Knowing Materials, Doing Architecture
By Naima Iftikhar
The Chairman and Executive Committee, Institute of Architects Pakistan, Lahore Chapter(LC-IAP) with Convener LC-IAP Lectures Series and Discussion program 2011-2012, Ar. Maliha Vahla, held a symposium on 'Natural Building Future In Pakistan' on November 30th, 2011 at the Auditorium of National College Of Arts, Lahore. The symposium celebrated itself as a success in collaboration with fur international Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Tipu Sultan Merkez (TSM) from Pakistan & Ziegret - Roswag - Seiler Architekten Ingenieure (ZRS) from Germany.
The insight to the objectives of the Symposium & discourse with its brief introduction helpful in the foray of the field of Architectural practice was given by Ar. Maliha Vahla. The Symposium unwrapped initially by the introduction & throughout acquaintance to the speakers given by Maria Scheicher a young lady Architect from Germany working in the field of concept & design with Ziegret - Roswag - Seiler Architekten Ingenieure (ZRS).
Proceeding further into the event, Mr. Akim Jah, from Tipu Sultan Merkez (TSM) showed appreciation to all the concerned personnel & organizations whose active participation & cooperation towards an intellectual contribution for ensued the symposium. The involvement by (TSM), Aga Khan Cultural Services Pakistan (AKCSP), TEZ Governmental Organization, Pakistan & Ziegret - Roswag - Seiler Architekten Ingenieure (ZRS) from Germany was highly treasured. He also thanked Ar. Maliha Vahla and Ar. Azhar Syed for organizing the symposium by their commendable efforts.
The event unfolded its sequence of speakers with their respective lectures supplementing the theme of the symposium. The introducing speaker to the discourse was Emeritus Professor Dr. Gulzar Haider, an Architect, Engineer, & Educator currently the Dean of School of Architecture Beacon house National University, Lahore, Pakistan. The lecture he presented was titled 'Knowing Materials, Doing Architecture'. The objectives he focused on encompassed initially to raise the question about the whole idea about natural materials & its perception by a designer - sharing the experience of him being a young teacher in the 1960's when the whole Earth Catalogue showed the tremendous amount of work done on natural materials by Oil & Margo which led towards the initiation of the boundary where the materials should be used & how. The second objective of the lecture covered the possible ideas to deal with considering the present situation of Pakistan where natural materials are used only in disaster relief work or for the construction for the poor which has so much more to it than these utilizations. Various materials & their behavioral transformations aided the lecture's concept - the earth transforms to form mud bricks, likewise cement & its handsome work with concrete & steel have produced intelligent composite constructions. Dr. Gulzar advised the designers to learn the nature of materials rather than just selecting them. Like in trees, the pluralism in nature is depicted. The fourth aspect of the lecture elaborated few natural materials Clay, Wood & Stone with their sensible & wonderful use in structures across the Globe over history along with other elements of nature - wind, air & light with respect to the structural elements that allow them to be led into the building. Dr. Gulzar concluded that for the designers it is imperative to identify the morphology of the materials in the structure to utilize them sensibly employing human intelligence & creativity.
The second speaker was Eike Roswag an Architect from Berlin who founded the Ziegret - Roswag - Seiler Architekten Ingenieure (ZRS) based in Berlin in 2003. Their core competency is the use of natural materials, especially earth, in construction. He is certified energy consultant & has lectureships at universities worldwide. In 2007 he and his team of other architects won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture for the School handmade in Bangladesh. His presentation titled as 'ZRS - strategy, earth, & bamboo buildings worldwide' based on the concept of natural materials their use in building & culture manifestations. He introduced the founding of their firm of Architecture & Engineering formed by 3 young men from Germany who opted an integrated approach utilizing specialist technologies for buildings with a life span of 0 to 8 years. His presentation represented several projects they designed worldwide supporting the use of natural materials. Case study examples on the concept & design of each shown included METI School System construction in bamboo, School Handmade in Bangladesh with other projects in Berlin where the utility of Concrete & Rammed Earth variation were core in construction - another project Low Energy House in Reich now, Germany where humidity control exemplifies its success. Artis GMBH workshop in Berlin designed by the firm won the Green building award. Eike Roswag explained why earthen buildings were comfortable & sustainable by showing the example of Hasan Fatih's comparison of Earthen & Concrete buildings in 1970's in Cairo which led Eirke's firm to the idea of understanding the technical aspects of temperature, humidity & environmental control during the day & night. Other projects undertaken by the firm included Jahili Fort's rehabilitation in AlAin. He emphasized the need to understand that all natural materials work in a cycle, the system is integrated & thus all can be recycled. He presented the statistical analysis that 60% of the pollution in the environment is by the building industry & that 50% of the world populations still live in Earthen houses. He concluded that the world is aware about the healthy situations produced by Earthen houses & there is always something to learn from the rural people their culture & methods of construction.
