Talha Malik - Design Report MArch 2 ESALA

Inflections & inscriptions Affective peripheral objects along a (short) section of the silk road

DESIGN REPORT

COUNTRYSIDE [OUTSIDE] ARCHITECTURE MArch Modular Pathway 2020-21 Studio Leaders: Chris French, Micheal Lewis

Mohammad Talha Malik S1000113 [Studio B]

[August 2021]

Inflections & Inscriptions PREFACE

/ Abstract

“

To explore architecture philosophically would entail submitting architectural design... to the requirements and exigencies of philosophical discourse...And to examine

philosophy architecturally would require using philosophical concepts and propositions, wrenched from their own theoretical context and transformed, perhaps mutilated, for architectural purposes. It is only by submitting both to a third term, to a position or place outside of both, that they can be explored beside each other, as equivalent and interconnected discourses and practices.

W

e need to find ways to record the countryside, to draw out patterns, structures, inferences and influences, rhythms, spatiality and materiality in order to bring

the city and the countryside into dialogue; we need to develop a mutual language. Following the opening presentations, your task (individually or as a group) is to develop means by which to record the FIELD STATION which you have identified and its associated occupants. We propose the term ‘rendering’ to describe these recordings. Rendering has come to refer — in the language of architects — to the production of a particular type of image, usually produced through the use of 3D software. In this usage, the expression is linked to the constructional process of applying a ‘render’ (the application of a covering), but in this studio we take rendering more critically to mean — as in art practice — to represent or portray a particular condition, or — even more pertinently — to translate something so as to make it legible to another.”

- Chris French & Michael Lewis, Countryside Outside Architecture : Rendering Field Station, Edinburgh School Of Architecture And Landscape Architecture, September 2020

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P.12-13

V.

Abstract

/ PREFACE

Thesis

T

he Karakoram highway between China and the Pakistani coast carves through Gilgit-Baltistan, providing Chinese goods with easier access to

the shipping channels of the Arabian Sea.This “ ‘Going Global Strategy”, poses some serious questions about the role of China as a rising power and its impacts on the current international system order- as a status quo or revisionist power”

T

he new road is built on the line of the ancient Silk Road, the former cradle of and connection between civilisations along the Indus valley,

which once bridged peoples throughout the Karakoram range. Where infrastructure and civilization once cooperated, this new road - and an associated project for the Diamer Bhasha dam, which seeks to bring much needed electricity to the surrounding cities highlights the tension between the needs of distant cities (of production in China, and consumption in Europe) and the local countryside. The road cuts adrift villages bypassed by the new highway. The dam will not only flood much of the Indus valley, its arable land and villages, but will also subsume “at least 37,051 carvings on 5928 boulders or rock faces” of international historic significance in the process. Inflections and Inscriptions takes these carvings as

Mary Madeleine Edel WAN YAN CHAN Dec

Inflections & Inscriptions

2 2018 - https://www.e-ir.info/2018/12/02/ china-in-africa-a-form-of-neo-colonialism/

examples of affective peripheral objects capable of acting against mega-infrastructural projects. By setting these static but communicative objects alongside the communicative capabilities of the meandering Silk Road, it proposes sites of inflection, of gatherings set against highspeed traffic flows. By combining marketplaces for the sale of apricots and cherries, a workshop for scanning petroglyps and weaving cloth, and a tribal meeting hall, these inflections inscribe gatherings, of

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commerce, crops, production and people.

VII.

