University of Cincinnati

UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI

Date: November 26th 2007

I, S h a r a n y a I y e r, hereby submit this work as part of the requirements for the degree of: Master of Architecture in: Architecture It is entitled: Hybrid Space for Engaging with the Living Past A Community Center for Tourists & Locals at Hyderabad India

This work and its defense approved by:

Chair: Elizabeth Riorden, First Chair Jay Chatterjee Second Chair

Hybrid Space for Engaging with the Living Past:

Community Center for Tourists and Locals at Hyderabad India

A thesis submitted to the Division of Research and Advanced Studies

of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the

requirements for the degree of

MASTER OF ARCHITECTURE

in the School of Architecture and Interior design

of the College of Design,Architecture, Art, and Planning

2007

S H A R A N Y A I Y E R

Bachelor of Architecture, SPA JNTU Hyderabad, India 2004

Committee Chair: Elizabeth Riorden

Second Chair: Jay Chattejee A B S T R A C T

Contextual situations lend architecture unique sensibilities and distinctive

character. The advent of globalization has obscured the notion of a context

and its architectural manifestation lending identity to people and place.

This thesis seeks to assimilate the ever-transforming relationships of

people, place and buildings that create notions of identity. Contemporary

socio-cultural and temporal constructs are hybrid amalgamations of past,

present and dreams of a distant future; they evade simple definition and

direct translation into built forms. The challenge of addressing the dualities

of local and global, past and present, the everyday and festive would be

explored through the design of a community center for locals and tourists

in the Walled City of Hyderabad India. The aim being to evolve an

appropriate contemporary architecture to experience the living past, by

imbibing territorial, temporal, behavioral, psychosocial and ideological

dimensions of the context, creating design that contemplates the

dynamics of constantly changing identity structures.

ii A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S

Understanding the nuances of the locale I grew up in, afresh, as a researcher in a

distant completely different context has been a challenge. The distances couldn’t

have been bridged without the help of Dr. Lalitha Iyer, Ms Gowri Iyer , Prof. Ravi

Anand Kamal, Prof. Suryanarayana, Mr. Shorey and Jagadeesh Taluri .

I am very grateful to my thesis chair Elizabeth Riorden for her efforts in

understanding and situating herself in my thesis context as well as motivating and

advocating design conceptualization. I would also like to thank my second chair

Prof. Jay Chattejee for his support and critical inputs. Last but not the least; I would

like to Manmadh Rebba for his continued emotional support & love and Bharati,

Kiran, Yash, Anu and Sushmita for their help in the process.

iii C O N T E N T S

C H A P T E R O N E Thematic Background Thematic introduction

The theme in context

C H A P T E R T W O Design outline 6

Thesis Proposal The Bazaar as a design driver

Design investigation 9

C H A P T E R T H R E E Aspects of identity 19 Thematic, Site and Design Studies The typo-morphological perspective

Contextual Analysis 23

Design Precedent studies

29 Design vocabulary

Research Summary& palette studies 35

C H A P T E R F O U R

Design Explorations Design solution

Delineating user groups and activities

Program details 44

Architectural proposals 48

Concluding statements

Bibliography

Glossary of terms

v I L L U S T R A T I O N S

1.1 Hybrid culture at Mumbai : Coexistenc C H A P T E R O N E The Traditional Hyderabad and Cybe 1.2 1.3 Modern voice to the local – the arch 1.4 Vernacular modern – architecture of Hassane of Traditional Fathy Colonial & Modern. rabad, its Hi-Tech counterpart. 1.5 Identity structures : dialogues between people, place & time itectural explorations of B.V.Doshi

C H A P T E R T W O 2.1 Location of Hyderabad at the confluence of trade routes. 2.2 Iconic center of the historic core of Hyderabad: The Charminar 2.3 Oriental fantasies of Bazaars 2.4 Old Hyderabad to the south of the new, separated by the river. The shifting commercial core of Hyderabad with time : the decay of old Bazaars. 2.7

2.5 Bazaars of the old city of Hyderabad 2.6 Bazaars of the old city of Hyderabad

Colonial Patherghatti : Arcade Bazaars from the early 1900’s. 2.8 Medieval Laad Bazaar : Eaves of the Laad Bazaar from the 1500’s. 2.9 Contemporary extensions of the traditional 2.10 Festivals on the Bazaar Axis: Chandini Raat & Ramadan 2.11 Social Nuances of the Locale : Distinctive ethnic and cultural group 2.12 Symbolic significance of the Iconic center of Hyderabad

vi 2.13 Tourism proposals for the core of Hyderabad 2.14 Diagrammatic design Analysis : Mixing of users tourist & Local 2.15 Diagrammatic design Analysis : Contextual Assimilation of built forms 2.16 Assimilation of local vocabulary and scale 2.17 ‘Gendered Space’ and notions

of ‘Parda’ in the locale.

