1

Table of Contents

Glossary of Terms................................................................................................. 3

List of Figures ....................................................................................................... 4

1. Aims and Objectives ....................................................................................... 6

2.Designing for People’s Anticipation............................................................... 7

3.Why a CITY CENTRE? ............................................................................... 10

4.Need and Relevance ....................................................................................... 11

5.Trans-Programming ...................................................................................... 12
5(a) An Illustration of Trans-Programming: ANTI-SOCIAL (KHAR) ...................................... 14

6. Scope and Limitations .................................................................................. 17

7.METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................ 18

Literature Study................................................................................................ 19
Towards A New Architecture: Architecture or Revolution? – ............................................ 19

Architecture and Disjunction .............................................................................................. 21

CONCEPT V: Cross programming ..................................................................................... 21

CONCEPT VI: Events: The Turning Point .......................................................................... 22

Literature Review ............................................................................................. 26

Rem Koolhaas: Delirious New York: A Retrospective Manifesto for Manhattan (1978) .... 26

EXPLORATION OF CONNECTIVITY BETWEEN URBAN PLAZA AND MIXED USE BUILDINGS 28

Recreation and Leisure in Modern Society ......................................................................... 30

Case Studies ....................................................................................................... 31

CYBER-HUB, CYBER CITY ..................................................................................................... 33
 2

PHOENIX MILL COMPLEX .................................................................................................... 39

INDIAN HABITAT CENTRE, NEW DELHI .............................................................................. 46

MAKER’S ASYLUM, MUMBAI ............................................................................................. 53

Comparative Study of the Case Studies ............................................................................. 57

Site Study ........................................................................................................... 58

Introduction to Bandra-Kurla Complex ............................................................................... 59

LANDUSE PATTERN.............................................................................................................. 60

OPEN SPACES....................................................................................................................... 61

Road Hierarchy .................................................................................................................... 61

STUDY OF THE PROPOSED SITE ........................................................................................... 64

Site Accessibility .................................................................................................................. 65

Climate Study ...................................................................................................................... 67

Restrictions of the Site ........................................................................................................ 69

Floor Space Index ................................................................................................................ 69

PROPOSAL for the PROGRAM .................................................................... 71

CONCLUSION ................................................................................................. 73

Bibliography ...................................................................................................... 74
 3

Glossary of Terms

BKC – Bandra-Kurla Complex

IFBC – International Finance and Business Centre

MMRDA – Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority

VSC – Vastu Shilpa Consultants

FSI – Floor Space Index

CPS – Car Parking Space

MNC – Multi-National Companies

CBD – Central Business District

MHADA – Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority

RG – Recreational Ground

IHC – Indian Habitat Centre

Program: A descriptive notice, issued before hand, of any formal series, proceedings, as a
festive celebration, a course of study, etc. A list or numbers of a concert, etc. In the order of
performance; hence then items themselves collectively, the performance as a whole. An
architectural program is a list of required utilities, it indicates their relations, but suggests
neither their combination nor their proportions.

Event: Occurrence happening at a determinable time and place, with or without the
participation of human agents. It may be a part of a chain of occurrences as an effect of a
preceding occurrence and as the cause of a succeeding occurrence.
 4

List of Figures

Figure 1: Present relation between Public and Building ................................................ 7

Figure 2: Idea of the City Centre .................................................................................. 10
Figure 3: Cross Programming at a site ......................................................................... 12
Figure 4: Entrance of Anti-Social Khar ....................................................................... 14
Figure 5: SCHEMATIC SECTIONS EXPLAINING SOCIAL .................................. 16
Figure 6: Drawings from Delirious New York illustrating cross programming in
Downtown Athletic Club.............................................................................................. 27
Figure 7: Amphitheatre at Cyber Hub .......................................................................... 31
Figure 8: Indian Habitat Centre core ground area ........................................................ 32
Figure 9: Maker's Asylum ............................................................................................ 32
Figure 10: Master Plan of CYBER-CITY, Gurgaon .................................................... 34
Figure 11: Illustrative aerial view of CYBER-CITY ................................................... 35
Figure 12: PROGRAMS AT CYBER HUB ................................................................ 37
Figure 13:Central Plaza ................................................................................................ 40
Figure 14: Eatery Joints ................................................................................................ 41
Figure 15: Shopping Complex ..................................................................................... 42
Figure 16: Schematic Sections of High-Street Phoenix (1) ......................................... 43
Figure 17: Schematic Site Layout of HighStreet Phoenix ........................................... 43
Figure 18: Schematic section of High-Street Phoenix (2)............................................ 44
Figure 19: Site Layout of IHC ...................................................................................... 47
Figure 20: Land use pattern around IHC ...................................................................... 48
Figure 21: Sun cutters at IHC ....................................................................................... 49
Figure 22: Various Spaces at IHC ................................................................................ 50
Figure 23:Division of the various mixed spaces at IHC .............................................. 50
Figure 24: Percentile division of spaces at IHC ........................................................... 51
Figure 25: Maker's Asylum Logo ................................................................................. 54
Figure 26: Different spaces and nature of spaces at Makers Asylum- Mumbai .......... 55
 5

Figure 27. Different types of workshops being held .................................................... 56

Figure 28: Various Collaborative Works at Maker's Asylum ...................................... 56
Figure 29: Business Districts of Mumbai ..................................................................... 58
Figure 30: Bandra - Kurla Complex extent .................................................................. 59
Figure 31: Map of Mumbai .......................................................................................... 59
Table 32. Land Use Areas (in hectares) ....................................................................... 60
Figure 33: Usage of Open Spaces (in %) ..................................................................... 61
Figure 34: MAPS OF BKC .......................................................................................... 63
Figure 35: Building use map around proposed site at G-Block of BKC...................... 64
Figure 36: Accessibility Map ....................................................................................... 65
Figure 37: Spaces and their connections ...................................................................... 72
 6

1. Aims and Objectives

AIM

 The idea of proposing the URBAN-CORE is to propose a centre having a mix of

multiple-programs for the centre to call a variant group of people. The proposal is an
experiment to push forward the age old idea of having trans-programming. Taking the
works of literature by Ar. Bernard Tschumi as a base for the idea of using the mixed
use programming in architecture the thesis is developed around it.

 The second aim of having this proposal is to highlight the importance and need of
having a breather space in a business district.

 As a whole the aim is to present a proposal which highlights the importance and need
of having more mixed programs for a positive development of an urban area.

Objective

 A space that allows people to come together and collaborate ideas and thoughts for it
to grow.

 The primary objective is to explore the permutations and combinations between various
programs.

 Exploring the nature of such a space in a planned business district like Bandra-Kurla
Complex.

 Building a compact structure, with a mix of programs organized into distinct but
overlapping blocks of commercial office space, residential apartments, hotel and
conference facilities, restaurants and cafes and many other such spaces.

 Office employees, residents and hotel guests are brought together in conference, sport
and restaurant facilities.
 7

2.Designing for People’s Anticipation

Urbanization and development of cities is necessary in contemporary society, however, these

advancements are also causing urban problems, such as lack of open green space, density
problems, traffic problems, and over population. Also, existing buildings are often lacking
certain functions that are currently needed since they have been designed in the past. Thus,
plaza and mixed used buildings, which are considered as a unit space, are needed to mention
for 'publicity' that is a part of urban components as a wide spatial concept 1. In particular, mixed
used buildings as multiply functioned facilities are needed a specific study for 'publicity' and
'urban plaza'. In general, the meaning of 'publicity' in a city seems to have started from 'agora',
which is from ancient Greek. A plaza as an open space in a city was realized as a solution,
which people have pursued in order to improve their psychological safety and deterioration of
the physical environment. Furthermore, it was made by necessity that was able to gather people
in a place and was an indicator space with culture, political, and social activity. Procuring a
traffic space, which is increasing more in a city, is expressed based on declining plaza and
maximizing land use, on the other hands, it indicates the importance of a way to vitalize social
public space in urban life. In addition, urban and social modernization have caused

Figure 1: Present relation between Public and Building

1
EXPLORATION OF CONNECTIVITY BETWEEN URBAN PLAZA AND MIXED USE BUILDINGS, by YOUNGDUK KIM MR,
2015.
 8

proliferation and concentration of urban services and, as a result of it, it has caused population
increase and architectural densification. In brief, open spaces and streets for pedestrians have
decreased.

