“Freedom Square: An Unbridled Expression of the Values of a City”

Project: Freedom Square, Calicut Architects: De earth, Calicut

- Ar. Vivek PP and Ar. Nishan M

Calicut, a quintessential port with a glorious cultural inheritance and widely known for its hospitality, has a treasure trove of unrevealed historical tales yet to be shared with the world. The city, known for its social life, boasts of many lively active public spaces like Mananchira Maidan, S.M. Street, Sarovaram Bio Park, Calicut Beach and cultural venues like Tagore Hall and Town Hall. But even as a city with a rich history, it had, for a long time, lacked built spaces which evoked any sense of history, leaving tourists and travellers to reconstruct the mediaeval splendour of the place by themselves.

The city’s heritage spaces were long overdue for a facelift so that they could stay relevant with the passage of time and yet able to convey layers of its history for the new generation. Out of this shared need grew a beautiful partnership between Shri A Pradeep K, MLA and IIA-Calicut Centre, known for its social and public initiatives. This collective movement by the people’s representative in collaboration with professionals was spurred by a desire to unveil the potential of public spaces and the values embedded in society. This partnership has been exploring the true prospects of design in every facet of life from birth to death, right from Ammathottatil, anganavadi, primary schools, schools, streets, bus stops, hospitals, parks, old-age shelters and crematoriums. One such initiative, Freedom Square, stands as a testimony of the rich past and of the aspiring future. The multi-disciplinary firm De earth was entrusted the conceptualisation and design of Freedom Square on behalf of IIA-Calicut Centre.