NARATIVES OF A

NEIGHBOURHOOD
ALLIED DESIGN

RIZVI COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE SEMESTER - 8

ARBAZ SHAIKH MU-1762
 IMAGE 10

The huge structure that can be seen in the image seems to be that of a mosque, the ambulation tank
in the middle with the main entrance on the right and the quibla wall on the left. This mosque
probably also functions as a madrasah as most of the mosques do when there are no prayers going
on. Religious structures play a very important role, they act as the social and spiritual centres of an
urban area and because of this they become important for the economy as well. They attract a large
number of people and this helps/encourages people to settle and start businesses around them.

This also seems to be the case in the image that is shown; due to the size and the architectural style
it seems that this is a very old mosque. All the development seems to have happened around the
mosque, of sorts that can be seen in a centralized development. I am able to see that there are many
different shops that have come up along the boundaries of the mosque and the roads have formed
around these shops. The city shown in the image has a very hot and dry climate as we cannot see
many trees and many of the shops have canopies in front of them to shade the customers from the
harsh sun. The image shown maybe belongs to a lesser developed part of a modern urban city. The
people living over here probably belong to the middle and lower income groups looking at the kind
of development and buildings that can be seen in the image. Most of the buildings seem to be no
more than G+3 structures and a lot of them are probably missed use, with shops on the ground floor
and housing units on the upper floors. There also seem to be a smaller structure on the right with a
similar architectural style as the mosque, can be a small cemetery or probably a shrine for a person
of religious importance.

This image reminds me of the streets of Old Delhi, with many small shops around the humongous
Jama Masjid selling everything from biryanis and kebabs to clothing and footwear.

IMAGE 11
This image at first glance reminds me of something that we would see in an American movie or T.V
show. A residential area with ample amount of greenery, open spaces like gardens and play
grounds. The area seems to be planned; it has a radial organization most of the secondary and
tertiary streets are lined with trees forming beautiful avenues.

I say this image reminds me of an American movie is because everything about this screams to me
about the ‘American Dream’. This seems like a suburban area where most of the planning is done
around a central green open space and there are smaller open and green spaces in each block. Some
of the open spaces seem to have structure connected to them which may be schools pointing out to
the fact that this is a family friendly neighbourhood. There is only one main road or highway and
the other roads seem well planned so as to control the flow of cars, hence making it safer for
pedestrian movement. We can also see a few high rise towers scattered here and there maybe
pointing towards the fact that this neighbourhood is developing into a more urban area from a sub
urban one. I can also spot a railway tracks near the top left corner, maybe there is a railway station
nearby meaning that this neighbourhood is well connected.

To this neighbourhood is the place that someone would move to when they want to start a family
and want a nice environment for their children to grow up in, or maybe this the perfect place for
someone who has spent their whole life in the city and wants to enjoy a peaceful retirement life.

IMAGE 12
This seems like a city somewhere in Italy or Spain. Most of the roads seem to be unplanned and the
development seems to be organic. We can see that there is a large rectangular plaza that is probably
used for some kind of festival or community activities or maybe even as a market space. There is
also a large semi-circular plaza, at a street junction which is probably lined with shops to take
advantage of the footfall. There are many other small public squares probably attached to
public/commercial structures. We can also spot a few churches in the area as well.

This seems to be a city with some historical importance, because the architecture does seem to be
from the renaissance period. The buildings seem to be of the same architectural style and well
preserved. Almost all of the plazas seem to have some kind of a fountain or statue/sculpture
cementing its historical importance. With all these plazas, historical architecture, sculptures and
most of the buildings don’t seem to be residential pointing to the fact that this is the part of the city
that is supposed to be meant for tourists.

Almost all the buildings seem to have courtyards with sloping roof, maybe due to the fact that this
region has very hot summers and probably heavy rainfall or snowfall. The courtyards maybe can be
for communal activities.