Narratives in Architecture

LANGUAGE IS ABOUT DECEIT...

DIAGRAM

The central idea of the Marco Polo, are actually distinctively each time due that as the years go by, the people who dwell in based on their experiences time!

CHRONOLOGY

Kublai Khan’s Kingdom that contains all of the cuboid has been divided “invisible” when attached detached and turned over, per their themes.

Since the atrributes of cuboid has been decided 1

CITIES & NAMES

CITIES &

THIN CITIES

CONTINUOUS CITIES

CITIES & SKY

TRADING CITIES

CITIES & EYES

CITIES & MEMORY

HIDDEN CITIES

CITIES & SIGNS

DEAD CITIES

DIAGRAM PERCEPTIONS

DIAGRAM

PERCEPTIONS

Different interpretations of the Sign Language.

VENICE & THE 11 CHAPTERS

The central idea of the book leads to a revelation that the 55 cities, as described by Marco Polo, are actually different perceptions of the same city, i.e. Venice, mentioned distinctively each time due to different experiences of people. The diagram here states that as the years go by, the city changes. Yet, it manages to nurture the desires of the people who dwell in it. As a result, people develop several perceptions of the city, based on their experiences and the city continues to survive beyond the sands of time!

CHRONOLOGY OF THE MODEL

Kublai Khan’s Kingdom is essentially seen as a singular entity, in the form of a cuboid, that contains all of the 55 invisible cities as described by Marco Polo. Hence, the cuboid has been divided into 11 themes as per the reading, wherein each division is “invisible” when attached to the rest of the mass. However, when these divisions are detached and turned over, they go on to reveal the characteristics of these cities as per their themes.

Since the atrributes of each theme are related to perceptions, their location on the cuboid has been decided according to their relative location on the brain. 1 2 3 CITIES CITIES

Hidden meanings behind the conversations.

Confusing words lead to different perceptions.

Different people tend to see the same thing differently.

Visuals are deceiving, thus, causing different interpretations.

Saadiya Ajaz Rawoot PG180838 - M.A.A.D.

Mumbai, Tuesday, 6:11 pm

Narrative Structure

“Agla station, Sandhurst Road…” said the announcement. Kavita smiled at Ajaz in the bid to say goodbye, while she slowly moved towards the door to get off the train. He wiped beads of sweat, off his forehead, as he noticed thousands like him, waiting at the platform, puffing, panting & constantly stressing to keep up with the struggle to get in. He tried looking for Kavita in order to wave at her, but she had already disappeared into the crowd. A tsunami of people rushed into his compartment, while he held on to his grab handle in resentment. The Mumbai Suburban Railways had done a fabulous job in bringing citizens closer (quiet literally) ever since their establishment in 1853!

In between all the push and pull, his eyes met with a sudden dash of orange. Ajaz went on to peep through hundreds of heads ahead of him to find out what it was, but his efforts weren’t paying off. He took a quick glance at his wrist watch and looked up again. There it was! The orange! But this time, it seemed to have changed form. An unusual desire to go closer impressed within him. Ajaz was bemused! He observed how the sun set beautifully, with the city’s dingy concrete in the background, as the train stirred ahead. Maybe he could try to get a better look at the orange again tomorrow or maybe, Kavita could tell him what it was! Who knew?

6:13 pm

Kavita pushed through the crowd, clenching her bag as close to herself as possible. She had had enough of this hustle bustle every day. Mumbai’s rhythm was maddening her!

Kavita moved away from the mob, heading towards the staircase with a sigh of relief as she noticed the yard below. The familiarity of the green instilled a sense of calm within her as she walked. The dissent into the yard was her favourite part, as she noticed the city reveal its layers one after the other. Even though this route took her longer to get back, Kavita enjoyed every bit of it. It was almost as if she was grabbing some time for herself before reaching the confines of her home. She was away from all the noise of the city here. It was perfect!

As Kavita plodded ahead she suddenly witnessed a flash of orange. The sight stumbled her for a bit. She was a little perplexed but finally decided to look closer. When she walked towards it slowly, the orange flashed again, more vibrantly this time! Kavita tip-toed, she didn’t want to disturb whatever it was. As she pulled closer, its silhouette seemed to have changed and even the colour felt brighter, as if it was trying to pierce through her eyes.

Kavita gawked at the orange in disbelief. She wished she could tell Ajaz about it, at that very moment!

The Premise: Mumbai Local

“The people of Mumbai are considered to be a chirpy, tireless lot who are streamlined for a fast-paced life in the city” quoted a website. But have we zoomed in enough to find out?

