Intersections between history and culture – Corridor to past. Vertical studio - CEPT

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The Brief “Indeed a distinctive and legible environment not only offers security but also heightens the potential depth and intensity of human experience” – Kevin Lynch Streets in India have historically been social magnets. The entire gamut of life from play to work happens in Indian streets. Increasing vehicular density and priority, combined with zoning laws as well as preference for segregated land uses are leading to disappearing sidewalks, ill maintained walkways and encroachment. Increased traffic accidents, fatality rate, and uncontrolled parking have demoted the Indian streets from its social and ecological role. With a constant dearth of public space in ever expanding Indian cities, the challenge of creating new open space where none exists requires lateral thinking. With the ongoing pandemic grappling the world, we have come to acknowledge and realize the importance and safety of outdoors for both physical and mental well-being. Streets form the largest portion of public open space in a city and is of great importance. The streets alone constitute the most continuous public space in the city. Ahmedabad alone has 2000- 2500 Km of streetscape.

With this, the studio unit works around three questions – Can we design and implement new models of streetscape that will set a guideline for our streets in the decades to come?

Apart from serving as a social space addressing health and wellbeing, can these be designed to accommodate complex urban systems to address the perception and consequences of ecological crisis?

Can these strategies go beyond the human need, that also provides a support framework for other urban fauna?

The goal of the studio unit Seeding streets is to facilitate streets with the seeds of social and ecological activation that can be sown within landscape design, so that all can come together and celebrate it as an inclusive space of co-existence and resilience.

Contents I. Stitch Corridor

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Deciphering Street Morphology

6-7

Identifying Unique corridors

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Seeding vision for the corridor

10-11

Site Analysis: Reading the corridor

12-15

Philosophies and Precedents

16-17

Reclaiming streets: Strategies

18-19

Reclaiming Streets: Corridor

20-21

Reclaiming Streets: Master plan

22-23

II.

Grow pocket

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Testing Pocket

26-27

Pocket Details

28-29

III. Transform Node

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Palette: Material and Planting

31-32

Kinetics: Everyday and Seasonal transition

33-34

Conclusion

35-36

IV. Annexure

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After understanding and analyzing the street , Street design must consider place before movement. It also should meet the six qualities of successful places, as set out in Designing Places. Street design should be based on balanced decision-making and must adopt a multidisciplinary collaborative approach.

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Stitch Corridor

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Deciphering Street Morphology

State: Gujarat City: Surat

Being a polycentric City with 16 cores in total. The great port of Surat in western India dominated accounts of Indian Ocean trade between the late sixteenth and mideighteenth century. Consolidated first by an Ottoman notable, it became the Mughal Empire’s western window into the worlds of the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. Surat’s other, less visible, aspect: namely as an intellectual center, that brought together diverse. That brought together the diversity & sometimes competition of the traditions.

Reference: https://www.suratmunicipal.gov.in/

Figure 1

Figure 2 7

Identifying Unique corridors

Nanpura Figure 3

Corridor of Past

It is the city where the British first land in India. The Dutch and the Portuguese also established there business centers in Surat, the remnants of which are still preserved in the modern day Surat. In past this was a glorious port with ships of more than 84 countries anchored in its harbour at any time.

This Corridor is a historically meaningful route throughout which people or goods have been moved, where evidence exists that the natural environment has been modified by human beings. It is a linear cultural landscape that combines cultural values with the natural ones

Station Chowk Figure 4

Corridor on EDGE

Surat Railway Station is a major railway station serving Surat, beside Gothangam, Kosad, Utran, Udhna Junction, Bhestan, Niyol and Sachin. It is under the administrative control of the Western Railway zone of the Indian Railways.

Surat is A1 – category railway station of Western Railway Zone of Indian Railways.

Idea here is to redesign the public gatherings where the funnel of the railway underpass also acts as an edge to a different community, so we can resign the public spaces to the corridors where people can gather and they again celebrate and communicate together.

Piplod village Figure 5

Corridor of Transit

An affluent area beside the Tapi River, Piplod is home to major retail developments along the Gaurav Path expressway. The Lalbhai Contractor Stadium hosts cricket matches and has a modern sports center.

