadows. Such operations also started making connections to traditional typologies in the Indian sub-continent. In dry climatic regions, courtyard houses at various scales abound, as do palaces within forests. All similar in principle: a tough, hefty exterior - to protect against the harshness of climate; strong geometric forms with mere hints of openings providing clues to the activity within.

As you cross the thresholds, a different sensibility takes over. Not one of resistance, but of extensions. The composition begins to open up, creating spaces of shade and shadows and rooms without roofs…a paradise! It is, of course, an expression of the climate, which is very agreeable. But also, we begin to see a richness in this simple blurring of boundaries. Between the enclosed room and the courtyard lies a whole continuum of zones with varying definitions and degrees of protection. The demarcations are easy and amorphous …

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Shubhra Raje

subtle modulations of light, in the quality of the ambient air. They register each transition with our senses.

While this formal strategy evokes an archetype, a deep rumbling echo, this was not the emphasis or the genesis…instead we looked to the architectural program to provide endurance which is both material, tangible and a practice of the everyday. I see the act of programing as an opportunity of bringing a convivial complicity between activities officially programmed and ones that aren’t, such that they need the other’s presence...a complicity that engages us in the search for a greater economy of means. The goal then is to intensify and expand the impact of a limited set of operations, asking less to be more through the interweaving of functional activity and material conditions. In a school where typically efficiency demands a single or a double loaded corridor (1), by swinging half the diagram around (2) we enclose an outdoor room, scaled to the functional entity of a classroom (3).

Avani Institute of Design

Shubhra Raje

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Shubhra Raje

The “non-programmed”, in this case, the courtyard ceases to be a symbolic, aesthetic or technocratic (i.e., climate responsive) entity within the plan, but gets tied to activity (4). A similar attiatude applies to another set of classrooms (5) and in this way, one arrives at the architectural plan.

If we examine one area within the plan further: the entrance “lobby” of the school we find that it is also where meals are had (we encourage kids at this age to eat sitting on the floor).

Avani Institute of Design

Shubhra Raje

Mats are rolled out, food is served, the kids take their plates back to the kitchen, and clean up after themselves. Then perhaps take a nap, if the weather is favorable. In monsoons, the play equipment is temporarily located here. It is an approach that enables the capacity to improvise. The outdoor room, and its accessories, become the lobby, the dining, the nap area, the play area.An indispensable area, rather than a left-over area. For us this is important - because it begins to define our ideas around efficiency and endurance. We cannot afford to squander the kind of resources required to air condition glass blocks and towers under a tropical sun. Form follows climate, as Correa often used to say, and the building itself, through its form, creates the controls the user needs. Dealing effectively with context necessitates an inventiveness about living patterns, about activity beyond “function”. This attitude allows us to be a nomad within the building using different conditions of the built form. And this cycle of activity and acts of remembering, played out day after day, reinforces patterns of living that generate, and sustain, the culture of the place. re-membering We design from what we remember. Inventions do not exist in isolation. The connection between what we remember and our own present context - that is fertile ground! Creativity and imagination, here, are not understood as a freedom from the obligations of the everyday, but in fact embedded in them, and accessing, engaging and reconstituting embodied knowledge becomes a way to keep the imagination of the everyday alive. The Adhaar Center Exercise, or, where does the architectural project lie is an attempt to look at revealing everyday practices fossilized by their very “everydayness”; or through sheer repetition of habit and forgotten possibilities within the built 34

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Shubhra Raje

Avani Institute of Design

Shubhra Raje

environment. It is a way of opening up a way of looking at social infrastructures within our cities. Students were asked to map their experience of the adhaar application process in space (prerogating the areas they inhabited, rather than the entire facilities) and time (in 15 minute increments from the moment they joined the queue/ their wait). The act of waiting is revealed to be the most demanding and complex processes, and the last part of the exercise focused on augmenting this most ignored, yet ubiquitous activity in a manner that was frugal and multivalent.

Fig. 1 Adhaar Centre: Spatial Layout

Fig. 2 Adhaar Centre: Temporal Mapping

Fig. 3 Adhaar Centre: Augmentation

re-membering thus becomes an active manifestation of curiosity in the manner expressed by Michel Foucault: “Curiosity is a new vice that has been stigmatised by Christianity, by philosophy and even by certain conception of science. Curiosity, futility. The word, however, pleases me. To me it suggests something altogether different: it evokes concern; it evokes the care one takes for what exists and could exist; a readiness to find strange and singular what surrounds us; a certain relentlessness to break up our familiarities and to regard otherwise the same things; a fervor to grasp what is happening”. To maintain is to be in a constant engagement with the familiar, rather than

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Shubhra Raje

in the perpetual pursuit of newness. What is familiar is what we are used to; and what we are used to, is the most difficult to ‘know. And it is that tangential excitement of knowing anew that momentarily holds us in place - maintaining our presence, and an enduring engagement with our world. Maintenance thus becomes a means to find out (research) and a practice of critical intimacy.

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Extended Abstracts

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Abu Talha Farooqi | Simran Raswant

Importance of Loss in Design Education: Mourning as Critical Pedagogy Abu Talha Farooqi | Simran Raswant

“Every inquiry is a seeking. Every seeking gets guided beforehand by what is sought”. (Martin Heidegger: Being and Time, 1927) “I mourn therefore I am”. (Jacques Derrida: Points . . .: Interviews, 1974–1994) “The chief defect of all hitherto existing materialism – that of Feuerbach included – is that the thing, reality, sensuousness, is conceived only in the form of the object or of contemplation, but not as sensuous human activity, practice, not subjectively. Hence, in contradistinction to materialism, the active side was developed abstractly by idealism – which, of course, does not know real, sensuous activity as such”. (Karl Marx: Theses on Feuerbach, 1845) Abstract The dominant way of architecture/design thinking around us – manifests a sense of celebration and gratification – of what has been achieved, or has been promised. We celebrate architecture/design production based on its ability to’ achieve’ its promise. This triad of promise-achievement-celebration in design thinking/methodology is tautological. All three point at, and emanate from a unitary epistemic/ethical position – the accumulation or sum total of achievements (read gains); more accumulation of gains implies more promises delivered, hence more celebration. The problem here is that the teleology of design thinking and pedagogy has been reduced to a tautology. Therefore, the first purpose of our paper is unpacking and critiquing this tautological way of architecture/design thinking, centred around accumulation/gains. We are doing this because the majority of architecture thinking/production in schools and studios manifests this tautological thinking, which escapes critique and critical probe. This critique/problematization is essential in order to rectify the structural flaw in the triad of promise-achievement-celebration in architecture/design thinking. Here, we employ Heidegger’s method – to formulate the question and the phenomenon – in terms of its meaning and structure. The second purpose of this paper is to explore loss as a way of architecture/design thinking. Our claim is that due to the preoccupancy of design

Avani Institute of Design

Abu Talha Farooqi | Simran Raswant

education with achievement and celebration, the question of loss is missing. This question of loss is relevant in order to problematize the existing design thinking and studio culture. The design promises or propositions being developed in architecture design studios need unpacking and critique viz-a-viz the ecological, social, cultural losses that they incur – which have been largely unnoticed and unaccounted for. The third purpose of this paper is to explore and study pointed questions and specific avenues where the application of ‘loss’ will help us critique the tautological nature of design thinking, pedagogy, and production. This means studying the specific ecological, social, cultural impacts which the design thinking processes do not factor in their celebration of achievement or the deliverance of promise. Introduction The pandemic has hit our shared existence hard. There are losses we have felt, measured, experienced, and which have now become a part of us. Put differently, we have internalised these losses. The feeling or experience of loss is a cultural thing; it feels itself owing to a sense of community, belongingness, and shared existence. What if we analyze the culture of loss in design studio pedagogy? If we turn our attention to the culture of architecture/design education, pedagogy, production, especially architecture schools and studios therein – it becomes evident that there are losses which we have neither accounted for, nor felt or experienced. For instance, consider the following questions: • What kind of loss did the migrant labourer workforce go through in the pandemic lockdown? • How many designers, architects consider these migrant masons, labourers as their colleagues, as part of their community? • Why is the overwhelming majority of the students of architecture insulated from the welfare and wellbeing of the marginalised workforce of the built environment and construction industry not a part of our design pedagogy and production? • How much time of studio time/attention is spent on the discussion around ‘the ideology of the aesthetic’ as opposed to deliberating on the realities of labour, livelihood, and ecology? These questions are important to be raised in order to make sense of the culture of design education and thinking in architecture schools and studios. It is important because the investigation of these questions – explains what our design thinking and pedagogy lacks, and why is it devoid of a critical engagement with the ecological, social, cultural impacts that it creates. Probing these questions is also relevant because it exposes the glaring disconnect between the priorities of design studios and that of the built environment around – comprising livelihoods, ecologies, and disaffected communities.

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Abu Talha Farooqi | Simran Raswant

Questions This paper attempts to locate ‘loss’ as the lost question. It argues that the epistemic structure of our design thinking, pedagogy, production, etc. in the studio – rests on a disavowal of what has been lost/dead, what has ceased to exist, or what ‘no longer’ is. In this effect, the paper aims to find answers to the following questions: 1. How must we unpack/critique the tautological triad of promise-achievementcelebration central to design studio pedagogy, and hence identify the structural problematic in this way of design thinking? 2. What is the relevance of loss in design studio pedagogy, and how can we explore mourning as a way of design thinking in terms of the ecological, social, cultural losses that are a consequence/fallout of the design promise? For instance, what do we ‘lose’ when we make a design, or build a project? We lose the site, what exists in it. How can we account for these in design pedagogy and studio culture? 3. What can be the specific methods and avenues in architecture/design studio where application of loss/mourning will help us situate our critique – in order to analyze its potentiality in the making of critical design pedagogy. Methodology The primary concern (first question) of this paper is based upon two intertwined strands of problematization – one, the pandemic, and it’s phenomenal impact on the construction workers. Two, the indifferent reception of/response to this phenomenal impact in architecture/design pedagogy. This indifferent culture of design thinking is unpacked in the light of classical-Marxist and critical-Marxist critique. It also draws upon Martin Heidegger’s phenomenological method of how to probe the structure and meaning of question/inquiry. With regards to loss and mourning, Jacques Derrida’s discourse on mourning is employed to understand the importance of mourning as a way of design thinking. In addition to this people-centric, capital-oriented critique of architecture/design thinking, this paper also critiques the method and practice of site appraisal and design production in the light of environmental ethics, particularly ecocentrism and environmental justice. In the context of loss (instead of gains/accumulation) as a way of design thinking, there can be two ways to see this phenomenon or practice – theoretical and applied. The applied way is computational and measured, and gives an empirical sense of the savings and impacts. This is not the direct object of this paper, its importance and need notwithstanding. This paper is interested in the other way – unpacking the philosophical, theoretical and ethical bases of the questions raised. The intent is about critiquing/problematizing the way we practice design thinking, as also the way we look

Avani Institute of Design

Abu Talha Farooqi | Simran Raswant

at sites and projects. Findings/Conclusions An important concluding point of this paper argues for a Heideggarian reading of loss in the field of architecture/design thinking and pedagogy – that we must recognize loss as unhiddenness of beings, instead of understanding it as correctness of propositions (Heidegger, 2002). It is the ‘habitus’ of architects, urban designers and planners in the ‘field’ of the construction industry, which needs an epistemic and pedagogic reconceptualization (Bourdieu, 1977). The need is to problematize the symbolic capital and the culture of architecture which, disguised as professional expertise, creates fields of power relationships that have social, cultural, and economic consequences (Bourdieu, 1984). Keywords: loss, mourning, critical pedagogy, sustainability futures. References Bourdieu, Pierre, and Kegan Paul. 1984. Distinction: a social critique of the judgement of taste. London: Routledge. Bourdieu, Pierre, and Richard Nice. 1977. Outline of a theory of practice. Cambridge, UK.: Cambridge. Eagleton, Terry. 1990. The Ideology of the Aesthetic. Malden, MA: Blackwell. Heidegger, Martin, trans. John Macquarrie, and Edward Robinson. 1962. Being and Time. Malden, MA: Blackwell. Heidegger, Martin, trans. Ted Sadler. 2002. The essence of truth: on Plato’s cave allegory and Theaetetus. London: Continuum. Jacques Derrida, Peggy Kamuf. 1994. Specters of Marx: The State of the Debt, the Work of Mourning, and the New International. New York: Routledge. Karl Marx with Friedrich Engels, W. Lough. 1998. The German Ideology: including Theses on Feuerbach and Introduction to The Critique of Political Economy. Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Books. Stevens, Garry. 1998. The Favored Circle: The Social Foundations of Architectural Distinction. Massachussets: MIT Press.

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Afifa Nuzhat | Shahim Abdurahiman

Community Driven Approach for Conservation of Cultural Heritage - A Case Study of the Riverfront of Agra Afifa Nuzhat | Shahim Abdurahiman

Abstract The recommendation by UNESCO on Historic Urban Landscapes defines an urban area being understood as, ‘the result of a historic layering of cultural and natural values and attributes, extending beyond the notion of “historic centre” or “ensemble” to include the broader urban context and its geographical setting (UNESCO 2011, #).’ It reflects aspects such as environmental issues, economic development, and habitability of the city and the need to understand how to integrate them with urban heritage. It recognised the significance of the cultural heritage and it’s setting i.e. the landscape for attaining sustainable development at the local level (Pereira Roders and van Oers 2011; Angrisano et al., 2016). Poulios (2004) considered the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) approach as an umbrella for the ‘living’ heritage which comprised both the tangible and intangible aspects of the cultural heritage. The tangible heritage included the physical region while the intangible cultural heritage dealt with the values associated with the place, the local perception, and local standards of the respective local communities settled within the region (Poulios 2014; cited in Onesti, A., &Bosone, M. 2017). In the past couple of years, there has been a shift from emphasis on monumental heritage to a broader recognition of conservation of the urban realm. This paper suggests that there is a need to adapt to existing policies and frameworks to address this vision. Modern urban conservation policies require an approach to support communities to adapt to the current times while retaining the values linked to their collective heritage. The paper is an attempt to understand and emphasize the relevance of how the implementation of a community-centered approach is not merely a suggestion for increasing community participation within a management system but is about addressing it as a core component of heritage management, i.e. the people who are connected to heritage. The paper derives a community-driven theoretical framework that focuses on three mutually interdependent aspects - the city, the community, and the heritage. The practical implementation of this framework offers an opportunity to reconnect the urban realm with the communities through its interaction with the embedded heritage fabric and vice-versa. With this, the paper proposes three levels of interaction established between the three aspects which are mutually dependent and actions at each level between two aspects will have a voluntary effect on the third

Avani Institute of Design

Afifa Nuzhat | Shahim Abdurahiman

aspect. Figure 01 schematically depicts the conceptual framework. The attributes that constitute these aspects are beyond the scope of this paper, but various contextual models that can facilitate this framework have been suggested for the case example.

Figure 1: Conceptual framework Source: Author

The historical prominence of the city of Agra goes beyond that of the Taj Mahal and the Agra Red Fort. To understand what constitutes the heritage of Agra, we ought to shift our notion of heritage being linked to only monumental tourism. Understanding the evolution of the city in a larger realm and its interaction with the communities aids in the rediscovering of the urban heritage of Agra. The origins and evolution of Agra as a riverfront city was initiated by Babur, with a notion of the ‘landscape’ and how it can facilitate the empire’s needs. The development was later carried forward by Akbar and Shahjahan of the Mughal Empire. The creation of gardens on the bank of Yamuna by Babur introduced an innovative planning typology in Hindusthan and led to the creation of riverfront gardens as a module on the riverfront city i.e. a Charbagh overlooking the river. This became the nucleus with gardens lining the river on both sides and the rest of the city encircled this riverfront. After the fall of the Mughal Empire, the gardens went into decline. Urban expansion of the city away from the riverfront has eventually turned the once majestic riverbank into a highly polluted abandoned backyard. The character of the riverfront edge has changed from that of an elite area to one housing the poor and the marginalized. The solution primarily lies in awareness, which is a long road to traverse. The framework as discussed in the paper encourages policymakers to initiate development policies and proposals to engage the communities to interact with the heritage fabric existing in the riverfront of Agra in ways that provide livelihood opportunities, improve quality of their lives and improve the habitat in which they reside.

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Afifa Nuzhat | Shahim Abdurahiman

Figure 02 (a) Photograph of Archival map of Agra riverfront (Source: Jaipur archives) (b) Abandoned dilapidated portions of an early riverfront garden complex Source: Author

The level 01 interaction focuses on establishing the notion of Agra as a historic/ heritage city in relation to its heritage assets. This helps identify the scope of heritage character and values imbibed in the city, and rediscover the ‘unrecognised’ assets. This aids the local communities to understand the prominence of their locality and promote it to support their well-being through local self-employment. The level 02 interaction focuses on the community’s perception towards their local heritage assets. The communities which had originally resided along these riverfront gardens still exist in areas (mohallas) like the Tajganj, Rajwara, HathiGhat, Moti Gunj, Katra Wazir, etc. These communities are the primary stakeholders for the urban heritage assets embodied in their respective areas. During the course of the research that this paper draws on, participatory models were applied at this level for undertaking consultation with different stakeholder groups such as socio-economic surveys, focused group discussions with the community, consultation with government officers and local authorities. A series of events such as exhibitions, participatory workshops, and presentations engaging these stakeholders were conducted to recognize the potential for caring for heritage. This also helped in understanding the local values of the communities and other stakeholders. To enable active community engagement, participation tools such as capacity-building programs, stakeholder analysis, and cultural mapping were implemented. The level 03

Avani Institute of Design

Afifa Nuzhat | Shahim Abdurahiman

focuses on the existing government policies, proposals, and incentives that facilitate the upliftment of the community’s wellbeing. The heritage assets associated with the respective communities can be seen as a resource to support their well-being, thus demanding the need for conservation measures.