C H A P T E R T H R E E 3.1 Spaces and socio-cultural practices that create

3.2 Everyday environments and life-worlds of people

3.3 Built Environment : Figure ground

3.4 Built Environment : socio-economic structures – Landuse

3.5 Built Environment : Centrality, Axis

3.6 Built Environment : Tourist and Local landmarks

3.7 Built Environment : Bazaars along the axis & Segregation of public and private

3.8 The old city fabric: Axial nodes

3.9 Character of the Core

3.10 Activities along the core

3.11 Movement through the core

3.12 Citra Niaga development, Samarinda, Indonesia

3.13 Niamey Grand Market Niamey Niger.

vii 3.14 Al Mashrabia tourist an

3.15 Auroville Visitor Center, Pondicherry India

3.16 Compilation of Thematicd elements local center, Giza Egypt.

3.17 Compilation of Climatic elements

3.18 Compilation of Stylistic elements

C H A P T E R F O U R 4.1 Assimilating site li

4.2 Minarets to visually link an nes and movement patterns

4.3 Tourist and Local crowds mixed in the precinct

d guide visitors through the core 4.4 Natural shading, lighting

4.5 Islamic and modern stylistic Vocabulary and ventilation considerations. 4.6 Narrative sequence : Section AA

4.7 Visual experiences along the building : Views

4.8 Schematic Layout plan

4.9 Building A : Community Node

4.10 Building B: Tourist Orientation Center

4.11 Building Vocabulary : Details

viii C H A P T E R O N E

Thematic Background

1 T H E M A T I C I N T R O D U C T I O N The shrunk global world is a surreal architectural setting, with its myriad of condensed identities, of the past, present and the distant future; evading straightforward definition,

objective analysis and simplistic architectural interpretation. The interplay and blending of

a variety of cultures globally and locally is an integral part of the contemporary milieu. Juxtaposition of symbols, meanings, images and activities from a spectrum of cultures,

perceived through media-induced knowledge contributes to the dream-like obscurity of

today’s environments. Culture and Identity are in the process of rapid flux, being itself, ‘emerges from the process of becoming and disappearing’ according to Walter Benjamin (Buck-Morss 1989). This juxtaposition of seemingly unrelated objects stimulates a variety

of fleeting, ever changing experiences characterizing the surreal identity structures of our times.

Identity is a fundamental character of our being, pieced together from our active engagement with physical settings and passive reconstructions of people and place through memories and associative meanings. An objective, descriptive discourse on

place, people, landscape and identity is incomplete as experience is an integral

indeterminate aspect of this whole which is subjective. Identity is in the eye of the beholder as much as it is in the setting. The experience of a place is determined by a number of

other factors such as our inherent notions, expectations and prior experiences, emotional

state, receptiveness and responsiveness and our control to manipulate / customize the

2 settings we are engaged in. Reciprocity and the interplay between people and their These reciprocal relationships of people, place and buildings create notions of belonging, environments create bonds of belonging. Settings mould peoples and people in turn mold that are embedded in the life-worlds of people and place in the form of communal their settings. People are in constant dialogue with the places that engage them in the histories, social practices, cultural attr everyday realm. This exchange between humans and their physical settings is at the (Rapoport 1981) physical, physiological, psychological and the symbolic planes. ‘

This thesis seeks to examine the shifting notiibutesons of andbelonging collective in the me age of globalization, sure of where one belongs’. wherein the boundaries of place and time have disappeared and hybrid cultures have mory or experience’ emerged. As Bausman (Neill 2004) said, ‘One only thinks of identity, whenever one is not

The study would be applied to the context of tourism in the

historic core of Hyderabad, that brings to the foreground identity issues and the balancing

of the traditional and modern demands, global and local images and tourist and resident

needs.

The design of an entrance feature to the Walled city of Hyderabad would provide for the

architectural exploration of multilayered identity by the juxtaposition of local and tourist

needs containing an interpretation and for tourists that coexists with a traditional social

interaction place for locals.

1.1 Hybrid culture at Mumbai : Coexistenc Source : , Mumbai forum. www.skyscrapercity.com

e of Traditional Colonial & Modern.

3 alienating locals from their life-worlds in the name of historic preservation and tourism.

The urban design aspect would include continuing the narrative established at the entry

feature through the entire fabric realized through a street design scheme in the

pedestrinized zone. This would seek to synchronize the existing street activity with that of

newly introduced street culture resulting from tourism. The challenge being to balance

the local reality with the tourist expectations and imagined realities.

Architectural responses and precedents of local and global have been varied. Some

architects have been creating structures coherent with the socio-cultural milieu such as

1.2 The Traditional Hyderabad and Cyberabad, its Hi-Tech counterpart. Charles Correa, BV Doshi and Hassan Fathy. Others have been creating structures that Source : Photographs of the Old city of Hyderabad by Sharanya Iyer 2006-2007 drastically contrast with people and place such as Zaha Hadid and Rem Koolhaas.

The tourist node would contain an interpretation center that orients visitors, provides information and guides visitors through the heritage structures integrated by the bazaar fabric, with auxiliary facilities like a museum, tourist bazaar and a theatre to support these functions. The local node would contain open air community space for local events, marriages and prayer space associated with the existing mosque, along with support spaces for the community, such as NGO offices, Library, function hall, Clinics, local authority sub-offices etc which are currently absent in the walled city. The combining of these local and tourist activities would provide for an integration of tourism with the 1.3 ModernSource : Vaastushilpa voice to Consultantsthe local – – the arch everyday realm, creating an authentic experience of living history for visitors without

www.sangath.com itectural explorations of B.V.Doshi

4 unrealistic tendencies towards

returning to a distant past’ While ‘Critical Regionalists’ (Abel 1997) like Kenneth Frampton propagate the idea of existing ‘types’ and the ‘morphological formulations’ signifying existing urban context and distancing oneself equally from the ‘enlightened myth of progress’ and the ‘reactionary its traditional roots. Thus assimilating and imbibing local identity constructs and balancing

in the name of preserving them with the urge to progress and formulate a contemporary built identity that is localness, simultaneously addressing contemporary needs. The notion of globally appropriate for the people, place and time. conscious, locally sensitive architecture would be explored in this design.