Abstract

/ PREFACE

M

y project Interestingly started in 2018 when I visited North Pakistan with my father. Under normal circumstances a chance to work on a project In Pakistan or Kenya where my mum is from would be very unlikely If not

impossible. My personal journey is a diverse one that could not have come about without the globalisation that occurred after the decline of the British Empire and the independence of the countries of my parents. To be given the chance to work on a project In one of these loaded contexts was one I was very excited about although at the same time daunted about. To delve into these locations can be disheartening because of the amount of context you have to learn, even priding myself as being cultural, the amount of knowledge one doesn’t know about ones heritage can be

Inflections & Inscriptions

frightening. So with some bravery I decided that although I was in university far from London in Edinburgh, that I would have to venture further yet to learn more about North Pakistan. Luckily I had visited the site I was going to choose with my dad years prior to the covid pandemic, a trip I did not know I would come to both cherish and rely on. The journey was arduous and consisted of days of driving on the worlds most treacherous roads. One cannot describe the scale of such places, peaks so high that sunset and sundown happened in the shade of these mighty peaks. This is where my project would start, not only was I unclear of the depth that the project could get to but I was also unaware of how much I was coming to learn about the history and artistry In Gilgit-Baltistan.

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IX.

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Pakista

X.

an / Baltistan [the northern frontier]

T

he site is located in North Pakistan in the Gilgit-Baltistan region.

This region is undergoing massive change under both the Pakistan government and foreign intervention by China to create a new

method of access to the Indian Ocean. This economic bridge on the old skeleton of the silk road is going to create a massive amount of change in the rugged north part of the country. This region was overlooked for many years and excluded from many state benefits of Pakistan only recently undergoing a change from being tribally administered to being state governed. Though this change is not seen positively by the local population. The new highway funded by china is bypassing many communities in this region and although local agriculture is strong in APRICOTS and other dried fruits, this new development risks forgetting these invisible villages high in the terrain of north Pakistan.

“

Between 1947 and 1974, the Pakistani government administered GB in much the same way as the British had done, that is, without political representation of the region in the national Parliament. The history of GB since Partition has been essentially

a history of its struggle to become a full member of the Pakistani state. This history is fascinating as a case of graded sovereignty. Some piecemeal reforms and agonizingly slow implementation of those reforms since the 1950s has occurred. The hope of the local people in 1947 that they would join the Pakistani federation as a province, as other regions of the country, has essentially remained unrealized.”

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- Shafqat Hussain, The History of Gilgit-Baltistan, April 2021.

XI.

Preface + Thesis + Pakistan / Baltistan [the northern frontier]

Part

A

Peripheral [static] objects [petrogliphs] and th

+ The silk road [static objects] + Field station render [rendering tension] + Shatial + Harban + Diamier Basha + Thor / Minar Ghar + Thalban + Rendering layered inflections [autobiographic eye]

Part

B

+ Material latt

+ Cator & Crib

+ Traditional m

+ Material wea

+ Tower tecton + Petroglyphs

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+ Khanbari

XII.

Contents

he silk road

B

Traditional material \ tectonic dress

tice weaving [traditional building techniques]

bbage [traditional building techniques]

methodology [timber joinery]

aving methodology [new tectonic principles]

nics [weaving verticality] center [weaving horizontality]

Part

C

Knotting / inflecting / layering processes

+ Layering processes [keeping local practices] + Inflecting & knotting [slowing down processes] + Knotting infrastructure + Layering processes + Layering materiality + Water economy + Gathering the disconnected people + Seasonal innondation [a tribal meeting place] + Permanent innondation [an exchange of precious items]

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+ Conclusion

XIII.

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XIV.

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XV.

Inflections & Inscriptions

Buddist Rock Carving

Geerken and Bräker 2017,

PART A

/ Peripheral objects and the silk road

Part

A

Peripheral [static] objects [petrogliphs] and the silk road

g in Thalpan.

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, Ill. 33.2, pp. 48

A01.

“

The Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) region in northern Pakistan, formerly known as the Northern Areas of Pakistan, has a long history. The people of the region, described as Dards, are mentioned by classical Greek and Roman historians

and in sacred Hindu texts. This early history (3rd century CE–10th century CE) of the region shows it as ruled by the Kushan, Chinese, and Tibetan empires. In the 7th-century accounts of Chinese travelers and 8th- and 9th-century Arabic and Persian chronicles, the region is named as Palolo or Bolor in Arabic. It is also mentioned in the 10th-century Persian chronicle Hodud al-Ālam, the 11th-century Kashmiri classic Rajatarangini, and the 16th-century Tarikh-e-Rushdi of Mirza Haider Dughlat, a chronicler of the Mughal emperor Akbar’s court.”