Figure 03 (a) (b) Workshop conducted with local community on site Source: Author

The adopted framework serves as a contextual methodology fundamentally based on the HUL approach that recognizes both tangible and intangible heritage components as key urban resources in enhancing the livability of urban areas and also promotes economic development and social cohesion. Effective planning and management of resources is a key aspect which needs to be taken care of in the future and conservation can be seen as a strategy to attain a balance between quality of life and urban development. The engagement and participatory approach of the project enables the local communities to re-discover the heritage values of their neighbourhood. The HUL approach includes a holistic and value-based approach but there is a need to have contextualized local endeavours and policies. To operationalize this approach the theoretical framework needs to be adapted to the local context by involving the native communities as key stakeholders in conservation and development processes. Keywords: Community-Driven Approach, Urban Conservation, Historic Precinct, Heritage, Resilient future References Angrisano M., Biancamano P., Bosone M., Carone P., Daldanise G., De Rosa F., Franciosa A., Gravagnuolo A., Iodice S., Nocca F., Onesti A., Panaro S., Ragozino S., Sannicandro V., Fusco Girard L. 2016. “Towards operationalizing UNESCO Recommendations on “Historic Urban Landscape”. Aestimum, n. 69, pp. 165-210

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Afifa Nuzhat | Shahim Abdurahiman

Onesti, A., & Bosone, M. 2017. From Tangible To Intangible: Hybrid Tools For Operationalizing Historic Urban Landscape Approach. BDC. Bollettino Del Centro Calza Bini, 17(2), 239-256. https://doi.org/10.6092/2284-4732/6042 Pereira Roders, A. & van Oers R. 2011, “Bridging cultural heritage and sustainable development”. Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development, vol. 1, n. 1, pp. 5-14. Poulios, I. 2014, “Discussing strategy in heritage conservation: living heritage approach as an example of strategic innovation”. Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development, vol. 4, n. 1. UNESCO. 2011. Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape. Paris: UNESCO.

Avani Institute of Design

Aleesha Antony | Vidya Ajith Menon

Architectural Adaptations of the Virtual Social Space Aleesha Antony | Vidya Ajith Menon Abstract With the pandemic, public social space has been replaced by virtual social space as people are forced to retreat to their homes. Even though social media keeps connections alive during these times, the algorithms that are tailored to each individual are only designed to profit from our time. In this paper, we investigate how digital technology uses human psychology in design in order to generate behavioral change and understand how that impacts the average user and the physical space they occupy and interact with. Should we be designing these digital technologies more ethically to facilitate the healthy physical interaction of our virtual users with one another? In many ways, our devices are metaphorical slot machines, incentivizing us to continue coming back for the big payoff (Tristan 2019). According to psychologist BF Skinner, the variability of rewards that one may be compelled to imagine from a single notification bell called ‘variable ratio schedule’ is what causes the highly addictive nature of social media (Burrhus 1969). In order to capitalize on the element of surprise, many popular social media sites have changed their algorithms to no longer display feeds chronologically, instead presenting a curation of tailored feeds incorporating old and new content (Connor, Jen, Jim and Susan 2018). Although it allows us to engage with people in different time zones miles away, it comes at the price of inhibiting our ability to fruitfully engage in face-to-face relationships (Chris 2015). Our phones often act as safety nets to fall back to in new conversations outside our comfort zone. Studies show that our connection to social media can become strong enough to mimic the rewarding sensation caused by cocaine (Mark 2016). Withdrawing from devices that demand our attention and time even for a short amount of time can make us weak and angry causing us to neglect people in our reality. As work and social engagement become restricted to the virtual space, spilling over into each other becomes more common than ever. Compulsive checking and constant distraction have now been linked to feelings of unhappiness and, off the minds, being hijacked (Ezez 2021). When it comes to the workspace, one may think that the idea of meeting and working virtually offers a variety of tools to adapt and innovate. Despite saving time on miscellaneous tasks such as travel and others, this in turn has

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Aleesha Antony | Vidya Ajith Menon

created the idea of constant availability and the day usually becomes fully packed. Much is spoken, yet little is retained, and even less is accomplished during this time. This also happens without a sufficient opportunity to allow one to take breaks leading to either less time to perform actual work or multitasking, both of which can degrade meeting quality and overall participation. As a result, the personal and social spaces within our homes have merged significantly, blurring the distinctions between private, social, formal, and casual areas. A possible solution to this can be human-centric AI algorithms that use the data collected from each user to curb addiction, encourage positive behaviors, and to help us manage our digital work environments. For example, some email systems now use AI to sort emails into categories, making urgent emails easier to locate and only pushing primary emails to a user’s phone (Gmail 2013). These algorithms should anticipate the realities of the environment in which it will be used in. The age, gender, mental health of the user must be understood to work within an ethical framework. This framework must be developed with the expertise of researchers, architects and citizens and implemented by policy makers to maximize privacy and fairness. A tool to achieve this level of government involved regulation could be an app or extension that works to limit user addiction and make the virtual space healthier. This must be first tested on small diverse user groups, then peer-reviewed and audited to ensure unwanted capitalistic biases that try to steal time and attention from users. Another government level intervention that can be done is the Implementation of a ‘Data Tax’ where the government would tax software companies for the amount of data taken from users about their usage patterns. Keywords: pandemic, algorithms, psychology, physical space, digital technology References Harris, Tristan. “How Technology Is Hijacking Your Mind - from a Former Insider.” Medium. Thrive Global, October 16,2019.https://medium.com/thrive-global/how-technologyhijacks-peoples-minds-from-a-magician-and-google-s-design-ethicist-56d62ef5edf3. Skinner, B. F. 1969. Contingencies of reinforcement: a theoretical analysis. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts. Joyce, Connor, Jen Fisher, Jim Guszcza, and Susan K Hogan. “Positive Technology.” Deloitte Insights, April 16, 2018. https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/focus/ behavioral-economics/negative-impact-technology-business.html/#endnote-sup-22

Avani Institute of Design

Aleesha Antony | Vidya Ajith Menon

Morris, Chris. “Is Technology Killing the Human Touch?” CNBC, August 15, 2015. https:// www.cnbc.com/2015/08/15/gy-killing-the-human-touch.html. Molloy, Mark. “Facebook Addiction ‘Activates Same Part of the Brain as Cocaine’.” The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, February 17, 2016. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/ news/12161461/Facebook-addiction-activates-same-part-of-the-brain-as-cocaine. html. Ezez. 2021. “Smarter together: Why artificial intelligence needs human-centered design”. Deloitte Insights. A New Inbox That Puts You Back in Control.”Official Gmail Blog, May 29, 2013. https:// gmail.googleblog.com/2013/05/a-new-inbox-that-puts-you-back-in.html.

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Aswin Senthil

Contested Grounds: Relooking Claims on The City Aswin Senthil

Abstract Historically, cities have been places for the exchange of ideas and technologies in a constantly globalizing world. Moreover, they provide opportunities for a dignified livelihood, the closest attempt at a landscape of plurality. Nevertheless, cities are also flag-bearers of binaries where the sense of this collective and plurality is threatened by the virtue of agency of space. Cities are experiencing rapid economic and population growth which has increasingly manifested informal settlements. The dialogue on informal ecologies inevitably brings urban poor to the forefront who occupy areas emerging outside the regulatory framework of the formal city and their presence is partially due to the ‘national level of economic wealth in conjunction with the level of social and economic capital’ (Enemark and McLaren 2008, 3). More specifically, urban informality is a product of marginality and social exclusion of various groups, which comprises highly complex socio-political and economic issues which manifest in the built ecology. The conditions of informality are often considered illegal, underdeveloped, and drenched in poverty. Although these characteristics might manifest in an informal ecology, they are merely an alternative within the formal ecology, operating with a completely different yet legitimate set of regulations. Designers have been obsessed with the exploration of form based on Corbusier’s definition of architecture (1927) as the “masterly, correct and magnificent play of masses brought together in light”. This formal expression combined with a capitaldriven perspective tends to be autocratic and dismissive of any resistance to this framework, resulting in overtones of power within urbanity with regards to marginalized social groups, especially certain ethnic classes, gender, and queer populous. This forwards the argument of cities being a landscape of quotidian contestation of power (Hirst 2005, 4-11). It has provided a model of how to think about and how to present the specific spaces shaped by power that in turn condition it. Lucien Febvre’s account of ‘possibilism’ (1925) provides a way of thinking about space as having effects while at the same time avoiding geographical determinism. Furthermore, the use of methods such as surveillance through decentralized networks offered subtle modes of control over human interactions (Foucault 1975, 95-98). With the advent of technology, surveillance in architecture has moved from Bentham’s Panopticon or Haussmann’s Paris where

Avani Institute of Design

Aswin Senthil

self-imposed discipline is enforced through a public vigil. The power relation in a formal city is showcased by verticality through which social hierarchies are sustained. This is synonymous with how Antilia in Mumbai allegorically voyeurs over the underprivileged in the slums. These power relations and agencies of space further became obvious due to the COVID 19 pandemic where people were pushed inside the confines of their homes. A binary of inside and outside was created, but there were people without access to an inside who were hunted down not only by the virus but also by authorities and policies that insisted on hiding. (Mehta 2020, 102) Contested Grounds at Foreshore Estate, Chennai The urban informality arose as an exclusionary response from the formal framework. One such example is the fisherfolk community of Foreshore Estate in Chennai. They adjoin one of the most prominent pieces of institutional real estate, the Marina Promenade, which contains major colonial, government, and institutional buildings. As part of meeting modern aspirations of the city, redevelopment of the Marina was proposed in 2003 which required the relocation of the ‘kuppams’. These fisherfolks, who were already under threat by climate change, and industrialization of fishing activities had to contest their claims on the city, even though they bring traditional value and the existence of kuppams predates the colonial structures (Evangeline 2021, 38). Other quotidian contestations of the fisherfolk involve the constant evictions of the shacks by the authorities and the uprooting of their places of livelihood during cyclones and storms. Even though almost all service- and informal-sector jobs are filled by people coming from these settlements, their contribution to the neighbourhood is largely overlooked by the government and the people. The demographic maps in Fig.1 showcase the community’s exclusion, especially in the Madras and Environs maps which were surveyed during the British Raj. Further examination of the Madras Town map by Lanchaster (1899) shows these fishermen are marked as belonging to lower-caste (other Hindus as mentioned) and have been excluded, showcasing hegemony in representation and empowerment by upper-caste and colonizers. Retroactive Mapping of the Informality This called for a study of the community to understand their quotidian contestations in the city and how they articulate their claims and define their stakes in the city. The methodology employed was Retroactive Mapping of the practice of everyday housed in the informal, nomadic, and kinetic structures such as boats, fishselling shacks, temporary sheds for boat repairs, and stilts of the residential colonies (in Fig.2, 3, and 4). The mapping was conducted on the basis of empirical data available and also phenomenological understanding of the context, to document the lived experiences in such contested grounds.

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Aswin Senthil

Fig.1 Historical Maps of Madras. Compiled by Fiona Evangeline. Source: Courtesy of Tamil Nadu State Archives and Tamil Nadu Land Survey and Records Department

These structures exist within the crevices of the formal city. The mapping revealed how the spaces are queered through the constant adaptation and appropriation of the nomadic structures, which encouraged hybridization of programs, territorial ambiguity. This creates opportunities for negotiations and blurs binaries and produces shared spaces in the form of urban commons. These structures also give agency to the users and sellers who can constantly build and unbuild the structures frugally through available materials. These structures are also of human scale, subverting verticality. This enables them to incrementally grow as seen in the Catalogue of Queering in Fig.5. These informal structures enable the community to create a symbiotic relationship with the rest of the city because they are situated within the crevices of the formal infrastructure, forming an ecotone, a place of exchange where various stakeholders from diverse backgrounds come together in synthesis.

Avani Institute of Design

Aswin Senthil

Fig.2 Retroactive Mapping of Boats, Shacks, Beachside Sheds and Housing Stilts Source: Aswin Senthil

Moreover, these resultant ecologies of adaptations also have a larger effect on the environment. Generally, the formal frameworks lead designers to hyper-sterilize ecologies, where dirtiness is completely removed. But this dirtiness within the ecology tends to forge interspecies relationships beyond the anthropocentric framework (Frichot 2019, 35-62). The phenomenological reading of mapping materialities revealed that the guts of fish that are generally disposed of as waste, here are thrown on the ground which feeds scavenging dogs and birds such as crows, forming unexpected coalitions across species. The retroactive mapping does not glorify dirt but rather embraces it as a natural and essential part of the ecology.

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Aswin Senthil

Fig.3 Practice of Everyday: Site Context. Source: Aswin Senthil

The research does not intend to romanticize the informal, but rather insist that these structures enable architecture to be no longer perceived as objects distinct from its immediate socio-political, and environmental contexts. It enables us to view these ecologies of adaptation as a canvas for synthesis of diverse stakeholders, people from various backgrounds, and non-human agents to engage within undefined and blurred boundaries. This enables them to articulate their claims and redefine their stakes in contested grounds such as the city.

Avani Institute of Design

Aswin Senthil

Fig.4 Shacks and its context. Source: Aswin Senthil

Fig.5 Catalogue of Queering. Source: Aswin Senthil

Keywords 1. Queer/ Queering/ To queer: Queer is a contested term usually defined as something noticeable because it is strange, odd, unseemly, or disturbing. The negative connotation exists because it disturbs and subverts the heteronormative ideologies and entities. (Ahmed 2016) 2. Quotidian contestations 3. Kuppams: Tamil word for ‘place’ but is generally referred to an informal settlement References Ahmed, Sara. 2016. “Queer Fragility.” feministkilljoys. https://feministkilljoys.com/. Enemark, Stig, and Robin McLaren. 2008. Preventing Informal Urban Development: Through Means of Sustainable Land Use Control. Stockholm: Integrating Generations: FIG Working Week 2008. Evangeline, Fiona. 2021. Overtones of Power: Inclusivity, Interdependencies, and

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Aswin Senthil

Interweaving Stakeholders. Ahmedabad: CEPT University. Febvre, Lucien. (in collaboration with L. Bataillon). 1925. A Geographical Introduction to History, K. Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co. Ltd, London, and Alfred A. Knopf. New York. Foucault, Michael. 1975. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. London: Penguin Publications. Frichot, Hélène. 2019. Dirty theory: Troubling Architecture. N.p.: Spurbuchverlag Baunach. Hirst, Paul. 2005. Space and Power: Politics, War and Architecture. Cambridge: Polity Press. Mehta, Kaiwan. 2020. “Suspending the City, Silencing the Stranger.” Sambhasan 1, no. 04 (August): 102-108.

Avani Institute of Design

Athira Balakrishnan | Kevin Mathew | M Sanjay Kumar

Architectural Practices: Embracing Adaptations of Habitation Athira Balakrishnan | Kevin Mathew | M Sanjay Kumar

Abstract Witnessing constant changes to her home since its conception in 1997 from a prevailing middle class 2BHK (Bedroom-Hall-Kitchen) house typology, Athira’s house till today continues to architecturally adapt to the changing lifestyle, shifting health and economic realities, and a growing family. The persistent adaptation that her household has experienced over the years motivates certain perspectives on the relationship between the practice of architecture and the ecologies of adaptation.

Fig.1 : House renovation, Avolam, Kerala, 2021. Image courtesy: Athira Balakrishnan

Architectural practices tend to curb their project engagement with the act of ‘handover’, wherein, the design process in its conventional terms is a consciously devised mechanism to deliver the building as a product to the client. The research intends to find

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Athira Balakrishnan | Kevin Mathew | M Sanjay Kumar

existing modes within architectural practice that goes beyond the threshold of handover and habitation and establishes their role in the ecologies of adaptation. Establishing the duality of adaptation Varying circumstances prompt us to adapt our buildings to meet our needs, and sometimes we adapt ourselves to fit in. This duality is distinctly understood as transformation and inhabitation, respectively. Inhabitation could be visualised as a continuous process, the one that is perseverant till it outgrows the limits of the surroundings. It is how life takes place in space, and to an extent, the basis of our collective experience of everyday things. For instance, brightly lit spaces seem spacious because brightness is associated with the outdoors – this is a collective experience we’ve developed by inhabiting our surroundings. We see this adapted in design processes inclusive in certain practices of architecture. Meanwhile, transformation is how we extend or equip our surroundings to fulfil our current concerns. This occupies an entirely different spectrum of architectural processes that sometimes is associated with conservation, restoration, incrementality, modularity, and automation. This duality could further be expressed in order of their occurrence in the lifespan of a building. Inhabitation could be understood as a continuous process that transitions from a series of pauses. The advancement after each of these pauses signifies the adaptation by the inhabitants. Transformation occurs as distinct events in the timeline. An architectural design process that could conceive these parallel narratives should be able to express the building both as a physical entity with definitive spatial quality and a theoretical entity with indistinct intelligence that can embrace its future uncertainties with possibilities of adaptation. As our processes of adaptation are motivated by circumstances, the existence of this duality implies discrete methodologies to the practice of architecture or a spectrum of practical methodologies. Also, since adaptation exists in duality, design processes predominantly are partial to either one of its identities. Therefore, the study inspects the principles, methods, and outcomes of the design processes based on the identity that it’s suited to. Design processes adhering to the duality of adaptation - Inhabitation and Transformation Design processes that cater to adaptation in the form of inhabitation align with the idea of bespoke architecture, which centers around the character of the inhabitant, where control over future adaptation is bestowed upon the inhabitant. In such design

Avani Institute of Design

Athira Balakrishnan | Kevin Mathew | M Sanjay Kumar

processes, the resilience of the building is mostly internal and within the limits of the existing spaces. This way of adaptation thrives when the built environment is well suited to the inhabitant and as long as their spatial requirements are met. An example of such a process would be Andrea Placidi’s attempt at conceptualising inhabitation in the book, ‘Inhabit: People, Places and Possessions’ with the concept of ‘Furnitecture’, arguing that ‘well-designed structures might allow for a more flexible interpretation of architectural space’. There arise extended queries on the involvement of an architect or a designer in such processes when the limits of spaces are breached and further adaptation requires an addition to the existing built. How do practices solidify involvement in such events? What happens when further iterations are left to the inhabitants? In the case of larger buildings or settlements, could community participation be a driver? Meanwhile, design processes suited to adaptation in the form of transformation tend to address certain predetermined constraints of adaptability. The adaptation could either be in real-time or in light of an event. The design processes focus on addressing the constraint by equipping the buildings with certain intelligence aimed at overcoming them. One such theory that prevails is of ‘Open Building’, put forward by John Habraken that proposes ‘a system that distinguishes the framework of “support” designed by architects, from “infill” by the individual occupant, giving agency to the user in the decision-making process’. Methodology and Conclusion The discourse of this study explores the existing scenarios within architectural practice and how they deal with adaptation. To understand the characteristics and nature of practices and projects that fit in the dual identities of adaptation, there are distinct methodologies opted for each of the identities. To study in detail the practices in architecture that employ the inhabitation centric design process, the process of design and the process of inhabitation are evaluated with detailed questionnaires aimed at the designer and the inhabitant, respectively. And for the practices that deal with transformation centric design processes, different ranges of projects/ buildings in terms of scale, typology and age are identified and studied in detail on their contribution to the adaptability. Based on the inferences, the research further investigates the nuances and shortcomings in each of the practices and offers some suggestions that can lead to an alternate practice that adopts the values of the existing practices. Keywords: duality of adaptation/dual identities, inhabitation, transformation, architectural practice, persistent adaptation, community participation.

