SADA
School of Art, Design and Architecture
THESIS CATALOG 2017
THESIS 2017 ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN STUDIO
SCHOOL OF ART, DESIGN AND ARCHITECTURE School of Art Design and Architecture at National University of Sciences and Technology (Islamabad) opened its doors to prospective architecture students in 2010 and since then has grown from strength of 70 to 300 plus aspiring architects and designers. The ideology behind this School is to provide ‘holistic’ design education which is encoded within its mission statement ‘Prepare creative individuals sensitive to context with a holistic understanding that would encompass intuitive ability, theoretical understanding and process driven solution’. Currently two undergraduate degree programs are being taught at NUST-SADA namely B.Arch. and B.ID. (Industrial Design). Both programs aim to inculcate and sensitize students towards conceptual and context related outcomes. It has been the primary ambition of the institute to create an environment conducive for creative learning and in this regard facilities in light of contemporary design thinking have been provided to students. These include IT labs - both general and specialized for Building Sciences, a digital Workshop that includes laser cutters and 3-D Printers, Photography Studio, Model Making and Textile workshop, a library with 3000 plus titles along with subscriptions of major national and international design and architectural journals and magazines, an in-house stationary and printing shop for students. The school also encourages students to be part of co-curricular activities and in this regard is patron to NUST Fine Arts Club, where students can learn and share their skills with other institutes. Also to have a practice oriented approach students at NUST-SADA are encouraged to participate in national and international level competitions. Alongside academic learning, summer training is a compulsory attribute of both the programs, it consents to the real life experience of an architectural/design establishment thus the holistic nature of profession encompassing both academia and link with industry is offered. NUST-SADA aims at producing graduates sensitive towards demands of context, client and industry while preserving their individual identity.
CONTENTS Rector’s message Principal’s message Thesis Coordinator’s message Naqsh Haider Anam Ishtiaq Malik M. Hasan Daniyal Lashari Sara Khan Rafia Malik Eman Tarar Asma Murtaza Zoraiza Fatima Bhutta Mahnoor Matloob Iqra Khalid Ayesha Hassan M. Shahzeb Khan
05 06 07 08 14 20 26 32 38 44 50 56 62 68 74
Hajra Khawaja Fareeha Inam Natasha Raheel Anam Tariq Ifrah Asif Sara Asim Ana Shamsi Harmain Riaz Sahr Farooq Syeda Haya Binte Junaid Fiza Mubarik Rafia Masud Sana Ijaz Saamia Rahman Mominah Arif
80 86 92 98 104 110 116 122 128 134 140 146 152 158 164
Lieutenant General Naweed Zaman, HI (M), (Retired)
Rector’s message
Education in contemporary global scenario is becoming multi-disciplinary and establishing the School of Art Design and Architecture within a technologically inclined environment at National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) was on the same line. SADA within a short span of time has created a space for itself within the national Architectural Education scenario through its robust curriculum and the efforts of faculty and directorates working towards its improvement and bringing it at par with international standards. In recent past we have also started to introduce live projects and competitions at the School of Art Design and Architecture, with an aim to provide students opportunity even before they formally enter the profession. The internship program is another channel to get our students an introduction with respective industry and employer. NUST is continuously working towards identifying multiple avenues for our students to get acquainted by their potential employer and simultaneously encouraging fresh entrepreneurs through our incubation and technology parks located within campus. We hope that our alumni and final year students make use of such facility. It is also hoped that students after graduating from NUST would carry on supporting their alma mater and be a contributing member of NUST family. On behalf of NUST, I extend my congratulations and facilitations to all graduating students and their families.
