Trade has always found a way. Whether in squares or buildings, markets have been at the core of cities, and one of the main urban propellers. When cities became more and more complex and the market became a potential element of chaos, the construction of a special building for buying and selling became the obvious solution for the city to meet its citizens’ needs.
Europe developed the “market hall”, a covered area historically used as a marketplace to trade provisions and livestock, sometimes combined with space for public or civic functions on the upper floors. Usually located near a market square or a wharf, the market hall was firstly developed in rural England and then spread to colonial territories and to the rest of Europe.
In Asia, the “bazaar” was developed as a permanent enclosed area for merchandising. Differently from the Market Hall, the word “bazaar” doesn’t correspond to one unique structure, and it can also refer to more flexible and open structures. During the last decades, the contemporary different shopping experiences brought about many kinds of marketplace: from the weekly town-market, to malls, ateliers, studios and boutique shops.
Based on these guidelines, the project’s objectives are to: Develop a comprehensive urban analysis of the area of intervention, analyze the urban context, identify the needs of the population in terms of program/space demand, examine the different drivers behind new implementation strategies, define a design strategy of intervention, and define and develop an innovative program to meet user’s needs.