professional case study
TRANSCRIPT
Professional Case Study
Kalpak Deshmukh
Fifth Year, Semester , 2011/12
Vidyavardhan, Institute of Design Environment and Architecture
Professional Case Study:
Dilli Haat, INA, New Delhi
Part I:
The Dilli Haat project started with Delhi Tourism Development Corporation
initiating a market place for craftspersons with intention of attracting tourists and
locals alike. The project was completed in December 1993. The brief given to the
designers was very loose. The brief developed by the designers was as follows:
1. Entrance and ticketing area
2. 60 permanent shops of 9 to 15 sqm
3. 25 food stalls of 9 to 21 sqm
4. 62 Exhibition stalls of 3 sqm
5. Open seating area
6. Administrative section
7. Conference hall 32 sqm
8. Amphitheatre
9. International dinning hall
10. Electrical substation
11. Toilets
12. Parking for 70 cars and 100 two wheelers
13. Hydropneumatic Station
14. Services
The total built up area added up to 3190 sqm.
In 2005, after 12 years of completion there refurbishments were according to
the new requirements. The number of visitors increased considerably through the
years. The data from the Delhi Tourism Development Corporation gives numbers of
Visitors per Year
Period Number of Visitors
94-‐95 4,62,000
95-‐96 6,47,000
96-‐97 9,00,000
97-‐98 10,78,000
98-‐99 11,62,000
99-‐00 15,87,000
00-‐01 18,00,000
01-‐02 16,00,000
02-‐03 15,00,000
03-‐04 16,25,000
04-‐05 16,00,000
05-‐06 17,00,000
06-‐07 18,05,000
07-‐08 19,40,000
08-‐09 20,00,000
09-‐10 -‐
10-‐11 -‐
The additions of 23 new permanent shops were done in 2005. Allotments for
semi permanent shop were done. Administration block went through up-‐gradation.
Refurbishment to the existing services was done to handle increase in the numbers.
The brief developed by the designers in the beginning has been modified to the
current requirements. Delhi Tourism proposed further refurbishments from the
recommendations from the architects in 2011. The newer developments are
currently under construction.
Economics:
The total construction cost of the project in 1992 was Rs. 2.88 crores.
The break down of the different component as follow:
Component Cost Rs.
Earth Filling 10 Lakhs
Boundary Wall 9 Lakhs
Buildings 1.31 Crores
External Services (including
pumps, gensets, external
lighting, underground tanks,
tubewells, etc)
60 Lakhs
Interiors and Graphics 10 Lakhs
Paving/ Landscaping, parking
plazas and open air stalls 64 Lakhs
Street Furniture 4 Lakhs
The end project cost was as estimated before beginning of the construction.
Design Team:
The initial design team at Pradeep Sachdeva Design Associates consisted of
Pradeep Sachdeava, Neela Joshi Puri, Nityanand Sharma, Saby Sen, Tanya
Sengupta, Carina Simons, Suzanna Tharian, PV Kennedy.
The initial consultants for the project were: Arvind Gupta (structural),
Electrical Consulting Engineers (electrical), Sanelac Pvt Ltd (plumbing/
sanitary), Deepak Hiranandani (landscaping advisor), QS Consultants (quantity
surveyors), Ranmal Singh Jha (graphics)
It deserves that the architect highly appreciates QS Consultants, his quantity
surveying consultants, their exceptional competence kept the project on track.
Also the DTPC engineers deserve recognition for doing the job well and
efficiently.
The contributions of structural consultant Arvind Gupta were particularly
important as the Dilli Haat was located over a covered nallah and load
distribution was critical as the slab was not designed to take the loads.
The design team in 2005 for the refurbishment of the Dilli Haat at Pradeep
Sachdeva Design Associates was: Pradeep Sachdeva, SK Singh, Madhushankar
Iyyer, Rameez Raza, Nivedita Tyagi, Siddharth Kumar.
The consultants for refurbishment in 2005 were:
Arvind Gupta (structural), Abid Hussain Consultants (air conditioning), Reiz
Electrocontrols Pvt. Ltd. (lighting), KRIM Engineering Services Pvt. Ltd.
