CapAsia III is organized around the theme of planned cities and spontaneous settlements within indigenous, colonial, and post colonial contexts. It focuses on the negotiation of space at various scales between the formal institutions which impose spatial structures and communities and individuals who carve out spheres of autonomy for their own social and cultural practices. It will also highlight western/non-western interactions and the models of development as represented in south and east Asia. These themes would structure the participant experience around a meaningful cross section of world architecture, cities, and landscapes. By reflection, the participants will enhance the understanding of their own natural, built, and urban environments, which they will see in a different light.

OBJECTIVES
The main objective of the field study is to develop a sound understanding of the perceptions of space, spatial practices, and the role of development, planning, building, and preservation in South Asia. The investigation is guided by the simple question, “why do they build what they build in South Asia?” The learning process is structured and facilitated by a custom-designed curriculum, local support system, itinerary, and particular lodging arrangements. The program is guided by qualified Ball State and South Asian faculty.

The field study is expected to:

  • Introduce the participants to a variety of natural and built environments, urban and built forms, and design and planning practices in south and east Asia

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  • Broaden the participants' understanding of societies and cultures, natural and built environments, and their interconnections
  • Enhance participants' perspectives by providing new frameworks to examine the environments

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  • Inform the participant more about contemporary urban and spatial issues in their own environments, enabling them to develop new alternatives to existing planning and design problem

In order to appreciate and understand the cultures and environments in the region, the participants should be able to go beyond the initial shock of cultural difference, the tourist mode, and the initial observation of chaos, awe, and the exoticity. They should be able to experience the culture, nature, the built environment, and design and planning practices. In order to help gain an in-depth understanding, the program focuses on the single region of South Asia. Despite local differences, the commonalties at a large scale should provide the opportunity for cultural immersion and the development of conceptual and cultural frameworks for the absorption of more information as we proceed across northern India to Sri Lanka. Bangkok and Shanghai would provide benchmarks for the comparative understanding of South Asia and its environments.

STRUCTURE
The CapAsia program comprises of three components:

  • Preparatory Stage
  • The Field Study
  • Consolidation Stage

The preparations begin in the fall of 2002. A series of meetings will introduce the participants to the historical and cultural
background and the analytical frameworks necessary to understand social space in South Asia. The intensive pre-departure workshop in January 2003 will bring the preparatory work to a peak. Here the participants will develop historical road maps and theoretical frameworks for their field investigations. During the field study, the participants will both apply and expand this knowledge-base. The experience will gradually intensify as the group moves from Bangkok to Shanghai across India and Sri Lanka. After returning to the United Sates, the participants will conduct library based research on selected topics. This component will help each participant to consolidate his/her experience and learning process.


FIELD STUDY
In the field, the grou p will visit northern India, Sri Lanka, Bangkok, and Shanghai. While the study focuses on the region around New Delhi and Sri Lanka, Bangkok and Shanghai will act as broad context generators. Bangkok, the entry point, is a “westernized” city highly affected by the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s. It is also a modern city not much affected by conventional planning and design ideas. Shanghai, the exit point, is one of the fastest growing metropolises in Asia. It will briefly expose the participants to the scale of growth that Asia is undergoing and the problems and opportunities that it creates. As a city which has achieved high standards of living in Asia in the 1980s, Shanghai will provide another benchmark for comparison. The focus of the semester is a collaborative studio in New Delhi. Working with students at the School of Architecture and Planning (SPA), and with the help of its faculty and resource persons from New Delhi, the participants will develop proposals for a new town in the former French colony of Pondicherry in southern India. The participants will also investigate the spontaneous settlements in the city with the help of the National Institute of Urban Affairs, the Non-Governmental Organization, SEEDS, and the SPA all of which have been conducting research in this area for more than two decades. Parallel to completing the creative project, the students will be exposed to the culture and the built environment in and around New Delhi. In addition to the colonial city and modern capital of India, New Delhi, the group will visit the Taj Mahal, historic Persian gardens, Agra, the “indigenous city,” Jaipur, and the modernist city, Chandigarh. As part of the main studio in Delhi, the students will be exposed to the southern Indian culture and the built environment around Pondicherry where the participants will visit temple townsand more developed parts of India. The Sri Lanka component will be comprised of a survey of the historic, colonial, and post-colonial cities and built environments. Here the objective is to understand history and to e xperience the arguments made in the principal text, Society and Space. The group will focus on exemplary post-colonial design and planning practices developed by architect Geoffrey Bawa, the Urban Development Authority, and the new towns built as part of the largest development project in Sri Lanka, Mahaweli development project. The group will also pay attention to new trends among young designers and planners. Most crucially, building upon the experience gained in the spontaneous settlements studio of Delhi and in southern India, the group will engage in a design-build project with the University of Moratuwa students and faculty. Sri Lanka is expected to diversify the experience gained in New Delhi.