Re-imagining an experiential cultural hub in Gurugram

Abstract

Gurugram is a city of cultural blend. The city was pandavas land anciently. The culture of Gurugram is very diverse and reflects the variety of ethnic groups found in the city. It is the satellite city of Delhi. It is growing very fast in technology and population. It is IT hub fast growing in nearest of the cities. Increasing job opportunities invites a lot of people from all parts of India making Gurugram an immigrant dominated city. The development in the city has resulted less land vacant for farming. All the land is developed in buildings and real estate. There is a void for public interaction and cultural spaces. Being an immigrant in an unknown city has its own pros and cons. As an immigrant there is a need to express. Expressing emotions through various mediums. Although, there are a lot of shopping complexes and malls in Gurugram, they do not fulfil the need of expressing. A few cultural spaces like Kingdom of dreams, Devi arts foundation and Epicentre are now closed which creates a void for cultural spaces in Gurugram. In 2011, Municipal Corporation of Gurugram proposed a cultural centre which can fulfil the need of social and public space. The project was recently approved in 2018 but the construction has not started yet. The cultural center proposed will provide a platform for socio-culture essence of the city and showcase the Indian culture and craft. Also, it will provide a congregational space for urban people and become an urban landmark. This public space will create active and entertaining environment and people get to interact with different cultural activities. This thesis project is an attempt to create a social and public space which will act as a medium of expression for the immigrants as well as locals of the city. The idea is to create a link between people, art & culture by activating a vibrant atmosphere through various performing arts and to create a free environment by inviting the public realm. There is an attempt to place the built form on buildable area as much as possible to prevent cutting of trees. Designed as an integrated form with series of open and semi open spaces. Large landscaped open spaces all around the complex provide areas for outdoor events and fests with are held in the present scenarios and at the same time it also respects the historic vegetation cover with has a high emotional value.