Designing the Master Plan for the Pilot Area in Multan Walled City

Abstract

In such a reality rich of history and rituals, as Multan Walled City is, a deferential and valid project of renewal has to take in account the delicate and precious dichotomy between the collective world and the private dimension. The project of transformation in keeping with the character of the city, has been guided by the understanding of the main building types from the analysis of the urban structure, that follows the typical Islamic urban aggregation and the shape of the territory.

The Pilot Area chosen for the urban renewal project contains all the main elements of the Islamic city: an historical gate, two important bazaars and the main public buildings represented by the shrines and the mosques. The project linked technical issues to the architectural ones and it represented an indication of renewal whose principles are applicable to the whole city. From an urban analysis of the whole city on its type-morphological characters, and through topographic and geometric surveys, more detailed data of each building were obtained to constitute a GIS document usefull to design the Masterplan. The Plan contained projects of new buildings and new public spaces related to the renewal of the public and worship places and to the restoration of interesting historical buildings. The project focused in particular on the design of the central Musa Pak Complex, placing new public buildings for the redefinition of the urban space, now deprived of some spatial references. A new pilgrim's house, the Musa Pak Pavilion and a new commercial building were designed in continuity to type-morphological characters of the city and according to the principle of improving local materials and traditional techniques of construction.