How Walls Define 'Publicness' of a Place

C.aparnaa

UR3001

Imagine having such good public infrastructure provided by the government only to be hidden away and underutilized because of the walls!
In today’s world, the pandemic has thrown light upon the need to have better planned open and public spaces for the well-being of the citizens. Many of the parks, gardens and privately owned vacant plots are currently well established and utilized on a temporary basis, but they are often hidden away behind the walls. Hence, we need to reimagine these walls. The project looks at how walls might be rethought to cater to existing and potential activities, as well as define movement and pause points that are visually and physically accessible.

Report Content

(Partly a group work. Look for 'group work symbol) Existing site conditions: The current site is characterised by a mix of government institutions and industries are adjacent, which create enclosures and edges that support activities and informal settlements. Exterior edges function as supports against which activities take place on undesignated and unpaved areas on the street.

Site analysis of specific zones: Walls function in many ways

Design Intent: Walls are two-sided and must look both ways

Design Proposal- Walls as anchors and directors on site

Zone 1 Design Proposal: A quieter edge for the thread makers and play spaces on the combined with seating spaces near tree pit areas for social gathering.

Zone 2 Design Proposal: A ramp leading to a platform to view the areas around and highlighting the Dariyakhan Ghummat, which also acts as an edge and a transition space for the communities around.

Zone 3 Design Proposal: The wall acts as a traffic island and defines two paths, one leading to Dariyakhan Ghummat and the other one leading to the garden. The wall can be inhabited by various types of vendors and for different purposes considering the visibility from and proximity to the major street.

Zone 4 Design Proposal: The wall typology supports different kinds of existing (food vending, vegetable vending) and potential vending, considering its direct access from the arterial street.

Zone 5 Design Proposal: The wall typology supports different kinds of activities of the people living nearby and forming an enclosure for the mosque area that can accommodate people around while not hampering the visibility of the mosque.

Zone 6 Design Proposal: The wall typology supports different kinds of activities with middle partition, thus creating two sides to be utilized differently based on where it is facing.