Papers are invited from architects, academics, practitioners, urbanists,
those working in public agencies and the government, and people working
within any aspect of Indian traditions and their development, on any
aspect of the conference themes as outlined below.
The event is organized by INTBAU and The Nabha Foundation.
The Conference
INTBAU India (International Network for Traditional Building, Architecture
& Urbanism) with the support of The Nabha Foundation, will hold the
inaugural conference on New Architecture and Urbanism: Development of
Indian Traditions in January 2007 in New Delhi. The conference aims to
bring together strong voices from all corners of the country and the
world, in an effort to retain and reinforce the belief in the strength and
vitality of traditional building and urbanism, and for its promotion and
usage in the development of mainstream architecture and urban design.
This area of work, though always in existence, has been a fairly difficult
path for practitioners to tread, despite current mainstream architectures
modernistic bent with its high resource consumption and non sustainable
nature. Traditional building, places and cities by contrast, maintain a
balance with nature and society that have developed over many generations.
This conference brings together traditional practitioners from India and
abroad in a single forum to share thoughts and ideas and to create a
common voice calling for freedom for people to maintain their traditions.
In this endeavor, the conference would look at what defines traditional
methods, their relevance to the contemporary context and would examine
important case studies.
Conference Theme
Within India now, its globalized economy is based on the ideals of change
and modernism. This evolution into modernism initially came about on the
premise of inclusivity, but has over time propagated a mass transnational
culture to the ultimate exclusion of local identity. This sense of loss
of identity and tradition permeates art, culture, cuisine and lots more,
and has led to a certain endemic cultural loss.
All around us, we see symbols of a dislocated rootless global paradigm
dominating our skylines. Our built environment shapes our sense of self,
our sense of place, our reverence of our past and our traditions.
Building traditions have modified and evolved with the social, economic
and cultural needs of the age. Tradition in building serves us in
creating a balance between nature and society, optimal utilization of
natural resources and of local skills and craftsmanship. As strong
forces currently drive the creation of new architecture and urban design
in India, the time is now or never to instill in this huge process a sense
of "appropriateness" to the local context.
Conference Outcomes
# The conference would be aiming towards a concrete outcome to provide a
sustainable direction in the field of traditional planning, architecture
and urbanism, and would seek to create a lobby for incorporating
traditional ideas, whether by changing building byelaws, or by seeking to
change the mindset of people commissioning buildings, urban.
# The conference aims to bring together through practitioners,
academicians, Institutions and the Government on a common platform to
debate these issues and create a proactive action strategy for INTBAU and
all its supporters.
# The conference agenda is directed towards the ultimate creation of a set
of guidelines for the promotion of tradition in new architectural and
urban design endeavors all over the country.
INTBAU College of Traditional Practitioners, India
A formal declaration and setting up of an INTBAU College of Traditional
Practitioners for India is proposed during the conference. "ICTP- India",
modeled on ICTP International would be a nodal Indian professional body of
practitioners in traditional urban design, architecture and the building
arts who have produced a sustained output of traditional work of the
highest quality over at least five years of practice. This body would
act as a sustained resource of traditional architects and urbanists who
could be called upon to act as agents of change furthering the traditional
movement in the built environment.
Conference Themes and programme
Thematic Area 1: New ways of looking at heritage
# Modernism and the problem of isolating heitage
# Heritage as a living & evolving process
# Heritage and environment (Physical, Social, Cultural and Economic
relationships)
# Lessons for the future
# Continuity, Context and Construction
# Heritage: Interlinks with Tourism (Heritage Management)
# Rural vs Urban Heritage and its impact on New Architecture
# A New Framework for Heritage
Thematic Area 2: Sustainable Places, buildings and communities
# Relationship of Imported technology vis-a-vis traditional methods -
Appropriateness of Local materials and response to climate
- Is Tradition "Green"?
- Is Tradition "Cost-Efficient"?
