5. Built Form and Material Changes

And if you look at the evolution of house forms, initially they were given as a tents, then the government have provide with thatched roofs, mud houses of refugees. Then, over the years they get modified into a kind of brick and concrete houses and mostly with the tile roofing and a single room houses with all the wattle and daub constructions, how they have transformed and the new camp how they have started extending and how two different families and then how they started expanding this houses.

Housing forms have transformed over time, beginning with the simplest structures like tents. Initially, refugees were provided with tents, thatched roofs, and mud houses. As time went on, these structures evolved into more permanent homes made of bricks and concrete. Most of these new homes featured tile roofing and often consisted of single-room designs using materials like wattle and daub. Additionally, as the settlements grew, houses expanded to accommodate families, adapting to the changing needs of the residents.

Imagine moving from a camping tent to a cozy cabin. At first, you might be living in a simple tent, which serves its purpose for short stays. However, over time, as you spend longer in that location, you decide to build a sturdy cabin with solid walls, where you can stay comfortably and have space for upgrades. This reflects the journey from temporary to permanent living conditions that many refugees experience.

So, the second case study is about the Clement town and this is a kind of an urban scenario, is a Dondupling of Tibetan settlements, so you have all the religious setting here and there are residential setting over here.

Clement Town serves as a case study that represents an urban area where Tibetan settlements are established. This setting is characterized by both religious and residential spaces, illustrating how communities organize their living environments around cultural and spiritual needs.

Think of a college campus where academic buildings, hostels, and places of worship are located closely together. This organization allows students to live, learn, and engage in spiritual practices without travelling far, reflecting the same integration seen in Clement Town.

And all these important landmarks including the school, medical clinic and the settlement office becomes one of the major component of their public place as well because that is where most of the records, most of the association with the community is taken care of.

In the settlements, important structures such as schools, medical clinics, and settlement offices play a crucial role as public spaces. These landmarks are important for community life as they help residents maintain their records and foster community relations, acting as hubs where people gather for various needs.

Consider a community center in your neighborhood that includes a library, a doctor's office, and event spaces. This center becomes a focal point where residents interact, seeking services and building connections with one another, similar to the landmarks in the Tibetan settlements.

And what you can see in a Tibet, the monasteries and how it is reflected in the Dehradun and they try to carry out the impressions of what already they know and including the scale, the proportions and again how a big room could be divided for a multi-purpose areas and how this is what you see in a multi-storey structures in Dehradun as well.

The architectural forms found in Tibetan monasteries have made their way into Dehradun, reflecting cultural continuity. The designs incorporate familiar scales and proportions, and spaces are often multifunctional, allowing large rooms to be used for various activities, especially in multi-storey buildings.

Imagine a restaurant that started as a small family diner, and as it grows, it expands into a multi-story establishment. The layout remains familiar to its original style, with communal tables still facilitating gatherings, thus keeping the essence of the original in a larger context.

Whereas, in Choglamsar because it is very close to the Tibetan environment and the way of lifestyle and the Ladakhis also they have a similar culture, in that way assimilation was clearly possible here because of its close proximity to its environment.

Choglamsar, being close to the Tibetan cultural environment, exemplifies how assimilation of architectural practices occurs. The local Ladakhi community shares cultural similarities with Tibetans, which facilitates the blending of architectural styles and living practices.

Think of two neighborhoods where families share similar traditions. Over time, their homes may start blending features, like color schemes and decorations, reflecting their integration and shared lifestyle.

So, at an asylum seeker stage what they do was they try to settle down in a kind of U-shaped pattern in the canal because first of all canal is one of the important water resource and here, they also have talk about the tent of the head which is also referred as the settlement office and you have the teachers quarters and the school which are more important but why do they make this is a Leh Manali Highway.

In the early stages of settling as asylum seekers, communities often arrange their living spaces in a U-shaped pattern around vital resources like canals. This arrangement not only supports their daily needs but also establishes essential structures like schools and settlement offices, facilitating community organization.

Think of a small garden where the plants are arranged in a circular pattern around a fountain. The fountain is essential for watering the plants and serves as a gathering spot for people to enjoy the scenery, much like how water resources shape the layout of settlements.

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