7. July 2014

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 July 2014 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 2014 / 57