TRANSIENT SPACES IN OUTDOOR WILDERNESS ADVENTURE
The research was undertaken to understand the characteristics and roles of transient spaces in outdoor wilderness adventure activities. Considering the dominant trends of adventure tourism in the country that focuses around northern mountain region of Pakistan, the study focused on the spaces encountered during trekking activity in such areas. The role of architecture in these areas become merely a service provider, therefore the research aimed at providing basic guidelines to present a model that enhance the role of such spaces from merely functional to a more experiential. Through extensive surveys, interview and both local and international case studies, two aspects; functional and experiential, were concluded that combined together form the role of a transient space in outdoor wilderness adventure activity. These aspects were further analyzed with selection of a site based on the same guidelines and proposing a program that can enhance the functionality of the spaces and further design development to be conducted to explore its experiential aspect. With the Nanga Parbat and the journey taken by adventurist to reach its base as the primary issue under consideration, a series of interventions are suggested to improve, enhance and elevate the experience of the visitor.
For many adventurists the outdoor activities and extreme sports are utter joy and happiness that they seek through these extraordinary and risky experiences. Thus nature becomes the ultimate source for such experiences.
The outdoor activities and adventure in wilderness such as mountaineering and hiking have always been popular excursion. The adventurists have a personality trait of thrill and adventure seeking. It is a component of sensation seeking which is defined by the search for experiences and feelings that are “varied, novel, complex and intense” and by the readiness to "take physical, social, legal, and financial risks for the sake of such experiences." Thrill- and adventure-seeking is a desire for outdoor activities involving unusual sensations and risks, such as skydiving, scuba diving, and flying.
When an adventurist steps out into wilderness, among huge mountains or into dark dense forest, the scale of the environment is so strong and dominating that his existence in that environment becomes very small and weak. During his adventure activity he encounters various spaces where he pauses for a short period of time, which can be termed as transient spaces. These transient spaces can be a shade of a tree to rest beneath, a rock to sit and enjoy a view or simply an edge of cliff to stop and peek below. Since, outdoor recreation is now treated much more as a purchasable short-time holiday experience than as a gradually acquired lifetime skill with its own set of social rewards and responsibilities, built structures started to emerge in wilderness in order to fulfill certain needs during an adventure activity mostly operated by a travel operator. The existence of these architectural spaces, when placed in infinite boundaries of wilderness, becomes weak and insignificant and they merely become service providers. Their connection to the wilderness is isolated functionally and experientially, reducing the adventurous experience of the visitor. Therefore, the role of these architectural spaces, transient spaces, becomes very significant.
The role of these spaces is defined by two aspects; functional and experiential. The experiential aspect helps in connecting the function to the macro environment. This becomes guiding principle for appropriate program and hence developing into a project.
The site of fairy meadows and base camp of Nanga Parbat was selected in order to explore the various transient spaces existing there. The site provided numerous possibilities for adventure activities such as hiking trekking and rock climbing and attracts a number of adventurists. With no vehicular access to the base camp and Fairy meadows, the trek becomes more risky and adventurous. The visitor encounters various architectural spaces during the entire trek to base camp including small restaurants and cottages at fairy Meadows.
With the Nanga Parbat and the journey taken by adventurist to reach its base as the primary issue under consideration, a series of interventions are suggested to improve, enhance and elevate the experience of the visitor. These included a small restaurant named as Fairy point hotel, Visitor centre and discovery walk memorial. Fairy point hotel welcomes the visitor during the trek from Tattu village to Fairy meadows. It becomes first station point that not only serves snacks and tea but also becomes a marker that directs them to their next destination. Provided with a resource room and basic first aid, Fairy point hotel becomes a significant station point.
Reaching Fairy meadows, the visitor is welcomed by a visitor centre which is approached through dense vegetation which hides the spectacular view of Nanga Parbat which is disclosed once the visitor steps into the centre. He can then receive information on trek to base camp or can hire camps and tents to spend the night at fairy meadows. The centre consists of mosque, Souvenir shop, and rescue centre. All of these elements are molded into the landscape so that the visitor’s experience of place seems even more intimate. Through the notion of water as a dynamic element - from snow, to running and then falling water, the project creates a series of prepositional relations that describe and magnify the unique spatiality of the site.
Once the visitor leaves Fairy meadows and walks ahead towards base camp, he is driven into a continuous thread of experiences which defines the Discovery Walk not only as a singular destination, but as a catalyst and gateway that empowers guests to immerse themselves in the untouched natural environment.
He starts his journey by immersing into a small pavilion with roof supported by tilted columns, each recalling the grief story of the death of 31 climbers in attempt to conquer Nanga Parbat until the first successful climb. Following the path, the visitor enters into a dark passage where he finds no path to follow, instead just a light at the other end to guide him. Following the light, he walks slowly deeper to the other edge of the hall where he realizes that the light shined upon the memorial of the man who first successfully climbed Nanga Parbat. The visitor’s adrenaline starts to rush as he is directed to walk out of the narrow opening which guides him out on a wooden deck hanging in midair facing the gigantic view of Nanga Parbat.
