Looking at the interests of the young population and inferences drawn from the literature study, the presence of a central hub such as a Youth Center can help in expansion of the cultural knowledge of the Youth and eventually bring them together to participate in socio-economic activities.
Taking from the historical background of the Youth Centre site, that is the Kingsway Campus and GTB Nagar, the idea of pushing the Youth towards the historical background of the city they call home came into being. Three main keywords define the use of the Youth Centre, Healing for the young individuals dealing with discussed
issues while they transform in a local environment.
issues while they transform in a local environment.
The concept further looks into the various elements that define Delhi architecture. From various evidences, it is clear that the state of Delhi’s architecture and design has been ever changing, as have been the leaders running it. The two very clear timelines being, one when Shajahanabad was built and when Lutyen’s Delhi was constructed, popularly known as Old Delhi and New Delhi respectively. The design of the Youth takes inferences from the key elements of these timelines in history to further detail out elements of importance to the proposal.
Further detailing the concept of Old Delhi and New Delhi as a comparative, the idea behind the design was to let the users and visitors take the journey of transition from Old Delhi to New Delhi as they move from exteriors of the site to the interiors of the building. This transition will take elements from Old Delhi’s charbagh concept and the very evident use of Red sandstone is Red fort and create the Chajjas cladded in terracotta, in resemblance.
The outdoor seating space positioned near the entrance and the main kitchen of the Youth Center has been designed in order to provide a central dining space for all visitors of the Youth Center, be it for workshops, the counselling sessions or the outdoor recreational space.
The basic idea of a classroom has been reinvented here by using simply a flight of stairs in a defined manner to set up the boundaries of the space. Adaptability is the key factor of design of classrooms as two can be divided into four when required and otherwise can be used as reading or hangout spaces when not being used as classrooms literally.
Having a library is of key importance to a facility like the Youth Vocational Center itself. The basic concept of having tall shelves in a library has been eradicated in the design here and replaced by shelves at a reachable height.
Wood workshop in the educational facility is the most popular vocation, as discovered through the survey done on Youth aspirations. The workshop is designed in a way that it allows the students to learn and exhibit their work at the same time. A combination of long and smaller tables has been used in order to add flexibility.
The therapy rooms are generally design keeping the comfort of the young individuals in consideration. Use of wood adds warmth and the connection with the outdoors allows therapy sessions to be refreshing rather than boring.
The dining hall inside the after-care facility is the central ‘hang out’ space for all residents rather than just being a simple combination of dining tables and chairs. All tables have been laid out around the boundary and an amalgamation of booth seating along with 6 seater tables has been used.
The design of the three sharing room has been executed keeping in mind the basic needs of young individuals who would reside in them and playing with the adaptability factor alongside. Each bed has a fold down desk which can be opened up when required. A simple feature like this adds to the usability of the space while making it adaptable as a desk is a furniture piece one doesn’t use as often. This desk is accompanied with a fold-able chair which can be tucked into a niche in the wardrobe when not being used.