1.4 Vernacular modern – architecture of Hassan Fathy Source : Archnet web

Library www.archnet.org

The physical form of the building would be derived based on a typo-morphological study of the predominant public space in the precinct: the bazaars that define the main streets of the core. The architectural form would assimilate and appropriately respond to the

5 T H E T H E M E IN C O N T E X T ‘The basic act of architecture is to understa

protect the earth and become a part of the comp (Heidegger 1997) to have an existential foothold nd the vocation of a place. In this way we People are in constant dialogue with the places that engage them in the everyday realm. in a concrete everydayrehensive sense’ totality.. to belong to a place is This exchange between humans and their physical settings is at the physical, physiological,

psychological and the symbolic planes. These reciprocal relationships of people, place and

buildings create notions of belonging, that are embedded in the ‘life-worlds’ of people and places, in the form of communal histories, social practices, cultural attributes and

collective memory or experience.

1.5 IdentitySource : Photographs structures of the: dialogues Old city of Hyderabad between by people, Gowri Iyer place 2006-2007 & time

6 ‘… People are embedded in the world. We are This thesis seeks to examine the shifting notions of belonging in the age of Globalization,

process of action and response from wh wherein the boundaries of place and time have disappeared and hybrid cultures have emerged. Being seems to ‘emerge out of the process of becoming and disappearing’ interaction of body and setting, a psychologica implicated in a constant process of action (Buck-Morss 1989) in our era of fleeting images. dynamic harmony of sensory awareness (Rapoport 1981) ich we cannot stand apart… A physical environmental situation.’ How can we assimilate and respond to these dynamic ever-changing changing notions of l interaction of consciousness and culture, a PROBLEM STATEMENT: belonging of our times? How can we create authentic architecture without getting makes a person inse carried away either with the quaintness of the past or the technological shimmer of

Assimilating identity constructs to inform the design of an interpretationparable center fromthat his the hi-tech visions for the future? engages tourists with the locale creating a cohesive experience of living history and ever- changing socio-cultural norms in the walled city of Hyderabad.

Built environments are reservoirs of identity; they are physical manifestations of the socio- cultural, economic, behavioral attributes of a people and place caught at a moment of time. The identity of a people and setting are derived from the physical attributes of the setting, the activities that engage the people with place and the subtler meanings and associations that emerge from the dialogue between people and place. The everyday realm is rich with identity clues, involuntarily disclosed by a culture, without a conscious effort to distill or sanitize it.

7 C H A P T E R T W O

Thesis Proposal

8 D E S I G N O U T L I N E Tourism has often resulted in the mummification of local identity for a Disney style display of history, culture and lifestyle. The local community is forced into stagnation, posing for

the ‘picture perfect’ photograph of what the media and the outsiders perceive of their

lived worlds. This project seeks to explore tourism that compliments and nurtures local

identity, rather than contrasts or impedes the natural process of growth and

transformation of local culture with time.

Creating a narrative sequence that engages the outsiders to emote and participate in the

locale rather than just view isolated historic structures of heritage value would be one

aspect of the exercise, while the other more critical part of it would be to allow the local

community to smoothly function as a traditional integral unit unhindered by the advent of

tourists, allowing the locals to benefit from rather than be hindered by this intervention.

Tourism in this case would be viewed as a new commercial activity in the traditional

Bazaar setting. Tourism as a formal sector activity generates its unique set of informal

on-street and along the street activities that impact the entire urban setting. The comprehensive design of the setting taking into consideration the architectural additions

to the setting in the form of an interpretation center and ‘on street spill out’ of tourist activities would form the core aspect of this project.

9 My design itself would be based on the heritage scheme for the zone, recognizing the

bazaar as a key resource that could be effectively utilized to enhance the traditional

ambience, integrating the dispersed heritage monuments with the streetscape and

creating a cohesive narrative sequence for the experience of this precinct.

2.1 Location of Hyderabad at the confluence of trade routes.

The historic core of Hyderabad is a rich reservoir of heritage, studded with numerous monuments from the past. The city has made an effort to preserve these monuments 2.2 IconicSource : centerPhotographs of the from historic the British core library of and Hyderabad: Gowri Iyer. The Charminar and the entire precinct, and is in the process of seeking international recognition and world heritage status through a heritage preservation plan (Vastushilpa 1999) that involves pedestrinization of the central axis, with heritage walks, connection of the old and The Bazaars are strategically located on all the major streets and public spaces in the new through a new bus shuttle system, conservation of key monuments and streets and walled city and can be easily utilized to connect the monuments of the core. The Bazaars infrastructural improvements in water supply, drainage and street settings. are reservoirs of everyday life and lived culture or ‘life-worlds’ of the people which could

form an interesting narrative or background for an enhanced, insider experience of the

10 historic structures in the core. These bazaars are distinguished by their density, vibrancy, colors and myriad of on-street activity.

