Aishwarya Tipnis is an Indian architect, educator and heritage conservationist, whose eponymous practice Aishwarya Tipnis Architects focuses on heritage conservation of neglected monuments and significant buildings of India.[1][2][3] In 2015, her work on the century-old Main Building of The Doon School received the Honourable Mention under the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation. In 2016, the firm's restoration work on the walls and bastions of the 18th-century Mahidpur Fort, in Madhya Pradesh, was given the Award of Merit under the UNESCO Asia Pacific Heritage Awards.[4] In 2018, she became the youngest architect to be appointed the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government for her preservation work of French heritage in India, particularly Chandernagore in West Bengal.[5][6] Tipnis was part of the UNESCO Expert Team for preparing the Comprehensive Conservation Plan for the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[7] She has been recognised as a Global Cultural Leader by the European Union in 2016.[8]

Aishwarya Tipnis
Born1980
New Delhi, India
NationalityIndian
Alma materSchool of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi
OccupationArchitect
AwardsAward of Merit, UNESCO Asia Pacific Heritage Awards (2016)
Honourable Mention, UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation (2016)
Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (2018)
Excellence Award for Heritage Conservation Condé Nast Traveller Readers' Travel Awards 2019
ProjectsMahidpur Fort, Madhya Pradesh
Restoration work in Chandannagar, West Bengal, Main Building, The Doon School
Websitewww.aishwaryatipnisarchitects.com www.jugaadopolis.com

Biography

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Tipnis grew up in New Delhi and is an alumna of Birla Vidya Niketan, she studied at School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi for her bachelor's degree. She was then awarded the Scottish International Scholarship to pursue a master's degree in European Urban Conservation at the University of Dundee, Scotland.[9] She is recipient of the Commonwealth Professional Fellowship in 2011. [10] Tipnis holds a PhD in Adaptive Reuse of Industrial Heritage in India from the School of Planning and Architecture New Delhi in 2022.


Career

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Professional

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While studying at the School of Planning and Architecture, new Delhi, Tipnis interned at the Ranjit Sabikhi Architects, known for their urban design projects, education buildings, and housing communities.[11] She later worked as an associate with noted conservation architects in India and the UK[12] In 2007, she founded her eponymous practice Aishwarya Tipnis Architects, focusing on architectural conservation and sustainable development.

In 2016, her firm restored the hundred-year-old Main Building of The Doon School, and received the Honourable Mention under the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation.[13] In the same year, their work on the walls and bastions of Mahidpur Fort was given the Award of Merit under the UNESCO Asia Pacific Heritage Awards.[4] For restoration efforts in Chandernagore, a former French colony in India, she was appointed the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the Ministry of Culture, French Government.[14] Tipnis was part of the UNESCO Expert Team for preparing the Comprehensive Conservation Plan for the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[7] 2019 - 2020 she was involved with the Woodstock School Mussoorie in the development of their campus.[15][16][17]

Aishwarya work was showcased as part of the 80 Women Architects in India as part of Samatva in the India's first Art Architecture and Design Biennale Delhi in 2023 .[18][19]


Educator

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Since January 2010, she has been a Visiting Faculty in the Department of Urban Design at her alma mater, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi.[20][21] and has also lectured at leading universities including CEPT University, Sir J.J. College of Architecture in India as well as at the Reinwardt Academy, University of Amsterdam,[22] Netherlands Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand and University of Dundee Scotland, UK and University of Edinburgh Scotland.[23]

She has been appointed as an expert member on the Academic Council of Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute for Architecture & Environmental Studies Mumbai India.[24]

Social design and activism

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Her work has involved students and youth in most of the projects. The Haveli Project was the first to allow students to come and learn from the ongoing restoration work through the Lime Workshop. Community engagement workshops were conducted as part of the Dutch in Chinsurah and Heritage & People of Chandernagore project. As part of Bonjour India 2018, a 7-day co-creation workshop with multi-disciplinary students from India and France was conducted at Chandernagore.

Aishwarya co-founded Jugaadopolis a platform that brings together students and community through innovative workshops to explore the tangible and intangible heritage of India. She has advocated the use of open-source digital technologies for making heritage conservation accessible to all through her projects.[25]

In January 2024, Aishwarya Tipnis was nominated as an expert member on the Heritage Conservation Committee of Delhi by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs Government of India.[26]

The Restoration Toolbox

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Aishwarya has spearheaded a project The Restoration Toolbox which is an open source digital platform that empowers communities in restoring their own heritage.[27] [28] The project has been selected as the 8 most innovative ideas for international cultural relations by EUNIC Global under the Spaces of Culture programme for 2023.[29][30][31] The project has been recognised as a unique bottom up initiative that is unique in its conception and demystifies the process of heritage conservation for everyday heritage. As part of the project several workshops were conducted with stakeholders in public policy, community enthusiasts as well as students.[32][33]

