Uploaded on 2014-10-13 by AishT

[1]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14132250637521184.jpg **India United Mills 2 and 3, Cotton Greens, Lower Parel (East), Mumbai, India** • Data (Visible and available): The precinct of the India United Mills 2 and 3 is the one of the oldest Victorian Mills of the colonial city of Bombay. It stands decayed and abandoned with elegant architectural features of the Victorian era such as - the load bearing chimney, north light power looms and spinning sheds and also contains a natural water body. Most of these wobbly structures have been enlisted as heritage structures. The subject precinct is surrounded by similar abandoned industrial lands. The following is the statistical information: Total Area – 64,937 sq m (about 16 acres) Water Body Area – 2,684.55 sq m Heritage Structures: Grade II B – 9,152 sq m Grade II A – 854.45 sq m Grade III (including water body) – 17,608 sq m Total Area (including water body – 27,614.64 sq m Total Area (without water body) – 24,930.09 sq m • Invisible Information that can be derived from this picture: 1. The identification of an Urban Void: The condition of the urban milieu of the mill land can be expressed in various words such as – vague, lonely, discreet, unkempt, unused, cocooned landscape, vacuum, uncertain space, a ‘sense of otherness’, ignored space – stating the lack of public intervention within the territorial boundary of the mill. The defunct mill land is a rupture in the city fabric which is an urban phenomenon that develops over time - known as an urban void or a terrain vague. It necessarily exemplifies many such urban complexities that cities and mega cities in the present day face wherein these voids tend to become nasty anti-social spaces of mafia intrusions. 2. A recorder of time and behavior of the past The mill’s structures as well as the surrounding ones, stand to answer many questions regarding the history and development of the city. They act, as mentioned in the previous lectures, like the recorders of information of the past [INFORMATION Architecture] as well as the pretext through which various decisions of architecture in the vicinity can be arrived at [Information ARCHITECTURE]. The shredded detailing, the building materials, the landscapes, the age of the stone and the trees, each have a story to tell. The precinct has a sense of sanctity and sacrilege within it. • The potentials of the urban space: As evident in the picture, the city of Mumbai is flourishing with high rises and skyscrapers piercing the sky leaving behind such spaces through its growth. The following pose as the potentials of the mill precinct and how it can deliver to the growth of the city – a. The municipal corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) has proposed the emergence of a Textile History Museum, showcasing the mill’s potential of revealing the dark and untold history of the mill workers of Bombay. It can act as a deliverer of information to the city. b. The Mill Museum can be further supported economically through insertions of various possibilities which can also solve the threats of urban voids. The space can encourage city level functions such as research centers, rehabilitation centers or vocational centers for women. It can also incorporate educational facilities such as a school or an art district. (Image's colour tone has been edited by me to reveal the true sense of the space it is engulfed in)