BASE: CENTER FOR CULTURE AND INNOVATION: Transforming Information Accessibility

Abstract

In our contemporary, post-industrialist socio-economic, reality technological revolution of institutions and a skilled workforce are the factors that establish a cultural and political hegemony among people and the nations of the world. Since a figure close to 75% of all the global workforce is expected to be digitally proficient by the year 2030, we as a nation lag seriously behind the global trends in workforce and economic revolution. This thesis, therefore, aims at the provision of SOCIOTECHNICAL INFRASTRUCTURE for the people of Jhang and its vicinities to access, learn, create, and inspire economic, intellectual, and cultural value for the community, through the establishment of a “Centre for Culture and Innovation” in Jhang, Punjab. The design aims at the development of an architecture that induces and inspires creativity and greater civic participation for the creation of a sophisticated and creatively driven society. However, the surveys conducted led to the conclusion of a digitally deficient education system and academically incoherent institutions for the technological and creative development of the youth. Therefore, the primary aim remains to offer space, resources and social capital for the creation and innovation in digital and technological fields of work, through public collaboration and participation. The development of MAKERSPACEs and CREATIVE-CULTURE is at the heart of the project, imagined through the sociological concept of THIRDPLACE, where the creation of architecturally intermediate and programmatically flexible spaces provide the potential for the incubation of creatively charged individuals. The participation and collaboration with artists, private and public institutions is targeted towards the preservation, documentation, digitization 1 and promotion of the local cultures, traditions, and lifestyle for the digital and technological global future, through the provision of technical and digital resources for research and documentation of the local arts, crafts, and traditions which are threatened for extinction due to the shift in industry and content-oriented culture. The design thus aims to become a beacon of digital and technological revolution for the city of Jhang, imagined through the lens of public participation and collaboration, realized with the architecture of THIRDSPACE.