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Ar./ Plnr. Sikander Ajam Khan M.Arch (USA), MSc (UK), PCATP
principal’s message I extend my congratulations to the graduating 3rd batch of architecture students who have produced such quality work. The range is extensive in the selection of thesis topics, yet there is an overall theme in terms of ideation and graphics which show the trend and direction of the school. I am particularly thankful to the coordinator and thesis advisor Raza Zahid, Dr. Anita Kapadia as a manager of the process, Naveed Aslam, Mian Muhammad Naseer and Usama Bin Murad as thesis advisors and internals. My thanks also go to the faculty, who had a hand in shaping these students over the five year period. With this publication and the preceding one, a clear direction in terms of design thinking emerged which has led to motivating the students to focus upon design and presentation skills. It also serves as a yardstick for various other batches; it imparts confidence to the employer when hiring SADA’s graduates and shows design strategies and directions pursued by the students. As is evident, the work is vibrant, full of hope and can be compared with the best of international work. I hope that students of future batches use this publication as a reference, build upon and take it forward towards new directions. I also would like to thank NUST for lending us support in terms of facilities, developing workshops, and exhibition areas. SADA’s students have always reached out, and taken part in design competitions and brought laurels for themselves and their Alma Mater over the years. The input of external jurors at an early stage pays dividends at the thesis level as students not only gain confidence but also an insight into multiple architectural viewpoints. Last but not least I extend my gratitude to the guardians and parents for their support and understanding and congratulate all graduating students and wish them a successful career. Appreciation is due to all faculty members, thesis coordinator for assimilating and documenting the thesis process, the administration, workshop and the support staff for having always been there to support the thesis process.
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Ar. Raza Zahid AA Dipl. RIBA, PCATP
thesis coordinator’s message This publication brings forth the work of the third graduating batch from the School of Art Design and Architecture, NUST. A relatively young school, SADA continues its journey of creativity and experimentation, charting new design directions as well as revisiting familiar themes, under the mentorship of our Principal, Sikander Ajam. This ideology of exploring a multitude of directions, is perhaps most evident in the final year, where students have the opportunity and indeed the responsibility of not only choosing their thesis topics and site locations but also their methods and tools for design exploration and development. Our thesis team, comprising of Sikander Ajam, Naveed Aslam, Mian Naseer, Usama bin Murad, Dr. Anita Kapadia and myself, all offer unique teaching methods and design trajectories, which is essential in producing a wide range of architectural outcomes. Upon the culmination of another year of hard work, the faculty is impressed by the diversity of ideas and the vast quantity and detail of work produced by the students in a span of a single semester (16 weeks). This is done in addition to a thesis report and other courses the students take during the final year. I believe this makes it the shortest and most intense architectural thesis program offered by any school of architecture in the country and the students are to be commended for their passion and diligence. We hope that this catalog will not only serve to document and celebrate the work produced in our school but will also become a means of sharing it with a larger audience at home and abroad. At a time when global architectural discourse has breathed a new life within the architectural pedagogy, we would like our work to become part of a larger dialogue regarding the future of architectural education in Pakistan. This catalog, as always, is dedicated to our young graduates and their families.
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Urban Ecology Center Green belt between G-5 & G-6, Islamabad
naqsh.haider@sada.nust.edu.pk
Naqsh Haider
“The building layout, program and form are all the result of creating spaces that enhance the senses and create opportunities to understand and interact with nature.” A rising concern within the framework of the natural environment is that of Climate Change in general, and the prevalent unawareness of the public to the idea in our country, Pakistan. The aim of this thesis is to evoke sensitivity to the issue and use architecture as a tool to form a critique about the relationship we share with the natural environment in our cities. In reference to ecology, the project addresses pollution caused to the water stream network in the city of Islamabad because of human intervention and the resulting impact to its immediate surroundings. Acting as a merger of Landscape Architecture and Sustainable Design, the design process involves an in depth analysis of prevalent water conditions in the selected site and exploration of landscape oriented strategies to reverse effects of human intervention. Careful selection of programs form a hybrid of environmental management, research and education. The architectural specimen puts environmental sustenance and needs at the same level as ours by allowing a tried and tested landscape based water purification strategy i.e. Constructed Wetlands, to shape the topography of the area whilst providing zoning cues upon which an architectural scheme can be applied. The vertical dimension then starts responding to environmental factors: the Sun and the Wind, to give architecture its final shape. The final product is a ‘Parkland’ interspersed with volumes of varying functions designed by applying sustainable design strategies and feeding off the water-architecture interface. In bridging the gap between Management and general public, the introduction of a research-oriented facet lends this project the quality of being a valuable teaching tool, which simultaneously becomes a model of sustainable intervention in an urban environment. The conversion of brownfield to greenfield as a manifestation of the Constructed Wetland system gives it the nature of a “living filter.”
