URBAN TENACITIES
REINVENTING TAXALI GATE, LAHORE
WALLED CITY
PRESERVING MEMORY, HISTORY & HERITAGE WITH ECONOMIC VITALITY
DESIGN PORTFOLIO FALL 2025
FOCUS STUDIO ARCH 5015
COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE & CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT
KENNESAW STATE UNIVERSITY
DESIGN TEAM
NADIRAH ALI + REBECA ORTIZ
STUDIO ADVISERPROF. AMEEN FAROOQ, PHD
DESIGN CRITICSRICHARD FREDLUND, AIA
ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL, COOPER CARRY, INC.
SCOTT GORDON, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP
VICE PRESIDENT, CPL ARCHITECTURE, ENGINEERING & PLANNING
JUAN SEBASTIN MEJA, ASSOC. AIA DESIGNER, BRPH
MAYOWA ODUNJO, ASSOC. AIA, NOMA DESIGNER, GOODWYN MILLS CAWOOD (GMC)
PROJECT LOCATION: PAKISTAN
LANGUAGES PUNJABI (LOCAL), URDU (OFFICIAL), 70+ OTHERS
FOUNDED IN 1947 AFTER INDEPENDENCE FROM BRITISH INDIA TIED TO ISLAMIC IDENTITY.
POPULATION OF 241 MILLION
(5TH MOST POPULOUS IN THE WORLD)
RELIGION 96% MUSLIM
2% CHRISTIANITY, HINDUISM, SMALL SIKH, BUDDHIST
4 MAJOR CULTURAL GROUPS
PUNJAB, LAHORE
THE WALLED CITY
PROVINCE, EAST PAKISTAN 13 MILLION PPL (2ND LARGEST CITY IN PAKISTAN)
THE COURT OF SIKH RULER MAHARAJAH
RANJIT SINGH AT
MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE PREDOMINANT STYLE IN LAHORE
PLUS SMALLER MINORITIES.
LAHORE GREW AS A TRADE, AGRICULTURE, AND DEFENSE HUB WALLED CITY BUILT 11TH - 17TH CE
THE WALLED CITY LAHORE, PAKISTAN
WALLED CITY OF LAHORE BUILT IN THE 11TH-12TH CENTURY, EXPANDED IN THE 16TH-17TH CENTURIES MUGHAL EMPIRE'S EXPANSION EFFORTS NOW A UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE
APPROXIMATELY 200,000 RESIDENTS
WALLED CITY OF LAHORE IS ROUGHLY 2-2.5 KM ACROSS (1.2-1.5 MILES IN DIAMETER) WITH A PERIMETER OF 8-10 KM (5-6 MILES)
WALLED CITY
AREA APPROXIMATELY 0.06 MI'2 (PERIMETER OF 1.91 MILES)
SEVERAL HUNDRED BUILDINGS, INCLUDING SHOPS, RESIDENCES, AND PLACES OF WORSHIP
TAXALI GATE BUILDINGS (1575-1585) SHOWCASE MUGHAL GRANDEUR WITH ORNATE ARCHES AND INTRICATE DESIGNS
TAXALI GATE HOSTS MOSQUES, LAHORE'S OLDEST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, AND A SIKH GURDWARA
THE WALLED CITY
TAXALI GATE
DESTROYED GATE EXISTING GATES
TAXALI GATE BEFORE AND TODAY
TAXALI GATE WAS DESTROYED BY THE BRITISH 1857 UPRISING
ECONOMY
CULTURAL AND URBAN DIALOGUE
WAYFINDING
MONUMENTAL
ECONOMY
CULTURAL AND URBAN
DIALOGUE
CULTURAL HERITAGE
WAYFINDING
BARCELONA - LA RAMBLA & GOTHIC QUARTER
ISTANBUL - HISTORIC CORE STREETS (BEYOGLU AREA)