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Athira Balakrishnan | Kevin Mathew | M Sanjay Kumar

References Buxton, Antony, Linda Hulin, and Jane Anderson. 2016. Inhabit: People, Places and Possessions. Habraken, John. 1961. “Open Building.” In Supports: An Alternative to Mass Housing.

Avani Institute of Design

Aysha Vazna

Flood Mitigation Measures in the Context of 2018 Kerala Flood: A Case Study of Chengannur Region in Alappuzha District Aysha Vazna

Abstract Nature’s ferocity is unpredictable and is increasing yearly with a cascading effect on communities and infrastructure.In August 2018, the state of Kerala witnessed catastrophic flood. More than 3 lakh farmers were affected in twelve districts. 221 bridges collapsed, more than 10,000 kilometers km of roads were destroyed, 65,188 hectares of the land area was inundated between 16th July to 28th August. With the growing requisite to have a suitable response mechanism to the threats of climate change, it is relevant for policy creators and urban planners to apprehend the correlation between development and environment. Since the state never had any such history of floods other than in 1924, there is hardly any developmental guideline for resilient buildings or towards flood extenuating policies in the State. This research is aimed at analyzing few of the factors that contributed to such devastation, taking Illimala canal in Chengannur region as a study area. A policy framework of solutions for a resilient Kerala has also been proposed in the light of the findings. Introduction Kerala is bounded by Arabian Sea to its west and the Western Ghats mountain range to its east.The state has about 44 rivers and there are about 50 major dams distributed mostly across the Western Ghats,which provide water for agriculture and power generation. Following the August 16th 2018 spell, when the second episode of downpour hit several days later in the month of August, the authorities had to open the shutters of nearly all dams in Kerala. Torrential rains coupled with releasing of the dam shutters resulted in severe flooding. The acerbity of the Kerala flood of 2018 and the devastation caused might be affected by several factors including both the natural and the anthropogenic activities. These impacts on flood severity need to be established to improve understanding for future flood mitigations. Methodology This research draws on other research papers on 2018 Kerala floods. Climate and hydrology based researches and articles further aided to expand on the details on

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Aysha Vazna

the topic. District

Normal Rain (mm)

Actual Rain (mm)

Kerala State Alappuzha Kannur Ernakulam Idukki Kasarkode Kollam Kottayam Kozhikode Malappuram Palakkad Pathanamthitta Thiruvananthapuram Thrissur Wayanad

1701.4 1380.6 2333.2 1680.4 1851.7 2609.8 1038.9 1531.1 2250.4 1761.9 1321.7 1357.5 672.1 1824.2 2281.3

2394.1 1784 2573.3 2477.8 3555.5 2287.1 1579.3 2307 2898 2637.2 2285.6 1968 966.7 2077.6 2884.5

Departure from Normal 41 29 10 47 92 -12 52 51 29 50 73 45 44 14 26

Excess Excess Normal Excess Large Excess Normal Excess Excess Excess Excess Large Excess Excess Excess Normal Excess

Table 1: District wise rainfall realized 1 June to 22 June 2018 Source: Central Water Commission Report, Govt. of India-September 2018

Study Area - Chengannur Region Chengannur municipality, known as the gateway to Sabarimala, was severely affected by the 2018 Kerala floods, causing extensive devastation to people’s livelihood. One of the primary reasons behind the floods around this region was the blockage in progression of water from the Pamba waterway through the canals nearby.These canals have been nature’s own water framework for emptying precipitation water out of the land into rivers. Illimala canal, which span up to 12 kilometers is said to be the longest canal in Chengannur. Risk Drivers of the Flood Heavy Rainfall The current flood happened after an unusual phase of the monsoon that disrupted opposed normal rainfall pattern. Between August 8 and August 16, 2018, Kerala received two spells of widespread intense rains but the second spell of rainfall after

Avani Institute of Design

Aysha Vazna

August 14 was unexpected, which was 164% more rainfall than normal. This atypical second spell of downpour from August 14 onwards aggravated the condition that also put pressure on the capacities of dam reservoirs. At this point, when Kakki reservoir and Moozhiyar dam were opened, the water from these supplies was released simultaneously, which was one of the significant explanations for the major flood in Chengannur. Deforestation The construction boom definitely added to the magnitude of the flood. Idukki and Wayanad are the most heavily-forested districts in the state. However, both have seen a humongous decrease in their green cover between 2011 and 2017. This could be the cause behind these two regions experiencing massive damage because of floods and landslides. Large scale land encroachment in canals of Chengannur, for expanding landholdings and broadening pathways, has resulted in the reduction of their width. Sand Mining and Land Use Uncontrolled sand mining in river Pamba has given rise to erosion of river banks, lowering of the water table etc in the region. Poor land use pattern pose serious problem in the state. Also, the unscientific and erratic manner of granite quarrying, has also contributed to the destruction in the major flooded areas of Kerala. Watershed Management The relentless damages incurred by floods are the aftermath of inadequately managed water resources.Due to massive urbanization, indiscriminate dispersal of nondegradable wastes, untreateddomestic and industrial effluents, and even agricultural runoffsmany rivers in the stateare highly polluted. The wetlands are under risk due to deforestation, encroachment for various uses including constructions, agitating the various ecological and economic services that these wetlands provide.Unreasonable withdrawal of groundwater in the fields is likewise diminishing the inflows into the wetlands. Natural blockages such as growth of weeds, inIllimala canal,disrupted the natural watercourse. Disaster Management System of Kerala Most of the major dams were more than 90% of their capacity .The major shortcoming in the state were the lack of preparedness. The weather forecasting system failed in communicating the alerts to the people effectively. The current disaster management system in the State isgenerally reaction driven, poor in vulnerability and

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Aysha Vazna

capacity evaluation.

Fig.3 Sponge City Concept Source: China Building Industry Press

Results The incidence and severity of natural disasters are increasing every year in the state.The slow deforestation, the opening up of forests for development of roads, the vertical cutting of slopes for development and the rise of tourists attractions disregard to the context and topography etc exacerbated the dilemma in the State.Canal rejuvenation processes such as desilting, de-weeding, withdrawal of domestic waste etc can be carried out in canals of Chengannur region of Alappuzha district. In light to the problems analyzed, few mitigation measures that can be executed are as follows: • • •

The re-examination of environment policies should be made. Reinforcement of embankments of canals (using coir gel textiles) and other water bodies should be initiated. Strict legitimate actions should be undertaken to cease exploitation of the environment and ward off unscientific developments.

Avani Institute of Design

Aysha Vazna

• • • • • • •

The structure plans and rules should be revised expecting similar occasions later on. Holland model floating houses and elevated constructions can be built in lowlying regions. The dam break levels should be reconsidered and legitimate alarms and cautioning must be given to occupants downstream. Along with the rejuvenation activities of waterbodies, household composting of bio-degradable waste should be encouraged in the houses in panchayats and the municipalities. Future encroachment of water bodies or its banks should be strictly prevented by law-enforcement agencies. Awareness programmes should be carried out to prevent waste disposal in the waterbodies, to restrict encroachments and sand mining. Concept of Sponge City which is based on the natural flows that allow storm water to be managed with natural infiltration, natural retention and detention can be introduced in the state.

Conclusion Respecting nature and all the environmental laws and rules is required and this calamity needs to be accepted as a challenge and also an opportunity so that a resilient Kerala can be built to face any such calamities, thereby keeping everyone safe and to provide better standard of living to all sections of its society. Keywords: Kerala flood, spell of rainfall, watershedmanagement, flood forecasting system.

environmental

degradation,

References AP. 2018. India Today August 20 2018. George, Alex. 2020. Down to Earth March 06 2020. Hunt, K and Menon, A. 2020. “The 2018 Kerala Floods: A Climate Change Perspective.” Climate Dynamics 54 (2020): 2433–2446. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-020-05123-7 Joy, J, Kanka, S and Singh, S. 2020. “3D GIS – Retrospective Flood Visualization.”ACTA TECHNICA CORVINIENSIS – Bulletin of Engineering Shaharban. 2019. “Disaster Prevention and Management in the Era of Climate Change with Special Reference to Kerala Flood 2018.” A Journal of Composition Theory 12 no. 11.

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Aysha Vazna

Shreeshan Venkatesh and Rejimon Kuttappan. 2018. Down to Earth September 12 2018. Thomas, J, Prakash,B and Kulkarni, P. 2019. “Flood relief interventions in Kerala: A Factsheet and Critical Analysis based on Experiences and Observations.” International Journal of Health and Allied Sciences 8, no. 4: 290-293. Vishnu, Kumar S. and Oommen.T. 2018. “Satellite-based assessment of the August 2018 flood in parts of Kerala, India.”Geomatics, Natural Hazards and Risk. https://doi. org/10.1080/ 19475705.2018.1543212

Avani Institute of Design

Fathima Jilna | Nima Viswanatha | Reshma Mathew

Navigating the ‘Urban Mess’: Learning from Disabled Geographies Fathima Jilna | Nima Viswanatha | Reshma Mathew

Abstract Not all bodies navigate or experience architectural, urban landscapes the same way. Adaptations, appropriation, and ‘distortions’ of space often tend to magnify the many human reproductions of space that limit or become barriers to access, mobility, and social participation. Perhaps the exclusionary nature of the built environment is most obvious through the study of the ‘deviant’, divergent and experiential world of disabled people. One must critically examine what causes such inequity: is it due to the physiological differences between bodies or the inherently disabled geographies that we continue to produce? The work of materialist disability scholars has done much to delineate the difference between impairment and disability; impairment being unique functional limitations and capacities people experience, whereas disability is a state of social disadvantage and oppression meted out as material and ideological experiences (Gleeson 1996, 387-396). Such socio-spatial exclusion is the result of an uncritical acceptance of ‘normality’ and an assumption of ‘sameness’ and ‘able-bodiedness’ (Kitchin 2003, 8-13) as societies produce and reproduce spaces over time. A study by Sarah Schindler for the Yale Law Journal draws attention to the very powerful ways in which architecture regulates and manipulates behavior in the most unseen and discreet ways, further crippling the lives of marginalised people and denying them healthy participation in the economic, socio-political, and cultural experience in a society (Schindler 2015, 1934-2024). Disabling environments became even more prevalent with the commodification of labour in the post-industrialized world as institutional apparatuses enforced productivity standards and competitive work environments that assumed a ‘normal’ (Gleeson 1996, 387-396). Michel Foucault, when referring to the great confinement, maintains that society often creates a safe place by confining those who they perceive as ‘abnormal’ and as misfits in the hegemonic discourse of normality (Porter, 1990). The systematic othering by oppressive structures has thereby led to the symbolic representation of disability as shameful, incomplete, and dependent. This correlation between social environment and development of personality is established by Neo-Freudian theorists who suggest that people with disabilities are

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Fathima Jilna | Nima Viswanatha | Reshma Mathew

likely to form personalities from the constant social disregard coupled with political, economic, and cultural exclusion. Whether the disability is genetic or acquired, this marginalisation will have a negative impact on the formation of identity as well as their mental health (Ghai 2003, 34). Furthermore, according to the social constructivist perspective (Gergen 1985, 266-275) disability is not defined solely on the basis of an individual experience or medical categorisation but as a socially constructed phenomenon including the experiences of the people living with disability in interaction with their environments. The perspective does not ignore the existence of a medical condition but tries to understand the biological fact meaningfully within its context. The acknowledgment of power of the environment and culture is important especially in the context of India, where there are multiple layers like poverty, caste, gender, class, and religion. This social construct is then further sustained by an inaccessible built environment that caters to the able-bodied. Even though there is much attention on persons with disabilities these days, they are all focused on rehabilitation and very less on liberation (Atkinson and Hacket 1995) and this is evident in the policy framework at large in the Indian context. The National Policy for Persons with Disabilities, which came into effect in 2006, recognised the potential of Persons with Disabilities (PwD) as part of the larger community and sought to protect their rights by stressing the need to create an environment of equal opportunity and thereby encourage their full participation in the development of the country. It hoped to achieve these by bringing out various interventions such as the development of rehabilitation measures, which include physical, educational, and economic rehabilitation measures, assistance to women and children with disabilities, creating barrier-free environments, and providing social security and issuance of disability certificates to name a few. Similarly, the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, and the Harmonised Guidelines, 2016, both stress the need to provide equal opportunities for PwDs in sectors such as health, education, and employment without any form of discrimination, while at the same time increasing accessibility and removing all form of barriers, physical or otherwise. While all of these seem to be targeted initiatives for providing accessible environments, there still exist a few gaps and shortcomings that need immediate attention. One cannot look at the physical environment in isolation from the social fabric, therefore creating awareness and a wider outreach is imperative. These policies need to take into consideration the various capabilities existing within the vulnerable groups such as ethnic minorities or lower income groups and provide agency to the larger community of persons with disabilities. With respect to efficiency and capacity building, these policies need to detail out the processes that they intend to undertake to monitor and evaluate the various schemes. The problem is not in the existence of differences

Avani Institute of Design

Fathima Jilna | Nima Viswanatha | Reshma Mathew

that are physiological in nature, rather it is the disablement of the built environment that makes disability an inherently social phenomenon. Therefore, retrofitting the built environment alone cannot solely be a measure to eradicate oppression against persons with disabilities. It merely helps reduce the friction of everyday life by not aggravating their limitations and appears tokenistic. Alternatively, what is required is a recognition of the full spectrum of ability and a participatory approach to engaging with tacit knowledge, particularly for those with different needs and capacities (Kitchin 2003, 8-13).

Fig 1: Encounters of the disablement Source: Authors

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Fathima Jilna | Nima Viswanatha | Reshma Mathew

Through this study, we begin the process of consulting with users to understand the multiple layers of distortions and impediments that PwDs are forced to navigate in their quotidian lives and the messy adaptations that they practice almost unconditionally. Our nascent dialogue with the chosen protagonist, kind and soft-spoken Mr Basheer, who runs a modest electronics repair shop in Engapuzha town of Kozhikode district, begins to highlight the moral imperative we must have as architects and makers of urban environments to address this social phenomenon. Keywords: disability, accessibility, phenomenology, inequities References Atkinson, D. R., and G. Hackett. 1995. Counseling Diverse Populations. N.p.: Brown & Benchmark. Gergen, K. J. 1985. “The Social Constructionist Movement in Modern Psychology.” American Psychologist 40 (3): 266-275. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.40.3.266. Gleeson, B. J. 1996. “A Geography for Disabled People?” Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 21 (2): 387-96. https://doi.org/10.2307/622488. Ghai, Anita. 2003. (Dis)Embodied Form: Issues of Disabled Women. New Delhi, India: HarAnand Publications. Kitchin, Rob. 2003. “Architects Disable: A Challenge to Transform.” Building Material 10:813. http://www.jstor.org/stable/29791492. Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. 2006. “National Policy for Persons with Disabilities.” GOI. http://disabilityaffairs.gov.in/upload/uploadfiles/files/National%20 Policy.pdf. Ministry of Urban Development. 2016. “Harmonised Guidelines and Space Standards for Barrier-Free Built Environment for Persons with Disability and Elderly Persons.” GOI. https://cpwd.gov.in/publication/harmonisedguidelinesdreleasedon23rdmarch2016.pdf. Porter, Roy. 1990. “Foucault’s Great Confinement.” History of the Human Sciences 3, no. 1 (February): 47-45. https://doi.org/10.1177/095269519000300107. Schindler, Sarah. 2015. “Architectural Exclusion: Discrimination and Segregation Through Physical Design of the Built Environment.” The Yale Law Journal 124 (6): 19342024. Accessed September 1, 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43617074.

