GNDU joins hands with Global Sikhs, CRCI for building flood-resilient houses

In a push towards blending academic expertise with humanitarian service, Guru Nanak Dev University on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Global Sikhs and Cultural Resource Conservation Initiative (CRCI) India Pvt Ltd, New Delhi, to spearhead post-flood rehabilitation efforts in Punjab.

The partnership, aims to rebuild flood-ravaged homes using innovative, climate-resilient architectural solutions that integrate traditional Punjabi building wisdom with modern engineering.

The MoU was signed by GNDU Registrar Prof KS Chahal and architect Gurmit Rai on behalf of the CRCI and Amarpreet Singh from Global Sikhs.

GNDU Vice-Chancellor Prof Karamjeet Singh said that the partnership seeks to integrate academic research with on-site documentation, community consultations and design development to help families whose homes were destroyed or severely impacted by the devastating floods earlier this year.

The initiative brings together multidisciplinary expertise to develop resilient housing solutions, grounded in both traditional knowledge systems and contemporary design strategies.

Prof KS Chahal said under the MoU, students and faculty of the GNDU’s Department of Architecture would conduct field documentation, housing assessments, comparative analysis and toolkit development, while working closely with specialists from Global Sikhs and CRCI. The collaboration also aims to create design prototypes for new flood-resilient homes.

Prof Navdeep Singh Sodhi said the project would run through 2025–2026, during which Global Sikhs would facilitate community coordination and field logistics, while the CRCI would provide technical guidance on documentation, vernacular architecture, and the development of resilience-based design toolkits.