Building with the rhythm of nature: a tribute to Didi Contractor

In the field of sustainable architecture, few figures stand out as much as Didi Contractor. This self-taught architect from Dharamsala, India, left an indelible mark with her innovative approach to building with natural materials. On the third anniversary of her passing, we reflect on the life and legacy of a woman who challenged conventional architectural norms and championed an environmentally friendly approach to construction. Didi Contractor’s journey from American-born artist to renowned architect in the Himalayas is a testament to her passion for creating structures that harmonize with nature rather than compete with it. Her unique vision and dedication to sustainable practices continue to inspire architects and environmentalists alike, making her story as relevant today as it was during her lifetime.

Didi Contractor (1929 – July 5, 2021), whose real name was Delia Kinzinger, was born in the USA. Her father, Edmund Kinzinger, was a German citizen and her mother, Alice Fish Kinzinger, was an American. Both were famous painters who belonged to the Bauhaus group in the early 1920s. Delia Kinzinger was raised in Texas, USA, and also spent some time in Europe.

At the age of 11, she happened to listen to Frank Lloyd Wright and visited an exhibition of his work with her parents. This made a lasting impression on her and developed her inclination for the profession of architecture. However, her parents never encouraged her to study architecture and as a result, she completed her master’s degree in art at the University of Colorado.

During her college days in 1951, she fell in love with Ramji Narayan, an Indian-Gujarati civil engineering student. They got married, returned to India and started a family of three. In the early years of their marriage, the couple stayed in Nashik for ten years in a joint family and then in the 1960s they moved to Mumbai and lived in a house on the famous Juhu beach. But soon, circumstances changed and she had to part ways with her husband and decided to settle in a small village Sidhbari near Dharamshala.

Sidhbari is located in the foothills of the Dhauladhar Mountains in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh state. Since then, she has made Sidhbari her home and concentrated on pursuing her first love: architecture. With her artistic background, she quickly moved on to architecture and interior design. For her, there was only a moderate change to clay, bamboo, slate and river stone. Once she learned the properties of these materials and the art of handling them, there was no looking back.

Over the last thirty years, she has designed and built more than fifteen houses in and around Dharamshala and several institutions such as the Nishta Rural Health, Education and Environment Centre in Dharamshala, the Dharmalaya Centre for Compassionate Living in Bir and the Sambhaavnaa Institute of Public Policy and Politics in Kandwari.

A close look at Didi’s architecture reveals that her buildings seem to grow out of the earth and are in perfect harmony with nature. This is in stark contrast to modern buildings today that seem to conflict with nature. A perfect yang-yin relationship between her buildings and the landscape around them is thus a key striking feature of her architecture. Didi herself explained: “I am very interested in using landscape as a visual and emotional bridge between the built and the natural. Look at the old buildings, they are beautiful in the landscape and the new ones are at war with it – they say something. So, we conflict with nature, and nature will conflict with us. I imagine a building growing, like a plant, in a landscape. Landscape architecture is a key to this thing of marrying the earth with the building.”

Another important aspect of Didi’s architecture is the creative use of local materials such as mud, bamboo, river stone and slate. Over the years, she has perfected the art of handling these materials in such a way that they create a sense of connection, joy and humility. Didi elaborated on this aspect: “I want to emphasize playfulness, imagination and celebration. By celebrating materials, noticing their qualities and celebrating them as you work them into a building, celebrating the quality or the plasticity of the mud and celebrating the inherent, innate and inevitable qualities of each material. What the slate does to light and how the materials play with nature. I try to create something as silent as possible. What works should just look natural, as if it was meant to be.”

To create eco-friendly architecture, Didi came up with a unique approach of following the “rhythm of the universe” or the “cycles of nature.” She always tried to synchronize the building process with the cycles of nature so that the final product would be in harmony with the environment. She explained this approach: “One of the many things that is wrong today is that people are not ready to adjust their lives to the rhythm of the universe. We do not see the wisdom of nature. Technology should also be consistent with a humanistic agenda to make people comfortable with themselves, with each other and with nature. Ecologically sensitive structures should be built according to the season, while cement structures can be built quickly and at any time of the year. One of the problems with contemporary life is the loss of contact with the cycles of nature. When I take something out of the natural cycle, I think about how it affects that cycle and whether it can be replaced or reused – soil from an adobe building can be reused in a vegetable garden.”

Didi was, as a matter of choice, very fascinated by another important element of architectural design: the ‘stairs’. In all her buildings you find a very creative use of this element in relation to location, direction and design. She said: “With stairs, the architect is in control. I like to plan the experience of what you will pass, what you will have on both sides and where you will go down or up. The stairs are often the key to organizing the space in any design. With stairs, I feel like I am guiding the emotional entrance of a person.”

As an original artist, Didi had developed the art of dealing with natural light in interiors very imaginatively and artistically. A survey of her buildings reveals the emphasis she places on this essential element of design. For her, light is the soul of architecture. It emphasizes the plastic forms, figures, geometric lines, colors and textures of materials.

Didi Contractor’s legacy extends far beyond the structures she creates. Her life’s work is a testament to the power of vision, determination, and harmony with nature. In an era of rapid urbanization and environmental challenges, Didi’s approach to architecture serves as a beacon of sustainable living and thoughtful design. She proved that it is possible to create beautiful, functional spaces without compromising the earth’s resources or disrupting natural cycles. Her innovative use of local materials, her respect for traditional building techniques, and her ability to seamlessly blend structures with their surroundings continue to inspire architects, environmentalists, and artists around the world. Didi Contractor’s journey from American-born artist to respected Himalayan architect embodies the transformative power of following your passion and respecting the wisdom of nature.

As we remember Didi Contractor on the third anniversary of her passing, we celebrate not only an architect, but a visionary who showed us a path to living in harmony with our environment. Her legacy lives on in every mud brick, bamboo frame, and carefully designed space she left behind, reminding us that true sustainability is achievable through creativity, respect for nature, and a deep understanding of our place within it.

Sarbjit Bahga (b1957) is an architect, author, photo artist and archivist from Chandigarh. He is the principal architect of Bahga Design Studio LLP. Earlier, Bahga worked in the Department of Architecture, Punjab, Punjab Health Systems Corporation and Punjab Mandi Board in various capacities.

He has over 42 years of practical experience in designing various types of buildings, complexes and large campuses. His completed works include an eclectic range of administrative, recreational, educational, medical, residential, commercial and agricultural buildings. A monograph on his selected works entitled “MODERN REGIONALISM: The Architecture of Sarbjit Bahga” has been published.

Bahga is also an avid researcher and prolific architectural writer, having published 12 books, including Modern Architecture in India, New Indian Houses, Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret: The Indian Architecture, Trees in Urban Habitats, Landscape Architecture of Human Habitats, New Indian Architecture -1947-2020 and Hand Drawn Perspectives and Sketches. Bahga’s contribution to architecture has been largely recognized. He is a three-time winner of the World Architecture Community Awards. His name is included in the Guinness Book of World Records for designing the “longest covered concrete corridor” at the Vidya Sagar Institute of Mental Health, Amritsar.