Emergency Shelter Manual

This is a very good starting point for people who are interested in the super-adobe building system developed by architect Nader Khalili of CalEarth Institute. It is a two-page manual on how to build your own super-adobe shelter, complete with diagrams and photos.

http://www.calearth.org/Emerg_files/KhaliliEmergShltr.pdf

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Architecture for the Poor - Hassan Fathy

Hassan Fathy was a remarkable man: artist, antiquarian and social reformer to the world's poor. He was slightly built and enveloped by an air of virtuousness, projecting the intellectual vigour, tranquillity and inner calm reserved for the elect. These qualities, accompanied by a twinkle in his eye and a willingness to listen, made him a favourite of students, who responded to him with warmth and humour, and vied for his attention. Fathy's architectural and social ideas were based at first upon his colonial education, and only later moulded by a deep knowledge of his country's long history and in particular its architecture, which had often been controlled by mathematics and mystical geometries. Six general principles guided him throughout his career: the primacy of human values in architecture; the importance of a universal approach; the use of appropriate technology; the need for socially oriented, co-operative construction techniques; the essential role of tradition; and...

Delhi BRT Debate

This is a very interesting debate about the BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) System in Delhi. The BRT was launched in Delhi in 2008, and has been surrounded with controversies and hurdles right from the beginning - from accidents to inefficient use of the limited road space. In fact, BRT has been implemented in various cities around the world, and has many variations in the way it is implemented, with varying degrees of success (and failure). There is no single BRT formula that can be applied to all cities. And especially, looking at the unique traffic conditions of India, an equally unique BRT System will have to be thought out, along with an effective traffic management system. One thing definitely comes to light is that in a fast developing India, though there is a need to have a strong and effective public transport system, the needs of the private vehicles cannot be ignored totally. Also, I strongly believe that the issue of traffic and transportation should not (and cannot) be addr...

Architecture - An Impure Art, an Inexact Science

Many of you would not disagree with the statement that Architecture is combination of Art and Science. If Frank Lloyd Wright proclaimed Architecture as the “Mother of all Arts”, then why not the “Mother of all Sciences”? Why has the mother embraced one child and forsaken the other? The Oxford English dictionary defines Art as: “The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.” The Oxford English Dictionary defines Science as: “The intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behaviour of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment.” Art in its pure form appeals to our sense of the ideal and our highest aspirations, experienced through passion and instinct. Whereas Science in its pure form tries to understand nature and the environment by ...

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