Urban Spine - Community Market bridging the Public Realm

University of Moratuwa (UoM), Faculty of Architecture, Department of Architecture, Moratuwa

Project idea

As this city is a passing through city, this is highly dense in population. Allowing people to move through quick rather than waiting in a public and dense urban context was the main idea taken into account. As people move through quick, allowing them to buy/sell is made easy while making it a bypass route providing a clustered built form in a solid and void built urban fabric.

Project description

In a dense urban context where solid and void plays in the built environment, this two types of built spaces are bridged or merged by providing a clustered built space. Through providing this balance in built form social bridging is achieved. Visual connections are made to promote the bridging between neighboring sites and social activities around. Even the structure of the market is made to have lesser solid to void ratio to achieve this design challenge. Allowing people to walk through the market while doing their shopping and as a bypass route to the railway station and to the public bus station. Upper floors are promoted to hanging out activities to promote social bridging within the market and city public.

Technical information

In-order to have lesser solid to void ratio; the structural system and storage requirements (that are needed to the vendors) are put together. This is achieved by the thick brick wall that acts as an envelop to the structural columns while providing storage cabins for the vendors. A typical section takes the shape of "T" with a truss roof above it.