The power of learning by graphic representation. The documentation of indian historic centers

This essay describes the results and suggestions born from 5 years of educational approaches in lively and mutable environments such as those of Indian historic centers. In order to address this topic, this contribution presents the fallouts of the didactic project developed in Jodhpur and Ahmedabad old city centers (India) as an academic cooperation, involving professors, researchers, local authorities, professionals and young scholars from both India and Italy. The research has stressed the importance of different visions about heritage documentation and representation in terms of future directions, low cost methodologies and working tools in the field of education for heritage preservation and enhancement. Images, drawings, graphics, were powerful tools for the setting up of a methodology able to meet the main needs of knowledge and understanding. The activities and experimentations carried out by the international staff identified functional methods for the analysis, representation and diagnosis of Indian vernacular environments demonstrating the potential of joint and interdisciplinary activities implemented in fragile and challenging contexts.