Krupali Uplekar Krusche, PhD
Interim Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs and Curriculum & Associate Professor
574.631.9210
Krupali Uplekar Krusche is the Associate Dean for Research, Scholarship, and Creative Work and Director of DHARMA (Digital Historic Architectural Research and Material Analysis) research team. She teaches urban and architectural design and digital documentation at the School of Architecture. Since 2007, she has founded and directed DHARMA research specializing in 3D documentation of World Heritage Sites using advanced mapping techniques. Since 2008, the team started its first major project by documenting four renaissance age major tomb monuments in India, one of them being Taj Mahal in partnership with the Archeological Survey of India (ASI). In 2010, she and her team started documenting 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. 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. Both projects are part of the four year agreement with the World Heritage Center of UNESCO. The first of the two books on the forum has been published recently titled, From Pen to Pixel Studies of the Roman Forum and the Digital Future of World Heritage.
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. An 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.
Beyond DHARMA, Krusche has been involved in Urban planning endeavors for many years, her latest project involves consulting with the Mumbai Port Trust for the redevelopment of the Eastern Waterfront of Mumbai, India. She is a partner at Backbay20, (based in Mumbai) for conservation and urban design consultation. 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.
Prof. Krusche co-authored a book with Vinayak Bharne titled Rediscovering the Hindu Temple: The Sacred Architecture and Urbanism of India, Cambridge Scholars Press, fall 2012.
Prof. Krusche received her PhD from Technical University Dresden, and Master's from Dessau, where the Bauhaus architecture first originated. She holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Bombay University, India.
Research webpage: http://www.dharma3d.org
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