FPAC

Green Mag

2012-02-29T08:34:00.000-08:00

Download Green Mag Zero (pdf) by Prof. Dr. Norbert Pintsch here

Green architecture

2012-02-28T04:11:00.000-08:00

FPAC, in cooperation with Lions Club Germany, organized an exhibition for the students of BNU Architectural Department and other interested in green architecture on Monday, October 25, 2011. Practical demonstration of construction with different material was hallmark of the event that was attended by a large number of students and senior faculty in addition to the members of FPAC.

Prof. Dr. Norbert Pintsch - the moving spirit behind the project – explained the need for the use of conventional construction materials in the face of energy crises and environmental degradation. He also answered the questions by the audience.

Here are some of the images of the event.

Environment Protection Award

2012-02-27T07:00:00.001-08:00

Environment workshop with kids

2012-02-20T09:09:00.000-08:00

DS Jaspal – Retracing his roots

2012-02-14T08:17:00.000-08:00

Damanbir Singh Jaspal, Principal Secretary (with a rank of Chief Secretary), waits in his room for some towels that he has sent for. He is dressed in a modest light green shirt, with a plain green turban wrapped on his head. His beard is neatly tucked away, and with the serious looking spectacles on his nose, he can be easily mistaken for a visiting professor staying at the Punjab University Executive Club. The only thing that glints in his appearance is his gold watch, loud but sleek but his sophisticated and well kept appearance is only incongruous with his haphazard surroundings.

Most odd for anyone is the large plant that has taken up almost one corner of the room, right between the striped brown sofas, and Jaspal’s suitcase, which lies yawning open, so that this plant can be cut into the right size, wrapped in a wet towel, and transported along with him to the Wagah Border and subsequently to Chandigarh, India. In fact one cannot miss this plant, as its leafy scent pervades the room just upon entrance.

“This is a beri tree-cutting that someone kindly brought to me from Sialkot last night,” says Jaspal. “I thought I wouldn’t be able to get this but coincidently I did. Now once I get back, I’ll see that it gets put into the root trainers as soon as possible so we can clone it later.” Even though Jaspal says the Quran too has mentioned a herb or two, where it upholds trees as part of nature, Sikhism is perhaps the only religion that actively endorses the protection of trees, relating to them spiritual evolution, and preserving within them heritage, environment, beauty, majesty and history all in one.

These trees are those under which the Sikh gurus have rested and sought shelter under, while their scriptures and legends mention forests where the military often passed from during wars. “Gurus often took rest under these trees and met with others under their leafy shade,” informs Jaspal. “As a result Sikh followers have erected gurdwaras in respect of these trees, such as the Ambh Sahib and the Beri Sahib. But the sad part is that many of these trees have died or have been suffocated thanks to several other reasons.”

“Air is the guru, Water is the father and Earth is the great mother,” reads a line from the Sikh scripture Guru Granth Sahib. It declares that the purpose of human beings is to achieve a blissful state and to be in harmony with nature. Furthermore the Gurus inferred that it is not the girth, size, or beautiful flowers that determine the significance of a tree but its usefulness that makes it important.

The trees that have sanctity in Sikhism include Bohr (Ficus Bengalensis), Pipli (Ficus Religiosa), Jand (Prosopis Spicigera), Garna (Capparis Horrida), Karir (Capparis Aaaphylla), Phalahi (Acacia modeta), Reru (Mimasa Leucophloea), Luhura (Cordia latifolia), Tahli (Shisham), Imli (Tamarind), Amb (Mangifera Indica), Harian Velan, Neem (Margassa), Ritha (Sapindus Mukorosa), Kalp (Mitragina Parvifolia) and Ber (Zizyphus Jujube).

Four of the most sacred trees associated with the Sikh shrines, namely Beri of Dukh Bhanjani, Beri of Sri Harmandir Sahib, Beri of Baba Budha (also of Sri Harmandir Sahib), Beri of Gurdwara Ber Sahib of Sultanpur Lodhi and Beri of Lachi Ber of Sri Harmandir Sahib highlight the role that trees have played in Sikh history. But this is not the only reason that led Jaspal to literally create a museum of trees. The first sparks of his interest in trees started when he was Minister of Forests. “I had a thought; a kind of realization that many of our gurdwaras are named after trees.

The Imli Sahib, the Ambh Sahib, and the Taali Sahib in Lahore; and these are sacred trees. But no one gave a thought to why these trees were connected to the shrines. So I began my research work, and I found out that at least 59 shrines were named after about 19 trees, and some of these trees don’t even exist any longer, while some of these shrines are untraceable.” Japsal for one means the Gurdwara Taahli Sahib, which he knew was located somewhere in Lahore, but since the tree was gone, no one knew any more where the shrine was. Still he stresses that his interest in the preservation of trees is ‘secular’.

“Religion may have a link with this interest of mine, but trees are important, trees must be preserved. Most of the people who have bought my book online are non-Sikhs, and none of my tree exhibitions have ever been held at Gurdwaras,” he claims. But at the same time, in paving Gurdwaras with marble, many of these ancient trees have been felled and an important part of Sikh heritage has been destroyed. The mango tree at Mohali’s shrine Ambh Sahib is now nothing but a stump.

