Design Brief | The Drawing Board 2024

Summary

The ninth edition of the Drawing Board competition by Mindspace Architects focuses on Madurai's historic Paton Lane, known for its 10 granite pillars. The challenge is to redesign the surrounding buildings to integrate the 400-year-old pillars into the city's fabric, while maintaining the street's silk industry heritage. The aim is to create a heritage walk connecting the Minakshi Temple and Thirumalai Nayakar Palace, enhancing the area's historical significance and urban experience.

Takeaways

• 🏆 The event is the ninth edition of the Drawing Board competition sponsored by Rohan Baders.
• 🎨 Sanjay Mohe is an architect from Mindspace and he is presenting the competition.
• 📍 The competition's chosen site is in Madurai, between the Minakshi Temple and Thirumalai Nayakar Palace.
• 🏛 The site features a row of 10 columns, which are remnants of a palace and are historically significant.
• 🕰 The columns were constructed around 1600, making them approximately 400 years old.
• 🌟 The columns create a unique experience, reminiscent of the Luxor Temple in Egypt, transporting visitors beyond the 4-meter-wide street.
• 🏡 The columns are surrounded by houses and shops, many of which are related to the silk industry.
• 🔍 The challenge is to liberate the columns from their current trapped state and create an open space while maintaining the historical context.
• 🛠 The design brief involves redesigning the buildings along the 10 Pillar Street to integrate the columns into the city fabric.
• 🚶‍♂️ The aim is to create a Heritage walk connecting the palace and the temple, highlighting the grandeur of the columns.
• 📝 The competition encourages participants to explore different solutions and come up with innovative designs for the site.

Q & A

What is the ninth edition of the Drawing Board competition about?

The ninth edition of the Drawing Board competition is an architectural challenge sponsored by Rohan Baders, focusing on the site in Madurai, between the Minakshi Temple and Thirumalai Nayakar Palace.

Why was the site in Madurai chosen for the competition?

The site in Madurai was chosen due to its historical significance, the presence of the Minakshi Temple and Thirumalai Nayakar Palace, and the unique experience of the 10 columns in a narrow lane that evoke a sense of discovery and transport visitors to a different time.

What is the historical significance of the 10 columns in Madurai?

The 10 columns were constructed around 1600, almost 400 years ago, and are remnants of the palace that survived after the Kingdom's headquarters moved to Trichy.

What is the current state of the 10 Pillar Street?

The 10 Pillar Street is densely populated with buildings on small plots, typically ground plus two structures, with retail establishments on the ground floor and residences above.

What is the design brief for the competition?

The design brief is to redesign the buildings indicated in blue hatch along the 10 Pillar Street, making the 10 pillars an integral part of the city fabric while retaining the rest of the structures as they are.

What are the architectural constraints for the redesign?

The redesign must ensure that the ground coverage is 50% with an FSI of 1 and 1/2, and the height cannot exceed 12 meters. The ground floor should predominantly feature public activities related to silk weaving or retail.

How does the competition aim to enhance the heritage of the site?

The competition aims to create a Heritage walk connecting the palace and the temple, giving extra importance to the 10 columns and integrating them into the city's fabric.

What is the significance of the emboss Shivlingam sculpture on one of the pillars?

The emboss Shivlingam sculpture with a niche for lighting lamps is a unique feature of one of the pillars, adding to the historical and cultural significance of the site.

What is the expected outcome of the competition for the 10 Pillar Street?

The expected outcome is to create an open space around the pillars, liberating them from the trapped feeling, and enhancing the ambience while maintaining the relationship between the old silk shops and the historical columns.

How does the competition site relate to the broader context of Madurai's heritage?

The competition site is part of the broader heritage context of Madurai, connecting two significant monuments, the Minakshi Temple and Thirumalai Nayakar Palace, and aiming to highlight the importance of the 10 Pillar Street within the city's history.

What is the role of the public in the redesigned space?

The public plays a crucial role in the redesigned space, as the ground floor is expected to feature public activities that emphasize silk weaving or retail, making the space vibrant and integral to the community.

Outlines

00:00

🏛️ Rediscovering Madurai's Architectural Treasures

Sanjay Mohe, an architect from Mindspace, introduces the ninth edition of the Drawing Board competition, sponsored by Rohan Badhe. The competition's chosen site is in Madurai, between the Minakshi Temple and the Thirumalai Nayakar Palace. Sanjay describes the site's historical significance and the experience of discovering the 10 columns, which were constructed around 1600. He emphasizes the challenge of integrating the columns into the modern city fabric while preserving their historical context and the surrounding silk industry. The goal is to create an open space that liberates the columns and enhances their grandeur, potentially by developing a Heritage walk that connects the two monuments.

