Site Characteristics and Adjacencies

Just as Rome was not built in a day, Delhi has evolved over a period of 400 years. It thus a rich historical background juxtaposed with modern elements due to its endeavor to be the capital of a developing nation. Over the years, Delhi has accumulated a variety of architecture, people and cultures. Due to this correlation, conditions arise where the Fabric of Old Delhi stands next to the elements of then newer architecture of modernized New Delhi.

One such condition is the Juxtaposition of the Chandni Chowk Market and its winding streets and small lot sizes along with the Old Delhi Railway station, with the new construction of the Chandni Chowk Metro station. There exists a relationship between the present and the past.

The Old Delhi Railway Station is only 300 m away from the Metro Station, but there lack a suitable way to connect the two to make it convenient for passengers to transit from one transportation system to the other. Since the two systems function at different scale, where the railway station services the regional scale, while the metro is the city scale, people transfer from one to the other frequently. The interesting correlation between the site characteristics and adjacencies can inform the design of the connection between the two. Other factors to acknowledge during the design process are the large population that uses the two stations, as well as the possible programmatic elements that would be suitable for such a connector. The design should be able to filter this population efficiently and effectively and also acknowledge the richness of the site.

Midreview Document

 

Pathway to Thesis: Take Two

1+3+9 Take Two

1_Architecture should acknowledge the constantly growing population.

3_The constantly growing population is a compelling problem with society today. The built environment is unable to cope up with and provide for the mass number of people passing through it, or pausing to use it for various functions. The experiential quality of architecture should thus not be compromised by the increase in the number of people simultaneously experiencing it.

9_ Humans make architecture successful, but architecture also has the possibility of failing as a great piece of design if exposed to a large no. of people due to its incapability to function under stress. This is true for individual buildings as well as cities themselves. Some of the pressing issues with population management on a city scale lead us to understand and contrast cities like Singapore and New Delhi, which have completely different problems with the vast population. These differences arise from their own individual understanding of overpopulation as a culture, and how they each choose to deal with ‘this’ problem. While New Delhi has the option of expanding outside the “main city”, Singapore is bound by water, and thus needs to deal with the issue differently. Singapore’s mass transit is an example of successfully dealing with a large number of people. They also utilize a  network of connectors between buildings which take on the double roles of circulation overlaid with program. Can we thus design such that spaces can be used and experienced by multiple people without compromising the individual experience, or complete isolation? Should it be cultural specific, or be able to fit into many cultures with the problem of overpopulation?

The Pathway to Thesis

1+3+9 The Initial Idea

1_Architecture should acknowledge the constantly growing population.

3_Population growth is a compelling problem with society today. The designs of architecture in times like these needs to recognize and respond to the population growth. This awareness is specifically important in growing economies like India, China and Singapore.

9_ Humans make architecture successful. But architecture also has the possibility of failing as a great piece of design if exposed to a large no. of people. This is true for individual buildings as well as cities themselves. Buildings are required to comply with privacy, comfort and code. On the other hand, some of the pressing issues with population management on a city scale lead us to understand and contrast cities like Singapore and New Delhi, which have completely different problems with the vast population. While New Delhi has the option of expanding outside the “main city”, Singapore is bound by water, and thus needs to deal with the issue differently. The answer could potentially lie within group housing, mass transit or other architectural elements dealing with large masses of people. The compelling issue thus remains; How do we design for large group without compromising the individual experience, or completely isolating from the group? Does a balance exist, and if so, where?