THE MUSEUM: In order to scientifically preserve and propagate sacred trees and herbs which have social, religious, and cultural significance, the Chandigarh Nature and Health Society, a registered non-profit-organisation, has helped Jaspal in establishing the museum in Chandigarh, with support from the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, and the Botanical Survey of India.

The Museum of Trees has a large collection of trees, and its saplings, some nailed to the wall at eye level, accompanied by text that explains their background, benefits and history. Others are reproduced in multimedia form, especially those that have died. There are living historical trees, dead historical trees (represented in images) sacred trees and sacred herbs. There are healing and medicinal herbs and now Jaspal is beginning to work on kitchen herbs too. Most are not allowed to be touched while others such as the ‘chooi mooi’ or the morning glory, must be touched in order to see its characteristics.

The museum tells the story - the myths, customs, traditions and historical events - behind every tree that is planted outdoors or exhibited indoors. In the case of the Beri tree that Jaspal is taking with him, DNA from this plant extract could result in a cloned tree, so that the tree in Pakistan could be preserved in exactly the same form, and can also be represented in India. Complicated as it may sound, it is in fact not, and is the most intriguing new concept anyone has ever thought of.

For saplings or tree cuttings, Jaspal says he puts them first in roots trainers which are small plastic containers fertilized by a natural fertiliser from Kerala called Vermiculite. “After that we put it in the Mist Chamber, and rooting expectantly occurs after 2 months,” he explains. “Then we take it in the net house and place it there for two or three months.” Meanwhile, the towels have come and Jaspal has wrapped his beri tree cuttings in the damp towel. The leaves are already withered.

He hopes that by discovering more of these ancient trees, and not just those related to Sikhism, but also others in other parts of the world, he can help preserve them, so that one day, no tree can ever be extinct. Japsal’s love for trees more as a part of culture and heritage rather than any other reasons should be infectious everywhere in South Asia. In order to create a healthy community, to conduct research, and academic studies and to conserve history and environment tree preservation must become more common.

The Secretary FPAC with Chief Minister Punjab

2012-01-19T22:38:00.000-08:00

Aamir Rafique from Thatta Kedona (and the Secretary Foundation for Promotion of Academic Collaboration) met Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif and presented him Thatta Kedona dolls. Here are some of the pictures of the occasion.

Cob and bambo

2011-11-29T08:13:00.000-08:00

Cob and bambo construction material

2011-11-29T03:03:00.000-08:00

A cob and bamboo building made in a village in Sheikhupura district has won the prestigious first award for Asia-Pacific that is aimed at promoting innovative architecture focused on sustainable infrastructure for communities.

Commissioned by a Germany-based Pakistani family from Sheikhupura’s Jher Moulvi area, the project has been designed by architect Eike Roswag and his German team. The award-winning project that upgrades a traditional building method with effective low-tech measures through engineering and design won the top prize of $100,000 in Asia-Pacific of the Holcim Foundation.

The Earthen School Tipu Sultan Merkez in a small village near Lahore provides seven new classrooms in a school for underprivileged girls. The building is constructed from a locally-sourced cob (clay, sand, water and straw) lower-floor combined with an upper floor made of earth-filled bamboo walls. Intense research on cob construction resulted in a significant increase in strength and durability, and extended maintenance intervals compared to traditional approaches.

At the award ceremony in Singapore, Wowo Ding, head of jury and dean of architecture at Nanjing University, China, praised the project for propagating the use of new construction methods by the agrarian population and improving the local economic situation. “The new construction approach shows the rural community an affordable, high quality and durable alternative compared to widely-used but higher cost and less environmentally-compatible construction materials,” she said.

Tipu Sultan Merkez, which had started the school project in this remote village in Sheikhupura, was founded by Asaf Jah, a Pakistani expatriate living in Germany. His social activity is supported by his family in Germany: his German wife and his three children. His two sons, Karim Jah and Akim Jah, who attended the award ceremony, said over the years they developed long bindings with Pakistan through extensive journeys and stays in the country. Knowing the difficult reality of the people in the rural areas of Pakistan, they have committed themselves to continuous support to the project in different ways. “We want to help develop the region, give people fair chances for access to education and empower women. Basic and advanced school education and the possibility of learning a profession are essential for a self determined life. The Holcim Award will help us further develop the project and we feel encouraged to continue our efforts.”

On Wednesday the Jah brothers along with the award-winning architect will participate in a symposium in Lahore to present details of their concept of sustainable development in rural Pakistan.

The second award of the competition went to a Thai project team for the conversion of a former textile factory and adjacent land into a 1.4ha agricultural production site and retail outlet. The third prize was awarded to an ecologically-designed retail and commercial building in Malaysia.

Switzerland-based Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction conducts the Holcim Awards competition to promote sustainable responses to contemporary technological, environmental, socioeconomic and cultural issues affecting building and construction at national, regional and global levels. More than 6,000 submissions for projects located in 146 countries entered the competition with a total prize sum of $2 million per three-year cycle.