My idea here is to conserve the existing conditions to exhibit the overall identity of the city to passers by people. whereas people already using it as a major transit corridor to different important locations. major passers are one outside the city majorly.

Redesigning this corridor to showing the identity of a city will take a major impact on one’s mind.

Reference: https://www.suratmunicipal.gov.in/

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Seeding vision for the corridor

I have chosen this corridor because, it is a historically meaningful route through which people or goods were moved. Here evidence exists that the natural environment has been modified by human beings. It is a linear cultural landscape that combines cultural values with the natural ones So, the idea is to enhance pedestrian circulation for the heritage walk, where we can walk through and to these historical monuments.

Intersections between history and culture Corridor of Past

Figure 6 11

Site Analysis: Reading the corridor

Street Layers Figure 7

Reference: https://www.suratmunicipal.gov.in/

Figure 8 13

Site Analysis: Reading the corridor

Why people are enjoying shopping at Chauta Bazar?

Informal roadside vendors and old shopping streets are the reason for the main shopper attraction.

90% of people that visit the Chauta Bazar and chowk areas are Shoppers and vendors. 10% of people visit the chowk area just to hang out.

Reference: https://www.suratmunicipal.gov.in/

Pedestrian - Passer by Circulation pattern Figure 9

Figure 10

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Philosophies and Precedents Oxford street, London, UK

Oxford Street is one of the world’s most celebrated retail streets. One of its most important strengths is its vitality, which comes from its eclectic nature and continual newness; from the ebb and flow of commercialism, movement, complexity, contrast and constant change. It is both international and local. It is for residents, workers, and visitors of all ages. It is a microcosm of London.

In the time of Shakespeare, today’s world famous Oxford Street wasn’t even considered to be a part of the London city. Then known as Tyburn Road, the street connected the city to Tyburn village, which was the source of water for London.

Condemned prisoners used to be driven to Tyburn Road from Holborn with huge crowds throwing rotten eggs at them. The prisoners were finally executed roughly at the place where today’s Marble Arch rests. In the bygone times, today’s Oxford Street happened to be the primary Roman trail leading westwards from London city, and was actually the route to Oxford.

However, this is not how the street got its present name.

Until the eighteenth century, the street represented London’s northmost periphery, with fields on the northern side leading toward Mary le Bone village. These open fields were owned by the earl of Oxford, Edward Harley. It was actually for Harley that the street got its present name back in the year 1739.

Learnings: Such an intensively-used district at the heart of a World City needs to cater for the many varied users: for all who live in, work, visit and pass through the area at all times of the day and night. It is therefore an essential overarching principle that everyone will have easy access to beautiful, safe, clean, well-managed and enhanced civic amenities.

Vision of the street: 1. Strengthen the identity and coherence of Oxford Street and its relationship to its wider district 2. Refine hierarchy of streets and spaces 3. Improve connections within the wider district 4. Create an accessible and welcoming place 5. Evolve a place of culture, play and activity Reference: http://www.accessmanagement.info/sites/default/files/ ICAM2011/full_papers/OP.7.1.pdf https://committees.westminster.gov.uk/documents/s32049/ Oxford%20Street%20District%20Business%20Case%20 08042019.pdf

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Section A

ection B

Figure 11

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Figure 12 Figure 14 17

Reclaiming streets: Strategies

Figure 15

The liveliness of a street is already there, but users are not using it. And due to the abundance for many years, they ignore it too.

Festivals and marriages are happening there. Also, there is a labor Naka that changes its feature at a different time. So, we can revive history and culture at the same time.

Figure 16

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Reclaiming Streets: Corridor

Figure 19

Figure 17 Figure 20

There will be a Multi-functional open space on a street, which changes it caters to a different activity at different times.

It will sustain heritage and culture and space. And it will become a wholesome public realm on a bigger scale.

From figure 19 to figure 23, the canal and pathway along with that will separate pedestrian circulation from vehicular and overall experience will be enhanced.