The hypothesis that underlies this thesis is that Bazaars are the predominant type that is the only available local precedent for public space in the Islamic city. The design of a tourist center would be based on the ‘bazaar type’ and its contemporary explosion onto the street in the form of informal sector activity. Informal sector activity refers to the on- street vendors and spontaneous shopping units that is endemic to all Asian cities. These informal sector activities are dynamic, adaptive, socio-cultural and economic manifestations of the contemporary identity of the district. These establishments respond to changing demands, goods, fashions, seasons, festivals, locational dynamics and the vibrant social life of the walled city, and can be effectively used as a tool to integrate the traditional and current cultures as well as the changing needs of the locality.

11 T H E B A Z A A R A S A D E S I G N D R I V E R People, place and identity are camouflaged in the gendered hierarchy of space in medieval

Islamic city …. The hush of the closely guarded private mohallas (neighborhoods) all of a

sudden bursts into the vibrant Bazaars … Bazaars which are animated spectacles of people, colour, noise, smell, history and identity.

‘It also happens, that if you move along that you see a crack open and a different city appear. Then, an instant later, it has already

(Sadler1998) vanished.’ city's compact walls, when you least expect it, The bazaar is an explosion of the everyday and the festive in the urban setting. It is the

,is a marketplace (ﺑــﺎزار :public commercial space of an Islamic city. A bazaar (in Persian

often covered, typically found in areas of Persian and some Islamic culture. The word is

derived from the Persian word bāzār, whose etymology goes back to the Pahlavi word http://wikipedia.org/) meaning ‘the place of prices’. (Wikiepedia: The free encyclopedia (وهﺎﭼﺎر) baha-char

Fantasies of the orient have very often been interwoven with the exotic vibrancy of the Bazaar. The bazaar is a notional space, imbue with the essence of the orient for the

external observer. The everyday is ignored in favor of a romantic image of a mysterious

oriental landscape. Trade was one of the first encounters of the east and west. Spices,

12 textiles, carpets, precious stones, incense exchanges historically occurred in the bazaars. across the country, it has traditionally been the most vibrant market of the Deccan1. At

These Bazaars captivated travelers and traders for centuries, and have most often the geographic center of the country, it is at the confluence of the traditional & modern, become the dominant images of the culture of eastern societies. Hinduism & Islam and the cultures of the North & South of India. Bazaars are the focal

elements of the settlement that form the basis for the evolution of the city and its

prosperity.

2.3 Oriental fantasies of Bazaars Source : Elberta Mohler Jones (1879-1967) & John Frederick Lewis 1875 .

2.4 Old Hyderabad to the south of the new, separated by the river. SourceThe shifting : S.P.Shorey commercial Eighteenth centur core of Hyderabad with time : the decay of old Bazaars. Hyderabad is an Islamic settlement dating from early 1500AD, built on the footprints of the ancient Hindu Kingdom of the Bahamani rulers; at the confluence of trade routes y Hyderabad: Anatomy of an old map. 1 The Plateau Highlands of peninsular India are called the Deccan. Refer to glossary of terms.

13 The contemporary image of Hyderabad is that of an exploding IT Bazaar (market) … the Hyderabad in the early 1900’s, after the great flood that washed away half the city in

Bazaar being the indispensable feature of this city on the central Deccani moors from 1908AD. Informal sector bazaars have sprung up as on-street extensions of the time immemorial. traditional Bazaars throughout the core, as contemporary adaptations and extensions of

the off-street bazaars.

The bazaar is a setting that embodies a narrative, a narrative of the identity of people and

place. In the Hyderabadi context, the bazaar has layers of meaning and signification …

Elaborated below

The Bazaar is …

A Physical setting for trade and commerce

Bazaars are linear assemblies of shopping establishments that emerge along the main

2.5 Bazaars of the old city of Hyderabad streets around focal nodes (Charminar) in the cityscape or attractors and are Source : British Library Collection. characterized by density, spontaneity and pedestrian movement and scale. The traditional bazaars of the city emerged for precious stone trade, predominantly A Temporal setting that records history, change and the personal stories of people. processing pearls from the coastal regions and diamonds from the mines of Golkonda at The bazaars of the walled city of Hyderabad are the core feature of this medieval Hyderabad. The walled city of Hyderabad today has a multitude of bazaars: the oldest settlement that emerged at the confluence of trade routes between the north and south being the Laad Bazaar dating from 1500AD and the most significant being the Colonial India. Patherghatti precinct built by the city improvement board under the rule of the Nizam of

14 ‘Hyderabad has been a trading center for centuries. Old Hyderabad lives in its bazaars…’ (Vastushilpa 1999)

2.7 ColonialSource : Photographs Patherghatti by Gowri : Arcade Iyer 2006-2007 Bazaars from the early 1900’s.

2.6 Modern Colonial Traditional 2.8 MedievalSource : British Laad Library Bazaar Collection : Eaves & of the Laad Bazaar from the 1500’s. Bazaars of the old city of Hyderabad

Photographs by Gowri Iyer 2006-2007

15 The oldest surviving bazaars are found around the charminar, the central monument of A Behavioral setting that caters to the lifestyles, livelihoods and unique socio-cultural the old city and date back to 1300AD. The 1908 floods of the Musi river wiped out many practices of the people. of the old localities along the riverside and the City Improvement Board was set up to The bazaar is a place of encounter, the public spaces that contrast the gendered private rebuild the important buildings and bazaars. realm of the mohallas2. They are an integral part of the mohalla way of life where

neighbors meet in the bazaars and the men of the house hang out at the irani chai, chaat

