Denisah Johl

UR2033

Reimagining Public Spaces in Ahmedabad

This studio focused on analysing and redesigning public spaces in Ahmedabad to improve accessibility, usability, and social interaction. Using Jan Gehl’s quality criteria adapted to the local context, the goal was to understand how public spaces function and how they can better serve both residents and visitors. A booklet created by us as a studio is attached under "additional work".
My work focused on two sites: Vastrapur Lake and Vasna Market. At Vastrapur Lake, the redevelopment in 2002 limited access to the water and shifted activities to the outer edge, turning the lake into more of a tourist spot than a community space. My design aims to reconnect people with the lake by adding clear sightlines, stepped recreational edges, and multi-level walking paths to support both recreation and vending activities.
At Vasna Market, the main issue is the lack of spatial hierarchy, which causes congestion and confusion between local and regional uses. I selected a 5000 m² site that allows space for both vendors and the Vasna Gam community. The design creates an inner space for residents and an outer edge for vending, improving flow, safety, and usability for everyone.
Both designs aim to improve the everyday experience of public spaces by addressing specific problems through practical and locally relevant solutions.

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We visited urban spaces such as the Jami Mosque, Law Garden, Kalupur Tower, and Gandhi Road as a group to understand the context of Ahmedabad.

Based on our site impressions, we adapted Jan Gehl’s criteria to evaluate what makes a good public space in the context of Ahmedabad.

Site documentation for primary site - Vastrapur Lake.

Initial site analysis was done to develop a concern statement and vision for the proposed design, using relevant design strategies for Vastrapur Lake.

Selected criteria were prioritized, and various case studies and zoning methods were used to translate the vision onto the site.

Proposed Design for Part A - Vastrapur Lake

Proposed Design for Part B - Vastrapur lake

Similarly, initial site analysis for the secondary site, Vasna, was carried out using only the provided raw data, to formulate a concern statement and vision through relevant design strategies.

Strategy diagrams and photos from the raw data were used to prioritize selected criteria, and case study methods were applied to inform the design approach for the Vasna site.

Proposed Design for the Vasna Market.