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AERIAL VIEW OF URBAN ECOLOGY CENTER
Offices Information Center Laboratories Gallery / Exhibition Resource Library Auditorium Nursery / Cafe Amphitheater Outdoor Nursery Parkland
PLAN AT +19’
TRANSVERSE SECTION BB’
GREEN ACCESSIBLE ROOF
TRANSVERSE SECTIONAL PERSPECTIVE
TRANSVERSE SECTION CC’
RESOURCE LIBRARY VIEW
LONGITUDINAL SECTIONAL PERSPECTIVE
The Library as a Social Hub NUST Campus, H-12 Islamabad
anam.malik@sada.nust.edu.pk
Anam Ishtiaq Malik
“A library that merges formal and informal spaces in ways that allow for new programmatic possibilities, breathing new life to the typology.�
The reading of the library as more than a container of books, results in the introduction of multiple new programs that attempt to incorporate it into the daily student life at NUST. The thesis addresses the architectural connotations derived from the nature of these programs and linkages resulting from the character of the site, which overlap to create a spatially open and programmatically fluid library. The design process explores these connections through a series of models and planning exercises in an attempt to balance the resulting formal and informal spaces. Multiple zones of public, private and semi-private spaces are linked and juxtaposed to create liminal spaces that become an essential part of the new library. Exploration of topographical sections allow for the placement and interconnections of programs to be developed in terms of accessibility and quality of space. The final design is conceived by executing a number of steps, the first of which is linearly molding the landscape to enhance the duality of the built and un-built present within the site. To create easy access to the lake, the ground floor is split into 3 separate zones, while the first floor reconnects it and houses the resources. A second roof unifies the building, providing shaded terraces, which are used as programmatic spillage areas, and allow formalized programs the opportunity to become informalized by extending into the external zone. Interactions between users are encouraged through the use of social spaces, yet the design allows for private spaces for self-learning and group learning, without interruptions. The informal programs of the library promote the use of the more formal programs of the library, thus creating a duality between the formal and informal. The overall design synthesis includes a culmination of formal, informal and interactive zones, which work together to create a more integrated library.
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ROOF PLAN
EXISTING SITE MODEL
CONCEPT DIAGRAM
Central Courtyard view
GROUND FLOOR PLAN
Shaded Terraces
Entrance View
ENTRANCE VIEW
LONGITUDINAL SECTION AA’
TRANSVERSE SECTION DD’
The Architectural Threshold Saidpur Village, Islamabad
muhammad.daniyal@sada.nust.edu.pk
M. Hasan Daniyal Lashari
“Architecture attempts to bring you back to the platform of physical interaction with space and people; a space of mediation that allows for interaction and exchange of ideas.” The approach to making an architecture of interaction is through the idea of highlighting transitions and thresholds, as a means of allowing users to pause in order to deliberate and explore, emphasizing the journey through enriching spatial experience. The project is designed to understand the varying nature of the thresholds and their potential as spaces of distraction and interaction. Looking at historical precedents to identify and study the different types of threshold spaces that exist within architecture and their ability to create a dialogue between the user and the space. The site of Saidpur, a village within close proximity of Islamabad’s centre creating tension between the city and the village, served as the ideal setting for an architecture, which aims to encourage physical interaction with space and people. The process was initiated through identifying the various zones of privacy within the site, with subsequent layering of programs in relation to the intended privacy of the space to create the first instance of threshold spaces and the superimposition of a dual geometric grid to materialize a form for the space. The second stage of the process called for the development of thresholds through circulation. Circulation patterns were designed between the zones, having their own patterns of circulation linking up to the inter-zonal movement pattern. These splits of circulation streams enabled the creation of the second type of thresholds and were superimposed upon important junctions within the site to augment their experience. The third stage of the process was to enrich the spaces with an experience thereby allowing for thresholds of experience. Detailing of various spaces was decided depending upon the program and the location of the space to give them an experience in relation to the events happening within the space. The implementation of these three forms of thresholds ensured spaces which would allow users to pause in their movement to deliberate and explore, creating a moment of interaction within the space.
