Ethical Architecture

I'm not alone in wanting to do something positive and for the benefit of others with my skills as an architect - or for wanting to do something practical at the same time. But students struggle to find meaningful ways to channel this energy and enthusiasm during their studies (holidays and years out). They are torn between two week build projects in developing countries and a smaller number of harder to find locally based initiatives. Although well-intentioned, the quality of architecture, capacity building of local partners and long term sustainability of these projects can be questionable.

It was with hesitancy this time last year that Architecture Sans Frontieres-UK decided to incorporate a building component into their international workshop in India. ASF-UK trains built-environment professionals to be more relevant to the agenda of development and, by supporting networks with local partners, helps to build organisational capacity. Through workshops, grassroots activities and lecture programmes, the organisation promotes ethical practice, particularly in poverty habitats. Up until then the process for achieving this was through education, involving formal and informal activities, group work and action planning. Small elements of building work were included to take students out of the classroom and encourage them to learn by doing. This manifested itself during the last 4 summer schools at the Eden Project (2005-2008). In the first two workshops students put themselves in the position of households following a disaster/displacement who had been forced to rebuild their homes on marginal land and with limited resources. Participants constructed temporary dwellings outside and then inside the biomes with waste materials generated by the Eden Project's operations. The following two workshops looked at sustainable livelihoods and governance and how waste and building components made from waste could be a valuable resource.

ASF-UK believes strongly that local communities and local built environment professionals should be determining their own development, and any external players should be building capacity and helping to facilitate the change needed. Through partnerships with national NGOs in developing and non-'developing' countries, ASF-UK has organised international workshops where students have learnt on the ground from local partners. Those students have also used their own experience and skills, to give a different perspective on the challenges their partners face. The NGOs can then choose to build on, strengthen or discard the fruits of the workshop as makes sense to them.

In this way, the projects and partnerships strive towards sustainability, mutual learning, respect and cultural exchange. And, for these reasons, a building project across two weeks in an international context had not been considered previously. A partnership with an Indian NGO, SEEDS India, created the opportunity for this to be a possibility. SEEDS is a well established multidisciplinary NGO responding to the needs of disaster affected communities across India with relief; shelter; and education on preparedness and mitigation.

It was an enormous amount of work to squeeze into 10 days and there were the added challenges of a difficult site, language barrier, lack of tools/materials and an overwhelming climate. The brief was ambitious. The context in which the scenario was based, broadly introduced the majority of issues development practitioners face in a post-disaster scenario. Through hard work, perseverance and imagination we succeeded in the design and construction of a shelter. The challenging process made the sense of achievement at the end all the more real.

In the period that followed we evaluated and reflected on the steps that we had taken; our goals; and our achievements. We questioned the role the shelter would play in the community; whether it was an appropriate prototype to leave behind; and whether we had successfully engaged with the NGO and community. There had been an underlying aspiration that the shelter would be used by the school, but we were not sure whether this would be followed through after we left. Back in England we put together some documentation and developed the retrofitting proposal and expansion designs to accommodate the ever growing numbers of school children. But how would this all come together and lead to the developments that were desperately needed by the school?

The desire to continue learning about the role of the architect in development brought me back to India 6 months later. But was it just that, or was I too looking for something real and meaningful to do on the ground and get my hands dirty? Although I was keen to see what opportunities the change of scenery would bring, I was nervous about coming back, and concerned that my country of origin might elevate my Part 1 status to 'qualified architect' without the skills or experience to deserve this recognition. But I was in safe hands. Through an internship at SEEDS I began to understand more of the subtleties, challenges and specifics of post-disaster reconstruction. I saw examples in progress and read about previous projects. Being back in India also raised the question of what could happen next with the primary school in the Himalayas; what had happened to the shelter that we had built: and how could we channel the aspirations from the conclusion of the workshop?

At the start of May 2009, a team of 3 travelled back to Chamoli � myself representing ASF-UK, Anshu (SEEDS) and Saurabh Popli an architect based in Delhi. We had begun to reconsider the proposal to retrofit, upgrade and transform the existing school and were having conversations with the local NGO while looking for funding. I nervously walked around to the back of the school on our first day back in Chamoli and was amazed to see the shelter in full use; the timber oiled and the space accommodating two classes inside and one on the verandah. It's difficult to describe the sense of achievement: that we had succeeded in designing something useful. As the smile slowly faded on my face my motivation to let this be the catalyst of the change the school so desperately needs, increased.

The next chapter began with conversations with the local NGO and some experimental consultation with the children. The process of consultation was a challenge. We could see areas in which the school was lacking; space, resources, and stimulation being the key ones. However, we wanted to hear from the children themselves about what they wanted and needed. We used a range of model and drawing exercises to encourage the children to think about their environment, but as we did so we realised how much their aspirations were restricted by their very limited environment. The essence of what we saw and learnt, is that small changes that make the school a safer and more stimulating learning environment will make a big difference to the lives of the students and teachers. This will feed into the proposal that we will develop with the local NGO.

While we focus our energy on the design for the school, pursuing funding and testing ideas, we still have the bigger picture in mind. The interim shelter was a small intervention that triggered a series of developments, which are increasing in scale. This has been partly an organic process and partly directed by the motivations of the individuals involved. While the strategy of starting small and getting bigger clearly makes sense, there are common principles that we have learnt that can be used to upscale to a local action agenda in the future.

This could begin by considering other schools in the area to find out if they have similar buildings, needs and limitations; developing a strategic approach to upgrade the schools; and addressing the role that they play within the community. Safer school buildings can be a starting point for education on Disaster Risk Reduction, and there is then the potential to work alongside response agencies in the region, helping them to prepare for interim shelter responses. This would result in the strengthening of local partners, by using a building as a starting point or focus, to attract and involve the community.

Soon it will be time for me to return to England and it's difficult not to want to stay, see the project through on site, and ultimately to continue my involvement in what is a stimulating and dynamic process. But this is part of the challenge - the project can continue without my presence, and should do just that!

We are slowly laying the groundwork for future international and Indian interns to be involved in this project, and thinking about more of these workshops between ASF-UK and SEEDS in Asia. ASF-UK will never become a design and building organisation, but it may consider more small experimental building projects locally and internationally that provide opportunities to learn in the field and create possible catalysts for change.