QUESTIONNAIRE- Ar.

SANDEEP VIRMANI-
HUNNARSHALA FOUNDATION
Established since sixteen years in the Kutch region, Ar. Sandeep Virmani took
profit from this remote and arid district conditions to gain global/holistic
understanding on the fields of water harvesting, organic agriculture, renewable
energy, nomads’ living conditions, sociology and rights defence. Executive
secretary of Sahjeevan, he developed projects such as decentralized
administrated water pumping systems in villages and towns or communities’
environmental rights defence regarding industrializations. He is the managing
director of Hunnarshala foundation (HSF) since its creation in 2003. This
organization facilitates self-sustaining housing for the poor, favour artisans’
involvements in mainstreaming buildings and promotes local eco-friendly and
cost-effective material sand technologies like earth and sewerage recycling.
HSF has worked in disaster rehabilitation in India, Iran, Indonesia and
Afghanistan. They provided technical guidelines and training to engineers and
artisans as well as policy making for governments. Sandeep Virmani designs
and guides the disaster rehabilitation and natural resource development
programs in KNNA. Kutch Navnirman Abhiyan (KNNA), created in 1998, is a
network of 27 NGOs, of Kutch working on policy, capacity building and natural
resource management programs.

1. As an Architect you are known through the renowned Hunarshala

foundations. What was your journey (esp. before Hunnarshala)?
a. What inspired you to start Hunnarshala?

2. What is, according to you and your ideology, the guiding principle of a
practicing architect?
a. How is that reflected in your work?

3. Majority of architects, after completing their degree, try to do large

scale projects or projects which benefits them financially, ensure fame
or otherwise. What is your view point about this, being a sustainable
architect?
a. How can we be more responsible in our profession?
4. Hunnarshala works on creative solutions that derived from tradition:
Can you explain briefly the strategies of the design and building process
that ensure a context appropriate and inclusive design?

5. Hunarshala foundation has worked in disaster rehabilitation in various

countries like India, Afghanistan, Indonesia etc; which project was the
most challenging?
a. Were you able to include your ideologies or were you forced to
work on a set of predetermined instructions?
b. How did you overcome the challenges (what were your victory
points?)?

6. How did you enable public participation in regions with low literacy?
a. How did you overcome communication difficulties?
b. How did you get the locals excited and actively involved in the
design and construction process?

7. For you-architecture profession is a social work, uplifting skilled labours,

artisans, uneducated children through karigarshala etc to the new world
of sustainable architectural practise – as has been quoted from
“Humanising Architecture”. Can you elaborate?

8. Four walls and a roof enclosing it can become a shelter but from your
experience what is the key to build a ‘good’ shelter?

9. In your experience have you ever faced a situation where you had to
make design trade-off decisions? If yes where and how do you
compromise?

10.In your opinion, what is the future of architecture?

11.Do you have a role model (in the architectural field or otherwise)?

12.Climate change is the ‘elephant in the room’, even for architects. How
do we combat climate change?
a. What are the other global criticalities that an architect should be
concerned about?
b. Do you have solutions for these criticalities?

Nizya Mol
S2, M.arch
MES SOA