Redefining Landscapes For Public Interest

Creators Architects, a practice serving community for three decades, holds a culture of young and fresh thinking shuns preconceived conception of subject matters, is one of the early practices.

Led by Ar. Rajiv Gupta (Sr. Partner), Ar. Mukta Gupta (Sr. Partner), and Ar. Utssav Gupta (Partner), the practice indulges in solution finding by means of strong research foundation which serves as an advantage to explore new domains keeping their core philosophies and belief; sustainability and community being the strong ones.Their interests and passion to explore new, led them to cater to a broad cross-section of like Institutional, Commercial, Retail, Educational, Automobile, Cultural, Hospitality, Tourism, Campus planning, Urban planning, Streetscaping, River fronts, Lake fronts and other public spaces.

The firm prides itself of a strong research foundation, which serves as an advantage to explore new domains. Their projects are founded in reality with specialised consultants feeding in at all stages. With their head office in New Delhi and a strong network base and work footprint across India, the firm has been executing projects in sectors like Institutional, Commercial, Retail, Educational, Automobile, Cultural, Hospitality, Tourism, Campus planning, Urban planning, Streetscaping, River fronts, Lake fronts and other public spaces.

We at Gallopper chose to discuss 2 impactful projects of the firm, Peeragarhi overpass’ under-space and Rajagarden overpass, underspace, both of which redefined the urban landscape for public interest and utility.

Growing cities are calling for a lot of infrastructural development and better connections. Overpasses have been developed to create free paths for main arterial roads. However, a lot of re-percussive spaces are created which are mostly inhabited by anti social elements and become center of crimes and garbage. Under-spaces in such overpasses have a huge potential not only to eliminate such disturbance, but also to scape urban neighborhood.

Development of Peeragarhi overpass’ under-space was the first experimental project towards this thought. With limited budget, entire stretch was designed by landscape and surface treatment to activate the space. Plants were carefully selected considering light limitations in deeper areas of overpass. Water is very native to landscapes and provides very harmonious ambiance. However, being a maintenance intensive element, the effect was created through dry surface textures and riverbed stones. The whole theme depicted a river delta with a lot of streams flowing out towards the main road.

With this project the concept of free U-turn was introduced for the first time in Delhi. The island created in between was installed with a police beat box and pedestrian cross over with ramps leading to the street level.

Planter islands with multiple elevation levels and stool type seating were designed to discourage misuse of these spaces during nightfall. Redundant pile heads that were left during construction and could not be demolished were also incorporated as a native element.

After Peeragarhi overpass’ development, Rajagarden overpass offered a much larger stretch and a completely different urban context. Landlocked between the two side roads with vibrant upcoming central business district on one side and a residential neighborhood on other side, the stretch carried an enormous potential to reconnect these two parcels and become a relief area offering alternate actives to rejuvenate the space.

The site offered an excellent opportunity for the use of waster space under the flyover to fill in with a social requirement. However, this was an urban design challenge: therefore, a cultural centre was conceptualized which could be accessed from either sides through the underpass.

With a high grill and planter on the perimeter, the area was secured against noise booms from traffic around and people crossing from non-designated places. Art walks, kiosks, temporary structure spaces and capsules with tensile roofs added forms and a unique dimension to it.

In a modern urban environment, there are various facility requirements and as a city develops, more of such requirements arrive to which there is no space in existing infrastructure. Under spaces of overpasses can provide answer to such needs. It carries potential to absorb changing needs of the future and thus can maintain the dynamism of the city.