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WOODWORK GALLERY VIEW
GROUND FLOOR PLAN
FIRST FLOOR PLAN
GEOMETRY / STRUCTURE STUDY
By the Edge of the Lake Rawal Lake, Islamabad
sara.khan@sada.nust.edu.pk
Sara Khan
“A building for education as well as entertainment, devoted to water in its various forms and acting as a bridge between man and nature.�
This thesis aims to create architecture devoted to water, through the tool of story telling; a poem. The architecture serves as a tool of enjoyment for man, as he escapes his busy everyday routine to enjoy the Lake View Park. It becomes an extension of the park and Rawal Lake by supplementing the existing recreation whilst providing a new type of recreation thereby adding to the existing culture. The architectural typology is of a museum, which has recreational and educational accents embedded in it and caters to multiple user typologies. The architectural language is a result of the research and critique of the colonial buildings that surround the site; this assists further in grounding the museum within the context by proposing a language that is familiar to the residents of Islamabad and Rawalpindi; from where the user originates. The methodology behind the design of the museum stemmed from using a poem as a design tool. This aided in the sequencing of space, alongside the creation of space by embodying each stanza, from beginning to end. Thereafter a critical overlook re-ordered and condensed the architecture to form the final product. The architecture culmination as- the museum of water- sweeps up the user on the journey of water. The journey begins on a subtle note; that of the ascendance of a small drop of water. As one progresses, the story dips and rises in accordance with the emotions of water until it reaches its climax, in power, anger and fear immediately followed by the abatement of those emotions juxtaposed by happiness, and harmony; the boating dock, where families normally flock, to enjoy the water of Rawal Lake. Thus the thesis intention allows man to delve into a realm of architecture for water as an escape from his daily routine; the hustle and bustle of the city. The architecture grows out of the already existing; the site, culture and existing recreation, whilst simultaneously standing out as an exclusive entity in its devotion to water.
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MUSEUM OF WATER - SITE PLAN
THE STORY OF WATER I am an ascending traveler amongst the gold and blue, I rest amongst white giants, I grow heavy, I sink through, I strike with might the thirsty brown, Therein I find my brothers, openly victorious in silver puddles, Silently so beneath the ground We run, We are a sinuous serpent in valleys great We are the loudest before we are hushed We are many, we will soon be one I am weary, I blink lazily in the sun Can I stay a while before I carry on? Friends small and big, hug my belly and ride my currents They will be back they promise I must learn to warm up again It is lonely without them The gold assists and anxious am I, Where is Mallard? Old Harrier? Pintail? Search within, says Egret Filth. You have been busy haven’t you? Do you know what you have done? I am an ascending warrior amongst the black and blue, I seethe amongst grey giants, I grow angrier, I push through, I ride the winds, Striking with might, the soppy brown We are a brimming 60 million Your sentinels abate us, The gold assets, and anxious are you, to ride my currents Is that a smile I see? Look deeper, I am more vast than I appear to be We can work together you and I, You’re not too bad once you revere me.
Entrance Corridor
Fear Funnel
PLAN AT +25’
Main Lobby Skylight
Art Gallery
Connecting Corridors
Auditorium
SOUTH-EAST ELEVATION
NORTH-WEST ELEVATION
SECTION CC’
NORTH-EAST ELEVATION
Tolerance Center Shakarparian, Islamabad
rafia.malik@sada.nust.edu.pk
Rafia Malik
“A Center to educate and bring people from different walks of life together under one roof, with the hope of creating tolrenace, undertsanding and trust.� Over the past couple of decades, Pakistan has faced great turmoil from various forces, both from home and abroad, leading to an insurmountable loss of life and resulting in a society that has become desensitized and disconnected. A society that was once accepting of diversity and freedom of expression has transformed into one that demands a singular ideology, shunning away people of different faiths, ethnic backgrounds, sects or ways of living. Religion is often misused and misunderstood leading to intolerance and extremism. Religious teaching has become mandatory in public schools but there is no one teaching religious tolerance and respect. This project addresses these issues by proposing a Center for Tolerance in Shakarparian, Islamabad. This location, in close proximity to the local schools and universities, also provides easy access from the neighbouring city of Rawalpindi. The aim of the proposed Center is primarily to educate, by providing spaces for interaction and exhibition, both formal and informal that can cater to the diverse user groups in the vicinity. These programs allow for the representation and indeed, celebration of diversity through events that allow debate and freedom of expression and bring disparate groups together under one roof, in the hope that familiarity will lead to acceptance. The cylindrical tower acts as the unified heart of the design, housing the main auditorium, and sinks into the ground projecting informality. The surrounding volumes on either side contain exhibition and multipurpose spaces that encourage a more fluid movement through. The depression of the central space also allows it to be used as a pedestrian thoroughfare encouraging chance events and informal interactions. The green roofs help integrate the design into the surrounding context whilst providing new forms of public space.
