Travel Fellowship Report: Diana MihaiArchitects Sans Frontieres-UK Workshop in Leh, Jammu and Kashmir, IndiaAugust 9-25, 2011 ![]()
The workshop began with an introduction of Architects Sans Frontieres-UK’s philosophy, the NGO responsible for facilitating the workshop in Leh. We learned that the organization aims to help Building professionals develop their skills of working with people by setting up multidisciplinary teams and exposing them to challenging contexts. Our group consisted of 17 members with backgrounds ranging from Architecture to Building Surveying. Later, the introduction was followed by a screening of ‘Ancient Futures: Learning from Ladakh’, a film based on the eponymous book written by Helena Norberg-Hodge. Founder of the International Society for Ecology and Culture, Norberg-Hodge was one of the first people to arrive in Ladakh after it opened for tourists in 1975. The film depicts the traditional culture of Ladakh that remained unchanged for centuries until modernization took its toll. Previously a self-sustaining and strong culture living off the goods of the land, Ladakhis are now dependent on external resources and violence is on the rise. Nothing spells globalization quite like the all-too-familiar T-shirt with a frowning Che Guevara available for purchase at the foothills of the Himalayas.
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Soon after meeting the girls, we went on a tour of the old town of Leh with Andre Alexander, a specialist in Ladakhi architecture. He gave insight into local traditional building techniques and materials, explaining that Leh has been classified by the Indian Government as a slum due to its lack of a sewage system. Bypassing textile dyeing workshops and shoemakers’ ateliers on the narrow streets of the old town, I was struck by the similarities between the façade of traditional Ladakhi houses and the façade of a cula, a type of fortified house found in the Southern regions of Romania. Even the layout is similar, with the windowless ground floor reserved for storage and keeping animals, and the upper floors with their progressively enlarged windows used as living quarters. However, the construction materials are different. Poplar wood is the main building material in Ladakh, while granite is being used for the foundations and the ground floor, and mud bricks or rammed earth are used for the upper floors. Now, most houses are hybrids as concrete has become an increasingly popular material since the 1970s.
The middle of the week marked my first trip to an Indian hospital. Even though I was in Leh for several days at this point, my body wasn’t dealing with the high altitude very well. Nevertheless, after a jab and a prescription for pills, I was anxious not to miss the trip to the Druk White Lotus School in Shey. Founded at the initiative of His Holiness Gyalwang Drukpa, the school provides education for children from remote areas of Ladakh. Some of the school facilities were damaged during the flash floods that hit the region in August 2010; meanwhile, everything was cleaned up and a retaining wall was erected. The tour around the school grounds was led by Suria Ismail, an engineer from Arup Associates. She explained how the layout of the school – set-up in courtyards – was inspired by the mandala. While walking around the various blocks, we became aware of the major role played by the orientation of the buildings in making the most of the natural light and heat. I was particularly impressed by the modern reinterpretation of the trombe wall incorporated into the residences block. The sun-facing wall was painted black to improve the absorption of solar energy, while the addition of vents to the top and the bottom of the inner wall improved the flow of air into the building.
Despite being set in a high altitude desert, the school strives to be self-sufficient by having solar panels that supply energy and a solar panel water pump. Another impressive feature was the toilets block. Drawing on the traditional compost toilet, suitable for a harsh climate where year-round functioning flush toilets are virtually impossible, the back wall of the composting space is made out of a large sheet of steel painted black. This helps create an updraft that draws the smells out through horizontal vents at the roof level.
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Subsequently, we visited two different types of post-disaster shelters built for the families affected by the August 2010 flash floods. First we stopped at Solar Colony. Despite its whimsical title, the settlement was erected in a barren valley devoid of any type of public facility. Some of the residents were building traditional homes at the time of our visit, complaining about the shortcomings in the design of the shelters provided by the Leh District Administration. Built out of sandwich panels, these shelters were uninhabitable during the harsh winters and showcased a disregard towards the residents’ customs and needs. What we saw at Solar Colony didn’t come as a surprise in light of the presentation on disaster management given by Tara Sharma from INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Culture). Local authorities generated a so-called “disaster economy” by taking advantage of the aid and disregarded the need for a disaster management strategy. Moreover, most of the NGOs that built shelters did not employ architects.
