| The Fifthteenth Annual Berkeley Undergraduate Prize for Architectual Design Excellence 2013 | |
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Disha Sahu - Proposal19 YTK / IFHP Urban planning and design summer school 2013- Helsinki, FinlandArchitecture, in concept, is an extension of landscape. The process of travelling to new places is a mysterious experience of exploring various new landscapes, cultures and the interaction of these two to produce a collective people-scape and their built cities. Thus, I believe travelling places is an interesting way of understanding and exploring architecture. Places (and spaces both) have an intrinsic element of surprise and excitement, an enigma of unknown. And therefore the idea of the spirit of the place can be best characterized in the city and its architecture (especially when one travels to the destination for the first time). Since childhood travelling to new places and meeting new people, understanding their culture and exploring the way they built their cities- has always caught my imagination. And this travel fellowship offers an exciting opportunity to nourish this imagination in a systematic manner, this time at a global level. Researching into this year's essay prize question- "....an overview of what is being done your city to make it accessible to people who have physical disabilities. And what more can be done in your opinion as an architect ? " The idea that I developed was ' integrated inclusiveness- the requisite for accessibility',- a system where there is an inherent micro scaled detail inclusiveness - like tactile trails, ramps & coherent floor finishes etc. in mass transit infrastructure and a seamless vertical integration between various modes of urban transit to achieve first and last mile connectivity. I think, I have been able to holistically understand the causes, consequences, loopholes and potential of universal design ideology in Indian scenario. The condition in Indian cities are tough- the accessibility is in flux. To investigate the on-ground potential of 'integrated inclusiveness- the requisite for accessibility' and gain hands on experience I would like to attend the 19 th YTK / IFHP summer school at Helsinki, Finland. The summer school is themed around the redesigning the 21 st century urban block - Node of the networked city. When I read the brief of the programme, it immediately struck to me that this gives an exact opportunity to develop my concept of integrated inclusiveness at an urban block level. Given the occasion of attending this summer school, the workshop programme shall enable me to test the concept with practicalities of a hands-on design and planning project. Until now, I have been able to develop the idea of integrated-inclusiveness on Indian grounds. I intend to extend my research beyond the essay prize competition to understand how can we enable our built environments to be universal-design friendly. Helsinki (Scandinavian cities) as a city which is fairly stable with its economy, population is in complete contrast to ever growing Indian metropolis, provides a potentially interesting (and may be) simpler site to test the idea. The programme also seems a promising prospect as it shall enable me to develop a deeper understanding to the new mobility patterns, constantly developing physical networks and infrastructure, regional accessibility and planning, and equitable & universal design ideology. The structure and platform of the summer studio seems perfect to initiate a physical design form out of these developing trends and ideas. On a larger note, this travel fellowship will enable me to understand the daily urban routine and how can accessibility be a key player in exploring the new urban development. This shall further my understanding of how urban design can help us achieve socially sensitive and equitable built environments. Itinerary 11 August 2013 - Departure for Helsinki, Finland. 12 August 2013 -(Noon) - summer school commences. Programme brief - The first days of the course are to be spent at the Aalto University Otaniemi campus. This part of the course consists of lectures on topics related to the theme 21st Century Urban Block and Finnish architecture, planning and culture. There will also be a full-day presentation of the City of Helsinki, including a tour of recent planning projects. This section of the programme aims at facilitating the practical work in the main part of the Summer School. 12-24 August 2013 - Summer school at Helsinki, Turku and Jyvaskyla. Programme brief - The core of the event is the active period of ten days in Turku and Jyväskylä following the opening section. The participants will be divided into two groups and travel to the partner cities where active project planning and workshops will take place. In Turku and Jyväskylä the participants are invited to analyse the existing conditions and to suggest innovative and realistic improvements to the environment of the planning area. Working in small groups, the participants will make their own proposals in accordance with the theme of the course. 24 August 2013 - (Evening) - Summer school ends. Final Review and Publication of the work. Return to Helsinki at student hostel. 25 August 2013 - Departure for New Delhi, India. Budget of anticipated expenses Airfare - New Delhi- Helsinki- New Delhi Roundtrip - INR 50,000= 920 USD (Finn air website- https://www.finnair.com/INT/GB/Home) Local transport - approx. 70 Euros = 92 USD Accommodation (for 4 days in Helsinki) - 120 Euros = 157 USD Accommodation in Turku and Jyvaskyla is provided by the organisers and payment is included in the course fee. Food - 230 Euros = 300USD Miscellaneous and other expenses - 50 Euros = 65 USD Total anticipated expenditure = 1534 USD Course fee - 500 Euros = 650 USD Foreign currency exchange rate as of 3 March 2013. Website of the summer school programme - http://ytksummerschool.aalto.fi/ Organisations involved- YTK- Land use planning and urban studies group. IFHP- International federation for Housing and Planning. Name of the person to contact - Coordinator of the Summer School ( http://ytksummerschool.aalto.fi/info.html ) Johanna Lilius: ytksummerschool@list.aalto.fi Director of the summer school- Professor Panu Lehtovuori, Tampere university of technology. Information can also be obtained from the IFHP Secretariat: Tel +31 70 324 4557 ifhp@ifhp.org
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