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- Shafqat Hussain, The History of Gilgit-Baltistan, April 2021.

A02.

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The silk road [static objects]

A03.

“

The 2411-kilometre-long mountain range composed of the Hindukush and the Karakorams in the north and the Himalayas in the east forms a seemingly impenetrable barrier separating the Indian subcontinent from the highlands of Central Asia and China. Yet the history of this part of the world, supported by archaeological finds, proves that throughout hundreds and

thousands of years important cultural movements were able to overcome this obstacle. Such was the case for the Greco-Hellenistic influences of the empire formed by Alexander the Great which reached as far as the higher Indus valleys; and such was the case for the expansion of Buddhism from the Indian subcontinent to China, which pro-ceeded along similar routes from south to north across the mountains. Another stream of cultural influ-ences penetrated the mountain ranges from west to east, that is, from Iran and Transoxania through the highlands of Central Asia into the Indian subcontinent. Finally, the trade along the ancient Silk Route created an inverse, equally important stream, leading from China to the Middle East and to the Indian subcontinent, although since the sixteenth century an increasing international sea trade was to reduce the importance of this connection.”

- Harald Hauptmann

G

ilgit-Baltistan has been formed by the time and passage of peoples through its valleys. It has been a cradle to civilisations such as the Indus River valley civilisation, and because of this and the remoteness there is an abundance of rock carvings.

When looking into the research only a hand full of people have been involved in such research. One university is

involved in the research full time In Germany, through their professor Harald Hauptmann they have engaged with the valley at 23 different field station sites. From these sites I decided to chose 6 field station sites to further investigate. I chose from 5 existing

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sites and one from the proposed dam development at diamer basha.

A04.

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A05.

Peripheral objects and the silk road

/ PART A Inflections & Inscriptions

L

ooking further into detail at the strip sections, I decided to colour each according to important co

baltistani heritage and also started to map the different aspects of each place. Most importantly ma

of flood that would occur when the new dam gates would be installed. The strip sections also alluded

that grew into the valleys leading away from the river. Each leading back to the river and not directly across Creating seams of human activity that will be lost to water once the development has finished. I decided to villages and look to connect them through my design.

*You can click on the section to access field station render*

olours of Gilgit

apping the level

d to the villages to one another.

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map these lost

A07.

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A08.

SHATIAL

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A09.

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A10.

HARBAN

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A11.

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A12.

DIAMIER BHASHA

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A13.

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A14.

KHANBARI

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A15.

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A16.

THOR MINAR GHAR

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A17.

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A18.

THALPAN

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A19.

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A20.

Field station render [rendering tension]

“

Unfortunately, recent plans for rescue excavations before the planned construction of the Diamer-Basha dam, not far west of the Chilas area along the Indus River, have been restricted:

as confirmed by Hauptmann, the construction of this dam will inundate an estimate of at least 37,051 carvings on 5928 boulders or rock faces.7 In addition, the region including the field stations at Chilas, Thalpan and Oshibat has become less accessible since 2013 due to increasing political unrest (which has already led to ancient carvings being vandalised, partially removed or destroyed in the region) and the likewise increased planning of corporate building projects following the Diamer-Basha dam; moreover, a lack of centrally organised research funding in Pakistan has made largescale projects difficult at present, despite the presence of available expertise and many sites and data left to explore and document.“ Van Aerde M. (2019)

T

he layers of conflict and tension start to become evident on the strip section through the detailing and peeling away. The inflections layer on top to provide a dynamic

impression of the intricacies of the valley terrain. The flood level moulds into this and creates a barrier of tension, tension that would need to represented and more importantly rendered into a drawing. My siting each strip next to each other in various ways it draws an unnatural comparison. One that would be impossible otherwise due to the distances between each in the physical world.

By placing each one with contrasting colours next to each other it

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forces a dialogue into the drawing itself.

A21.

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A22.

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A23.

