Himalayan Cities: Settlement Patterns, Public Places and Architecture

Description

Himalayan Cities: Settlement Patterns, Public Places and Architecture marks the culmination of extensive documentation and research on the cities and architecture of the Himalayas. It explores the idea of settlements in different areas of the Himalayan region, cutting across national boundaries, from Kashmir via Nepal to the north-eastern parts of the Indian subcontinent, and their relationship with the landscape. By comparing these, the book makes the case for peculiarities of the Himalayan city and succeeds in deducing key principles and general models, typical of the settlement patterns, nature of public places and architecture shaped by this unique mountainous environment. The relationship between natural systems and human ingenuity as projected through its built traditions forms the underlying theme of the book. Lavishly illustrated with stunning photographs and detailed hand drawings by the author and his students, Himalayan Cities not only engages the academia but also the general reader and helps provoke a discourse on this intriguing landscape and its architectural nuances.

Pratyush Shankar

Pratyush Shankar is a practising architect and Associate Professor at the Faculty of Architecture, CEPT University, Ahmedabad, India. He takes courses on History and Theory of Cities, Design Studio and Visualisation. His interest lies in Himalayan architecture and Indian cities. He has been regularly making hiking trips to the Himalayas for over two decades and has conducted many research and documentation trips in the Indian and Nepal Himalayas over the years. The author is currently engaged in research that tries to understand the impact of information technologies on the form and perception of the Indian city. He also has a small design practice and has done a number of projects in various parts of India and Nepal.