Sustainable Built Environment - a view from Reconstruction Radha Kunke, Architecture & Development.

Sustainable Built Environment- a view from Reconstruction

Radha Kunke, Architecture & Development

The Context

Construction, like all forms of human activity, is an intervention in the order of nature and is often violent and damaging to it.

The Context

• Highly scientific, highly technological – highly specialized

• Knowledge is concentrated in the hands of a few

• Knowledge and information is difficult to acquire

• Strong disconnect between the needs expressed by social reality and the interventions

• Traditional knowledge at risk

• Environmental, social damage extensive

• Standardized and ignores plurality

Nature of Construction industry:

The Context

• Disasters affect the poor, vulnerable and marginalized

• No voice and No choice

• Reconstruction and rehabilitation is violent by nature – rapid, destroys habitats, displaces people

• Technologies and methods decided by few

• Traditional knowledges further sidelined and hastened

• Abounds with opportunities to put new methods and approaches in place

Nature of reconstruction:

The Case studyThe Case Study

• Gujarat earthquake: largescale, massive destruction, recurring infrequently

Owners choice of building materials and technology

Policy initiatives and legimization

• Tamil Nadu tsunami : medium scale destruction, once in a lifetime

Government as a client

Total control over choice of materials and technology

Policy delegitimization of other practices

• Bihar Kosi floods : largescale massive destruction, recurring frequently

traditional practices largely prevalent with bamboo as materials

government push towards ‘pucca’, concrete houses

policy and economic push

3 disasters:


3 disasters:

A viewpoint from the ground at the Science & Technology of (re)construction industry vis-à-vis the manifesto

The technologies themselves - dominant, alternatives, traditional - building materials, design, techniques and methods

Knowledge development management in (re)construction industry


The focus:• Justice, Sustainability and Plurality

• longer term community solutions

• democratic processes on S&T <?>

• relation between science, violence and inequity

• influence of S&T on policies & guidelines

• relationship of “citizen” with the “scientist”

• innovations and their relation to traditional systems

• Position of traditional crafts and skills and alternatives

• Bring to fore the existing plurality of expertise


The Methodology

• Reviewing secondary data – policies, reports, evaluations, studies, technical guidelines related to the 3 disasters

• Gathering viewpoints of communities, NGOs, practitioners, technologists etc. Juxtaposing the two to arrive at a S&T understanding of Reconstruction

• Sharing the case study in 2 or 3 roundtables

• Sharing the case study with various actors

• Integration of the results of the roundtables and people’s reactions into the case study.


Advisory team (proposed)

• D.K.Mishra ji

• John D’Souza

• Mohan Rao

Study team

• A&D – Radha

• CED – team


Timeline

• July – November 2009

• July – develop framework, gathering materials

• August – reviewing materials, distill points

• September – discuss with various people

• October – integrate findings, share and integrate again

• November – preparation of final draft


Budget:

Case Leader: 12 days a month x 5 months @ Rs.3,000 per day = 1,80,000

Research asst: 2 days a month x 5 months @ 800 per day = 80,000

Communications & Equipments: = 15,000

Travel for case leader and assistant: = 80,000

Focus group meetings: Rs.15,000 per meeting @ 3 meetings: = 45,000

Co-ordination and institutional expenses: = 50,000

Total: = 4,50,000

Sustainable Built Environment - a view from Reconstruction Radha Kunke, Architecture & Development.

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