Peripheral objects and the silk road

/ PART A

Rendering layered inflections [autobiographical eye] A working methodology

U

sing the feild station strips I had worked into I printed them onto actetate to look at the inflections from each section to tease out a design methodology. from the previous semester looking at my

photography work through my own eyes and working into them , I looked at the feild station strips in another working way. placing each section orientated in a specific way I started drawing out of the inflections a design foot print. using truck paths superimposed to create minimal cuts into the

Inflections & Inscriptions

mountain.

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A25.

Inflections & Inscriptions PART B

/ Traditional material \ tectonic dress

Part

B

Traditional material \ tectonic dress

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Khaplu, Gilgit-Baltistan. - Media Spring PK Oct 2020

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The Chaqchan Mosque meaning “The Miraculous Mosque”, B01.

/ Traditional material \ tectonic dress PART B

Oriane Zerah, Taste of Pakistan http://www.orianezerah.com/pakistan/

Inflections & Inscriptions

Mansi Shah and Jay Thakkar , The Himalayan Vernacular: Kath-Khuni Architecture, 19 September 2018

Mansi Shah and Jay Thakkar , The Himalayan Vernacular: Kath-Khuni Architecture, 19 September 2018

Material lattice weaving [traditional building techniques] A functional style

I

n the region of North Pakistan, specificaly Gilgit Baltistan, material are scarce and those that are used are utilized are employed with a high level skill. Material

such as timber, stone, and plaster are used in conjunction to create architecture with thermal mass, to create livable spaces in high altitude region. The material are woven together in a lattice similar to the weaving of fabrics. All the materials work together to create a fluid tectonic rigidity capable of withstanding and absorbing the seismic activity that is prevelant at a high rate in the region due to the falt line that runs beneith. Buildings are adorned with highly detailed ornate carvings and colours to bring vibrancy similar to the vibrant colors used by the local people to create their traditional clothing. The architectural style is similar to that of Kath-Kuni architecture, in that both use small but thermaly encapsulated spaces with surounding verandas for the seasonal shifts that occur. The cold harsh winters require sufficient thermal mass and the summers mixed with the monsoon rains require a large roof for both solar shading and protection from the rain. Although, the building style is very ornate, it is highly functional and tectonic, using exposed

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joints to exhibit the fine dry joint connections of the timber.

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https://dailytimes.com. pk/468999/chitral-kalash-handicrafts-to-be-showcased-duringmilan-fashion-week/ - September 2010

B03.

/ Traditional material \ tectonic dress PART B Inflections & Inscriptions

Altit Fort, Hunza Valley https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altit_ Fort#/media/File:Altit_fort-gb.jpg

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B05.

Inflections & Inscriptions PART B

/ Traditional material \ tectonic dress

Cator & Cribbage [traditional building techniques] Timber lattice

T

he Key construction method that is home to gilgit baltistan is cator and cribbage, an earthquake building style similar to Wall systems like Daji Dewari. Although

the main difference being that Cator & Cribbage can create structures much taller using stones as infill. This method of construction uses lots of timber on the corners to take the strain of the longer beams interlocking at every corner. it requires corners to function and an infill to create stability due to the sizes

“ “

of timber used.

In Northern Areas of Pakistan the technique goes well back to the pre - Christian architecture of the eastern Mediterranean.

Alexander the Great is known to have made use of the technology in his Asian Campaigns.”

The ability to resist dynamic forces was clearly appreciated and therefore it is not surprising to see its use in domestic architecture in earthquake prone settings. World-wide, it

is such traditional housing that is becoming a rapidly dwindling heritage resource.”

- Richard Hughes, Cator and Cribbage

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Construction of Northern Pakistan, 2000

B07.

/ Traditional material \ tectonic dress

F

lush Interlocking Joist - Although joists such as this are used rarely in traditional building methods, they

are used in some regions of the mountains that recive alot of rainfall therefore a steeper roof pitch is required. the joint is exposed in an exquisite ammount of detail and care.

The exposed joint celebrates the joining of materials and doesnt hide it. Different tones of wood can contrast each other to exentuate

PART B

the joinery.

