Marina beach and environs, a great potential to be cultural district:

 

Marina beach needs no introduction. It is one of the longest beaches and in it is a space to which large number of people throng. One of the reasons for this is the large expanse of open space it offers to the city dwellers. It also boasts of a number of statues and some memorials to past politicians (kind of out of place though). In addition to this the paved areas and the swimming pool allow the fitness enthusiasts to keep up with their goals. Can this potential of bringing in people tapped to give some more diverse variations to the place.

Owing to the above activities and features the Marina beach is a place where different types of users come at different times of the day. Though Marina offers Chennaiites with one of the best open spaces any city can offer, one can argue that it has not reached its potential as public space. All the facilities and uses that Marina offers have been set up in an isolated way. Has some one attempted to see what marina can offer the city if one can take a holistic view?

In a publication ‘Architecture CHENNAI’ brought out by IIA Chennai Centre a feature ran asking the residents of Chennai to reimagine the Marina Beach. Artist Parvathi Nair had responded saying this place can be an Open Arts Centre. Dr. Mathangi Krishnamurthy of IIT Madras envisaged Marina to be an experimental venue for public art. What they aimed at was a number of choreographed temporary activities to take place without encroaching on the beach.

What Marina stretch offers now?

The other side of Marina beach on the city side has some existing places of interest. To start on the North a little beyond where the Marina Beach starts is the Fort Museum inside the Fort St. George. Moving 800 m south is the Victoria war memorial. Half a kilometer further South is the Napier’s bridge a permanent public attraction (due to its landmark status). Further south you have Vivekanandar heritage museum and travelling a bit more you find the newly established Museum of possibilities. At the Southern end of Marina is the Light house which also has a small light house museum in addition to this we cannot ignore the Interpretation centers for the politicians near their memorials. What this means is that different institutions are trying to capitalize on the power of marina to bring in people.

Vivekanda Heritage Museum

Museum of Possibilities

Napier bridge

Fort Museum

What more can the stretch offer?

Already the Marina stretch boasts of a number of museums and memorials. There is potential for more. For example the Humayun Mahal building which is currently under restoration could host a museum of heritage conservation. The Senate house of the Madras University, an Architectural marvel of Indo-Saracenic style can host a museum of Architectural development of Chennai or even a museum of the illustrious university itself. The Chepauk stadium can add on to the flavor of sports with a museum of Indian cricket or Tamil Nadu Cricket somewhere under the stands. All these in addition to the open heritage buildings lining up the Beach road like the PWD building, Presidency College etc. In the latest budget presented in the Tamil Nadu assembly there some sort of development proposed in the island grounds. Adding all of the above to the already existing ones will enhance the place and give more options to the public to visit the place. In addition to above the fishermen and their activities around their hamlets will also be of great interest.

Humayun Mahal under renovation

Here is where we need a holistic view. The Government of Tamil Nadu should play a vital role in this through the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC). There is great potential for this area to be a cultural district. With a huge expanse of Beach, a number of memorials, a host of museums, a lineup of heritage structures and opportunity to become an experimental art space one can only say it’s just a matter of vision to enhance the potential of this.

The way forward:

• The government has to look into making The Marina stretch a cultural district. This area should have a detailed development plan which should identify this zone as a cultural district so as to provide for special needs that this new definition would require.
• The government should facilitate the setting up of new museums as suggested above or with any other concept that the general public will appreciate.
• Details of areas of interest should be clearly brought in physical means with some flyers and in digital means which should give complete information to public about different opportunities they have on this stretch so as to increase awareness.
• Marina has a good connectivity with different parts of the city and the introduction of metro station will only boost this which will in turn bring more people. There needs to be a comprehensive plan for making the Marina walkable and pedestrian friendly. Since the facilities will be present on both sides of the road proper crossing overs/subways etc should be planned to enhance walkability.
• To boost visitor experience proper street furniture on both sides of the road with rest areas, information signage for way finding and information should be provided.
• In addition to above one can think of shuttle service in electric three wheelers which keep running on the stretch helping the people to move faster from one location to other.
• A proper overall lighting plan to be drawn with no areas left dark and also the lighting to be done so as to highlight the heritage structures during the nights.
• Some parts of the beach should be identified as zones for having small scale public gatherings where people can host cultural programs and set up installations etc.
• It will also be a great idea if the stretch is made pedestrian only for around 5 hours on every Sunday, with proper parking plan and circulation worked out.

There is huge scope to make Marina an ideal public space with lot more to offer. It requires a little political will and a consolidated effort of the authorities and people together to realize this dream.