FLEXIBILITY OF MEMORY IN A RIGID ENCLOSURE

Abstract

This thesis is a fusion of tectonics with the contextual features, a balance between natural and man-made, an enclosure where privacy is present along with dynamism and spirit amalgamated for a richer experience not only to leave an impact on the users but to help them temporarily escape the routine. Flexibility in a socially rigid environment which demands for spaces where peace and serenity finds a tangible form. This thesis intends to create a dynamic form with spaces that provide communal essence to military families with their colleagues. The context selected highlights the thick green belt of Ghariyal with contours on its either side capturing the views of the beautiful Pir Panjal ranges. By creating dominant voids between solid lines as a means of highlighting the temporal escape, the idea of confinement in a compound or enclosure becomes less rigid than perceived. Merging this idea with the initial concept, a balanced proportion can be conceived. Various programs and activities for all age groups, open terraces merging into the confined spaces, the cantilevered structure mimics a sharp boulder springing out of the earth. Using the hill facade, it transforms itself into a manmade hil!. Half emerged into its surrounding, the spaces are passively designed, taking full use of the climate of Murree, enabling the users to experience outside into the inside. Fenestrations on the facade blur the exterior-interior boundary, taking in maximum daylight. The progression from one space to another is marked important highlighting the adjacent landscape. The form tries to mimic the landscape, acting as an extension to the site it is built on.