Social Inclusiveness through Design: Development Centre for the Transgender Community at Vadodara

Largely marginalized due to the heavy stigma that exists within Indian society, negative perceptions and ostracism have pushed the transgender community to the fringes of society and dire living conditions. Often, transgenders are shunned and left to seek the companionship of their like, forcing a close-knit community.

‘Kinnars’ live in crowded localities in different parts of the city, usually in areas of lower-income groups. They often stay segregated from the general public and a large number of transgenders sometimes form their community in a particular locality. By-lanes of popular areas, even red-light areas are inhabited spaces. However, the luxury of community support and acceptance comes with a lack of freedom and personal space.

In a landmark judgment, some basic rights were granted to the Community under the Transgender Rights Protection Act 2019, including the Right to Residence. There is now an opportunity for Architecture to meaningfully intervene to uplift the Community by translating its universal needs of safety, security, privacy, and the need for ‘own’ space.

The Indian transgender community was elaborately studied to understand the architectural and spatial requirements of the Community in a bid to improve living conditions and initiate integration into mainstream society.

The outcome was an architectural model for the Trans-community, designed as an ‘in-transit’ complex to support Community members to develop necessary skills of economic value until they can become independent and live with pride. The Model caters to the essential needs of the trans-community: safety, privacy, and ‘own’ space. The project has been proposed under a scheme for Transgender Persons under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, 2021.

Program Objectives

The design program includes a vocational training and skill-building Center for 100-150 people, residential dormitories for stay-in-transit for 3-6 months, and a mixed-use commercial block for employment opportunities and rental income. The design intent was to create an environment that fosters community engagement and strengthens community ties.

Design Intent

• To create a social hub for the Community that instills pride, a sense of belonging and invites interaction with mainstream society
• To create spaces and experiences that inspire action, and creativity and motivate individuals to learn and grow at their own pace.
• To strike a balance between individual aspirations within the Community

Concept & Design Development

The journey of transformation can only happen in stages and architecture has to support this through appropriate spaces. This kind of contiguous development of spaces is well suited for a seamless transition and is most likely to be seen by the transgender community as its own. The site has been progressively segregated into three main zones namely ‘Prospect’, ‘Interaction’, and ‘Refuge’, ordered to enhance a secure environment interspersed with larger public spaces and smaller pockets of interaction. The degree of publicness decreases between the transition from the ‘Prospect’ spaces, namely the vocational and skill building centre and the commercial space to the residential quarters that comprise the ‘Refuge’.

Refuge

The most fundamental space meets the most crucial needs of its members– privacy, safety, and own space. Inspired by a ‘gharana‘, a dormitory-based accommodation interspersed with spaces for recreation; offers flexibility and customizability to cater to the individual personalities and preferences of its members and allows for individual expression in a collective society.

Interaction

The spaces in this zone offer the inhabitant the opportunity to explore the larger society and choose his role in it at his own pace, from within the comfort of the threshold. This is physically manifested in a vocation and skill-building centre, which includes spaces for skill, knowledge, and value and is one of the most active areas of the complex. Boosting a two-way interaction between the members of the community and mainstream society, this will help initiate members into alternate professions.

Prospect

Crossing the threshold to find oneself may be both challenging and liberating. This zone encompasses greater opportunities for social interaction for members of mainstream society to start getting accustomed to the involvement and contribute enter the trans-community on a day-to-day basis. This will allow greater trust and acceptance, leading to healthy interdependence. Manifested in the project as an active commercial zone, this allows members to offer tailoring, hairdressing, and other useful services to the public at large. Other spaces like F&B and retail may offer opportunities for fair interaction and acceptance by mainstream society.

A better quality of life may be charity no longer. Identity & recognition could be the vehicles of transformation for the transgender community.