Avani Institute of Design

Jose Benoy K C

Re-visiting the Machine for Living In An ‘Incomplete’, Conceptual and Abstract Design Idea for a Small Dwelling Unit in the Context of Kerala, India Jose Benoy K C Abstract The phrase, ‘A house is a machine for living in’, rose to fame in the 1927 manifesto Vers Une Architecture (Towards an Architecture) by Le Corbusier. As an architect, I was inspired by this concept and have strived to make this statement a reality. Whilst this concept still had a significant bearing in the past few years, the challenges broughtby the year 2020 and ongoing 2021 force us to consider this idea rather seriously. The COVID 19 pandemic bared society’s vulnerabilities, inequalities, and greed. At the same time, it showcased the bothersome conditions that the commoner had to undergo to make their ends meet. Even though the human race can be proud of the much technological advancement in various avenues, this pandemic presented numerous issues that require immediate attention. Whilst there are many challenges, the major challenge that I wish to re-visit through thisconceptual and abstract design proposal is the lifestyle we have created for ourselves. Our dependency on pesticide-based food cultivation and storage systems, combined with our interest in individual transportation machines, leaves behind a huge carbon footprint. Although these sectors fulfil many of our requirements, it still tampers with our health and corrupts our environment. Hence, to address these fundamental challenges, I, through this ‘incomplete’, conceptual and abstract design idea present a new trajectory in the design possibilities of a small dwelling unit, which would provide self-sufficiency for individual families without hurting the environment and without having to leave their compound. Introduction In a world where everything makes sense in binaries, the term ‘incomplete’ carries a negative connotation. The word incomplete has its origin from the late Latin word incompletus, which means ‘not completed’. However, for me, this word often connotates the possibility of numerous potential outcomes of given a problem, additions and collaborations. I am sure that I am not the first to be motivated by the various concerns that led me to an incomplete conceptualidea of a single self-sufficient dwelling unit, and I am sure that I will not be the last. The primary intention of this paper

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Jose Benoy K C

is to press upon the necessity towards the creation of self-sufficient, economically and ecologically sustainable dwellings and also, to bring in a new pool of ideas, concepts, and collaborations that would eventually become a landmark in architectural studies. As architects and designers, we are trained to develop and discuss various methodologies to design, quality of space, light, wind, energy, materiality, construction, costing and so forth. We consider this as our most essential and primary service to society. We place our projects and ourselves in isolation while discussing and traversing through various scales of projects and their details. We concentrate our conversations on a single point - space making,as the significant architecture criterion, and propose it as the only criterion we are concerned about. However, we rarely discuss amongst our community or clients, how a practice/ direction affects the environment even when we know it causes a toll.As an architect, I believe that it becomes my duty to come up with ideas and proposals for the betterment of society and the sustenance of our environment, and this paper is such an effort. Reflections; Architecture, Clients, and Sustainability According to the Department of Economics and Statistics of the Government of Kerala, ‘Housing Statistics is one of the key indicators of growth and development of any welfare state’. Concurring to this indicator, Kerala is achieving a decent amount of growth and development: more than 0.3 millionresidential buildings were built during the year 2016-2017. We build around 77% of the entire residential buildings in the rural areas alone. The following observations are based on the town named Palluruthy, where I hail from. Mostly everyone owns a small piece of land, say between 100 sqm to 180 sqm and sometimes even less. Social media platforms drive the aspirations of these middle or low-income families, and often the first question they might ask if they ever met an architect would be: Can we have two bedrooms and a car parking on the ground floor, along with other shared facilities like the living room, kitchen, and dining? Having faced this question for the past decade or so and trying to provide “Service” to my clients, I have understood that this question places a considerable burden of responsibility on the architect-designer: his or her first task would be to make the client understand that in such small plots, they have to choose between bedroom or a car park, since other facilities like the living room, kitchen, and dining would occupy the other spaces on the ground floor.

Avani Institute of Design

Jose Benoy K C

This design process mostly ends up in utilizing the entire provisions of land coverage, i.e., 65 percent, stipulated by the Kerala Municipal Building Rules. Along with this,we have to provide water tank and septic tank in the remaining area. After all of this, the clients would pave their front yard for open car park, which they want to haveas a symbol of social status. The possibility of having trees around the house is reduced to zero after all these processes. In the end, we have more than 85% land covered without even realising it. The impact of this practice is severe. Unfortunately, we are making our cities devoid of trees and stealing away the water retention capacities of our soil. The only water that percolates through the surface would be greywater, which also gets into trouble when there is continuous heavy rain. Basically, we are reducing the potentials of basic sustenance by building too large on too small an area. Who is The Real Client? We can never question the need of building a house as it is a basic necessity and right of any human being. Nevertheless, we can find ways how to make this more meaningful in the long term. My question here is, who is the actual client? Is it the one who pays me? Or is it the one who never pay me – the environment and all other life, whichalso includes all that is yet to come into existence on this planet? I considered it a challenge, and an achievement, to design houses inland areas less than 120 sqm, and I felt great pride when I succeeded. Not anymore.We must become more concerned and worried about our environment and meet our clients’ basic human needs in a sustainable way than merely their social aspirations. A ‘re visit to the machine for living in’ is an attempt to propose few guidelines for design interventions which I have been trying to propose to many clients during the last decade. I have defined those parameters and have created a refined prototype. It would be great to discuss this on this platform for more ideas and thought processes. Following are the parameters I foresee for a future dwelling unit: 1. Reduce the coverage: restrict it to 40% for plots below 120 sqm area; 35% for plots between 120 - 200 sqm area; and 25% for plots above 200 sqm area. 2. Build vertical and allow cantilevered floors from first floor. 3. Weigh your buildings. Reduce the weight as much as possible. 4. Design roofs for solar power generation. 5. No compound walls. Bring back the old idea of natural fencing. 6. No bedrooms on the ground floor. Use it as an open living space with kitchen – dining or as car park.

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Jose Benoy K C

7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.

Maximum two toilet per dwelling. Accept a new lifestyle for yourself – by eating food grown in your own house. Incorporate aquaponics system into the design within the coverage mentioned. Grow your poultry along with fish and vegetables from aquaponics. Incorporate vermicomposting system into the design. Use the elements of space making as the tool for fitness routines – make 7000 steps a day in your own house! 13. Calculate the carbon footprint with the carbon offsets through acquaponics and solar power generation. 14. __________________. Intentionally left blank for more ideas. The fundamental concern during the pandemic lockdown was the food for survival. Art and architecture were beyond the thought processes. Hence, It is time for us to redefine our roles as architects to be innovators and inventors. Indeed, we invent spaces, but we have to go beyond just space making. Here, I present a conceptual and abstract design idea for a small dwelling unit I had the privilege to conceptualise and design for a single mother with two kids in a 180 sqm plot area. The revelations I had and the parameters I had set became the backbone of this design process and its evolution. Keywords: Small plots, Dwelling, Coverage, Carbon footprint and Aquaponics.

Avani Institute of Design

Jose Benoy K C

Fig 1. Conceptual Plan The image / drawing shown here is the intellectual property of Jose Benoy KC ,BLUWUD, 23/2403, Palluruthy, Cochin. Not to be reproduced without permission.

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Jose Benoy K C

Fig 2. Conceptual Section The image / drawing shown here is the intellectual property of Jose Benoy KC, BLUWUD, 23/2403, Palluruthy, Cochin. Not to be reproduced without permission.

Avani Institute of Design

Kanishka Prasad

Finding Frugality Seeking Vernacular Modernisms and Evolving a Modernist Vernacular Kanishka Prasad

Abstract The last 18 months forced people around the world to seriously alter their daily lives in the wake of the global pandemic that has wreaked havoc in so many countries. Governments, health systems and systems of public administration globally, failed to be organized and equipped enough to handle the situation. However, while most around the world wait to have their lives return to “normal” few are asking as this symposium appropriately does, “what is normal?” This paper would argue that this is a juncture to assert that the perceived normal was long rendered unsustainable. The lockdowns imposed in the wake of the pandemic, immediately showed how quickly the environment began to regenerate itself when humans confined themselves. This phenomenon ought to have demonstrated that our lifestyle choices are a part of the problem. Yet seemingly oblivious we are keen to return to the same lives of overconsumption and wastage. It is estimated that of a global population of 7.5 billion as many as 3.11 billion are classified as consumers generating 1.96 billion tons of waste globally each year. This consuming population uses 462.5 billion plastic bags annually which are a struggle to dispose and become a toxic soup floating in the planet’s oceans. Many cultures for example, continue to greatly value the precious metal gold without realizing that while global production has been dipping (based on 2017 figures) by 3% year-on-year, its mining produced as much as 690 billion tons of waste in various forms (Larsen and Bjerring 2017) . This paper argues that this more than any other, is a time for a complete overhaul of the lifestyles that the human race has built for itself, adopting instead an approach of frugality. ‘Every Non-Cooperationist is duty bound to simplify his [her] wants and dispense with all luxuries that are dependent on the use of foreign articles.’ (Imam H.) Mahatma Gandhi called upon those volunteering as satyagrahis to, in a holistic fashion, question in a self-reflexive and rationalist way, the individual and community choices transforming their resistance beyond mere opposition, into a fundamental search for an alternative. This paper argues that this process of fundamental re-examination is what humankind must engage with in an effort to fundamentally alter the programmatic choices that are taken for granted when conceiving of homes, habitats and lifestyles. A reinvention of the euphemistic Modern is essential by relooking at the vernacular as

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Kanishka Prasad

representative of forms of a liberal regionalism (Frampton 1981) representing both an understanding and a technique. Charles Correa in the design of the luxury hotel Cidade de Goa chose to remove air-conditioning from the common public spaces allowing them only to be cooled by natural air ventilation. These are the manner of choices “to give up” in a search for greater frugality that are critical. Choices pertaining to the multiple uses of space, downsizing of desired space and the removal of redundancy in space allocation with a close correlation to the number and nature of occupancy are critical if the human species must survive on this planet. The experience of cotton spun on the Gandhian charkha, Mitticool the earthenware fridge (Rajdou et al. 2012), jugaad (the water pump based transport vehicle), the protective covers stitched from discarded plastic bags or the Gujarati embroidery reusing snippets of waste cloth are essential to value and propagate at a mass scale. The courtyards of homes in states like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh are regularly coated with clay or mud mixed with dung and hay to create a refreshed hygienic surface with refined patterns and designs. The countryside of India is dotted with small structures used to store hay next to fields, the dung coating of which is scored by hand. The scoring is needed to prevent the dung from cracking and falling as it dries but the patterns generated by simple women toiling in the fields display a complex and refined aesthetic. This frugal yet complex design aesthetic must inform increasingly the vast majority of architectural projects. Without being revivalist or nostalgic about the past this paper argues for a re-evaluation of the regional and the vernacular in terms of materials, techniques and cultural motifs to innovate solutions for the future. This process must be viewed as a fundamental approach and an essential prerequisite for development amongst all economic classes of society without preconceived assumptions that such downsizing must be left to the poor as they may be unable to afford any more. References Els, F. 2017. “Global Gold mining output declines.” miningdotcom, January 2017. http:// www.mining.com/global-gold-mining-output-decline/ Larsen E. and Bjerring K. 2017. “Planet Earth,”. The world counts http://www. theworldcounts.com/themes/our_environment Imam H. 2011. “Textiles and Politics: A Study of Foreign Clothes Boycott Movement in Aligarh, 1921.” https://www.academia.edu/8608895/Boycott_of_foreign_textiles_in_ India Frampton, K., 1981. “Toward a Critical Regionalism: Six points for an architecture of resistance.”

Avani Institute of Design

Kanishka Prasad

Rajdou N., Prabhu J., Ahuja S. (2012), Jugaad Innovation: Think Frugal, Be Flexible, Generate Breakthrough Growth, Josey-Bass, A Wiley Imprint. Sourced at www. jugaadinnovation.com

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Krishna Salim | Varshini Penneru

What is Home? Refugees, Forced Migration and its Impacts on their Mental Health Krishna Salim | Varshini Penneru

Abstract Analyzing the situation of refugees and migrants all around the world, the knowledge of refugees in displaced communities is an invaluable resource for developing an understanding of the community and the challenges they face. In addition, even though consistent studies and evidence document the negative impacts of family separation on mental health of refugee’s such studies are quite less despite the seriousness of such a situation. Using mixed methods data from different studies and observational studies based on mental health it was found that family separation was a major source of distress for refugees. The distress expresses itself as a feeling of helplessness, as cultural disruption, anger and resentment. Given the current global pandemic of COVID 19 and the need for policies to address this growing issue, this research highlights the importance of considering the ways in which family separation impacts refugee mental health and how it needs to be addressed. Introduction According to a study done by Forbes,as of 2020, around 84.4 million people were forcibly displaced due to persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations, or events seriously disturbing public order (Forbes 2021) round 68% of refugees originated from just five countries – the Syrian Arab Republic, Venezuela, Afghanistan, South Sudan, and Myanmar. Between 2018 and 2020, an average of 290,000 and 340,000 children were born into refugee life annually. The needs of refugees have become an increasing concern for mental health services and traumatic events and ongoing stress are often prominent. While most of the world struggles to cope with the catastrophic impacts of COVID 19, the risks are heightened for the world’s approximately 71 million people who are forcibly displaced. To the vast number of displaced people, home is just an illusion. They are forced to live in camps and overcrowded settlements. The pandemic has forced many migrants to flee the cities overnight and robbed them of health, safety, occupations, and a future. This has created massive destruction from both economic and environmental perspectives but most importantly on their mental health. According to a study by Olivia Giovetti, as of 2020, one person is uprooted every

Avani Institute of Design

Krishna Salim | Varshini Penneru

two seconds. The most common reason for forced migration is war and conflict (Giovetti 2019).This also causes great concern for women and children as gender-based bias is prevalent in these situations. In addition to hunger and displacement, post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) and other emotional issues plague the migrants Women and children are the ones suffering the most and the injustice and cruelties against them are increasing at an exponential rate. It has now become increasingly difficult for organisations such as the UNHCR, UN and NGOs of the same nature to solely manage such a huge crisis. Along with funding, some of the main criteria to focus on to prevent displacement are to create new laws and regulations that must be formed internationally for the welfare of refugees and their human rights. Methodology The key research methodology used secondary sources to review and collect data. The data were collected from verified online portals such as UNHCR, UN, and few other online published research papers. A large amount of understanding and findings have been derived from the short documentaries of Ms. Angelina Jolie (American Actress and Special Envoy to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), that are based on her visits to these refugee camps in different parts of the world over two decades. (t. U. UNHCR 2015) Results and Discussion Less than 1% of refugees arrive in their host country through a resettlement program in which they are given refugee status prior to arrival (UNHCR 2021). Life as a refugee strongly affects one’s sense of identity and a sense of family. Most refugees move into different cultural and ethnic backgrounds, which places them in emotional and political turmoil. For example, when Afghans fled to Iran in the 1980s, they were exposed to a more conservative form of Islam than they had previously practiced. This led to greater pressure on men to place stricter restrictions on the women in their families (McMorran 2020). These restrictions included the end of education for women, the imposition of arranged marriages, and in some cases, total confinement of women to the home. Many refugees make tedious and risky journeys and may arrive in their host country after having been exposed to additional trauma, such as trafficking or destitution which may leave them more vulnerable. A Save the Children report released on March 16, 2017 raises alarm about the trauma in migrant children. The report shows signs of depression, anxiety and distress in young children. Bedwetting, nightmares,

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Krishna Salim | Varshini Penneru

temper tantrums and aggressive behaviour are common symptoms among the children of forced migrants (Soeripto 2021). Shockingly, children as young as 8-9 years of age have attempted suicide or resorted to self-harm. The affected children are clearly traumatized as many have fled from war and conflict zones, poverty or persecution. They lost parents or siblings or have been separated from them. Our collective failure to place these children in safe zones has led to their re-traumatization as trauma can have detrimental effects on a child’s development, physical and mental health.

Fig 1. ‘Where shall we flee now?’ A drawing by a child survivor as part of post-genocide trauma therapy (McMorran 2020)

Conclusion Mass migration has become a feature of the future and we are forced to adjust and accept this new normal. The average stay of a refugee, in a protracted refugee situation, is 25 years. That is almost one-third of the lifespan of an average person. During displacement, they are most likely to not get an education. Also as a refugee, they are not allowed to work in the host country, which means their experience and education will dull over those long years, and their much-needed contribution will be lost. It is a well-known fact that diversity adds to the strength of any country. Countries like America, Europe, and Canada are built by what now some would dismiss as asylum seekers or economic migrants. One probable solution would be to use the skills of the migrant workers as well as give them an opportunity to rebuild and restabilize their own country.

Avani Institute of Design

Krishna Salim | Varshini Penneru

In addition to this the effect of displacement also has an impact on the lives of refugee children. Jens. R. Henkelmann has collated clear and compelling evidence of the alarming rates of mental illness among forced migrants and refugees. Their research has also highlighted that it is challenging to undertake research among the forced migrant population (Henkelmann 2020). Therefore it is of utmost importance to prioritize not only the physical health but also the mental health of these forced migrants. Refugee children must be given enough attention and education to them should be made accessible. It is their only hope for a better and secure future. Considering refugee communities and camps more than just temporary population centres and rather as centres of excellence and opportunities, will be an ideal solution to begin with. Providing them with a safe and secure place for healing, learning and growing will help them prepare for the future. We are doing dangerously little to help the victims and we are doing far too little to prevent and stop the wars that are driving them from their homes.

Fig 2. This letter was send to Ms. Angelina Jolie (American Actress and Special Envoy to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) by a teenage girl in Afghanistan in 2011. (Jolie 2021)

As they wander from place to place in search of a better future, the refugees are often posed with the question, ‘What is home?’ In order to make this illusion into a reality, strong initiatives need to be taken towards the right direction which would strengthen and foster a positive platform for communities consisting of people who are migrants and non-migrants.