S

ill Plate To Post - Colomns are usually secured to beams using this method in combination with Tusk & Tenon again

more economical not requiring specialist joining methods but using a dry locking method.

T

usk & Tenon [Two Ways] - Traditional Slab Flooring is constructed using interlocking beams of timber. Using

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of cuts to secure it in place without the use of wet fixing or fixing plates. This is usually paired with a floor system above it that supports the floor. Wall systems like Daji Dewari Are used in combination with this to create earthquake resistent structures.

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Traditional methodology [timber joinery]

B09.

taking it further I used larger timber joists to span the distance betw

and doubling up on the joists to create a twist on the traditional metho

other forces using tension cables instead of the stoneinfils like the traditon This opening up creates a more exposed and lighter form of construction.

N

ew Floor structure strategy [Tusk & Tenon] techtonics the issue was that there was no

connections. therefore to insert a floor the sec

a more substantial beam for use in a tusk and tenon met

PART B

/ Traditional material \ tectonic dress

C

ator & Cribbage [Updated methodology] - Taking the traditional m

turn will create evn more stability as more floors are add

I

nsulation strategy [Clear & frosted walls] - To create a thermal envelope in an efficient way, traditionally only a few rooms are heated and insulated from the cold envrioment but also because the

tempreture swings to a very high heat in the summer. therefore using this methdology the structure could be exposed with minimal spaces being thermally encapsulated bringing the efficiency of the building up in this

Inflections & Inscriptions

remote climate.

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o Further aid the techtonics of such a design concrete and stone parts will be lated into the structure as an echo to the past materiality. as the design matures more foreign parts will be

included such as steel and copper but only as an accent and as needed for a purpose. the building will be an amalgomation of peripheral goods.

Material weaving methodology [new tectonic principles]

methodology and

ween the corners

od. taking up the

nal methodology.

F

INAL CONSTRUCTIONAL TECHTONIC LANGUAGE / DRESSING

This diagrams the key techtonic language present in the proposal to define a basis for the design porses. as the local traditions are lost

under the floor the building will represent a new forging of a path for local culture in a new twist that is reminicisent of the old materiality in a lighter

- With this new form of exposed location to form colomn to floor

and more sustainable way.

condary beam will be replaced with

thodology for floor structure. this in

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ded.

B11.

/ Traditional material \ tectonic dress PART B

Tower tectonics [weaving verticality

C

entral Tower - Cator & Cribbage [Circulation, Loom, sewing , textile workshops and studios & water tower].

The tower started from the techtonic nature of the proposal development overlaped with the intersection of the array of inflection lines from the overlayed plans. the tower would be very geometric in structure but would inflect in both plan and section. becomign fragmented and less ridgid from a formal base. The loom and sewing spaces are layed out in a way to detatch them from the infrastructural movement of the good traffic below and further yet from the hectic markets, although they can be seen from the studio. the textile goods may be sold in the markets but the ineraction between worker and buyer is limited to provide a means of quiet and reflection. the spaces below are an amalgomation of different movements of goods , people, ideologies becoming not

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only a moment of interaction but diverse comparison.

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y]

B13.

/ Traditional material \ tectonic dress

L

oom & Se

Loom and se

winding ha

floors. This creates

a hive of activity o

below. Looms are fa

to contemlate the s

together textile w

frosted panels tha

the need for exte

minimising the ne

PART B

provided fo

W

ater Tower [Water Collection] Due to the nature of the orientation of the water tower , I have taken advtantage of the

large steep angle to create a moment of the roof collecting water. using a large rain gutter the roof takes the water

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anc ollects it for use in the proposal.

ewing Studios [ Knotting of goods]

ewing studios are latticed together with

alf levels and looms that stretch across a space that spans across levels creating

of production to be sold in the markets

acing large windows at inflection points

surrounding landscape whilst weaving

works. The facade is made up of clear

at create a light envrioment without

ensive lighting during the day. whilst

eed forsolar shading although some is

or the summer sun as it is south facing.

