Krupali Uplekar Krusche, PhD
Associate Professor, Director DHARMA (Digital Historic Architecture and Material Analysis) Lab, and Director DVARCA (Development and Advancement of Resilient Cities Alliance) Lab
574.631.9210
Krupali Uplekar Krusche is the Director of DHARMA (Digital Historic Architecture and Material Analysis)and the Director DVARCA (Development and Advancement of Resilient Cities Alliance) research teams. She teaches urban and architectural design and her expertise is in digital documentation at the School of Architecture. Since 2007, she has founded and directed DHARMA Lab research specializing in 3D documentation of World Heritage Sites using advanced mapping techniques. This includes the digital documentation of Taj Mahal in partnership with the Archeological Survey of India (ASI), the world renowned Roman Forum in partnership with the Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Roma (now known as P.AR.Co), Ministry of Heritage and Culture and the Archaeological Service, Rome and her latest project started in Nov 2016, is documenting the Belvedere at the Vatican in collaboration with the Chief Architect at the Vatican Museums and the Sovrintendenza Beni Architettonici. These projects are part of the four-year agreement with the World Heritage Center of UNESCO.
Krusche has written multiple papers, conference proceedings and books through this research. A 3D Exhibit and International Conference, 'The Digital Future of World Heritage' was conducted in partnership with the United States Embassy to Italy, NASA, UNESCO and the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage in 2014. A Drawing Exhibit of the ongoing work was set up at the Villino Stroganoff, titled New drawings of the Vatican Belvedere, in collaboration with the Vatican and Bibliotheca Hertziana, Rome in 2018.
The first of the two books on the forum have been published recently titled, From Pen to Pixel Studies of the Roman Forum and the Digital Future of World Heritage, L'Erma di Bretschneider, spring 2021. Prof. Krusche co-authored a book titled Rediscovering the Hindu Temple: The Sacred Architecture and Urbanism of India, Cambridge Scholars Press, fall 2012.
Beyond DHARMA, Krusche is the Director of DVARCA Lab. DVARCA, is a team of scientists and researchers tackling issues related to climate change, including sea level rise as it relates to regional and urban design interventions. This research brings together scientists that are examining incremental changes in sea level rise with practitioners who are planning and building transformative cities to build more resilient cities that can act as net zero, positive green contributors in reduction of carbon emission and heat island effects on the climate. The research includes planning tools like assessing onsite responses to transformations throughout the year being recorded and included with studies done by NASA Sea Level Change Team (N-SLCT). These studies are used to create comprehensive urban planning solutions on a regional scale for the site through faculty expertise at Notre Dame. The resulting proposal is generally to the level of an individualized local community with impact on the ground and local interventions for it. Local and National government collaboration is valuable. Long term goals of the projects include:
1. Satellite studies to examine projected NASA sea level changes for a given city and the specific impact of the same on the land mass in question.
2. Find immediate ways to support the reduction in emissions this includes environmentally friendly building materials and walkable cities with public transportation.
3. Find ways to update the sewage system of the city and infrastructure to reduce runoffs. This should include extremely strict regulations for industrial runoffs.
4. Replenish the groundwater table of the area with recharge methods using urban design solutions.
5. Reintroduce natural forms of barriers to break incoming waves.
6. Create edges and levees that are architecturally savvy and significant to block the impact of the sea level rise.
Her latest project involves consulting with the Mumbai Port Trust for the redevelopment of the Eastern Waterfront of Mumbai, India. She is also researching the impact of sea level rise in Mumbai and the development of the southern coast of the island city in the near future.
Krusche is partnering with many organizations and agencies like Aga Khan Trust for Culture, Habitat for Humanity, USTDA, and is also involved on the N-SLCT Practitioner Consultation Board.
As a principal investigator, Krusche has won many grants for her research with a total of approximately 1.4mil grant funds received and another 2.0 mil underway. She has multiple citations of her work including media agencies.
She is a practicing architect with design, conservation and urban design consultation in the United States and India.
Krusche has previously served as the Associate Dean for Research from 2018 till 2022 and served as the Director of the Rome Program at Notre Dame from 2014 till 2018.
Krusche received her PhD from Technical University Dresden with Professors Thomas Will and Rahul Mehrotra, and Master's from Anhalt University of Applied Sciences, Dessau where the Bauhaus was hosted. She holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Bombay University, India.
What are we fighting for: https://fightingfor.nd.edu/2015/fighting-to-preserve-our-heritage/
Areas of Expertise
- Classical Antiquity
- Community Building
- Historic Preservation
- Research methodology
- Sacred Architecture
- Sustainable Architecture and Urbanism
- Urban Design
- Urban design, history, and theory
Recently Taught Courses
ARCH 41121 Design VI
ARCH 41111 Design V
ARCH 50411 Research & Documentation of Historic Buildings
ARCH 57421 Special Studies: Documentation and Preservation of World Heritage
ARCH 60511 Structures I
Select Publications
Krusche, K., “Continuing the Legacy of Boni – Advancement in 3D Digital Mapping of the Roman Forum-The DHARMA Forum Project” in Krusche, K., and Fortini, P., eds. From Pen to Pixel Studies of the Roman Forum and the Digital Future of World Heritage. Roma: L' Erma di Bretschneider, Jan 2021, pp 149-250. ISBN-13: 978-88-913-1945-6, ISBN: 88-913-1945-7.
