This project has had three phases. We are currently developing Phase 3: ‘Applicability and scalability of a sustainable re-construction framework for seismic-prone heritage areas of Gujarat, India’, with this team:
Dr Bernadette Devilat L.
Bernadette is the Principal Investigator of this project at the Centre for Architecture, Urbanism, and Global Heritage, Nottingham Trent University. She holds a PhD in Architectural Design from the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL; and is a practising Architect in Chile and Master in Architecture from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (PUC).
Improving heritage intervention in post-disaster recovery efforts had driven her academic career, which started after the 2005 earthquake in Tarapacá, Chile, when she co-founded the Tarapacá Project. She teamed up with colleagues and locals to build a re-construction prototype used as a Community Library; and developed housing strategies in her MArch. She applied her approach in heritage villages after the 2010 earthquake in central Chile during her work at the Heritage Reconstruction Programme of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development.
Bernadette is co-founder of DLA Scan Architectural Studio and was the creator of BScan, a 3D-laser-scanning teaching cluster at the Bartlett School of Architecture, focusing on representation and digital preservation. She is a peer-reviewer for the Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, part of scientific committees and has obtained several funding and scholarships to carry out her research. Bernadette has presented, published and exhibited her research internationally, and has taught at the PUC, the Bartlett and NTU.
Dr Felipe Lanuza
Felipe is an Architect from Chile and Research Fellow at the Centre for Architecture, Urbanism and Global Heritage at NTU. He obtained his BA and professional qualification at the University of Chile, a Master in Architecture at the Catholic University of Chile (PUC), and a PhD in Architectural Design from the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL. He recently completed a post-doctoral research residency at the UCL Urban Laboratory, finalising with a solo exhibition at the Bartlett in October 2019.
Experiences of absence in the built environment are Felipe’s research focus, to build up alternative understandings and representations of urban change, and to inform design thinking. He has disseminated and exhibited his research internationally and is teaching has covered interior design, architecture, urban and landscape design, as well as architectural history and theory, at the Universities of Greenwich and Kingston (UK), PUC and Talca (Chile), Puerto Rico (PR), among others. He was an External Examiner for the Interior Design BA at the University of East London, and is currently teaching at the University of Sheffield.
Felipe is co-founder of DLA Scan Architectural Studio, takes part in the editorial boards of Revista de Arquitectura (University of Chile) and Urban Transcripts Journal, is a member of the UK Higher Education Academy and the Association of Critical Heritage Studies.
Co-Investigator
Director of the Centre for Architecture, Urbanism and Global Heritage
Professor M. Gamal Abdelmonem
Gamal is Chair in Architecture and the Director of the Centre for Architecture, Urbanism and Global Heritage at Nottingham Trent University. His BA and Masters in Architecture are from Cairo University and he obtained is PhD in Architecture at the University of Sheffield.
A Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Gamal is the University lead of the Strategic Research Theme, Global Heritage. Gamal is the recipient of NTU 2020 Vice-Chancellor Outstanding Researcher Award and the 2014 recipient of the Jeffrey Cook Award of the International Association of the Study of Traditional Environments (IASTE). Gamal serves as an international expert on several international research associations, councils and funding panels in the US, UK and Europe.
Gamal’s research focuses on architectural and urban history, everyday homes, socio-spatial practices of urban communities, virtual heritage, medieval culture and post-conflict cities. His research has informed policy and practice of several governments and international organisations on aspects of heritage preservation, urban planning and architecture of home. His recent books include Peripheries: Edge Conditions in Architecture’ (2012), Portrush: Towards An Architecture for the North Irish Coast (2013); The Architecture of Home in Cairo (2015), and Architecture, Space and Memory of Resurrection in Northern Ireland (2019); and ‘People, Care and Work in the Home’ (2020).
Co-Investigator
Head of the Center for Heritage Conservation, CEPT Research and Development Foundation. Ahmedabad, India
Dr Jigna Desai
Jigna is the Programme Chair for Masters in Conservation and Regeneration at the Faculty of Architecture at CEPT University. She studied architecture and has a Master’s degree in sustainable architecture from Cardiff University and a PhD in Conservation Studies from CEPT University, India.
She focuses on the understanding and transformation of traditional architecture and urban environments. In her research, she formulates frameworks, tools and methods, through which theoretical ideas of sustainability and conservation of living historic environments can be translated into practice, while addressing the challenges of co-production of space and commodification of heritage.