Expansion of buildings, reduction of streets, and degeneration of urban plazas have started to
diminish the space for public activity. This has connected to fall quality of its macro-
environment and consciousness of sharing, and thus the quality of the city has fallen as a result.
The urban plaza is an important component of urban open space and the space, which can
improve social community. Thus, the objective of this study is to reconsider the concept
'publicity' in cities as a strategic space in order to vitalize the city. The study includes analysing
connectivity between urban plaza and architectural space and proposing design methods for a
mixed use building which will improve interaction between urban context and the buildings.
In conclusion, the study will be used to suggest a new solution for the urban design, which has
had less connectivity by transportation and thoughtless development for the environment, in
order to produce pleasant open space to enjoy public life for citizen focused on increasing
practical use between people and their city's infrastructure with diverse function and
psychological stability.

A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart
of a city. The city centre is the (often historical) area of a city where commerce, entertainment,
shopping and political power are concentrated. In many cities, the Central Business District
(CBD) is within the city centre, but the concept "city centre" differs from the CBD. The concept
of the "CBD" revolves solely around economic and financial power, but the "city centre" also
includes historical, political and cultural factors. Along the years, the City Centre has grown
as per the social and cultural trends of a country. With the decline in the trend of having a City
Centre, we have multiple proposals replacing the idea of the City Centre, these programs
functioning as a group or else as individual activities.

India has a diverse set of cultures, economic and social classes. A space that is being designed
for a particular genre of people might not be visited by another set of people because of their
economic and social standing. It does not imply that lone set of people will not be allowed to
use a particular facility, but means that those people will have an automatic conscience that a
particular public space is not meant for them as they do not economically engage in a certain
kind of work and might possibly be discriminated against. The proposed design will therefore
 9

look at the possibility of filtering all kinds of social classes through the site by creating spaces
that will be meant only for specific purposes and congregation opportunities and allow inter-
mingling of all social classes.
 10

3.Why a CITY CENTRE?

“A Good City is the one where men come together and co-operate with the aim of becoming virtuous,
performing noble activities, and attaining happiness. It is distinguished by the presence in it of
knowledge of man's ultimate perfection, the distinction between the noble and the base and between the
virtues and the vices, and the concerted efforts of the rulers and the citizens to teach and learn these
things, and to develop the virtuous forms and states of character from which emerge the noble activities
useful for achieving happiness.” Abû Nasr al-Fârâbî, (c. 872-950), a great Arab scientist and
philosopher.2

A space that allows people to come together and collaborate ideas and thoughts for it to grow.
An idea should follow as ‘ME – US – THEM’. People from various fields of arts, science,
commerce, entertainment, education etc. can come together to one space place. The program
will be structured in such a manner that it involves the activity of LEARN, WORK and
ENTERTAIN. The evolution of programs of the city centre’s along the years help us
understand how the needs and working styles of human have changed and evolved along the
time-line. The essence and main function of the city centre has also changed as the methods
of people and their congregation spaces have
changed. The programs as well as the structures vary
from each other according to their locations and times
they have been designed for.

India has a diverse set of culture, economic and social

classes. The idea is to provide an environment which
would serve as a catalyst for a synergetic relationship
between individuals and institutions working in diverse
areas. It’s also a matter of fact that people from various
fields are going to interact only if there are multiple
programs going on at the same site. Before people are
Figure 2: Idea of the City Centre
completely disconnected from each-other it’s important
for a drive to take place where we have people having human connection intact.

2
http://pmanzoor.info/Beyond-City.htm
 11

4.Need and Relevance

IF OUR SMALLEST NECESSITY IS GIVEN IMPORANCE FOR ITS ALL

IN ONE FEATURE, WHY NOT TREAT ARCHITECTURE SIMILARLY?

Isolated Program Multi-Program

• The program tends to • Gives the opportunity

fail since the nature and
need of the program
might fade away.
• The nature of the
structure invites a less
variation which leads to
a monotonous growth.
for the structure to
function multiple times.
• There is a mix of people
which leads to
collaboration on various
grounds.
• Increases the Life of the
Building .

HEADING TOWARDS A CULTURE WHERE WE HAVE ALL IN ONE

WORK EAT ENTERTAIN PLAY

 12

5.Trans-Programming

Architecture has always been as much about the event that takes place in a space as about the
space itself. The Columbia University Rotunda has been a library, it has been used as a banquet
hall, it is often the site of university lectures; someday it could fulfill the needs for an athletic
facility at the University. What a wonderful swimming pool the Rotunda would be! You may
think I'm being facetious, but in today's world where railway stations become museums and
churches become nightclubs, a point is being made: the complete interchangeability of form
and function, the loss of traditional, canonic cause-and-effect relationships as sanctified by
modernism. Function does not follow form, form does not follow function -- or fiction for that
matter -- however, they certainly interact. Diving into this great blue Rotonda pool -- a part of
the shock. 3

If shock can no longer be produced

by the succession and juxtaposition
of facades and lobbies, maybe it can
be produced by the juxtaposition of
events that take place behind these
facades in these spaces. If “the
respective contamination of all
categories, the constant substitutions,
Figure 3: Cross Programming at a site
and the confusion of genres” -- as
described by critics of the right and left alike from Andreas Huyssens to Jean Baudrillard -- is
the new direction of our times, it may well be used to one's advantage, to the advantage of a
general rejuvenation of architecture. If architecture is both concept and experience, space and
use, structure and superficial image -- non-hierarchically -- then architecture should cease to
separate these categories and instead merge them into unprecedented combinations of
programs and spaces.

Historically, buildings were constructed around what architects call "program," the specific
uses to which a building would be put. And certainly we still often construct buildings for

3
Architecture and Disjunction – Bernard Tschumi, 1994.
 13

specific purposes--Olympic cities like Atlanta, for example, frequently construct spaces for
specific athletic events. But increasingly we build spaces with multiple programs or systems
of use.
 14

5(a) An Illustration of Trans-Programming: ANTI-SOCIAL (KHAR)

Figure 4: Entrance of Anti-Social Khar

Location: Khar West, Mumbai

Architect: Ar.Sameep Padora

Area: 650 Sq. M.

Year of Completion: 2014

Type of Structure: Café-Bar

Relevance of Study: To study the working and idea of the concept of Trans-
Programming
 15

AN ILLUSTRATION OF TRANS-PROGRAMMING: ANTI-SOCIAL, KHAR

“Social is a space that blends the best of the office and the café. Combining work and play, it’s
an urban hangout designed to take you offline while still keeping you connected. Social is a
collaborative workspace, a hub for artists and innovators.” –Concept of Anti-Social4

Project: Khar Social

Location: Khar West, Mumbai, Maharashtra.
Area: 650 Sq.Mt.
Status: Completed
Design Team: Harshat Verma, Aparna Dhareshwar
Khar Social is a trendy cafe and bar and the 4th Social branch that opened in Mumbai and the
7th in India. Social cafes unlike other cafes isn’t just a cafe and bar. Khar Social was designed
by Sameep Padora and Harshat Verma of Studio sP+a. Everything at Khar Social is 100%
upcycled and repurposed which comes from Social’s vision of using sustainable materials.

The site experiences the presence of a mix of activities. With the changing trends and cultures
the site has a blend of multiple different programs from working to eating to playing. The
project and the concept of social explains its mix of program and hence its relevance in
explaining the thought of trans-programming and its growing need in the urban structure. With
spaces like co-working areas, a bar counter, a skate board arena and performance area we get
to see how activities of different forms are mixed together and presented to us for the better
functioning of a space.

The site located in Khar, was a restaurant earlier and had fallen into substantial disrepair, the
crumbling stone clad walls, as well as other signs of the derelict envelope, became a point of
entry into the project. Social has a strong brand presence in the city and the country. The
orientation of the project was to think about design as a product of excavation of the site as it
was to, in some sense, discover what lay underneath layers of plaster and paint and to augment
the found infrastructure with recycled materials.

Hence the decision to pursue the idea of the space as a metaphor for our Mumbai as a city of
constant construction. Hence the language and materiality of the project was decided by this
notion of the city as a construction site with rebars, RCC and corrugated sheet / bamboo

4
http://www.socialoffline.in/
 16

scaffolding as its formal embodiment. A case in point was the entrance, made up of materials
seen as standard boundary fencing in most construction sites. What set it apart was the way it
was detailed by shingling the panels. Throughout the project it was the crude everyday
materials of construction that turned into formal constructs, through the way that they were
detailed and not just as material appliques on flat surfaces.

