Srinagar, May 19 -- I still remember the first time I saw a Dhajji Dewari house come apart, and then stay standing. It was during my undergraduate research, when I chose to study Kashmir's traditional architecture. I didn't expect it to change the way I saw engineering.

These homes, built from timber, stone and mud, were never drawn on formal blueprints. There were no engineers or consultants involved.

And yet, they were marvels. Earthquakes didn't flatten them. Harsh winters didn't hollow them out. They bent, they breathed, and they stayed.

Growing up in South Kashmir, I had passed these houses all my life. Sloped roofs. Heavy wooden frames. Walls that looked like patchwork. I never gave them much thought. But when I started learning ...