Biography
I am an architect by training. I did my undergraduate and masters studies in architecture from the Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture & Ekistics, Jamia Millia Islamia at New Delhi, India. My masters specialisation was in urban regeneration.
I work in the field of urban conservation, cultural geography, and architectural histories in South Asia. Beyond purely architectural preoccupations I design and curate works exploring ethnomusicology, cultural landscapes, and socio-religious ephemera.
I am currently a Gulbenkian Yuval Cambridge International Scholar at Churchill College.
Research
My research interest includes historic water infrastructure and the urban & architectural history of the Sultanate and Mughal period. My thesis explores the system of waterworks and drainage in the historic city of Shahjahanabad. The historical water system of Shahjahanabad has significance on the urban-regional scale, which demands detailed investigation, calling out on its success and failures, both on utilitarian and aesthetic grounds. These water systems hold great meaning and utility not only for historical preservation but also for facilitating better-informed urban infrastructure policies that incorporate informed and historically contextualized architectural continuities and optimally utilise extant tools and structures.
Key Publications
Edited Book
Zia, H. & Alam, I., Ekistics: An Approach to Urban-Regional Planning & Development, Vol. 1: Urban Ecology, Wellworth Books International, New Delhi, 2020, ISBN 978-8193774946
Book Chapters
Alam, I., Of Hauz & Kund: A Scientific Study of Water Infrastructure, in Science in Architecture, Edited by Munawer, T., 2020, Medtech- A Division of Scientific International, ISBN 978-93-89393-60-6
Alam, I. & Dogne, N., Ekistics & the City: ‘Nature’ Vulnerability Evaluation of Delhi, in Urban Development: Philosophies, Principles & Practices, Edited by Irshad, Q., 2020, Jamia Publishing House, ISBN 978-81-948211-4-4
Alam, I., Transitioning Waterscapes of the Two Great Tanks of Delhi: Hauz-i-Shamsi & Hauz-i-Khas, in Ekistics: An Approach to Urban-Regional Planning & Development, Vol. 2: Urban Transformation, Edited by Irshad, Q. & Juned, M., New Delhi, 2020, ISBN 978-8193774953
Alam, I., Building Material and Geographies: Mapping the Shrinking ‘Vernacular’ of Rural Bengal, Architecture & Planning for Villages, Edited by SM Akhtar, 2021, Wellworth Books International, ISBN 978-81-953960-0-9
Irshad, Q. & Alam, I., Historic & Modern Streets of Delhi: A Discussion on Visual Order, in Ekistics: An Approach to Urban-Regional Planning & Development, Vol. 3: Urban Futures, Edited by Akhtar, S.M., 2020, ISBN 978-8193774960
Alam, I., Revisiting the Pedagogical Tools for Urban Design, in Architecture Pedagogy: Concepts, Theories & Paradigms, Edited by Akhtar, S.M., New Delhi, 2019, ISBN 978-8193774939
Irshad, Q. and Alam, I., Sustenance is not a mirage: Renaissance is the need of the time, in Society, Architects and Emerging Issues, Commonwealth Association of Architects, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2007, ISBN 984-300-000498-9
Teaching and Supervisions
Supervisor: Dr Cameron Petrie