05:00

🏰 The 10 Pillar Street: A Historical and Design Challenge

Sha from Mindspace Architects provides a detailed overview of the Drawing Board competition site in Madurai, known as the Paton Lane or the 10 Pillar Street. The street is historically significant, being part of the Swara Vasam Palace, now the Thirumalai Nayak Mahal. The 10 granite pillars, remnants of the palace, stand along a 4-meter-wide street, surrounded by buildings with retail establishments on the ground floor and residences above. The design brief for the competition is to redesign the indicated buildings to integrate the pillars into the city's heritage fabric, while retaining the existing structures and their connection to the silk industry. The challenge includes creating public spaces that emphasize silk weaving and retail, with specific building regulations such as a 50% ground coverage, an FSI of 1 and 1/2, and a maximum height of 12 meters. The aim is to make the pillars a focal point of a Heritage walk connecting the palace and the temple, inviting participants to explore innovative solutions.

Keywords

💡Sanjay Mohanty

Sanjay Mohanty is an architect from Mindspace, mentioned as the speaker in the video script. He is the one introducing the Drawing Board competition and the site chosen for the competition. His role and perspective are central to the video's theme of architectural design and heritage.

💡Drawing Board Competition

The Drawing Board Competition is an event sponsored by Rohan Baders, as mentioned in the script. It is an annual architectural competition that has been gaining more participation each year. The competition is the main subject of the video, focusing on the challenge of designing within a historic context.

💡Madurai

Madurai is the city in India where the competition site is located. It is home to the monuments that frame the design challenge, including the Meenakshi Temple and Thirumalai Nayakar Palace. The city's rich history and cultural significance are integral to the video's exploration of architectural heritage.

💡Meenakshi Temple

The Meenakshi Temple is one of the famous monuments in Madurai, known to all participants of the competition. It is one of the two landmarks between which the competition site is situated, emphasizing the importance of the site's historical and religious context in the design challenge.

💡Thirumalai Nayakar Palace

Thirumalai Nayakar Palace is another significant monument in Madurai, mentioned alongside the Meenakshi Temple. The palace adds to the historical context of the competition site and influences the design considerations for the architectural challenge.

💡10 Pillar Street

10 Pillar Street, also known as Paton Lane, is the specific site of the competition. It is characterized by a row of 10 granite pillars and is a key element of the design challenge. The street's historical significance and current state are central to the video's narrative.

💡Heritage Walk

The Heritage Walk is a concept introduced in the script as a way to connect the two monuments, Meenakshi Temple and Thirumalai Nayakar Palace, through the competition site. It is part of the design challenge to create a walkway that highlights the historical and architectural significance of the area.

💡Silk Industry

The silk industry is historically connected to the area around the 10 Pillar Street, with many shops in the vicinity related to silk trade. The script mentions the desire to retain this relationship in the redesign, emphasizing the importance of preserving local economic and cultural activities.

💡Architectural Heritage

Architectural heritage refers to the preservation and integration of historical structures within modern design. The script discusses the challenge of incorporating the 400-year-old granite pillars into a new design that respects and enhances their historical significance.

💡Design Brief

The design brief is the set of guidelines and requirements provided for the architectural competition. It includes specifications for the redesign of buildings along 10 Pillar Street, aiming to integrate the pillars into the city fabric while retaining the surrounding structures and their historical context.

💡Public Activity

Public activity, as mentioned in the script, refers to the intended use of the ground floor of the redesigned buildings, which should emphasize silk weaving or retail. This requirement is part of the design challenge to activate the street and connect it with the local silk industry.

Highlights

Sanjay Mohe, an architect from Mindspace, introduces the ninth edition of the Drawing Board competition sponsored by Rohan Badlani.

The competition has seen an increasing number of participants, making it more exciting each year.

This year's competition site is in Madurai, between the Minakshi Temple and Thirumalai Nayakar Palace.

The site features a row of 10 columns that create a surprising and fairy-tale-like experience.

The columns, constructed around 1600, evoke a sense of history and imagination about the space's past.

The incompleteness of the site invites participants to imagine how to complete the picture.

The columns are surrounded by houses and shops, many of which are related to the silk industry.

The challenge is to create an open space around the columns while maintaining the historical and cultural context.

The goal is to liberate the columns and create an ambiance that respects the old silk shops' relationship with the columns.

The competition seeks to make the columns a part of the city fabric through a Heritage walk connecting the palace and the temple.

The design brief involves redesigning buildings along the 10 Pillar Street to integrate the pillars into the city's heritage.

The street is named after the 10 granite pillars that are remnants of the Swara Vasam Palace.

The pillars stand 12 meters high with a circumference of 1.2 meters, featuring an emboss Shivlingam sculpture on one.

The design challenge includes maintaining the ground floor for public activities related to silk weaving or retail.

The competition encourages participants to explore various solutions and create innovative designs.

The organizers express excitement about the potential of the small space to inspire creative and impactful designs.

The competition has a history of inspiring students to come up with amazing solutions over the past 8 years.

Sha from Mindspace Architects provides a detailed explanation of the competition site and design brief.