# Community Participation in Creation of People friendly places
# Revitalization of Traditional Inner City Areas
# Transformations occurring due to socio-economic pressures
# Emphasis on Tradition & Contextual Relevance within Architecture &
Urban Design Education
Thematic Area 3: Continuing Traditions in New Architecture & Urbanism #
Case Studies of Architecture and Urbanism which borrows from and builds on
tradition including Utilization of traditional building concepts,
technologies and crafts in New Architecture
- Case Studies on Form Making
- Case Studies on Place Making
- Case Studies on Craft Making
- Case Studies on Adaptive Reuse
- Case Studies on Legislative Framework
Submission of abstracts
Gerard Dacunha
At least two members of the conference academic committee will review
refereed abstracts and papers. Review is anonymous. If your abstract
is selected, the committee will ask you to present it at the conference.
The committee may also at their discretion ask you to submit a full paper
for publication in the future conference proceedings.
You are encouraged to submit your abstract through our online submission
form. Submitted data is securely encrypted and you will receive
immediate acknowledgement that your abstract has been received.
Alternatively, you may email abstracts to Deependra Prashad, Convenor of
the Academic Committee, as MS Word attachments titled
'yourfamilyname_titleword.doc' at [email protected] Emailed abstracts must
adhere to the following 3-page format:
# Name, contact details and institutional affiliation if applicable #
Biographic statement - 80 words or less, including recent publications #
Abstract - Paper title, relevant conference themes, keywords and abstract,
in no more than 300 words
Schedule
All abstracts are due on FRIDAY 15 SEPTMBER 2006 and acceptance will be
notified latest by the last week of October 2006. The conference is
scheduled from Friday 12th January (evening inaugural session) - Sunday
14th January 2007. (evening Plenary session).
This will be followed by an excursion to the town of Nabha in Punjab.
This excursion is planned as a discovery of Nabha town and its hidden
architectural treasures, along with glimpses on how The Nabha Foundation
seeks to undo the ravages of time in the city and its Quila.
The visit will include a discussion with the City Fathers and Community of
Nabha Town and culminate in the INTBAU-Nabha Declaration on Promotion of
"Traditional Architecture and Urbanism" in India.
INTBAU India
The International Network for Traditional Building, Architecture and
Urbanism, is an active network of individuals and institutions dedicated
to the creation of humane and harmonious buildings & places which respect
local traditions. HRH Prince of Wales is the patron of the organization.
INTBAU is committed to supporting traditional building, maintenance of
local character and the creation of better places to live in. INTBAU is
actively engaged in bringing together individuals and institutions, who
design, maintain, study or enjoy traditional building, architecture and
places.
INTBAU is a force for the continuity of this tradition in architecture and
building, and the promotion of traditional urban design. INTBAU India
was formed with its inaugural symposium on Globalization Affecting
Urbanization in India at New Delhi in January 2005 which preceded the
Mumbai Mills Revitalization workshop held in Mumbai in March 2005.
The Nabha Foundation
The Nabha Foundation is building on the philanthropic activities of the
Khemka Family and its roots in Nabha, by taking up issues of sustainable
development, infrastructure upgradation and heritage conservation in the
town of Nabha, Punjab, near the city of Patiala.
One of the prime initiatives of the foundation is the active engagement of
the government and other stakeholders in Punjab, to create a university in
Nabha, focussed on rural entrepreneurship and management. This
university would be set up in an 18th century Quila (fortress) as an
important example of the adaptive reuse of such a building in India. The
foundation is an active proponent and supporter of tradition and its
preservation and continuity.
Conference Academic Committee (in alphabetical order)
# Robert Adam (Architect and Chair, INTBAU)
# Prof. A.G.K.Menon (Architect and Academician), Chair
# S.K.Misra (Chairman, INTACH)
# Yamineey Mubayi (Heritage Consultant, The Nabha Foundation)
# Nimish Patel (Architect Abhikram, Ahmedabad)
# Deependra Prashad (Architect, Convener)
# Jyoti Soni (Architect, Mumbai and Co-convener)
# Erich Theophile (Architect, New York and KVPT, Nepal
Academic Observers
# School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi
# Rizvi College of Architecture, Mumbai
# MNIT, Jaipur
# TVB School of Habitat Studies, Delhi
# Rachna Sansad School of Architecture, Mumbai are the academic observers
Further details
Deependra Prashad
General Secretary
INTBAU India
Tel: +91-9868172388
[email protected]
www.intbau.org
http://www.intbau.org/indiantraditions.htm