Delhi and Its Inhabited Imaginaries. Living architectures

Astragalo. Cultura de la Arquitectura y de la Ciudad, 2020

Astragalo 27. Delhi and Its Inhabited Imaginaries. Architectures of Living Table of contents 0. Delhi and Its Inhabited Imaginaries. Living architectures Carla Carmona. Credits for the Illustrations (Martand Khosla’s Visual Article). Astragalo, a new era Articles 1. Delhi: Two cities, 8 capitals, 20 million residents and nowhere to go. Sohail Hashmi 2. Brown and Blue, with Lots of Green: Gurcharan Singh and Making a Place of New Delhi. Annapurna Garimella 3. At 75, New Aspirations for New Delhi? Chintal Sharma 4. The Lahori Gate Polyclinic, New Delhi, INDIA. Building for an inclusive city. Martand Khosla 5. Creative Expressions from the architectural landscape of working-class settlements. The Experience of Ankur-Delhi. Jaya Shrivastava, Prabhat Kumar Jha and members of Ankur Collectives. 6. The micropolitics of an ‘Adda’ for women in India: Shaheen Bagh. Pratishtha Singh 7. Invisible People and Architectures of Delhi: Stories of a Shifting Workforce. Meeta Mastani 8. Navigating the City: Rituals, Routines and Relationships in the Making of Delhi’s Ordinary Streets. Samprati Pani 9. A topography of survival: 1984 and the making of a street in Delhi. Sarover Zaidi Book Review A call to ephemeral urbanism. Maíra C. Daitx About The authors Carla Carmona. University of Seville. Philosopher and artist. Maíra C. Daitx. Architect. University of São Paulo PhD. Candidate. Annapurna Garimella. Art, Resources and Teaching Trust, Bangalore and Delhi Sohail Hashmi. Freelance writer, filmmaker and heritage activist. Martand Khosla. Architect, RKDS Meeta Mastani. Bindaas Unlimited Samprati Pani. Shiv Nadar University Chintal Sharma. Architect, Shodh Design Workshop Pratishtha Singh. Member of the Advisory council of Guarini, Department of Political Science for John Cabot University in Rome, and All India coordinator for the Congress Party

Journal of Intercultural Studies, 2010

Far from talking of the vernacular as a redundant, static, or exotic architectural construct, this research is rooted on the dynamism of the theories of building itself. Based on works of theorists like Amos Rapoport and Paul Oliver, the research questions the scope of vernacular itself. With an understanding of statistics that indicate that there is a greater number of people residing in the urban rather than the rural, there is an attempt to establish conventional concepts in contemporary cities. Acknowledging the fact that the most relatable architectural type to humans is the dwelling, there is no hiding from accepting that way we live is rapidly changing under pressure from multiple forces. What we used to call home does not even exist anymore, having transmuted into a commodity. Through an illustrative study of Delhi, the research presents a take on the lack of theory on of houses in urban settings. A mapping of the house forms in the city post-independence enables the reader to discern the flattening of built forms that has emerged in the 21st century, despite a heterogeneity of people. Cognizance of this flattening is accompanied by cognizance of the fact if there is a vernacular in the city, it needs its own frameworks of study.

Thinking Urban.... In popular academic thought, we constantly reflect upon a very narrow and somewhat rigid definition of urban. What is Urban, how do we define it, is it a rigid adjective or a common noun. Does it change with time and space or does it remain stationary no matter how many eons pass. Do we stop and think for a moment or do we pass by it like an everyday chore. Do we explore it like a rarity or do we get bored by its ubiquity. These and many more questions, keep on simmering whenever I think of urban. Over the years, I have observed that no matter how much a place is blanketed by the all encompassing urban carpet, it still manages to sneak out its uniqueness through its nooks and crannies, its street corners, its hidden cultures and ideas and very importantly through the people who live in it and by it. Through the many stories and couplets that waft through the vents of these streets, a sense of urban is made, a belongingness is traced and an urbanscape is placed. The urbanscape is an amalgamation of the imaginations and visualizations of the many actors and writers connected to it, perceptions of the onlookers and the dynamics of time and space in which it is located. Delhi, is one such urbanscape; a city of cities and a city in cities which unfolds and narrates the many stories and couplets it has collected through time. Delhi and the many delhis are a reflection and an interpretation of the many actors, writers and onlookers that have traversed its urbanscape throughout time and continue to do so. The urbanscape of Delhi is a juxtaposition of the many stories and the many urbans that have survived through savages of time and the many new and varied stories and urbans that are being thought will survive.

