Privacy on the move: two-way Processes, Data and Legacy of Danish metropolitan and colonial Architecture and Urbanism

Project Information

INDIABRIDGE

Grant agreement ID: 895924

DOI

10.3030/895924

Project closed

EC signature date 26 May 2020

Start date 1 September 2021

End date 31 August 2024

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 310 968,00

EU contribution

€ 310 968,00

Coordinated by

KOBENHAVNS UNIVERSITET
Denmark

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - INDIABRIDGE (Privacy on the move: two-way Processes, Data and Legacy of Danish metropolitan and colonial Architecture and Urbanism)

Reporting period: 2021-09-01 to 2024-08-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The research question was How did historical notions of privacy shape Danish architecture and urbanism across its empire, and how did the colonies influence Danish metropolitan architecture and urbanism with an Eastern imprint?
The fellow examined how historical notions of privacy shaped relations between individuals, society, cities and architecture between Denmark and the East and the counterpart between the East and Denmark.
The Marie Skłodowska-Curie research project (MSCRP) was important for society by focusing on the histories of marginalised communities and narratives often excluded or silenced; examining spatial knowledge and practices between East and West and vice versa; providing epistemology about the rhetoric and politics of privacy; by examining colonialism's impact on architecture; by adopting an interdisciplinary approach and visual methods; by understanding historical notions it informed contemporary debates on privacy, urbanism, and architecture.
The objectives were: 1. produce a study and analysis of production, dissemination and appropriation of privacy in architecture and urbanism; 2. To develop a site-based theory of privacy in European architecture and urbanism influenced by colonial encounters; 3. To compare privacy in architecture and urbanism in Europe and beyond Europe; 4. To expand the focus and internationalise the host - Centre for Privacy Studies (PRIVACY); 5. Strengthen the fellow’s profile as an independent/interdisciplinary researcher.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Work performed during MSCRP was ascribed to work packages (WPs). Here, we summarise each.
Work package 1_Management and Coordination
The Fellow conducted management and coordination of MSCRP with the supervisor and host to interrelate and coordinate activities, timetable, methods and instruments used, through milestones and deliverables, as well as quality assurance procedures.
Work package 2_Documentation Method: Analytical historical-operative approach
Archival research, and Site-based analysis and comparison of historical notions of privacy.
Deliverables: 1. Dissemination of preliminary results of architectural/urban survey on site in academic setting (seminar); 2. Submission of draft papers and book proposal to publishers.
Work package 3_Theory development
Documentation of indicators; investigation of the Eastern imprint of privacy in Denmark; and definition of the intellectual transfer from India.
Deliverables: The Fellow started a book draft and submitted final peer-reviewed articles that will cumulate the research.
PUBLICATIONS FORTHCOMING
Book chap 2025, The Material Legacies of Nordic Empire, Mednick, T and Pushaw, B (eds.), Duke University Press, UK
Article 2024/25, “Domestic space, race and gender in the eighteenth-century Danish home”, Journal for 18th Century Studies
Book 2024, A History of Privacy in Danish and Indian Architecture: Urbanism of Colonialism, Routledge, UK. (contract signed with publisher)
Book chap 2025, “Public shared places and private absent divides. Identity and Space of Colonial Urbanism”. The Routledge Companion to Art and Challenges to Empire, UK
PUBLICATIONS MADE
Grancho, N, Colonnese, F and Schaeverbeke, R (eds.), Approaches to Drawing in Architectural and Urban Design. Cambridge Scholar Publishing, 2024
Grancho, N, with Colonnese, F. and Schaeverbeke, R., Introduction, Approaches to Drawing in Architectural and Urban Design. Cambridge Scholar Publishing, 2024, ix-2
Grancho, N, Subaltern Drawings: Can Architecture, Urbanism and Fieldwork strike back?, Approaches to Drawing in Architectural and Urban Design. Cambridge Scholar Publishing, 2024, 220-242
Grancho, N, Hybridity as an appellation of twentieth-century Islamic built environment. Europe’s Islamic Legacy: 1900 to the Present. Brill & Nijhoff Publishers, 2023, 69-97
Grancho, N, Drawing the “colour line”: race, ethnicity and religion in Diu, Journal of Race, Ethnicity and the City, October 2022, 1-26
Work package 4_Training and complementary activities
Deliverables:
Weekly seminars at academic settings.
Pedagogical and supervision/tutoring courses.
Completion of training and pedagogical activities.
TEACHING AND ADVISING EXPERIENCE
The Fellow’s teaching at The Royal Danish Academy (KADK) included:
2021-2024 Master’s program in Spatial Design at the Institute of Architecture and Design, and supervising theses in Master Programme Spatial Design
2022-2024, Semester architectural critics of students work
2022, Invited lecturer of the PhD Course The Historical Interior
Invited critic at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), USA, Advanced Design Studio, “The Cloud is Material” 2022.
Work package 5 _Communication, Dissemination, Outreach Activities and Career Development Plan
Presentation and feedback to findings and conclusions and set up of outreach activities.
Participation by Invitation at International seminars and conferences.
Active participation in international conferences (IC).
Due to his work, the Fellow:
1. was invited to become an Affiliated Member of the Indian Ocean World Centre at McGill U, Canada, in 2024; a Visiting Researcher at the Department of Architecture, UMass-Amherst, USA, in 2024; and a Guest Professor and Researcher at KADK (2021-2024).
2. was awarded the prizes/awards: Samuel H. Kress Foundation in recognition of scholarly work for the Historians of Eighteenth-Century Art and Architecture, USA, 2023; Grant from The Carlsberg Foundation to fund the International Conference; the Asian Dynamics Initiative prize, University of Copenhagen, for Short Term Scientific Mission in India, Prize for research, 2023; Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions fellow of the week, 2022.
3. authored and chaired 5 sessions at International conferences.
4. organised/coordinated the following scientific events: PhD Course The Historical Interior. KADK, November 2022, IC Privacy Matters. How Interiors Make and Break our Cities, PRIVACY and KADK, April 2023. (https://royaldanishacademy.com/en/calendar/privacy-matters-how-interiors-make-and-break-our-cities) IC Privacy and Colonialism, PRIVACY, October 2022; Research Seminar “The effigial tombs of Pedro I and Inês de Castro at Alcobaça (c. 1360-67) from private biography to public display.” PRIVACY, May 2022.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

We can infer some critical points about the MSCRP's potential impact and significance and identify societal implications:
Progress Beyond State-of-the-Art
Development of a new research area by examining the bilateral Danish and Indian architecture on privacy
Interdisciplinary Approach by combining architecture and urbanism with history, anthropology, and area studies
Comparative Framework between North/South Europe.
Policy and Governance Cultural Understanding and Heritage Preservation
Enhanced cross-cultural appreciation by examining the bilateral influence Denmark/India that fostered an understanding of cultural exchange
Improved heritage conservation: MSCRP may inform strategies for colonial heritage.
Urbanism and Architecture
Privacy provides valuable insights leading to more culturally sensitive and privacy-conscious spaces.
Addressing surveillance concerns: As technology becomes more prevalent, understanding historical privacy could help to balance security needs with individual privacy.
Education and Public Engagement
Enriching architectural education: MSCRP findings could be incorporated into architectural and historical education curricula, providing students with a deeper understanding of cross-cultural influences

East view of fort Dansborg, Tranquebar, India, 2023

Map of Tranquebar 1733, Gregers Trellund