Professional

Case Study
Kalpak Deshmukh
Fifth Year, Semester , 2011/12 Vidyavardhan, Institute of Design Environment and Architecture

Professional Case Study: Dilli Haat, INA, New Delhi

Part I: The Dilli Haat project started with Delhi Tourism Development Corporation initiating a market place for craftspersons with intention of attracting tourists and locals alike. The project was completed in December 1993. The brief given to the designers was very loose. The brief developed by the designers was as follows: 1. Entrance and ticketing area 2. 60 permanent shops of 9 to 15 sqm 3. 25 food stalls of 9 to 21 sqm 4. 62 Exhibition stalls of 3 sqm 5. Open seating area 6. Administrative section 7. Conference hall 32 sqm 8. Amphitheatre 9. International dinning hall 10. Electrical substation

11. Toilets 12. Parking for 70 cars and 100 two wheelers 13. Hydropneumatic Station 14. Services The total built up area added up to 3190 sqm. In 2005, after 12 years of completion there refurbishments were according to the new requirements. The number of visitors increased considerably through the years. The data from the Delhi Tourism Development Corporation gives numbers of Visitors per Year

Period
94-95 95-96 96-97 97-98 98-99 99-00 00-01 01-02 02-03 03-04 04-05 05-06 06-07 07-08 08-09 09-10 10-11

Number of Visitors
4,62,000 6,47,000 9,00,000 10,78,000 11,62,000 15,87,000 18,00,000 16,00,000 15,00,000 16,25,000 16,00,000 17,00,000 18,05,000 19,40,000 20,00,000 - -

The additions of 23 new permanent shops were done in 2005. Allotments for semi permanent shop were done. Administration block went through up-gradation. Refurbishment to the existing services was done to handle increase in the numbers. The brief developed by the designers in the beginning has been modified to the current requirements. Delhi Tourism proposed further refurbishments from the recommendations from the architects in 2011. The newer developments are currently under construction. Economics: The total construction cost of the project in 1992 was Rs. 2.88 crores. The break down of the different component as follow: Component Cost Rs.

Earth Filling Boundary Wall Buildings External Services (including pumps, gensets, external

10 Lakhs 9 Lakhs 1.31 Crores

60 Lakhs lighting, underground tanks, tubewells, etc) Interiors and Graphics Paving/ Landscaping, parking 64 Lakhs plazas and open air stalls Street Furniture 4 Lakhs 10 Lakhs

The end project cost was as estimated before beginning of the construction. Design Team: The initial design team at Pradeep Sachdeva Design Associates consisted of Pradeep Sachdeava, Neela Joshi Puri, Nityanand Sharma, Saby Sen, Tanya Sengupta, Carina Simons, Suzanna Tharian, PV Kennedy. The initial consultants for the project were: Arvind Gupta (structural), Electrical Consulting Engineers (electrical), Sanelac Pvt Ltd (plumbing/ sanitary), Deepak Hiranandani (landscaping advisor), QS Consultants (quantity surveyors), Ranmal Singh Jha (graphics) It deserves that the architect highly appreciates QS Consultants, his quantity surveying consultants, their exceptional competence kept the project on track. Also the DTPC engineers deserve recognition for doing the job well and efficiently. The contributions of structural consultant Arvind Gupta were particularly important as the Dilli Haat was located over a covered nallah and load distribution was critical as the slab was not designed to take the loads. The design team in 2005 for the refurbishment of the Dilli Haat at Pradeep Sachdeva Design Associates was: Pradeep Sachdeva, SK Singh, Madhushankar Iyyer, Rameez Raza, Nivedita Tyagi, Siddharth Kumar. The consultants for refurbishment in 2005 were:

Arvind Gupta (structural), Abid Hussain Consultants (air conditioning), Reiz Electrocontrols Pvt. Ltd. (lighting), KRIM Engineering Services Pvt. Ltd. (plumbing and electrification) Design Development: It all started with a small market for craftspersons outside the Hanuman Mandir on Bara Khamba Road that the firm Prdeep Sachdeva Design Associates had worked on in 1987. Delhi tourism invited the firm to design a small crafts-bazaar opposite the Bhairon Temple behind the Purana Quila. This was meant to be a much smaller complex than the present Haat. A fairly detailed design was worked out, but the project did not materialize as the firm did not get permission to build so close to the historic Quila. A year later a new site had been allotted to the Haat by the New Delhi Municiple Committee. On top of a covered portion of the nallah across the road from the busy INA Market. It was a wonderful location for the complex. The design brief as given to the firm was very loose and the firm worked a lot in trying to develop it. Once it was formulated, Delhi Tourism officials spent a lot of time discussing the details. Possible and representative users of the legendary eatery karims were roped in for the brain-storming sessions on the design of food stalls. Craftspersons were called in to give their comments on the design. The Dastakakari haat Samiti, a federation of craftsman, also contributed a lot towards trying to interpret the brief from a users point of view.

The site itself posed some unusual constraints. The nallah, running through the entire length had been covered with a concrete slab. After locating the drawings of this slab, the designers discovered that it was not possible to build over it as it had not been designed to take such loads. This resulted in the planning of the buildings just outside the slab. Also, the two sides of the nallah had been recently filled up with soil, necessitating foundations as much as 8m. The designers wanted to anchor the attraction of the Haat in a relaxed, unpretentious simplicity of ambience, but were definite about steering clear of the typical mud plaster and painted ethnic. Choosing the more natural vocabulary of brick masonry, the designers exploited its rich and varied potential in terms of arches, jalis, floor patterns etc. increasing interest by juxtaposing more contemporary materials such as concrete, mild steel etc. The entrance plaza is intended as a buffer between the busy Aurobindo Road and the Haat, lending it a sense of place as well as avoiding the spillover of activities on to the road. The axis around which all the activities were organized was determined by the presence of the nallah as well as the linear site it gave rise to. At the same time there was an attempt to reduce the built mass so as to provide for more open spaces within the complex. In addition the designers to accommodate as much as possible, the towering eucalyptus trees that lined the site. Thus, at places the shops are placed in a row while at others they occur in the form of clusters. Further the crafts shops have been intentionally placed right up in front so that the visitor browses past them before he enters realm of the food stall. As for the design development, there were several changes in the brief and designs. The initial intended number of shops and eateries changed several times as

the site plan changed. Due to the hygiene purposes the food stalls were shifted at the back of the site away from the center. A larger restaurant proposed earlier was cancelled due to space constraints. As such the Haat seems to provide the first prototype of its kind, where the nallah has been used to re-vitalize a part of the city, which had remained stagnant. In 2002 Pradeep Sachdeva Design Associates was re-commisiioned to carry out the refurbishment and redevelopment work of the Haat. The chief issues for the redevelopment being up gradation of the existing services, construction of new shops, construction of fine dine area, refurbishment of performance area, increasing the accessibility for the disabled, construction of an ATM etc. The refurbishment was proposed in two phases. Phase I was to be completed in 2007 and phase II was proposed in 2010. Phase II is currently under construction and is proposed to be finished by August 2011. Successful Aspects of the Project: The Dilli haat may not be the very first of its kind, but it is definitely the most visible, ambitious, and well located. The total design appearance also adds to the experience of the users. The promoters, Delhi Tourism, have essentially provided a walled-in space containing a sizable mixture of types of retail outlets, mainly designated for ethnic food and handcrafts. Unlike the exhibition grounds, where food and crafts bazaar functions as something more serious under the umbrella of some kind of trade fair expo, this is more in tune with likes of an ongoing mela. It is also more commercially viable that plain recreation park. Due to high cost of infrastructure and space in the first place, gate fee was proposed. Therefore it