CASS ARC, 2024

A Call for Livable Spaces:With the ever changing, ever evolving paradigm shifts in urban landscape, change seems to be the only constant. Urban environments are undergoing rapid transformation due to technological advancements and shifting socio-cultural dynamics. This article delves into the critical role of socio-cultural anthropology in shaping livable abodes and city spaces. By examining the impact of factors such as increased polarization, temporal pressures, and cognitive implications, this study underscores the need for a holistic approach to urban design. The findings highlight the importance of considering ecological balances, cultural nuances, social interactions, and psychological well-being in creating sustainable and inclusive urban environments, through a contextual study of contemporary Delhi with not history but a living heritage of over four hundred years. The study also explores other geographies in correlation, however the growing urbanization and neoliberalization has its own merits. Sense of lost identity, breakfree moments of gratification, placelessness in non-places, conspicuous consumption with were found liberating. The methodological approach was archival research and visual ethnography, wherein the research identifies the need for a holistic approach that balances ecological extremities and cultural diversities alongside offering urban space and place. Ultimately, this research advocates for a future-oriented design philosophy that prioritizes human experience and fosters a sense of community, belonging and resilience in the face of constant change.

edgehill.ac.uk

This book, as the editors suggest, is concerned with challenging the conventional images of a capital city that 'nobody loves', offering alternative images of Delhi originating from less predictable perspectives, alternative social dynamics and from other less conventional life ...

FUNDAČAO ORIENTE, 2015

This essay is an attempt to map the cultural terrain on which Indian Architecture finds itself and the milieu in which Indian Architects practice. Using issues that are seen to be current and critical, the essay looks directly at three dialectic relationships, with their general implications to the making of the built environment in the Indian sub-continent. Inside and outside, permanent and transient and the issue of size (big and small), are seen to be in a shifting dialogical relationship rather than in fixed polar positions. The imprints of the past and the trajectories of the present only tighten the weave and density of a culture of diversity where several civilizational modes co-exist simultaneously. In the world’s largest democracy, with the liberalisation of its Economy, with an opening up to the ‘outside’ world, there is a sudden conflict between what has always been (Environment, and Culture) and what can be, (Development). At an Individual level, ‘character’ is in tension with ‘identity’ and now the hyper-identity of ‘brand’. In this world that seemingly expands (growth) towards infinity, pulling apart both communities and institutions, the essay recognises that the imagination of the architect in India is engaged in the difficult and important process of ‘slowing the world’, and of making the ‘far thing near’, and that this process is necessarily imbedded in the self. This process is emerging, clumsy and inarticulate but it is possible to study its registers in language and attitudes and the questions that are seen to be forming within the architectural profession.

National Law School Journal

Forced evictions and resettlement of central slums have become a common and inevitable part of the development of cities in the global South. This is often related to the beautification processes of the cities, and most often in relation to large sports events such as the Olympic Games or the World Cup. It is widely known that resettlement often leads to the breakage of livelihoods for the actors involved and can put families at the risk of destitution (Payne, 2002). This research investigates what has happened in a resettlement site in Delhi, 6 years after the eviction of central slum settlements in relation to the Commonwealth Games of 2010. In the resettlement area in focus, there are families residing to date and the area appears to have become a new central space on the fringes of the city. Questions explored in the research concern how the inhabitants coped with the stress of resettlement and what strategies the households used in order to make the transition into this remote and secluded location in the city. The findings are analysed in the light of informality, where how the actors employed means of informal relations and transactions becomes the focal point. The research considers three types of informal relations; a creative way of making a living, a response to the necessity of supplying the needs of the people and as an interaction between different actors in forms of transactions and relationships for peoples ́ or