R A D E M A C H E R BUILDING | B U GREEN I L D I N G G R E E ENVIRONMENTAL N ARCHITECTS AND THE STRUGGLE FOR SUSTAINABILITY IN MUMBAI ANNE RADEMACHER Luminos is the Open Access monograph publishing program from UC Press. Luminos provides a framework for preserving and reinvigorating monograph publishing for the future and increases the reach and visibility of important scholarly work. Titles published in the UC Press Luminos model are published with the same high standards for selection, peer review, production, and marketing as those in our traditional program. www.luminosoa.org The publisher and the University of California Press Foundation gratefully acknowledge the generous support of the Richard and Harriett Gold Endowment Fund in Arts and Humanities. Building Green Building Green Environmental Architects and the Struggle for Sustainability in Mumbai Anne Rademacher UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS University of California Press, one of the most distinguished university presses in the United States, enriches lives around the world by advancing scholarship in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Its activities are supported by the UC Press Foundation and by philanthropic contributions from individuals and institutions. For more information, visit www.ucpress.edu. University of California Press Oakland, California © 2018 by Anne Rademacher Suggested citation: Rademacher, A. Building Green: Environmental Architects and the Struggle for Sustainability in Mumbai. Oakland: University of California Press, 2018. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/luminos.42 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND license. To view a copy of the license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Rademacher, Anne, author. Title: Building green : environmental architects and the struggle for sustainability in Mumbai / Anne Rademacher. Description: Oakland, California : University of California Press, [2018] | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2017044981| ISBN 9780520296008 (pbk.) | ISBN 9780520968721 (e-edition) Subjects: LCSH: Sustainable architecture—India—Mumbai. | Architects—India—Mumbai. | Architecture—Environmental aspects—India—Mumbai. | Urban ecology (Sociology)—India—Mumbai. | Rachana Sansad (College). Institute of Environmental Architecture. Classification: LCC NA2542.35 .R335 2017 | DDC 720/.470954792—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017044981 Contents List of Illustrations vii Preface ix 1. City Ascending, City Imploding 1 2. The Integrated Subject 23 3. Ecology in Practice: Environmental Architecture as Good Design 40 4. Rectifying Failure: Imagining the New City and the Power to Create It 65 5. More than Human Nature and the Open Space Predicament 91 6. Consciousness and Indian-ness: Making Design “Good” 108 7. A Vocation in Waiting: Ecology in Practice 133 8. Soldiering Sustainability 162 Notes 169 References 185 Index 197 Illustrations 1. Construction in Mumbai, 2012 2 2. Dr. Joshi delivers a lecture on rainwater harvesting in an RSIEA classroom 28 3. Dr. Latoo talks with RSIEA students during a field study visit 32 4. A team of RSIEA students prepare a topographical map of the Pali field study site 54 5. RSIEA Design Studio students explore the Pali project site 62 6. An exhibit-goer ponders a map of Mumbai’s open spaces at the Open Mumbai exhibition 70 7. “City Forests” were highlighted among the many different types of open spaces in Mumbai at the Open Mumbai exhibition 72 8. Entering the Breathing Space exhibition at the Mahalaxmi Racecourse 75 9. Breathing Space exhibit-goers explore signboards about open space in each of Mumbai’s twenty-four Municipal wards 76 10. Looking outward from the edge of the Doongerwadi forest, new construction looms 100 11. Students and faculty on the field study tour of Govardhan Eco-village listening to their guide describe the sustainability features of one of the site’s main buildings 129 12. RSIEA students exploring new construction in one of BCIL’s housing developments outside of Bangalore 132 13. A graduating RSIEA student presents her team’s final Design Studio proposal for an eco-resort at Pali 135 vii