A moat against dangers to heritage character
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Architecture students of the College of Engineering have done a comprehensive study on preserving the character of the Fort area in Thiruvananthapuram. T. NANDAKUMAR finds out that their prescription goes beyond architectural solutions.
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Core area: A scale model of the Fort area prepared by architecture students of the College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram, as part of an urban design project.
In traditional planning concepts, a city is built around a core area. The architectural character of the core provides a strong visual and emotional focus, helping to define the identity of the space within.
When Thiruvananthapuram emerged as the capital of the erstwhile Travancore State in the latter half of the 18th century, the core area comprised the Fort built around the Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple.
Over the centuries, haphazard planning and development impacted heavily on the visual appeal of the Fort and its two-sq km precincts that contain palaces, temples, ponds, stately mansions and community dwelling places. In the process, the zone lost its religious ambience and was converted into an appendage of the commercial area.
Scattered attempts to restore the monuments in the Fort area and preserve the architectural heritage have failed to yield results, leaving heritage lovers disappointed.
When students of the ninth semester B.Arch. course at the College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram, embarked on their project work this year, they were motivated by the challenges of arresting the uncontrolled urbanisation of the Fort area and reclaiming some of the past glory.
The 47 students surveyed the core area of the city and analysed the present infrastructure and planning issues, along with the historical context, morphology, land use, heritage and conservation aspects. The students conducted a detailed documentation with the help of the department of archaeology, the palace trust, the temple trust and historians.
The study explored major issues leading to insensitive interventions detrimental to the historical character of the urban core. It also analysed the ubiquitous traffic and pollution problems.
The team developed a scale model of the Fort with the Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple as the core area. The model was exhibited at an event organised in the college recently.
Unravelling history
Sharat Sunder, student coordinator, says the urban design project was aimed at offering inputs for preserving the architectural identity of the Fort area. Named “Revitalisation of the Fort temple town,” the study revealed many fascinating aspects of life in the erstwhile Travancore.
“The settlements for different caste groups offer an interesting insight. For example, craftsmen from Tamil Nadu involved in the construction of the gopuram of the temple were later settled in clusters around the Fort,” he says.
Citing the data collected as part of the study, Mr. Sunder says the character and fabric of the Fort area have undergone major changes. “The temple was the highest point, the dominant feature, of the Fort area. Over the decades, the inexorable growth of commercial activities has resulted in encroachments on heritage areas. Glass, steel and aluminium panels are redefining the skyline as traditional eco-friendly architecture takes a backseat. Traffic bottlenecks and absence of parking facilities are other problems,” he says.
Binumol Tom, faculty member and conservation architect, says the challenge before the students was to come up with ideas to ensure planned growth while retaining the architectural identity of the heritage zone. “A keen understanding of problems is crucial to the preservation of heritage monuments. That is why the generation of data is so important,” she says.
Old buildings
The students identified maintenance problems as a major issue for owners of heritage buildings. “The closely packed agraharams built to house people associated with activities of the temple face a unique problem. Built with lime mortar, the row houses are located in narrow streets that were earlier part of the living space. But over time, increasing traffic posed problems in the densely populated areas. The interiors of many of the houses were modified, keeping the facade intact. The central courtyard, a feature that ensured free air circulation within the house, was covered to add living space. Traditional building materials were abandoned in favour of modern synthetic substances,” she says.
The students plan to prepare a set of guidelines on style, materials, traffic arrangements and other aspects that will help retain the character of the core area. “For a project of this nature, architectural solutions will not suffice. It calls for addressing the whole gamut of issues including land use,” Mr. Sunder says. Malayinkeezh Gopalakrishnan, historian, one of the consultants selected by the students, says the project highlighted the need for immediate action to stem uncontrolled development and to recognise heritage preservation as a priority. He sees the need for a law notifying heritage zones.
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