The third speaker to the Symposium was Miss Shabana, a representative from Gesellschaft fur international Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Pakistan which supports as a federal enterprise the German Government in achieving its objectives in the field of international cooperation for sustainable development. Also they are involved in international education work around the globe. In Pakistan they mainly strengthen the capacity of their partners (individuals & organizations) through advisory services, training, dialogue & networking. Miss Shabana gave an insight into the remarkable efforts done by GIZ in Pakistan by the introduction of the Fund for innovative Training (FIT) by the GIZ Led TVET Reform Support Programme funded by the Kingdom of Nether land, European Union & Government of Germany with a budget of Euro 11 Million. The fund FIT allows public & private training as well as providers service to NGO's, TVET Schools, Companies, Community based organizations, Cooperative, BMOs & all concerned organizations requiring help in training & implementation. Examples of Pilot Projects were given that have been funded by FIT.
The Fourth speaker followed was Mr. Asaf Jah, the Chief Executive Officer of Tipu Sultan Merkez (TSM). In 2001 he initiated the school & development project TSM in a small village near Ajniawala in the district of Sheikhupura in Punjab. Asaf Jah's presentation initially shed light on the flaws in the educational system in Pakistan. He presented that TSM was formed in 2001 & started its regular classes with 282 students enrolled. The idea behind TSM's project is to promote free of cost female education in the radius of 6-7km of the village which had no such facility before. Initially when TSM began its services in the village there was no electricity, gas, transport or health facility around. The school is designed on several levels with classes' up till the 8th grade & students have a flourished environment in which they are performing well. The teachers for the school are taken from the local vicinity to be trained. TSM has devised their own curriculum to build upon the thinking & awareness of the students considering the responsibilities to their families, their livelihood & environment. Aim of the TSM project is the empowerment of the people & the development of the local economy. Adding further Ar. Maria Sceicher provided an insight of how the collaboration with locals has lasted for ZRS along with ongoing research on natural materials & their methods of construction. Then based on the interaction & research a manual is devised which is given to all the artisans for their training in earthen construction.
With the fourth speaker session one came to an end. The second session began with Ar. Wajahat Ali from Aga Khan Cultural Services, Pakistan presentation on "The use of natural materials in the mountainous regions of Northern Pakistan". Ar. Wajahat Ali is a conservation & site Architect. His presentation spanned to show the historical relation & development of Gilgit -Baltistan to Central Asia & the abolishment of federal principles later. He drew attention towards the situation in Gilgit-Baltistan in 1960's before the development of the Karakoram High way. Later with further development landscape was destroyed & transport was introduced which led to the boosting of the economy through tourism which brought about a major social change - which effected the building construction. Other projects shown in the lecture were Girls High School Karimabad, traditional architecture of Hunza House in which the construction methods & techniques of Cantor & Cribbage structures were shown. This exemplified the building technique as workable & the use of natural materials. Wajahat's lecture further underscored the conservation initiated in that area including the Khaplu Palace & Residence. In Shigar Fort's conservation there was only a single craftsman found who trained another 10 whose all collaboration resulted in completing the conservation efforts by October 2000. He emphasized the use of local materials & building methods for the sustainable environmental impact & environmental protective future of the region.
