Through non-spaces: A return to communal living

Abstract

The urban morphology of a city, particularly the patterns in its residential development determine the way people live in, and experience their communities. The urban form of Lahore has grown from the winding labyrinthine neighborhoods of the old walled city to sprawling suburban developments and most recently to the introduction of highrise living, primarily to retroactively address the previously mentioned sprawl. While highrises do engage the issue of uncontrolled expansion, they stand as inert monoliths that fail to catalyze social interaction and communal living. Residential units in the current fabric of both suburban and high rise living act as islands : remote, distant and disconnected from one another. The spaces in between them that connect them, the 'non spaces', are seas of impersonal uniformity, monotony and anonymity. The thesis aims to counter the current residential archetype of isolated and disconnected living, by reasserting the idea of "non - spaces" as active social condensers, an idea observed in the distinct experiential character and pattern of streets in the walled city, and how they act as places of social engagement. Analysing the hierarchy of the traditional street pattern, from 'Guzar', to 'Gali' to 'band Gali', and their relation to pockets of public spaces will create a familiarity of tradition in a contemporary response, thereby producing individuality in the experience of each residential unit, while also fostering communal living.