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AERIEL VIEW OF THE TOLERANCE CENTER
MASTER PLAN
SOUTH-EAST ELEVATION
AERIEL VIEW OF THE TOLERANCE CENTER
SECTION CC’
EXPLODED AXONOMETRIC
GROUND FLOOR PLAN
The Furniture Hub Sargodha-Fsd Rd, Chiniot
eman.tarar@sada.nust.edu.pk
Eman Tarar
“A meeting hub for designers, students and craftsmen with the aim of promoting and improving the furniture industry of Pakistan.”
Chiniot, an ancient city of Pakistan is known all over the world for its remarkable furniture work. Nowadays, traditional furniture and wooden handicrafts by the local ‘tarkhans’ of the region have witnessed a decline in production within the country because of issues like unsustainable wood, resource handling, sub-standard technology, static design and lack of production innovation. Thus there is a need for an institute that would bring together tarkhans, designers, students and the public with the aim of educating, collaborating and promoting furniture design. An interactive atmosphere would give them a chance to learn and exchange ideas, techniques and skill at a single platform. Informal learning experiences, design collaborations and interaction between different groups related to furniture sector are also key aspects of the project as research shows that educational experiences that are social, contextual and engaging give exposure and better understanding of diverse perspectives of a single issue. Thus informal and interactive workspaces have been given due importance. Furniture Hub has been designed as an amalgamation of temporary and permanent spaces inspired from a traditional furniture piece known as Charpai. The main elements of this particular furniture; interlocking joints and weaving are translated into architectural elements as well as programmatic zoning. This formation of hybrid programs and spaces due to interlocking allow the users to understand the linkages and different stages of work. Transitional spaces provide a prospect of informal learning and working, by exhibiting the artistic and craft oriented workmanship involved within furniture making. The aim of the project is to provide a single platform dedicated to the art of designing, making and appreciating furniture in order to promote the furniture industry and craftsmanship of Pakistan, while in parallel help towards establishing International and domestic industry linkages.
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AERIEL VIEW OF THE PROPOSAL
CENTRAL COURTYARD VIEW
MASTER PLAN
FIRST FLOOR PLAN
TRANSVERSE SECTION AA’
GROUND FLOOR PLAN
TRANSVERSE SECTION CC’
BUILDING SKIN STUDIES
TRANSVERSE SECTION DD’
‘Performanscape’ Shakarparian, Islamabad
asma.murtaza@sada.nust.edu.pk
Asma Murtaza
“An architecture influenced by cinema and the result of using design techniques traditionally applied in the art of filmmaking.”
Film and Architecture are discrete forms of art yet their mutual relationship compliments each other. Looking into the parallels between process of filmmaking and architecture, the thesis is an attempt towards re-defining the design process in architecture through taking parables from the pre-production stage of filmmaking. The project ‘Performanscape – Centre for Performing Arts’ is an attempt to sculpt a space through combination of frames, scenes, viewpoints and codifying voices to bestow the viewer with an intrinsic experience of a space - an expression for architectural realms. The virtual space in film takes one away from the reality into the virtual and imaginary occurrence. Similarly, the physical space in architecture enables the influential qualities to transform the human perception and provides them a frame to see the environment differently. Thus relationship between film and architecture is inevitable. Cinematographic tools of filmmaking manipulate time, space, light, colour, sound, materiality and senses of viewers allowing them to explore situations in a unique way. The current use of filmmaking in architecture is restricted to the design visualization domains in digital format and the very notion of cinematic intent is diluted to the extent that the comparison invariably is related to functional typology or limited within the designed outcome. The research is an attempt to blend together the homogenous process of pre-production in filmmaking and design process in architecture hence not only the outcome but the conventional process of design evolution has been investigated. This thesis posits that process and techniques through which a film is created can provide useful design possibilities in Architecture by reinventing an apparatus for spatial designing which is developed by analyzing the correlational processes between film and architecture. It endeavours to achieve a product that is more sensitive in terms of experiential quality and establish a coherent relationship not only between space and users but also space and its creator.