The colour palette was to emerge from a curated collection of various material. The salvaged
doors, levelled with a clear epoxy resin layer, were original salvaged doors used as tables, the
bar was cast concrete- with the profile of it being a sum of its section, footrest et al expressed
through the bent rebar frame. The project was an exercise not in producing materials or finishes
but upcycling existing materials.5

Figure 5: SCHEMATIC SECTIONS EXPLAINING SOCIAL

5
http://www.sp-arc.net/?p=1149
 17

6. Scope and Limitations

Scope of the Project
 Designing the various combinations of the programs and understanding its workability.

 Calculating the effect of the proposal in the existing planned urban intervention (for
example understanding its effect on the proposed parking grounds and proposing the
remainder).

 Proposing the space that allows the present temporary programs to function but not
designing that space to leave it flexible for the various different functions.

 Making the proposal interactive with the urban set-up by having elements like the urban
windows (as to what Ar. Charles Correa speaks of in Blessings of the Sky).

 Proposing ideas that would work for the addition of dead activities that were earlier
proposed in the planned area of Bandra Kurla Complex (for example giving a proposal
that rejuvenates the usage of cycle tracks).

Limitations

 Restriction of site usage applies to the project as the site selected holds temporary which
are held within time spans of 3-4 months, hence this hampers the usage of the complete
land.

 There are few program restrictions so as to ensure the security and functioning of the
entire Complex isn’t harmed and effected.

 The existence of the electrical sub-station hampers the design as that would lead to a
human calamity if not taken care of.

 Bandra-Kurla Complex follows its dedicated set of development control rules which
partially differ from the DCR of Greater Mumbai.
 18

7.METHODOLOGY

Process of the Project

a. Establishing a base for the study – Understanding Trans-Programming

(i)Case Studies of Multi-Program Centres

- Indian Habitat Centre, Delhi

- Cyber Hub, Gurgaon

- Phoenix Mill Mall, Mumbai

(ii)Case Studies of Individual Spaces

- Art Galleries

- Maker’s Asylum

- Places like COLABA SOCIAL and CANDIES, Bandra

b. Site Study

- Understanding the proposed concept and the present scenario of Bandra Kurla Complex.

- Studying the micro environment of the selected site.

- Mapping the current programs of Bandra Kurla Complex.

c. Developing a Program

- Understanding the right mix of programs.

- Proportioning the programs from the inferences of case studies.

 19

Literature Study
Towards A New Architecture: Architecture or Revolution? –
By Le Corbusier

Vers une architecture, translated into English as Toward an Architecture but commonly known
as Towards a New Architecture, is a collection of essays written by Le Corbusier (Charles-
Edouard Jeanneret), advocating for and exploring the concept of modern architecture. The
book has had a lasting effect on the architectural profession, serving as the manifesto for a
generation of architects, a subject of hatred for others, and unquestionably a critical piece of
architectural theory. 6The polemical book contains seven essays, Each essay dismisses the
contemporary trends of eclecticism and art deco, replacing them with architecture that was
meant to be more than a stylistic experiment; rather, an architecture that would fundamentally
change how humans interacted with buildings. This new mode of living derived from a new
spirit defining the industrial age, demanding a rebirth of architecture based on function and a
new aesthetic based on pure form.

Architecture or Revolution: At the beginning of the twentieth-first century, in the light of the
‘revolutions’ in Central and Eastern Europe the relationship between architecture and
revolution deserves further consideration. Clearly, this relationship needs to be interrogated
beyond the naive utopianism of the Modern Movement, and the term ‘revolution’ should not
be taken lightly, nor treated uncritically. Too easily such a term may be appropriated to dress
up shifts in political power, which, far from overturning a previous regime, simply replicate
the status quo in an alternative formal variant. Too easily, also, such a term may be smuggled
into empty slogans and adopted by the artistic avant-garde to refer to merely ephemeral
changes in fashion. Architecture and revolution: these terms need to reconsider and their
relationship rethought. What influence can architecture claim to have on the social and the
political? What is the status of architecture as a force of social change? What is the link between
aesthetics and politics? What relationship may there be between architecture and revolution?
Can there be a ‘revolutionary’ architecture?

Architecture is traditionally seen as built politics, yet the problem is considerably more
complex than might first appear. Extrapolating from Foucault’s argument we might conclude

6
Towards A New Architecture: Architecture or Revolution? –By Le Corbusier, 1932.
 20

that there is nothing inherently political about any building or any style of architecture. It is a
question rather of what political associations a building may have. Buildings, according to the
logic of Foucault’s argument would have no inherent politics, if by ‘politics’ we infer a
capacity to influence the social. Rather a building may facilitate — to a greater or lesser extent
— the practice of those politics through its very physical form.

It is only perhaps if we are to understand architecture, along with the other visual arts, as
offering a form of backdrop against which to forge some new political identity, that we might
recognize a political role for architecture, albeit indirect. For this backdrop, although neutral
in itself, will always have some political ‘content’ projected on to it. And it is as a ‘political
backdrop’ — politicized, that is, in the eyes of the population — that the architecture can act
as a form of screen ‘reflecting’ certain political values. As it is ‘encoded’ in this way, the
building will be seen to embody that new national identity. And it is precisely through the
population reading itself into this ‘screen’ as though it were a mirror that a new sense of
national identity might be forged.

As a whole the essay concentrates on points such as Aesthetics and Revolution, Architecture
and Politics, Space, Knowledge and Power.
 21

Architecture and Disjunction

By Bernard Tschumi

Overview

Avant-garde theorist and architect Bernard Tschumi is equally well known for his writing and
his practice. Architecture and Disjunction, which brings together Tschumi's essays from 1975
to 1990, is a lucid and provocative analysis of many of the key issues that have engaged
architectural discourse over the past two decades -- from deconstructive theory to recent
concerns with the notions of event and program. The essays develop different themes in
contemporary theory as they relate to the actual making of architecture, attempting to realign
the discipline with a new world culture characterized by both discontinuity and heterogeneity.
Included are a number of seminal essays that incited broad attention when they first appeared
in magazines and journals, as well as more recent and topical texts. Tschumi's discourse has
always been considered radical and disturbing. He opposes modernist ideology and
postmodern nostalgia since both impose restrictive criteria on what may be deemed
"legitimate" cultural conditions. He argues for focusing on our immediate cultural situation,
which is distinguished by a new post-industrial "unhomeliness" reflected in the ad hoc erection
of buildings with multipurpose programs. The condition of New York and the chaos of Tokyo
are thus perceived as legitimate urban forms.

The book talks about six different concepts of architecture and space conceived by Bernard
Tschumi, following are the reviews over the related concepts given by the author:

CONCEPT V: Cross programming

Architecture has always been as much about the event that takes place in a space as about the
space itself. The Columbia University Rotunda has been a library, it has been used as a banquet
hall, it is often the site of university lectures; someday it could fulfill the needs for an athletic
facility at the University. What a wonderful swimming pool the Rotunda would be! You may
think I'm being facetious, but in today's world where railway stations become museums and
churches become nightclubs, a point is being made: the complete interchangeability of form
and function, the loss of traditional, canonic cause-and-effect relationships as sanctified by
modernism. Function does not follow form, form does not follow function -- or fiction for that
 22

matter -- however, they certainly interact. Diving into this great blue Rotonda pool -- a part of
the shock. If shock can no longer be produced by the succession and juxtaposition of facades
and lobbies, maybe it can be produced by the juxtaposition of events that take place behind
these facades in these spaces. If “the respective contamination of all categories, the constant
substitutions, the confusion of genres” -- as described by critics of the right and left alike from
Andreas Huyssens to Jean Baudrillard -- is the new direction of our times, it may well be used
to one's advantage, to the advantage of a general rejuvenation of architecture. If architecture is
both concept and experience, space and use, structure and superficial image -- non-
hierarchically -- then architecture should cease to separate these categories and instead merge
them into unprecedented combinations of programs and spaces. “Crossprogramming,”
“transprogramming,” “disprogramming:” I have elaborated on these concepts elsewhere,
suggesting the displacement and mutual contamination of terms.

