Christophe Aubertin

Qualifications/Work Experience: I graduated from the Nancy School of Architecture in France in 2006 with a Masters in Wood Materials Construction
How would you describe your Shelter experience? My work with Shelter was thesis thematic (Emerging Urbanities: Slums and Alternatives), and it was a capital experience. I worked on a slum rehabilitation project in Pimpri Chinchwad and also studied global propositions on the slum pockets along Nalas in the city center of Pune

What are you doing now? I am an independent architect. I started my own office in Nancy eight months ago (November 2008), and share an office space with three architect friends
What did you learn from your time with Shelter? I learned methods of observation and analysis, along with the importance of information sources. If you want to defend people, you need a clear report about their life conditions. Only after this can you make pertinent propositions. I was also impressed with Shelter’s sensibility and efficiency in working with poor people
My message to future volunteers is… to read about the different research that Shelter has done and contact some past volunteers to prepare for your experience. Also, not knowing the local language is not a problem when working in slums. You can still be efficient in field making drawings, local surveys, and photos to complete the work of the SA team.
You can reach me at... christobertin@yahoo.fr