KRVIA MASTERS STUDIO - LOCAL AREA PLAN

The planning domain traditionally governed by monolithic & top-down  understanding of master plan approach. The centralized approach has been widely criticized for not being able to be inclusive on various account, esp: community aspects, heritage aspects, informality, environmental aspects, resilience & mitigation aspect. The recent endeavor (2014) of making of development plan endorsed the idea of two or three tier idea of making a development plan and its governance. It perhaps make some sense, in mega city context of Mumbai, whose diverse features in context of  geography, history and community necessitate the  alternate approach of their inclusion. The provision of Local Area Plan (LAP) is an bottom-up approach to be operated at the administrative ward level where making, transforming and directing development shall be collaborated at the level of local area representative. 

The Local Area Plan provides excellent opportunity to carry out experiment with participation and communication based action. It subsides the notion of master plan & drawing board approach and hinges on idea of sharing, developing and mobilizing the collective imagination of community. The studio revolved around seven sites: Sakinaka, Mulund, Oshiwara, Golibar Slums, Malvani, D.N. Nagar, Kalbadevi. The sites have different histories and issues, however all sites are largely part of TOD and are expected to have rapid transformation in next few years. 

The studio developed at three levels: Development of generic imagination and communicating to the local are resident and stake holders, Development of action areas, Development of strategies and implementation criteria.

The outcome of such experiment is imagined to inform the  specific areas for urban renewal, housing, Commercial precincts,  educational and cultural institutions, up-gradation of slum areas and relocation of population, improve accessibility to open spaces, and largely revival and retention of environmental and ecological systems. 

The studio process and final outcome were reviewed by Shyam Khandekar ( My Liveable City), Pankaj Joshi (UDRI), Gautam Chaterjee (MMRDA) and Ashok Lal.

KRVIA - SPA 2016

The exchange workshop (Masters Semester I) moved from its earlier mono-directional transformation through new transportation corridor to multi-directional transformation through new ring road metro. The new ring road metro collides with existing rail corridor and existing radial metro lines. The attempt of the workshop was to expand and reinforce the existing network and imagine the direction of the new developments. 

The urban design approach that are required to imagine in such complex situation are challenging and approaches & stack holders may have to resolve conflict at multi levels. The KRVIA studio brief of mapping cultural territories had some impact on the manner that workshop inquired into the site conditions. It perhaps a new exposure to comprehend that how such cultural territories are different as well as complex, as context changes. As stated in earlier blogs that domestic exchanges are far more influential in learning about our cities, its histories and its development through local and global imperatives.

CHURCH: LUND, SWEDEN.

The church in lund represent the fine Romanesque Architecture built out of sandstone, built in 1000 AD. The similar time frame the various monuments built across the world. In Indian context it was Brihadeeshwara Temple in Thanjavur by Chhola Dynasty and Qutub Minar by  Qutub Al Din Aibak. In the context of Europe there were some of the finest architectural monuments emanating out of Roman and Gothic Architecture,  however the material of construction (esp. Bricks, Lime Stones, Granite)  would be different, depend on the context. 

The characteristics of the architecture relies heavily of buttresses system of construction but adopting flat and concealed within the massive walls. The pleated arches and cascading apertures from big to small, accentuating the loftiness of the architecture. The interior also resonate the quality of exterior by presence of massive masonry columns alternating with piers of clustered shafts supporting the earliest pointed high ribs forming a ribbed vault as a roofing system. 

HOUSE AND HOUSING: SWEDEN & NETHERLAND

This is in addition to earlier post " HOUSING EXPERIMENTS", it is interesting to observe the new experiments and issues in housing in different region of similar context. The issues of housing with methods on participatory approach or rejuvenate old housing stocks or re-claim the neighborhood qualities through open spaces and importantly the issues of re-inventing qualities of neighborhood affected by  crime and violence are some of the important virtues of such experiments. All these experiments attempting to address the issues of reinventing the housing typology, promoting the network for social sustenance, balance of want and need in housing imagination, capture the small to large aspects of housing. 

The high density and vertical housing coupled with large open spaces brings in the new urban landscape in dealing with migrants while typical low-rise middle income housing estates addressing the individuality to collective,  by means of participation in re-designing of lost neighborhood. The important of public spaces and public realm at neighborhood level is an interesting experiments and allowing positive social and cultural porosity for vibrant neighborhood.