A treasury of natural wealth, Kozhikode was an emporium for spices, timber and
textiles, frequented by a diverse group of traders from Africa, Arab, China and Europe.
A reflection of this amalgamation of cultures is evident in the evolution of the
Mananchira complex situated in the urban core of the city. From being the seat of Indian
royalty to the colonial regime’s parade grounds and to a Christian missionary owned
textile production, the Mananchira complex has been a witness to several radical
tangible and intangible changes over the past. The eponymous calico textiles is a
testament to the city’s illustrious weaving heritage. Traditionally practiced as a craft,
today weaving has become industrial in nature and slowly absent from the urban
centers. The fast paced quotidian lifestyle of urban dwellers influenced by drastic
consumerism has replaced craft, dawdle and leisure. Over the years, the centrally
located Mananchira Park has been reduced from an critical urban node to a mere
extension of the commercial programs situated around it. At present, the abandoned
factory is a poignant reminder of its rich socio-cultural heritage.
To revitalise the factory and the urban core, the fundamental step would be to
break open the existing barriers and establish critical connections. The vision is to foster
the Mananchira complex as an urban living room, drawing activities from the diverse
programmatic milieu. The factory consists of three distinct zones, evident through its
facade as well as the former weaving programs. The front double storey facade, the
eastern warehouse wall and the office area categorize the building into distinct portions
and make room for a triptych theme of intervention as follows:
1. Craft and Atelier
The northern axis that links the Lalith Kala Academy and Crown theater to the
heart of the Mananchira park is chosen to express this theme with ateliers
and craft shops as the crux. Craft studios proposed in the yarn winding area
of the factory in tandem with hands-on workshops, a craft plaza and outdoor
exhibition pavilions aim to provide the public with a platform to experience
and experiment with the craft of cloth making up-close. The weaving museum
is the cornerstone of this theme, acting as a link between the building and the
street.
2. Space for demonstration and connections
The central axis ties together the grove within the exposition area and the
pedestrianized edge to facilitate open spaces for expression, expositions and
theater conversations. The central courtyard is carved out of two bays to
house a grove to further stimulate enriching dialogue.
3. Play and Health
The southern axis is structured to act as a recreation hub of the urban living
room, reflective of the characteristics of play from the adjacent Mananchira
ground. While the Comtrust building is programmed with lively indoor games
and fitness activities, the adjacent Manachira ground and Ansari park act as
spaces for outdoor sports. The District Sports Council is relocated into the
Comtrust building to assist in the creation of a seamless transition for
pedestrians into the Mananchira ground from SM street.
The triptych approach to reclaiming the factory building encourages spontaneity
in the user’s spacial experience and assures freedom from predictability. The spaces
are littered with programs and rooms within rooms to create a paraphernalia of playful
objects. The objects are an attempt to create new ways of interaction inside the massive
‘shed’ allowing flexible activities.
Building on the principles of Comtrust, reforming the precinct to create a building
for active public expression sets in motion the implementation of ideas of activation and
people-centric design. Responding to the existing land use, the transformatory
framework is supported by strategic interventions under the triptych themes. The
boundaries of the Comtrust factory and the parks are opened up for better interaction
with its surroundings. These situated interventions aim to maximize the potential of local
context and nurture integration among spaces and people alike.
1. Breaking barriers and improving legibility
The programmatic interventions in the Comtrust factory are extended into the
urban sphere via a carefully curated combination of plazas and pedestrian
streets. Strategic nodes identified in the neighborhood are strengthened and
unnecessary barriers are removed to enable an uninterrupted experience of
the urban fabric. Provision of intelligible signages and wayfinding further
supplement this goal.
2. Rezoning landscapes for people-centric approach
Keeping in mind the existing parameters, the urban core is redesigned with a
people-centric lens. The intersection of the built form with the street is treated
with green strips at peripheries instead of walls to enable a smooth transition
of spaces. Thematic plazas, pavilions and objects borrow from the local
landscape to create an interactive experience. Porosity is introduced to edges
of the Mananchira lake to increase engagement of people thereby activating
“eyes on the lake”.
3. Prioritising streets for people with better transit A pivotal piece in the production of a legible and people-centric environment
is the design of streets and transit routes. Streets are redesigned to
incorporate suitable carriageway widths, pedestrian and other transit
pathways. They are intended to be flexible in nature to accommodate
self-organized activities and commerce. A seamless link via public transit is
proposed in the Mananchira complex through a transit loop that also
additionally promotes a bicycle friendly park and precinct.
Redesigning streets for people through vibrant, large and legible street
intersections while encouraging public transport will create a hyper expressive urban
arts district. The spontaneity of the factory along with the permeable nature of the
Mananchira park attempts to create seamless and enjoyable connections in the
neighborhood. The park accommodates flexible programming, public art and a variety of
smaller public gathering spaces. This flexibility stimulates diverse stakeholders to
engage with the precinct and strives to produce a grounded urban living room that is
rooted in the past yet responsive and sensitive to the current urban scenario. The
agglomeration of programs as objects in the factory building and the street creates a
symbiosis between the building and the park achieved through architecture as a
platform and citizens as actors towards the creation of a vibrant urban core for
Kozhikode.