Public space development to improve social cohesion in Calicut

The project aims to serve as a precedent for new development of new public spaces, beginning with a site alongside Calicut’s South Beach Promenade, serving two adjacent communities with the highest social friction, in order to improve the social qualities within and between these communities. Targets for the project include celebration of culture and shared identity, community facilities for social groups and cultural activities, as well as public amenities to support the existing asset of the beach and promenade.

The design faces West onto the beach promenade and beach, providing better permeability of the beach promenade and maximising the impact of the beach as a natural asset and social space. A series of covered pedestrian routes penetrate a tall brick wall which provides separation from the busy road to the East, bringing different target audiences into courtyard social spaces and through onto the beach promenade.

The scheme concentrates the community-based programming to the South of the site where pedestrian access from the communities is situated. More private community spaces tuck behind the solid Eastern wall, while more public spaces and functions address the public realm of the promenade. The North end of the scheme addresses the public, with an open-air covered performance space with a gallery and bar. These facilities welcome the general public from the main beach to the North and the access routes from the city centre. There is dedicated shaded space for street vendors, to serve the public with refreshments on the beach promenade. A central courtyard is inhabited by a number of food outlets and kiosks creating a semi-public food court as a social space, partially covered and accessible for interaction between the public and the local communities. A landscape of public park and garden stretches over the rooftop of the entire scheme sloping up to first floor level at the North and South ends, with skylights and courtyards penetrating the landscape.

The park boasts views over the beach to the West and towards the historic market street Big Bazaar across the roofscape to the East. Placing the interior spaces and built programme under the parkland keeps them cool in Calicut’s hot climate, protecting them from unwanted solar gains as well as allowing for more open public space with better visibility and more of the natural environment.