Within The Box

06 2006

Beaconhouse National University

Instructor: Dr Gulzar Haider

Project - Within the Box Status - Academic Project

Location - Lahore

Program - Commercial/Housing

Building area - 470 m2

Twelve artist-craftsperson from Lahore (including their families) have been granted one site each, with a residential street on one side and a commercial road on the other. This project, in which we were to select an artist and design his residence-workdisplay-selling place.

As my artist is a Miniature painter, and he paints threedimensional spaces into two-dimensional. So one can see all the layers and scenarios of the painting. My aim in designing this house was to make sure that it has a quality of miniature painting one could experience its different layers either physical or perceptual. And how the two sides (commercial and residential) are interdependent in an enclosed space.

Fiction

“My work always fascinates me, I put in loads of effort to achieve what I aim for”, Mr. Nofel said to his wife. “This time if I get good amount of money from this painting of mine, I will make sure to get abba jee (father) operated. His saved pension is not enough for the surgery”. Rubina continued, “Adil and Asma are keeping their fingers cross that this time you’ll take them out for vacation”. “Yes I know all of us Amma (mother), Abba, you and our children all will go to Karachi to visit my sister. I might setup an exhibition in my studio where I can display all my paintings and earn handsome amount of money to cover all the expanses”.