The second speaker of the second session Arne Toniben is an Architect from TU Berlin. He is a certified specialist for building with earth. Since 2008 he has been employed at (ZRS) working on projects worldwide such as the Habitat Initiative Cabo Delgado in Mozambique where he trained local craftsman in building with natural materials. Currently he is the construction supervisor of the Earth & Bamboo School. His presentation on "Earth & Bamboo School, Tipu Sultan Merkez (TSM)" acquainted the listener with the description of the challenges put forth by the site at Sheikhupura. The site analysis was delivered. Aspects portrayed included Local & Traditional rural architecture around the site which is undergoing transformation due to changing construction methods. The school design impressions for (TSM) by (ZRS) reveals vast landscapes around & at the site which augment sound platforms for the processes involved in education. Arne then led the listeners through the design implications for the school by visual illustrations of the recorded sequence of the design & building process. The design of the school is an earthen earthquake resistant structure to be completed in a phase by phase construction. Massive foundation, important considerations for the earthen constructions, climatic adaptive measures & the monolithic nature of the structure outlined the technical details for the school's construction each respectively elaborated. Being earthquake resistant the building consists of a heavy cube in the ground floor & a light bamboo structure in the upper floor of the structure completed in the first phase. The new structure will be two storeys tall, both to minimize land use & to demonstrate the potential earth & bamboo have as building materials for load bearing constructions. By following & promoting local traditional building methods & materials, the new system will help reinforce rural identity & work against migration to the urban city centers. Arne emphatically indicated that earth & bamboo are ecologically friendly, cost effective, easily process able & execute well in the local climatic conditions. The local craftsmen have been trained to participate in the construction process & manuals based on proper research are then handed to the craftsmen.
Ar. Ghazala Naeem, a disaster management consultant at the Heritage Foundation is working with Ar. Yasmeen Lari's Green Karavan Ghar (GKG) project founded for the rehabilitation of the effectives of Earthquake in October 2005 and the internally displaced people of Swat enabling Ar. Yasmeen Lari to experiment in low cost shelter design. Ghazal Naeem is now working on community based DRM activities especially in coastal areas under One UN DRM Programme (UNDP/NDMA). Ar. Ghazala Naeem presented the lecture titled "Green Karavan Ghar" which showed that Ar. Yasmeen Lari designed dwellings utilizing the debris material of collapsed houses, lime mortar & improved stone masonry which are environmentally friendly & time economic. For the floods of August 2010 Ar.Lari & her team designed bamboo structure with minimum carbon footprints. For the design of these disaster rehabilitation structures design manuals were prepared that were given to masons for their training. The design has been implemented from mountains of Swat in the North to the Indus Plains in the South with minor modifications & adaptations to local context. After the 2011 floods, the previous design went under further modification of the GKG for adaptation to the local context of Sindh which accentuates the conservational aspects of damaged remains & retrofitting of disaster affected buildings. In the training workshops for rehabilitation local skills are promoted to make locals self sufficient & students are encouraged to participate to expedite the recovery aiming at building back better. Ar. Ghazala concluded by putting forth the statistical analysis of the shelter needs according to which food, shelter & health are the primal to be considered in a post disaster scenario. She also promoted the idea of looking for innovation & experimentation as being followed in Japan to test small scale models for seismic conditions to improve structural stability of the new constructions or retrofitted structures & the provisional testing of Emergency handling temporary transitional shelters which shall provide lessons for future as well as to be transformed into permanent ones. She informed that such experiments are being done in NED, Karachi.
