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philosophy / approaches

On the people interviewed

Ar. G. Shankar, Chief Architect

Mr. Shankar, since his student days has been involved in “peoples movements” through school activities. Passionate to work for social development, he took up architecture as it is concerned with one of the three basic necessities of humans, namely, shelter.

He graduated form the Architectural Department of the Kerala University in 1982. He also went on to UK to do his masters from the Birmingham School of Architecture. There, he was offered an option to stay back with a very lucrative job. He, however, decided to return back to India. He went to Delhi to get a feel of the conventional mainstream architectural practise, but came back to Kerala more convinced than ever of his philosophy of social and environment friendly architecture.

Having been inspired by the work style of Laurie Baker, in 1987, he started his own studio alone, a one man in one room set-up. At that time the Laurie Baker movement was in full swing. However, Baker buildings were inaccessible to the common man. His idea was to take Baker's technologies to the millions who could benefit from them. He had to wait 6 month for the first commission, which was a small house for a bank clerk. He literally worked as a mason on site to see that the building got complete the way he wanted. In that year he realized only one building. However, this building being different from the conventional generated curiosity amongst the people. The following year, in 1988, he got 13 commissions. Thus began the journey of Habitat Technology Group in the field of appropriate architecture. At present Habitat technology Group works on about 1,500 houses per year, which roughly works out to 5 houses every day.

It hasn't been an easy journey for the organisation and for Shankar himself. As he was building up a whole new alternative market for building technologies and enterprise, he had to face hostile reaction of the local contractors and establishment in many forms. This ultimately led many of his people to leave the office. Also, he was once attacked physically and left seriously injured. However, staff of Habitat and Mr. Shankar himself have been able to put all that behind them. The group has been able to build more than 20,000 houses during its 15 years of activities, which proves the acceptance of their technologies. People from all over India come to the Habitat offices to learn these technologies.

For him architecture is appropriate if it is cost effective, uses local materials and technologies and talks about that place and context, both social and climatic. For him the use of appropriate technologies is a way to give people appropriate houses. He also believes that for the poor people to find acceptance of these technologies, the rich have to use them first. Only then can you win the trust of the poor and work with them intimately.
He is a member of the Board of Studies, University of Kerala; and believes that schools of architecture should teach more how to make buildings than how to make architecture.
He underscores the role of the government in providing basic shelter needs to the people. However, he also believes an organized voluntary sector that can resist the advancing trend of globalization and social inequity.
He foresees a great need in the future for cost effective building solution and hence underlines the need for sensitized architects, innovative technologies and an organized and commercially viable building enterprise to sustain this movement.
Shankar has won many awards for his endeavours. He is also a member of a number of National level bodies, both official and non-governmental and has attended many National and International conferences.