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Satyendra Pakhalé

Designing Public Space- Ceremonial & Memorial

Urbanization on our planet is a reality today. Cities around the world get densely populated, day-by-day, as more and more people move to metropolises from the countryside. Within the next decade, up to 65% of the population of our entire planet will be living in the cities. For such an urgent, demanding scenario, providing decent basic housing for people is one of the major challenges that we face today. Multi-storey apartment blocks are getting smaller and more compact day-by-day, and real estate prices carry on rising in all the major cities all over the world.

In this scenario, the design of a public space becomes more and more important as residential spaces are shirking faster than ever in urban settings. To create a quality public space, which not only fulfills the utility but becomes truly human and eventually becomes a part of the community and surroundings in a given urban cultural setting is a real challenge.

I would like to talk about a waterfront ceremonial & memorial public space project that I am working on right now. Public space that has a historic reference yet is innovative in its utility and the services it provides. How does one turn such a project into a real community with it’s own identity and utility; addressing recreational, utilitarian, and ceremonial & memorial issues related to the site and the public space -this is the challenge I am facing right now.
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Satyendra Pakhalé (IN)
Atelier Satyendra Pakhalé
www.satyendra-pakhale.com