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CENTER FOR PERFORMING ARTS MASTER PLAN
VIEW TOWARDS ENTRANCE
NARRATIVE BASED MODEL DEVELOPMENT
FIRST FLOOR PLAN
SECOND FLOOR PLAN
Co-Living G-11, Islamabad
zoraiza.bhutta@sada.nust.edu.pk
Zoraiza Fatima Bhutta
“Residential plug-ins that take advantage of urban voids found in the city, with public programs that integrate the development in its surounding context.� The phenomenon of urbanization has led to the growth of cities and urban sprawl, often sporadic and leading to urban voids, while residential developments continue to grow on the periphery of cities. Such urban voids or dead spaces can be designed to densify the urban fabric of the city, with more inhabitants on the same ground area. To ensure the optimum use of the existing resources of the city and urban fabric, housing can be built in these urban voids in order to support the increasing city population. In order for the proposed housing to plug in with the urban fabric and develop linkages with its context, it is important for the design to ensure living centred around shared spaces. The design is proposed as an amalgamation of traditional and contemporary spaces, which include courtyards and streets acting as gathering spaces combined with contemporary living spaces. The addition of green spaces and parks lead to a more inclusive neighbourhood and a stronger sense of community. The proposed design can act as template for urban densification and the development of new housing throughout the city. The public programs that include a small commercial area and a multi-purpose hall are accessible to everyone in the buildings and the surrounding context, ensuring that the development does not result in an isolated or gated scheme. The semi-public programs include the courtyards, terraces and shared spaces accessible to the residents. These spaces act as a buffer between the public programs and the private housing/apartment modules while also acting as gathering spaces for the residents. The private programs i.e. the housing modules have a variety of typologies ranging from a micro studio to a two-bedroom apartment. The variations in layout cater for multiple user groups leading to a more rich and diverse residential community.
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INTERNAL PUBLIC SPACES
MULTI-LEVEL CIRCULATION DIAGRAM
INTERNAL PUBLIC SPACES
PROPOSED MASTER PLAN
MASSING DEVELOPMENT
GROUND FLOOR PLAN
TRANSVERSE SECTION
Architecture as a Catalyst for Regeneration Shah Allah Ditta
mahnoor.matloob@sada.nust.edu.pk
Mahnoor Matloob
“An architecture of mutualism, creating a symbiotic relationship between the built and the unbuilt, while maintaining the character of the place.”
The term ‘place’ as opposed to space expresses a strong affective bond between a person and a particular setting. Due to the growth of technological advances and globalization, people have lost the sense of place and attachment. Architecture without regard to its surrounding context, social and cultural fabric results in meaningless spaces that create alienation and disconnect. Such spaces are culturally unidentifiable and are similar anywhere. Architecture therefore needs to respond to its surrounding context in order to become an integral part of it and seem ‘in place’ rather than ‘out of place’. Architecture, instead of acting as a parasite feeding off the host should give something back to its surrounding. A symbiotic relationship between the built and the unbuilt can be formed which is mutually advantageous. Such type of symbiotic relationship is called mutualism. The idea is to regenerate the site by adding architecture as a plugin to the already existing fabric and building upon the distinct identity and characteristic of the place that is unique from the rest of the environments. By doing so, architecture has the possibility of acting as a catalyst for regenerating such neglected but potential tourist sites. The site chosen for the project is Shah Allah Ditta caves located between Taxilla and Islamabad. It’s a 2400-yearold heritage site that makes the comparatively new city of Islamabad historically rich. However, very few people are familiar with it. CDA’s attempt to regenerate the site by adding generic resorts and expensive restaurants has further destroyed the character of the site. Due to the neglect on the government as well as the local’s part, the site is on the brink of destruction. The idea is to restore the original character of the site and to put forth a critique and a comparison on how one should regenerate such a sensitive site.
