Urban Architecture
- Developing spatial responses for urban contexts
खाट (khaat)
Aarey Metro Station
The Aarey Metro Station is along the busiest highway of the city - W.E.H. On the other side of the service road is the industrial area. My dislike for the site came from my everyday commute experience that it is difficult to get rickshaws or other modes of transportation, increasing my commute time.
The intervention should be able to hold and afford the stillness of the place. A form that bends, folds and flows allowing the body to sit, stretch, bend as it needs for that brief period of time.
Standing on the skywalk, one can observe the different movements, pauses, actions of the different actors on the road below. People rushing early in the morning from share rickshaws - moving towards the entry of the metro or entering the industrial estates. Simultaneously, the crowd from the B.E.S.T bus dispersed in a similar manner. In contrast, the trucks and cars are still, along the edge of the service road since last night- waiting for their drivers. People arriving at the metro station waiting for their friends, autos, cabs to pick them up and vice versa. The different movements are in rhythm with one another. The metro comes and goes every 10 minutes- the crowd disperses and gets created again according the timings- people waiting- rickshaws slowing down at the exits but not stopping- fast movement of vehicles on the highway- traffic on the highway (creating a rhythm in itself)- all together make the area polyrhythmic.
A khaat as an object is often seen put out for people to rest and relax. The khaat at such a place of brief period of waiting allows people to breathe. Its flexible materiality interacts with the users, takes their form and slows them down further.
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