Figure 21

Figure 18 Figure 22

Figure 23

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Figure 20

Figure 26

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Reclaiming Streets: Master plan

Figure 22

As we can see a transformation from figure 27 to 28, streets are adopted by the public, they are ‘cohabited spaces,’ ‘lifeworlds,’ and ‘a theatre of contiguity, change, conflict, and conviviality’. They serve not only as corridors for circulation and open spaces for recreation, but also as canvases for public expression against political regimes, social events, and religious rites.

From entry to the end of this street there will be plaza spaces of different scales. that will support the culture.

Existing Condition

Proposed Condition Neighborhood pockets

Neighborhood pockets

Shaniwari plaza

Historical plaza Culture plaza

Shaniwari plaza

Ecological plaza

Neighborhood pockets

Neighborhood pockets

Neighborhood pockets

Entrance plaza

Figure 27

Figure 28 23

After Understanding the various portions of a street as either continuous or interchangeable offers a flexible approach to street design. While sidewalk clear paths, bike lanes, and travel lanes must be continuous and connected in order to function effectively, interchangeable elements as transit stops allow a street to be adapted to serve its context. The Drawings below broaden the definition of heritage street.

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Grow Pocket

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Testing Pocket

Iteration 1

Iteration 2

Pros :

Figure 30

The trail of historical Landmark leaders could make a huge impression on pedestrians.

Space could be multi-functional at a different time for shareware and marriage spaces.

The big open scape in the central part could be converted into a pedestrian space for cultural events.

Cons: Trail of heritage walk is intersecting the main street which can lead to accidents.

Figure 29

Figure

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Iteration 3

Pros :

Figure 32

Space could be multifunctional at a different time for shareware and marriage spaces.

It could be converted into a pedestrian space for cultural events like Ganesh Chaturthi and tajiya festival.

There are small plazas to have more enclosed spaces as people are not currently used Huge spaces because of the heat.

Pros :

Figure 34

The central plaza is becoming a center of attraction for pedestrians.

Cons: Plaza space in the center divided two lanes so far

Figure 33 that traffic will be more congested at nodes.

Cons: People need to go on secondary space to understand the ecological importance of a street.

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Pocket Details

Figure 35

The node blends the four interconnected plaza which serves unique programs.

The Historical plaza, along with exhibition and awareness program, celebrates the past.

The Shanivari plaza becomes a primary destination for a weekend flea market.

Other than special exhibitions, the Cultural plaza acts as a food hub while the Ecological plaza creates a flex space within the public realm.

Figure 36

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After understanding the design, materials and planting are as important as that. So, quality materials and construction practices that account for the local context will increase the lifespan and usability of the street.

III

Transform Node

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Palette: Material and Planting

Figure 37

This section investigates these innovations as part of a flexible approach to street design and safety, focusing in particular on the curbside as a malleable space bridging the sidewalk and the street. It also caters to the strong Dutch team to mimicries the old historical era.

Figure 38

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Figure 40 33

Kinetics: Everyday and Seasonal transition

Figure 41

Figure 42

Figure 43 35

Conclusion

Historical plaza

Figure 44

Streets must not function as mere movement and infrastructure corridors. Depending on their role in a broader urban context, they must be designed as lively spaces where people can see other people and be seen, where they can meet and interact. The image of the city and its attractiveness to visitors to a large extent depend on its street life.

The images here depicting the solutions that reduce impacts on environmental resources, and minimize impacts on the natural environment, encourage and support biodiversity, and reflect historical and cultural context. It can be achieved by enhancing the Pedestrian Environment, where the street scape design can achieve improved air quality by encouraging people to walk rather than drive, resulting in fewer greenhouse gas emissions.

Figure 46

Figure 48

Figure 47

Landscaping should be designed as an integral part of the overall site design. Landscaped areas should enhance the building design, enhance public views, provide buffers and transitions and provide screenings.

Culture plaza

Ecological plaza Shaniwari plaza

Figure 45

Figure 49

Figure 51 Atmospheric volume defined by physical elements.

Figure 52 Rain gardern will absorb storm water and filter it with plant material before it is then drained into the storm drain system.

Figure 50 37

IV

Annexure

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