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Nabha Declaration
Introduction
Conference Report (PDF, 1.7 Mb)
Programme (PDF, 18 Kb)
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INTBAU Nabha Declaration
Preamble:
A… Rapid development is overtaking and transforming villages, towns, cities and metropolises in India. The urban population is set to treble in the next few decades. Social and economic transformation is producing new aspirations in society. This poses tremendous challenges to professionals and decision-makers to cater to the needs of future growth. In the past these challenges have been met by undertaking development based on transnational paradigms of architecture and urbanism, which have generally excluded local construction practices and processes. The new challenges offer the opportunity to redirect goals and strategies by using new development paradigms which would be more sympathetic to local needs and aspirations. It should foreground local identity, value social ethos and generate a sense of community through greater use of traditional skills and knowledge in architecture and building. New developments must therefore be rooted in local heritage.
B… Evidence of rootless global imagery is beginning to dominate our skylines. This phenomenon is all the more apparent in smaller towns like Nabha, which lie at the cusp of urban transformations. Nabha, in Punjab, is a former princely state with a rich cultural heritage, deeply rooted in community consciousness. Concerns for such towns and their hinterlands need to be brought into the centre of new urbanization policies and practices. Nabha and other urbanizing areas in the country need appropriate templates for development which would be sensitive to their rich cultural past, but using state of the art development models and strategies.
C… The INTBAU Nabha declaration therefore forges the imperatives of heritage and development as an appropriate and sustainable paradigm for mediating future well-being of a transforming society. This belief is underpinned by the knowledge that traditional architecture and urbanism are evolutionary, incremental and self-correcting, and therefore offers the most appropriate design resource for meeting the challenges of the transformation taking place in our society.
We therefore declare that the principles enshrined in traditional architecture and urbanism must mediate future urban and rural development by:
Building on Collective Wisdom:
Traditional architecture and urbanism embodies centuries of refined “collective intelligence”. It consists of traditional and local techniques of construction, local building materials and indigenous spatial typologies based on climate, culture and economic issues. The promotion of this knowledge can correct the problems created by the use of transnational paradigms to cater to local exigencies. This strategy is relevant not just in the rural-vernacular settings but also within the urban environment.
Strengthening Local Identity:The promotion of traditional building practices and spatial typologies reinforces local distinctiveness and coherence in a globalizing world. This identity has to be derived from local urban morphologies, architectural typologies, local ecology, landscapes, traditional skills and resources, lifestyles, and would thus respond to local concerns and values.
Furthering Social and Economic Sustainability: Living Heritage and traditions are a vast source of ideas and contextual references. They offer valuable insights to meet the challenges of revitalizing inner city areas which are under stress on account of urbanization. They also enhance possibilities of income generation and employment, utilization of local skills and resources, and contribute to the creation of a sustainable local economy. Traditional Architecture and Urbanism also encourages high quality construction and built environments.
Turning Stakeholders into Stockholders: Traditional and local methods allow meaningful participation of citizens in all stages of the development process- from decision-making, prioritizing initiatives to construction. It helps create robust social systems by promoting decentralized governance. The Government and Public Sector must therefore actively promote the principles of traditionalbuilding practices through appropriate guidelines, policy and incentives in their projects.
Promoting Environmental Sustainability: Traditional building principles are based on reducing embodied energy in buildings. Fossil energy is a depleting resource and the built environment being its largest consumer should adopt traditional building principles.The usage of local materials, building methods and crafts skills would ensure the holistic development of the region and promote growth without compromising environmental sustainability.
Regaining Traditional people-centered urbanism: Traditional architecture and urbanism creates social capital and interaction. It produces walk-able urban spaces, creating a rich spatial experience and a vibrant public realm.
Changing Educational focus: Design education must be re-oriented to inculcate an appreciation of traditional knowledge and construction technologies. Appropriate curricula must be created to respect the “Context” and also encourage adaptations and development of traditional techniques to meet new problems. Local and international institutions must also focus on documenting and disseminating good practices in the field, besides undertaking capacity building in the community and developing both traditional and upgraded skills.
Declaration:
We call upon the architectural and planning community, professionals, decision makers and the government to acknowledge the urgent need to study, protect and revive high quality traditional building, architecture and urbanism as an essential and progressive force to mediate the challenges of future urbanisation.
Signed this 14th day of January, 2007
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