reduced the burden of rent on leasing shopkeepers. This factor also made the space legally defensible and technically not fully public. Part II: Critical Analysis: The project definitely points the way towards creative use of marginal inner city areas such as drains and service lines which can be treated as a positive resource. Certainly the Indian Railways, with their development of track air space, can further this process of urban growth. Several public unused structures or the area around propose a definite potential in re-vitalization options in terms of financial viability as well as land use. In most of the Indian cities today, we see haphazard development and as large amount of public money goes in to building of infrastructure. The Dilli Haat provides a successful example of financially viable project of clever usage of the in between urban spaces. Spaces like the Dilli Haat provide much needed public recreational quality urban space. The quality of the space is due to careful planning as well as great attention to detail. These aspects are evident through out the project development. The brief was developed by the designers according to the loose requirements given by the clients and even to this date we see a vibrant urban space where domestic, foreign tourist and locals enjoy the benefits. Making a shopping place exclusive for craftsperson also adds to its credit. The brief developed by the designers with numerous re-designs has resulted in a combination of functions which fit perfectly with each other. The movement patterns forces the users to go through the project with ease and with certain comfort. With provisions for temporary exhibitions and stalls, it gives the

space quality of ever changing architecture. Attention to the details such as the jali walls, materials used in landscaping, preservation of existing trees and plantation of new ones, use of exposed brick with contemporary materials add to the aesthetic value. However, despite all accomplishments of the project, there is something more such projects could do in the future. Right now it is a fairly artificial trading ground for some genuine and not-so-genuine articles. One would consider it well crafted, innovative but not really visionary. In fact, it is a long way off from evolving a more comprehensive habitat based crafts project, where the retailer or his community would have crafted goods, and where, looking even further ahead, the maker of the artefacts might also live, learn and practice. For despite the support that such events and projects are provided towards the resurgence of Indian crafts, there still remains a great lack of recognition for the craftsman himself. This recognition may be viewed in monetary or infrastructure apsects. Only if these issues are also brought into the process of conceptualization of such projects would they be able to claim continuity, a vision obtained from the great ancient tradition of India. Otherwise it shall remain modeled on the mela or the mall. Essentially such projects must do more that provide just a delightful experience and go into realms of initiator of a change. I worked on the second phase refurbishment of the Dilli Haat. I was involved in the design as well as execution of some of the works being done on the site. The shortcomings while working on the project were of aesthetic sensibilities. The whole project was designed with a uniform pattern in the aesthetic characters. It was imperative for me to acquire the signature aesthetic sensibilities pre-existing in the office for doing a satisfactory effort. As most of the architects draw their inspiration

from the influences and imagery around them, it was necessary to in tune with the judgment of appeal of the architecture conceived in the office. Also the working systems of the environment and high standards of professionalism were very different from a college work environment. As the project was a done for a government body, it involved extensive paper work. The correspondence with the consultants, clients and the contractors required disciple in the filing systems. It was made evident to me about the documentation side of the architectural practice. My notions of sustainable architecture were expanded while working at Pradeep Sachdeva Design Associates. The kind architecture practice in progress clearly blends sustainability with pleasing architecture. Apart from the refurbishment of the Dilli Haat, I worked on number of other projects revolving around key principle of sustainable architecture. While doing the professional case study, it was interesting to investigate the conceptual stage of a project and the end result. In this case it was unexpected for the architects to see the project become so successful. Also as the refurbishment work was ongoing, it was interesting to see the continuity in the design principles even though different designers have worked at different stages of the initial design and the current works. But the completion of the drawing for the project was on low priority as the scope of work was on the level of small details and was time consuming. Phase I and II of the refurbishments lagged behind schedule as the response from the authorities was lukewarm. Also it was because of number of the agencies and government bodies involved. Unlike during the time of initial construction, the refurbishments over ran in costs.

If the Dilli Haat was to be re-done today, I would keep the brief of the project as it is. Only problem I see is in the quality of the construction. Also according to the user feed back/ personal observations, the project is unusable during the monsoon period. As we see an increase in rainfall in Delhi, I would recommend to more efficient use of the verandahs and installation of more number canopies and pavilions.