The Pune Declaration coalesced from years of thinking on the part of many practitioners, educators and activists about how the dominant paradigm of the profession of architecture in India is not only divorced and distant from the major societal and sectorial challenges we face, but is also complicit (often unwittingly) in the system responsible for major problems and obstacles.  Kirtee Shah, who dropped out of architecture college over 50 years ago due to his dissatisfaction with the orientation of the system, has over the years been an evangelist on the need for radical change.  He has been speaking from a personal perspective as well as from the viewpoint of organisations he has founded, a key forum being the India Habitat Forum (INHAF).  He has been making efforts to organise a conclave of concerned persons as a launching pad for further action.

These efforts started taking a specific shape when Anand Bhatt of Architexturez affected an introduction between Nikos Salingaros at the University of San Antonio, Texas, and Kirtee plus some of the other persons who have been in discussion with Kirtee over the years: Shirish Beri, Prem Chandavarkar, Narendra Dengle, MN Ashish Ganju and others.   Over the years, Nikos has also been a persistent critique of the architectural mainstream and is doing path-breaking academic work on the principles of a life-affirming architecture.  Nikos drew the group’s attention to a Declaration put out by British students of architecture at www.architectureeducationdeclares.com, which has collected over 2,200 signatures, and expresses severe discontent with the architectural establishment, calling for action toward major reform.  The British Declaration showed that opinion favouring this need for radical restructuring of the profession is building.  Nikos curated two sets of responses to this Declaration, one published at the portal ArchNewsNow.com and the other at the Journal of New Design Ideas.  Both sets have been republished at Architexturez here.

In a keynote address at the Laurie Baker Centenary Celebration in March 2018, Kirtee had reaffirmed the need for a conclave, referring to how the work and philosophy of Baker offered a foundation for what needed to be done.  The proposal finally materialised in a meeting in Pune on 16-17 November 2019. There were over fifty participants, representing practitioners, educators, students, as well as some from other fields who felt equally concerned.  The conclave was made possible by MIT World Peace University, with top-level support coming from their Founder Dr. Vishwanath Karad and Vice-President Mr. Rahul Karad.  MIT freely offered meeting facilities, food, and accommodation for participants coming from outside Pune.  Their Vice-Chancellor, Dr. S. Parasuraman, not only supported the initiative but was also an active participant in the entire discussion over both days.  Local logistics were managed by Neeta Chalke of INHAF Pune and Sharad Mahajan of MASHAL and supported by a team of volunteers. All participants bore their own costs for coming to the conclave.

The discussion drew inspiration from the British Declaration, the work of Nikos Salingaros (who addressed the conclave over Skype), and the collective work and ideas of all participants.  Discussions were both general in nature, and also focussed on practice, education, and the links between the profession and society.  As there were young architects and students present, one session focussed on the concerns and hopes of the younger generation.  At the end of the conclave, it was decided to reify the initiative in “The Pune Declaration”, and a working group was constituted to draft the declaration.

Many drafts, varying considerably from each other, were produced, and after a lot of work and debate a final Declaration was produced. Rather than seeking to be comprehensive on issues, the Declaration has focused on recognising the crisis and creating a framework for action in confronting it.  The Declaration is not seen as a frozen document but will evolve as actions on the issues proceed.  The challenge is vast, and issues are complex, so there will be multiple actions of varied types.  A uniform consensus is not the goal, variety in action will be welcome as an opportunity to learn from each other, the common thread being a quest to replace the status quo with a constructive paradigm.

A year-long dialogue with the National Association of Student Architects (NASA) fructified in a valuable opportunity to launch the Declaration, where its presentation is on the agenda of a plenary session of the National NASA Convention on 8 February 2020 in Bangalore.  Over 2,000 students will be present, and the event opens the option of subsequently connecting with the entire student community across the nation, numbering over sixty thousand.