Creating commons: Recuperating the lost spaces in city palace precinct Jaipur

Abstract

The Emergency period changed the fabric of City Palace Precinct, Jaipur. It brought some good protectionist policies but also showed a disregard of the overall context and the walled city as a unit. The newly acquired structures and premises were assigned functions as per the contemporary needs but the infrastructure to support the same never poured in. The behaviour intensifies the conflict between tourists and local. The buildings lack contemporary functions, as a result, possible future development is locked in this area and that will only further sharpen the problem between local life and new development. At the same time, the potential of the cultural heritage scattered in the area are not fully utilized for finding back the identity. Moreover, the current urban and social conditions around the City Palace. Jaipur are critical. The space seems to lack both social and physical qualities, probably because of the ambiguous coexistence between its local and tourist character and due to the overlapping interests of multiple participants- the Royal Family, the trade and commerce, locals and the tourism industry. This is a proposed project considered under Smart City Jaipur, which includes revitalisation of structures surrounding Jaleb Chowk and S.M.S Town Hall. Both of these structures belongs to grade II heritage structures. Besides that, Jaleb Chowk also coincides with government India’s larger vision of ‘Swadesh Darshan Scheme’. The interventions will address the above problems with a design proposal that will reorganize the neighbourhood of the palace by enhancing its possibilities. The project will bring new functions to the area in regards to the new future design plans that will take place in a few years. At the centre of the debate will be the community: how to create an effective design through the respect of it and its culture. Then, the project will dig into the adaptive reuse proposal. In fact, the main issue to be tackled will consist in the realization of spaces through the restoration of the culture of making as a means to bring the people together and grow together. Thus, the main aim of the project is to improve the sociability of the site by restructuring vacant and misused open spaces, adapting heritage buildings in the palace complex, reorganising them into well-programmed opportunities for recreation, and providing improved social and physical infrastructure. The expected output consists of radical interventions like revamping new circulation routes, adaptive reuse of existing structures and changing the image of the site by building insertion as a way of conservation. Furthermore, this project finds a rational way to sustainably reuse the heritage in the historical area. With the heritage revitalization standing in the middle, the new urban regeneration approach redefines the position of heritage in the socio-economic model and relate it to the need of social group. The references and materials which have been used for the project are limited, and the topic is also targeted to the problem in City Palace Precinct only. As a result, the specific regeneration approach might unfit other historical area in Jaipur. In addition. due to the limited number of samples, it is impossible to conduct house-to-house research and it is difficult to take into account the needs of all users.