The narrow streets of the Walled City of Lahore have required their architecture to negotiate the close proximity of public and private spaces. ‘Jharokas’, or overhanging balconies served as an elevated extension of residential space into the public realm, providing the women of the household much needed visual separation in the form of privacy screens or ‘jalis’, that could hide or reveal at the same time.

The installation uses these local architectural features as inspiration that results in a layered screen in order to create a dialogue between the context and the public. The varying footprint of the screen creates different layers of enclosed space and blurs the boundary between inside and outside.

An interactive screen comprising of 335 highly reflective triangular modules not only reference the aa’ina kari of the Sheesh Mahal in the Lahore Fort but also blur the distinction between body and silhouette. The rotation of the modules allow varying degrees of visual porosity and reflection based on orientation and light, thus enabling the screen to provide both privacy and connectedness.

The reflectivity of the geometric grid results in a pixelated collage that brings together the Wazir Khan Mosque, the street, the sky and the people and allows the dialogue between them to continuously evolve as the modules change orientation over time.

Concept Design: Umar Hameed, Raza Zahid, Saima Zaidi

Scheme Design & Construction: Raza Zahid

Photography: Raza Zahid

Client: Sheherezade: The Walled City Anthology is a collaboration between Numaish Karachi-Lahore, Walled City Lahore Authority, Hast-o-Neest, Sur Mandal, Madlab(UK) and the British Council, Pakistan.

Category: Installation