Potency of the Vernacular Settlements Recent Scholarships in Vernacular Studies

The 11th ISVS (International Seminar for Vernacular Settlements) that was hosted by the School of Environmental Design and Architecture, Navrachana University brought together some important ideas and concerns as related to questions of development at large and vernacular settlements. From questions of ecological balance, use of resources and the way of the pastoral to the ones concerning technology, design and materiality of built environment. The 11th ISVS will be remembered as one that brought whole generation of young and talented scholars in the foreground. Many of them had carried out extensive field work to support their research. The seminar was also remarkable from the point of view of extensive representation of vernacular traditions in different part of the Indian Sub-continent and Southeast Asia along with a range of theoretical concerns.

Prof. Pratyush Shankar

Prof. Pratyush Shankar is a practicing architect and an academic. He is currently the Provost of Navrachana University and the Dean of SEDA, Navrachana University, Vadodara, India. He is also a Guest Professor at the Mundus Urbano Program at Architecture Faculty, TU Darmstadt, Germany. He was awarded the Alexander Von Humboldt Fellowship in 2015 and was hosted at the University of Bonn, Germany. He is presently the International Ambassador of the University of Bonn Prof. Pratyush Shankar was the Acting Dean of Architecture and head of the Undergraduate Program at CEPT University and has been teaching Urban History and Design for many years now. He has authored the book titled “Himalayan Cities: Settlement Pattern, Public Places and Architecture” published by Niyogi Publishers, New Delhi, 2014. His latest book titled “History of Urban Form”, got published in September, 2023, by Oxford University Press. Apart from numerous book chapters and articles Prof. Pratyush Shankar was widely lectured and delivered public talks in Europe, South East Asia and India. He has received numerous International fellowships and awards for his work on Indian Architecture and Cities. Prof. Pratyush Shankar has held the position of Secretary, ISVS since 2007 Prof. Pratyush Shankar runs a design practice along with his academic interest. The practice is critical and innovative, and tries to look at questions of architectural production especially concerning new relationships with nature, idea of light and poetics in space. Prof. Pratyush Shankar was awarded the Ford Asia fellowship in 2008 and won the JK Cement Architect of the year award in 2013 for residential design. He was recently appointed member of expert committee of Niti Aayog on “Hill Architecture and Planning”.