The urban renewal of the old city of Lucknow – Hussainabad
– Hussainabad
Integrated Development of Old Lucknow ( Hussainabad area), Uttar Pradesh
Project: Integrated Development of Old Lucknow ( Hussainabad area), Uttar Pradesh
Lucknow, like Agra is a heritage city – a city that presents a multi- layered past- vestiges of which still route contemporary life. Hussainabad, the old- city of Lucknow, thus presents a specific set of challenges in its urban renewal programme. The main intent emerged from a need to infuse in it a spirit that citizens feel proud of being part of, in the present, a spirit that serves as a catalyst to reconnect with the past and enables them to continue to remain loyal to, in the future. The project intended that the paradox of the place should pique curiosity as much as the urban fabric and ensures the transmission of not just the architectural or historical legacy but also the refined and extravagant lifestyle of hospitality of the Nawabs, a culture nicknamed ‘ Ganga- Jamuna Tehzeeb’.
The value addition is expected to give the presently isolated set of historic structures a new lease of life, through a comprehensive development. A clear 1.3 kilometre linear stretch that has at one end the Chota
Imambara, at the other- the Bada Imambara and a series of monuments dotting the in- between.
The semantics has been borne out of creating an experience of the pageantry that once accompanied the processional route of the erstwhile royalty; this would augur well for tourists on their leisurely explorations but here, it is an offering to the ordinary residents when they pass through this stretch, going about their business of the day, day after day. Firstly, it involves quasi pedestrianisation
( and proposing a future traffic bifurcation on an existing network). Making the streets cobelled ensures the underwhelming and slowing down of vehicular traffic, so that the walker feels safe. This is backed by two to fifteen metres footpaths, made in a herring bone fashion evocative
of the past of Lakhori brick patterns. With the widening of streets and regulation of traffic the area has as sense of a gateway – the erstwhile glory of the Roomi Darwaza, here restored. About two- hundred metres away from the spine, a multi- levelled underground parking for as many as six hundred cars is developed.
Expression of space leading to a deeper experience of the built environment forms the core of the concept for Hussainabad. Space here is not static but dynamic; it presents an opportunity to be filled in, to be navigated and to be used to create a pulsating continuity between compositions of mass.
The spine is seen as space that kick- starts a journey of footsteps. This journey is not just a visual experience but
takes in the smells, the silence and the din, the heat and cold, the smooth and the rough, the light and darkness. The journey is about going in and out and about. So while the spine is fundamentally linear, it conveniently diverges and meanders around a monument and converges only to find that it has still moved forward, both literally and metaphorically. As it wraps the institutions, it allows them to present themselves, from all perspectives. However, the sense of insecurity resulted in these monuments being put behind fences and barricades with unfriendly overtures. Thus an important decision has been of removing these barriers and making the spaces adjacent to the spine inclusive and connective, even as the fear of vandalism lurks in the minds of the stakeholders.
The clarity of the spine which is the protagonist in the drama has been achieved through materials and colours, through hard and soft landscape. The two key materials were the yellowish white look of lime finish or the pinkish one afforded by the popular Red Agra stone. The pavement is a combination of other varieties of sandstone which are complimentary to these; Mandana and chocolate brown sandstone. Laid in a simple fishtail pattern, they are
not visually distractive but cognitively associated with the regional vernacular. These material choices exerted in the smaller components as street furniture are with a view to create a holistic canvas.
The entire path is to be lined with two rows of a singular species of the indigenous and evergreen tree, the Gulmohour or Delonix regia. Blessed with thick foliage and a good canopy spread gifting shade to as much as ten to fourteen metres of footpath, it also flowers profusely for a good part of the year – its bright flaming red- orange colour making a bold and flamboyant statement of colour- play in the urban scenario.
The additional layering of the spine through the street furniture – lighting, signage, seating, installations and more, is meant to be functional, attractive, informative and playful even while taking clues from the legacy of the past. The silhouette of the light poles has been drawn from the profile of the Roomi Darwaza and when placed in a series along the spine, it presents a perspective – a contemporary frame to the historical one.
Institutions that dot the spine are seen as pauses with the possibility of having emotional, spiritual or social relevance. Their restoration is not a job of renovation, but of value enhancement. The Chota Imambara, the congregation hall of the Shias, has been perceived with its predominant yellow colouration as the “Yellow Square”, while the Roomi Darwaza – the three segmented ceremonial gateway to the Bara Imambara, as the “Red Square”. Thus they are independent markers – denoting the ends of this spine and the beginnings of what lies beyond. A series of ungainly looking shops that from the times of the Nawabs were forced to operate from behind a wall lining the main road have been partially made to have an interface now. The wall has been removed and in its place a set of columns and beams at intervals of four metres as frames and Jaalis as elements of articulation now mark the transition from the road into the shops.
The Satkhanda ( meaning ‘ seven- storeyed’) edifice is being restored as a completion of an unfinished business. The fourstoreyed Minaret/ watch- tower like structure was built in the time of Muhammad Ali Shah, for his queen to view the moon and its construction was abandoned with his death. This will be cognitively completed by making the remaining storeys with light. Almost as an antithesis, an electric sub- station that incidentally lies on the route has been remodelled with a new set of functions – to be made into an ‘ experience museum’, albeit not a conventional museum as a repository of artefacts but an interactive and informative place. An old stepped bathing kund has being restored with a geo- textile base that acts as a natural filter while a musical fountain becomes a ‘ prima donna’ of another park.
The branding of the city of Lucknow has emerged from the coat of arms of the Nawabs – the fish and the Roomi gate, the emblem for Lucknow.
All these elements come together to create the enriching urban experience.
Factfile
Client: Lucknow Development Authority
Design Team: Sourabh Gupta, Anindya Ghosh, S. P. Gupta, Girdhar Rautella,
Tracy Kikon, Amit Das, Nitin Gupta, Prashant Sharma, Sumit Atrish, Gagan
Kumari, Design Factory India
Built- up area: 25,000sq m
Status: Ongoing
Project Cost: INR 238.36 Crore
Consultants: Lokesh Tyagi ( LKT Engineering Consultants) – Structural, S. P
Gupta ( Archohm) – Electrical, Martin ( Topotek 1, Berlin) – Landscape, Limra
Consulting Engineers – HVAC, Techno Engineering Consultants – Plumbing