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Krishna Salim | Varshini Penneru

Keywords: Forcible displacement, Internal displacement, Involuntary resettlement, War crimes, Refugee children, Mental health References Giovetti, Olivia. 2019. “6 Causes and Concerns.” Concern worldwide US, June 28, 2019. https://www.concernusa.org/story/forced-migration-causes/ Henkelmann, J.R., de Best, S., Deckers, C., Jensen, K., Shahab, M., Elzinga, B. and Molendijk, M. 2020. “Anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder in refugees resettling in high-income countries: systematic review and meta-analysis.” BJPsych open 6 no. 4 (July). Jolie, Anjelina (@angelinajolie). 2021. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/ angelinajolie/ McMorran, Chris. 2020. “Refugees.” Beyond Intractability, July 2008. https://www. beyondintractability.org/essay/refugees Soeripto, Janti. 2021. “Annual Report 2021.” Save the children. https://www. savethechildren.org/us/about-us/resource-library/annual-report UNHCR. 2021. “Resettlement.” UNHCR UK. https://www.unhcr.org/uk/resettlement.html UNHCR. 2015. “One Year On: Angelina Jolie-Pitt Revisits Syrian Refugee Family.” UNHCR, July 10, 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QrFhGodWIQ

Avani Institute of Design

Meenakshi Dubey | Thushara Koraprath

Responsive Pedagogy in the Changing Landscapes of Architectural Studio Practice Meenakshi Dubey | Thushara Koraprath

Abstract Is the past a burden or a trap? Or an anchor and a springboard? Penelope Green 2010 As Raymond Williams argued ‘landscapes were material productions within which were coded particular ideologies’. To interpret these material expressions and the ideologies of the demographics who lived in a region, it’s imperative to decipher the distinct associations, both physical and cultural, to their historical geographies. Hence translating the diagrams of power and influence to comprehending the relationship between land, life, people and place, as key markers to responsible and responsive urban spatial practices. Recurring and unexpected pauses in the world today are affecting the environs of architectural pedagogy worldwide. At this juncture architectural design pedagogy finds itself challenging the normative envelopes of academic interactions and practice. This paper proposes an emerging paradigm/ an experimental pedagogical framework that looks at future trajectories of building, while examining the transformations of the cultural landscape through the lens of the critical vernacular. The dynamic framework was modelled in response to uncertain global and local circumstances under the conditions of a remote, distance-learning environment, to stimulate holistic design thinking process, addressing multitude of unprecedented pedagogical challenges. The paper will present critical reflections gathered from mentoring a third year B Arch architecture design studio under the theme: ‘architecture and city,’ the purpose of which was to decipher the expressions of hybridity and cosmopolitanism in the city of Kozhikode (Calicut) resulting from a long established global (transoceanic) trade history. The approach adopted a unique dialogic - research methodology responding to the historical, urban, cultural and spatial networks with the ‘city of spices’ manifesting as inter-diasporic exchanges, dichotomy of essentialized geographies/ neighbourhoods, evolution of market streets and socio-cultural institutions. The studio offered a chance to contest the hegemonic practices and refamiliarize with the heterogeneous evidence of the city through interventions at two distinct precincts of this historical confluence (Fig.1, 2 and 3).

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Meenakshi Dubey | Thushara Koraprath

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3 Figure 1. Aerial view of the historic trade and commerce core of Kozhikode with the critical modern (colonized) layer, Source: Simplicity, 2008 Figure 2. Gujarati street precinct along with Gujarati houses, Source: Calicut Heritage Trails, 2020 Figure 3. Kozhikode South Beach with critical vernacular layer Source: Semester V Studio Monsoon 2020 Integrated Workshop, ‘Deciphering Cultural Expressions’ through narratives: Interpreting the ‘spice’ roots of the City of Kozhikode, Avani Institute of Design

The studio referred to deep archival investigation exploring ‘Spice’ as an agent of material and cultural transformation through the seminal readings on global transoceanic history (Ashin Das Gupta, M N Pearson, 1987), the discussions on trade and faith on the medieval Malabar coast, and the regional portrayals in the impressionist survey of the history of the city and related events. Here, the Urbanity of Spice and built was traversed through the proposed six thematic: In Transoceanic History and Evolution of the Urban Form, In Territory formation (Coloniality and Political aspects), in Economical aspects/ Interrelationships/ Concurrence, Influence of spice as a Commodity (Market orientation), A Socio- Cultural Marker, A Testimony (Community and Culinary culture). The fundamental thread of Architecture Identity and the phenomenon of Critical Modern comes from India, Modern Architecture and History by Peter Scriver and Amit Srivastava along with Nihal Perera’s work on Critical Vernacularism. Thinking, diagramming and cognitive modes of design, were the tools for the staged modes of inquiry (Fig 4). The studio began to translate and generate architectural vocabulary for the present site/city context while using Narrative and Diagramming as primary tools to explore, develop and express through design matrices and an experimental development of hybrid drawings.

Avani Institute of Design

Figure 4. Alternate pedagogical model experimented for the Avani Studio 5 Monsoon 2020. Source: Authors.

Meenakshi Dubey | Thushara Koraprath

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Meenakshi Dubey | Thushara Koraprath

The idea of re-examining and further developing the 4 x 4 design matrix with hybrid representation, catalyzed the spatial thinking of the first shaping of the project. This way of distilling the information and ideas into an easily perceivable format, ascertained transitions through the complex urban scale of discourses in designing. These translational tools of composite diagrams and matrix methods mediated the relational understanding of the key aspects, to conceive a responsive public gesture in and for the city. Regional and global collaborations during critical design milestones emphasized spatial appropriation with contextual sensitization as well as enhanced imaginative visualization through distinctive representational tools. These key interventions asserted a spiral method of revisiting the design decisions/ arguments, connecting the dots and reinforcing the logical inferences (Fig.5), following which unique individual expressions or versions of the projects emerged.

Figure 5. Integrated Studio Workshop Avani studio 5 Monsoon 2021. Source: Prof. Roger Connah, Semester V Studio Monsoon 2020 Integrated Workshop, ‘Deciphering Cultural Expressions’ through narratives: Interpreting the ‘spice’ roots of the City of Kozhikode, Avani Institute of Design

Though the genesis of this evolving pedagogical template lies in the pandemic shifts of the learning modes (Fig.6), the discussions amplified onto the notion of an adaptive framework and a flexible global model in times of ambiguities and future stoppages without rupturing the core studio learnings. If the uncertainties are here to stay, what could be the form of this Responsive ‘moving’ pedagogical model? The paper will then go on to present the reflections from further examination on how we adapt our dynamic pedagogies to respond to the global scenarios of changing landscapes of academic practice.

Avani Institute of Design

Figure 6: Alternate pedagogical model experimented for the Avani Studio 5 Monsoon 2021. Source: Authors.

Meenakshi Dubey | Thushara Koraprath

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Meenakshi Dubey | Thushara Koraprath

Key words: responsive pedagogy, cultural transformations, historic urban landscape, architecture and city, narrative and diagramming References Anderson, Kay, Mona Domosh, Steve Pile &amp; Nigel Thrift and Nigel Thrift. 2003. Handbook of Cultural Geography, Landscape and the Obliteration of Practice. London: SAGE. Prange, R Sebastian. 2018. The monsoon Islam: Trade and Faith on the Medieval Malabar Coast. Cambridge University Press. Narayanan, M G S. 2006. Calicut: The City of Truth Revisited, Calicut: University of Calicut. Babu, Captain Ramesh. 2020. Calicut Heritage Trails. Kottayam: DC Books. Stickler, Zoe. 1999. “Elicitation methods in Experimental Design Research, Design”. Massachusetts Institute of Technology Design Issues Volume 15 (Summer 1999):27-39. https://www.ida.liu.se/~steho87/desres/strickler.pdf Historic Urban Landscape, World Heritage Convention, UNESCO. 2011. UNESCO World Heritage Convention. “Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape.” Accessed July 1, 2021. https://whc.unesco.org/en/hul.

Avani Institute of Design

Murat Sönmez | Ayça Yılmaz

Transformation of Public Space Design in In-between Spaces After COVID 19 Murat Sönmez | Ayça Yılmaz

Abstract The concepts of public and private gain meaning with historical periods, wars, economic crises, pandemics, technological developments, and transformations in the social field, which we can define as breaks. Thinkers such as Hannah Arendt, Jürgen Habermas, and Richard Sennett define the concepts of public and private with these breaks. Architecture, on the other hand, is fed by these transformations, new concepts, and definitions since Ancient Greece. Thus, the transformation of public space designs is experienced through these breaks. The periods of stability we live in can be interrupted by sudden breaks (Kuhn 1962). COVID 19, one of these sudden breaks, plays a role in the transformation of public space design by providing an opportunity to radically transform social relations, processes, and economic production regimes. With COVID 19, we are stepping into a new normal where many concepts such as quarantine, social distance, and vaccination enter our lives. Social distance, the distance established in the range of 1.30-3.70 meters, affects the use of space by changing individual behavior patterns with COVID 19 (Hall 1990).Thus, new definitions of the public sphere and possibilities of public space are formed (Law, Azzali and Conejos 2021). William Whyte argues that each of us has an intuitive perception of how many people feel, which varies by gender, age, personality, and cultural norms (University of California 1981). Due to the high rate of spread of COVID 19 in crowded environments, our intuitive perception of what the right number of people might be for a given area changes. With COVID 19, most people go out for specific purposes only: to protect their physical and mental health and meet their basic needs. Thus, the public space ceases to be an experience where people interact with each other and becomes a place to walk through (Gehl, Life Between Buildings 2011). People show the importance of improving public spaces by using different aspects of their homes and architectural elements to provide psychological and social resilience (O’Connor 2020). Architectural elements such as balconies, doors, windows, roofs, and stairs take place in the new normal by gaining a public character within the private space.The concepts of public and private are spatial attributes that differ relatively and gradually, referring to the relationships between accessibility,

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Murat Sönmez | Ayça Yılmaz

responsibility, and private property (Hertzberger, Territorial Claims 2005). Combining public and private, in-between space provides the spatial condition between areas with different land claims. These in-between spaces create a setting for encounters and farewells (Hertzberger 2005).With COVID 19, architectural elements such as balconies, doors, windows, roofs, and stairs, in-between spaces create a public space by establishing a transition and dialogue in the private space. In architectural terms, competence is the capacity to interpret a form. Performance, on the other hand, is the way form is interpreted in a particular situation (Hertzberger 2005). Although the building is not built for multiple purposes, it has the competencies to perform different functions in different circumstances (Hertzberger 2005). It is a process of change that is a permanent state. Spatial diversity must be achieved by giving up collective interpretations of individual life patterns. For the form to have different meanings, it must be interpretable. A form can take on different meanings in different people, in different situations (Hertzberger 2005). In this case, the house should be seen as a design framework that can be interpreted and given meanings according to the new needs with COVID 19. With COVID 19, people start to establish their relationships in daily life through housing due to the limitations in public space. Housing is then able to meet multiple needs such as education, work, and trade. Every architectural element such as balconies, windows, roofs, and stairs should contain a variety of propositions that can create associations without imposing a specific direction (Hertzberger 2005). With COVID 19, new functions are discovered for these architectural elements (Honey-Rosés, et al. 2020). Thus, the use of these elements begins to express freedom. Although balconies, windows, stairwells are private spaces, they provide the feeling of stepping out of the building. As we approach these areas, we are neither inside nor outside. In this context, the concept of inside-outside changes according to where we stand relatively and in which direction we look (Hertzberger 2005). With COVID 19, stairs become an important space of human communication and representation. Balconies, on the other hand, provide direct access to the outdoors as well as a place of articulation for daily socializing from a distance. During this period, Zacka defines the balcony as close for greetings but far away for a long conversation, close enough to witness disagreements, far enough not to have to be personally involved (Zacka 2020). In terms of the scope of social activities in public spaces, sight and hearing are fundamental planning factors (Gehl 2011). With COVID 19, these architectural elements create in-between spaces by allowing people to see, hear and encourage each other through the integration of various activities and functions. People’s visual and auditory communication with each other through their windows, giving concerts on balconies, and communicating on stairs define public space by maintaining social distance(Mehaffy 2020). With the COVID 19 process, cities examine the potentials of the roof of the building, which ends towards the sky (Krier 1992). Green areas integrated into

Avani Institute of Design

Murat Sönmez | Ayça Yılmaz

roofs and structures not only make urban living spaces attractive but also help meet physiological and psychological needs with COVID 19 (Bereitschaft and Scheller 2020). The COVID 19 pandemic has affected the whole world and continues to cause many permanent and temporary changes in our lives. With the pandemic, people tend to avoid crowded public spaces. Thus, people take a step into the new normal by interpreting the competencies of architectural elements to provide psychological and social resilience by following the rules of social distance. In this context, architectural elements such as balconies, windows, roofs, and stairs gain a public character within the private space. This paper was produced by the thesis study at TOBB University of Economics and Technology. Keywords: COVID 19, public space, design, in-between, elements of architecture References Arendt, Hannah. 1994. İnsanlık Durumu. Translated by Bahadır Sina Şener. İstanbul: İletişim Publisher. Bereitschaft, Bradley, and Daniel Scheller. 2020. “How Might the COVID 19 Pandemic Affect 21st Century Urban Design, Planning, and Development?” Urban Science, p. 3-22. Elseshtawy, Yasser. 2015. “Observing the Public Realm: William Whyte’s “The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces”.” Built Environment, p. 399-411. Francis, Lotte Fjendbo Møller, and Marina Bergen Jensen. 2017. “Benefits of green roofs: A systematic review of the evidence for three ecosystem services.” Urban forestry & Urban greening, p. 167-176. Gehl, Jan. 2011. “Life Between Buildings.” In Life Between Buildings, by Jan Gehl, p. 9-49. Washington: Island Press. Gehl, Jan. 2011. “Prerequisites For Planning.” In Life Between Buildings, by Jan Gehl, p. 53-73. Washington: Island Press. Habermas, Jürgen. 2004. “Kamusal Alan.” In Kamusal Alan, edited by Meral Özbek. İstanbul: Hil.

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Murat Sönmez | Ayça Yılmaz

Hall, Edward T. 1990. The Hidden Dimension. Norwell: Anchor. Harvey, David. 2020. Iinterview by Democracy At Work. Anti-Capitalist Chronicles: AntiCapitalist Politics in the Time of COVID 19. March 19, 2020. Hertzberger, Herman. 2005. “Building Order.” In Lessons For Students In Architecture, by Herman Hertzberger, 126. Rotterdam: 010 Publishers. Hertzberger, Herman. 2005. “Functionality, Flexibiblity and Polyvalence.” In Lessons For Students In Architecture by Herman Hertzberger, 146. Rotterdam: 010 Publishers. Hertzberger, Herman. 2005. “Incentives.” In Lessons For Students In Architecture, by Herman Hertzberger, 164. Rotterdam: 010 Publishers. Hertzberger, Herman. 2005. “Making Space, Leaving Space.” In Lessons For Students In Architecture, by Herman Hertzberger, 152. Rotterdam: 010 Publishers. Hertzberger, Herman. 2005. “Public Accessibility of Private Space.” In Lessons For Students In Architecture, by Herman Hertzberger, 74. Rotterdam: 010 Publishers. Hertzberger, Herman. 2005. “Structure and Interpretation.” In Lessons For Students In Architecture, by Herman Hertzberger, 92. Rotterdam: 010 Publishers. Hertzberger, Herman. 2005. “The ‘In-between’.” In Lessons For Students In Architecture, by Herman Hertzberger, 32. Rotterdam: 010 Publishers. Hertzberger, Herman. 2005. “View 1.” Lessons For Students In Architecture, by Herman Hertzberger, 202. Rotterdam: 010 Publishers. Honey-Rosés, Jordi, et al. 2020. The Impact of COVID 19 on Public Space: A Review of the Emerging Questions. OSF PrePrints. Jacobs, Jane. 1989. “The Peculiar Nature of Cities.” In The Death And Life Of Great American Cities, by Jane Jacobs, 29-55. New York: Vintage Books. Krier, Rob. 1992. Elements of Architecture. New York: St. Martin’s Press. Kuhn, Thomas. 1962. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Law, Lisa, Simona Azzali, and Sheila Conejos. 2021. “Planning For The Temporary:

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Murat Sönmez | Ayça Yılmaz

Temporary Urbanism And Public Space In A Time of COVID 19.” Town Planning Review, p. 65-73. Lefebvre, Henri. 2014. Mekanın Üretimi. Translated by Işık Ergüden. İstanbul: Sel Publisher. Leigh, Gweneth. 2020. “Reimaging The Post-Pandemic City.” Landscape Architecture Australia, p. 18-20. Litman, Todd. 2021. Pandemic Resilient Community Planning. Victoria Transport Policy Institute, p. 2-24. Mehaffy, Micheal.2020. “Why we need ‘sociable distancing’.” CNU Journal. March 30, 2020. https://www.cnu.org/publicsquare/2020/03/30/why-we-need-sociabledistancing (accessed July 2021, 24). O’Connor, Eamon. 2020. “Public Space Plays Vital Role In Pandemic.” GehlPeople. May 7, 2020. https://gehlpeople.com/blog/public-space-plays-vital-role-in-pandemic/ (accessed July 24, 2021). Sanyé-Mengual, Esther, Isabelle Anguelovski, Jordi Oliver-Solà, Juan Ignacio Montero, and Joan Rieradevall. 2015. “Resolving differing stakeholder perceptions of urban rooftop farming in Mediterranean cities: promoting food production as adriver for innovative forms of urban agriculture.” Agriculture and Human Values, p. 101-120. Sennett, Richard. 2002. Kamusal İnsanın Çöküşü. Translated by Serpil Durak and Abdullah Yılmaz. İstanbul: Ayrıntı Publisher. University of California. 1981. “The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces by William H. Whyte.” Ecology Law Quarterly, p. 787-788. Woolley, Helen, Slan Rose, Matthew Carmona, and Jonathan Freedman. 2014. The Value Of Public Space. London. Zacka, Bernardo. 2020. “An Ode to the Humble Balcony.” The New York Times. May 9, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/09/opinion/covid-balconies-architecture. html (accessed July 26, 25).

