Integrated handicraft park at Fatehgarh sahib, Punjab

Abstract

Handlooms and Handicrafts of India are a means to get in touch with the country’s rich cultural history and diversity. The traditional craft of Punjab, ‘Phulkari’ is one such craft, practiced predominantly by women. With advancement in time and technology, the glorious art of Punjab was reduced to a lost art and has been under severe threat of extinction. The reasons of the decline are lack of exposure and exploitation of the craftsperson by middlemen and inability of common populace to reach the artisans and craftsmen. An Integrated Handicraft Park is a permanent platform for the bringing together of the urban populace and crafts communities. The project would bring together the artisans and designers, to collaborate and produce newer creative ideas and artisans and visitors, to extend the knowledge of the craft to common people. Considering artisans and visitors as the primary users, the design aims to provide favourable work environment to the artisans, which is inspired by the spaces in their domestic routines so as to instil a sense of belonging in their minds. There are certain artist-centric spaces to take care of the basic necessities of artisans like recreation, medical facility, dining etc. On the other hand, for the visitors, the spaces are designed to enhance their experience and make them feel the warmth of a typical village of Punjab. The integration of both artisans’ and visitors’ experiences is taken care of in a way that visitors do not hinder the process of craft making and can still experience the craft. The built-form is arranged such that there are interstitial spill-over spaces which double up as interactive spaces as well as extended workspaces for the artisans. Thus, the intent is to design artist-centric space emerging from the interaction of craft, people and the built-environment.