ARCHITECTURE OF SOCIETY AND CRAFTS A revitalizing hamlet for the community, centered on the skilled craftsmen

Abstract

Craftsmen are an integral part of our culture and the products made by them create communal locus in areas where they are being sold at. In every city there are shops that sell off the handmade crafts produced by the skilled labor. But the reality to this is the presence of middleman in the product selling chain. Due to which the real craftsmen do not get the exposure with the public and are rather treated as backstage entities. In our local context, we do not get to have a micro-community designed centered on the skilled craftsmen where they can produce and sell their pieces of art, hence establishing a direct link with public. Even the nature of bazar space where such crafted products are sold off have changed drastically. Kargah e Hunar establishes a link of architecture of society with architecture of crafts. It aims to understand and bridge the lost connection of how architecture can be a ground basis for the growth of community centered around the skilled labor. It is a close adjustment to the panorama of the functional impairments that the context has, how the users' functions and what the users can expect from Kargah e Hunar itself. It is a hub which brings together the craftsmen, general public at a place. Eventually, setting foundation for a microcommunity based on thorough analytical process connecting user groups, to site and context analysis and thereafter with building programs. The architectural resultant has the ability of space and program to continually evolve with user and activate the community. The aim of the thesis is to provide a multi-functional, recreational, and programmatic hamlet, aiming to bring in several programs that highlight the skill and crafts. The strategy is to create a knitted programmatic system that contains ofworkshops, bazaar space, exhibition spaces and recreation. All these further supporting programs will act as the backbone for the whole complex which will not only showcase the talent but will create and maintain employment opportunities as a wide range of public audience can come, indulge, buy their work of crafts.