Leh: A Sustainable Existence

Leh, Ladakh

Windows to Vernacular x Academy of Architecture

The cold desert ecology, rugged mountains, and snow-capped peaks prove a challenging environment for life to sustain. Battling odds of survival, settlements have thrived in the region of Ladakh for centuries. Buildings here are a testament of an attempt made by the people in the region to contest, adapt and survive. Understanding the climatic and geological conditions, articulating the understanding into the planning and detailing of the built environment. The study is to understand the response of the built to cold desert ecology and the Buddhist influence of the region with a special focus on the settlements in the Phyang valley of Ladakh.

Along with studying the traditional practices, a study of the 21st-century application of the traditional knowledge systems with a Leh based institute called SECMOL.