Didi Contractor, a self-taught architect from Dharamsala, India, left an indelible mark with her innovative approach to building with natural materials.
Didi Contractor (1929 – 2021) whose real name was Delia Kinzinger, was born in the USA. Her father was a German and her mother was an American, who were both renowned painters belonging to the Bauhaus group in the early 1920s. Delia grew up in Texas and spent some time in Europe also.
At the age of 11, she heard Frank Lloyd Wright and saw an exhibition of his works along with her parents. This made a lasting impression on her mind and developed her inclination for the profession of architecture. But her parents never encouraged her to pursue architecture and she completed her graduation in art at the University of Colorado.
During her university days, she fell in love with Ramji Narayan, an Indian civil engineering student. They…
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