Pattharghatti (1920’s) is the most significant colonial bazaar in the locality, which bandis and mirchi bajji3 vendors of the bazaar. It’s a vibrant public space full of the chaos witnessed a northern shift in the commercial core during this period, with the of bargains and vendors screaming goods mingled with the colours, flashy lights, display establishment of the Mujam Jahi market (1920’s) and begum bazaar across the Musi and fancy goods. The bazaar axis of Hyderabad is central in a multitude of other ways; it is river in the ‘new city’. The commercial core gradually shifted into newer localities like Abids the setting for the historic monuments and major public and religious buildings of the

(1960’s) and Begumpet (1990’s), leading to the decay of traditional walled city bazaars. core. It is also hosts key festivals such as Ramadan, Muharram, Eid, Ganesh Nimarjan

And Miladul Nabi4.

The shifting of the commercial core has led to economic depression, poverty, degradation

in infrastructure and amenities, leaving the old city with the poorest of the poor who

cannot afford better living conditions. The bazaars have also decayed, exclusively catering

to tourists and locals during festive seasons and marriages. This drop in livelihoods has

led to mass extrados endangering the heritage, culture and ambience of the precinct.

2.9 Contemporary extensions of the traditional: Source : Photographs by Gowri Iyer 2006-2007 2 Residential Neighborhood communities. Refer Glossary of terms 3 Different type of food vendors. Refer glossary of terms 4 Festive celebrations in the walled city. Refer Glossary of terms.

16 There is an immediate need to preserve and reinvent livelihoods in the setting in order to occupied by the merchants of the bazaars. This locality is also distinct ethnically, with protect the historic and cultural richness of the walled city. Shiya muslims5 of indo-Persian descent, which has remained a feature of the locality

despite migration and the shifting commercial core.

2.11 SocialSource : NuancesPhotographs of by the Gowri Locale Iyer 2006-2007 : Distinctive ethnic and cultural group

2.10 Festivals on the Bazaar Axis: Chandini Raat & Ramadan A Symbolic syntactic setting that is an iconic representative of the people, space and Source : Wikipedia time. www.wikipedia.org

Charminar at the center of the bazaar axis remains the most recognized icon of Hyderabad. Pearl trade and the Laad bazaar occupy an equally important position in the A Territorial setting that has clearly defined edges and activities.

The walls of the old city have crumbled today, but there still exists this notion of an exclusive Islamic society where people have shared lives for generations in the mohallas. 5 A minority sect of Muslims not found in large nos. across the subcontinent. Refer glossary The mohallas are closely guarded residential neighborhoods that were traditionally of terms.

17 symbolic notions of Nizami culture6. The walled city is still the city center in the collective psyche of the Hyderabadis and the visitor, which can contribute significantly for the revival of this precinct.

2.12 Symbolic significance of the Iconic center of Hyderabad Source : Nizamiz Library

6 Indo‐Persian lifestyle, food and customs. Refer glossary of terms.

18 D E S I G N INVESTIGATION The design would be formulated using the bazaar as a tool to capture the cultural ethos and identity of the old city and narrate this history experientially. Tourism is an activity that

has been recently introduced in this locale that has gradually emerged as its foremost

feature, reinforced by the implementation of the heritage preservation proposals. This thesis will explore the impact of tourist culture on the identity of the locale, through the

design of activity spaces that address the hybrid needs of the locals and tourists.

2.13 Tourism proposals for the core of Hyderabad Source : Vaastu Sh ilpa Consultants

The project would involve the exploration of multilayered identity of the bazaar and the

precinct as a whole in two ways; firstly through a formal entrance feature to the old city

19 containing an interpretation and information center for tourists that coexists with a culture as well as Vernacular - Hi-technology constructions would be considered in this traditional social interaction place for locals and secondly through street design, that regard. seeks to reorganize the existing informal sector activities as well as synchronize and F O R M A L CHARACTER balance it with the informal sector activities which would emerge as a result of tourism.

The form would in turn seek to balance the instinct to create a building which imbibes and

nurtures local identity constructs with the urge to progress and formulates a

contemporary built identity that contrasts with the locale and thrives in this disparity. In

morphological terms the form would strike a chord with the notion of ‘a city within a city’

on one hand and a ‘fragmented extension of the existing Islamic city’ on the other.

2.14 Diagrammatic design Analysis : Mixing of users tourist & Local

Conceptual B A S I S

The local-tourist dichotomy is the metaphorical basis of the design. The dualities of being 2.15 an Insider - Outsider, balancing the Global - Local needs, Traditional - Modern images and Diagrammatic design Analysis : Contextual Assimilation of built forms

20 The city within a city notion of a built structure with distinctive character and identity itself would take on the character of veiling and revealing aspects of the setting to the separate from the setting would be balanced with the urge to mimic elements and tourist, to give an insider perspective but not disrupt the lifestyle of the insiders. This features from the setting and its typo-morphology. notion of a veil or parda will be further explored in the design vocabulary, structure and

envelope to effective reveal and conceal aspects of the locale and its people.

