ARCHITECTURE AS A STIMULUS FOR COMMUNAL INTERACTION: CENTRE FOR COMMUNITY OUTREACH)

Abstract

Public spaces are the centers for the civic life and showcase the human culture. They provide opportunities for gathering, interacting, sharing as well as for recreation. As civic centers, these spaces become mediums of a combined expression and depositories of individual memories. In a traditional setting of sub-continent and around the world, bazaar 'is conceived to be a space for people of all kinds to interact, recreate and generate a living. The most significant feature of a bazaar are the streets, where the commercial activities are lined up as well as the street (void) becomes a source of social activity rather than a connecting space only. In an architectural representation of a public space, lately the mall culture has been thriving in Pakistan; to cater the commercial sector, which takes away the role of a street as a transitional zone and a mode to generate activity. The project will explore street as an architectural space and a necessary active zone between the points of departure to the point of arrival and a zone which is a significant element to promote a communal life and an inter-dependent society. The project aims towards the reincarnation of the markaz 'through architecture, by taking street as an inspiration to create an active public zone. It aims to provide a hybridized solution for the retail experience and public interaction. The site for the proposed project is in G-6 markaz, Sector G-6 in Islamabad which is commonly known as the Melody Market. In the past, site was notable for its public life, as the market was developed as the first one in Islamabad and was completely pedestrian and considerate of handicapped. Due to city's further development, the markaz and the sector in general was neglected which ended up in abandoning its major programs, including the melody cinema and other buildings. The project aims to use architecture as a solution to instigate growth and stability in the markaz and the sector. The Centre for community outreach is a place for people to come together for work, facilitation and for recreation. It revives the memory of a traditional street and presents it in a contemporary way to pace it with the architectural language of the context.