C

opper Facade DetailingThe tower is coated in

a

copper brass facade to give

off a beacon of reflection across the valley. it also signifies a moement of inflection along the road being used a method of way point movement.

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past in the indus river valley.

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much like stupad were used in the B15.

/ Traditional material \ tectonic dress PART B Inflections & Inscriptions

C

ator and cribbage latticeThe construction of the newer method of build changes as

you go higher in the tower to the allow lighter methdology and lighter usage of timber. as the base a heavier and much thicker lattice takes place . also woven into concrete and stone methodology to create a heavier base for support.

Typical Tower Floor Plan Key: 1. Vertical Circulation core 2. material and yarn storage 3. Vertical Loom Studio 4. Sewing and cutting space with textile preperation desks.

C

irculation Tower counterweighted

by Stones and bridges The circulation tower represents a

smaller scale of movement, as a method for people to move throughout the proposal without having to go the central node of the tower and allows people to directly access the bay area created by the dam development. the bridges are constructed out of timber and the same contructional logic as

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the tower.

B17.

Inflections & Inscriptions PART B

/ Traditional material \ tectonic dress

Petroglyphs center [weaving horizontality]

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B19.

Inflections & Inscriptions PART B

/ Traditional material \ tectonic dress

C

onstructional Tectonic [dressing] The tectonic language is very much the same as the tower but layed out horizontally. The legs of the tower express a very slender

and cantelivered look and the process inside exudes itself on the facade.

The library hangs perilously off the side of the proposal in constant view of the mountainscape. Contantly forcing the user to regard their micro situation in the form of a book against the landscape so large that it is not comprehendable.

C

opper light-shafts Copper signifies a detail or moment of inflection in the proposal.

Here it signifies the moment the petroglyph is being rotated in the

scanning room. Instead of the building bending to the stone, the tectonics of the machine move the rock as it is being scanned. Light-shafts are required to add light in a controlled manner due to the delicate nature of 3d scanning.

C

onveyor belt [Petroglyph scanning, transport logictics] The scale of the petroglyphs can vary from the size of a football to the size of a car or greater, because of this a hybrid methodology was

required in the logistics of the techtonic cabilities of the research centre. the centre had to be able to give access to the stone without harming the feild workers due to the scale of the processes required. the crane and the conveyor belt work in tendem to move the larger stones and the smaller ones can overlap creating a cross movement through the zones of the research

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centre..3d scanning.

B21.

Inflections & Inscriptions PART B

/ Traditional material \ tectonic dress

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B23.

/ Traditional material \ tectonic dress PART B

P

ermenant Market The language of the market aims to communicate a locality of

dress through its latticing and weaving of materials in its techtonics.

Using techniques like Cator and Cribbage. The Market houses a heirarchy between the seller of produce and goods and the traveller or visitor to the establishment using a simple change of material grounding and a threshold detail of a brass strip. This creates a divide that can be crossed but ushers thought between the comminication of local and distant ideologies. Using timber on the other face to create a warmer embrace and the concrete at the rear with lacing of stone to create reslilience against the mountainside. Piles will be used to dig through the upper layer of rock into the metamorphic layer of rock that is the mountain itself. This rock is broken and used for the hardcore as well as the finer stone details. Aluminium, steel and copper are used to bring distant peripheral materials to the woven fabric of the building as finer details to the more rugged layers of local traditions. This in combination comes forth like a language that represents itself across my proposal.

A

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luminium Timber Hybrid Louvres Louvres in the tilting hydraulic facade provide shade in the summer heat during the hottest part of the day but more importantly cross ventilation.

H

ydraulic Tilting Facade Panels The tilting hydraulic facade tilts during rainfall to allow the trough to fill with water. Rain will run along the facade and into

the trough.

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B25.

Inflections & Inscriptions PART C

/ Knotting / inflecting / layering processes

Part

C

Knotting / inflecting / layering processes

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Jonathan Blair, National Geographic - March 1994 C01.

