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personality On Himalayan Architecture Nepal is a living museum of many distinct architectural traditions. It is blessed with a lineage in architectural and urban ideas that are unique. The question really is of the future and where it is going to go! Nepal has the strength to show the way to many Asian countries about questions of new forms for development and hybrid conditions between old and new. What have you come to comprehend regarding Himalayan architecture? I see similarities between the architecture and settlement pattern in the Himalayas which I have tried to cover in my book. With regards to settlement pattern, I see a strong correlation between landscape conditions and material culture. In the case of Himalayan cities two attitudes to landscape exist: one where landscape is followed and revered; and other where it is defied through one time man-made acts. I think great cities are a result of both following and defying landscape. I find similarities in the way city centers are conceived and produced in most Himalayan cities. This is very evident in cities of the valley here. And, Himalaya has also been the place of immense innovation and the development of new typologies including high density housing like in the valley, that were not possible in the plains. This was perhaps possible due to its unique geographical location and accepting cultures from both north and the south. It sounds like your book covers many regions in the Himalayas. Is that so? Yes, exactly. Actually it marks the conclusion of long research on the cities and architecture of the Himalayas. It surveys the ideas of settlements in diverse areas of the Himalayan region, cutting across national boundaries from Kashmir via Nepal to the north – eastern parts of the Indian Subcontinent and their relationship with the landscape. Even the cultural landscape of myths and rituals, perception of nature, spatial construction and the nature of landscape plays a significant function in settlement. These connections between natural systems and human inventiveness are predicted through its built tradition and this underlies the subject matter of the book. Could you brief us about your years of research for the book? This book is a result of my last 20 years of work in the Indian and Nepalese Himalayas. This book is illustrated with some 120 drawings: some of my own and some by my students who I have supervised. This publication makes a case for settlement in the Himalayas and tries to decipher the code of their settlement pattern, public places and Architecture. In terms of its scope, it includes Ladakh, Himachal, Gharwhal, Kumaon, Sikkim, Nepal and Bhutan. This is for the first time that an analytical study on the spatial construct of the Himalayas has been attempted at this scale. It tries to not only describe the Himalayan cities through documentation but tries to derive useful lessons for urban designer and planners while they deal with contemporary problem of development in landscapes such as Himalayas. How as an architect do you see the relation between and among Internet, Society and Spaces in the cities? Yes the monograph on Internet, Society and Space in Indian Cities, is an entry into debates around making of IT Cities and public planning policies that regulates and restructures the city spaces in India with the emergence of internet technologies. Placing the inquiry in the built form, it maneuvers discourse from architecture, design, cultural studies and urban geography to look at the notions of cyber-publics, digital spaces, and planning policy in India. The findings shows that the relationship between cities and cyberspaces need to be seen as located in a dynamic set of negotiations and not as a mere infrastructure question. It dismantles the presumptions that have informed public and city planning in the country by producing alternative futures of users’ interaction and mapping of the emerging city spaces. What is your viewpoint on the blending of architecture, public spaces and culture of Nepal? Nepal is one of my favorite places and a living museum of many distinct architectural traditions. It is blessed with a lineage in architectural and urban ideas that are unique. The question really is of the future and where it is going to go. Nepal has the strength to show the way to many Asian countries about questions of new forms for development and hybrid conditions between old and new. I feel Kathmandu Ar. Pratyush Shankar is an Ahmadabad based architect and an author. Teaching studio basic design, urban history, and subjects of history, humanities, and architectural research are his subject of interest. The Associate Professor and Acting Dean of Faculty of Architecture at CEPT University based in Ahmadabad, India, he is an avid hiker, photographer and a researcher. His journey started when he received the Commonwealth Grant to study a small town in Himachal Pradesh and later received The Ford –Asia Fellowship Award to study Himalayan Architecture. Since then, he has published several writings in the form of book chapters, papers and articles in prestigious journals. His years of work in the Indian and Nepalese Himalayas is now scheduled to be launched by <strong>July</strong> <strong>2014</strong> in a forthcoming book titled ‘Himalayan Cities, Settlement Patterns, Public Spaces and Architecture.’ Spaces had an opportunity to talk to Ar. Pratyush Shankar on the subject of Himalayan architecture, space and urban geography planning. valley has the potential to create new spaces that are of urban importance much like the bold public squares that were created during the Malla period, that are still relevant. The good thing about Nepal is an active civil society and a natural use of public spaces for social purposes like performances and even protests. This is a good sign and augers well for its future. Could you brief us about the recent projects you had in Kathmandu? I have recently completed one. It was a house in Kathmandu wherein I have used skylights at an angle and position so as to get the light in during the winters and block the same during the summer months. It is a house that reinterprets the traditional Newari house into a modern idiom. What advice would you like to give to the new generation of architects in Nepal? It will be nice if architects begin to write more and generally raise more awareness about not only architecture but also the city and questions of public places. They should be active participants in questions of development and public policy beyond being only reduced to connoisseur of arts. june <strong>2014</strong> / 57