The last speaker of the session was Haider Ibrahim who studied architecture from BNU, Lahore & is currently working with Nayyar Ali Dada + Associates. He is one of the founders of the project "Resettling the Indus" which is an initiative set in response to the 2010 floods in Pakistan, by a group of architects & designers, with a vision that it is not only the work of the architect or engineer to design a shelter, but for a sustainable community a sustainable system is required which embeds the people of the place for which the design is being done - the people together shall strive towards a holistic outcome to envision a stabilized future, worthy to serve as a solution for the lives of people. The motto being followed for the 2010 flood effective's rehabilitation is that of "Rebuild, Reuse, Restabilize". The team collectively approached the design solution as taking the master plan of the village, understanding the context & its challenges in terms of climate, culture, topography & building techniques & then designing the layout of the village to be executed in building by the people of the village. The team together devised technological building methods that belonged to the locality. Mud bricks were made in a custom made process to supplement the use of local material & to reduce transportation of the material. Mud bricks are sun dried which reduce the burning of bricks in a kiln also thus reducing the impact of carbon emission to the environment. Some of the houses in Basti Korai have been completed with proper engineering techniques. The school in Basti Korai is not only an educational school but also serves as a community centre for interaction. The local people are very much a part of the rehabilitation process which helps them develop building skills as well as to restore their context according to their cultural foray in a sustainable manner.
The symposium's concluding session was the summing discourse by all the speakers & Khadija Jamal-Shaban, Ghayoor Obaid, and Mr.iqbal. Khadija Jamal works for the Aga Khan programme in Pakistan & her valuable response to the symposium highlighted the dire need of making disaster mitigation a regular practice in terms of research & experimentation rather than one that is ultimately considered only when a disaster or crisis hits any area in Pakistan. Later documentation of the disaster's result & response shall be done & tested methods of rehabilitation shall be improved. Each local practice of construction shall be investigated & then authenticated in a well integrated manner. She appreciated the initiative taken by LC-IAP to carry out an educational Symposium of this nature helpful for architecture students, practitioners & educationists to share & exchange their views & assessed works.
Mr. Iqbal, a representative from the Archeological department of Pakistan acquainted the listeners with the practice by the department's proposal for carrying out research & testing of already built structures in disaster affected areas & the promotion of the idea of trainings done of artisans on the extinguishing building crafts which shall be revived.
Ghayoor Obaid Syed raised the fundamental issue of the way construction can be controlled & carried out in a sensible manner throughout the country considering local & sustainable measures to be brought into practice. Total commitment is required by the professionals to review prevalent issues in the practice.
Dr. Gulzar Haider implied in reference to the context of Pakistan, the use of natural materials without unnecessary intervention. Bamboo is a material with sufficient potential which shall be explored well by Architects. He suggested that sufficient exploration shall be done by students of which teachers shall also be aware of to educate the future Architects about the issues of sustainable construction. Emergency he said is that of the 180 million population of whose education & environment are in danger which requires ample attention by Professionals & citizens. Other than materials he pinpointed the use of natural resources as wind, sun & downhill movement of water to help produce electricity of which all Earth dwellers shall concentrate their attention too. Carbon footprints of existing structures & their analyses will help rectify future concerns in construction. The energy consumption that is being burdened on the Earth requires not only the sensible use of natural materials but also general awareness among masses is necessary to make them environment conscious. The idea is not only about comparing materials but also of knowing materials that helps the Architects realize the sensible use of each & their experimentation in building methods.
The Symposium, an informative platform for the Architects & Architects to be was brought to an end with a question answer session put forth to the speakers & the shields distribution to the speakers of which the honors were performed by Dr. Anees Siddiqui.
The next day, December 1, 2011, TSM organized a visit to the site at Sheikhupura along with the Project Architects from ZRS and other architects from Lahore. The visit proved to be very useful to all. It was interesting to observe how the local labour was being trained and the construction techniques especially bamboo joinery detail that was applied in the wall frame work and the roof. It is noteworthy that this project in Sheikhupura has just received the Holcim Award for the Asia Pacific Region. Since the project sits in the country, it is also a matter of great pride for Pakistan. TSM plans to create more of such projects in Pakistan depending on local collaborations and local and international funding. They are not only contributing in the field of education in Pakistan but also to architecture and natural building techniques. Such steps taken by TSM and the Architects involved in the project from ZRS are commendable and we should all contribute towards it.