Transcripts

[Music]

there

[Music]

I'm Sanjay Mo architect from mindspace

uh this is the ninth edition of the

drawing board competition sponsored by

Rohan baders we have been getting

amazing response there have been so many

participations and every year it is

becoming more and more exciting more

participation so this year we have

chosen this site in madurai the site is

between these two exciting monuments one

is minakshi Temple which all of you know

about and then there is one Palace which

is called tal nayakar Palace when I

visited that site for the first time it

was quite amazing you walk through these

very narrow lanes and you encounter

these huge 10 columns in one row

something which you don't expect you

know it's like a fairy tale where a boy

gets lost and suddenly opens a door and

find something you know treasure within

that room this is almost like that you

know disc discover a treasure on that

street I had been to this luxa temple in

Egypt almost 40 years back and uh in the

afternoon I was alone in that you know

looking through these columns and when I

saw this which is hardly a 4 M wide

space this is almost like a metaphor you

know where you see those columns and you

imagine yourself to be in that luxur

Temple it really transports you there

and till the time somebody on the bike

honks and then you suddenly look up and

say oh I am in this space so so it

creates that amazing kind of experience

uh of transporting you beyond that 4 M

wide Street into something much more

Divine much more uh you know powerful so

that's what something which made us

choose this site secondly these columns

were constructed in about, 1600 so

almost like 400 years back so the moment

you see this the history gets triggered

you start imagining how that space must

have been how what kind of context would

have been there the third thing is the

incompleteness of that you just see the

columns and nothing else and then you

start imagining how do you complete this

picture and each one of us you know

complete try to imagine it in mind and

complete in so many different ways and

that's what creates that very powerful

kind of situation these columns are

surrounded by houses and shops on either

side it was supposed to be a silk tread

which used to happen there historically

so most of the shops are connected with

the silk industry we would like to sort

of retain that relationship as well

right now those columns feel absolutely

trapped between that space those houses

and they're almost asking to be

liberated asking for that some open

place around so how do we create that

how do you create that openness uh you

know release them and uh you know create

that kind of Ambience yet keep that

relationship between that old Silk you

know shops and those columns the history

the the connections and all that is one

of the biggest challenges that uh we

have to tackle one of the things what we

were looking at that this is such an

important Monument but somehow it

doesn't get noticed so when you create

this Heritage walk between these two

monuments can the Heritage walk go

through this space covering these 10

columns and you create a pause point in

that process of that Heritage block and

give extra importance to that so we have

done some exercise to to see how many

shops could be removed how many to be

retained and within that fabric you have

to create that experience

where you actually

admire um you know the presence of that

grandure and that's the skill that's the

challenge that you have beyond that um I

would like scha to explain um the entire

problem in detail in terms of how the

entire configuration would be I'm sha

from mindspace Architects so this year

drawing board competition site is

located in maduray this is The Paton

lane or the 10 Pillar Street which is

located to the north of the tiar nayakar

palace these pillars have a very rich

History located within the premisis of

the swara vasam palace which is now the

tumar Nayak Mahal the pon was a part of

ranga vasam built to accommodate tyal

nayak's younger brother the 10 Pillar

Street is off one of the streets which

is connecting the temple and the palace

so as one walks into this Lane they just

tumble upon this 10 pillars and one

wonders why these pillars are there what

are these pillars for these 10 pillars

are the remnants of the palace that

survived after Kingdom's headquarters

moved to trich the street which gets its

name from these pillars features a row

of 10 Granite pillars along a roughly 4

M wide thoroughfare the densely

populated buildings along the street on

small plots are typically ground plus

two uh structures ground floor has

retail establishment the upper floors

are all residences the pillars are made

from stacked round Granite Stones

standing 12 M high with a circumference

of 1.2 m one of these pillars features

an emboss shivlingam sculpture with a

niche for lighting the lamps so the

design brief is to redesign all these

buildings which are indicated in blue

hatch along the 10 Pillar Street uh this

is to make these 10 pillars a very

integral part of the city fabric the

rest of the structures have to be under

touched and have to be retained as it is

and these plots are connected with some

of these very narrow Lanes which measure

about 1 and A2 M and also there's a

courtyard in tucked in between these

plots so each of these plots the ground

coverage will be 50% with an FSI of 1

and a/2 and the height cannot exceed 12

M it can be ground plus two floor

structure and the ground floor has to be

predominantly a public activity which is

beeing or which emphasizes the silk

weaving or the retail part upper fls can

be residences so by opening up these

structures the idea is to make these

pillars a part of the Heritage walk

connecting the palace and the

temple so when we formulated this

problem um we all very excited about it

that small space has so much energy so

many possibilities and uh we want you to

really get into that find out different

solutions and come out with something

amazing the way students have been doing

it for last 8 years and coming out with

some amazing Solutions so wishing you

all the best thank you so much

[Laughter]

[Music]