For a city which attained its fame as Urbs Prima in Indis due to the railways, a natural port, textile mills and an engineering industry, its gradual downfall is best seen through the super dense, crush load, in its railways, where 16 people jostle for a square metre of space in a local train every day!

An exponential rise in the real-estate development in Mumbai’s extended suburbs has led to the citizens, commuting for hours to work and not in the most favourable circumstances. The near marginalisation of the middle and working classes, long distance commutes in near sub-human conditions, rising stress levels and lopsided development where the infrastructure fails to match a rising population have led to the region becoming a simmering pot, threatening to blow up at the slightest provocation. Amidst the exasperation, all that a Mumbaikar needs is to pause and breathe.

▶ Have we peeled off enough layers to find out what actually goes on in the maximum city?

Where is the breather?

But he does not even have the setting to do so. The amount of open space provided in Mumbai is the lowest in any major metropolis around the world. Whereas the ideal ratio is 4 acres per thousand persons, a study conducted in 1970 showed that the actual ratio in Mumbai was a mere 0.03 acres (currently 0.013 acres) which is 270 times lesser than the norm.

Despite such a glaring shortage, the government has taken away more than 150 acres of open space for redevelopment purposes and Mumbaikars couldn’t care less. It is almost as if the citizens don’t need nor realize the value of open spaces in an urban context and in their every day. With the constant struggle to keep their heads above the tide, they seem to have forgotten that they continue to survive in appalling conditions in the city. However, owing to Mumbai’s history of metamorphosis, can this scenario change?

▶ Mumbai provides just 1.1 sq. m of open space per person while UDPFI standards suggest a minimum of 10-12 sq. m.

Source: Arjun Rathi Design

Lost spaces as potential breathers

A lack of ownership, negligence and stringent government policies have given rise to several spaces in the city which come under the category of urban voids or lost spaces. This list includes unsuccessful sky walks, old mill lands and under-used railway yards which have stopped functioning either partially or completely. For example, the Mumbai Suburban railway line, that was established by the British East India Company, carries out a majority of the maintainance work of its coaches in railway yards, that have been set-up at strategic locations in the city. However, some of these yards lie underused now, due to a change in the urban context or with the establishment of other well-equipped maintainance spaces . Thus, the older yards are now turning out to be some of the darker urban voids that the city now owns, but does not know what to make of.

However, these sites could be a potential solution to the lack of open public places, and their revitalization could also provide a new meaning to our otherwise banal neighbourhoods.

▶ Can we start seeing lost spaces in the city as a potential solution to the lack of open public places ?

Site: Wadi Bunder Railway Yard at Sandhurst Road Railway Station

Historical Context- Spread across 19.2 hectares of land, the Wadi Bunder yard is termed to be a vital part of the Mumbai division. Established in the pre-independence era, in 1882, the yard would in its initial days boast of 14 sheds and 64 main lines for trains, that would be used for excessive loading and unloading of commodities, mostly cement, food-grains, explosives and other raw materials. However, with other yards cropping up over the years, the work load for Wadi Bunder yard eventually reduced. Only parcel booking and coach and wagon maintenance is presently carried out here.

Physical Context- The Yard is strategically placed below the Sandhurst Road railway station, that occurs at the junction of the Harbour and Western railway lines. The neighbourhood is predominated by residential-mixed used development, but also consists of several industrial zones (south) and dockyards (east).

A 1 km radius of the context consists of only three public gardens, including the B Tank garden (1773 sq. m.), the Sitaram Shinoy Garden (7000 sq. m.) and the Joseph Batista Garden (1.5 acres).

▶ The development of the site with greater Bombay as its context, untill it finally got established as a railway yard in 1882.

1670- The seven islands of Bombay

Establishment of the Bombay Sub-urban Railway 1882- Establishment of railway yards in Bombay

A map of Mumbai locating the railway lines and all the yards that lead to the downfall of the Wadi Bunder coaching yard

Site plan

Railway Line

Wadi Bunder Railway Yard

Sandhurst Road Railway Station

Permanent Railway Buildings

Temporary Railway Buildings

Sheds

Open Public Spaces

Open Public Gardens

Direct access from the railway station by stairs

Direct access from the roadways

Dr. Maheshwari Rd

Sardar Vallabhai Patel Rd

Free Road

J Rathod Marg

Samantbhai Nanji Marg

Eastern Freeway

Figure Ground Map

Cemetry

Commercial Activities

Educational Amenities

Government Offices

Industrial Use

Law and Order

Medical Amenities

Municipal Market

Municipal offices

Municipal chowkies

Natural areas

Offices

Primary Activity

Public Utility & Facility

Residential

Slum/Cluster

Social Amenties

Land use Map

Town Duty/ Octroi Office

Communication Transport

Unclassified

Under construction

Urban villages

Vacant

Water

Area under SPA

Informal market

Open spaces

Swimming Pool

Population Density- Persons/sq. km (Census 2011)

30,001-45,000

60,001-2,00,000

Schools Colleges

Map of Educational Institutes- Many of these institutes do not have a play ground of their own, and end up renting play grounds on “special occasions”.