CONCEPT VI: Events: The Turning Point

There was no architecture without event, no architecture without action, without activities,
without functions. Architecture was seen as the combination of spaces, events, and movements
without any hierarchy or precedence among these concepts. The hierarchical cause-and-effect
relationship between function and form is one of the great certainties of architectural thinking
-- the one that lies behind that reassuring ideé recue of community life that tells us that we live
in houses “designed to answer to our needs,” or in cities planned as machines to live in.
Geborgenheit connotations of this notion go against both the real “pleasure” of architecture, in
its unexpected combinations of terms, and the reality of contemporary urban life in its most
stimulative, unsettling directions. Hence, in works like The Manhattan Transcripts, the
definition of architecture could not be form or walls, but had to be the combination of
heterogeneous and incompatible terms. The insertion of the terms “event” and “movement”
was influenced by Situationist discourse and by the `68 era. Les événements, as they were
called, were not only “events” in action, but also in thought. Erecting a barricade (function) in
a Paris street (form) is not quite equivalent to being a flaneur (function) in that same street
(form). Dining (function) in the Rotunda (form) is not quite equivalent to reading or swimming
in it. Here all hierarchical relationships between form and function cease to exist.
 23

This unlikely combination of events and spaces was charged with subversive capabilities, for
it challenged both the function and the space. Such confrontation parallels the Surrealists'
meeting of a sewing machine and an umbrella on a dissecting table, or closer to us, Rem
Koolhaas's description of the Downtown Athletic Club: “Eating oysters with boxing gloves,
naked, on the nth floor.” We find it today in Tokyo, with multiple programs scattered
throughout the floors of high-rise buildings: a department store, a museum, a health club, and
a railway station, with putting greens on the roof. And we will find it in the programs of the
future, where airports are simultaneously amusement arcades, athletic facilities, cinemas, and
so on. Regardless of whether they are the result of chance combinations, or are due to the
pressure of ever-rising land prices, such non-causal relationships between form and function,
or space and action go beyond poetic confrontations of unlikely bedfellows.

Michel Foucault, as recently cited in an excellent book by John Rajchman, expanded the use
of the term “event” in a manner that went beyond the single action or activity, and spoke of
“events of thought.” For Foucault, an event is not simply a logical sequence of words or actions,
but rather “the moment of erosion, collapse, questioning, or problematization of the very
assumptions of the setting within which a drama may take place -- occasioning the chance or
possibility of another, different setting.” The event here is seen as a turning point -- not an
origin or an end -- as opposed to such propositions as “form follows function.” I would like to
propose that the future of architecture lies in the construction of such events.

Just as important is the spatialization that goes with the event. Such a concept is quite different
from the project of the modern movement, which sought the affirmation of certainties in a
unified utopia as opposed to our current questioning of multiple, fragmented, dislocated
terrains. A few years later, in an essay about the follies of the Parc de la Villette, Jacques
Derrida expanded on the definition of event, calling it “the emergence of a disparate
multiplicity.” I had constantly insisted, in our discussions and elsewhere, that these points
called folies were points of activities, of programs, of events. Derrida elaborated on this
concept, proposing the possibility of an “architecture of the event” that would “eventualize,”
or open up that which, in our history or tradition, is understood to be fixed, essential, and
monumental.

He had also suggested earlier that the word “event” shared roots with “invention,” hence the
notion of the event, of the action-in-space, of the turning point, the invention. I would like to
 24

associate it with the notion of shock, a shock that in order to be effective in our mediated
culture, in our culture of images, must go beyond Walter Benjamin's definition and combine
the idea of function or action with that of image. Indeed, architecture finds itself in a unique
situation: it is the only discipline that by definition combines concept and experience, image
and use, image and structure. Philosophers can write, mathematicians can develop virtual
spaces, but architects are the only ones who are the prisoners of that hybrid art, where the image
hardly ever exists without a combined activity. It is my contention that far from being a field
suffering from the incapability of questioning its structures and foundations, it is the field
where the greatest discoveries will take place in the next century. The very heterogeneity of
the definition of architecture -- space, action, and movement -- makes it into that event, that
place of shock, or that place of the invention of ourselves.

The event is the place where the rethinking and reformulation of the different elements of
architecture, many of which have resulted in or added to contemporary social inequities, may
lead to their solution. By definition, it is the place of the combination of differences. This will
not happen by imitating the past and eighteenth century ornaments. It also will not happen by
simply commenting, through design, on the various dislocations and uncertainties of our
contemporary condition. I do not believe it is possible, nor does it make sense, to design
buildings that formally attempt to blur traditional structures, that is, that display forms that lie
somewhere between abstraction and figuration, or between structure and ornament, or that are
cut-up and dislocated for esthetic reasons. Architecture is not an illustrative art; it does not
illustrate theories. (I do not believe you can design deconstruction.)

You cannot design a new definition of cities and their architecture. But one may be able to
design the conditions that will make it possible for this non-hierarchical, non- traditional
society to happen. By understanding the nature of our contemporary circumstances and the
media processes that accompany them, architects possess the possibility of constructing
conditions that will create a new city and new relationships between spaces and events.
Architecture is not about the conditions of design, but about the design of conditions that will
dislocate the most traditional and regressive aspects of our society and simultaneously
reorganize these elements in the most liberating way, where our experience becomes the
experience of events organized and strategized through architecture.
 25

Strategy is a key word in architecture today. No more masterplans, no more locating in a fixed
place, but a new heterotopia. This is what our cities must strive towards and what we architects
must help them to achieve by intensifying the rich collision of events and spaces. Tokyo and
New York only appear chaotic. Instead, they mark the appearance of a new urban structure, a
new urbanity. Their confrontations and combinations of elements may provide us with the
event, the shock, that I hope will make the architecture of our cities a turning point in culture
and society.
 26

Literature Review

Rem Koolhaas: Delirious New York: A Retrospective Manifesto for Manhattan

(1978)

In 1978, Rem Koolhaas’s first major publication, Delirious New York, was published, and
described in Koolhaas’s own words as “a retroactive manifesto for Manhattan”. 7But what is
a retroactive manifesto? As New York has already been built and shaped by the architects at
the beginning of the 20th century, Koolhaas analysed Manhattan knowing its history, how it
came to be, and aided by years of research, was able to create the ideology of ‘Manhattanism’:
“How to write a manifesto - on a form of urbanism for what remains of the 20th century - in
an age disgusted with them? The fatal weakness of manifestos is their inherent lack of
evidence. Manhattan’s problem is the opposite: it is a mountain range of evidence without
manifesto.” 8The aim of this essay is to investigate the fabrication and strategy behind
Koolhaas’s analysis of Manhattan, and whether Koolhaas has created his own fiction in order
to make a compelling manifesto, researching numerous articles, interviews and critical
responses to Delirious New York, as well as the involvement of Koolhaas’s wife Madelon
Vriesendorp, and how her paintings were incorporated into the book to enhance the narration
provided by Koolhaas.

Prior to Delirious New York‘s release, Koolhaas spent several years travelling between Europe
and New York (with Vriesendorp, his girlfriend at the time), adding to his reservoir of
knowledge and evidence. Previously, Koolhaas (born in 1944, in Rotterdam) had been a
journalist for the Dutch publication “De Haagse Rost”, as well as joining “1,2,3, Groep”, a
filmmakers group, where he took part in all aspects of filmmaking, such as writing screenplays,
production, directing and even acting, before joining the Architectural Association School of
Architecture in London in 1968. 9Several of the theories raised in Delirious were evident in
Koolhaas’s work before the book was published. Koolhaas and Elia Zenghelis (whom was one
of Koolhaas’s professors as a student) formed a “fundamental relationship of cultural

7
Rem Koolhaas, Delirious New York, p. 9
8
Ibid.
9
Roberto Gargiani, Rem Koolhaas | OMA, The Construction of Merveilles, p. 3
 27

collaboration” and along with their partners - Vriesendorp and Zoe Zenghelis respectively -
worked together on the project Exodus or The Voluntary Prisoners of Architecture in 1972. 10

The work in Exodus was

“intense/devastating but
positive...architectural warfare against
undesirable conditions” that cut through
London and spread out into the suburbs of
the capital. 11Within the ‘Strip’ were several
different programmes, an early indication of
the cross-programming (see fig.) that would
inspire Koolhaas throughout his career. For
example the “Institute of Biological
Transactions”, where sick ‘prisoners’ are
sent through on a conveyor belt, alongside
dancing nurses, and are seen to by doctors
who then return them to the conveyor belt
regardless, which reaches a cemetery as its
final destination. The notion is a “harmless
nature of mortality” where there are “no Figure 6: Drawings from Delirious New York illustrating cross
programming in Downtown Athletic Club
sadistic extensions of life”. “The
Allotments” are where “each prisoner has a small piece of land” which “instills gratitude and
contentment”. 12One can also notice two figures in this courtyard - they seem to be
representing the peasants from Millet’s L’Angelus, a painting which the Surrealist artist
Salvador Dali recreated on several occasions.

