MARIAN COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNIG – THESIS 2020

THESIS SYNOPSIS 1
Anjana Mary Jacob Year: 2016-2021

Reviving the Urban Marketplace: Redevelopment of Palayam Market

Overview of Palayam:
Palayam or Cantonment, as it is locally known, one of the busiest localities in
Thiruvananthapuram (also known as Trivandrum), the capital of Kerala State in India. It is
home to many of the administrative, cultural, and educational institutions in Kerala. It gets its
name from the fact that it used to be camp of the royal army and cavalry of the erstwhile kings
of Travancore. It extended from the Cantonment House in the North up to A.K.G. Centre in
the South, including areas now occupied by the University Stadium and Chandrasekharan Nair
Stadium. The Army subsequently moved to Pangode. The cavalry, however, remained at
Palayam.
The name "Cantonment" is not much in use for the area, though that name is still associated
with the police station near the Secretariat, "Cantonment Police Station". At present,
"Cantonment House" serves as the official residence of the Leader of the Opposition.

Palayam

Palayam is one of the busiest location in Trivandrum. It is a mixed use place. There are many
cultural, commercial, administrative and educational centers in Palayam. Palayam lies at the
 MARIAN COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNIG – THESIS 2020

intersection of National Highway and a historic corridor which showcases several mesmerizing
architecture styles like Colonial, Indosarsenic, Islamic, Gothic, Kerala Vernacular, Modern.
Post-Modern-Colloidal style, Gracco-Roman style etc... The unique character of Palayam is
marked by the coexistence of religious centers- Juma Masjid, St Joseph’s Church, Ganapathi
Kovil and the temple inside Connemara Market. These religious centers together in one place
stands as a proud example all around the world, of its religious tolerance and harmony among
its citizens. Palayam can be described as the major commercial district of the city. Also many
political events take place here especially around the Martyr’s Square.
Over view of the project:
Marketplaces —also known as market halls, market sheds, or market districts— have always
played an important role in the history and development of cities around the world.
Smart City Thiruvananthapuram Limited is a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) set up for
implementation of Smart City Mission of Government of India with a project overlay of Rs.
1538 Cr. Thiruvananthapuram was selected in the third round of Smart City Selection and
secured first rank in the Smart City Challenge in 2017.
The proposal submitted to GOI had 43 projects aimed at improving basic infrastructure of the
city and harnessing the use of IT based solutions to make the City Smart.
The projects can be grouped into two categories; Pan City Solution (IT based solution) for
entire corporation area and Area based development (ABD) Projects which are specifically
targeted for 9 wards in the City Centre as a retrofit model.
The redevelopment of Connemara Market at Palayam being proposed under Trivandrum
Smart City project. The plan is to devote ground floor completely for vending and it will
accommodate nearly 500 vendors, mostly fish sellers and fruit and vegetable vendors.
Proposal: At present there are 165 fish shops, 20 chicken and meat shops, 78 daily needs shops,
37 cloth shops and 94 fruits and vegetables stalls functioning at Palayam Market. As part of
redevelopment 490 shops have been proposed in the market where a four-storeyed building
will come up. The entire project will cover 17,741.96 sq.m.
Existing Connemara Market at Palayam is being dismantled and new market is being
constructed as a G+3 structure with 2 levels of Basement Parking(Electro-Mechanical). The
Ground Floor will be used to accomodate existing vendors at the market and the upper floors
would be leased out to suitable agencies by Trivandrum Corporation and SCTL. The Basement
Parking can accomodate around 300 Car Parking and sufficient number of Two wheeler
Parking. Market will be developed with Solar Panels, Modernised Solid Waste management
facilities and liquid waste treatment facility.
Redevelopment includes 3 parts:-
1. Main Building
2. Bio Mining of Waste dumped at Palayam Market
3. Rehabilitation Block on TRIDA Land
 MARIAN COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNIG – THESIS 2020

Location: Palayam, Trivandrum, Kerala

The proposed development includes 4 acres of land which is jointly owned by The Municipal
Corporation of Thiruvananthapuram and The Thiruvananthapuram Development Authority
(TRIDA). As per the ‘Area Development Project, Palayam’ submitted by INKEL in 2012 , out
of the total land, 1.4 acres is owned by the Municipal Corporation, 2.6 acre is owned by TRIDA
and 85 cent is freehold land. The land under the ownership of Municipal Corporation is
surrounded by the land under the ownership of the TRIDA. The main access to the Connemara
market is from the M.G. Road. The Saphalyam complex owned by TRIDA is situated along
M.G. Road.