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation

Prarthana Narendra Hosadurga

Museums in the Times of Pandemic Prarthana Narendra Hosadurga

Abstract Living amidst the COVID 19 Pandemic has taught us many things, but the most promising of it all is our resilience to adapt to any situation and grow. This Pandemic did not just affect the lives and livelihoods of people around the globe but also impacted the foundations of societies. It has created a new normal that has brought about a change in the operation of many organisations, especially the cultural institutions that narrate history. Museums are institutions that preserve and exhibit tangible and intangible heritage in the service of society. They safeguard and conserve humankind’s history and disseminate it in the form of public events and workshops. Local museums provide a space to celebrate shared collective heritage, while museums with a global presence address social issues and shape society. But with the advent of COVID 19, institutes that are a source of disseminating the voiced and unvoiced histories have been economically strained, making it somewhat challenging to conserve these Material Cultural Heritage. Nonetheless, being resilient beings, they have managed to emerge from the ashes and adapt to this strange routine. This paper, ergo, focuses on Museum’s adaptability in these changing times by analysing secondary sources that have conducted studies on museums during the COVID 19 Pandemic and conducting interviews with museum personnel, to understand the changes that have resulted in the present-day working of the museums. Further, the paper conducts an overall comparison between the unilateral information delivery practice of older museums to the discourse and interaction-oriented practices of the newer museums to understand the negative and positive impact , the crisis has had on Museums as institutes of conservators of heritage. In addition, the paper also notes the museum cocreation practices and the different innovations that have come along in the management of Museums. It examines the mutually beneficiary nature of value cocreation between museums and visitors and co-production between different institutes. The paper tries to understand how this shift has transformed the way people perceive museums and understand the newer opportunities it has provided to re-narrate history. It concludes by providing recommendations for economically sustaining the museums

Avani Institute of Design

Prarthana Narendra Hosadurga

in these troubled times. Parallel observation of the paper is to study the evolutionary aspect of museums from real to virtual. In doing so, it identifies the constraints and advantages of moving to an online platform. Based on case studies, along with the advantages of widespread access, the paper also suggests an alternative revenue generation beyond exhibitions, to sustain these spaces that care for artefacts of history, culture. In a way, it is looking forward to the future while learning from the past, utilising present tools. It is providing a way forward for museums in the era of the Pandemic. Keywords: museum, pandemic, COVID 19, digital, adapt References Antara, N. & Sen, S. 2020. The Impact of COVID 19 on Museum and The Way Forward to be Resilience . Uluslararası Müze Eğitimi Magazine, 2 (1) , 54-61 . Retrieved from https:// dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/jimuseumed/issue/54620/804469 Aydin, Serder. n.d. “Decoding Kashgar: Participatory Digital Heritage Making via Digital Online Interaction and Gamification.” Wellington. Bank, The World. 2021. Cities Culture Creativity. Washington DC: United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Choi, Byungjin, and Junic Kim. 2021. “Changes and Challenges in Museum Management after the COVID 19 Pandemic .” Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market and Complexity. Crooke, Elizabeth. Communities, Change and the COVID 19 Crisis. Museum & Society, 2020:305-310. 2021. Cultural and Creative Industries: In the face of COVID 19. An Economic Impact Outlook , France: UNESCO. Economou, Maria. 2017. “Evaluating Digital Resources in Cultural Heritage: Lessons from the ScotDigiCH network.” The Scottish Network for Digital Cultural Resources Evaluation . Edinburgh. Economou, Maria. 2016. “Heritage in Digital Age.” In A Companion to Heritage Studies , by William Logan. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Gronroos, Christian, Tore Standvik, and Kristina Heinonen. 2015. In The Nordic School -

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Prarthana Narendra Hosadurga

Service Marketing And Managment For the Future, by Johanna Gummerus and Catharina Von Koskull, 67- 81. Helsinki. HABANA, UNESCO LA. 2011. Culture & Development : Museums and Heritage. UNESCO LA HABANA . Hermon, Sorin. 2007. Digital Applications for Tangible Cultural Heritage: A Proposal. Report on an academic curriculum for Digital Approaches to Cultural Heritage, Budapest: ARCHAEOLINGUA. ICOM. 2021. Museums, museum professional and COVID 19 third survey . ICOM. Ings, Simon. 2021. How the pandemic is revolutionising art galleries and museums .February 3. Accessed August 25, 2021. Magliacani, Michela, and Daniela Sorrentino. Reinterpreting Museums’ Intended Experience During the COVID 19 Pandemic: Insights from Italian University Museums. Museum Management and Curatorship, 2021. NEMO. 2021. “Follow-up survey on the impact of COVID 19 pandemic on museums inEurope.” NEMO Report. NEMO. 2020. “Survey on the impact of COVID 19 situation on musuems in Europe .” NEMO Report. NEMO. 2020. “Survey on the impact of the COVID 19 situation on musuems in Europe : Final Report.” NEMO Report. UNESCO. 2021. Living Heritage and the COVID -19 pandemic: responding, recovering and building back for a better future. Accessed August 25, 2021. UNESCO. 2021. Musuems Around the World: In the Face of COVID 19. UNESCO Report, Paris: UNESCO. —. 2021. “UNESCO.” Monitoring World Heritage Site Closures. Accessed August 25, 2021. UNESCO. 2020. UNESCO Creative Cities’ Response to COVID 19. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO. 2021. World Heritage in the face of COVID 19. UNESCO Report, Paris: UNESCO.

Avani Institute of Design

Reshma Susan Mathew

A Normal - Fluid and Flowing – Adaptations around Water Systems in the City of Vijaypura Reshma Susan Mathew

Abstract There is an overwhelming discussion around ecology and the future of our ecological resources today. Poised at the very precipice of human civilization as we are today, there are many critical decisions we need to make as a society, to determine how we utilize what remains of our natural resources. Under the capitalist form of economic organization, there has always been a proclivity for unchecked exploitation of natural resources to generate profit, as opposed to judicious use or protection of natural resources. After decades of over-exploitation and rampant misuse, we now face a regular and increasingly brutal onslaught of climatic disasters such as floods and droughts all across the country (and world), followed by the loss of basic resources such as potable water, natural forest covers, mineral and energy resources to name a few. This emerges from the evolving methods of appropriating natural resources by the society over civilizations. One could say that there is a need to develop a ‘new normal’ urgently, even without participating in the recurring discourse amongst academicians and government agencies. However, in what way does one imagine or create a ‘new normal’ without accounting for the variegated ‘normal’ that exists today. Will the ‘new normal’ seek to resist the turbulent forces of nature or will it accommodate the same forces to jointly cultivate a new idea of normal? A new order that understands the challenges of the present and the refrains from repeating the mistakes of the past, demands a great degree of initiative and innovative thinking. In this critical and exciting endeavor the lessons of the past cannot be forgotten. Cities have been grappling with these questions regarding their natural resources since time immemorial. When looking to envision the future, it would be essential to understand the past in a similar context to help answer the pertinent questions of today. Historically, cities have always faced challenges of urbanization and expansion. As cities grew, so did the stresses they placed on their natural ecologies.As centers of trade and commerce, they have had a constantly evolving relationship with their natural resources and their means to appropriate them. And these relationships with the natural systems have always had a direct impact on the local social and economic fabric.

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Likewise, the surrounding political milieu, socio-cultural framework and economic conditions, all go on to inform the manner in which a city appropriated its natural resources. The methods of harnessing a city’s resources were directly shaped by its need to adapt to the idea of normal prevalent at that point in time. By extension, if one were to study the evolution of the multiple systems of harnessing resources in a city, one can begin to understand how different norms have provoked alternate adaptations in city systems. This paper attempts to understand the adaptations undertaken by a city in relation to the changing concepts of normal. A study of the successive adaptations undertaken by a city can illuminate the critical factors that influence the relationship between cities and their natural environments. This can further inform how adaptations for the future can be leveraged by social, cultural, political, and economic contexts. To conduct such a study, one could begin with any city, look at its historical evolution, understand its regional context, natural systems and how these have informed the occupation of the land. One can understand how its present systems have come into existence. Understanding how the present came to be can help anticipate the future evolution and formulate a new normal for the city and its inhabitants. This paper will attempt to study the myriad systems broadly spread over the state of Karnataka, paying close attention to the city of Bijapur, today known as Vijaypura, located in the arid, basaltic region of Northern Karnataka. The study willdelve into the city’s history to understand how it developed thriving water systems in an arid climate with scanty rainfall. The historical timeline spans over distinct periods: transition from a minor settlement to a flourishing city in medieval times under the Adil Shahi dynasty; the post Adil Shahi dynasty and evolvinginto a British colony; the post-colonial time period under the modernization era and the present day. Under each of these periods, the understanding of the city’s normal is built by looking at how the land was appropriated both culturally and economically throughout the region. The holistic picture constructed shows how different factors informed an array of systems that came to be implemented in the city. For instance, political animosity between the Delhi Sultanate and the Deccan rulers made the Deccan rulers rely on foreign aid from across the sea for social, political and religious advancements. This is especially apparent in the technologies used for the public waterworks systems in Bijapur where a modified qanat system (subterranean water tunnel) was adapted by Iranian scholars. Whether or not these adaptations were successful implementations can be understood in context of the issues it aimed to address when introduced.

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Reshma Susan Mathew

By understanding the present material conditions and how they came to be, we can begin looking at how future implementations can be integrated into the community. The adaptations for the future can look at construction of new technologies, or reinforcement of old techniques. It can look at adopting existing institutional frameworks to execute and safeguard a city’s resources or modifying them to create new policies. While many well-intentioned schemes have been introduced in the past, the system remains too centralized to reach the diverse and remote extents of the country. The citizen’s needs and concerns must be assuaged while ensuring the sustained preservation of the natural resources they are dependent on. The paper will finally end by looking at instances where water conservationschemes have been implemented in either rural or urban contexts by adapting centralized schemes to the local level. References Banaji, Jairus. 1977. “Capitalist Domination and the Small Peasantry: Deccan Districts in the Late Nineteenth Century.” Economic and Political Weekly, August. Marx, Karl. 1939. Grundisse. Penguin Books in association with New Left Review. Mumford, Lewis. 1989. The City in History: Its Origins, Its Transformations, and Its Prospects. San Diego: Harcourt, Brace & Co.

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Sebastian Joseph

Ecologies of Boat-making: Narratives of Adaptations in Kuttanadu Sebastian Joseph

Abstract Boats have been instrumental in enabling human kind to access and explore water - a contrasting element of nature, after earth. With diminishing boundaries of accessibility between land and water, stimulated by intentions and innovations, powered by the mastery of craftsmen, the spaces expanded, merged and even transformed. The boat as a physical object, is so interwoven with people ‘s lifestyle that one needs to look beyond its physical imagery, to identify the relations, and analyze the information that it carries. The objective of the paper is to understand the various socio-political-economic determinants that influenced Kuttanad in its history and how people adapted to the varying living conditions brought about over years with traditional wooden-boat making craft complimenting the change. The paper traces from history, the geographical and craft interventions that occurred in the region and extends to critically analyze the structural configuration of the wooden boats in Kerala and identify the multiple aspects that influence it to have variations in the form adapting to specific needs. Introduction Kuttanadu is a region covering the Alappuzha, Kottayam and Pathanamthitta Districts, in the state of Kerala, India, nestled between the foothills of the Western Ghats in the east and the relatively elevated plains of coastal Alappuzha in the west. The geographical peculiarities of the region are the Vembanadu lake and the extensive and navigable inland waterways. This necessitated a faculty in the craft of wooden boat making that formed the backbone of passenger and freight transportation until motor vehicles/motor propelled boats became popular and affordable. The paper frames wetlands and waterways as extensions of the spaces used by the people of the region and boats as spaces by themselves and as extensions complimenting the former. The paper traces geographical and craft interventions that occurred in the region through history and extends to critically analyze the structural configuration of the wooden boats in Kerala. It also identifies multiple aspects that led to variations in the form adapting to specific needs.

Avani Institute of Design

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Sebastian Joseph

Geographical Adaptations Kayal (lake) reclamation in Kuttanadu wetland was introduced mainly to overcome food scarcity during the colonial period in the princely state of Travancore. The distinctive man-made geographical landscape thereby created, is utilized for the unique and largescale rice cultivation done up to 2 m below the sea level. What seems to have been a response to the increasing spatial requirements has turned out to be a standalone model in the world for adaptations creating new ecosystems. People of Kuttanadu grappled with the changing patterns of the environment on their natural as well as the built landscape. From transporting commodities to defining and securing the edges of their landscapes, boats aided as tools for operation throughout these changes. Craft of Wooden Boat Making Apart from being systems that reciprocated the dynamics of the people of Kuttanadu, boats also served as various configurations of space on the wetlands and waterways. Cognizance of the systems involved helped the people of Kuttanadu develop boats as a medium to adapt to the varying living conditions brought about by various sociopolitical-economic determinants. This craft is hence highly complex and the craftsman’s skill not only depended on his knowledge of materials and techniques that helped in refining the form, but also on his understanding of the parameters that govern the form of the boat. Kerala has different typologies of boats, each of which is designated to a specific purpose. The variety - ‘kayal vallams’ are used for fishing in lakes, ‘kadathu vallam’ for transporting passengers and ‘charakku vallam’ for transporting cargo. ‘Charakku vallam’ is characterized by the thatched roof used to protect the cargo. The smaller vessels used for transportation as well as for fishing are called ‘cheru toni’. ‘Chundan vallam’ was made by Raja of Purakkad (A.P. 2012) as a faster mode for travel for battles and was accompanied by ‘veppu vallam’ carrying food and other necessary items. ‘Odi Vallam’ is said to have been meant for protecting cargo vessels. ‘Churulan vallam’ was used by the royals as a pleasure boat. Methodology The present study on the relationship between the inhabitants of Kuttanadu, between the inhabitants and the region, and the changes that have happened over the years is based on primary and secondary data sources. Field study on the traditional wooden boat making craft in the region to understand the different systems, sizes and geometry of the components involved in a boat was followed by a comparative study of the cases

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of traditional boat making across the country in different contexts. This would shed light on further optimization and generate a reference model for adaptation, especially in the context of rising water levels. ‘Kettuvallam’,’Chundanvallam’ is further studied to understand the Form, Material and System optimization, in comparison with boats from other parts of the country like ‘Uru’, ‘Shikara’, houseboats of Kashmir. A retrospect of the wood used, joineries involved, relation between the form of the boat and the nature of the waterbody corroborate the pragmatic craft interventions. The large-scale land reclamations of the 1830s and the 1940s transformed the region into a major rice producing tract in southwest India. Human-induced alteration of the landscape has been extremely drastic, and current inhabitants are confronting the dire consequences of human actions on the environment (Vallikappen 2020). Surveys reveal that the Kayal reclamation (reclaimed land) is 4364.19 hectares and the total area of Vembanadu backwater lake in the reclaimed area has drastically reduced from 5445.64 hectares to 1072.97 hectares in the last five decades (Ramakumar 2019). Data show that floods generally occur with varying intensities at a recurrence interval of 2, 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 years (Ramakumar 2019). The projected sea level rise caused by global warming is a matter of great concern in view of the nature of the region. With the recurring and temporal pauses caused by the catastrophic floods, cyclones often disrupting the livelihoods, displacing people geographically, it becomes imperative that we reimagine boats as floating systems and further expand their scope as extended spaces for human habitation. Keywords: Kuttanadu, Vembanadu backwaters, wooden-boat making craft, structural configurations of boat References A.P., Greeshmalatha. 2012. “Different Styles and Designs of Kerala Vessels.” Exercises in Modern Kerala History. Chandran, Sarath , and Subrata Purkayastha. 2018. “History of Reclaimed Kayals in Kuttanad Wetland and Associated Social Divide in Alappuzha District, Kerala.”2021. GIAHS. Ramakumar, Dr R. 2019. “A special package for post-flood Kuttanad.” Risatti, H. 2009. A theory of craft: function and aesthetic expression. University of North Carolina Press. Vallikappen, Thresy. 2020. “The Making and Unmaking of Kuttanad.”

Avani Institute of Design

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Soumini Raja

Pluralities and Punctuations: Spatial Negotiations in Fickle Environment Soumini Raja

Abstract Extreme natural phenomena have been understood through a linear ‘cause and effect’ logic, reflecting in a more generic discourse on adaptation, response and coping strategies. Spatial confrontations and social separations imposed by the extreme phenomena have generated a plethora of non-linear responses that highlight the ways in which we perceive such long PAUSES and how, in turn, we negotiate with a fickle environment (Haque, 1997). Our representation and appropriations of that which we call home have changed largely due to the pandemic. However, for communities negotiating with a fickle environment, these are moments of relapse to familiar pauses that they encounter again and again, unrhythmic, unabated and unacknowledged. These PAUSES are then not disruptions, as the World perceives it.

Image 1: Anjengo Workshop Conducted by Studio Commune, Commune Archives, 2017 Image credit: Ar. Thoufil

The pandemic introduced us to an unfamiliar environment – the HOME, as our second skin. For the spoken and visible world, inhabitation as a social and community affair, and home as conglomeration of inter-dependent spaces got converted to an ecology of rooms or boxes of inhabitation which were characterised by the distribution

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and spread of viral infection, affluence and affordability, work and livelihood, place and location. One’s confinement within and in- between these rooms were determined by the presence and absence of the virus in the body, and the threat thereof. However, the changing peripheries of a home and its perceived influence on socio-spatial negotiations have determined the degrees of adaptations within communities, families, and individuals across the world. In the case of marginalised communities and their under-represented lives along the water edges, such precariousness is not new (though the Pandemic certainly pushed the stakes to include life implications): these are daily negotiations they make through the in-between and liminal binaries of the very nature of their existence and survival – land and water, temporal and permanent, inside and outside, individual and community. The paper argues that adaptation to these temporal pauses occurs through a complex interaction of physical, social and institutional processes, as they co-evolve, cope and adapt. Extreme natural phenomena have played a crucial role in shaping urban ecologies in terrains formed by different ‘degrees of wetness’ (Mathur & Da Cunha, 2014). Kerala’s landscape and spatial history is no different. From the mighty Ghats in the East to the Arabian sea in the West, water has determined the nature of human-non-human interactions, social formations, spatial negotiations and differential vulnerabilities –key forces that shape human habitation in the State. For the purpose of this paper, we look closely at the lives of inhabitants of Trivandrum Coast especially in Valiyathura and Vizhinjam. What follows are some observations from our field interventions among these communities.