10
“For Elia Zenghelis had been teaching for some time when, in the early 1970s, a brilliant student (exfilmmaker)
called Rem Koolhaas joined his class. Zenghelis had proved to be the best first year master for several years.
But the magic with Koolhaas was far greater.” (Peter Cook, 1983). Roberto Gargiani, Rem Koolhaas | OMA, The
Construction of Merveilles, p. 5
11
Rem Koolhaas/Elia Zenghelis, Exit Utopia - Architectural Provocations 1956-76, pp. 237 - 253.
12
Ibid., pp. 237 - 253.
 28

EXPLORATION OF CONNECTIVITY BETWEEN URBAN PLAZA AND

MIXED USE BUILDINGS
By YOUNGDUK KIM MR

From the movement of urbanization the author talks about the advancement as well as the
urban problems. This is a thesis citation by YOUNGDUK KIM MR, for his master’s program.
Then taking the discussion to the history of public congregational spaces he talks over the
relation of agora to the Forum to the Plazas. Hence talking about the need of having plazas in
our urban scenarios and its contribution to enhance human living. He also talks about the
importance of having more of the mixed use programs. Connecting the two phenomenon
becomes the final product and proposal of the designer, hence talking of mixed use buildings
and plazas as a combination.13

Urbanization and development of cities is necessary in contemporary society, however, these

advancements are also causing urban problems, such as lack of open green space, density
problems, traffic problems, and over population. Also, existing buildings are often lacking
certain functions that are currently needed since they have been designed in the past. Thus,
plaza and mixed used buildings, which are considered as a unit space, are needed to mention
for 'publicity' that is a part of urban components as a wide spatial concept. In particular, mixed
used buildings as multiply functioned facilities are needed a specific study for 'publicity' and
'urban plaza'. In general, the meaning of 'publicity' in a city seems to have started from 'agora',
which is from ancient Greek.

A plaza as an open space in a city was realized as a solution, which people have pursued in
order to improve their psychological safety and deterioration of the physical environment.
Furthermore, it was made by necessity that was able to gather people in a place and was an
indicator space with culture, political, and social activity. Procuring a traffic space, which is
increasing more in a city, is expressed based on declining plaza and maximizing land use, on
the other hands, it indicates the importance of a way to vitalize social public space in urban
life. In addition, urban and social modernization have caused proliferation and concentration
of urban services and, as a result of it, it has caused population increase and architectural
densification. In brief, open spaces and streets for pedestrians have decreased. Expansion of
buildings, reduction of streets, and degeneration of urban plazas have started to diminish the

13
EXPLORATION OF CONNECTIVITY BETWEEN URBAN PLAZA AND MIXED USE BUILDINGS – May, 2014
 29

space for public activity. This has connected to fall quality of its macro- environment and
consciousness of sharing, and thus the quality of the city has fallen as a result. The urban plaza
is an important component of urban open space and the space, which can improve social
community. Thus, the objective of this study is to reconsider the concept 'publicity' in cities
as a strategic space in order to vitalize the city. The study includes analysing connectivity
between urban plaza and architectural space and proposing design methods for a mixed use
building which will improve interaction between urban context and the buildings.

In conclusion, the study was used to suggest a new solution for the urban design, which has
had less connectivity by transportation and thoughtless development for the environment, in
order to produce pleasant open space to enjoy public life for citizen focused on increasing
practical use between people and their city's infrastructure with diverse function and
psychological stability.
 30

Recreation and Leisure in Modern Society

By Richard Kraus

This helps understand the growth and trends in human’s style of approaching recreation and
leisure along the years. The author touches few of the following topics which helps in building
a conclusion to the type of space that could be proposed as the final design program.

Recreation and Leisure Today: An Overview

Basic Concepts of Play, Recreation, and Leisure

Early History of Recreation and Leisure

Recreation and Parks in The Modern Era

Recreation and Parks: The Modern Era

Recreation and Parks as a Career Field

Current Trends, Challenges, and Opportunities in Recreation and Leisure

 31

Case Studies

Cyber City, Gurgaon

Case Studies Macro Level
Phoenix Mill Mall,
Mumbai

Indian Habitat Centre,

New Delhi

Micro Level Anti-Social, Khar

Makers Asylum,
Mumbai

Cyber Hub, Gurgaon

Cyber City, is a corporate hub which also caters to a

Figure 7: Amphitheatre at Cyber Hub
relevance on a Macro-level.
number allied activities which makes it a socially active
space. Cyber Hub is a space proposed in the cyber city
which allows the introduction of a getaway space with
various food outlets and spaces like the amphitheatre
screening and art galleries help the site to achieve a status
of a social hub along with it being a corporate hub. This
case study helps the thesis realise its importance and
 32

Phoenix Mills Mall, Mumbai

A part of Phoenix Mills Compound was remodeled into the new offices of the multinational
Standard Chartered Bank, claiming that the mill “was a dead place” before its new corporate
tenants arrived. Phoenix Mills now houses the residential high-rise Phoenix Towers, numerous
offices and restaurants, the Bowling Company and the Fire and Ice discotheque.

Indian Habitat Centre, New Delhi

The India Habitat Centre provides a range of

facilities like offices for various organizations,
conference venues, exhibition halls, seminar rooms,
restaurants and performance venues for cultural
activities. This centre helps understanding how
programs of multiple nature are clubbed and
successfully function at the same site. It defines and
Figure 8: Indian Habitat Centre core ground
helps the thesis realize its working on a micro- area
scale.

Makers Asylum, Mumbai

A space which caters to the people who are

Figure 9: Maker's Asylum
keen to explore and experiment, the makers
asylum with its concept successfully brings
together people of different age groups
together who at times are from different fields
by experience.
 33

CYBER-HUB, CYBER CITY

Location: Cyber-City, Gurgaon

Architect: MFPP Architects

Area: 18580 Sq. M.

Year of Completion: 2008

Type of Structure: Socializing Zone

Relevance of Study: To understand the importance of a breather space at a business district/hub

and its contributions for positive functioning of the complex.
 34

Cyber Hub, Gurgaon

Figure 10: Master Plan of CYBER-CITY, Gurgaon

The DLF Cyber City is a corporate park in Gurgaon, India, which houses some of the top IT
companies. It has been termed a "futuristic commercial hub”. It is a business district set-up at
the outskirts of Delhi, in Gurgaon. In 2013, Rapid MetroRail Gurgaon was introduced to Cyber
City, connecting it with Delhi Metro. There are six operational stations within the Cyber City.
The National Highway 8 (NH-8) runs through Cyber City and a project to construct a 16-lane
expressway is also under progress. In close proximity to 5 Star Hotels like the Leela, Trident
and Oberoi. DLF Cybercity is located on the periphery of the DLF City in Gurgaon.

Cyber City is considered one of the largest hubs of IT activity in Delhi-NCR. It lies near Udyog
Vihar, which is a conventional industrial area on the opposite side of NH-8. Cyber Hub, which
is primarily an eating area with a large number of leading restaurants besides a few shops is
located next to Cyber city and caters primarily to the people working in Cyber City. 14

14
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyber_City,_Gurgaon
 35

There are six operational stations within the Cyber City. A flyover between Cyber City and
MG Road was opened in 2015 to reduce traffic congestion. The Indira Gandhi International
Airport is located in close proximity to the Cyber City.

Figure 11: Illustrative aerial view of CYBER-CITY Cyber-Hub Parking

• Total Area of DLF Cyber City, Gurgaon is spread over

a total area of approximately 100-110 Acres.

• Cyber-Hub covers around 10-15Acres of the city.

• The local users of cyber city are attracted towards cyber hub for the food court and
the parking provision.

• Cyber Hub experiences a high of footfall for it being located adjacent to the NH8,
hence making it easily accessible for the users from New Delhi.

• Cyber Hub with its multiple genres of activities calls for the high footfall it experiences.
 36

REPLACE TO A3 CASE STUDY

 37

CyberHub, is a corporate hub which also caters to a number allied activities which makes it a
socially active space. With over 50 different offices, the hub gains its strength by having the
various facilities for socialising. Located between a commercial hub, the food court is one of
the main attractions of the project with the multiple options it provides for the users. Exhibition
Spaces and other congregational spaces make the Hub a much inviting space. Cyber Hub
acts as the breather for the Business district spread in Gurgaon.