Map of Open Public places at the neighbourhood level (1 km radius from the site) Proposed

Proposed Open Public places

Provided Open Public places

Map of Open Public places in Mumbai (proposed v/s provided)

An upclose ENCOUNTER with the YARD

Interpreting the act of descent as a “celebration of abandonment”.

Protagonist 1: As a traveller gets off his train, he manages to get a glimpse of the yard, through the platform’s railings, amidst all the hustle bustle. A desire to go closer imbibes within him, so much so that, he decides to stray away from the banal path to his destination. But alas! Worldly worries soon take over and he moves on instead, in the hope that he will finally be able to unleash these desires some day.

Protagonist 2: This traveller uses the yard’s premises, as a shortcut to his destination, everyday. Once he gets off the train, he goes down the staircase and witnesses several layers of the yard unravel in front of him. On his way ahead, his path is greeted by the metal sheds, standing tall in all their glory, waiting for some acknowledgment. The traveller wants to take a closer look, but he decides to escape into the city of dreams instead.

The journey of Protagonist 2 through the railway yard, where the sheds stand in all their glory waiting to be acknowledged. This “shortcut”provides a necessary breather away from the city’s noise.

Experiencing the Site

The series of sheds at the yard, have basalt stone arches and corrogated sheet roofs that rest on iron trusses. The spaces in-between are a contrast to the otherwise dark nature of the sheds almost acting as the only areas that have life. There is a certain level of blur as one moves through these spaces to go from one shed to another as opposed to the sense of chaos that one feels when inside (even though the columns tend to look very organized visually).

Chaos of

View of the Site

▶ Diagram depicting the chaos of columns inside the sheds.

The series of sheds, have basalt stone arches and corrogated sheet roofs that rest on iron trusses. The spaces in-between are a contrast to the otherwise dark nature of the sheds almost acting as the only areas that have life. There is a certain level of blur as one moves through these spaces to go from one shed to another as opposed to the sense of chaos that one feels when inside (even though the columns tend to look very organized visually).

View of the Site

▶ Diagram depicting the linearity that one notices inside the sheds.

The series of sheds, have basalt stone arches and corrogated sheet roofs that rest on iron trusses. The spaces in-between are a contrast to the otherwise dark nature of the sheds almost acting as the only areas that have life. There is a certain level of blur as one moves through these spaces to go from one shed to another as opposed to the sense of chaos that one feels when inside (even though the columns tend to look very organized visually).

Diagram depicting ruptures in the roof

Plan of a Shed

Section through a Shed

▶ Diagram depicting ruptures in the roof

Little ruptures in the roof let it beams of light that hit the later additions at sharp angles, as if trying to destroy them. Even though the roof seems fragile, the rest of the structure is hefty and has stood very well against the sands of time.

Besides the encroachment by railway employees, the sheds are also used informally by the railway policemen in order to carry out their day to day activities.

▶ Ruptures in the roof bring in sharp beams of light that perfectly hit the columns and other ancillary spaces.

External view of a Shed

Little ruptures in the roof let it beams of light that hit the later additions at sharp angles, as if trying to destroy them. Even though the roof seems fragile, the rest of the structure is hefty and has stood very well against the sands of time.

Besides the encroachment by railway employees, the sheds are also used informally by the railway policemen in order to carry out their day to day activities.

▶ Stone has been used as a material for walls and flooring, thereby blurring the sense of axes.

Internal view of a Shed

The vegetation provides a sense of conflict to the built, wherein, both are dependant on each other to survive. One sees the maintenance of these experiential qualities as a celebration of the site’s abandonment.

APPROACH TO ABANDONMENT

Site Demographics

• Past function- coaching, goods and maintenance yard.

• Present function- parcel booking and coach and wagon maintenance (highly under-used)

• No. of years of functioning- 138 years (established in 1882)

• No. of years of abandonment- 27-30 years

Overlying idea: “This site has been abandoned for the function for which it was assumed, however, one thinks that providing its access to the public in the form of a green open space, could be a potential solution to the lack of open public spaces in the neighbourhood and the city as well. This would further pave the way for other lost sites also to be revived and contribute towards the greener landscapes of the city.”

