By Udita Chaturvedi
Photography: Courtesy DFI
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Rising up to the challenge of
decongesting and structuring devotee-traffic to Kolkata’s Dakshineshwar
Kali Temple, Design Forum International (DFI) follow the tried and tested
‘Form-follows-Function’ principle to bridge the tradition vs. technology
divide...
The West Bengal government’s demand was
direct: They wanted a solution for segregation of traffic and pedestrian
movement while ensuring the livelihood of shopkeepers, ease of movement for
commuters and the safety of the devotees.
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Tackling the multiple and burgeoning
problems of congested lanes, high vehicular traffic, increased local shops and a
throng of devotees walking down the Rani Rashmoni Road, DFI conceptualized a
contemporary dynamic solution - a skywalk.
Ensuring seamless connectivity from the point
of disembarkation (railway station and bus stop) to the temple gates without disrupting
vehicular traffic, their concept details the transfer of pedestrians and shops
to an elevated con-course (380 metres long and 10.5 metres wide), thereby
leaving the road below for vehicular traffic, with segregated lanes for
motorised (6-metre wide) and non-motorised (2-metre wide) vehicles.
Structurally, the skywalk is an extremely
basic formation — a tube mounted on top of a platform supported on pillars. It
ends in the temple compound, and has a provision for 12 escalators, four
elevators and eight staircases. The elevated con-course relocates over 200
shops (2 metre x 2 metre size and 2.5 metre in height) that are at present
operating on the footpath along the Rani Rashmoni Road. At every 8 metres, is a
buffer space of about 85 sq. metres
that acts as a place for rest and amenities such as café, information desk and
water fountains.
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Ingrained into its make-up are aspects
of: modularity - the entire stretch is divided into modules of 8 metres; fluidity - it’s seamless
and its shape accentuates a curvilinear profile through a pulsating wave
pattern that creates rhythm and enhances visual movement; and dynamism -
the tube is superimposed with aluminium fins of varying lengths, reducing and
increasing in a cyclic fashion, causing the wave formation.
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As a concept, the bridge is rooted in
modernity - a contemporary response to the aspirations of a rapidly modernizing
metropolis. Therefore, the firm made a conscious decision to break away from
classicism, bringing technology into play, and showcasing art through a
long-winding monument of transport.
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