Students propose a pedestrian zone at Seaview

Redesigning project undertaken as part of course at IVS

KARACHI: An innovative design project was conducted by fourth year architecture students of the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture (IVS) as part of their course ‘Urban Open Space Design’. The project aimed at visualising Clifton Beach as a pedestrian friendly, multi-faceted recreational space.

There has been a pioneering effort made in the context of pedestrianising streets, designing Seaview area as a multi-modal street and then connecting the street space with the beach to morph them into a larger recreational waterfront. The project area stretches from Dolmen Mall to the Sahil strip, extending from the Captain Farhan Shaheed Park.

The project is designed to provide a variety of experiences for visitors, improve connections and provide safe recreational spaces. These include converting the Sahil strip from a vehicular street to a multi-modal street, with level separations to create more public space, extending into the sea and opening up space for extra activities.



An exciting proposal is the creation of a pedestrian zone along the section housing eateries. This requires traffic re-routing to make the space a ‘no-car zone’, creation of parking space and introduction of street furniture to facilitate pedestrian movement, such as benches, shades, street lights, end-to-end pavements, bollards, way finders, trash bins and  soft and hard landscaping.

In addition to this, consideration has to be given to appropriately designed vendor kiosks, signage improvements and provision of public toilets. A special consideration is also given to making all visitor spaces accessible and friendly for people with disabilities. The street is also designed to serve provisions for bicycling, bus transit, buggy rides, as well as bicycle and buggy stands, covered with shades using solar panels.

To create additional space, a pier has been designed, extending from the Sahil strip. The Captain Farhan Shaheed Park has been redesigned to cater to people of different age and interest groups with provision of skating rinks, a band stand and children’s play area.



The main aim has been to introduce exciting innovations that are taking place around the world in public space and to adapt them within a local context. Considerations such as activating streets as public spaces, improving pedestrian accessibility, promote walking and cycling, sustainability in design and catering to the special needs of people with disabilities have been the driving factors in the planning and designing process.