CAN PRIVATE TOWERS AND PUBLIC PARKS COEXIST?

Urban Redevelopment of an existing neighbourhood

Academic Project 2019 Janakpuri, Delhi

Developing upon the ideas of revitalization and activation of public spaces, this project looked at the problem at an urban scale through the redevelopment of a mixed-use neighborhood in Delhi.

With the increasing population in our cities, there is a rising demand for the densification of existing built fabric. But development driven by capital often results in different user experiences for different classes. Being connected with natural, open spaces is becoming a privilege within a congested urban city. The proposal thus aimed at recognizing the existing, central park as a critical resource and extending it to everyone - within and beyond the site.

The scheme was driven to create a pedestrian-friendly precinct, capable of inviting and connecting with the larger networks adjacent to it. Apart from housing, it provided supporting amenities such as offices, retail and recreational facilities to create a thriving and inter-connected urban living experience. An elevated podium loop enhanced the common public spaces.

All the spaces, from the hotel to low-income housing, were visually treated with similar attention and aesthetic, to erase the biased divide between different zones and create a unified neighborhood.

Project Role

Site Analysis | Concept Design | Design Detailing | Model making

Project Team

Anam Nasim | Sharon Sabu | Veeresh Angiras

Current Zoning

A largely residential neighborhood, the current site hosts a commercial market, temple & schools nearby

Mobility structure

The site is flanked by a major road network and also accessible by city-wide metro railway

Potential network of greens

Although there are many parks, they remain restricted, privatized and isolated

Activity Mapping

Temporal activation of spaces influenced by informal markets, school hours and office commute traffic

Connected podium level for relief on upper spaces but inward-looking blocks with unusable scale

Larger open space - extending the park into a plaza but created segregated zones of built-unbuilt

Zoning of hotel & commercial - act as noise buffers but park restricted by housing blocks

Shallow housing floor plate - cross ventilation across units but hotel rooms facing adjacent buildings

Porous build form allows central greens to ‘bleed out’ and connect with larger context

Global move

Enabling the central park to remain accessible & visually connected

Parallel Bars

Inward Looking Courts

Sheltered yet Porous

Allows for movement, but no connection between blocks Shared space, yet allows movement & independence

Creates shared sense of place but not inviting

Pedestrian centric design

Car movement was restricted to the peripheries, while the bridge and terraces recreated elevated common spill-out spaces

Multi-Level site experiences for diverse user groups : Private experiences above, public thoroughfare below

The elevated bridge creates a vehicular-free public realm while allowing space underneath for hosting informal markets & cycling tracks.

Academic