GARDEN OF FIVE SENSES

LANDSCAPE REPORT

FEBRUARY 6, 2017
: Abhinav Guppta, Ali Raza, Ankita Rani, Neha Bisht, Niharika Arora
b.arch 4th year SFS, JMI
 Location Saidul Ajaib village,
Saket, New Delhi

Nearest city Saket

Coordinates: 28.513342N 77.197993E

Coordinates

Area 20 acres

Operated by Delhi Tourism

Open 9:00am-7:00pm (in Summer), 9:00am-6:00pm (in Winter)

Architect: Pradeep Sachdeva

Cost: Rs 10.5 crore
Construction time: 3 years
Opened: February 2003
Topography: Partly built over a rocky terrain,
Themed parts: the garden has various theme areas, including a section on the lines of Mughal
Gardens, plus pools of water lilies, bamboo courts, herb gardens and solar energy park
AWARDS: THE GARDEN GOT AGA KHAN AWARD FOR ARCHITECTURE IN 2010
2004 - Indian Building Congress Award for Excellence in Built Environmsent 2003
2004 - Exhibited at the Design Biennale 2004, St.Etienne, France
The garden of five senses is not just a park but a space with variety of activities that
invites people to come, interact and explore. The Garden of Five Senses is a large public
space for the city of Delhi where people can come to unwind and relax. People of all
genres find something in the garden they can relate to and enjoy. It is an effort to create
a democratic space which would benefit all sections of the society.
It looks at the wider perspective of Garden as Public Space. There is a broad range of
areas, from the more intense activity zones, like the food courts and shops, to
contemplative zones, like the fragrant gardens, colour gardens, and the Lily Pool. The
project is one of Indias largest commissions of public art featuring works of over 25
artists.
The idea is not just to interact with one and other but to interact with nature and themselves.

Concept: The thought put by the architect behind the garden as the name suggests is to
stimulate ones sensory organs to nature. An amalgamation of colour, texture form and fragrance
evokes the awareness of touch, sight, smell, sound and taste.

Visitors are encouraged to touch the rocks and displays, the fragrance of flower for the nose,
stimulate the olfactory senses, the landscaping appeals to the eyes - the sight, the ceramic bells
and the water falls create a soothing sound -pleasing to the ear and the food courts serve a
variety of cuisines - to please the tongue.

The garden has been planned to respect the natural ecological features of the site - the
native plants and the beautiful rocky ridge outcrop. Over 200 species of plants create a
rich collage of form, colour and texture. The aim was to create a balance between the
built and unbuilt as well as the man-made and the natural.
The architecture may be described as quirky and fun, where the traditional brick and
stonework is offset by quixotic concrete columns, mosaic work and dramatic planting
effects.

Restaurants: The entry to the garden is ticketed and it is open from 9am to 7pm throughout the
week. The garden of five senses has many well-established restaurants and bars, like fio, the zoo,
cacique, the Budapest spice and the Indian kitchen, that attract people during late evening
hours.

In fact, the original architecture of the park did provide for recessed spaces that could be later
used as retail areas," says Sachdeva. In August 2005, the Garden was licensed to the International
Trade Exposition Pvt Ltd, an organisation that has exclusive rights to operate commercial outlets at
the Garden.

After developing the park for over six to eight months, the Garden scooped out 31 outlets, of
which 19 are functional as of now. "We had to combine common sense with creativity as there
was a serious dearth of commercial space in this part of Delhi and the Garden fits the bill," says
O.P. Bhatia, director of hospitality, ITE Pvt Ltd.

GUIDING IDEAS
 o The garden was planned to be contemporary in spirit and yet draw on the traditions of the
historic neighborhood.

o To respect the history and draw inspiration from the neighboring Mehrauli Archaeological
Park and Qutub Minar (World heritage Monument) and complex with the Quwwat-Ul-Islam
Mosque.

o To explore the dynamics between the built and the un-built.

o To look at the wider perspective of Garden as Public Space. It therefore has a broad
range of areas, from the more intense activity zones, like the food courts and shops, to
contemplative zones, like the fragrant gardens, color gardens, and the Lily Pool.

o To try and develop a democratic space which would benefit all sections of the society.

o To make it financially self-sustaining and generate enough revenue for the maintenance.

o To create a sense of joy and fulfillment for all who visit the garden.

CONSTRAINTS

One of the major constraints was to be able to develop the project keeping in view the
ecological sensitivity of the site. The 8 Hectare site is situated on the foothills of the Aravali hill
range. It therefore limited the space available for built up forms. This was because the design
intent was clear as to not disturb the rocky features on the site. The budget was also limited.
TYPOLOGY OF SPACES

NEEL BAGH

The meandering paths then lead up to neel bagh which is a pool of water lilies encircled
by pergolas covered with climbing plants of different colours and textures.