Figure 12: PROGRAMS AT CYBER HUB

 38

Conclusion

Positives:

 Cyber hub acts as a perfect breather space for the commercial complex of cyber-city.

 Its location allows audience apart from the users of Cyber-city to easily access this
space. The placement of the site for cyber hub to be along the NH8, gives us a major
criteria for the selection of site.

 The presence of varied programs of modern interests makes the space lively throughout
the day.

 Its placement makes sure that it does not interfere with the security and functioning of
cyber-city.

 The site allows various age groups to enjoy the space.

Negatives:

 Provision for the institutional group makes a set-back for the project lacks that group
of audience.

 Lack of public activities and less of programs which call public together lead to the site
not having the collaborative culture.
 39

PHOENIX MILL COMPLEX

Location: Lowerparel, Mumbai

Architect: Ar.Andre Bilokur in conjunction with 505design

Area: 60000 Sq. M.

Year of Completion: 2001

Type of Structure: Mixed Use Center and Urban Interiors

Relevance of Study: In order to understand the possibility of having a variant mix of programs
at one location.
 40

Phoenix Mill Complex, Lower Parel

Liberalisation and globalisation have not only refashioned the lifestyles, but also our urban
landscape. In a recent article in India Today, a journalist has celebrated the renaissance of what
she calls “Mumbai’s embarrassing eyesore”— the textile mills lands of central Bombay — as
this “grim, seedy, and decidedly downmarket” area is being transformed into a new oasis of
elite business and leisure. Boasting corporate offices, advertising agencies, art galleries,
entertainment centres and posh restaurants, a new economy and way of life have displaced
what, according to this writer, were the previously “rat-infested” mills and other parts of this
“depressing district.”

Phoenix Mills now houses the residential high-rise

Phoenix Towers, numerous offices and restaurants,
the Bowling Company and the Fire and Ice
discotheque. Nearby mills have leased their
lucrative land holdings, boasting similar space and
amenities. In the old industrial lands of central
Bombay, gleaming high-rises now compete with
Figure 13:Central Plaza chimney stacks in the urban skyline, a symbol both
of “progress” and change. That most precious commodity in our ill-planned, congested and
overcrowded commercial capital, space, is up for grabs to the highest bidder. India
Today shares in the excitement — central Bombay’s treasure is its “yards and yards of mill
land, just waiting to be devoured.” “Everywhere poky chawls are metamorphosing into
haughty high-rises, pinstriped shirts are replacing blue collars, and o ld addas are turning into
trendy little eateries.”15

But what of the residents of these decrepit chawls, have they simply fled at the advance of the
builders, party-goers, and advertising executives? What of the mills and textile industry, in
which many of these workers and their families have worked for over a century? What of the

15
The Murder of Phoenix Mills (Mumbai: Lokshahi Hakk Sanghatana and Girni Kamgar Sangharsh Samiti,
April 2000).
 41

long heritage of productive culture, and the traditions tied to these historic neighborhoods,
which nestles in the heart of Bombay’s growth as a great industrial metropolis, have been
extinguished?

The eighteen square miles covering central

Bombay, sandwiched between the office and
business districts of the southern island city and
the expanding suburbs to the north, have for over
a century been the lifeworld of Bombay’s textile
workers and their families. The new skyline
sprouting in central Bombay is enveloping
Girgaon, the old “village of mills”, and the Figure 14: Eatery Joints

mass media, town planners and urban elites

portray the mills and their workers as a burden on economy and efficiency, an impediment to
progress. The other side of this fantasy of market-led progress is a vast sea of retrenched
workers and underpaid contract laborers who cannot be reabsorbed in the new economy.

But it was through the labors of these workers that this city rose to prominence as a India’s
largest industrial metropolis, whose productive activities are now in ruins. Today a post-
industrial dream which styles Bombay a new Hong Kong or Singapore fires the imagination
of our globalizing elites — a dream which is premised on the murder of a productive economy,
culture and history that lie at the heart of our metropolis. This is the story we attempt to tell in
the following pages.

Put bluntly, today a group of corporate and multinational financiers and entertainment
promoters, in league with mill owners, state and civic authorities, claim to lead Bombay into a
new era of leisure and prosperity — in pursuit of which they have quietly swept aside legal
norms, financial propriety, social justice and the legal and democratic rights of workers. All
this to develop the mill areas into a destination for corporate investment and middle-class
entertainment, in the process dispersing the organised working-class, their productive activities
and livelihoods, their history of struggle and the culture that has been the heart of all that
Bombay was once proud of. This destruction of a class of workers, an entire urban lifeworld,
holds untold consequences for the city.
 42

In this report we undertake a case-study of the

redevelopment of the Phoenix Mills, in order to
question the claims of those who are refashioning
the city’s landscape and its citizens’ lives. Behind
the golden promise of a globalised Mumbai lie
massive financial frauds committed in the name
of workers’ livelihood and urban development,
devastating job losses and the various tactics used
Figure 15: Shopping Complex
by employers to pressure and dismiss
workers, forcing them into insecure employment in the informal sector, destitution, and often
crime. We hope to demystify the deindustrialisation of the city, the closures of its industries
and the change in its political and cultural economies — a process which is by no means the
work of impersonal “market forces”, but the very real coercion of workers by venal employers
and vested interests.
 43

Figure 16: Schematic Sections of High-Street Phoenix (1)

Figure 17: Schematic Site Layout of HighStreet Phoenix

 44

Figure 18: Schematic section of High-Street Phoenix (2)

SECTION 2
 45

Conclusion
Positives:

 Its prime location gives it ample of footfall leading the structure to be a success.

 The presence of programs having varied nature leads the structure to be active at
multiple hours with multiple types of users.

 Presence of common public spaces leads the structure to host multiple shows and
forums that call the audience together.

 Though it was built before many other malls in Mumbai, the program and its location
has still kept the culture and intention of the proposal alive and going.

Negatives:

 The provision for parking doesn’t seem to be sufficient hence leads to users having
their vehicles parked on the road, which in turn leads to traffic problems.

 Its location along the city connecting high-way also leads to traffic accumulation
outside the entry and exit points of the structure. (at the east end)
 46

INDIAN HABITAT CENTRE, NEW DELHI

Location: Lodhi Road, New Delhi

Architect: Ar.Joseph Allen Stein

Area: 40000 Sq. M.

Year of Completion: 1993

Type of Structure: Commercial Complex

Relevance of Study: To understand the functioning of art spaces along with the commercial set
up.
 47

Indian Habitat Centre, by JOSEPH ALLEN STEIN

Figure 19: Site Layout of IHC

The India Habitat Centre is a multipurpose building in New Delhi. Mixing work, commercial
and social spaces. The chairman of HUDCO and the architect Joseph Allen Stein decided to
radically change the traditional image of an office building as an architectural project and
transformed it into an urban design project. The space was designed to permit the members of
the Centre to share services both inside and outside the building with multiple courtyards,
common meeting rooms, shared parking area, libraries, restaurants, museum, and hotels, some
of which are open to the general public. The INDIAN HABITAT CENTRE was conceived to
provide a physical environment which would serve as a catalyst for a synergetic relationship
between individuals and institutions working in diverse habitat related areas and therefore,
maximise their total effectiveness. To facilitate this interaction, the Centre provides a range of
facilities. Indian Habitat Centre has been constructed for various activities apart for
commercial purposes. It is a centre for cultural, economic and social activities. Dramas, plays
are also organized at the centre. There is banquet hall and party lawn and also a Restaurant.
 48

Residential
Commercial
Institutional
Public Utility
Open Spaces
Religious
Indian Habitat Centre

Figure 20: Land use pattern around IHC

Programs at The IHC

 Offices

 Art Gallery

 Amphitheatre used for performing arts

 Convention Halls

 Auditorium

 Restaurants

 Library

 Stay Facility

 Open Ground for various celebrations

 Meeting Halls
 49

 Movie Screenings (Habitat Film Club)

 Fitness Centre

Design Concept of Indian Habitat Centre

• GREEN COMPLEX: The creation of a green and healthy environment forms the
backbone of the complex. This contributes to the urban level functions and also creates
a healthy and pleasant environment for the working employees.

• The height of the building is around 30m high.

• ELEVATIONAL QUALITY: The

entire facade is cladded with red bricks
which give a majestic look to the structure.

• Vertical and Horizontal ribbon windows

have been used with a special glass that
restricts the entry of sunlight.