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CONCEPT COLLAGE
TRANSVERSE SECTION CC’
GROUND FLOOR PLAN
TRANSVERSE SECTION AA’
VIEW TOWARDS DEVELOPMENT
TRANSVERSE SECTION BB’
VIEW TOWARDS ENTRANCE
FRONT ELEVATION
Artist Residency Old Khushalgarh Bridge, Kohat District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
iqra.khalid@sada.nust.edu.pk
Iqra Khalid
“An architecture that embeds itself into, and emerges from, the natural terrain on either side of the river and re-inhabits the bridge connecting it.�
Being a frequent visitor of Kohat district for the past eighteen years, I have always been fascinated by the British era Iron bridge (locally known as the Old Khushalgarh Bridge), which connects Attock and Kohat districts bordering the provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and offers scenic views of the natural local terrain and the mighty Indus River. With the construction of a new concrete bridge in the vicinity, the abandoned old Iron Bridge, reduced to a visual icon of a bygone era, has fallen into disrepair. The thesis attempts to breathe new life into the iron bridge by proposing programs that will attract local and foreign visitors and will integrate the bridge back into the lives of the local community by offering them much needed public programs as well as means of generating revenue. The proposal of an Artist Residency becomes the primary program to attract tourists whilst programs like souvenir shops, local cuisine restaurants, exhibition and multi purpose spaces (both indoor and outdoor) allow the locals to use the site throughout the year as well as offering a resting spot for travellers using the new bridge. The architectural interventions highlight the bridge as the primary visual force by imbedding themselves on either side of it, the split used as a means to separate private programs from the more public ones. The steeper river bank houses the accommodation units, stacked up to take advantage of the terrain while the gentler terrain is manipulated to house the larger public programs. The old bridge thus becomes an elevated pedestrian connector, in the form of a park where designated spaces for stalls, exhibitions and shading promote a more leisurely movement. The design process was primarily led by model making, looking at multiple scales and details, initially from clay to understand the language of the landscape and then progressed to working in more rigid materials like card and wood. The resulting architecture becomes an extension of not only the landscape but also the bridge itself.
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RE-INHABITING THE BRIDGE
ROOF PROJECTION STUDIES
SECTION THROUGH RETAIL SHOPS
PLAN AT +35’
‘RE-INHABITING THE BRIDGE’ MODEL STUDIES
BRIDGE DISPLAY ZONE
SECTION THROUGH ACCOMMODATION UNITS
BRIDGE FLOOR PATTERN STUDY
MODEL STUDY OF THE PUBLIC SPACE PROPOSAL
The Culinary Sense Jinnah Park, Rawalpindi
ayesha.hassan@sada.nust.edu.pk
Ayesha Hassan
“To promote the culinary art form through an architecture that celebrates, and is inspired by, the act of cooking.”
Pakistan is a country of diverse culinary flavours ranging from delicate herb infused cuisines of north to spicy savouries in south. Although a strong traditional influence, the contemporary global trend highlights culinary not just as a skill but as an art form, whereupon in Pakistan this art form is still in its infancy. The growing interest in this art form requires a designate space for experimentation, training, innovation and public interaction. The ambition of this thesis is to create such a platform for aspirants of this art form – Culinary Innovation and Research Center. The conceptual emphasis of design has been the sensory association of ‘cooking’ into tangible spatial translation. This would provide the designed space, the experiential characteristic and the conceptual contextualization with respect to function. The design is based upon stratifying user experiences, which have been layered through celebration of ‘food’ itself. The main thematic association of food with art form helps towards identification of spaces with the Center, from Food Studios to its display and finally the ‘experience’ of ‘tasting’. This helps create a layered distribution of programs, which allow for varying degrees of interaction between the user groups. The association of the tactile act with the spatial design was also carried through ‘layering’ of space. The Architecture manifests in multiple layers of education and sociable experiences to create a dynamic balance between the two. Food is celebrated through its sociability aspects as an act of performance. It provides an intermediary layer of bringing the chefs directly in contact with the audience. The architecture responds to the different relationships between the ‘artist’ and the ‘audience’ providing spaces that range from the formal to the informal. The aim of the Center is to allow the graduating chefs to have a good standing in the national as well as international market as creative individuals, as well as to educate the public.
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GROUND FLOOR PLAN
SECTIONAL VIEW
SOUTH ELEVATION
SECTION BB’
SECTION CC’
EAST ELEVATION