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Week 2: Design & build
On the second week of the workshop, we started to work effectively at the Government School for Girls in Leh. First, we were divided into three groups. Drawing on what we learned in the previous week, each group had to develop proposals for the school with different time frames for implementation:
As part of the short term group, me and my team mates started work by selecting a site on the school’s grounds for our proposal. We decided on a site in the proximity of the library, considering the request of the students for a reading space in the courtyard. Equally important in deciding on this site was its perspective towards the playing field and the presence of a small bed of flowers, a rarity in the school’s courtyard.
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Exploring Chandigarh, Jaipur and New Delhi
After the workshop in Leh, my Berkeley Travel Fellowship continued with visits to three important Indian cities: Chandigarh, Jaipur and New Delhi.
I reached Chandigarh after a four hours train ride on the Kalka Express from New Delhi. Once I stepped out of the train station, my preconceived idea of what a city should look like was dismantled while facing a seemingly endless mass of vegetation, with no buildings in sight. The contrast with the bare landscape surrounding Leh couldn’t have been bigger. My first impression of the city as a sprawling forest with tarmac covered roads increased on the taxi ride to the Chandigarh College of Architecture. Despite the heavy car traffic, there was hardly anyone on the sidewalks and the buildings were concealed by greenery and fences. At the college, I had the privilege of meeting Mr. J. P. Singh, the dean of the school, who led me on a tour of the studios and advised me on how to make the most of my short time in the city. Despite being met with knowledgeable smiles when I expressed the desire to explore the city on foot to get a better sense of its atmosphere, I walked from the college to the Chandigarh City Museum.
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In contrast to the stilted atmosphere of the Capitol, the commercial area in Sector 17 seemed lively. People were shopping, talking walks or relaxing. Nevertheless, as the evening approached, some of the open plazas were barely lit and became quickly deserted.
Chandigarh intrigued me, but the time that I spent in the city was too short to judge its urban qualities. I would like to come back to explore its limits and the way the city accommodates its increasing population, beyond the initial planned scheme and Le Corbusier’s prescriptions.
Subsequently, I visited Jaipur, the 18th century walled city built by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II. As the historical city’s layout was inspired by a nine-part mandala, a grid of avenues divides the city into nine sectors. It was interesting to notice how, in contrast to Chandigarh’s typical sector, the commercial areas are disposed along the main streets, protecting the residential areas nestled in the middle of the block. From the main streets, alleyways provide access to multistoried residences called havelis, typically organized around one or multiple courtyards. Consequently, this has generated a vibrant urban atmosphere, as well as a gradual transition from the public areas towards private space.
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Finally, my last stop was in New Delhi. After having to change my plans of visiting the part of the city designed by Edward Lutyens, I visited Qutb Complex, a group of Islamic monuments located in Mehrauli, one of the seven ancient cities comprised in contemporary Delhi. The oldest monuments of the complex date back to the 12th century, marking the beginning of Muslim rule in India. One of these monuments is Qutb Minar, a five stories-high tower showcasing Indo-Islamic architectural motifs. The different stages of construction are highlighted by the use of different type of materials, with red and buff sandstone being used for the first three stories, while the last two were built out of marble. In fact, red sandstone was the preferred building material for the rest of the complex’s monuments.
Being a Berkeley Travel Fellow was an extraordinary experience as it gave me the opportunity to experience and observe the social dimensions of architecture in a variety of settings. I am particularly grateful for what I learned during the workshop in Leh, which I hope to apply successfully for the betterment of the communities in my country.
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