Jigna worked on preparing the nomination dossier that led to the inscription of Ahmedabad as a World Heritage City by UNESCO in 2017 and has extensive experience in architecture and conservation research. She is an advocate of community-based conservation and has partnered with several national and international institutions on heritage preservation initiatives in different parts of India. Jigna is an associate member of the International Scientific Committee for Historic Towns and Villages, International Council for Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and is an active member of the ICOMOS India chapter. She is also a director at the award-winning practice JMA Design Co that she co-founded with Mehul Bhatt in 1999.
Research Associate
Mrudula Mane
Mrudula is an architect from Mumbai and holds a MA in Conservation of Historic Buildings from the University of York, UK. Presently she is working as a Research Associate at the Center for Heritage Conservation CDRF and is also a Visiting Faculty for the Masters in Conservation and Regeneration programme at CEPT University.
She has been actively involved in documentation, research, survey and conservation projects for Government & Non-Government agencies in Mumbai, Matheran, Pune and Ratnagiri regions in Maharashtra. She was a technical member of Fort Conservation Committee (from 2016 until 2019), appointed by the Cultural Ministry of State Government of Maharashtra – an advisory body to the Directorate of Archaeology and Museums for documentation and restoration of medieval forts in Maharashtra.
Mrudula is currently a State nominated member of the board of trustees at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS, formerly Prince of Wales Museum) at Mumbai since April 2019.
Research Associate
Nigar Shaikh
Research Assistant
Saatvika Pancholi
Project Partner
Bhuj-Kutch, Gujarat. India
Hunnarshala Foundation
Hunnarshala was established after the 2001 Kutch earthquake by a group of Civil Society Organisations, Academic Institutions and Corporates as a not-for-profit Foundation. The impulse for its establishment was to bring high quality architecture based on the values of frugality, creativity and participation of Building and Craft Artisans and Communities in our villages. It was based on giving credit and meaning to the knowledge and pedagogy of labour and artisanal societies, thereby giving them their due in the otherwise largely exploitative building construction industry. It was based on showcasing that participatory design methodologies build better solutions and owned identities for its users.
Over the last two decades Hunnarshala has helped build thousands of homes for people dispossessed after natural and man-made disasters. Hunnarshala helps governments develop policy, improve and validate the traditional building practices of communities, and train the government workers responsible for delivering post disaster services. Hunnarshala has worked with the governments and Civil Society Organisations of Bihar, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Jammu & Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh in India and with Nepal, Iran and Indonesia internationally.
Hunnarshala is at the fore-front of advocating for an owner-driven social housing policy for rural housing and urban slum redevelopment in India. Hunnarshala has trained hundreds of Artisans to develop their enterprise and provide sustainable technology solutions to projects for some of the most renowned architects in the country. Hunnarshala runs an Artisan School with a residential one-year program for young artisans. Hunnarshala undertakes design and build assignments for a variety of public and private projects having built more than 50 small and medium-sized projects in the country. They demonstrate a range of low embodied energy solutions and humanised construction practices.
We want to thank Aditya Singh, who has been the key representative, supporting and proactively participating in this project. Also, to Tanvi Choudhari, supporting on-site; Komal Pawaskar, helping in the exhibition and community engagement in November 2021 at Bela; and also to Mahavir Acharya for his support.
Please check Hunnarshala’s manuals and resources here: Manuals and Resources – Hunnarshala Foundation
Project Partner
Gujarat Institute of Disaster Management
The Gujarat Institute of Disaster Management (GIDM) is registered as an autonomous society on 10 July 2012 under the provisions of the Societies Registration Act, 1860 and the Bombay Public Trust Act, 1950. The institute has been entrusted with the responsibility of human resource development, capacity building, training, research and documentation in the field of disaster risk management.
Imparting skills for mainstreaming DRR into policies, plans and programmes is the primary objective of GIDM. In order to ensure focused and holistic implementation of risk management policies & procedures, GIDM undertakes a varied spectrum of activities & initiatives under 6 heads – Training & Capacity Building, Applied Research, Academic Programmes, Documentation, Consultancy, Partnership.
GIDM focuses on enriching the capacities – in specific areas of prevention, mitigation, preparedness, relief, recovery, rehabilitation, reconstruction and sustainable development – of officials and other functionaries of the State and district administration, autonomous institutions and non-governmental organizations.
GIDM joined the team for the second phase of this project in December 2021, represented by Dr Repaul Kanji. In the third phase of this project, Shubham Daberao is representing GIDM.
