“the studio has looked at how one can connect the monuments into the lives of the people for them to benefit from the economies that are generated around these monuments.”
Harvard GSD Options Studio students explore planning for conservation in Agra and explore how to sustainably integrate tourism, local communities and cultural heritage.
Extreme Urbanism III looks at the powerful cultural landscape of the city of Agra. Being one of the poorest cities in India, its people and city are unable to benefit from the economy that is generated from the monumental buildings such as the Taj Mahal that are present in the area.
Many sites along the prime waterfront are rich in Mogul and British Colonial architecture and heritages that have unfortunately, over the past 20 years, been left abandoned. The Architecture students of Harvard were briefed on the area’s rich cultural heritage and were encouraged to explore and conduct a contextual analysis of the proposed site.
They were challenged to formulate strategies to preserve the cultural history of the buildings on the Historic Garden Waterfront, as well as to propose interventions that would allow community members to benefit form a restoration project. The project seeks to directly and indirectly impact the economy of Agra in a positive light.
Read more about this here.
Credits
- Extreme Urbanism III – Planning for Conservation: Looking at Agra from Harvard GSD on YouTube
- Text and images accessed here
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