HOF-FARMANDALA | Matteo Ascani

GENERAL CONCEPT Farmandala is a flowing architecture system where the farming world meets the Indian slum in New Dehli; it creates a balanced mix with farms, working areas and housing, to improve the living conditions for the inhabitants, to avoid slum situations enhancing micro-economy. Farmandala doesn’t want to be only a green-mechanism based on its functionalism, but it will be also a landmark with a familiar aesthetics, easily recognizable by everybody as a positive symbol of prosperity. The design concept is taken from a characteristic Indian Mandala, which is used and redesigned to create an artificial landscape where farm and shops are closer, directly connected with the housing system, developed in the cylinder volumes above. Farmandala is the endeavour to concentrate housing with farms, giving a chance to survive with the agriculture products and shops. PROJECT AREA The competition area is a void in the geometrical structure of New Delhi urban design; the project plans to reorganize a social economic fabric, the area will be integrated into daily dynamics where people can enjoy the shops located on the road, and working closer their home. Farmandala provides an urban scale development, involving the streets life, and a territorial scale development based on vertical flowing connections, which by means of ramps that climb shops, farms and the recycle factory connecting with walking trails in the fields on the top of the hills. ORGANIZATION Shopping area are located on the main roads, in front of each entrance there is an open market; the shop inside are designed on a duplex system, so that during the rain period the open areas become water collection basins and the main entrances move at the upper level accessible by ramps. Farmandala is a complex of ramps and crops field on the roof, the farm system is developed in its lenght and the vertical density optimized with artificial light. The new pedestrian flows that would be created due to ramps and to the ease access in the houses will give the opportunity to meet different suggestions: “the man with his land and the consciousness of future”. House building is a cylinder shape volumetry organized with duplex and central corridor on the north side and external access from balcony on south. This typology allows to have a good solar radiation and good views.