Krusche, K., “The Digital Future of World Heritage, Introduction” in Krusche, K., and Fortini, P., eds. From Pen to Pixel Studies of the Roman Forum and the Digital Future of World Heritage. Roma: L' Erma di Bretschneider, Jan 2021, pp 287-289. ISBN-13: 978-88-913-1945-6, ISBN: 88-913-1945-7.
Krusche, K., “3D App on the Roman Forum” in Krusche, K., and Fortini, P., eds. From Pen to Pixel Studies of the Roman Forum and the Digital Future of World Heritage. Roma: L' Erma di Bretschneider, Jan 2021, pp 289-295. ISBN-13: 978-88-913-1945-6, ISBN: 88-913-1945-7.
Krusche, K., “Using Technology for the Benefit of Tradition: Lessons Learned from the Neumarkt Development, Dresden” in Durability in Construction: Tradition and Sustainability in 21st Century Architecture, R. Economakis, ed., London: Papadakis, 2015, pp 168-175. ISBN-13: 978-1906506551
Krusche, K., Turner, P., Sweet, C.J., “History in 3D: New Virtualization Techniques for Innovative Architectural and Archeological Scholarship and Education,” in Archaeology in the Digital Era, Graeme, E., Amsterdam University Press, 2014. ISBN-13: 978-9089646637
Uplekar [Krusche], K. “Historic Preservation and its relevance today, Examination of Dresden's Frauenkirche in Light of the Venice Charter” in The Venice Charter Revisited: Modernism, Conservation and Tradition in the 21st Century, M. Hardy, ed., Cambridge Scholars Press, 2008, pp 446-461. ISBN-13: 978-18-4718-688-1.
Uplekar [Krusche], K. "Transforming Historic City Centres: Integrated Approach of Urban Design and Historic Preservation" in New Architecture and Urbanism, Development of Indian Traditions, D. Prasad, ed., First Edition, New Delhi: INTBAU India, 2008, pp 103–106. ISBN-13: 978-81-7525-879-2.
Krusche, K. “Decoding a Hindu Temple: Toronto’s Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) Shri Swaminarayan Mandir and the Mandala as a Principle of Design,” Journal of the Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada, May 2022.
Krusche, K. “3D Documentation and Visualization of the Forum Romanum: A Dharma Project,” Ioannides M. et al. (eds) Digital Heritage. Progress in Cultural Heritage: Documentation, Preservation, and Protection. EuroMed 2018. Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics), vol 11196. Springer, Cham, 2018, pp. 281-300. ISBN: 978-3-030-01761-3.
Krusche, K. “3D Digital Documentation; From a Field of Specialization to an Interdisciplinary Point of Interaction,”NCPTT, Jean Lafitte National Historical Park, Heritage Documentation Programs (NPS – National Park Services), and the APTI Technical Committee for Documentation, 2017, from https://ncptt.nps.gov/blog/3d-digital-documentation-from-a-field-of-specialization-to-an-interdisciplinary-point-of-interaction-2/
Krusche, K., and Sweet, C. “Documenting National and World Heritage Sites: The need to integrate Digital Documentation and 3D Scanning with Traditional Hand Measuring techniques,” 3D Digital Documentation Summit, National Center for Preservation Technology and Training, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, 2013, from https://ncptt.nps.gov/blog/documenting-national-and-world-heritage-sites/
[Uplekar] Krusche, K. “Heritage, Tourism & Conservation at the Taj Mahal,” Indian Architect and Builder, Jasubhai Media, Dec 2011, Vol 25 (4).
Krusche, K. PH Kapp, H Sites, G Photogrammetry. “The need to integrate Digital Documentation and 3D Scanning with Traditional Hand Measuring techniques,” SMARTDoc: Heritage Recording and Information Management in the Digital Age, University of Pennsylvania, 2010.
[Uplekar] Krusche, K., Ajjain, D. Anders, S., Dokonal, I. and Kapadia, J. “History, Morphology and Perfect Proportions of Mughal Tombs: The Secret to Creation of Taj Mahal,” Archnet-IJAR, International Journal of Architectural Research, Archnet-Design media Lab at MIT publishing, Vol 4, Issue 1, 2010, pp 158-178. ISSN - International 1994-6961.
[Uplekar] Krusche, K. “Keeping Up with Heritage: Tourism and Issues of Conservation at Taj Mahal, India,” World Heritage and Tourism: Managing the Global and the Local, June 2‐4, 2010, Quebec City, Canada, Presses de l’Université Laval, pp. 748-758. ISBN PDF: 978-27-6379-438-9.
Uplekar [Krusche], K. “Transformation of Historic Urban Centers: Finding the urban origins of Bombay and planning its future” at the 12th International Seminar Forum UNESCO, April 2009, Hanoi Architectural University, Hanoi. ISBN 978-84-694-1784-3.
Uplekar [Krusche], K. “The Reconstruction of the Frauenkirche,” 11th Issue of Sacred Architecture, D. Stroik, ed., Journal of the Institute for Sacred Architecture, January 2006, pp. 25-26.