There is a three-tiered approach towards the site’s abandonment;

• Site level- Creating an ocean of perceptions through mirages

• Neighbourhood level- Breather

• City level- Creating East West linkages between Mumbai & Navi Mumbai

Creating a breather for the neighbourhood.

Mumbai

Navi Mumbai Arabian Sea

SITE LEVEL INTENT

Interpreting the site as a thought evoking entity

As a result of its strategic location below the railway station, portions of the yard can be seen through 103 trains that enter or leave the station, daily, on the harbour line alone. Considering the over-capacitated state of coaches, even if we take into account that a 25% of the population in these trains witnesses the site, the number would come up to lakhs and lakhs of commuters every single day!

SITE LEVEL INTENT: “Ocean of perceptions”

“The intent here is to create an ocean of perceptions through architecture, such that it lingers on in the traveller’s thoughts, as one visits and revisits the site of abandonment.”

The proposal would thus, hold the gaze of onlookers, for a longer period of time, such that, every time one takes a look, there is a new revelation, an unfolding of some sorts. Therefore, the traveller would look forward to seeing the visual every day, as it would provide him, with a momentary sense of releif from his banal journey. The site would thus withhold mirages as a series of ever-changing perceptions and memories that one can chose to carry forward from time to time.

An illustration of the encounter that one has with the yard, through the train’s window, every single day.

MIRAGE: Every time one looks at this visual of the yard through the window, as the train enters the station, one sees something new! The charisma of the Orange of the sun, melting with the yard in the background is magical, almost unreal. One tries to decipher its existence as the train continues to move, but to no avail. The arrival of the visual as a part of one’s otherwise banal journey is highly anticipated, but the orange is gone. It is now a deep Purple.

The sun along with the layers of the city evoke a sense of “curiousity and longing” inside the traveller.

“Infinity”

Through a moving train, as one gazes at the abandoned yard, one notices a series of coaches, placed as if they will start off at any moment, creating an illusion of static motion. Beyond all of this, as one continues to look, is the background of the city, standing tall in glory. After that, is another layer of God’s creation, the sky and the sun, which is also constantly moving. All of these layers, together, evoke a feeling of continuity and an unending series of layers upon layers, thus leading to infinity.

“Static Motion”

The coaches at the yard, even though they are not functioning anymore, remind one of the memories associated with the place and the abundance of activities that once occurred here. Even though static, they still give a notion of constant movement.

“Flux”

The site is always in a state of transition with the ever-changing landscape, the sun-rise, the sun-set and most importantly the train coaches, as they enter or leave the railway station. There is always an indication of an inconsistent movement pattern.

As one looks at the yard through a moving train, one notices that the parked coaches have been replaced by a series of walkways that lead towards infinity. The bridges commemorate the yard’s past as they resemble the linearity and static motion of the coaches that used to be parked here. Thus they act as a connector between the old and new.

The landscape in between the walkways consists of Parizad (flowering season is from August to December), Gulmohar (flowering season is from April to July) and Bakul trees (flowering season is from May to June). One can enjoy a stroll on the walkways amidst the everchanging landscape.The constant change in the built and unbuilt acts as an ocean of perceptions that keeps providing mirages in the form of visuals to the overlooking commuters.

With the government constantly receding from investments, public projects especially, the idea is to also invite private investments in reviving a lost space, celebrating its abandonment, intervening with a subdued plugin such that, the experiential qualities of the spaces are intact.

▶

The bridges act as a connector between the old and new constantly reminding one of the yard’s past.

NEIGHBOURHOOD LEVEL INTENT - Design Strategy 1

NEIGHBOURHOOD

LEVEL INTENT: “Breather”

“The proposal would aim at providing a breather, in the otherwise claustrophobic neighbourhood.”

The breather would be in the form of a pause, that is accessible to one and all, since there is a serious lack of open spaces in the city and the neighbourhood as well. (1.1 sq. m of open space per person which is 26 times lesser than that of New York)

The unsused maintainance lines and the area around it, is the space where one identifies the scope of a sensitive proposal, that acts as a connector, constantly reminding one of the stark contrasts between the then and now. The landscape would provide for green lungs in the neighbourhood and would simultaneously help in enhancing the idea of a mirage on site. -STRATEGY 1

Interpreting the site as a sense of releif for the neighbourhood.

Creating East-West Links

Considering the close proximity of the site with the Mumbai Port Trust Land and the fact that both are open for redevelopment, a linkage can be created which will further increase the relevance of the yard as a green open space in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai as well.

