Redeveloping the Musi riverfront in Hyderabad

102 CITY OBSERVER | June 2015

REDEVELOPING THE MUSI RIVERFRONT IN HYDERABAD

by Karteek G

An urban design studio project by final year undergraduate students of architecture at School of Planning and Architecture-Vijayawada (SPAV)

TEACHING URBAN DESIGN

103JUNE 2015 | CITY OBSERVER

A river is an essential element in everyday life- as a resource, as a means of transport, as a corridor of endless movement and as a hub for recreation. It also captures several imaginations along its front, providing various diverse opportunities. Significant riverfronts in the past have contributed to the evolution of early civilizations and human settlements. According to Postel and Richter (2003), water in the city is needed for various key reasons – practical, aesthetic and spiritual. Unfortunately though, in the current scenario, most significant riverfronts have been abused and plagued by environmental issues, disturbed habitats and unstable landfills leading to contamination of soil and water. One of the primary reasons for this scenario is the continued and rapid pace of urban growth that adds to the demand for existing resources. Despite this prevalent condition, over the last two decades, there have been renewed and rigorous efforts to bring back the life along waterfronts both in India and the world over.

This design studio examines the case of the Musi riverfront in the city of Hyderabad, India by analysing the interface between the city and the river and its overall transformation over the years. The riverfronts form the edges to the old and new parts of the city on either side of the river and exhibit different characters as well as different phases of development. The studio exercise put forward new perspectives that can essentially revive the riverfront for recreational and economic benefits.

THE PROJECTTaking up the case of our own cities, Hyderabad is one such example, which is going through several developmental issues particularly along the Musi river edge. Hyderabad is the capital of Andhra Pradesh and spreads across 650 square kilometres along the banks of the Musi river. As per the 2011 census, it has a population of 7.75 million making it India’s 4th most populous city and 6th most populous urban agglomeration. The city was historically known for being a diamond and pearl trading centre. The city was established by Muhammed Quli Qutb Shah on the southern side of the Musi River which forms the old city area. The northern side forms the newly urbanised city area. There are several bridges

Purana pul, the oldest bridge on the Musi River. Photo from the collection of Mohd. Safiullah


across the river connecting the new and old city out of which Purana Pul is the oldest surviving bridge as well as a Grade-I historic structure. Many other bridges perished during the great Musi flood on September 28, 1908.

Musi River is a tributary of the Krishna River and therefore acts as an ecological edge between the old and new city while also creating a demand for several opportunities along it. The existing situation along the edges is summed up by unplanned development, pollution from the untreated sewage water coming from the city, incongruous to its surroundings, disturbed habitats, depletion of ecological resources, impermeable river edges and no clear policies with respect to conservation of historic buildings along the edges.

The urban design objective for the design studio was to essentially transform the historic edge into a vibrant and convivial urban space which would create great impact on the surrounding built fabric.

HERITAGE PRECINCT STUDYThe study phase for the design studio was centred on the heritage precinct stretching across four kilometres from Purana Pul to Chaderghat Bridge. This precinct is the same as the one demarcated in the Musi Heritage Precinct Revitalisation Project, under the Inclusive Heritage-based City Development Program (IHCDP), a pilot programme of the World Bank. As many as 35 structures of heritage relevance have

been identified near the river for restoration on the basis of this project. The study group was guided by faculty members Karteek G. and Kiranjith C. along with practicing architects and urban designers from Hyderabad- Venugopal P., Sanjay Torvi and Trivikram T.N.

The key aspects of the study of the selected precinct were figure ground analysis, morphological studies, movement networks, landmarks, heritage buildings, open spaces and activities and building uses and transformations. Another element was also the review of current proposals by various agencies for the same stretch. The figure ground suggests that the riverfront is a prey to various types of development over the years in different stages but not of a uniform grain. The study area had predominantly residential buildings (31%) followed by mixed-use (7%) and public/ semi-public buildings (6%). Organized commercial made up another 6%. For the most part, the riverfront was occupied by illegal cultivation, dhobi ghats, dump yards, cremation grounds, parking for heavy vehicles, high-tension lines and illegal or defunct buildings causing the death of public spaces along the public edge of the river. The open spaces along the riverfront provided very less it terms of good public spaces where people can meet, interact and experience various activities. Speaking to the public folk in the precinct revealed that many were unaware of the riverfront’s presence in some parts because the visual connections to the riverfronts were blocked by unintended development.

City, along the Musi, is divided primarily into three zones under the save Musi campaign launched in 2006.Source: SPAV Urban Design Studio-2013



Figure ground of the Heritage precinct and land use distribution pie-chart. Source: SPAV Urban Design Studio-2013

Snapshot of major unintended activities along the river. Source: SPAV Urban Design Studio-2013

The study revealed that the network of roads is very chaotic and most of the junctions are not signalized causing confusion to commuters. The pedestrian paths along the roads are full of obstructions and not continuous thereby forcing people to walk on the roads. The study also indicated that there were

large public and semi-public buildings along the southern side i.e. old city riverfront like the Purana Pul (Grade-I historic structure), city police head quarters, Government maternity hospital, Government City College, high court complex, new shoe market, Salarjung Museum (Grade-I historic building) and Aza


Brochure for the International Workshop on Urban Design titled “City through its Riverfronts”. Source: SPAV Urban Design Studio-2013

kana Zehra. The northern part of the riverfront included the Osmania General hospital and City bus station, a more recent addition. Any new development too did not seem to focus on bringing the public closer to the water edge by creating public activities or buildings along the riverfronts.

