Measured survey detail Soame Nagar illegal settlement South Delhi

Since 2001 fieldwork, student design projects and live project work have been completed in Kosovo and India. In 2005 The Water Trust was set up with the aim of funding student schemes from conception to realisation. In 2006 a Memorandum of Understanding was signed with an Indian NGO, CURE working in the urban slums of India and in 2008 work began with another Indian NGO, ARPHEN engaged with improving the educational prospects of young deprived children of low income families employed in the stone quarries of Navi Mumbai. As a result live projects are ongoing in Agra (Kuchhpura Sanitation Upgrading Project), Delhi (Savda Ghewra: micro planning within a resettlement colony) and Navi Mumbai (Stone Quarry Settlements: 10 Educational Spaces). In cooperation with the university’s Department of Applied Social Science research funding is now being sought for a programme of research relating to the resettlement work in Savda Ghewra which will include a PhD research project.

The MA Architecture of Rapid Change and Scarce Resources has run since 2006-7 and alongside Diploma Studio 6 has provided research assistants for physical and cultural survey work within this area.

Research outputs and planned outputs include:

Mitchell, M. (2003) Rebuilding Community in Kosovo. Centre for Alternative Technology Publications. Book on student work in Kosovo (2000-02)

June (2008) Special issue of Open House International, on the subject of The Architecture of Rapid Change and Scarce Resources edited within ASD including ten papers from a wide range of authors writing on subjects within this research area

Summer surveys (physical and cultural) in Agra (2007), Delhi (2008) and Mumbai (2008) in support of the live projects

Exhibition of student work, research work and live project work in Delhi, (planned for October 2009 with possible further locations in Mumbai, Colombo and London)

Book: Learning from Delhi (Ashgate Publishers) related to the pedagogy of Diploma studio 6 and live project work in India: in preparation.