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Enriching Place-Experience Through Materiality: An exploration into architecturally-designed ceramics to facilitate engagement and a sense of place in our cities
Get PDFThe paper highlights the importance of designing public realm materiality to enhance sensual involvement and the experience of place. Exploring the neurological mechanisms for perception and engagement creates a theoretical basis upon which the momentary relationship experienced between a passer-by and the materiality can be analysed. The issue is further examined using two case studies. It is contended that materiality can facilitate a heightened sensual relationship with place by expressing qualities of legibility, compatibility and unfamiliarity, enabing a haptic relationship (more impacting than that of vision) to develop. The active sensing of the environment as well as the place being legible are both vital for engagement, meaning that the holistic processes and material qualities that facilitate this condition are vital to urban design. The design of everyday surfaces is suggested to be equally important to art and sculpture, due to its effect on the inhabitants and its role in placemaking and distant engagement. The role of materiality in the creation and vibrancy of a place is crucial and easily achieved, although often undervalued. Engagement: Feeling connected; either a sensual connection with surrounding environment; or a cognitively one (with thoughts), reducing bodily engagement. Perception: The cognitive processing of external stimuli once sensed by the body (involves legibility and compatibility). Experience: Derived from perception, the brain’s representation of external reality, depends on the body’s level of sensory stimulation, introducing the idea of an engagement threshold and the role of materiality in engaging attention. Dissolution: An intimate connection to the place, enabled by some phenomena, suggesting the possibility for materials to heighten a sense of place. Continuous Derive: A psycho-geographical term, describing unplanned everyday experiences through sensual engagement with the urban fabric, enabling a sense of place. The paper aims to achieve this state through the careful design of the materiality of the urban realm
Viewscape Assessment Framework for Protecting the Views of Sacred Monuments: Comparative Study of Srirangam and Thanjavur Religious Towns
Get PDFSacred monuments represent layers of evolving traditional forms of architecture and city building that have together created a sense of place in our historic cities. Among the various sacred monuments Gopurams and Vimanams are significant landmark structures which form the image and identity for the historic temple towns of South India. Treating temple Gopuram and Vimanam as objects of worship inspired and influenced a variety of sacred activities and rituals performed in places around them. These sacred monuments have been built to be viewed and worshipped from far as well as near. The Gopurams, which once stood in centre of the settlement and dominated their surroundings, are now in danger of losing their visibility due to a variety of elements that obstruct the view. In the above context it is attempted to study the visual relationship between the sacred monuments and the places from where the views are available, so as to identify the most important views for protection. For this purpose, a review of literature related to assessment of quality views was undertaken. In order to protect the most important views, a ‘Viewscape Assessment Framework’ was used to assess the factors which affect (a) quality of views and, (b) quality of place from where the view is available The viewscape assessment framework was applied in case of two important sacred monuments with differing visual characteristics. Major findings of the study reveal that the significance of view of the sacred monument depends on viewing location, its physical characteristics, number of potential viewers, background and foreground elements of the viewscape. This study also emphasizes the use of ‘View Assessment Framework’ for identifying and protecting the views of sacred monuments.
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From the Chalice to the Smart City: Attraction and Repulsion within Sanctified Space in the 21st Century: Projects in the New Urban Centres
Get PDFWhich are the issues posed for the construction of a church in the urban fabric of the third millennium? Which are, currently, the places of worship -- more or less visible -- capable of attracting the faithful, not just the inhabitants but also migrants or visitors in transit? What kind of conflicts can the construction of a church, or more generally of a sanctified space, create in a neighbourhood and, which could be the conditions to avoid it? In some cases, places of worship contribute to reinforce the feeling of belonging and/or identity. They are also points of orientation in the cities, which exceed the scale of their communities, opening up to other confessions, also. They participate in urban life through many events (concerts, kermesses, theatrical plays) that we can qualify within culture. This paper interrogates the notion of sanctified space from the spatial point of view, through the analysis of the sanctified space built in Rome in the new place of urban centre, but also from the standpoint of dividual and collective representations. Between tradition and future, attractiveness and repulsion, beyond the symbolic dimension (brand) of the sanctified building, the text places the question of methodological processes that lead to the construction of a space, both real and virtual. In the final argument, the comparison between the Italian and French experiences can help to identify the differences between the two systems -- of a technical and sociological nature -- in order to identify the manner in which we can overcome the mono-functional and restrictive use of the worship sites, in favour of multi-functional uses, both internal and aggregated, thereby allow a wider ownership of these spaces, in the present era where the churches are gradually becoming more and more empty
Contested Space: The Living Urban Heritage of Hyderabad & Shahjahanabad, Delhi
Get PDFThis paper draws from the experiences of redevelopment of historic precincts in the cities of Hyderabad and Shahjahanabad, Delhi. Close interaction with the people, administrators and political leaders of these precincts reveal a great enthusiasm amongst all to improve the residents’ general standard of living. But the notion of ‘public realm’ as perceived by the public oficials and the public itself are radically different. The former see it as a commodity, while the latter lets the socio-cultural forces dictate its usage; and this difference hinders redevelopment. This paper contends that the lack of a common perception is due to the inability of the oficials in understanding the cultural economics and history of urbanism of the city-core, as a result of which most livelihoods become vulnerable. The paper also examines the relevance of regulatory and planning tools to historic Indian city-cores so as to sustain the city’s resources
A Prelude to the Study of Indigenous, Pre-European, Church Architecture of Kerala
Get PDFChristianity is believed to have been first introduced to Kerala in 52 CE through St. Thomas, the Apostle. This paper introduces the traditional indigenous Church architecture of Kerala that existed before the arrival of Portuguese in 1498 CE. The paper mainly looks into the circumstances under which it got destroyed and also analyses the reasons for its disappearance. The paper concludes that after the arrival of the Europeans and, in their initiative to bring the Kerala church closer to the Western church, they constituted a conscious attempt to alter the religious architecture of traditional Kerala Christians, declaring that it was Hindu by nature. Their intervention caused an irreparable break in the age-old system, and introduced a totally new and alien style to the traditional church building character, form and scale, forcing the traditional church architecture of centuries to be wiped off forever.
