Charvi Patel

IR3006

Site : Kochrab Ashram, AhmedabadIn the history of India’s freedom struggle, Gandhi’s Kochrab Ashram was once an epicentre of state reforms. To regain its lost position representing change, the program of a youth parliament is proposed. It intends to be a questioning forum working on idea of Collaborate- Ideate - Inspire- Change to provide Ahmedabad’s youth a participatory platform in bringing about social reforms. The Youth forum is envisioned to be made of spaces that encourage interaction and give various choices. Kochrab Ashram is used as a medium to promote participatory governance by debate, discussions and other activities, making it a place where youth from all walks of life can debate and converse for social reforms. It also empowers the youth with an information space whilst engaging the community via a library and café.
The project establishes a dialouge between the old and the new (the formal versus informal, the open versus the closed, the solid versus transparent), which through a contrast aligns to the spirit of the youth. The intervention follows a “box in a box” typology wher ethe new insert sits within the old shell, respecting it, whilst the light-well acts as a threshold between the old and the new, where shadows and transition through change in volumes help animate the monotonous space.