At the centre of the court is a stunning wind chime, crafted by ceramist kristene michael. It
is made up of hundreds of ceramic bells hanging overhead to catch the wind.
 KHAS BAGH

The garden is built on the lines of the mughal gardens. At the entrance of this formal
garden, there is an exciting piece of sculpture, a tree fountain, cast in brass, by John
Bowman.

Slow moving water cascades in channels along the length of this garden. Flowering and
fragrant shrubs and trees line its paths. A walk along the central axis leads to a series of
fountains some which are lit up by fibre-optic lighting systems.

COLORED GARDEN

Narrow pathways, made of various natural materials, snake along compositions of colour,
with flowering shrubs and groundcovers that complement each other. The common
lantana displays itself at its best when it is covered by multiple hues of hundreds of
butterflies which depend on the plant for food.

TACTILE AREA

Apart from the various texture & color that one encounters in the materials used in the
garden the tactile area is especially designed to stimulate the sense of touch.

Weather beaten rocks with remarkable textures and colors from the banks of the river
ganga are coming to be a focus in the tactile area.

SOLAR ENERGY PARK

A solar energy park has been set up with the help of ministry of non-renewable energy
sources.

This section of the garden is meant to bring about awareness in utilization of renewable
sources of energy. It comprises of a 20kw. Solar power plant which meets the requirements
of running the solar park.

COURTS OF SPECIMEN PLANTS

 Moving southwards from the court of lilies are a cluster of courts which feature plants whose
names are commonly heard but those which are not often seen. Some of the courts of
specimens are:

Bamboo court, cacti & succulent court, herb garden, court of palms

AMPHI THEATRE

Blocks of sandstone nestled amongst the natural slope of the site serve as seating for the
open-air theatre.

The back drop of magnificent rocks adds to the dramatic setting.

LANDSCAPING PATTERN

The site can be primarily be divided into 2 zones:

Intensively landscaped and developed zone (intensive zone)

The intensive zone is in the periphery of the site where large amounts of detailed paving's
have been done with intensive landscaping done. This area also has more activities, e.g.,
Food courts, shops, special theme gardens and the pathways etc. This area also has a
special project - solar energy park.

Rugged zone
The rugged zone comprises of the higher parts of the site with mainly natural rock
formation. There has been minimal design intervention in these parts.

The project has been designed in a manner that there is more active usage of the intensive zone
and a spare use of the rugged zone.

There are Colour Gardens - beautiful compositions of flowering shrubs and ground covers that
have you looking at familiar plants with new eyes. The Courts of Specimen Plants display not so
frequently seen species, namely, Kalpaka Vritch, Kadambaha, bamboo, cacti, teak, Rudraksh,
Camphor, Arjun and other herbs

LIGHTING

Pathway lighting provided through post top lanterns and Bulkheads

Flood lighting and highlighting of features and landscape Through floodlights and par
spotlights.
Specialized lighting like underwater lights and fiber optic Lights

WATER FEATRUES

Flowing channels of water has been used in the khaas bagh reminiscent of Mughal
gardens.
There are fountains installed at many places including the elephant pool.
The Neel bagh has a lily pool
other water pools

ARTISTIC IMPRESSION
Following the norm of art in public spaces a committee was set up to commission a large number
of art works for the garden. Most of the works of art commissioned are dynamic, making it more
interactive to the visitors.

About 25 different sculptures and murals have been commissioned for the project making it one
of the largest commissions of public art in the country. The works are primarily contemporary.
However, a phad wall painting by the rajasthani master craftsperson shantilal joshi has been
made on a wall. Also, remarkable terracotta pots by master craftsperson's angoori devi and giri
raj shah have been installed.

Conclusion:

1. This park was developed with the intention to promote tourism and provide for other formal
activities like various festivals. The ticketing system discourages day to day leisure activities
like strolling, jogging, playing etc. common in other parks.
2. The project was designed to fit within two contexts - one is the present city of New Delhi
which is a large bustling metropolis. Also, Delhi has traditionally been a city of gardens. This
project was an extension and development of the tradition. The garden is located
adjacent to the Mehrauli archaeological park. Construction materials and building forms
were selected to be in harmony with this historic precinct.
3. The opening up of three restaurants brings in visitors till late night. Many of the Indian
festivals are celebrated here.
4. The most ambitious celebrations held here are during the festival of Navratri when
traditional dances take place till late in the night.
5. The garden is also a venue for the annual Delhi Garden festival when prize winning plants
are displayed and a plant market is set up where nurserymen come from all parts of the
country to sell plants.
6. There is no proper maintenance.
7. interactive spaces could be created to make the area to get its complete potential out.
8. The garden is useful only when it is booked for some concerts and shows and gives benefits
and all the other times it is just a good place for couples.
9.