top architecture design thesis 2021
RV COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE
BENGALURU, INDIA
Design thesis authored by
arya arun
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THESIS SPECIFICATIONS
Thesis Title: ARAMBHAM – The Walled Ingress
Project type: Architectural Intervention in a Historical Context
Year of completion: 2021
PROPOSITION
Related words: History, Memory, Culture, Engagement, Interaction, Tourism, Community Connect
This thesis is an intricate look into building structures in an expansive historical context and assimilating the same with the existing urban fabric. The historical icon that has been chosen for exploration of the same is THE TIPPU SULTAN FORT, Palakkad.
The rhomboidal fort supported by strong tapering walls is present in the very heart of Palakkad, a town situated on the lofty foothills of the Sahyadri range. Built in a fusion style with granite stones, it was constructed for Hyder Ali by the Palakkad Raja as a tribute fee for helping him with the Zamorin invasion from Calicut. Later, it was passed on to Tipu Sultan and used as a focal point to facilitate communication and establish linkages between Palakkad and Coimbatore. It was refurbished and converted into a jail with Taluk offices and consequently taken over by the Archaeological Survey of India.
PREMISE
A brief reminiscence of my memories of Palakkad helped me discern the fact that the fort is certainly ‘revered’ but not ‘appreciated’ enough for its mesmerising architecture. The fort, although present in the nucleus of the town, is disconnected from all the activities in and around it. Harmonising its association and interaction with the town is the underlying object of this thesis. By acting as a transition as well as a foreground to the existing fort, the architectural intervention allows any passer-by to traverse the fort as well.
The design predominantly aims at the localities and visitors of the town/ fort, enabling them to drop in and have a good time. It helps in overlapping multiple activities that happen in and around the fort. A few of the activities that are accommodated within the design include – children playing in park or the maidan, people coming to visit the fort for an evening walk along the jogger’s path and visitors of the town. Therefore, the intervention initiates interactivity by functioning as a cultural epicentre.
APPROACH
The intersection of the activities was focused onto a dilapidated park adjoining the monument. A reference line from the fort is taken over to the site to form a major axis aligning with the fort. The axis, then meanders around all the existing trees on the site, thereby creating a band in the park that bring people together. The park merges with the band forming interesting pockets of public and semi-public plazas which are temporal and can be converted depending on the function or occasion. A path with the same materiality as that of the band extends out from the intervention and leads a visitor into the fort to establish a connection between the design and the ancient structure.
DESIGN INTENT
This band extrudes to form ‘THE WALL’ that subverts the traditional notions of a ‘fort wall’ by reinterpreting its basic idea and trying to accommodate functions within the wall itself. This wall acts as an experience for the visitors to move around from one end to the other. It relooks at the space within the two fort walls by adding value to it with an entire language of laterite arches and steel is set in place to harmonize the design with the fort
CONCLUSION
The intervention in the fort precinct acts like a foreground and a transition towards the fort. An addition in the historic landscape would help in better engagement of the town with the fort. The project tries to portray how the ‘old’ could be accessed through a ‘new’ prelude and how it creates an experiential journey of its own by using the similar concept of that of the fort walls.
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