Figure 21: Sun cutters at IHC • CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUE:

Massive Steel girders have been for the construction purpose. The entire office block
rests on the steel girders without any support of the columns in between the longitudinal
plan.

• SUN CUTTERS: The reflectors are installed above the building to provide shade and
prevent sun from entering into the building. The reflectors are aligned at an angle which
reflect back 70% of the sunlight and change their angle during winter to allow sunlight
to fall on the windows.
 50

Figure 22: Various Spaces at IHC

Private Areas
Semi-Public Public Spaces The Building
(reserved for Private Areas
Areas dominate Cores
Members)

Figure 23:Division of the various mixed spaces at IHC

 51

• Commercial – 14.16 Acres

• Public – 2.171 Acres

• Peri-Commercial – 1.07
Acres

• For Members – 0.721

Acres

• Semi-Public – 2.884 Acres

• From the following table

Figure 24: Percentile division of spaces at IHC
we realise the proportion
in which the programs have been decided. We realise the requirement of a basic ratio
of 65:35 of commercial with entertainment and recreational activities.
 52

Conclusion
Positives:

• Proper care has been taken for the placement of programs which makes sure that the
different activities do not interfere with each other.

• Presence of spaces like the amphitheatre and art galleries call for the public activities
to take place.

• An approach which gives an entry for the different group of activities differently makes
sure the vehicular traffic is sorted and well organised.

• Provisions for environment protection makes the structure contribute towards the
positive growth of the environment.

Negatives:

• Its formal nature keeps the general audience away from it.
 53

MAKER’S ASYLUM, MUMBAI

Location: Marol, Mumbai

Architect: (Designed by the members)

Area: 400 Sq. M.

Year of Completion: 2013

Type of Structure: Maker Space

Relevance of Study: As a study to realise how the new trend of co-working and how the idea
of collaboration is coming into existence.
 54

Maker's Asylum

• Maker’s Asylum is a community MakerSpace based in

Mumbai and Delhi that allows collaborative ideation. It
brings together interdisciplinary activities covering
Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math to foster
a culture of innovation, exploration and learning.

• For hardware entrepreneurs, it’s easy access to tools,

technology and talent so they can prototype their ideas.
Figure 25: Maker's Asylum Logo
• For problem solvers, it’s a space to exchange
ideas with other like and unlike-minded folks who share your passion. For hobbyists,
it’s a place to explore, tinker and learn.

• Maker’s Asylum is a space which invites people to come and build their ideas and in
that process they meet up with people from different fields and end up working on
various collaborations.

According to the Maker's Asylum's website, "Maker’s Asylum is a community makerspace

with two locations, Mumbai and Delhi, India. For hardware entrepreneurs, it’s easy access to
tools, technology and talent so they can prototype their ideas. For problem solvers, it’s a space
to bump ideas with other like and unlike-minded folks who share your passion. For hobbyists,
it’s a place to play. Don’t let those ideas die on the drawing board. Make it real."16

Maker's Asylum is a makerspace / hackerspace in Mumbai and New Delhi, inspired by

Artisan's Asylum, Chaos Computer Club and other maker organizations. Mumbai's first and
only Makerspace, Maker's Asylum is an open space for people to come and pursue their
creative interests using the tools, equipment and guidance provided there. There are weekly
workshops for training people on different skills and house a variety of tools and equipment
including power tools, 3D printers and laser cutters. Maker’s Asylum is a not-for-profit
organisation that offers such a community space that allows collaborative ideation, bringing

16
About Us > What we do page for makersasylum.com
 55

together interdisciplinary activities covering Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math
(STEAM) to foster a culture of innovation and learning.

-For hardware entrepreneurs, it’s easy access to tools, technology and talent so they can
prototype their ideas.

-For problem solvers, it’s a space to exchange ideas with other like and unlike-minded folks
who share similar passion. For hobbyists, it’s a place to explore, tinker and learn.

Figure 26: Different spaces and nature of spaces at Makers Asylum- Mumbai

all the tools & equipment at the Asylum. Unlimited access to tools & equipment to these
members. They are given support in raising sponsorship for the project. They are also given
support in getting resources like materials, special tools etc. Full support from the mentors at
the Asylum. Dedicated space to work on the project.

Platform to showcase talent: showcase projects, conduct workshops and courses

Maker’s Asylum is a Makerspace which started a new revolution of co-working spaces in

India. At Maker’s, activities covering Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math foster
a culture of innovation and learning. Experts from different fields come together, share
knowledge and experience thus supporting the new culture of co-working spaces and starting
a new trend.
 56

Figure 27. Different types of workshops being held

Figure 28: Various Collaborative Works at Maker's Asylum

 57

Comparative Study of the Case Studies

 58

Site Study

Figure 29: Business Districts of Mumbai

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17
18
19
20
 59

Introduction to Bandra-Kurla Complex

Figure 30: Bandra - Kurla Complex extent

Figure 31: Map of Mumbai

Mumbai’s original central business district (CBD) is located at Nariman Point and developed
due to its proximity to Mumbai’s main port in the southernmost tip of the city Because of this
area’s geographic confinement surrounded by water, The CBD is currently transitioning to
being located in a newer, more central area in the city in order to ease traffic congestion in the
southern tip of the city. Business headquarters are instead migrating to Bandra Kurla Complex,
in Mumbai’s Western suburbs. MMRDA was appointed as “Special Planning Authority” in
charge of the future development of Bandra Kurla Complex in 1977. Meanwhile the new
growth center is expected to support upwards of 2,000,000 jobs within the area. The complex
was built on marshy land on the north side of Mahim Creek and is bound by Kurla in the east
and Bandra in the west. Santacruz lies to its North. Airport is located few kilometers to the
north, allowing for a quick commute between the airport and the complex.

It covers 370 hectares of once low-lying land on either side of the Mithi River, Vakola Nalla
and Mahim Creek. The area had poor surface drainage and was severely affected by pollution
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in the Mahim Creek. One of the important features of the channelization of Mithi River and
Vakola nalla was to improve water carrying capacity and reduce pollution. The basic
consideration of the IFBC plan is accessibility to the area.

LANDUSE PATTERN

Various combinations of activity mix for F.S.I. of 2.0 and 2.5 were tried out by varying the
share of the residential area in the total developable area. Alternatives were assessed with
respect to total and peak hour traffic generation in terms of PCUs and rail traffic based on the
expected modal split across different activities and total marketable floor space distribution
and the balance of floor space between different activities. A higher F.S.I. could not be taken
as a load on railways and road network would increase beyond the carrying capacity and also
due to administrative difficulties in seeking a revision in F.S.I. which would need approval of
the Government of Maharashtra and would be a time consuming process.

LAND-USE AREA

Financial Institutions 51.91ha.

Retail Commercial and Support Services 1.25ha

Parking Garages 5.0ha

Facilities and Amenities 3.52ha

Utility Complex 3.46ha

Hotel and Convention Centre 6.00ha

Residential 26.16ha

Open Space 23.12ha

Roads 30.35ha

Table 32. Land Use Areas (in hectares)

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OPEN SPACES
Open space requirement for commercial and
residential uses have been met by providing
23.12 ha (13.69%) of land. The open space
requirement was calculated by assigning per
capita requirement of 0.9sqm per working
population and 3sqm per residential population.
This amount was derived through findings of
earlier studies on urban open spaces. In addition,
Figure 33: Usage of Open Spaces (in %)
certain amount of open spaces would be generated
within the plot through proper organization of built spaces.

Four open space typology have been envisaged in the IFBC. City level space in the form of
maidan form the major component of the open spaces provided. The second type of open
spaces are the linear greens which would crisscross through the site and join major nodes and
open spaces acting essentially as a pedestrian pathway. The third type of open spaces are
provided in the residential areas. Schools in the residential area possess open spaces which
would be accessible to the general public during evening hours. The fourth type of open spaces
envisaged are within the cluster of plots to the extent of 10% of plot area.

Road Hierarchy

The main access to the proposed IFBC site by road is possible only from the fronting Bandra-
Kurla road. This road would carry high volume of through traffic as well as destined traffic for
IFBC. As the movement of traffic on this road would be high with buses and other commercial
vehicles, the right of way for this road was fixed at 45m with four lanes in each direction. This
road has also been provided with separate bus only lanes, and wider footpaths.