2.16 Assimilation of local vocabulary and scale 2.17 ‘GenderedSource : Photographs Space’ by and Gowri notions Iyer 2006-2007

Spatial hierarchy is the primary manifestation of the social structure of the locale, which of ‘Parda’ in the locale. would be imbibed into the design form. The privacy of the Mohallas will be preserved through design, reinforcing the public realm of the bazaar and respecting the social structure of Parda7 and its manifestation in the built realm of the Islamic city. The design

7 The Islamic custom of women wearing a veil in public is called Parda. Refer glossary of terms.

21 C H A P T E R T H R E E

Thematic, Site and Design Studies

22 A S P E C T S OF I D E N T I T Y The term ‘I D E N T I T Y’

Identity is a fundamental character we encounter in every aspect of our being and its

physical extension into the environments we live in. ‘Identity’ derived from ‘Identitatem’, a

Latin word originating in c.300-c.700 means ‘the same’. It is commonly associated with individuality, distinctiveness of character or recognize-ability, Interestingly identity could

refer to both the difference as well as the inherent sameness of objects, people or place.

‘The term identity ... connotes both a pe

persistent sharing of characteristic with others’ - Erik Erickson (1959).

‘Identity with’ connotes the recognition of thersistent sameness sameness while ‘identity within of’oneself in most … andcases a

denotes the highlighting of the differences or distinctions, giving the term dual meaning

that could be used to denote both an individual, very personal trait as well as a common cultural characteristic of a group or a people (Neill 2004).

B U I L D I N G . B E I N G and I D E N T I T Y

Being and Identity have been interlaced philosophically. Individual identity is an extension or

an expression of the being, tempered by external natural, socio-cultural and moral forces. Architecture has often been termed as an extension or an ‘embodiment of being’, both in

the individual and the collective sense as an expression of the ‘being of societies’ (Abel

23 1997). The plausible question would be if architecture can be viewed as ‘identity’ of a ‘Place person time and act form an invisi person or people?.. , Heidegger proposes that buildings can be conceived in two distinct somewhere definite, do certain Wagner (1972). Identity modes: either to ‘nurture the being’, allowing a person ‘to be’ without dictating or emerges from actively engaging and assimilating a place at the physical and psychological determining behavior, or to ‘cultivate the being’ and impose a behavior and identity. planes. ble unity. To be oneself, one has to be things at appropriate times.’ Buildings that nurture and preserve the being could be perceived as expressions of personal identity while those designed to cultivate a particular behavior seem to mould E. Relph (Relph 1976) presents the most intelligible definition of Identity, based on the group identity or collective culture. Heidegger’s perspective on buildings as embodiments following three factors: of the ‘essence of being’ has shadowed architectural thought and notions of conceiving 1. PHYSICAL SETTING: and construing environments. The environment, place or building that forms the context for identity.

2. ACTIVITIES in the setting

That engages people with one another and their inner beings in place and time.

3. MEANINGS and MEMORIES

That creates cognitive benchmarks, emerging from the union of activities and

setting.

These three factors interact to create identity constructs for people and cultural groups.

Activities and setting would construct a notion of a ‘place’ or a cultural landscape, while

the interface of setting and meanings would lend an experience and the juxtaposition of

meaning and activities characterize socio-cultural acts and shared histories. 3.1 Spaces and socio-cultural practices that create them Source : Photographs by Gowri Iyer 2006-2007

24 edges and districts’

Kevin Lynch (Lynch 1960) delineates five physical aspects of an urban setting that lend it ‘Identity of places and towns cannot be understood simply in terms of patterns of physical a notion of identity; tangible components that subconsciously account for intangible and observable features or just products of a experiences in his ‘Image of a City ’. The tangible elements; ‘paths, nodes, landmarks, (Relph 1976) these factors’ he says contribute to the mental images and memories people generate of a place through ‘cognitive map of the environment’. He thus establishes the ttitudes, but an in dissociable combination of concept of place identity as a derivative of cognition, social attributes and formal attributes of the environment. Lynch seeks to provide a direct one-to-one mapping of physical environment and ‘image’ that creates identity, under the assumption that all the users are the same and that they do not come into the setting with the baggage of past experiences, a clean slate or ‘tabula rasa’ which is not true in real life situations, limiting the reliability of his deterministic approach. People bring with them a priori knowledge, that shapes their expectations, engagement and experience of a setting and the setting in turn accounts for an assimilation, adaptation and contextualization of this inherent knowledge. 3.2 EverydaySource : Photographs environments of Satyam an foundation.

Reciprocity adds dimension to this notion of a setting activities and meanings that create d life-worlds of people identity constructs as people and their settings are in constant interplay with each other. Settings mould peoples and people in turn mold their settings, creating constantly

shifting notions of what was and what is. It is in fact argued that the more influence people

have in creating and changing their settings, the more is their attachment or sense of

belonging. Everyday environments are the environments we are most comfortable and

25 same objects and activities because we have been taught to look for certain aspects of a familiar with. These environments embody our subconscious manipulations and effortless As Ian Nairn says, ‘There are as many identities of place as there are people’. As place emphasized by our culture’ adjustments to our settings both knowingly and unknowingly. These environments are architects we look for patterns that personify the collective, or common features ... As shaped by our natural state of being, socially and culturally, and are little effected by Relph says, groups of people with a common background ‘experience more or less the assumed attitudes and expected behaviours, and are thus raw expressions of existing identity constructs and our ways of working within and around them in our daily lives. .

