Monday, June 9, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Speaker: Victoria Lautman, Journalist
Organized by: AIANY Architecture Dialogue Committee
Price: Free for AIA members; $10 for non-members

Stepwells are a largely unknown form of water-architecture unique to India and spanning more than fifteen-hundred years. Essential to survival by providing year-round water supplies, these subterranean edifices, which can be sunk over eight stories deep into the earth, are also marvels of architecture, engineering, and art. Besides harvesting and preserving water, stepwells functioned as democratic civic centers for both Hindu and Muslim populations, providing cool havens and accommodations at remote caravan stops. But whether ornately ornamented or restrained and utilitarian, these fascinating structures are quickly disappearing from the historic record due to lack of preservation or interest.

Speaker:
Victoria Lautman is a Chicago-based print and broadcast journalist with over twenty-five years experience. Besides hosting several radio programs, she’s a former city editor for Architectural Record, Metropolitan Home, Art + Auction, and Home and Garden, and has contributed to many international publications. Lautman travels frequently to India and writes for several publications there while documenting stepwells throughout the country. She’s visited over eighty and is actively promoting their existence in the hopes of stimulating interest.

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