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Church architecture in kerala, Churches built by st thomas in kerala, Interior church architectur
Re-visioning Chandigarh: Densification and Re-development of the City Centre (Sector 17)
Get PDFChandigarh was one of the few opportunities for Le Corbusier to express his design principles at a large scale. Created in the 1950s, Chandigarh today is thriving and growing fast, albeit without order. Hence, there is a need to re-think the original design strategies in order to incorporate new housing, additional commercial, institutional and other uses to fulfill the demand of the growing population. This study presents a visionary proposal for the re-development of Sector 17, the City Centre of Chandigarh, into a Mixed Use “Sustainable” Urban Centre. The existing Sector 17 is predominantly occupied by commercial, institutional and office uses and comprises large “super blocks” with parking surrounding the buildings. There are no through physical and visual connections to the adjoining sectors. Most buildings are in a good condition but are visually unattractive. Through infill and reinterpretation of Le Corbusier’s design principles, proposing high quality architecture while preserving some of the existin structures the study explores the opportunity to create an improved public realm comprising a multitude of land uses, making the City Centre more vibrant, safe and a “24-7” liveable place
Airport Business Districts – An Indispensable Reality
Get PDFThe purpose of this paper is to examine the role of air transportation as the key catalyst in contemporary urban development. Since the concept of airport-side development is comparatively recent, with little or no guidelines, the study perforce was based on the exemplar sampling, the existing Indian norms, as well as the situation on ground in India. During the course of the study, it was revealed that all three airport area growth drivers, i.e., passengers, service-sector businesses and shippers, are steadily increasing in size and economic importance and have several unmet needs which deserve to be addressed systematically. The conclusions also confirm that the world is in the process of ‘learning’ and coding suitable norms of such development in order to avoid lop-sided development or un-controlled urban growth. The key contribution of the study lies in firmly establishing that till such time that an advanced alternative to airport transportation is found, any country’s economic growth, shall be positivel catalyzed by developing Airport Business Districts
Using Traditional Knowledge Systems for Post-disaster Reconstruction – Issues and Challenges following Gujarat and Kashmir Earthquakes.
Get PDFoai:ojs.pkp.sfu.ca:article/86In post-disaster situations, traditional constructions are generally considered vulnerable and, therefore, often get replaced by modern ones that are culturally and climatically incompatible, economically unaffordable and, thus, unsustainable in the long run. While it is now known that an enormous wealth of knowledge is embedded within traditional buildings, it is also true that many aspects of this knowledge have become diluted due to the changing social, economic and political context, as well as the needs and aspirations of the people. Herein lies the dilemma of making the appropriate approach for post disaster reconstruction in developing countries. Should we reject ‘outdated’ traditional technology and go for a complete break from the past, or should we look backwards and revert to the ‘tried and tested’ traditional wisdom? A hypothesis has, thus, been raised through this article -- can there be a ‘middle way’, taking the best of the past and the present, for planning a better future? The article will discuss this core issue in the context of the reconstruction challenges following the 2001 Gujarat earthquake.and Northern Kashmir earthquake that struck on 8 October 2005
Urban Ecosystems: Preservation and Management of Urban Water Bodies
Get PDFThe sensitivity of our fore fathers towards the environment and its resources never made us feel the agony of water scarcity. They understood the value of water and tapped it through artificial water sources, which became sources of survival even when our cities were not located near any natural water body. However, as the cities developed and grew into larger metropolises, land value grew and land invariably became an asset. The first casualties of such widespread evelopment were the urban water bodies that got converted into cesspools of urban sewage, mosquito-breeding areas and slowly degraded. Incessant land filling of these water bodies, which once were pristine waters sustaining life gave more land to build upon. The following paper studies and elaborates the methodology adopted by the development agencies to restore and conserve these urban wetlands and water bodies under the technical guidance of experts from national / international organizations.Three case studies from the city of Hyderabad, India are discussed with a focus on understanding the present status of lakes and physical condition of their surroundings, strategies for fund mobilization, types of local involvement and community participation, ways of continuous monitoring and maintenance, etc. thereby creating a self-sustainable and integrated management plan
A Study of Conservation Interventions at Ram Bagh, the Summer Retreat of Maharaja Ranjit Singh at Amritsar
Get PDFHeritage is our legacy from the past and a non-renewable resource which needs to be protected and sustained. Conservation refers to all measures taken to prolong the life of our heritage. This paper focuses on the study and analysis of the ongoing conservation work at Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s Ram Bagh -- the foremost heritage site in Amritsar with its royal palaces and gardens, magnificent gates, watch towers and pavilions. The aim of the study is to identify the causes of decay and deterioration of this historic property and also to understand the processes and techniques employed to conserve it. This has been achieved through a detailed visual examination of the complex, collection and compilation of theoretical data as well as information provided by officials of the Archaeological Survey of India and the Punjab Tourism Department. The study highlights that conservation approach for an architectural heritage should aim at protecting the cultural value of the historic fabric, and adopt interventions that hel to preserve the authenticity of the original design, building materials, construction techniques, workmanship and aesthetics