RURAL RETREAT: RECONCILING THE URBAN AND RURAL

Abstract

With the lifestyle and infrastructure of cities far advanced from the rural areas, there is a huge gap in both cultures. The cities are the centers of economy, hence the lifestyle of the residents is hectic and tiring, with tourism becoming a popular escape from the daily routine. This thesis targets the urban population, introducing them to the local culture in a temporary tranquil abode in a rural context. The aim is to make the experience a detox from the urban environment and introducing the slow-paced life of the rural areas. The retreat will help to generate tourism in Soon valley (known as heaven on earth), providing jobs to the locals and an escape to the tourists. The retreat merges contemporary with vernacular, offering modern facilities in a design set in the context conceptually and physically through materiality. The retreat is a modern derivative of the muhalla, with each space having roots in the rural program and designed in modern language, hence localizing the foreign language, making it a transition for the tourists and locals. The major differences in rural and urban architecture are that nature is more dominant in rural spaces with verandahs, open to sky circulation and courtyards forming integral parts of the design. The open spaces are multi-purpose, introducing a program in open spaces reduces the usability and flexibility- targeting certain activities while reducing diversity.The retreat aims to incorporate local passive design features to utilize the natural climate in maintaining the indoors and outdoors. The design is an amalgamation of site analysis, contextual architecture and modern language, with form and zoning derived from the conceptual derivatives of a muhalla overlaid with site features.