Creation of open space network to improve the quality of urban environment in the walled city of Bidar, Karnataka

Abstract

The walled city of Bidar & the royal citadel were planned according to the larger landscape and systems of the plateau region. This plateau even though flat topped has small hillocks on its surface. The royal citadel is builton one such hillock and slopes down further to the north where the royal gardens visually meet the grassy landscape beyond the fort wall. But what is most stricking is that in the land in which water is scarce and climate is extreme the builders of the city through sustainable planning, knowledge of traditional water management systems and intelligent use of landscape and topography could create a magnificent city like Bidar. All of this intelligence blended with heritage components and monumental architectural marvels dominated the skyline of the city. The visual narrative of the city must have been very strong starting from the experience of entering through the gates with no idea of what lies beyond to unraveling of the place due to the dominance of monuments as landmarks orienting the travelers. The idea of open space must have been very abstract considering the traces seen today in form of tomb of sufi saints placed in large mausoleum gardens, the hierarchy of squares with a vertical element, the old marketplace, the symbol of knowledge the Madarsa and the private courtyard spaces enclosed by and within residential clusters. There was no space demarcated as open space but each space had multiple meaning and functions depending on time. But the city is fast loosing on this urban experience inspite of the efforts to bring the city into the heritage network and tourism circuit by the local government and various other initiatives. This is because a holistic approach is missing that takes into account the environmental approach to study the city and then develop a coherent framework. The thesis proposes to harness the idea of re-imagining the open spaces of the city and designing linkages and create experiences as one transacts through the city either as a resident or tourist.