3-9 May 2013 #654
Afghan experience

This superbly produced book records the flood, the damage, and the painstaking restoration. Written by Indian architect Tanvi Maheswari, it is passionately penned and superbly illustrated in which one can sense the author’s dedication for preservation and restoration in a difficult conflict environment.
The book looks at the whole history of bath houses, and traces it back to Roman times and Greek influences. The technique of building the baths is faithfully revived, local materials and skills were used. Bricks, lime plaster, cut stones were hard to come by, but there was plenty of cement and steel. The project is a lesson in sustainable architecture and how cumulative knowledge can be used to restore historical sites and also yield lessons for modern day designs.

Life of an Afghan Hammam is being launched in New Delhi’s Habitat Centre, Gulmohur Hall at 7pm on Friday, 3 May.
Open to all.
Life of an Afghan Hammam
ignited extinguished rekindled
by Tanvi Maheshwari
arch i platform 2013
archi.iplatform@gmail.com