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Open architecture
migration, citizenship and the urban renewal of Berlin-Kreuzberg by IBA 1984/87 Esra Akcan. The book asks what would have happened if the architectural discipline and profession were shaped by a new ethics of hospitality toward the immigrant, and calls this open architecture. conceptualizes open architecture’s various types with terms such as flexibility and adaptability of form, unfinished and un- finalizable design, collectivity and collaboration, participation and democ
Kanika Bhagat
Feb 112 min read
The Shock of the Old
From economists to ecologists, from antiquarians to historians, people have had different views about the material world around us and how it has changed. Yet too often the agenda for discussing the past, present and future of technology is set by the promoters of new technologies. When we are told about technology from on high we are made to think about novelty and the future. For many decades now the term ‘technology’ has been closely linked with invention (the creation of
Kanika Bhagat
Feb 111 min read


The Caring City
Izaskun Chinchilla https://issuu.com/actar/docs/caring_city The dimensions of the city and its inhabitants: exposed to the elements participatory methods to inform design in order to better grasp this social dimension of experience
Kanika Bhagat
Feb 111 min read


Heritage, Crafting Communities and Urban Transformation
Workshop Inputs: tin sheds open air, sunlight is important rain a problem "this is our workplace, this is our work, and this is what is required."
Kanika Bhagat
Jan 301 min read
The Kinetic City
"In a larger south asian and tropical framework, Mehrotra extends Kenneth Frampton's concept of a critical regionalism as a mode of resisting the unreflective global domination of modernism and its successor forms; he demonstrates how modernism, as the house of style of twentieth-century prestige, ruined south asia's cities and seduced people into turning their backs on the well-tempered attentiveness to climate, material and technology that robust idioms of vernacular archit
Kanika Bhagat
Jan 302 min read
Why did the Kumartuli Urban Renewal Project fail?
It was approved in Feb 2007, intended to be executed within 2 years. It was cancelled in 2016. They spent 5.79 crores on it. Features: multistory building on 3.22 acre plot. community work space exhibition and sale complex meant for mritshilpi, sholashilpi and saajshilpi for 528 families relocated them temporarily to warehouses near kumortuli 200 dwellings and 104 work units 170 dwellings and 79 work units allotted in 2010 2014 -> some artisans had refused to move. some homes
Kanika Bhagat
Jan 282 min read


Moortighor by Sthaan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fg4kHLm_5YU
Kanika Bhagat
Jan 281 min read


Transforming Urban Decline into Cultural Landscapes of Resilience in Contemporary Kolkata, India
Power of culture-led urban renewal seen through durga puja Abstract "Transformation studies are essential for comparing how different civilizations evolve. These studies focus onunderstanding how long-standing beliefs and cultural meanings—rooted in ancient traditions—are impactedby the development of modern society. Modern society introduces new, often very different, values and norms,leading to significant changes in traditional perspectives. So, transformation studies exam
Kanika Bhagat
Jan 282 min read
Scripting Alternative Images: Institutions, Practices and Scripts of the Mritshilpis of Kumortuli
Devi Vijay Durga Puja Four days in the lunar month of Ashwin (sept-oct) published in 2018 book claims that there is "a dearth of research on the social world of the mritshilpis." "precarity in terms of orderws, flow of labor and raw matierials." "during peak season more than half the workforce in an artisanal studio would be constituted of temporary and casual workers." social organization of the mritshilpis Kumortuli as simultaneously a space of commerce, residence, apprenti
Kanika Bhagat
Jan 283 min read
A Visit to Chaander Haat
2/1/2026
Kanika Bhagat
Jan 41 min read


A Conversation with Susanta Shibani Paul
12/31/2025 "Spaces have temporary characteristics in the city owing to the changing installations which change how that space is perceived every year. That makes the permanent identity of the city that of the temporary Durga Puja pandals." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKvgoPLvZEk Durga puja from the skies what influences material choice? what are some common materials? where do they come from? what happens to them after? policies ban thermocol but are there any other polic
Kanika Bhagat
Dec 30, 20254 min read
A Conversation with Jadav Sen
12/26/2025
Kanika Bhagat
Dec 30, 20251 min read
CEPT: Revitalizing Kumartuli -A Heritage -Centric Renaissance
"The project focused on the revitalization of the Sovabazar Sector in North Kolkata, integrating heritage conservation with urban regeneration. T he initiative emphasized the adaptive reuse of Lal Bari, transforming it into an interpretation center to celebrate the intangible heritage of Kumartuli. A heritage trail was designed to connect Lal Bari with cultural landmarks and the Ghats, enhancing visitor engagement and fostering community pride. Additionally, interactive digi
Kanika Bhagat
Dec 30, 20251 min read
The Faces of Durga Puja
Documentary the kinds of mud used to make the idols how it is collected from the ghat the kumartuli sarbojanin decorators the bamboo makers themed pandals vs traditional pandals mitra house puja losses because of floods - tea stall vendor
Kanika Bhagat
Dec 30, 20251 min read
Participation, social architecture and collective architecture
Participation, Reciprocity, and Empowerment in the Practice of Participatory Research Main Ideas – Carl Wilmsen, “Participation, Reciprocity, and Empowerment in the Practice of Participatory Research” (2015) Core argument: Empowerment in participatory research depends on reciprocity , mutual trust, exchange, and benefit between researchers and communities. Problem: Participation alone can be tokenistic or extractive when researchers retain control or fail to share power an
Kanika Bhagat
Dec 30, 20252 min read


The Industry of Idol Making in Kolkata - A Survey in the Light of UNESCO Recognition
Authors of Paper: Chaitali Sinha ( chai_sinha@yahoo.co.in ), Tuhina Mazumdar, Supriya Dutta, Shrabani Saha (Lincoln International Business School , Lincoln , England , ssaha@lincoln.ac.uk ) The study is grounded in firsthand accounts from craftspeople working in Kumortuli (North Kolkata) and Kalighat Poto Para (South Kolkata) , using questionnaires + interviews , carried out before Durgotsav (2021–2022) in September–October . Durga Puja as an annual “city-making” e
Kanika Bhagat
Dec 30, 20255 min read
Developing my thesis
Motivation I started learning photography six years ago, as a high school student. Immediately, I found myself drawn to street portraits, capturing people in spaces they had made their own. In a market in the small village of Shantiniketan, my lens followed the artisans as they displayed their handmade novelties, a short break at the tea stall, the toils of their daily rituals. The portraits told their stories, as they shared with me over friendly conversations. Returning to
Kanika Bhagat
Dec 30, 20255 min read
de(Coding) Mumbai
"Housing within a city constitutes the majority of its built form. The quality of housing defines the image and the qualitative experience of a city. Despite this obvious connection, state housing policies and the consequent regulatory frameworks often prescribe architecture for housing unmindful of the living environments they tend to create." UDAAN How does urban policy and state regulation affect housing? Especially in underdeveloped places like Kumortuli. How does state p
Kanika Bhagat
Dec 30, 20251 min read
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