Ramya Khare

B. Arch IV - B

MAJNU KA TEELA
STREET STUDY
URBAN TYPOLOGY
 ABOUT
Majnu-ka-tilla is a Tibetan colony in Delhi, India that was established around 1960.
Majnu-ka-tilla is officially called New Aruna Nagar Colony, Chungtown, and Samyeling.
It is part of North Delhi district and is located between the Yamuna River and Delhi's
Outer Ring Road (NH-1) near ISBT Kashmiri Gate.
ANALYSIS METHODOLOGY
PATHS: The paths have been identified as Primary, Secondary and Tertiary. There is one Primary street
identified on which the major centers lie. The identification has been done on the basis of its usage as
thoroughfare and the widths reduce from Primary to Secondary to Tertiary paths.

CENTERS: Centers can be observed in the plan as the street responds to centers and widens to create
squares/ open congregational spaces etc. These can also be classified as Primary, Secondary and Tertiary
on the basis of importance awarded to it in the plan (i.e. open area around it, connectivity to paths etc).
Centers are also created at junctions where Primary/Secondary, Secondary/Secondary or
Secondary/Tertiary paths meet.

DENSITY: The Built to Unbuilt ratio has been observed in the plan to calculate the density of the urban fabric.

BOUNDARY BY DEGREE:
Boundary condition is examined in section to understand the degree of privacy (Public<Semi-public<Semi-
private<Private) felt in open and built area.

CONTINUITY:
Physical continuity was seen as a relation of continuity in buildings and variation of building heights.
Visual continuity was seen as the elements that unified the character of the space.
The transformations in the urban typology were seen as how the urban form has manifested itself now.
THE WHOLE:
The whole is greater than sum of its parts. We cannot break down a street into these elements and fully
grasp it. There are also other factors such as people.
THE STREET
The raised plinth on the right creates
a permeable boundary between the
street and the building. The recessed
ground floor promotes inclusivity and
invites people in.
The tree stands in the private
courtyard of the building on the left.

The street widens to create a

congregational open public
space. The density around the
public space is increased as more
people mean more customers in
the commercial establishments.
The monastery building on the right
is receding inwards at the entrance
to create a semi public space at
the entrance.

Houses look over into a lare

courtyard. This courtyard cats as
shared open space amoungg the
nearby users.
AREA FOR ANALYSIS

This is the area selected for the analysis. It

includes the monastery building and the
large public square outside it. We will study
how this open space has affected the
transformation over time and resulted in
the present state of affairs.
 PATHS
Primary Path 3.5 to 2.5 wide.
The primary path is the main street
which runs north- south of this
settlement binds the settlement. This
street along its length opens into
various sized squares which act as
community spaces.

Secondary Paths 1m wide

The paths that spring from the
Primary Path and vary in their widths.
Most of the residences open onto
this. On the east side they lead to
the river Yamuna.

Tertiary Paths 1.5 to 0.9 m wide

These spring from secondary paths
and can lead to dead-ended alleys
and are more private.
CIRCULATION

The narrow and linear streets add to the everyday

spaces. The elements of the built form such as the
staircases which mark the entry/exit to the built form
create and foster neighborhood associations and
provide constant surveillance on the streets.
 CENTERS
Primary Centers Primary path +
2 Secondary Paths
The Monastery Square is the major
community space in the street. It even
has Buddhist symbols and food stalls
around it.
Secondary Centers Primary
Path + Secondary Path +
Congregational Area in front of
Building/ Street Corners/ 2 or
more Staircases
Secondary centers are also created
by the presence of staircase on the
road to commercial establishments
on the first floor of many buildings.

Tertiary Centers Secondary

Path + 2 Tertiary Paths
The interior street corners are
gregarious settings for social
interaction acting as Centers within
the nearby units.
DENSITY

Sales

26%
Built
Unbuilt
74%

The Built to unbuilt ratio is 2.84.

This a very dense urban fabric
characterized by community
living of the Tibetan refugee
community.

From the figure ground

relation we can also see
observe the hierarchy of open
spaces.
 BUILDING HEIGHTS
& CONTINUITY
Building heights vary as we go
along the main spine.

There is general physical continuity

in the street facades as the
buildings share walls and are not
discontinuous unless a path
(secondary or tertiary) spring from it.

Visual continuity is also imparted by

various architectural elements such
as staircases and railings on upper
floors. Near the Square a lot of
visual images revoke Tibetan
culture.

G+1
G+2
G+3
 LAND USE &
TRANSFORMATION
We can see how the urban typo-
morphology has manifested itself
here by studying the hierarchy of
open spaces.
The Most public building has
retained the open space in front
of it. The second biggest open
space is surrounded by mixed
use building, i.e., commercial
spaces on the ground and first
floor.

Institutional
Mixed -Use
Residential
 On the whole, Tibetan Market has a very distinct urban character because of the influx of
Tibetan Refugees which has led to the unique urban typology of this area. The people
THE WHOLE impart a vibrancy to the place. Monks clad in their traditional attire, women in Kimonos
and people in normal clothing and of varying appearances contribute to this cultural mix.
The Tibetans have appropriated these spaces and adapted to them and these spaces
serve as both work and home spaces creating a close knit community.