Arow of steadily rising greenery enfolds you as you walk towards the central circular structure . The atmosphere is quiet and strangely still, lending the setting an air of tranquility. As you circumambulate the building - first going up , then coming down - a screen on the roof casts changing shadows around .
On this same screen you spot names of martyrs like Delhi Police officer Mohan Chand Sharma , who died in the Batla House encounter three years ago ... This is the winning design for the new National Police Memorial that will be constructed at the head of the Shantipath Vista .
Two Delhi-based architects - team leader Sidhartha Talwar and landscape architect Nikhil Dhar - have won the contract to design the new memorial . Siddhartha , with 15 years of experience in architecture , has won numerous awards . Nikhil, who did his master's from Massachusetts University has 20 years of experience in landscape architecture and is a visiting faculty at School of Planning and Architecture here .
The memorial's design is supposed to honour the various arms of the police force , from the local police to the central paramilitary forces . It will not only perpetuate the memory of police martyrs but also inspire and encourage serving staff . At the same time , the design will allow for regular additions , making it a "dynamic" memorial .
The memorial will be set at the head of the Shantipath Vista - the second such planned axis in New Delhi, the first being Rajpath . This vista is unique as it is 125 metres wide and 1.75 km long , and looks straight into the site designated for the memorial .
The prize-winning design seeks to exploit this contextual asset of the site. The axis between Shantipath and Rashtrapati Bhavan has been taken through the memorial . It is also conceptualized as a place of ceremony where several functions , including foundation days of different police forces , will take place . Trees standing like sentinels of different police forces will form a protective ring around the central structure . The entry to the memorial space slices through this berm and emphasizes the feeling of entering a hallowed space . The memorial space itself is a 25-metre diameter circular jaali , about nine metres high , focusing towards a large sandstone lion of the national emblem . The internal surface of the earth berm is a retaining wall faced with stacked marble down which water trickles . The form of the wall resolves itself into two four-metre-wide ramps , starting from the top of the plinth . The 24 spokes of the Ashok Chakra in the memorial floor and the concentric tree circles are symbolic of rings of protection formed by the various police organizations . As you move up either of the framing ramps , the view of the memorial space through the jaali changes until you are at the highest 'bridge' point (about seven metres high ) of the structure . At this point , the entire green and grey Shantipath Vista becomes visible , and the axis changes from a "notional" entity to a "tangible" one . From this point , the surrounding area of the memorial - the seemingly abstract patterns on the grass slopes - falls into abstract patterns of lotus petals . Underneath the memorial , in the basement , is the museum . The museum will display uniforms , medals and arms of the various Indian police agencies . It will also serve as a display space for a looped audio-visual on martyred police personnel . A sombre voiceover will give a brief description of their life and sacrifices . This will serve as a poignant reminder that the numbers and names engraved in the memorial were real people whose memories live on after them . Government of India , through the Home ministry , had held the design competition for the memorial and declared the winners on Thursday evening . The Board of assessors for the competition included architects Jasbir Sawhney , Romi Khosla and a chief architect of the Central Public Works Department , Ravi Kakkar . NS Kalsi , an IAS officer and Safi Rizvi , a senior police officer were the other members . The Board of Assessors was assisted by a professional advisor , eminent architect Sudhir Vohra .
The second prize was awarded to Saket Jain , Sachin Jain and Ritu Jain while the third prize was given to Anita Tikoo Matange , Vijay Matange and Sroboshi Das , all of them Delhi-based .
The new design was created after the old, Rs 130-million steel structure consisting of columns and a globe was dismantled by NDMC on the high court's direction .
The court had been approached by architects and other citizens who termed the 150-foot high structure a 'monstrosity ' as it obstructed the view of Rashtrapati Bhavan .
On this same screen you spot names of martyrs like Delhi Police officer Mohan Chand Sharma , who died in the Batla House encounter three years ago ... This is the winning design for the new National Police Memorial that will be constructed at the head of the Shantipath Vista .
Two Delhi-based architects - team leader Sidhartha Talwar and landscape architect Nikhil Dhar - have won the contract to design the new memorial . Siddhartha , with 15 years of experience in architecture , has won numerous awards . Nikhil, who did his master's from Massachusetts University has 20 years of experience in landscape architecture and is a visiting faculty at School of Planning and Architecture here .
The memorial's design is supposed to honour the various arms of the police force , from the local police to the central paramilitary forces . It will not only perpetuate the memory of police martyrs but also inspire and encourage serving staff . At the same time , the design will allow for regular additions , making it a "dynamic" memorial .
The memorial will be set at the head of the Shantipath Vista - the second such planned axis in New Delhi, the first being Rajpath . This vista is unique as it is 125 metres wide and 1.75 km long , and looks straight into the site designated for the memorial .
The prize-winning design seeks to exploit this contextual asset of the site. The axis between Shantipath and Rashtrapati Bhavan has been taken through the memorial . It is also conceptualized as a place of ceremony where several functions , including foundation days of different police forces , will take place . Trees standing like sentinels of different police forces will form a protective ring around the central structure . The entry to the memorial space slices through this berm and emphasizes the feeling of entering a hallowed space . The memorial space itself is a 25-metre diameter circular jaali , about nine metres high , focusing towards a large sandstone lion of the national emblem . The internal surface of the earth berm is a retaining wall faced with stacked marble down which water trickles . The form of the wall resolves itself into two four-metre-wide ramps , starting from the top of the plinth . The 24 spokes of the Ashok Chakra in the memorial floor and the concentric tree circles are symbolic of rings of protection formed by the various police organizations . As you move up either of the framing ramps , the view of the memorial space through the jaali changes until you are at the highest 'bridge' point (about seven metres high ) of the structure . At this point , the entire green and grey Shantipath Vista becomes visible , and the axis changes from a "notional" entity to a "tangible" one . From this point , the surrounding area of the memorial - the seemingly abstract patterns on the grass slopes - falls into abstract patterns of lotus petals . Underneath the memorial , in the basement , is the museum . The museum will display uniforms , medals and arms of the various Indian police agencies . It will also serve as a display space for a looped audio-visual on martyred police personnel . A sombre voiceover will give a brief description of their life and sacrifices . This will serve as a poignant reminder that the numbers and names engraved in the memorial were real people whose memories live on after them . Government of India , through the Home ministry , had held the design competition for the memorial and declared the winners on Thursday evening . The Board of assessors for the competition included architects Jasbir Sawhney , Romi Khosla and a chief architect of the Central Public Works Department , Ravi Kakkar . NS Kalsi , an IAS officer and Safi Rizvi , a senior police officer were the other members . The Board of Assessors was assisted by a professional advisor , eminent architect Sudhir Vohra .
The second prize was awarded to Saket Jain , Sachin Jain and Ritu Jain while the third prize was given to Anita Tikoo Matange , Vijay Matange and Sroboshi Das , all of them Delhi-based .
The new design was created after the old, Rs 130-million steel structure consisting of columns and a globe was dismantled by NDMC on the high court's direction .
The court had been approached by architects and other citizens who termed the 150-foot high structure a 'monstrosity ' as it obstructed the view of Rashtrapati Bhavan .
1 comment:
congrats to all who made it to the top 3 !! sadly, the first prize winning entry is an exact 'inspiration' of an international design...just so that the more deserving get the acclamation !!
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