Rethinking the urban health of heritage fringes.

To maintain harmony with the visual scale of the old city and to avoid overwhelming the surroundings, a significant portion of the built program is submerged underground. This not only reduces the above-ground massing but also helps in managing the microclimate using local earthy tones and materials.

The center is designed to incorporate large open community spaces, green courtyards, and landscaped pockets that offer a refreshing contrast to the congested urban fabric of the old city.

The co-working pods, designed at a human scale using brick, timber, and concrete, gently punctuate the landscape with warm, tactile structures that suggest use and invite participation

The sunken courts are designed to introduce interaction spaces for artisans and users and create a learning environment for the community.

The Cultural Centre, proposed along the riverfront is conceived as an urban extension of the heritage walk interventions where the intangible heritage of craftsmanship finds physical expression.

As visitors approach the entrance, they are drawn in by a gently sloping ramp or cascading stairs that sink into the galleries, nestled beneath the mound and green roof system.

The entrance to the underground workshops is crafted to evoke a sense of discovery, transition, and reverence for craft, mirroring the gradual descent and anticipation felt while entering a stepwell or a hidden courtyard in a pol.

Rather than an abrupt or imposing gateway, the design employs a low, inviting profile that subtly guides visitors into the earth, revealing the built space slowly and framing it as a journey of immersion into the world of artisanship.

The core concept is to treat the precinct not as a relic of the past, but as a “Living Museum”, a space where heritage and modernity co-exist through placemaking, storytelling, and community engagement.