/ Knotting / inflecting / layering processes PART C

Layering processes [keeping local practices]

D

ue to the dam deve

practices and agricultu

viable, due to loss of la

a new economic corridor road

flood level, inundating the prev

bypass several villages in the va

forcing larger distances of tra

place. It is clear economic imp

intricate and dated local pract

of these micro-economies, my

two sides into dialogue, by forc

these polarised economies. Fu

power generation and water u

local populace and the dam p

will also have water logistics an

there is a water economy fre

status-quo is initiated to furth

resolve further conflict between

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https://www.crisisgroup.org/asia/ south-asia/pakistan/297-china-pakistaneconomic-corridor-opportunities-and-risks

of the city.

Picking

elopement taking place, local

ure are at risk of not becoming

and. In addition to combat this, has been proposed, due to the

vious road. This new road will

alley, disconnecting people and

avel for said processes to take

Washing

pacts are being prioritised over

tices. Due to the smaller scale

y proposal aims to bring these

cing layered processes between

urther to this, the economy of

usage is also in conflict by the

project. Therefore, my project

nd management to ensure that

ee of politics and an impartial

her the current dialogue and

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https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=H1AgEPkXE1Q

Drying

Pitting

n the countryside and the need

C03.

Inflections & Inscriptions PART C

/ Knotting / inflecting / layering processes

Inflectin [slowing

ng & knotting down processes]

T

his site plan shows the node of knotting the proposal creates on a short section of the silk road, amalgomating peripheral items and people in one

place. The proposal creates a new datum by forming apircot, cherry and pear terraces for the local populace around the orrery of inflection dredging the landscpe and imposing a new rule into the landscape itself. The node of knotting slows down larger scale infrastructural movements of goods along the new highway and provides a moment of necessary dialogue between local people and faster moving processes. dialogue between the node and the periphery, the city and the countryside. no longer being sided, the reverse takes place

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Syed Zahid Jan, Dawn, Published October 4, 2015

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here.

C05.

Inflections & Inscriptions PART C

/ Knotting / inflecting / layering processes

Knotting infractructure

T

he movement of large infastructures are present in this knotting of a turning circle of an international lorry. the movement

carves into the mountain side to create the minimum space required using a weaving of motion to create space. lightwells are added to create light down underneath so that the utalitarian floor has some ambient light from above but also to displess

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the fumes from the vehicles.

C07.

Inflections & Inscriptions PART C

/ Knotting / inflecting / layering processes

Layering processes

T

he regularly priortised infrastrcture is moved down below and out of sight, and instead of ignoring the countryside, it is lifted and supported by the infrastructure below. The movement of the infrastructure are highly constricted and minimised visualy non-existent,

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only remenants remain in materiality only.

C09.

/ Knotting / inflecting / layering processes

Layering materiality

S

ectional Drawing showing the build up of techtonic language , materiality and dress of the proposal. showing the multiple levels of the proposal and how it climbs up the mountain side copper detailing can be seen denoting

the entrance to the floow below but also the stone wall and timber structure of the large market area. The tower from this angle looks impossibly slender and

Inflections & Inscriptions

PART C

grows thicker as you inflect from your path.

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C11.

/ Knotting / inflecting / layering processes PART C

W

ater Tower [Water pump, Purifier & Water Storage] A water tower added to the top of the proposal takes advantage of the empty square colomns of the tower to route water pipes and

services throughout the tower. The tower acts as a point of inflection of pipes of

Inflections & Inscriptions

water distributing it across the proposal as it has a multiitude of levels.

W

ater Tower [WaterCollection] Due to the nature of the orientation of the water tower , I have taken advtantage of the large steep angle to create a moment of

the roof collecting water. using a large rain gutter the roof takes the water anc ollects it for use in the proposal.

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Water economy

C13.

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Gathering disconnected people [seasonal / permanent innondation]

PART C

/ Knotting / inflecting / layering processes

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C15.