The second level 30m wide road, which passes through IFBC complex forms as a major loop
would not carry any through traffic. It was however, likely to have a lot of local traffic as most
of the financial institutions, city level facilities and amenities and various commercial activities
have been located along these roads. Considering the nature of activities, this road was made
 62

wider wider with three lanes in each direction with provisions for parking, drop-off lanes and
wide footpaths. Only 40% of the buses are considered for plying on this loop road, as the
remaining 60% are assumed to be on the 45m Bandra-Kurla linking road. As much as possible
care has been taken not to have direct vehicular of access to the adjoining plots from this road
to ensure smooth flow of traffic.

The next level and the sector roads are of 24m and 18m respectively. These roads are likely to
attract a lot of business and informal commercial activities and hence many private vehicles
and pedestrians are expected on these roads. Although these roads were expected to carry large
volume of traffic, the minimum width provided is adopted as it is likely that, apart from traffic
due to work trips, there will be local traffic and other social and cultural trips on these roads.
 63

For plans of bkc…

Figure 34: MAPS OF BKC

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STUDY OF THE PROPOSED SITE

Figure 35: Building use map around proposed site at G-Block of BKC

The selected site is located along the 45m road of Bandra-Kurla Complex, which acts as the
main accessible road for BKC as well as functions as the thoroughfare for people connecting
Bandra to Kurla. The site is selected in-order to maintain the interiors of BKC as the financial
centre and having this centre at the out-skirts makes the site easily accessible for the users not
belonging to the Bandra-Kurla region. The selected site is placed at such a location that it
would not add to the chaos caused in the interiors of BKC nor would it interrupt the ongoing
programs at BKC.

This site is the location for various exhibitions, expos and other congregational events. But at
instances when it doesn’t have any program working on it, it serves as a play-ground or else is
completely defunct and leaves a huge piece of land at BKC un-used. Keeping in mind the
trends and prices of land, it makes no sense in leaving such a chunk of land unused.
 65

Site Accessibility

Figure 36: Accessibility Map

Western Express Santacruz-Chembur Eastern Express

Highway Link Road Highway
 66

CAD PLAN OF SITE A3 REPLACE

 67

Climate Study

The climate is hot and humid climate. Most months of the rainy season are marked by
significant rainfall. Mumbai's climate can be best described as moderately hot with high level
of humidity. Its coastal nature and tropical location ensures temperatures won't fluctuate much
throughout the year. Mumbai's experiences 4 distinct seasons Winter: (December–Feb);
Summer: (March–May); Monsoon (June–Sep) and Post Monsoon (Oct–Dec). 21

Average temperature of the Site

21
http://www.eipm.org/India/pdf/Useful_Information.pdf
 68

Sunny – Cloudy days

Pre-dominant wind direction

The pre-dominant direction of the wind hence stating that the site experiences maximum wind
from the south-west side of the site.
 69

Restrictions of the Site

1. Along the 45m wide road

Principles:

The 45m wide road would function as a high speed through traffic road. No direct vehicular
entry to any plot has been envisaged from this road. Therefore the image of the IFBC from this
road will be from speeding vehicles with little time to register the details. The proposal
envisages to have a contagious built form edge along the 45m wide road on both the sides. The
building edge responds to the hierarchy of the street by being 15m away from the plot boundary
as a setback. 9m wide space along the street edge would be semi-public in nature allowing
pedestrians to walk through and 3m wide landscaped area with trees lined adjacent to the street
edge. The extent of the basement should be upto 9m from the plot boundary.

Controls:

a) Façade Controls – The built-form should be minimum 18m (five storey) high along the
street edge.

b) Building Lines – The built-form edge is defined at a distance of 15m from the plot
boundary.

c) Vehicular access – Access to the individual plots are not permitted from the 45m wide
rpad. However, pedestrian access positions are allowed from the 45m wide road into
the plots.

d) Landscape feature – 3m wide landscaped areas lined with trees required along the street
edge.

Floor Space Index

The net available area for reclamation in the complex has got reduced as a result of the
recommendations of Central Water & Power Research Station, Khadakwasla, thereby reducing
the number of jobs to be provided for and the residences to be accommodated. Having regard
to the need to provide more number of residences in the complex and also to better standards
of infrastructural facilities and the open spaces planned in the Complex, uniform Floor Space
Index of 2 for commercial use and 1.5 for residential use will be permitted in the Complex.
 70

Past commitments in Block 'A' with Floor Space Index 2 for residential use will be allowed to
be retained. The average density of population in the island is of the order of about 440 persons
per hectare (based on 1971 census population figure) and in the suburbs about 123 persons per
hectare, against which the density as per the above Floor Space Index would be about 206
persons per hectare (gross). The global Floor Space Index for the island and suburbs is of the
order of 1.0 and 0.6 respectively on the basis of theoretical built up areas permissible in the
development plan; the actual Floor Space Index in the island will be much in excess on account
of the past constructions with higher Floor Space Index. With this, the global Floor Space Index
in the Complex as per the above proposal works out to 0.55. 22

22
 71

PROPOSAL for the PROGRAM

Permitted FSI for the site – 2

Total Site Area – 44000 sq.m.

Therefor,

Total Permissible Built-up Area – 2 X 44000 = 88000 sq.m.

Taking into consideration the existing usage of site for temporary programs, and leaving
22,000 sq.m (along with ground coverage which would be accommodated for in the design).

Commercial 35% - 23,000 sq.m.

•Offices
•Retail Shops
•Flexible Markets

Recreational 25% - 16,500 sq.m.

•Multi-Purpose Theatre
•Cafe - Bars
•Eateries

Institutional 15% - 9,900 sq.m.

•Collaboration Centres
•Library
•Art Galleries

Public Spaces 15% - 9,900 sq.m.

• Public Piazzas
• Turf play areas

Along with above divisions, the proposal will be dedicating 10% of the total area i.e. 6600sq.m.
for services since the proposed project would aim to achieve a green ratings in order to
contribute for the positive growth of the environment. This would also include the added car
park space required by the generation of the above programs.
 72

Further on these programs are divided into two major categories:

Multi-Program, Single-Program
Flexible Amenities: Amenities:
• A. Flexible Markets • E. Newspaper/Coffee Cafe
(rotating programs) and Bookstore
• B. Lunch Cafe (day)/Bar • F. Pedestrian Bridges and
(night) Stairs
• C. Multi-Purpose Theater • G. Office Spaces
• D. Outdoor Piazza • H. Maker Spaces
• I. Turf Playzones

OFFICE
SPACES

Figure 37: Spaces and their connections

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CONCLUSION

The intrinsic value and the original intention of this thesis was to create a succession of
strategic solution in cities, which have had less connectivity by thoughtless development and
road occupied by transportations, and to promote city life with interactively vitalized events in
mentally desolate environment daily. In this proposed design, there are two main issues that
all communities in metropolises should be considered:

(1) Gathering people from high density area to less usage space and

(2) Producing emotionally and physically comfortable and safe space in order to stay more.

Thus this design exploration is suggested in order to vitalize exhausted urban area with
improving environmental quality of city through reinterpreting the meaning of plaza, which is
a key of public life, and linking space between buildings and plazas focused on the circulation
of users and passengers.
 74

Bibliography

EXPLORATION OF CONNECTIVITY BETWEEN URBAN PLAZA AND MIXED USE

BUILDINGS, by YOUNGDUK KIM MR, 2015.

http://pmanzoor.info/Beyond-City.htm

Architecture and Disjunction – Bernard Tschumi, 1994.

http://www.socialoffline.in/

http://www.sp-arc.net/?p=1149

Towards A New Architecture: Architecture or Revolution? –By Le Corbusier, 1932.

EXPLORATION OF CONNECTIVITY BETWEEN URBAN PLAZA AND MIXED USE

BUILDINGS – May, 2014

Rem Koolhaas, Delirious New York, p. 9

Ibid.

Roberto Gargiani, Rem Koolhaas | OMA, The Construction of Merveilles, p. 3

“For Elia Zenghelis had been teaching for some time when, in the early 1970s, a brilliant
student (exfilmmaker) called Rem Koolhaas joined his class. Zenghelis had proved to be the
best first year master for several years. But the magic with Koolhaas was far greater.” (Peter
Cook, 1983). Roberto Gargiani, Rem Koolhaas | OMA, The Construction of Merveilles, p. 5

Rem Koolhaas/Elia Zenghelis, Exit Utopia - Architectural Provocations 1956-76, pp. 237 -
253.

Ibid., pp. 237 - 253.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyber_City,_Gurgaon

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