Image 2: Coastal Settment Vizhinjam, Commune Archive 2021, Image Credit: Abhishek

Avani Institute of Design

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Kurien, 29 (name changed) is a young researcher who was born and brought up in the coastal village of Vizhinjam. His university qualifications do not stop him from pursuing his family profession of fishing in the nearshore area. The conversations with Kurien revealed the severe hindrances and forms of adjustments that were made by his community members which became instrumental in coping through the COVID 19 pandemic. During one such conversation Kurian exclaimed: “We are constantly in touch with the forces of nature and have been dwelling under these makeshift thatched houses for some time. When there is a warning issued for a storm surge or tsunami or tidal phenomena, we move out of these four walls and stay in makeshift arrangement. This entire village and the sands are our home. That is the room where we sleep (pointing at his house). Especially for the men in the family, the sands are their bed at night and our houses are mostly occupied by women. What pandemic did was to alter this practice and appropriated the four walls as our home, while in practice the entire village was one home. Pandemic affected both our livelihoods and our community living.” Phelomena, 55 (name changed) is a domestic help who used to commute by public transport to the city of Trivandrum to earn her livelihood. She is the sole breadwinner of her family comprising her children and her aged mother. They once lived along the shores of Shanghumugham – Valiyathura. When their house was destroyed due to coastal erosion exacerbated by the coastal developmental activities in Vizhinjam, they were resettled in the government sponsored housing society, near to the coast. Phelomena recalls “While we stayed in our village, we felt like one big family. Even when we had conflicts with neighbors, everyone felt safe and at home. My husband was a fisher and his place of work was right outside our house. I could leave children at home and did not worry about locking my front door. We did not have a front yard or a backyard. We shared the entire village. Now all our front doors are connected by a long corridor in the first floor of the apartment building. Our front doors are always shut. During the pandemic we locked ourselves up inside our unit. We only communicated through our mobile phones.” Vulnerable communities such as those that Kurien’s and Phelomena’s have shown greater resilience to the prolonged pauses such as the pandemic due to their familiarity with disaster situations that they have been constantly exposed to. Unlike in Kurien’s case, Phelomena and her associations within the community have been severed by the built intervention. This lack of sensitivity has rendered families like Phelomena’s more vulnerable to these long halts/pauses compared to that of Kurien’s in Vizhinjam. Although the physicality of the familiar spaces affected their temporary wellbeing, their past encounters with ephemeralities of life in the fickle environment that surrounds them, made adaptation far more easier than several other communities. The village as an extended conglomeration of dwelling units with strong community bonds

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helped them adapt effectively. The peripheries of domesticity in such communities are not restricted to the four walls of a housing unit but are determined by the community engagements occurring in the liminal thresholds of it. The paper will attempt to draw out these elastic peripheries to understand the static and dynamic forces generated by these complex interactions through physical, social and institutional processes. Discussion and Research Question Coastal settlements have a unique spatial ecology, mostly determined by the ever evolving relationship between sea, sands, winds and human habitation. Their continuous exposure to forces of nature, be it through tidal ingress and coastal flooding, storm surges or high wave action, have made them resilient to sudden events and they have easily made structural adjustments. For the members of the coastal community, the domestic realm extends beyond the four walls of their residence and flows into the interstices and the in-between spaces to the sandy shores and the sea itself. An entire village in that sense can nurture the feeling of home and each housing unit acts as a private room for oneself to sleep and eat. Gender is a significant factor in determining the nature of relationship between inside and outside, private and semi private, family and community, and living and working. Inspired from ecosophical and deep ecological (Guttari, 1992 and Naess,1989) approaches to cohabiting space (Orff, 2016), this paper attempts to narrate spatial transformations as negotiated landscapes (Spirn, 2014) in a fragile and fickle environment. It argues that the universalisation of human responses negates and disparages the need to accommodate micro-realities that are fundamental characteristics of a dynamic and complex ecosystem. What are the lived realities of the marginalised communities during this pandemic? What are the differential vulnerabilities of the human population living along contested geographies? What are their socio-spatial negotiations and disaster perceptions? How do these perceptions affect the way we adapt and our coping capacities? Using photographs, drawings and telephonic conversations as spatial ethnographic tools to understand communities along the coast of Trivandrum City, the paper also offers a methodological argument: the articulation of spatial responses in contested geographies require gathering non-linear narratives reflecting socio-spatial negotiations and disaster perceptions. The paper attempts to generate a discourse on ecologies of adaptation that are evolving and resilient. Keywords: Community, Vulnerability, Spatial Negotiations.

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References Mathur, Anuradha Mathur and Dilip Da Cunha (Ed). 2014. Design in the Terrain of Water. University of Pennsylvania: Applied Research+ Design Publishing. Guattari, Félix. 2014. The Three Ecologies. London: Bloomsbury Academic. Haque, C. Emdad. 1997. Hazards in a Fickle Environment: Bangladesh. Netherlands: Springer. Orff, Kate (ed). 2016. Towards an Urban Ecology. New York: Monacelli Press. Naess, Arne. 1989. Ecology, Community and Lifestyle: Outline of an Ecosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Spirn, A. Whiston. 2014. “Restoring Water.” In Design in the Terrain of Water, edited by Anuradha Mathur and da Cunha (ed). University of Pennsylvania: Applied Research+ Design Publishing.

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Symposium CFP, Program Schedule, Credits, About the Contributors

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Symposium CFP

Symposium CFP Avani Annual Research Symposium 2021

Advisor: Ar. Bijoy Ramachandran Convenors: Ar. Meenakshi Dubey, Ar. Sebastian Joseph, Dr. Soumini R and Ar. Thushara K NORMAL? Ecologies of Adaptation History is inscribed by adaptations of various kinds. The pauses, recurrences, and anticipations, have all re-defined human systems creating unexpected spatial, social, and political conditions that question the proclivity for, and the assumption of propensity to, order. Challenges are numerous...climate uncertainties, ecological imbalances, social strains, psychological turmoil, medical emergencies, political imbroglio, have all re-defined the way we live as humans. As the entire world struggles to stay afloat disarmed by a virus, we ask the most pertinent question: What is NORMAL? The ripple effects of the pandemic have reached every strata of contemporary society, redefining the innumerable layers of social life at various scales of its inhabitation. The impacts are visible as we navigate and negotiate spaces even as we live through this pandemic; our perceived sense of self and the affective, familiar, embodied experience of space in our homes, in our places of work and in public space. These unprecedented PAUSES reveal institutional vulnerabilities and systemic challenges, even as we constantly ADAPT. Global and local disasters have redefined the ways we respond to the unavoidable conditions of alienation of our bodies, sensory disorientation, spatial delusions, infrastructural transformations, institutional cracks, and rising inequities. However, through every disaster we tread a significant epoch in human history, designing ECOLOGIES OF ADAPTATION. Beyond the dualities of life and death, ecologies of adaptation situate themselves as the sites where myriad realities of human life and survival emerge. How do we readjust the elastic perimeters of the self, determined by and not limited to, isolation, remoteness, distancing, and extended geographies? How do we re-narrate our histories? How do these histories influence the anatomy of artifacts and landscapes? How do our perceptions and practices alter the metamorphosed homes and individual spatial notions of the workplace, living and communing? What do collaboration and interdependence mean in a growing inequitable, and distanced world?

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What is the nature of impermanence leading to forced migrations? Design as an agent of power plays a significant role in changing the way we look at disasters as temporary and permanent pauses in ecological lives; Design can determine how we adapt to these changes. Design is also scholarship developed through rigorous engagement in critical discourse through, and contributing to, pedagogical progress. The symposium proposes that while disasters disrupt, they also pave opportunities for subversion through adaptive restructuring and designing of human ecologies, thus (re) calibrating the idea of the practice and the discipline. The Research Symposium will examine the ecologies of adaptation as design ontologies in sustaining human lives to move forwards. We invite design practitioners, scholars, and students to submit 300-word abstracts that are honest and fearless inquiries that address the premise of the symposium. Submissions should be original and critical with the potential to be translated into a form of scholarship of global relevance. Symposium dates: September 4-5, 2021 Abstract Deadline: Midnight 02 August 2021 (Indian Standard Time) Announcement of Abstract Acceptance: 07 August 2021 Extended Abstract submission: 23 August 2021 Abstract Length: 300 words Author (s) Bio Length: 100 words File format: .doc/.docx or any other editable word processing format Submit Abstracts to symposium@avani.edu.in The research could touch upon but are not restricted to any of the following themes • Re-narrating histories • Living and working: realities of domesticity • Magnitude of displacement and inequities • Vulnerable ecosystems and Resilience • Design pedagogy and practice: bracing for ‘uncertainty’ • Collaborations for a resilient future Should you have any questions or comments feel free to write to hod@avani.edu.in or symposium@avani.edu.in

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Program Schedule

Program Schedule 04 September 2021 09:00-10:00

Inaugural Function

10:30-12:00

Paper Contributors Meet

14:00-14:30

Living and Working: Realities of Domesticity Speaker 01: Prof. Neelkanth Chhaya, Senior Academician, Former Dean CEPT University

14:30-15:00

Speaker 02: Ar. Zameer Basrai, The Busride Design Studio, Mumbai

15:00-15:45

Q/A

17:30-18:00

Vulnerable Ecosystems and Resilience Speaker 01: Dr. Deeptha Sathish, Srishti Manipal Instiute of Art, Design and Technology

18:00-18:30

Speaker 02: Dr. Himanshu Burte, Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai

18:30-19:00

Q/A

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Program Schedule

Program Schedule 05 September 2021 10:00-12:00 14:00-14:30

Paper Contributors Meet Design Pedagogy and Practice: Bracing for ‘Uncertainty’ Speaker 01: Ar. Rohan Shivakumar, KRVIA, Mumbai

14:30-15:00

Speaker 02: Ar. Shubhra Raje, Shubhra raje_built environments Ahmedabad + Denver

15:00-15:45

Q/A

16:30-17:00

Collaborations for Resilient Futures Speaker 01: Dr. Jahnavi Phalkey, Science Gallery Bengaluru

17:00-17:30

Speaker 02: Dr. Sarosh Anklesaria, Carnegie Mellon University

17:30-18:15

Q/A

18:30-19:15

Magnitude of Displacement and Inequalities Speaker 01: Dr. Saskia Sassen, Columbia University

19:15-20:00

Speaker 02: Dr. Mukta Naik, Centre for Policy Research

20:00-20:45

Q/A

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Credits

Credits Convenors Ar. Meenakshi Dubey, Associate Professor, Avani Institute of Design Ar. Sebastian Joseph, Assistant Professor, Avani Institute of Design Dr. Soumini Raja, Associate Professor and Head of Department, Avani Institute of Design Ar. Thushara K, Assistant Professor, Avani Institute of Design Advisor Ar. Bijoy Ramachandran, Principal, The Hundred Hands Keynote Speakers Prof. Neelkanth Chhaya, Senior Academic and Former Dean, School of Architecture, CEPT University Ar. Sameer Basrai, Principal, The Busride Studio Dr. Deepta Sateesh, Director of the Design + Environment + Law Laboraory, Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design & Technology, Manipal Academy of Higher Education. Dr. Himanshu Burte, Associate Professor, Centre for Urban Science and Engineering (CUSE), IIT Bombay Ar. Rohan Shivakumar, Dean (B.Arch), KRVIA Mumbai Ar. Shubhra Raje, Founder, Shubhra Raje_Built Environments Dr. Jahnavi Phalkey, Founding Director, Science Gallery Bengaluru Prof. Sarosh Anklesaria, T. David Fitz-Gibbon Professor of Architecture and Track Chair of the M. Arch Program, Carnegie Mellon University Prof. Saskia Sassen, Robert S. Lynd Professor of Sociology, Columbia University Prof. Mukta Naik, Fellow, Centre for Policy Research Moderators Ar. Rajsekharan Menon, Academic Chair, Seed and Co-founder, RGB Architecture Studio Ar. Bijoy Ramachandran, Principal, The Hundred Hands Ar. Kiran Kumar, Associate Professor at WCFA, Mysuru Dr. Soumini R, Associate Professor and Head of Department, Avani Institute of Design Prof. Rohit Majumdar, Co-founder, The Collective Research Initiatives Trust and Associate Professor, SEA Mumbai Graphics and Social Media Team Ar. Athira Balakrishnan, Assistant Professor, Avani Institute of Design Ar. Sanjay Veerakumar, Assistant Professor, Avani Institute of Design

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Credits

Nuzha Tasleem, Student, Avani Institute of Design Hari Sankar, Student, Avani Institute of Design Mohammed Nihal, Student, Avani Institute of Design Publications Team Ar. Monisha V Kunjumon, Assistant Professor, Avani Institute of Design Ar. Sanjay Veerakumar, Assistant Professor, Avani Institute of Design Copy Editor Sumitra Nair, Doctoral Scholar, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Ashoka University Day Curators Ar. Vineeth T K, Assistant Professor, Avani Institute of Design Ar. Varun Gopal, Assistant Professor, Avani Institute of Design Technical Support Ar. Mithun Basil, Assistant Professor, Avani Institute of Design Ar. Satyajeet Sinha, Assistant Professor, Avani Institute of Design Ar. Sebastian Joseph, Assistant Professor, Avani Institute of Design Ar. Ujjayant Bhattacharyya, Assistant Professor, Avani Institute of Design Governing Council Ar. Brijesh Shaijal, Governing Council, Avani Institute of Design Ar. Tony Joseph, Chairman and Principal, Avani Institute of Design Ar. Vivek PP, Academic Council, Avani Institute of Design Ar. Vinod Cyriac, Governing Council, Avani Institute of Design Admin Team Dr. Anwar KAM, Dean Research and Administration, Avani Institute of Design Adv. CN John, Administrative Manager, Avani Institute of Design Ms. Anishka Benny, Assistant Manager HR & Administration, Avani Institute of Design Mr. Nikhil Sunny, Assistant - Administration, Avani Institute of Design Mr. Arjun A, Assistant - Administration, Avani Institute of Design Student Coordinators Ms. Jilna Fathima, Ex-Wellness Coordinator, Avani Institute of Design Er. Nima Viswanatha, Assistant Professor, Avani Institute of Design

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About the Contributors

About the Contributors Bijoy Ramachandran An architect, educator and urban designer based in Bengaluru, he is currently a partner at Hundredhands. In 2012, he was a part of the Glenn Murcutt Master Class, Sydney. He has also been a panellist twice at the annual all-India undergraduate thesis review, the Kurula Varkey Design Forum at CEPT University, Juror at the Charles Correa Gold Medal for best thesis and is currently the Design Chair at BMS College of Architecture, Bengaluru. He has also made three films - Architecture & the City: A Bangalore Perspective, Doshi, and Doshi: The Second Chapter, films on Indian architect BV Doshi. His renowned works comprise the Bangalore International Centre, Miraya Hotel and the VDB Corporate Office Bangalore. He has authored several essays and continues to offer lectures in architecture fora around the globe.

Neelkanth H. Chhaya Neelkanth Chhaya has been an academic and practicing architect for nearly 40 years. He taught for 26 years at CEPT University Ahmedabad from where he retired as Dean of the Faculty of Architecture in 2013. Subsequently, he has been an Adjunct Faculty at Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Bangalore. Over the last few years he has coordinated the Gandhi Heritage Sites Documentation project. His architectural practice is focussed on culturally and environmentally appropriate design, and has emphasized innovative application of local skills and materials.

Zameer Basrai, TheBusride Design Studio Zameer Basrai is co-founder of TheBusride Design studio. He has degrees from CEPT, Ahmedabad, India and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA and when he can, teaches architectural design at KRVIA, Mumbai. TheBusride is an independent design studio specializing in the design and creation of built environments, both temporary and permanent. Led by Ayaz and Zameer Basrai, the studio is a small team of architects and industrial designers, who work in a multidisciplinary environment across micro to the macro scales. Apart from design, the studio has diverse research interests in heritage conservation, Islamic architecture and urban futures. They work from Mumbai and Goa.

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Deepta Sateesh, Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design & Technology, Manipal Academy of Higher Education Deepta is a design researcher, educator, architect and planner, working in landscapes in conflict. Her environmental practice is focused on creating new pathways in design, education and policy. Her doctoral research in the Western Ghats of India gathers situated practices, movement, and the politics of the colonial eye, and draws from design, environmental humanities and philosophy. She is also a dancer, equestrian, cellist, wanderer and photographer. She is Director and Founder of Odde Research Center, and Dean of Research and Collaborations, at the Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Manipal Academy of Higher Education. The research and projects of Odde Research Center are concerned with the environment and its inhabitants, oriented towards revealing and generating new possibilities and frameworks for nature-culture synchronicities. The Center’s work is framed by wet ontologies, and is focused on: design of environmental policies that are inclusive, emergence of participative eco-pedagogies, and framing of responsive adaptive everyday practices. Research and practices at the Center are collaborative, gathering communities, NGOs, researchers and young learners, and government organizations. She is Member of the Consortium of Environmental Philosophers, Senior Advisor at the Forum for Law, Environment, Development and Governance; member of IUCN Commission on Education and Communication; and coeditor of the book Product-Service-System Design for Sustainability, a collaboration of the EU- Asialink program Learning Network on Sustainability (LeNS).

Himanshu Burte, Centre for Urban Science and Engineering (CUSE), Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay) Himanshu Burte is an architect and urbanist. He is Associate Professor at Centre for Urban Science and Engineering (CUSE), IIT-Bombay. Most recently he is the editor of a special issue of Marg magazine titled ‘Infrastructure as Space: Development and its (Dis)Contents’ (September 2019) and co-editor of Urban Parallax: Policy and the City in Contemporary India (Yoda Press, 2018). He researches subaltern urbanism, socio-spatial impacts of urban infrastructure, and the transition towards sustainable architecture and urbanism in India from a broad concern with spatial justice and environmental sustainability.

Shubhra Raje, Architect, shubhra raje_built environments Shubhra Raje’s practice involves designing buildings and teaching architecture, working in environments that engage diverse issues, multiple constituencies and varying scales, from interior design and architecture to creative urbanism and conservation. With graduate and postgraduate degrees in architecture and a minor in theory and criticism from Cornell and CEPT Universities, she

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founded shubhra raje_built environments, an architecture and design studio that concerns itself with relevant design, architectural economy and spatial ecology. Shubhra is a visiting professor of Architecture at the Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT) in Ahmedabad (India). In addition, she has taught at her graduate alma-mater Cornell University and the Denver and Boulder campuses of the University of Colorado. She lectures, conducts workshops internationally, and serves on the boards of various community arts organizations in Colorado and in India. She is a founding member of the Anant Raje Foundation, created as an archive as well as a platform to support cross-disciplinary initiatives in the fields of art, architecture and the built environment.

