“Urban Design gives you an
opportunity to move ‘out’ of your studio and have the feel of the city”. The
School of Architecture and Landscape Design, for the first time, had a one-hand
experience of the statement when the Fifth year students took up the Urban
Redevelopment of Raghunath Bazar in Jammu as their Design Studio problem.
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| Site chosen for redevelopment |
It all started in August with the
beginning of the 2012-13 Session, when the senior-most batch of the institute
was introduced to the Urban Design problem. The local site selected for the
same was the very famous, highly crowded and slowly degrading area of Raghunath
Bazar in Jammu. With a vague idea of Urban Design, as it is the first batch who
has worked on a redevelopment project, it was a huge task. Under the guidance
of Ar. Aditya K. Singh, faculty & Director, S.A.L.D. and with the support of
the visiting faculty, practicing architect, Ar. Harbinder Singh (S.P.A., Delhi), the studio turned up pretty well.
As in any other design studio,
the case studies and site visits were given preference during the semester. For
the better understanding of the Urban Design [UD] concepts and present scenario
in the cities, the students organized a 3-day study trip of the capital city
and conducted the live case studies in different areas. All important areas
like, India Gate, Karol Bagh, Saket, Janakpuri, Qutub Minar, etc. were studied
thoroughly which helped the students to grasp the UD concepts like Districts,
Landmarks, Nodes, etc. and other UD elements. Ahead of this, the students were
given a task to present their respective studies in term of S.W.O.T. analysis
in order to recognize the UD Survey processes and methods.
As mentioned earlier, the site
visits played an important role in the completion of the studio. “It seems like
Jammu city is now a part of our design studio”, a student shared her feelings
when asked about the design studio and its working. The class was divided into
groups on the basis of seven UD parameters –
Urban Morphology
Visual Analysis
Spatial Configuration
Urban Activity
Circulation
Open-Space structure
Urban Infrastructure
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| Students preparing the Site model |
Students paid several visits to
the defined site in order to conduct their primary and secondary surveys. All
groups were then supposed to submit their analysis in proper UD graphics and
techniques in the form of overlays which includes data like Figure-ground plan,
movement plans, activity typology plans, etc. For all the basic studies
students referred several UD books like UD Handbook, UD Graphics, Time-Savers
standards for UD, etc. Apart from the group work the students also worked day
and night for preparing the live model of the one kilometer long site.
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| Students explaining the model |
Several pre-juries were taken by
the faculty members and other architects from Jammu city itself, before the
final submission which was held recently in December. The jury was held by Ar.
Ashish Gupta, eminent Architect and Urban Designer, who has been contributing
to the field since last thirty years with his firm, First Principle Designs
Pvt. Ltd. in Delhi. With his remarkable experience and knowledge about the
topic of Urban Design, the architect left students amazed. Understanding to the
fact that it is the first batch who has attempted a problem of this level, he
let students explain their design solutions first and then provided them with
ample suggestions and advises while correcting their designs. Happy with the
way the batch displayed their works and the way students reached into the
depths of the problem, he decided to give a lecture and shared his view on the
problem according to the site. The jury went on for almost 12 hours.
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| Ar. Ashish Gupta during Lecture |
The Jury was followed by a Lecture by Ar. Ashish Gupta. More than a lecture it
was a one-one discussion on how students feel about stepping into the
professional field, being this as their final year. There was an exchange of
several thoughts, ideas and doubts. The interaction ended with minds motivated
and wishes from the Architect’s side for the Thesis.
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| Student's work at display in studio |