David Seamon and Robert Mugerauer (Abel 1997) look back at the traditional dwelling Clare Cooper on the other hand employs Karl Jung’s concept of the collective conscience, where the designer of the place was usually the builder, maker and user: wherein bonds the archetype and the symbol in trying to understand group behavior and shared between form and process, surface and depth, perception and action were more readily identities. Architecturally speaking absorbing a place would involve the territorial, physical, maintained, almost effortlessly recreating the identity of people and place and making a behavioral,complex andsocio-cultural, ambivalent feelings’temporal, symbolic and syntactic aspects of a setting meaningful connection between subject and object. In a way continuing the Heidegger assimilated through sense perception and experience. ethic of ‘Reciprocal ways in which persons house the world and the world houses them’.

Yi-Fu Tuan (Tuan 1977) delves into the issue of identity from the position of ‘place and

E X P E R I E N C E and I D E N T I T Y experience’. ‘Space and Place’ talks about place as memory containing ‘images of derived from the physical, symbolic and experiential

An objective, descriptive discourse on place, people, landscape and identity is incomplete engagement of people in place. The engagement of people is determined by the as experience is an integral indeterminate aspect of this whole, which is subjective. A ‘insideness or outsideness’ of the person and the involvement of the person, ranging from cultural landscape is transformed into a notion of identity through the medium of a passive spectator to an active participant in the signification of the setting. experience and engagement of people in place. Individual experience of a place is personalized. Identity is in the eye of the beholder as much as it is in the setting.

26 world or a worldview’

Peter Berger (Relph 1976) defines three levels of assimilation of a place of the group by the process of encrustation, in short a ‘characteristic way

1. BEHAVIOURAL … Where one is engaged physically in the activities and culture of … This characteristic attitude towards the world he says is of looking at the a place, while remaining a dispassionate observer. manifested as a ‘characteristic way of shaping the world’. His work predominantly focuses

2. EMPATHETIC … Emotional and Physical involvement in a place even though one on the dwelling and its expression of personality and social status of the occupants in

is belongingfully aware to of your not placebeing …an knowing insider. short their identity as individuals.

3. COGNITIVE … Deep psychological bonding to a place that makes it memorable

and creates a sense of attachment or belonging for that person. The ideas of symbolism and the locale derived from the discipline of cultural geography it without reflecting upon it’. Culture is the agent, the natural are the me This is a deeply embedded experience, like Heidegger says ‘being inside and contributed to the creation of a notion of a larger cultural landscape. Sauer as early as Under the influence of a given culture, it 1925 defines the cultural landscape as ‘natural landscape fashioned by a cultural group. undergoes development, passing through phases and probably reaching ultimately the

dium, the cultural landscape is the result. The experience of a place, it should be noted is also determined by a number of other end of its cycle of development. With the in self changing through time, the landscape factors such as our inherent notions, expectations and prior experiences, emotional state, rejuvenation of the cultural landscape sets receptiveness and responsiveness and our control to manipulate / customize the remnants of the old one” settings we are engaged in. troduction of a differe

(Mugerauer 1925). in, or a new landscape is superimposed on nt, alien culture, a C U L T U R E and I D E N T I T Y Henry Lefebvre’s (Lefebvre 1996) view on the production of space as different forms of

Social and cultural constructs influence and inform our landscapes, buildings and being. cultural construction brings with it the idea of a ‘cultural landscape’. He defines his

Amos Rapoport (Rapoport 1980) defines culture as the feature of a group of people cultural frameworks in terms of class, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, family relations and age. having a set of values and beliefs which embody ideals transmitted through the members ‘Space as a historical production, is at once the medium and outcome of social being. It is

27 not a theatre or a setting but a social produc The surreal juxtaposition of seemingly unrelated objects stimulates a wide variety of collective’ mental and material, work and experiences which are in themselves fleeting and ever changing. The indifference that (Lefebvre, 1991). results out of this state of excessive stimulus and haphazard imagery as Benjamin labels except in and through space’

product suchtion, that a concretesocial relations abstra have no real existence it presents a design challenge as well as a limitation. Encounters and creatively lived A cultural landscape is thus the raw material, the existing notion of a ‘place’ that a person moments in the cityscape are essential constituents for the engagement of people in the ction, simultaneously engages in through their veil of prior associations to identify with or create an identity for setting; there is need for a situation or a significant moment that creates the ‘dreamed themselves in the setting. Architecturally speaking, it is this physical setting we have that dramatized experience of a place and identity. control over to manipulate and modulate notions of identity derived from the locale.

Elusive Identity: TRANSITIVITY

Today’s environments are repositories of layers of meanings and signification; they evade simplistic structuring due to their hybrid identity. The interplay and blending of a variety of cultures globally and locally is an integral part of the contemporary locales. Juxtaposition of symbols, meanings, images and activities from a spectrum of cultures, perceived through media-constructed knowledge, contributes to the dream-like obscurity of today’s environments. Culture & Identity are in the process of rapid flux, being itself, as Walter

Benjamin says ‘emerges from the process of becoming and disappearing’ (McDonough

2002).