Since the redevelopment would also allow public access, this linkage couldbecome a very important entity in connecting the site with the city context, especially, owing to the fact that one of the access roads is the Eastern Freeway -STRATEGY 2

The City Context

Creating East-West Links

Considering the close proximity of the site with the Mumbai Port Trust Land and the fact that both are open for redevelopment, a linkage can be created which will further increase the relevance of the yard as a green open space in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai as well.

Since the redevelopment would also allow public access, this linkage couldbecome a very important entity in connecting the site with the city context, especially, owing to the fact that one of the access roads is the Eastern Freeway -STRATEGY 2

▶

Source: UDRI/ www.loginmumbai.com

The City Context

Creating East-West Links

Considering the close proximity of the site with the Mumbai Port Trust Land and the fact that both are open for redevelopment, a linkage can be created which will further increase the relevance of the yard as a green open space in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai as well.

Since the redevelopment would also allow public access, this linkage couldbecome a very important entity in connecting the site with the city context, especially, owing to the fact that one of the access roads is the Eastern Freeway

-STRATEGY 2 ▶

Design Strategy 6

KEY SECTION

341 m

Proposed walkway

Existing foot- over bridge station

KEY PLAN

Strategy 6

“Currently, people get off the station into the yard and cross the maintenance rail tracks in order to reach an existing foot-over bridge The idea of a mirage could then be used as a tool in order to create a connection between the station and the existing F O B in the form of a walkway This mirage would not only enhance the journey of the traveler using it, but would also generate a sense of curiosity amongst the commuters who witness it from the windows inside moving trains This walkway would also help in building a connection between the traveler and the breather below ”

View from where the walkway meets the railway station

View from where the walkway meets the railway station

Taking cues from the distorted diagram of the interpretation of Invisible Cities, wherein, even though all the 55 cities follow their own story, they converge to form a larger picture of Venice. Similarly, even though the follies are spread all along the walkways, they will converge to form a larger picture.

Rules

• All the follies will be guided by the same set of principals

• Their placement around the walkways will follow a certain sense of calculated logic

• Their visibility from a g uiding p oint will also follow a sense of logic.

Strategy 7

“Follies act as surprise elements around the walkways that can cause a mirage and thus the pause However, these follies will be smaller portions of a larger picture and their meaningless existence will bring about a larger sense of usage/activity to the landscape.”

Landscape elements acts as elements of surprise/ follies for the person observing them from the bridge

The compound wall has been removed in order to open up the public space and enhance its connection with the community.

Elements of landscape along the bridge, not only enhance the experience of the traveller’s journey as he interacts with their barks and canopies, but also help in creating a mirage by providing him with mere glimpses of what lies ahead.

The bridge’s only physical connection with the ground, lures the person below to come up and experience the bridge.

Several loops are created so that the traveller can stray away from the usual pathway under the bridge.

In some cases, the tracks act as planters along pathways that would lead the traveler towards the sheds.

In some cases, you can actually walk on the tracks, and they act as a constant reminder of yesterday.

• The decking of the walkway would be made out of a brazilian timber composite that would rest on a structural system of steel, much like the sheds.

• The profile of the columns would be circular, i.e. similar to those inside the sheds, however, towards the top the profile would consist of tree-like branches on which the deck rests. The corten steel columns would thus merge with the landscape and further help create the mirrage.

• The parapet of the bridge would have a covering of polished aluminim on the outside so that it reflects the context that is inclusive of the flora and fauna and further blends in with the surroundings.

• The landscape itself acts as a separater between two spaces.

• The space for performances would have a huge banyan tree as a back drop.

• Since one is so close to the trees all the time, irrespective of whether one is on the bridge or not, it blurr the difference between the ground and the bridge, and it would act as one singular entity at all times.

• The parapet wall of the bridge, at the collective space that faces the railway station, is a free flowing form that has been ruptured by peep holes, much like those existing on the walls of the railway station, through which commuters can have a look at the yard. These peep holes are thus, a reminder of yesterday.

• The parapet wall bends and folds itself to form seating at various instances along the travellers jouney on the bridge.

• Several spaces of pause occur as one traverses along the ground. These spaces either occur in between, along, above or below the tracks, thus the presence of the tracks is a constant reminder of yesterday.

• These spaces of pause further act as folleys/ surprise elements for the person who is witnessing these spaces from the bridge.

• This particular sunken space of pause occurs between two groups of tracks that act as tree planters. Thus, the traveller pauses in a space where he is completely surrounded by trees, cut-off from the rest of the city.