Representing Pasts – Visioning Futures
Abstract
Lahore, the capital of South Asian Culture, has a rich history that has evolved due to Mughal, Sikh and colonial eras that ruled the subcontinent of Pakistan. As time has evolved, so has the technological advancement, population growth and unsustainable urban expansion that ultimately lead to urban decay. The area under investigation in this paper is a historical fragment of the Walled City of Lahore that is contained within the thirteen gates. Bhatti gate is a palimpsest of rich history, cultures and identity. Through this research, we are trying to investigate into spirits of the space and the intangible elements like symphonies and emotions that take precedence over the tangible realities. We explore how fiction and narrative building shape the urban future and society. These narratives stemmed from the voice of demographics through which we attempt to understand the link between sociology and space utilization. In this pursuit, we aim to address issues of cultural sustainability, ethnicity and identity that is deep rooted in the context. As a result, we hope to shift behavior through a radical urban intervention that acts as an urban stitch. This stitch is to fill the void between segregated and marginalized demographics. Furthermore, we aim to inculcate, repair and redirect the future by joining hands with the demographics of the context, to bring a greater sense of ownership towards their realm. By giving a voice and a place to the locals and marginalized typologies, the project aims to take a step toward diminishing gentrification. It concludes how architecture can be an arbitrator between old and contemporary times to re-imagine cultural preservation. Being Architects and Urban designers, we seek to add value to historically rich humanities. Examining historical and contemporary elements, we imagine an alternate narrative for the future that can branch out of the existing colloquies. Ultimately, we aim to shape a fragment of fiction into tangible reality.
Saman Malik is an Assistant Professor at Beaconhouse National University, She has done my B.Arch (2011) from Beaconhouse National university and M.Arch in Urban Design from Glasgow School of Art (2017). She has been teaching for the past 9 years and plan to continue it, till she can. She does delve into other art related practices like practicing interior design, freelance architecture projects, curating artworks along with being a professor. She is very passionate about learning more constantly and transforming that knowledge to her students in every capacity.
Aiman Rahman is a final-year architecture student at Beaconhouse National University, Lahore, Pakistan. She has been working as a teacher’s assistant for the energy, environment and form course, where she explores the relationship between sustainable and urban development. As time passes, so do culture and architecture; Aiman is interested in finding a sustainable merger between the two. For her, architecture is an opportunity to reconceptualize fragments of information from the past constructing new relationships among the data. While her work draws from and relies heavily on history, her method is devoted to contemporary ways of synthesizing information.