URBAN NOMAD
AN OASIS FOR THE
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The construct of the urban landscape is made up of different spaces
consisting of diverse typologies and various tones from public to private.
These spaces, irrespective of their traits, play an important role in the life
of a pedestrian, a commuter, the ‘man on the street’: An urban nomad.
Publicness, complemented by ideas of cultural configuration and the
concept of third space, forms the core literature for the architectural enquiry.
The dissertation looks beyond the notion public and private
spaces and rather sees those spaces as a platform that may
favour social interactions, often referred to as ‘public spaces’.
The architectural agenda was to create a soulful space that allows
a criss-crossing of an array of different cultural configurations. The
site, being a key determinant to the enquiry, helped to crystallise
the idea and thus emerged the creation of the Oasis for the Urban
Nomad. The Mowbray Public Transport Interchange, being the ideal
location for the oasis, led to the formulation of the architectural
intervention: A transport hub that transcends the conventional notion of
a transport utility. The built form helped to bridge the divide caused by
the railway line and thus create a better fusion of the fragmented \