Theory Of Design

Urban Design1st Assignment

Ideology, Topology and Typology of a place.BidhannagarorSalt Lake Cityas it is popularly called, is aplannedsatellite townin theIndianstate ofWest Bengal. It was developed between 1958 and 1965 to accommodate the burgeoning population ofKolkata, the statecapital.

It is now a hub of economic and social expansion and is famous as the centre forITin the city.The city was built on areclaimedsalt-water lake, which gave rise to its popular name of "Salt Lake City".IntroductionOn 17 June 1756,Siraj ud-Daulah, theNawab of Bengal, camped at this place to chalk out the strategy for attacking theBritish East India CompanyatFort William.

After his death in the Battle Of Plassey, the right of the lakes remained to Mir Jafar and his descendants.

In 1865, theBritishofficially started reclaiming these salt water bodies by connecting it withMahratta Ditch(canal).On 30 April 1890, the Government gave the leasehold right to the highest bidder, Bhabanath Sen, who offeredINR3400 for the rights.In 1906, the Government again leased out the lakes for 10 years to the highest bidder against INR 9750.Historical Imprints

Bidhannagar is located at22.58N 88.42E.It has an average elevation of 11metres(49ft.)It has asubtropical climate, with summer monsoons. The annual mean temperature is 26.8C (80F)Geography

Salt Lake CityBy May 19, 1956, the Government had taken over the lands and then gradually Salt Lake started taking shape.

The area was a conglomerate of several salt lakes, a low-lying saucer shaped area, which was lower than the adjoining drainage channels.

The global tender, for the reclamation of salt water lakes was floated in 1959, which was won by M/s. "Invest Import" Company of erstwhileYugoslavia.From Marshlands to Metropolis

Sector- 1Sector- 2Sector- 3Sector- 4Sector- 5Salt Lake City, GuidemapConsidering the challenges, only available method of development was to fill these salt lakes to a higher level which would permit gravity drainage through the nearby channels.The Hooghly river, lying in the western fringe ofKolkata, neededdredgingto maintain the minimum draught for ships.Pipes were laid down from Chitpur lock gate in the north of Kolkata to Salt Lake for bringing silt from the bed of Hooghly river to Salt Lake via a number of pumping stations.From Marshlands to MetropolisIt took nearly 7 years to fill up the 12.35km of land with dredged silt, which was once a very fertile fishing zone. On 16 April 1962, the Salt Lake City was officially born.

The original planner of Bidhannagar was a Yugoslav named Dobrivoje Tokovi. His master plan was approved by theGovernmenton 9 April 1964.He revisited his architected city in 2007.From Marshlands to Metropolis

Salt Lake City, Satellite View 2006The development of the area was done in "Sectors".The plots were classified as residential, residential (shop-allowable) commercial institutional and industrialBy 1965, Sector-I was complete. And by 1969 Sector-II and Sector-III were ready for occupancy. Then came up the industrial Sectors IV and V (the location of theITindustries). The Sector IV containsNicco Park the first amusement park of eastern India with 40 acres (160,000m2)Development thereafter

Site Plan: Salt Lake City, 2013The 12.35km area of the town, initially composed of 12873 plots of land apart from 87 housing estates and blocks, got built up.

Recently, the land area of this township has almost doubled to 33.5km due to the incorporation of Duttabad, Sukantanagar, Nayapatti, Dhapa-Manpur and Mahishbathan areas.Development thereafterBeing a planned city, Bidhannagar offers many facilities usually not available in many of the other older Indian cities.It has clean and well-maintained roads and sanitation, tree-clad boulevards, relatively pollution free environment, its own swimming pool, a large number of schools and educational institutions.The largest sports stadium in India theYuva Bharati Krirangan, modern shopping malls such as City Centre, INOX multiplex, RDB Big Cinemas multiplex, an amusement park, theNetaji Subhas Sports Institute, a 5-star hotel (Hyatt Regency) and a vast array of Governmentoffices that cater not only to the local town but to the entire city of Kolkata.Salt Lake Today

IBM and Cognizant Offices

Infinity Benchmark Office

Salt Lake City StadiumBidhannagar is also home toCentral Park, the largest park in the Kolkata urban area after theMaidan. Like the town it is situated in, it too has amore famous namesakein USA. The Central Park, which is about 100 acres (0.40km2 ).

A new township thrice the size of Salt Lake is coming up further east inRajarhat under the name of New Town.Salt Lake Today