Iqtedar Alam

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

Key publications

Towards an Architecture of the Indian Ocean: Mapping Syncretic Grammar of Coastal Cities & Architecture through Ibn Battuta’s Water Journeys (1342-1347) in Cosmopolitan Cultures and Oceanic Thought, Edited by D.M. Menon and N. Zaidi, Routledge India Publications (eBook ISBN: 9781003300939), 2023, 152-167 Landscapes as Museums: Staging & Framing Kashmir's Historical Geography. In LA Journal of Landscape Architecture, India (ISSN:0975-0177), Issue 75, December 2022. Of Hauz & Kund: A Scientific Study of Water Infrastructure, in Science in Architecture, Edited by T. Munawer, Medtech- A Division of Scientific International (ISBN 978-93-89393-60-6), 2020, 93-103. 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 Q. Irshad & M. Juned, Wellworth Books International (ISBN 978-8193774953), New Delhi, 63-67. Empire & Watersheds: A Digital Repository Template for ‘Bunds & Hauzs’ of the Aravallis in Delhi, in The Science & Splendor of Indian Architecture, Edited by Taiyaba Munawer, Aryan Books International, India (Forthcoming 2025)

Teaching and Supervisions

Research supervision

Supervisor: Dr Cameron Petrie

Job Titles

PhD Student in Archaeology

General Info

Not available for consultancy

Research Expertise / Fields of study

Built Environment

Heritage Management

Environmental Archaeology, Geoarchaeology, and Landscape studies

Cultural Heritage

Contact Details

ia378 [at] cam.ac.uk

Affiliations

Person keywords

Water Infrastructure, Architectural History, Heritage, GIS, Remote Sensing

Subjects

Archaeology

Themes

Environment, Landscapes and Settlement

Heritage

Geographical areas

South Asia

Periods of interest

Medieval

Post-Medieval

Biography

Research

Key Publications

Teaching and Supervisions

Job Titles

General Info

Contact Details

Affiliations

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