Sustainability & Plurality in Built Environment - a case study of RECONSTRUCTION: opportunities and barriers to a inclusive,

sustainable and plural response

By Radha Kunke

John DSouza, CED, 29th March 2011SETDEV final Seminar, Hyderabad

First, A TRIBUTE

…

Then the question…

What we know

Post Disaster..

the built environment constructed

over hundreds of years

will be reconstructed

In just ten years…

Thus, every decision, action has

immediate impact..

The slogan.. Build Back Better..

But what is BETTER?

We look at 3 Disasters

Gujarat earthquake

Tamil Nadu tsunami

Bihar Kosi floods

• The Gujarat earthquake of 2001

• 7904 villages in 21 districts of 25 districts.

• 370,000 houses destroyed, 922,000 damaged

• loss of Rs. 21,262 crores.

The tsunami of 2004

• damaged more than 150,000 housing units in the states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Pondicherry

• estimated damages of Rs. 994.0 crore ($228.5 million).

• .

In Bihar, August 2008,

the flood waters of the Koshi

• damage across 3000 sq km of land area in five districts

• 3,40,000 dwellings were destroyed

Gujarat

• The reconstruction was a progressive owner driven approach

• choice of building materials and technology firmly in people’s hands.

• created spaces for people’s knowledge system to be expressed.

• initiative legitimized traditional and alternative practices and

TN Tsunami

• Government responded with total control over reconstruction process with little or no choice or control in people’s hands.

• Agency like UNDP decided guidelines• NGOs implemented using outside labour &

materials• Delegitimized and rejected traditional

practices of the people.

Bihar Kosi Floods

• Delay due to conflict between centre & State

• People went ahead with their own reconstruction

• Using bamboo and mud as materials • Old IAYconcrete houses in dis-repair• Some Combo techniques evolved by

people

What we know is the S & T of construction

- Dominant- Traditional- Alternative

In- building materials, - design, &- techniques and methods

KNOWLEDGE SWARAJ

Not so much about

Getting rid of rule by the “the other”..

Or self-sufficiency..

But being capable of governing, ordering

our built environment,

In construction..

70% of the people build their own homes - all different, using a variety of locally available materials, completely custom-built and contextualized, energy efficient and user-friendly. ( Plurality, Sustainability)

natural materials being used: mud, stone, grass, bamboo, wood and a host of other local materials,

Plurality in Reconstruction

30% Of BE built by Govt. /Mainstream

Government’s policies

Institutions, govt. & private alike

Do not recognised the 70%, dismissing them as frail, temporary and unsafe structures. They reject the dominant, in favour of the modern and new materials of concrete and steel.

The Case Study

The 30% does not recognise the 70%, dismissing them as frail, temporary and unsafe structures. They reject the dominant, in favour of the modern and new materials of concrete and steel.

Sustainability in reconstruction

• Looked more as DURABLE, TOUGH…• So stronger buildings, heavier materials..

Concrete, Steel etc.

Thus,

Guidelines in TN..

Embankments on the Koshi ..

As also the Japanese nuclear plants!

RCC .. ‘safe’ and durability

If technical requirements are not strictly followed, they only end up becoming a hazard during calamities..

People are not familiar with its requirements, nor can they maintain/repair themselves . Costs are also high..

Jugaad

Jugaad.. Contd..

The Lawrie Baker Option: filler slab, exposed brick, rat trap.. Combo..

The larger policy decisions are being clearly being taken away from the people and are being made by the Establishment

Radha Kunke, Architecture & Development

Need to articulate & mainstream

Ethics in Built Environment.

based on

plurality, sustainability, justice,

swaraj, and ahimsa