INTEGRATING JAIPUR’S CRAFT IDENTITY INTO METRO INFRASTRUCTURE: A SYSTEM’S APPROACH TO CULTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL DESIGN

How do traditional craft systems fit in with metro infrastructure so as to measurably enhance commuter comfort, safety and cultural identity and what behavioral evidence should inform this integration? The question motivates the present study, which reflects the lack of nuance in Indian transit design where public metro systems, despite being in culturally rich cities, are largely standardized and function neutral, ignoring the local cultural heritage and lived user experience. This disconnection is particularly pronounced in the UNESCO World Heritage city of Jaipur where, while the city retains its traditional material character, metro station environments remain visually and spatially inert. This research investigates how the traditional handicrafts of Jaipur, blue pottery, block printing, stone inlay, and metal jaali can be incorporated into metro stations as functional systems rather than decorative add-ons, drawing on a three-month study of the Jaipur Metro Rail Corporation (JMRC).Central to the methodology is the Behavioral-Led Comfort Score (BLCS), a structured observational instrument developed specifically for live transit environments. The nine behavioral proxies including postural relaxation, voluntary dwell time, proxemic spacing, spontaneous navigation, and surface engagement were selected based on the Pleasure-Arousal-Dominance (PAD) model (Mehrabian & Russell, 1974), validated through environmental psychology frameworks (Evans & McCoy, 1998) and transit user experience research (Hagen & Friman, 2014). Each proxy is scored on a 1-3 scale, yielding a composite out of nine. Scoring was conducted by 20 independent raters across six station zones, achieving an inter-rater reliability of κ = 0.78 (Cohen's Kappa), and validated through 90% member-checking agreement: staff from six JMRC departments independently scored their agreement against a structured written list of findings. The instrument replaces subjective impressionistic assessment with observable, repeatable behavioral indicators, attributing comfort differentials to spatial and material conditions rather than self-reported preference.A BLCS gap was identified between the culturally rich zone (7.2/9) and the standard corridor (4.5/9) within the same station, attributed to three observed behavioral conditions: 1) spatial legibility (craft surfaces as wayfinding anchors); 2) material richness (reduced proxemic tension and increased dwell time); and 3) cultural familiarity (improved perceived safety). Design interventions were directly derived from these conditions: stone inlay threshold bands for wayfinding, blue pottery cladding for material richness, and metal jaali dividers for spatial legibility. The findings demonstrate that functionally integrated traditional crafts produce measurable, behaviorally evidenced improvements in commuter experience within existing infrastructure constraints.

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I would like to express my heartfelt gratefulness to Dr. Prabir Mukhopadhyay for inspiring my interest in the development of this proposal on “Integrating Jaipur’s Craft Identity into Metro Infrastructure: A System’s Approach to Cultural and Functional Design”. Throughout this journey, his firm support, passionate mentoring, and thoughtful guidance were crucial.
I also want to express my heartfelt gratitude to all of my professors, whose teachings and insights have constantly encouraged me to build a compassionate and ethical design approach. I am grateful to my colleagues, Mr. Rakshith Raghav Joshi and Mr. Debangan Datta, for their encouragement and assistance.
I would want to personally recognize my seniors, Ms. Sakshi Patel & Mr. Milan Kapoor who constantly motivated me, stuck with me through trials, and offered direction whenever issues came.