Nature Untamed

Fig: 1 - Human intervention in natural space

FROM ORIGIN TO PRESENT

The evolution and origination of humankind have been cradled by planet earth and its range of living species. We formed a part of the ecosystem which coexisted with all other forms of fauna that had emanated from the same. Since the period of evolution began, humans attained complete consciousness in a shorter span. With this emerged an inevitable era of development, changing the scenario of the natural environment and humans that had been prevailing for centuries. 

Gradually the changing relationships of the elements, namely the ecosphere and humans reiterated their composition in the environment. There was a detachment established in the wake of development. The alliance we shared was not symbiotic anymore, creating invisible barriers that had never existed previously. The distance that grew with the thriving urban domain has now asymmetrically depleted the wildlife and its diversity. 

The virtual walls that built two different environments have in a way protected and preserved wildlife. Should the disassociation that has been built parallelly be existing as well?

Fig: 2 - Barriers created by humans to prevent animals and humans from trespass

HUMAN-CENTRIC SPACE

The subconscious learning that takes place due to an interaction with nature and its components is essentially invaluable. When we started building civilizations and began living in clusters, their contact with nature remained closely knit, until the past five decades. The encroachments of land for food and living became indispensable. 

Eventually, the unprecedented growth leads to the creation of a barrier that protects them from their depleting habitat. It was necessary to maintain limits to prevent a complete override by humans. The growth trajectory of humankind that we see today is inevitable which initiated this shift in the ecosystem.

National Parks, Wildlife sanctuaries are refuges created for preserving the Fauna and Flora where animal diversity thrives. Such regions also house unplanned interfaces to allow us to percolate which are commonly human-centric that need to change.

Fig: 3 - A tiger in their habitat

BRIEF OF THE COMPETITION

A permanent solution to balance nature and mankind needs to be re-established without keeping a man at the center of the design intervention. Instead, we need to suggest a common ground for all i.e. Man-Architecture and Nature. Can this be a converging point between the two acting as a virtual podium for them to blend in the environment while they interact silently?

The intervention is expected to be sensitive to the environment it has been placed in. It must ensure an open dialogue without disturbing the reserved area. 

Space can be an open deck, viewing center, pavilion, or observation center where visitors can absorb the constituents of the natural habitat and its residents. 

The things that are now being built in the consciousness of the situation can be a balance of both? The participants are free to add any programmatic function to their design idea that resonates with the narrative. 

OBJECTIVES

• Balance: There should be a balance between nature and mankind
• Construction: Material usage and construction techniques used must be complacent with the local context
• Sensitivity: The intervention must be sensitive to the environment it is being built-in

These objectives can be a point of beginning to conceive this design. Participants can assume their own contexts and users before initiating their design process.

SITE 

Maasai Mara National Park, Kenya

Masai Mara National Reserve located in southwest Kenya is a vast scenic expanse of gently rolling African savannah plains. It is a unique wildlife conservation haven, famous for its spectacular natural diversity of wildlife and happens to be a premier Kenya safari location in East Africa, offering visitors many reasons to visit this animal paradise. 

It is no surprise then that tourists from around the world travel here, not least because the reserve has been voted one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. The site is situated near a residential settlement and has a rich green cover around the area. 

Regarding the origin of the name, the word 'Masai' comes from the Maasai tribe, nomadic inhabitants of the area and the word 'Mara' is their word for 'spotted', referring to the ubiquitous flat-topped acacia trees, shrubs and bushes that dot the landscape across most of the reserve. 

• Site coordinates: 1°31'20.8"S 35°20'00.4"E
• Site area: 1339.51 sqm
• Height limit: None 
• FAR: 1 
• Ground Coverage: 20%

Setbacks (as per CAD plan)