Listen to podcast
Speaker: Sanjeev Shankar – read more about Sanjeev and his work HERE
Living Root Bridges are Ficus elastica-based ecosystems within dense sub-tropical moist broadleaf forest eco-region of North Eastern Indian Himalayas. Ranging in span from 15 feet to 250 feet these bridges are grown by indigenous tribes over a time period of 15 to 30 years, and last for several centuries offering an extraordinary model for long-term socio-ecological resilience. Sanjeev Shankar discusses these living plant-based ecosystems, and explores a socio-scientific framework for fundamental research and future application of this technology.
Sanjeev Shankar uses his training in design, science and architecture to merge traditional knowledge with contemporary patterns to nurture responsible solutions with positive socio-economic-ecological impact. A recipient of the Chevening fellowship from Britain and the DAAD fellowship from Germany, his works have been featured at the Royal Institute of British Architects in London, Centre for Architecture in New York, International Association of Bridge and Structural Engineering in Geneva and Hyde Park Art Center in Chicago. He was shortlisted for the Emerging Architecture award at the Royal Institute of British Architects in London in 2009, won the ’10 Great Ideas to change the world’ competition at Indian Institute of Technology Mumbai in 2010, and has won the ‘outstanding young engineer contribution’ award for the paper Living Root Bridges: State of knowledge, fundamental research and future application at the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering conference in Geneva in 2015.