RANGEEN IMTIZAJ: Revitalizing Sunday Bazaar

Abstract

The thesis aims to redesign Sunday Bazaar by rejuvenating its cultural aspects to foster a stronger sense of community. It embarks on creating architecture with an awareness of time and the cyclical nature of the marketplace to provide legitimacy to a transient but crucial aspect of the city. Bazaars have been essential in bringing people together, by facilitating trade, exchange, and connection between individuals and communities throughout history. But the role of a bazaar from its invention to current times has gone through a significant shift. The homogeneity and monotony currently seen in its design aims to promote and accelerate profit through standardized consumption patterns while compromising on the social aspect. The objective is to understand the factors contributing to the decreasing bazaar culture and attempt to address them through design. In addition to reviving the old practices, it is vital to integrate modern needs to cater to the present and future generations. The research is focused on a comprehensive understanding of the culture of bazaar through literature review, analyzing historic bazaars and folklore. Taking advantage of the transient nature of the bazaar, the thesis creates an adaptable architectural module that allows flexibility to reimagine the purpose of the space. This uplifts the space architecturally, so it is more viable in the context of Islamabad. The infrastructure of the weekly bazaar is redesigned using transformable architecture, to facilitate the users experience and increase the economic and social impact. The thesis's scope is to create a one-stop platform catering to retail and recreation activities while maximizing the potential of its transformability.