Not a level playing field

Hundreds of acres of prime land in the city host public arenas like the Major Dhyanchand National Stadium, refurbished for the Commonwealth Games and where the Hockey World Cup will be held next week. But what will happen once the Games are over? Suparna Bhalla can’t hear an answer

Stadiums have always been built to host competitions, but their value extends far beyond their architectural language into the identity of a city and its people. Modern day stadia are examples of visual and technological excellence and they end up becoming iconic landmarks As we begin the countdown to the XIX Commonwealth Games (October 2010, New Delhi)  it leads us to examine the role of the stadia in the context of the games, the city and the nation.

A list of ‘firsts’
A few weeks ago the Major Dhyanchand National Stadium for hockey was inaugurated in New Delhi. It will also host the Hockey World Cup matches due to start next week (Feb 28 th to March 13th ). If statistics are anything to go by, it lays claim to several firsts. It is the only permanent hockey arena in the world that seats almost 17000, has three pitches, two of which are synthetic. Facilities for players and spectators are said to be state-of-the-art. Even in energy scarce Delhi the arena is to have a constant supply of power to support 2200 lux of illumination and air-conditioning. Its existing heritage structure (this is the former National Stadium near the National Gallery of Modern Art on the India Gate circle) has been juxtaposed with mighty steel columns, whose trusses support a cantilevered canopy that covers the VIP seats. It boasts of handicap accessibility in a city that still has makeshift ramps even at its World Heritage Sites. In other words this 37 acre site is today the crowning glory of the Games, completed in an astoundingly short 18-month  period. This too by a little known Mumbai based construction company, Unity Infraprojects Ltd., that pipped giants like L&T in the tender process to both acquire the project and deliver it in record time. Mr. Abhijit Avarsekar, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Unity said, “Our technological capabilities, excellent labour force and timely utilization of resources have enabled us to complete this stadium in record time.”

The new stands, seats, large electronic display, mounted audio systems and paved parking lots, speak for a lot. The design incorporates skylights for natural light penetration, it has maintained all existing trees and there is a water harvesting system on site. Besides being completed in time, the stadium sets another remarkable precedent, in which it acquired all clearances from the various civic bodies such as ASI, Delhi Urban Arts Commission, fire codes etc, in a matter of months, this when the National Gallery of Modern Art in its immediate vicinity took 25 years to see an inauguration!

Cracks in the ceiling
But on visiting the stadium, one wonders  why the polished granite used in the interior is uneven at joints, why such a heavy steel rail was needed to support the glass, why the new extension is full of shoddy touches such as the wall cladding disseminating into broken lines at the junctions, why only parts of the columns are clad and in some the top portion peeps out of the wall, why the curved false ceiling follows a crooked line and even lowers itself to a point where it covers the part of the original arched doorways, or why the air-conditioning features ceiling mounted units rather than ductable systems. These details are not a function of cost but care, evidently somewhat scarce.

Where is the stadium?
But ask any Delhi-ite where this stadium is, and you would likely get a confused stare and some raised eyebrows. Most do not know that it is none other than the erstwhile National Stadium built originally as the Irwin amphitheatre in 1933,  remodelled to be the main venue for the 1951 and then the 1984 Asian Games. It is now in a new avatar as the Dhyanchand National Stadium in the year 2010.  Why is it that such an arena, goes unnoticed? Even many of the eminent architects and planners of the city draw a blank when asked to describe any of the venues. With less than 225 days left for the Games, it is a wonder that the Capital shows apathy for what is touted to be be the city’s showcase to the world.

Unanswered questions
Several questions come to mind, none that undermine the feat achieved by the hockey stadium, but one that introspects into the premises that go into the making of the venues. According to the official website of the Games there are 10 official competition sites in Delhi.

Of these, the Jawaharlal Nehru Complex (near Pragati Maidan) with its capacity of 60,000 seats, will act as the central hub, hosting the opening and closing ceremonies while the others range from capacities of 3,500 to 20,000 spectators. It is surprising that Delhi chose not to build even one brand new stadium as a statement but adapt, reuse and upgrade the existing and what many would consider obsolete sports infrastructure of the city. This, when the city has added a state of the art metro service, a brand new air terminus and 12 new flyovers besides numerous under and over passes and a four way expressway, all to connect the Games Village to the venues. Ashish Chowdhary, a Delhi based urban designer, questions the premise of this exclusive infrastructure, “What will its use be, post the Games, to both city and citizen? The expressway connects areas of minimal density and then remains aloof to the networks of the city below. How can we justify such costs and ad-hoc design?”

Stadia as icons
Compare this to the some of the landmark stadia of this century, such as the Allianz Arena in Munich by Herzog and de Meuron, the National Stadium in Beijing, or the National Swimming Center again in Beijing. Why are we unable to add an icon even to mark the event in the city? Eventually all public architecture is but a reflection of society...or is it?

Beijing master-planned and designed its Olympic Green (by Sasaki Architects)  for post-Games use by the public . The green agenda was reflected in the use of the park by the local people, the water from all the archery fields was recycled, a sewage treatment plant especially built to recycle, fluorine-free refrigerants were used in all air-conditioning systems and solar energy was chosen to supply all the hot water to athletes and officials. An ideal was established that would last well beyond the actual event.

For the public good?
Besides the Commonwealth Village on the eastern bank of the Yamuna built by EMAAR and which is to be converted to housing (converting public deemed land use of the Yamuna into privately owned apartments), there is no formal announcement as to the public use of these very expensive upgrades (the hockey stadium has cost Rs 263 crore) built at the tax-payers’ expense,  post the Games. As the pavements in central Delhi are being beautified by replacing old red sandstone with new red sandstone, roads widened, and monuments cleaned,  one wonders what will become of the sport arenas themselves. Will they be left to stagnate till we see the next Games roll around, maybe two decades later? Will they be reviewed by committee after committee and then deemed unfit  even for the sport they have been designed for, a la Feroz Shah Kotla? Will they remain as isolated fiefdoms of government bodies that will decree limited access and use?

Today the cleaning squads are out in force, bomb squads sniff the grounds and the bronze statue of Dhyanchand is being spruced up to greet the world But is the arena itself  connected to the city and its people? This connection is a critical tool for establishing an identity both existing and aspirational. Neither is the decision process participatory for the public nor is the connection between these arenas and the city transparent. This kind of administering leads to ad-hoc islands that have no representative context and instead of being assets will end up as expensive monuments for the future. n

[The writer is a Delhi-based architect]