My reading of Reimagining Housing, Rethinking the Role of Architects in India by Nadja-Christina Schneider (published by Heidelberg Asian Studies Publishing in 2024) signposts that she is interested in establishing the relation between built structure and social structure; therefore the interconnectivity between the two is underlined throughout the book. In doing so, the author puts forward her central arguments on the significance of critical regionalism. What is particularly fascinating here is that the author highlights the role of documentary films (which were projected by the Films Division of India between 1954 and 1982; and two other documentaries from 2021 and 2022) and other media forms used by architects or architectural design experts. Interestingly, she looks at these discussions on ‘alternative visions of housing, spatial design and sustainable architecture’ (pg. 1) from a gendered lens. Here the process of architects being treated as artists is striking in its approach, and the contributions of some of the exceptional woman architects like Minnette de Silva and Didi Contractor are mention-worthy. Many of their contributions have been overshadowed by their male counterparts or so-called ‘starchitects’ such as Charles Correa and were also lost over the years due to public ignorance. Additionally, the author alerts that since more and more civil engineers and contractor-builders are taking over the business of building houses, somewhere the knowledge and contributions of talented architects are being side-lined. Therefore, she notes that ‘how contemporary architects question and rethink their role as social actors against this background, is a question that will run through the chapters of this book’ (page 5).

Though the title mentions India, the discussions in the book extend to other regions in South Asia. Rightfully so, these discussions in this part of the world necessarily overlap and cannot be compartmentalized. Here while housing has been seen as an insoluble problem in developing countries, the role of gender and family structure in housing mostly remains underscored. A significant section of the book emphasizes how the ideas of affordable, yet modern living shaped the interior spaces in the post-Independence years in India. While historically there was a massive influx of people and growth of slums, here particular attention is paid to the socio-economic contexts of the population and how they were grappling with the resources at hand. Even in the Films Division films, the state of housing and its relation to the Five-Year Plans indicate how planning in India often comprised of making attempts to meet the housing shortage. Though some of these larger aspects have been dealt with by several scholars earlier as well; a significant amount of discussion on sustainable building forms occupies the author’s research interests. Therefore, here sustainable architecture and design principles are given the center stage. As this book highlights the importance of vernacular architecture, it mostly reminded me of some of the other contributions in this field namely Jyoti Hosagrahar’s (2005) Indigenous Modernities: Negotiating Architecture and Urbanism; Anthony King’s (2004) Spaces of Global Cultures: Architecture, Urbanism, Identity; Peter Scriver and Vikramaditya Prakash’s (2007) Colonial Modernities: Building, Dwelling and Architecture in British India and Ceylon, amongst others. Incidentally, all these writings are part of Routledge’s Architexts Series and are quite captivating. However, in this book, as a reader, I was fascinated with the section where Schneider assesses the present situation and prospects of vertical living. As an experienced researcher, she argues that ‘Instead of focusing primarily on the construction of new housing, upgrading, restoring, retrofitting and improving what is already there should receive much more attention’ (pg. 80). This I feel is useful for future research.

Overall, Schneider’s work is exceptional in its approach and is a critical tribute to the architects who have contributed immensely to the built structure of India and beyond. This book can be considered a key resource in the discussions on critical regionalism and sustainable buildings, thereby making it particularly significant for scholars of cultural studies, gender studies, architecture, urban history, and sociology, and for people with a shared interest in the subject.

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Sreya Sen is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the School of Social Sciences and Languages, Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Vellore.