Featured Student: May 2008

Neel Kamal Chapagain

Neel Kamal Chapagain’s faculty adviser praises the architecture doctoral student’s “rare blend of intellectual curiosity, technological acumen, artistic creativity, and deep concern for maintaining social and cultural stability of indigenous peoples in the face of modernization and globalization.”

Professor Brian Schermer’s acclaim is backed up by Chapagain’s numerous academic honors. In his final undergraduate year in Nepal, Neel received his institution’s Best Thesis Award. He then received a scholarship from the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property and the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization for a course in Italy. Support for his master’s studies in Hawaii included a fellowship from the Asian Development Bank and a Hawaii Architectural Foundation Award. At UWM, he has held teaching and project assistantships and won a Chancellor’s Award.

Neel’s doctoral work on cultural heritage conservation in developing areas has generated wide interest: he has presented his research in international conferences in Nepal, India, China, Peru, Brazil, and the United States. He was also president of the Association of Students of Architecture in Nepal and an architect in Nepal and Bhutan focusing on cultural heritage conservation.

1) How would you describe your field of study/research to a friend who is not in your graduate program?

My research is based on a critique of preservation approaches in traditional/vernacular environments.

When we visit any underdeveloped or developing or tribal areas, we notice "interesting" buildings, settlements and culture. Scholars are interested in studying such culture and architecture. Other groups advocate for preserving such culture and environments. Some are also interested in improving such built environments to create"better" living conditions. Many organizations and professional groups are working in these regards. However, the impacts of such organized efforts have been a subject of debate. Are such intentions culturally appropriate? Are we interfering with people's right of self-determination? What do the inhabitant people think about their built environment? How do they perceive the assistance to preserve or develop or improve their environment? These questions lead us to a quest for understanding how these vernacular environments have been created, maintained, and modified over time. How do they still mediate changes to accommodate their changing lifestyle and other needs? My research seeks to explore the process that mediates change in traditional and vernacular built environments, and how such understanding can better inform our professional approaches.

2) What brought you to UWM for your graduate studies?

The architecture Ph.D. program in UWM is known for its focus on environment-behavior studies. While I was studying at the University of Hawaii, I once came to present a paper in a conference on South Asia at University of Wisconsin-Madison. Kapila Silva from UWM School of Architecture and Urban Planning was my colleague in the session that we organized. Kapila was completing his Ph.D. dissertation under the guidance of Professor Amos Rapoport at that time and our discussion during the conference perhaps drew me to the program.

3) What's been your best experience so far?

My best experience so far has been the peer group learning process. It is an enriching experience to be with colleagues who come from diverse areas of interest, but who are very supportive and inspiring in my area of interest too.

4) If you were able to merge another discipline with yours, what would that be and why?

I guess psychology could be a better fit because we really need to be able to understand people’s behavior in order to study or create or deal with architecture. In the same thought, anthropology could be another fit for my research approach.

5) What is your favorite stress-reduction activity?

Walking with a camera, preferably in places like Lake Park is my favorite. If walking outdoors is not feasible, I enjoy Web-browsing to catch up with news from across the world.

6) What do you most enjoy about Milwaukee?

The things I enjoy most about Milwaukee are the lake, the parks and the snow.

7) Is there anything that you've had to "give up" as a graduate student?

It’s not like giving up, rather it’s doing one of many things I want to do. If I were not here, I would probably be enjoying working in some remote areas in the Himalayas. I do miss my parents and family home back in Nepal, but the world seems closer in the age of Internet. So I haven’t had to give up so much as compared to what I am getting from here.

8) What are your plans for after graduate school?

I wish to engage myself working with small communities in the developing world on the issues of their built environment. I hope to refine my works, my research with the broader insights I have earned from the school, and later to share my experiences with new generations of students.

9) What trait do you find most necessary to succeed in graduate school?

Willingness to learn: By this I mean to be open to learn different viewpoints; and consistency and patience in your work. Also, success and progress are relative terms and we should not be too much carried away or frustrated by a measure of success or failure at any time.

10) Do you have any advice that you would give to a new graduate student in your program?

I think the most important thing would be to know what you are interested in. It is this interest that takes you through school. You are here for what you want to do, and not for what others want you to do.