/ Knotting / inflecting / layering processes PART C

Seasonal innondation [a tribal meeting place]

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he First Floor area represents an open space that becomes seasonly inundated with the movement of people from the local areas. Represented on the plan is a market held with the colours representing the different strips and all the disconnected villiages converging in this one place to facilitate trade. They are brought to the forefront held

above the infrastrctural move that has forgotten them. bought into dialogue one cannot function in this space without encountering the other.

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C17.

Inflections & Inscriptions PART C

/ Knotting / inflecting / layering processes

Permanent innondation [an exchange of precious items]

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he Second floor represents a more permenant footprint of processes like silk dying and a market area for the exchange of more expensive goods such as textiles made in

the tower. It also allows a round access to the circulation tower and viewpoints. It hangs over the market on an upper level seemingly stretching into the mountain itself. The building continues to knot and intertwine itself further removing itself from the infrastrucral

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movements below.

C19.

Inflections & Inscriptions PART C

/ Knotting / inflecting / layering processes

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C21.

Inflections & Inscriptions PART C

/ Knotting / inflecting / layering processes

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C23.

Inflections & Inscriptions PART C

/ Knotting / inflecting / layering processes

Conclusion

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his project has not only taught me more about my own past and heritage but has also taught me much more about the methods of design and how one can draw inspiration from aspects of life that seem so remote from architecture, or so I thought. Architecture it seems is intrinsic to most things and it seems as though I have finally understood what it takes to design architecture that engages with not only a complex site, but also a complex context. Being far and remote from ones site brings a multitude of challenges and I don’t think it brings many if any benefits. This academic year has been a challenge due to the loss of a studio space, it has taught me the importance of studio spaces and collaborative design. The home office can be a very stifling design space with inspiration coming from ones self, it is an arduous task and one that if one is unlucky can be a lonely one.

Looking back at the academic year I can say it is easy to see in hindsight what one could have done, but rarely does one reach the end and think about what one could have done. I can gladly say after reaching the end that I am no longer thinking about what could have been done but rather happy with what did come about under such uninspiring circumstances . Looking ahead I hope to take all the design guidance I have received from my tutors at Edinburgh to the office and hopefully one day to my own office.

C25.

/ Knotting / inflecting / layering processes PART C

Bibliography Page V - Chris French & Michael Lewis, Countryside Outside Architecture : Rendering Field Station, Edinburgh School Of Architecture And Landscape Architecture, September 2020 P.12-13 Page VII - Mary Madeleine Edel WAN YAN CHAN Dec 2 2018 - https://www.e-ir.info/2018/12/02/china-in-africa-a-form-of-neo-colonialism/ Page XI - Shafqat Hussain, The History of Gilgit-Baltistan, April 2021.

Page A01/A08 to A19 / C26- Buddist Rock Carving in Thalpan. Geerken and Bräker 2017 Page A02 -- Shafqat Hussain, The History of Gilgit-Baltistan, April 2021.

Page A04 - Harald Hauptmann Page A21 - Van Aerde M. (2019) Page B01 - The Chaqchan Mosque meaning “The Miraculous Mosque”, Khaplu, Gilgit-Baltistan. - Media Spring PK Oct 2020 Page B02 - Oriane Zerah, Taste of Pakistan http://www.orianezerah.com/pakistan/ & Mansi Shah and Jay Thakkar , The Himalayan Vernacular: Kath-Khuni Architecture, 19 September 2018 Page B03 - Mansi Shah and Jay Thakkar , The Himalayan Vernacular: Kath-Khuni Architecture, 19 September 2018 & https://dailytimes. com.pk/468999/chitral-kalash-handicrafts-to-be-showcased-during-milan-fashion-week/ - September 2010 Page B04 - Altit Fort, Hunza Valley - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altit_Fort#/media/File:Altit_fort-gb.jpg Page B07 - Richard Hughes, Cator and Cribbage Construction of Northern Pakistan, 2000 Page C01 - Jonathan Blair, National Geographic - March 1994

Inflections & Inscriptions

Page C02 - https://www.crisisgroup.org/asia/south-asia/pakistan/297-china-pakistan-economic-corridor-opportunities-and-risks