(plumbing and electrification)
Design Development:
It all started with a small market for craftspersons outside the Hanuman
Mandir on Bara Khamba Road that the firm Prdeep Sachdeva Design Associates had
worked on in 1987. Delhi tourism invited the firm to design a small crafts-‐bazaar
opposite the Bhairon Temple behind the Purana Quila. This was meant to be a much
smaller complex than the present Haat. A fairly detailed design was worked out, but
the project did not materialize as the firm did not get permission to build so close to
the historic Quila.
A year later a new site had been allotted to the Haat by the New Delhi
Municiple Committee. On top of a covered portion of the nallah across the road from
the busy INA Market. It was a wonderful location for the complex. The design brief as
given to the firm was very loose and the firm worked a lot in trying to develop it. Once
it was formulated, Delhi Tourism officials spent a lot of time discussing the details.
Possible and representative users of the legendary eatery ‘karims’ were roped
in for the brain-‐storming sessions on the design of food stalls. Craftspersons were
called in to give their comments on the design. The Dastakakari haat Samiti, a
federation of craftsman, also contributed a lot towards trying to interpret the brief
from a users point of view.
The site itself posed some unusual constraints. The nallah, running through the
entire length had been covered with a concrete slab. After locating the drawings of
this slab, the designers discovered that it was not possible to build over it as it had
not been designed to take such loads. This resulted in the planning of the buildings
just outside the slab. Also, the two sides of the nallah had been recently filled up with
soil, necessitating foundations as much as 8m.
The designers wanted to anchor the attraction of the Haat in a relaxed,
unpretentious simplicity of ambience, but were definite about steering clear of the
typical mud plaster and painted ethnic. Choosing the more natural vocabulary of
brick masonry, the designers exploited its rich and varied potential in terms of arches,
jalis, floor patterns etc. increasing interest by juxtaposing more contemporary
materials such as concrete, mild steel etc.
The entrance plaza is intended as a buffer between the busy Aurobindo Road
and the Haat, lending it a sense of place as well as avoiding the spillover of activities
on to the road. The axis around which all the activities were organized was
determined by the presence of the nallah as well as the linear site it gave rise to. At
the same time there was an attempt to reduce the built mass so as to provide for
more open spaces within the complex. In addition the designers to accommodate as
much as possible, the towering eucalyptus trees that lined the site. Thus, at places the
shops are placed in a row while at others they occur in the form of clusters. Further
the crafts shops have been intentionally placed right up in front so that the visitor
browses past them before he enters realm of the food stall.
As for the design development, there were several changes in the brief and
designs. The initial intended number of shops and eateries changed several times as
the site plan changed. Due to the hygiene purposes the food stalls were shifted at the
back of the site away from the center. A larger restaurant proposed earlier was
cancelled due to space constraints.
As such the Haat seems to provide the first prototype of it’s kind, where the
nallah has been used to re-‐vitalize a part of the city, which had remained stagnant.
In 2002 Pradeep Sachdeva Design Associates was re-‐commisiioned to carry
out the refurbishment and redevelopment work of the Haat. The chief issues for the
redevelopment being up gradation of the existing services, construction of new shops,
construction of fine dine area, refurbishment of performance area, increasing the
accessibility for the disabled, construction of an ATM etc. The refurbishment was
proposed in two phases. Phase I was to be completed in 2007 and phase II was
proposed in 2010. Phase II is currently under construction and is proposed to be
finished by August 2011.
Successful Aspects of the Project:
The Dilli haat may not be the very first of it’s kind, but it is definitely the most
visible, ambitious, and well located. The ‘total design’ appearance also adds to the
experience of the users. The promoters, Delhi Tourism, have essentially provided a
walled-‐in space containing a sizable mixture of types of retail outlets, mainly
designated for ethnic food and handcrafts. Unlike the exhibition grounds, where food
and crafts bazaar functions as something more serious under the umbrella of some
kind of trade fair expo, this is more in tune with likes of an ongoing mela. It is also
more commercially viable that plain recreation park. Due to high cost of
infrastructure and space in the first place, gate fee was proposed. Therefore it
reduced the burden of rent on leasing shopkeepers. This factor also made the space
legally defensible and technically not fully public.
