Author: Gude Abhiram
Site Location: Kolkata, West Bengal
Institute: Indian Institute of Technology (IIT KGP)
Advisor: Prof. Arup Das

Description

For more than six decades, Rabindra Sadan has been where Kolkata comes together — for a play, a film, an exhibition, a book, or simply to spend time together. But as its cultural life grew, the place grew around it without a larger plan. Institutions became fragmented, paths began to overlap, the lake edge was left behind, and the infrastructure that supported this public life could no longer keep pace.

This thesis asks a simple question: how can a place that already belongs to the city make more room for people?

The proposal reconnects the cultural institutions through a continuous public spine that leads to the lake, turning the forgotten edge into an everyday public landscape. Parking and services are consolidated to release the ground for gatherings, festivals and informal life. The limited developable land is taken upward, while three independent circulation cores allow public, institutional and event users to move without conflict.

The result is 67% more built-up area with only 3% additional ground coverage. More is built, without taking more ground.

People occupy the ground. Culture occupies the skyline.

Drawings

Click here to go back to the storehouse.