To develop required facilities and an appropriate landscape design for the Qutb Shahi Heritage Park, studies were conducted to understand visitor activities and movement patterns.
Action Taken
- Allison Anne James, a postgraduate intern with the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), researched on this for 70 days.
- With an aim to uncover information about the user-experience of a cultural heritage site in an urban context as a part of its contemporary use, the research focused on the historic preservation master plan for the Qutb Shahi Tomb site.
- Qualitative analysis of videography, photography, interviews and movement-mapping, using a video abstraction tool revealed new information about current patterns of use on the site.
- The study showed patterns of use on the site related to activity, weather and time of day.
- Examples from the study include observations that visitors follow certain pathways to and from tombs and open green spaces, changing the ways that they interact with and understand the historical context of the buildings and the landscape.
Impact
- This analysis will be utilised to develop a comprehensive visitor friendly development plan.
Graphic visualization tracking visitor movement to various monuments on site © Aga Khan Trust for Culture