Rohan Shivkumar, Dean (B.Arch), KRVIA Mumbai Rohan Shivkumar is an architect, urban designer and filmmaker practicing in Mumbai. He is the Dean of the Architecture course at the Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute for Architecture and Environmental Studies. His work ranges from architecture, urban research and consultancy projects to works in film and visual art. He is interested in issues concerning housing, public space and in exploring the many ways of reading and representing the city. Rohan is the co-editor of the publication on an interdisciplinary research and art collaboration- ‘Project Cinema City’. He also curates film programmes and writes on cinema, architecture and urban issues. He has also made films on art, architecture and urbanism including ’Nostalgia for the future’, ‘Lovely Villa’, and ‘Squeeze Lime in Your Eye’.

Dr Jahnavi Phalkey, Founding Director, Science Gallery Bengaluru Jahnavi Phalkey was appointed Founding Director of Science Gallery Bengaluru in November 2018. Previously Jahnavi held a tenured faculty position at King’s College London. She started her academic career at the University of Heidelberg, following which she was based at Georgia Tech-Lorraine, France, and Imperial College London. Jahnavi was Fellow, Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin (the Institute of Advanced Study, Berlin). She was also external curator to the Science Museum London, and has been a Scholar-in-Residence at the Deutsches Museum, Munich. Jahnavi is the author of Atomic State: Big Science in Twentieth Century India and has co-edited Science of Giants: China and India in the Twentieth Century. She is the producer-director of the documentary film Cyclotron. Jahnavi read civics and politics at the University of Bombay and the School of Oriental and African Studies, London. She holds a doctoral degree in history of science and technology from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta.

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Sarosh Anklesaria, T. David Fitz-Gibbon Professor of Architecture and Track Chair of the M. Arch Program, Carnegie Mellon University Sarosh Anklesaria is an architect, educator, and the T. David Fitz-Gibbon Professor of Architecture at Carnegie Mellon University, where he is also the Track Chair of the M.Arch program. Previously he has taught design studios at Pratt, Syracuse, Cornell, Taliesin, and Yale School of Architecture. Anklesaria is interested in an expansive notion of architectural agency, that synthesizes questions of socio-ecological pertinence. His work has been supported by the Richard Rogers Fellowship from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, the Taliesin Fellowship, and the Art Omi Residency. Recently, The Urban Symbiome, a design research project on the homologies between architecture, worldmaking, and food systems, was published by Strelka Magazine and featured in Expansions a publication for the Venice Biennale How will we live together (2021). Anklesaria is working on a book that will offer critical appraisals of Le Corbusier’s City Museum in Ahmedabad as well as a speculative design project that connects the three built museums of Le Corbusier through an itinerant pavilion. The projects situate architectural agency with questions of ecology, temporality, and care. Anklesaria holds a diploma in architecture from CEPT University, Ahmedabad and a post-professional Master of Architecture from Cornell University.

Mukta Naik, Centre for Policy Research Mukta Naik is an architect and urban planner, currently a Fellow at the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi. Her research interests include housing and urban poverty, urban informality, and internal migration, as well as urban transformations in small cities. Prior to joining CPR, she worked with micro Home Solutions on a number of communitybased interventions to improve housing in informal settlements. Ms Naik has written widely in the print and digital media and has also run a market research and media services company. Naik is a graduate of the School of Planning and Architecture and has a master’s degree in urban and regional planning from Texas A&M University. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Urban Development and Governance from the Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS), Erasmus University Rotterdam.

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Paper Contributor’s Biographies

Saskia Sassen, Robert S. Lynd Professor of Sociology, Columbia University Saskia Sassen is the Robert S. Lynd Professor of Sociology at Columbia University and a Member of its Committee on Global Thought, which she chaired from 2009 till 2015. She is a student of cities, immigration, and states in the world economy, with inequality, gendering and digitization three key variables running though her work. Born in the Netherlands, she grew up in Argentina and Italy, studied in France, was raised in five languages, and began her professional life in the United States. She is the author of eight books and the editor or co-editor of three books. Together, her authored books are translated in over twenty languages. She has received many awards and honors, among them twelve doctor honoris causa, multiple named lectures, the 2013 Principe de Asturias Prize in the Social Sciences, election as a Foreign Member of the Royal Academy of the Sciences of the Netherlands, and made a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres by the French government.

Paper Contributor’s Biographies Afifa Nuzhat Afifa Nuzhat is an Architect specialized in Heritage Conservation. She received her postgraduate degree in Architectural Conservation from the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, and her undergraduate degree from the Faculty of Architecture and Ekistics, Jamia University, New Delhi. She has worked as an Architectural conservation consultant for the INTACH Bengaluru chapter. She was actively involved in the restoration of Fort High school, and Sajjan Rao Chaultry in Bengaluru, and was one of the leading members to carry out the listing for Frazer Town. She has been a Visiting faculty at various architectural institutes. She is currently the Co-convenor of INTACH Calicut Chapter and an Assistant Professor at the Avani Institute of Design at Calicut.

Shahim Abdurahiman Shahim Abdurahiman is an Architect specialized in Architectural Conservation from the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, and has undergone his Under-Graduation from the National Institute of Technology Calicut. He has worked as an architect and Conservation consultant with De Earth Calicut. He was an active team member in the Fort Kochi 30 year And Beyond vision project, Thalassery Heritage Project, and Calicut Beach Development Project. Keen on inspiring the coming generations, he is also an Assistanting Faculty at the National Institute of Technology Calicut, where currently he is undergoing his Ph.D. Research.

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Reshma Susan Mathew Reshma Susan Mathew is graduate architect from Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute for Architecture. After graduating in 2019, she worked as a teaching and research assistant at the KRVIA Research & Design Cell for 6 months. During which time she was part of the research team preparing a report that studied the impacts of land-use and land-cover changes on Aarey Forest. Currently she is working as a Junior Architect at Integrated Design, Bangalore. Her primary interest lies in ecological urbanism and understanding how landscapes inform the cultures of people dependent on it.

Abu Talha Farooqi Abu Talha Farooqi is an Assistant Professor and the Assistant Dean for Internships and Industry interface at the Jindal School of Art & Architecture, Jindal Global University, Sonipat. He has practised and taught architecture for 10 years and has headed design studios, theory & research courses, and sustainability related courses in his teaching career. He is a BEE-Certified Master-Trainer of ECBC Energy Conservation Building Code of India, and has trained professors and government officials across India for the implementation of ECBC. When not teaching or doing research, he is reading Urdu classical ghazals of Meer, Ghalib, Daagh, Faiz, or feasting on new wave cinema, or listening to his favourite Coke Studio compositions.

Simran Raswant Simran Raswant recieved her Bachelor’s in Architecture from Sushant School of Art and Architecture, Ansal University and is currently an Associate at URI Design Studio. Her area of interest lies at the intersection of gender, politics and architecture which govern the discussion over racial equity, climate equity and socio-economic access to resources.

Kanishka Prasad In practice since getting his B.Arch in 2001, Kanishk has trained at the Univ. of East London and Fitch Design Plc and then worked with firms like Romi Khosla Design Studios, Rizvi College, Mumbai and Neeraj Manchanda Architects, before setting up the Nu Design Daftar. Since then the office has successfully completed numerous architectural, interior design and exhibition design works. He also has engaged with teaching and learning modules for various colleges of design and architecture around Delhi-NCR. He is presently pursuing his PhD from Centre for Informal Sector & Labour Studies, JNU.

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Fathima Jilna Fathima Jilna is a Clinical Psychologist and holds the position of Wellness coordinator at Avani Institute of Design. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Jyoti Nivas College, Bengaluru and a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. Her Master’s thesis on “Environmental Quality of Institution and Emotional Regulation of Orphans” explores her research interest on the impact of the environment on enhancing human emotions. She pursues independent research and is the co-author of “Spatial Appropriation in the premise of gender” which was published following the Gender and Academic Leadership Research Symposium conducted by Avani Institute of Design.

Nima Viswanatha An engineer, planner and academic with over 8 years of academic experience, Nima Viswanatha graduated from the National Institute of Technology, Calicut with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering following which she went on to pursue her masters in urban planning at the University of Melbourne where her primary area of specialisation was on integrated land use development and sustainability. Her research interests include resilient diasporas and governance.

Reshma Mathew Reshma Mathew is an architect and urban designer with over ten years of experience spanning industry practice and academics. She completed graduation from the University School of Design, Mysore and holds a Masters degree with distinction in Architectural and Urban Design from the University of Edinburgh, UK. Her research interests include speculations on “Ecological Urbanism” and gender based constructs of space. As part of her academic practice and research at Avani Institute of Design, she explored design as an architectural language informed by socio-cultural imprints of the context and reimagined material tectonics.

Prarthana Narendra Prarthana is an architect and an independent researcher in the field of Architectural History, Theory, and Criticism. Currently pursuing her Second Master’s in ‘World Heritage Studies’ at BTU Cottbus, Germany. She has received CEED grant during her tenure as Assistant Professor at Manipal School of Architecture and Planning. She has also presented a paper at an International Conference on Traditions of Cultural Production in Northeast held at Silchar, Assam. Prarthana’s interest at present is leaning more towards Heritage and its physiognomic values.

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Paper Contributor’s Biographies

Ayça Yılmaz Ayça Yılmaz was born in 1997. She completed her undergraduate education in the Department of Architecture at Başkent University in Ankara, Turkey between 2015-2019 with a 100% scholarship. She started her Master’s Education at TOBB ETU Faculty of Architecture, Art and Design in September 2019. She was then accepted to Teaching Assistant at this school with a 100% scholarship in January 2020. She is still working here at the moment. Ayca’s Supervisor Assoc. Dr. Murat Sönmez has been involved in many national/international activities with his architectural education. Currently, he is the head of the department while continuing his studies at TOBB ETU.

Jose Benoy Jose Benoy comes from a family of furniture makers with an architecture degree from the Department of Architecture, College of Engineering, Trivandrum, Kerala. Jose’s portfolio includes direct work experiences with Ar. BV Doshi, Ar. Rajeev Kathpalia, Ar. Sönke Hoof, Ar. Karl Damschen, and Ar. Klaus-Peter Gast. From campus to institutional projects, with the 16 years of professional experience, Jose remains deeply interested in architectural objects and the architecture of public institutions alike. In 2013, Jose established a design firm named BLUWUD from their passion for wood and the childhood memories of a furniture workshop, engaging in architecture and furniture design.

Meenakshi Dubey Meenakshi Dubey is an architect by training ,specialized in the Conservation of Cultural heritage from the School of Planning &amp; Architecture New Delhi -a keen enthusiast working towards bridging the gap between architectural design, conservation practices and sustainable development, both in practice and academics. Currently an associate professor at Avani Institute of Design Calicut, Kerala with over 9+ years of experience in teaching and working with some of the leading conservation architects and academicians in the country,with an expertise in heritage conservation and Urban Design. Meenakshi’s research currently orbits around the Future of Urban Heritage which inevitably puts her around Urban Policies and politics of heritage , law and Jurisprudence.

Thushara Koraprath An Architect and Urban designer with over 7 years of experience in academics and industry, Thushara graduated from College of Engineering, Trivandrum and holds a Masters degree in Urban Design from The University of Mysore. Her professional and academic practice spans abroad where she has experiences with internationally

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Paper Contributor’s Biographies

renowned firms in Dubai and Birla Institute of Technology Off- shore campus RAK. Her academic and research interests revolve around responsive/ social architectural practice through inquiries on urban reinvention/ restorative and indegenous urbanism, politics of spaces and broader spectrum of sociology of life and human interactions in the public realm. She is currently an Assistant professor at Avani Institute of Design.

Soumini Raja Soumini brings a deep interest in complex human-nature relationships and their process of co- evolution. She is the founding partner and Director of Research at Studio Commune, a collaborative design studio in Kerala, India, that engages in deep and meaningful conversations between built environment practice, research and activism. In her academic career she attempts to see design beyond the linear narrative, and as an on-going process encompassing dialogue and negotiation between society, culture and environment. She has an undergraduate degree in Architecture from College of Engineering Trivandrum (2006) and master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from CEPT University Ahmedabad (2008). Her doctoral research at CEPT University (2016) addressed the nature of human vulnerabilities to disasters in coastal regions through a human-nature co-evolutionary framework. Since 2008, she has collaborated with various institutions and organizations such as HCPDPM, Gujarat Institute of Development Research, CEPT University Centre for Urban Transport, College of Architecture Trivandrum, IL&FS Townships and Urban Assets, IIM Bangalore, Geohazards International and Architecture Sans Frontiers. Her current research intersects feminist architectural pedagogy, urban ecology and nature of exclusions. She is presently the Head of Department at Avani Institute of Design.

Sebastian Joseph Sebastian Joseph is an architect with 10 years of experience in professional practice and academia. He is a graduate in architecture from Sathyabama University, Chennai and a post graduate in Interior Design and Architecture from CEPT University, Ahmedabad. He has specialized in Indian crafts and Technologies. His areas of research interest is on traditional wooden boat-making craft in India and its adaptability in architecture. He is passionate about furniture making and re-inventing conceptual details in the domain of frugal innovation and has a keen interest in model making and conducts workshops at art and design schools. Sebastian is currently an Assistant professor at AVANI Institute of Design, Calicut.

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Paper Contributor’s Biographies

Aysha Vazna Aysha Vazna, is a passionate architect , from Calicut pursuing masters in Landscape Architecture. She did her bachelors in Architecture from MES School of Architecture, Kuttipurem in the year 2017. She moved to Saudi Arabia where she had an opportunity to work with the firm Z studio for a couple of years. In 2020, she enrolled for the masters in Landscape architecture at DG College, Malappurem.Currently involved in a program, organized by the UNEP.I am also a certified trainer who loves to curate session for students. She is also a representative of CIGI women collective, Jeddah chapter.

Krishna Salim Krishna Salim graduated with Masters in Advance Architecture Design from the School of Architecture at Oxford Brookes University, United Kingdom and had completed her Bachelors in Architecture from Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Dubai. She gained her experience with internationally renowned firms in both Dubai and London and was engaged with some prestigious projects. She is the co – founder and principal Architect of Krishna Salim Associates, Trivandrum. Krishna firmly believes that “Architecture can evoke emotions in people and that every structure has a story to unfold”. This is something which is very evident both from her teaching and practice.

Varshini Penneru Varshini Penneru is a junior doctor graduated from Rajiv Gandhi University of health sciences, Bangalore. She tries to save lives during the day and write poetry and short fiction at night. She has been published in few anthologies and is among the winners of Write India contest by Times of India. She hopes to be a surgeon and author a book someday.

Aleesha Antony Aleesha Antony is a fourth year B. Arch student at Avani Institute of Design in Calicut, Kerala. As a member of Avani’ s student editorial team, she conducted writing workshops, provided content writing for exhibitions, and helped organize events. Besides architecture, she is also fascinated by philosophy and sociology and aims to explore the multidisciplinary aspects of architecture.

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Paper Contributor’s Biographies

Vidya Ajith Vidya Ajith is a third year architecture student at Avani institute of Design, Kerala. Her interests include speaking,writing and exploring topics that create conversations and invoke solutions. She has been interested in topics related to gender and questions of accessibility. Through this platform she aims to explore the different possibilities that design can coexist and the possible collaborations of the same with different disciplines.

Aswin Senthil Aswin Senthil is a practicing architect and academic based out of Chennai. Currently he holds the post of Assistant Professor and Researcher at Saveetha College of Architecture and Design in Chennai and also runs his own architectural practice. Through his academic and professional career he has been able to work and collaborate with practices across the country such as Chaal.Chaal.Agency, OHO Studioz and FBA Architects. He has received his Masters degree in Architectural Design from CEPT University in Ahmedabad. He is currently co-authoring a research publication on Queer Ecologies in Architecture.

Athira Balakrishnan Athira Balakrishnan is a graduate of the M.Arch in Architectural Design program from CEPT Ahmedabad, and holds an undergraduate degree from NIT, Trichy. Athira is the cofounding architect of Firsthand Practice, a conducive online practice that aims to collate the processes of inhabitation in architecture. Athira finds her interest in exploring the evocative potential of architecture, wherein she believes in the prime importance of both academic discourse, to be in the constant churn of theories and ideas alongside extending an ideologically grounded architectural practice.

M Sanjay Kumar Sanjay Kumar is the co-founding architect of Firsthand Practice, a conducive online practice that aims to collate the processes of inhabitation in architecture. He graduated from SPA, Vijayawada and continued to pursue professional practice. During the five years of his professional tenure, he has associated with practices like CnT Architects, Zero Studio, Insight Architects, SJA and Aambit Architects on various projects that span diversely in scale and prospects, which sets the foundation for his professional caliber. In pedagogy, Sanjay extends his interest in phenomenology and sensorial design to sculpt the character and methodology of his approach. He’s a self-taught musician and finds joy in composing tunes in Indian pop and Indian semi-classical genres. One might find him air-guitaring or air-keyboarding when he’s in a muted grove.

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Kevin Mathew Kevin Mathew is a graduate from the MES School of Architecture, Kuttippuram. An academician as well as an architect with an ever-inquisitiveness to understand and explore the realm of cost-effective architecture as well as the principles governing critical regionalism, piqued after his time working closely as an Associate architect with the non-profit organization, EMI- Delhi.

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Book and Cover design by, Monisha V Kunjumon, M Sanjay Kumar

Contributors Abu Talha Farooqi

Mukta Naik

Aﬁfa Nuzhat

Murat Sönmez

Aleesha Antony

Neelkanth Chhaya

Aswin Senthil

Nima Viswanatha

Athira Balakrishnan

Prarthana Narendra Hosadurga

Ayça Yilmaz

Reshma Mathew

Aysha Vazna

Reshma Susan Mathew

Bijoy Ramachandran

Rohan Shivkumar

Deepta Sateesh

Sarosh Anklesaria

Fathima Jilna

Sebastian Joseph

Himanshu Burte

Shahim Abdurahiman

Jahnavi Phalkey

Shubhra Raje

Jose Benoy K C

Simran Raswant

Kanishka Prasad

Soumini Raja

Kevin Mathew

Thushara Koraprath

Krishna Salim

Varshini Penneru

M Sanjay Kumar

Vidya Ajith Menon

Meenakshi Dubey

Zameer Basrai

9 789356

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365353

₹750.00

ISBN 978-93-5636-535-3

Normal? Ecologies of Adaptation