Using urban design to re-imagine public spaces was the theme of a five-day workshop organised this week by the C.A.R.E School of Architecture in collaboration with the local chapter of Indian Institute of Architects (IIA).
“The workshop is the first in a series of three such events we are planning this year. Demonstrative projects such as this are aimed at retrieving public places in the city and making them more user-friendly and accessible,” S. Vijaykumar, Director, C.A.R.E School of Architecture, told The Hindu .
Four groups, comprising of 17 architecture students from the city and other States, faculty and practicing architects, were given the task of studying the Teppakulam, a large artificial tank surrounded by bazaars and several prominent places of worship in downtown Tiruchi, and an adjacent vacant area.
“Starting with a day to absorb the historicity of the areas, and observation of their current use by the public and transport, the participants had to draw inferences from their study and finally formulate their suggestions with computer-aided maps and charts,” said Mr. Vijaykumar.
The workshop was guided by prominent Ahmadabad-based architect and urban design expert P.V.K. Rameshwar, P. Venugopal (Hyderabad), and Aarthi Chanodia (Bengaluru).
Speaking at an event to showcase the results of the workshop at Sangam Hotel on Friday, Mr. Rameshwar said: “The threat all across the world is that public places are shrinking. The Teppakulam in Tiruchi is by itself a huge resource, but is sitting there like a void.” In the five days that he had spent here, Mr. Rameshwar said the city was ideal for urban design experiments, because “Tiruchi is an appropriately scaled town, in the sense the new developmental pressures have not really gone out of hand. The layer of history and mythology is there without becoming a negative part of life.”
The absence of a traffic (mobility) plan for the city could prove problematic, said Mr. Rameshwar.
“People should not dread to venture out to the shops because of the traffic. The city should not get reduced to that kind of intolerance.” He felt that youngsters held the clue to the success of urban design, because their enthusiasm to explore the possibilities of architecture would determine its ultimate outcome. The four teams presented the results of their study at the Friday event.
Tiruchi is an ideal city for urban design experiments
‘The city has layer of history which has not become negative part of life’