28 THE TYPO-MORPHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE The typo-morphological exploration seeks to understand the evolution, adaptation and

formulation of the Bazaar type as a basis for contextual site interventions in the cityscape

and the impacts of such interventions at the micro and macro levels. This is because the

basis for the predominant public interface in the setting is the Bazaar. This study would

encompass: the primary form–oriented geographic model of the ‘morpho-type’

popularized by The Urban Morphology Research Group inspired by M.R.G. Conzen, as well

as the psychology-oriented notion of a type as a collective imagery of a cultural group, that

forms the focus of study of the Italian school established by Saverio Muratori.

The Bazaar as a type has evolved from the open air melas / mandis (markets) to the

traditional bazaars, the colonial shopping arcades and the contemporary commercial

avenues and malls we see today. Traditional, colonial and modern typologies of the bazaar

prevail in the old city of Hyderabad. This type has to a large extent been adapted to the

dense Islamic morphology of the old city, with winding narrow alleys, dead ends, small

densely packed structures and highly polarized private and public domains.

3.3 Built Environment : Figure ground 3.4 Built Environment : socio-economic structures – Landuse

30 T Y P E definitions

The predominant features of the bazaar type in context are:

− Axial determination of form and movement.

The bazaars radiate from the Charminar in cardinal directions, which

determines their axial disposition.

− Linear disposition along the arterial street.

Commercial streets, segregated from the residential mohallas. The need for

signage and display space along the streets, accounts for their ribbon like form,

meandering along the street.

− Strict definition of domain and segregation from private mohallas

− Small densely packed units, mutually shading each other and the street.

− Sheltered space for pedestrians along the street.

− Pedestrian scale of the street.

− Horizontal emphasis: articulation of the facades.

Through awnings and projections in the traditional, articulated arcades in the

colonial and hoarding display in the modern facades.

− Architectural Vocabulary mimicking the predominant features of the times, colonnades in traditional bazaars, arcades in the colonial and neon signs in the contemporary. 3.5 Built Environment : Centrality, Axis & Segregation of public and private realms

31 The walled city MORPHOLOGY

The physical setting of the walled city at the urban scale is characterized by density,

intimacy, unevenness, variety and layers of built history … the framework of Kevin Lynch is

employed below to establish the features of this precinct:

NODES

The Charminar is the most prominent node of the entire precinct. It is demarcated

by the large open space around it and the disposition of major public spaces and

bazaars based on this node as the central point.

LANDMARKS

This district is studded with heritage structures built between 1400-1920AD. These

are predominantly tourist landmarks, linked by a system of heritage walks. The local

landmarks are predominantly along the Musi river (City College, State Central library,

Salarjung Museum, Nizamia Hospital etc.).The Charminar is the Icon of Hyderabad

and is the most significant of these landmarks, followed by the Laad Bazaar: the

Pearl Bazaar and the Mecca Masjid.

EDGE

The entire walled city with a spread of 5.17kms is recognizable as a district, even

though the walls that once demarcated it do not exist any longer. It is characterized

by its ethnic population of shiya Muslims of Indo-Persian origin as well as its urban

3.6 Built Environment : Tourist and Local landmarks form. The urban form is that of a Islamic settlement with Mahals, Chowks, Bazaars,

32 Mohallas, Blind alleys and typical courtyard homes. The old and new are also in a

sense demarcated by the Musi river with the new city on the North and the old on

the South.

DISTRICT

The entire walled city acts as one cohesive district, distinguishable by its urban mass.

The urban mass is characterized by its density and Traditional structures of Ground

+1 floor height. There is no vacant land in the precinct but fot the connector spaces

and the vacant land of mosques, Idgahs(Festive Grounds), Maidans (Gathering

spaces), and the private gardens of the Havelis and Dehoris(Palaces).

PATH

The two streets running E-W and N-S with the Charminar at their intersection are

the main paths in the precinct. Many secondary streets branch off the main artery,

separating the mohallas from each other. The mohallas in turn are dense residential

neighborhoods, where the streets are the residual spaces that remain in-between

the dense fabric of the houses.

The typo-morphological form of the precinct would be helpful in gathering the underlying frameworks the place derived from the physical form and its roots in the historic, social, cultural, topographical, geometric and political structures.

3.7 Built Environment : Bazaars along the axis

33 C O N T E X T U A L A N A L Y S I S

(Illustrated analysis)

1. The old city fabric: Axial nodes 2. Character of the Core

3. Activities along the core

4. Movement through the core

Context 1 The old City Fabric :Axial nodes

Context 2 Character of the Core

Context 3 Activities along the Core

Context 4 Movement through the Core

D E S I G N PRECEDENT STUDIES

(Illustrated analysis)

1. Urban rejuvenation and Development scheme: Citra Niaga development, Samarinda,

Indonesia. Antonio Ismail

2. Urban Bazaar reconstruction: Niamey Grand Market , Niamey Niger. Kalt, Pouradire,

Duteli & Vignal Paris France

3. Al Mashrabia tourist and local center, Giza Egypt. Hassan Fathy

4. Auroville Visitor Center, Pondicherry India. Anupama Kundu & Satprem

Design Precedent 1: Urban

rejuvenation and De

velopment scheme:

Citra Niaga development, Samarinda, Indonesia. Antonio Ismail

Design Precedent 1: Urban

rejuvenation and De

velopment scheme:

Citra Niaga development, Samarinda, Indonesia. Antonio Ismail