Restoration Clinic

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In the mission to make heritage advice accessible to owners of everyday heritage, Aishwarya and her team have launched the Restoration Clinic to guide and empower heritage owners in the process of repair and restoration.[34]

Awards

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Bibliography

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  • Tipnis, Aishwarya (2012). Vernacular Traditions: Contemporary Architecture. The Energy and Resources Institute. ISBN 978-8179934579.
  • Tipnis Aishwarya (2020) Engagements in the Courtyard, Restoring a Haveli in Old Delhi, Reinwardt Academie, Amsterdam University of the Arts [38]

References

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  1. ^ "Conservation architect Aishwarya Tipnis chosen for top French". Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 10 January 2018 – via Business Standard.
  2. ^ "Kashmere Gate heritage haveli to have its old-world charm restored". Hindustan Times. 3 March 2013.
  3. ^ a b "UNESCO Award for Restoration of Mahidpur Fort". World Monuments Fund.
  4. ^ a b "Mahidpur Fort". World Monuments Fund.
  5. ^ "Conservationists help locals joins hands with govt to save Delhi's heritage sites".
  6. ^ "Conservation architect Aishwarya Tipnis chosen for top French honour".
  7. ^ a b "India's heritage needs saviours. Here are 15 of them". Condé Nast Traveller India. 14 October 2018.
  8. ^ "Two years of Global Cultural Leadership Programme | Cultural Relations Platform". www.cultureinexternalrelations.eu. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  9. ^ "University of Dundee : External Relations : Press Office". app.dundee.ac.uk.
  10. ^ "Commonwealth scholarships" (PDF). December 2016.
  11. ^ "How India Can Save Its Urban Heritage". Forbes India.
  12. ^ "Heritage Schools to Old Havelis: This Woman is Using The Past To Redesign the Future!". 12 July 2019.
  13. ^ "Urban Planner Aishwarya Tipnis Is Restoring India's Heritage Architectural Structures". Verve Magazine. 17 June 2019.
  14. ^ "Chandernagore's French Correction". www.telegraphindia.com.
  15. ^ Motiwalla, Ayushi (8 March 2022). "Meet India's most influential female architects". De51gn. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  16. ^ "IHBC Yearbook 2021". ihbc.org.uk. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  17. ^ "ATA - Projects Details". www.aishwaryatipnisarchitects.com. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  18. ^ "India Biennale 2023". iaadb2023.com. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  19. ^ "At first such biennale in Delhi's Red Fort, discover the many facets of India's art, architecture and design". The Indian Express. 10 December 2023. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  20. ^ "Architects & Interiors | Calcutta Heritage Collective". www.calcuttaheritage.com. Archived from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  21. ^ ProfilesUNESCO Archived 3 April 2022 at the Wayback Machine
  22. ^ "event". Reinwardt Academy. 3 November 2020. Archived from the original on 23 April 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  23. ^ "Tuesday, 13 April 2021 – Architectural Conservation Masterclasses". 23 February 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  24. ^ "Aishwarya Tipnis Academic Council Member". Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute for Architecture & Environmental Studies. 17 May 2023. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  25. ^ Tipnis, Aishwarya (2020), "Making heritage accessible to all: Experiments with digital technologies for urban heritage conservation in India", Heritage Conservation in Postcolonial India, Routledge, doi:10.4324/9781003109426-14, ISBN 978-1-003-10942-6, S2CID 228918355, retrieved 11 March 2022
  26. ^ "HCC - Heritage Conservation Committee". hccdelhi.in. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  27. ^ "Our Story - The Restoration Toolbox". therestorationtoolbox.com.
  28. ^ "Experts develop digital platform to empower citizens for heritage conservation, adaptive reuse". 16 April 2023.
  29. ^ EUNIC, Global (2023). "European Spaces of Culture".
  30. ^ "Heritage resource portal launched". www.telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  31. ^ "Kol to get digital platform for heritage conservation". The Times of India. 11 July 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  32. ^ EUNIC, EU National Institutes for Culture- (4 August 2023). "India". EU National Institutes for Culture - EUNIC. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  33. ^ "Restoration toolbox | EEAS". www.eeas.europa.eu. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  34. ^ The Rebirth. Retrieved 2 May 2024 – via www.youtube.com.
  35. ^ Saha, Pradip Kumar (12 October 2016). "Designs on the past". Livemint.
  36. ^ "Aishwarya Tipnis conferred "Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres"". La France en Inde / France in India.
  37. ^ Traveller, Condé Nast (29 November 2019). "'To the 25,000 forest guards protecting our wildlife…'". Condé Nast Traveller India. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  38. ^ "Publicatie". Reinwardt Academie. 27 January 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
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