Earth Crusader who fought for beauty and ecology

No.042 — Read old posts on Tinyfarmlab.com
Reading Time 4 minutes

During our monsoon 2021 visit to our dear friends Sannat and Saanya in Bir, who introduced us to their friends Avni and Cheena. Two lawyers who moved to the mountains, started a bakery and built a mud house.

We were mesmerized by how the light graced the adobe mud house. It’s rustic charm and natural beauty captivated us instantly. Avni graciously gave us a tour and patiently answered all our curious questions.

This was our first experience of a building built under the guidance of Didi Contractor. We will never forget it.

It's a shame, and we feel embarrassed to admit, that we never delved deeper into her work and philosophy until recently when we came across the new book 'A Call to Return.'

It offers a record of innumerable conversations, her own and others’, that provide the guiding philosophy of the extraordinary self-taught architect.

Edited by Lakshmi Swaminathan, who worked closely with Didi, traces her journey from being born in the United States to Expressionist painters in 1929, to studying art in Colorado, running a practice in Mumbai, and her final decades building with mud in Sidhbari in the Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh, India.

For those of us who didn't know, Delia Kinzinger was affectionately called 'Didi Contractor.' 'Didi' was her nickname, and she earned the surname Contractor after marrying Narayan Contractor, an Indian student she met while studying art.

This book has valuable lessons that have deeply inspired us. We discovered numerous insights that we are eager to incorporate into our practice. Here are five gems we would like to share with you:

1) The book starts with the beautiful words of Rabindranath Tagore:

This poem, inspired by Tagore's mud abode, beautifully captures the essence of returning to our roots, embracing the simplicity and tranquility of an earthen home. This sentiment resonates deeply with the philosophy and work of Didi Contractor, setting the tone for the inspiring journey that unfolds in the book.

2) “ Craft is like making love to the materials and creating love. You can see when they've been dealt with affectionately. It affects the emotional content of the building, and how it's been built. “

“ Generally, in the cities, we dehumanize the buildings and the building looks like it hasn't been made with any affection. “

“ Product will always be influenced by the process. You cannot make a product that looks warm, welcoming, and humane with a dehumanized process. “

We strongly believe in these words and that form follows affection. You can sense the quality and love infused into buildings that have been constructed slowly, intentionally, and intuitively. Good things take time!

3) “You need to know how to do what you ask someone else to do”.

This belief inspired us to build our mud house from scratch with our own hands. We wanted to learn the nuances and understand the materials' limits before helping others build their dream homes.

4) “ Not to imitate nature in the way it looks, but in the way it operates. Not to imitate the vernacular of the past just by its appearance. It is taking what you have access to, what you were limited to in a particular environment, and using it to the maximum. “

Forest laws often restrict the use of indigenous materials like slate and timber, complicating construction in rural areas. This is why adobe and cob are valuable additions to vernacular architecture, especially in remote regions.

5) “ Craft depends on the craftspeople. You have to design for the different degrees of skill and sophistication of an individual. If you have a really good mason, you can do more interesting things.

And if you don’t have such a good mason, you design within the possibility of their skill. You are always designing within the ability of that person, to take it to its maximum edge, to make them work at the top edge of their capacity.

And then taking it a little further. “

When we talk about vernacular construction, it's not just about using local materials but also about working with local masons and their skills. Didi Contractor advocated working with mud because tasks like digging, sifting earth, and making mud bricks employ unskilled labor. This approach supports the community while creating beautiful, sustainable buildings.

Her legacy of sustainable architecture not only inspires us to build more thoughtfully but also to appreciate the deeper connections between our creations and the environment.

Love,

Raghav and Ansh

What you can watch - Earthing - A film based on the works of Didi Contractor

A film by Council of Architecture proudly exploring the life and work of Didi Contractor.

What you can listen to - DesignTO: Film & Panel - Didi Contractor Marrying the Earth to the Building

A panel discussion, and audience Q&A, on the film and the work of Didi Contractor, featuring Janna Levitt with LGA Architectural Partners and Stephanie Hosein with Omar Gandhi

What You Can Read - An Adobe Revival - Didi Contractor's Architecture by Joginder Singh

Joginder Singh’s evocative photography transports us to these adobe buildings by Didi Contractor, sharing the aesthetic experience of viewing their exteriors, interiors, and small details of choice.

P.S. - Did you check out the tour of our village?

P.P.S. - Whenever you are ready, here are 2 ways we can help you-

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