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Anupama Kundoo: Breaking the Wall to Humane Architecture
Falling Walls Foundation | Anupama Kundoo
How Cities are Laboratories for Societal Progress
India faces several unsustainable practices in its architecture and urban development, including rapid urban sprawl, water scarcity, energy inefficiency, lack of green spaces, challenges in historical preservation, informal settlements, and inadequate disaster resilience. These issues result in environmental degradation, lack of basic amenities for many citizens, and vulnerability to natural disasters. Anupama Kundoo, currently a Professor at Potsdam School of Architecture, is acclaimed for her research-driven architectural practice that emphasizes people-centric design and urban strategies, challenging traditional construction norms and advocating for resourcefulness.
At Falling Walls, Kundoo will explore her advancements in establishing sustainable architecture within the Auroville settlement in Tamil Nadu. Additionally, she will discuss her research on materials and craftsmanship, highlighting the potential of locally crafted products to be reimagined as integral elements of architectural innovation.
Anupama Kundoo’s research-oriented practice has generated people-centric architecture and urban strategies. Her rigorous research and experimentation questions basic assumptions and construction habits adopted by humanity across time. She rethinks materiality through investing in human resources and human resourcefulness, such as ingenuity, time, skills, care and community. She is currently Professor at Potsdam School of Architecture. She received the RIBA Charles Jencks award, the Auguste Perret Prize and the Building Sense Now global award of the German Sustainable Building Council in 2021 and the Global Award for Sustainable architecture under UNESCO patronage in 2022.