Shubham Daberao holds a Masters degree in Disaster Management, with a specialisation in Disaster Policy and Action from Tata Institute of Social Science, Mumbai. He has experience working with NGOs, state governments and consultancy firms. Now, Shubham is working as Research Associate & Program Coordinator at GIDM, handling subjects like community-based disaster risk management, urban risk reduction, DRR in PRI, etc. He is also involved in capacity building and training related to disaster risk management of various stakeholders.
Research Team in previous phases
Dr Bernadette Devilat L.
Principal Investigator
Centre for Architecture, Urbanism and Global Heritage
Professor M. Gamal Abdelmonem
Co-Investigator
Director of the Centre for Architecture, Urbanism and Global Heritage
Co-Investigator
Project Manager Urban Heritage, Climate Change & Disaster Risk Management from ICCROM.
Dr Rohit Jigyasu
Rohit is a conservation architect and risk management professional from India, currently working at ICCROM as Project Manager on Urban Heritage, Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management. After undertaking his BA in Architecture at the Chandigarh College of Architecture and his post-graduate degree in Architectural Conservation from the School of Planning and Architecture in New Delhi, Rohit obtained his doctoral degree from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
He served as UNESCO Chair Holder Professor at the Institute for Disaster Mitigation of Urban Cultural Heritage at Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, Japan, developing and teaching the International Training Course on Disaster Risk Management of Cultural Heritage. He was elected President of ICOMOS-India (2014-2018) and president of the ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Risk Preparedness (ICORP) (2010-2019). Rohit has been the Elected Member of the Executive Committee of ICOMOS since 2011 and is currently serving as its Vice President (2017-2020).
Rohit has also worked with several national and international organisations such as UNISDR, Getty Conservation Institute, Archaeological Survey of India, India Institute of Human Settlements and the World Bank for consultancy, research and training on Disaster Risk Management of Cultural Heritage. He has contributed to several national and international conferences and has several publications to his credit.
Dr Jigna Desai
Co-Investigator
Head of the Center for Heritage Conservation, CEPT Research and Development Foundation. Ahmedabad, India
Mrudula Mane
Research Associate
Research Associate
Sukrit Sen
Sukrit is a Heritage Manager by profession and Musician by passion. He holds a BA in Architecture from the OmDayal School of Architecture, and a MA in Heritage Management from the Centre for Heritage Management, Ahmedabad University. He is trained in Tabla, an Indian Percussion Instrument, and has been long involved with Indian Classical Music.
Given his background in music and architecture, Sukrit is interested in the linkages between tangible and intangible heritage, exploring them to engage with communities and discuss heritage conservation. This approach informs his more recent engagement with Disaster Management, observing the role of traditional knowledge and other intangible aspects in risk reduction practices.
Sukrit is a member of ICOMOS India and a Zonal Representative of the Emerging Professionals Working Group. He was part of the 2019 US ICOMOS International Exchange Programme, where he worked for The National Centre for Preservation Technology and Training (NCPTT), National Park Service. He has worked at UNESCO New Delhi, the Archaeological Survey of India, CRCI, Sahapedia and the Living Waters Museum. Sukrit has contributed to national and international conferences and holds academic publications to his credit.
Research Assistant
Zeus Pithawalla
Zeus is a Conservation Architect from Mumbai and graduated from CEPT University in 2020 with a Master of Architecture in Conservation and Regeneration. For his final semester, he undertook a research thesis at the Department of Archaeology, University of York, on the ‘Fortification Walls of York and Ahmedabad: Approaches to Conservation and Interpretation’ for which he was awarded the ‘Best Capstone Project’ at CEPT University.
Currently, Zeus is a Teaching Associate at the Faculty of Architecture at CEPT University and a Research Associate at the Center for Heritage Conservation at CEPT Research and Development Foundation. In 2018, Zeus worked as a documentation consultant to the Art Conservation Centre at CSMVS Museum (Mumbai), along with gaining experience in architectural projects in Goa and Mumbai. His BArch Thesis secured the first rank at Rachana Sansad’s Academy of Architecture in 2017.
In 2015, Zeus won a Gold Medal in the ‘Indian Domestic Contest, Asian Contest for Architectural Rookie’s Award (ACARA)’ and represented India at the ACARA 2015 held in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. Zeus is interested in the notions of authenticity and integrity of heritage sites and the aspects of interpretation of cultural heritage through design interventions.
This website has been translated to Gujarati by:
Translator: Ms Riddhi Shah
અનુવાદક: રિદ્ધિ શાહ
Proof-reader: Ms Urvashi Anjaria
પ્રૂફ-રીડર: ઉર્વશી અંજારિયા
Supported by: Aditya Singh and Mrudula Mane
3D for Heritage India 
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