WAYFINDING USES LINEAR CONTINUITY (A CLEAR URBAN PROMENADE) WITH POCKET PLAZAS THAT SERVE AS PAUSES AND ORIENTATION POINTS
TRANSITION METHOD
NARROW STREETS LINK TO WIDER BOULEVARDS, CREATING A HIERARCHY OF MOVEMENT
LONG CENTRAL SPINE
CONNECTS MAJOR LANDMARKS LIKE THE RED FORT AND FATEHPURI MASJID, GUIDES MOVEMENT AND ORIENTATION
SIMILAR TO TAXALI ROAD, BALANCES MOVEMENT AND GATHERING, GUIDING VISITORS INTO THE HISTORIC FABRIC WHILE PREVENTING DISORIENTATION
WAYFINDING COMBINES LITERAL SIGNAGE (BILINGUAL STREET SIGNS, TOURIST MARKERS) WITH URBAN CUES MINARETS, MARKETS, AND MAJOR MONUMENTS VISUAL ANCHORS
SIMILAR TO TAXALI ROAD, DISTINCT LANES FOR DIFFERENT TRADES MAKE THE BAZAAR EASILY READABLE, ALLOWING PEOPLE TO NAVIGATE THROUGH RECOGNIZABLE ACTIVITIES
TRANSITION METHOD LA RAMBLA ACTS AS A CENTRAL PEDESTRIAN SPINE LEADING INTO THE DENSER GOTHIC QUARTER
DEMONSTRATES HOW URBAN MORPHOLOGY AND LANDMARKS TOGETHER ACT AS WAYFINDING SYSTEMS IN DENSE, HISTORIC CONTEXTS FOR TOURISTS
KEY NODES SUCH AS CHOWKS, GATEWAYS, AND METRO LINKS ACT AS ANCHOR POINTS, IMPROVING LEGIBILITY AND WAYFINDING ACROSS THE DENSE URBAN FABRIC
WHEN YOU SAY SHAHI CHOWK OR CHANDNI CHOWK, YOU'RE REFERRING TO A ROYAL OR CENTRAL SQUARE A CULTURALLY ROOTED URBAN TYPOLOGY THAT'S BOTH SPATIAL AND SOCIAL
WALKING PATHS
BIKING PATHS
SUMMER SOLSTICE 9AM
HEAVY WATER COLLECTION
LIGHT WATER COLLECTION
WALKING PATHS
BIKING PATHS
WINTER SOLSTICE 3PM
BUS ROUTES AND STOPS
FLOOD (MONSOON WATER DAMAGE)
MIXED-USE
TYPES OF COMMERCE
02 - CONCEPT + DESIGN
CHOWK AND HAVELIS DO THIS HISTORI-
A CHOWK (COURTYARD OR OPEN SQUARE) AS A PAUSE POINT IN THE WINDING STREET NETWORK LIKE A SPATIAL RELIEF IN THE DENSITY
BECAME WAYFINDING LANDMARKS AND MICRO-CENTERS FOR ORIENTATION
PRESSURE FROM COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT, GENTRIFICATION DISGUISED AS CONSERVATION
REVIVE WAYFINDING TECHNIQUES ON AN URBAN LEVEL
FOR DUAL PURPOSES LOCALS & TOURISM
RISING LAND VALUE (DUE TO TOURISM & RESTORATION
INFORMAL STREET DIALOGUE FOR BOTH TOURISTS AND LOCALS
PRESSURE FROM COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT, GENTRIFICATION DISGUISED AS CONSERVATION
REVIVE WAYFINDING TECHNIQUES ON URBAN
PHYSICAL WAYFINDING SIGNAGE
SIGNAGE (HISTORY, CULTURE, COMMERCE) TRANSLATION
BUILT
FORM GESTURES THRESHOLDS AND TRANSITIONAL CUES
URBAN TYPOLOGY WAYFINDING
URBAN-SCALE MARKERS (NODES, OPEN PAUSES)
DIALOGUE BETWEEN LOCALS AND TOURISTS, PAST AND PRESENT