Palayam

Site at present condition is in at the heart of the city of Trivandrum. It is an urban center
which has many shops and other buildings in the nearby context.

dd
Palayam Market Entry Palayam Market Shops
 MARIAN COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNIG – THESIS 2020

Palayam Market is a very busy shopping

place in Trivandrum city. It lacks many
qualities of a market place as well as in
case of waste managing system. The pros
and cons of the site are thoroughly
analysed and the different problems are
to be understood to redesign the Palayam
market. The adaptive use of Sustainable
as well as new technologies in building
design can be brought to the redesign in
order to put forth a proposal for an ideal
Palayam market.

Adjacent function of Palayam Market

Relevance of the Project/Study(live project):

“I would like to continue with my Dissertation research “Perception of an urban Public
Square: A case study of Martyrs’ Square, Trivandrum” which deals about Palayam as an
urban center. Connemara Market or Palayam market is a major economic center of the
city and so redevelopment of the area is of most importance for the economic growth of the
city. The redevelopment of the market would be based on sustainable and adaptive use of
smart building technologies.”
 Rehabilitaion of vendors area: There are many street vendors in the area without proper
facilities. The redevelopment can provide necessary conditions for their revitalization.
 Improper waste management is a serious issue concerning Palayam Market. There are
no proper waste management treatment plants or measures provided. This major
concern can be clear by the redevelopment of this market.
 As a shopping area it lack basic necessities which also includes public toilets sand clean
drinking water for the buyers and shoppers so all these can be properly managed by the
redevelopment of this area.
 Palayam Market can be a major Landmark of the Trivandrum city and measures can be
adopted in redevelopment of the area.
 MARIAN COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNIG – THESIS 2020

 Eco friendly and sustainable smart building technologies can be adopted to reduce the
total cost of the proposal with no minimizing in the quality of the structures.
CLIENT DETAILS: GOVERNMENT SMART CITY PROJECT
Expected Architectural Output:
An architectural solution for regaining the lost essence of Palayam Market through sustainable
and smart building technologies, proving all required spaces for public for social and economic
needs.
METHODOLOGY:
 MARIAN COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNIG – THESIS 2020

CASE STUDIES:
1. Chalai Bazar, Trivandrum
To understand the public mannerism in shops and markets and special study.
2. Kedaram, Kesavadasapuram.
3. Public shopping complex (Yet to finalize)

LITERATURE CASE STUDIES:

1. Nanjing Shibuqiao Commercial and Community Center Complex / Nanjing Bangjian
Urban Architectural Group
The project is located in the northeast of Qixia District, Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province,
and is one of the supporting public constructions of the affordable housing project in
the Shibuqiao Area of Qixia Mountain. This is a community center co-built with
businesses, with commercial functions of 15,000 square meters.

2. FRUIT & VEGETABLE MARKET, MOHALI, PUNJAB

The layout plan of the market incorporates a fully covered market besides the general
facilities like, cold store/ ripening chamber, garbage collection and disposal, workers
canteen, water works, air-conditioning plant etc. Provision has been made for adequate
parking for all types of vehicles coming to the market. Separate entries and exits have
been planned for segregation of different types of commuters for instance, the
wholesalers and retailers have separate ingress and egress to the market.

3. Austin Public Market, Texas

Given that local markets are considered catalysts for urban vitality and economic
growth, the proposal positioned the market as a place of commerce for local businesses,
which could play a significant role in the area’s socio-economic revitalization.
Successful markets in major cities generally are not broad, central markets, but rather
are a network of strategically placed, small markets. Therefore, this project was
intended to bring together the residents of a culturally isolated and diverse community.
An understanding of urban regionalism and ecological design within the context of
Austin gave insight into the potential role of an urban marketplace in creating social
and economic vitality and cohesion in an otherwise divided community.

KEYWORDS: Public Market, Market Redevelopment, Sustainable