TA: Soha GandhiPublic Space Design, the Ecological Approach
This studio uses an ecological lens to guide design of a public space. In context of rapid peripheral urban growth and concurrent climate change challenges, ecological design of urban spaces can play key role in mitigating adverse impacts like urban floods and increased temperatures. To contextualize designing within planning frameworks and larger city networks, studio addresses planning process related to developing urban peripheral lakes as public spaces through TP schemes (now adopted by states other than Gujarat). Both developers and the urban authority take interest in design and development of these public spaces as future urban amenities or as marketing strategy. Many ecosystem services follow: value appreciation for properties in area, decreased temperatures, air purification, water drainage management, etc.
We design the integration of human activities with ecosystem across scales: masterplan, a workable design, and detail of a component. Students will appraise site ecologically and spatially mapping topography, hydrology, flora, livelihoods, roads and preparing suitability analysis to achieve masterplan. They will proceed to design spaces & characteristics for human-ecosystem interaction; detail design selected components like water edge, entrance plaza, bio-swales, follies; finally work out select component’s detail drawings and material selection