WORKSHOP AND EXHIBITIONAs an extension to the Studio project, an International Workshop on Urban Design was hosted by the college titled “City through its Riverfronts” on November 20, 2013. The workshop included sessions by various eminent professionals from across the globe who have been involved with addressing the issues and challenges at the interface between rivers and cities. The main objective of the workshop was to bring forth a diverse range of issues relating to development

and conservation along the urban riverfronts. The workshop served as a wider platform to disseminate knowledge on riverfront developments from around the world while addressing variables like conservation, ecology, and human interventions.

Parallel to the workshop, there was an exhibition of studio work on the two riverfronts by the final year undergraduate students- one being the Musi riverfront in Hyderabad and the other, the Krishna riverfront in Vijayawada by the peer section. Both were extraordinary showcases, expressing the character of two distinct and diverse riverfronts and bringing in directions for further interventions through four months of intensive studio discussions and deliberations.



During the international workshop and exhibition.Photo Credit: Vidhya Mohankumar


Physical model of the study area on display during the exhibition.Photo Credit: Vidhya Mohankumar



URBAN DESIGN VISION AND PROPOSALSIn view of the existing issues and unintended activities along the riverfront, the first step of the studio project was to create a strong vision statement. The vision was to recreate the relation between river and the city and to transform the urban interface of the river with new identity by restoring ecology, heritage and culture. The objectives of the project were-

• To strengthen the historic character by heritage specific interventions to revive the character of the riverfront,

• To enhance physical connectivity and visual connections across the old and new city riverfronts

• To create active public spaces to enhance human interactions

• To improve the local economy by formalizing the informal sector into formal markets and seasonal allocation of activities

• To uplift the standard of living of the residents of the area

The combined lineage of the Qutb Shahi period, the Asaf Jahi rulers and the British contributed a pleasant skyline to the riverfront with a strong heritage character. Charminar, being the most famous landmark and in close vicinity to the riverfront opened up several opportunities in the proposal. On the other side, a balanced demographic profile of Hindus and Muslims contributed to year-long festivities and provided many cues for activating the river edge. An ensemble of large civic and historic buildings also ensured continuous pedestrian movement in the precinct and also added to the public character of the precinct. The informal bazaars along the streets like Jumerat bazaar, Chudi bazaar, Begum bazaar, Chatta bazaar, Madina bazaar and Rikabganj created the scope for developing organized markets. While there were many such strengths and opportunities that were identified during the design studio, the most significant threat is that without proper intervention, the riverfront may become a permanent backyard and serve as a dumping ground for the city thereby destroy both the ecology as well as the picturesque quality of the riverfront.

Design Intervention Zones. Source: SPAV Urban Design Studio-2013

3D view of the study area with heritage buildings shown in red. Source: SPAV Urban Design Studio-2013


Student proposals for formalization of the Jumerat Bazaar Source: SPAV Urban Design Studio-2013

Student proposals for redevelopment of the main commercial spine- Hussaini Alam road and riverfront plazas. Source: SPAV Urban Design Studio-2013

Section across the river.Source: SPAV Urban Design Studio-2013



Following the findings of this stage, students and faculty ideated various scenarios to finalize the structure plan for the entire 4km stretch based on the possibilities offered by the various sites. Smaller intervention zones were then picked up by smaller groups of students to create demonstrative proposals with more architectural detail. The proposal for Zone A and B together focused on redevelopment and formalizing the Jumerat bazaar and redevelopment of the main commercial spine- Hussaini Alam road.

Specific proposed interventions within these two zones included a pedestrian bridge to link old and new riverfronts, a waterfront amusement park, an urban plaza as an extension of the Jumerat bazaar,a handicraft market, urban agriculture near the Purana Pul, adaptive re-use of the historic Purana Darwaja, active riverfront edges with promenades, boating points and cafeterias, improved temples precincts with cultural plazas, relocation of dhobi ghats and underground parking near the Jumerat bazaar.

OUTCOMES Our past experience tells us that riverfronts were always in public use and the success of riverfronts was in the way public uses were incorporated along the river edge without damaging its ecology. The growth of cities have always altered its relation with the river and resulted in environmental and physical impact. The intense studio programme on the Musi riverfront served as a platform to generate various proposals demonstrating activity spaces that have the potential to bring back life to the city through its waterfronts... through proposals that seek to create a memorable public experience while paying tribute to local socio-cultural identities.

About the Author

Karteek G is an Architect and Urban Designer from India presently working as an Assistant Professor in Department of Architecture, School of Planning and Architecture-Vijayawada. He has attained professional experience of high quality working for large multi-nationals in India including preparation and compilation of master plan reports and preparation of alternative urban design models. His research interests are in sustainable practices in global and technologically driven cities and studies about compact and ecological cities.

Students involved: Final year undergraduate students of architecture at School of Planning and Architecture-Vijayawada (SPAV)

SPAV faculty members involved: G. Karteek, C. Anil Kumar, C. Kiranjith

Urban design experts who guided the studio: Venugopal P., Sanjay Torvi and Trivikram T.N. , Vidhya Mohankumar

Duration of the studio: July to December 2013

Redeveloping the Musi riverfront in Hyderabad

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