Part II:
Critical Analysis:
The project definitely points the way towards creative use of marginal inner
city areas such as drains and service lines which can be treated as a positive resource.
Certainly the Indian Railways, with their development of track air space, can further
this process of urban growth. Several public unused structures or the area around
propose a definite potential in re-‐vitalization options in terms of financial viability as
well as land use. In most of the Indian cities today, we see haphazard development
and as large amount of public money goes in to building of infrastructure. The Dilli
Haat provides a successful example of financially viable project of clever usage of the
‘in between’ urban spaces. Spaces like the Dilli Haat provide much needed public
recreational quality urban space.
The quality of the space is due to careful planning as well as great attention to
detail. These aspects are evident through out the project development. The brief was
developed by the designers according to the loose requirements given by the clients
and even to this date we see a vibrant urban space where domestic, foreign tourist
and locals enjoy the benefits. Making a shopping place exclusive for craftsperson also
adds to its credit. The brief developed by the designers with numerous re-‐designs has
resulted in a combination of functions which fit perfectly with each other. The
movement patterns forces the users to go through the project with ease and with
certain comfort. With provisions for temporary exhibitions and stalls, it gives the
space quality of ever changing architecture. Attention to the details such as the jali
walls, materials used in landscaping, preservation of existing trees and plantation of
new ones, use of exposed brick with contemporary materials add to the aesthetic
value.
However, despite all accomplishments of the project, there is something more
such projects could do in the future. Right now it is a fairly artificial trading ground
for some genuine and not-‐so-‐genuine articles. One would consider it well crafted,
innovative but not really visionary. In fact, it is a long way off from evolving a more
comprehensive habitat based crafts project, where the retailer or his community
would have crafted goods, and where, looking even further ahead, the maker of the
artefacts might also live, learn and practice. For despite the support that such events
and projects are provided towards the resurgence of Indian crafts, there still remains
a great lack of recognition for the craftsman himself. This recognition may be viewed
in monetary or infrastructure apsects. Only if these issues are also brought into the
process of conceptualization of such projects would they be able to claim continuity, a
vision obtained from the great ancient tradition of India. Otherwise it shall remain
modeled on the mela or the mall. Essentially such projects must do more that provide
just a delightful experience and go into realms of initiator of a change.
I worked on the second phase refurbishment of the Dilli Haat. I was involved in
the design as well as execution of some of the works being done on the site. The
shortcomings while working on the project were of aesthetic sensibilities. The whole
project was designed with a uniform pattern in the aesthetic characters. It was
imperative for me to acquire the signature aesthetic sensibilities pre-‐existing in the
office for doing a satisfactory effort. As most of the architects draw their inspiration
from the influences and imagery around them, it was necessary to in tune with the
judgment of appeal of the architecture conceived in the office. Also the working
systems of the environment and high standards of professionalism were very
different from a college work environment.
As the project was a done for a government body, it involved extensive paper
work. The correspondence with the consultants, clients and the contractors required
disciple in the filing systems. It was made evident to me about the documentation side
of the architectural practice.
My notions of sustainable architecture were expanded while working at
Pradeep Sachdeva Design Associates. The kind architecture practice in progress
clearly blends sustainability with pleasing architecture. Apart from the refurbishment
of the Dilli Haat, I worked on number of other projects revolving around key principle
of sustainable architecture.
While doing the professional case study, it was interesting to investigate the
conceptual stage of a project and the end result. In this case it was unexpected for the
architects to see the project become so successful. Also as the refurbishment work
was ongoing, it was interesting to see the continuity in the design principles even
though different designers have worked at different stages of the initial design and
the current works. But the completion of the drawing for the project was on low
priority as the scope of work was on the level of small details and was time
consuming. Phase I and II of the refurbishments lagged behind schedule as the
response from the authorities was lukewarm. Also it was because of number of the
agencies and government bodies involved. Unlike during the time of initial
construction, the refurbishments over ran in costs.
If the Dilli Haat was to be re-‐done today, I would keep the brief of the project
as it is. Only problem I see is in the quality of the construction. Also according to the
user feed back/ personal observations, the project is unusable during the monsoon
period. As we see an increase in rainfall in Delhi, I would recommend to more
efficient use of the verandahs and installation of more number canopies and pavilions.