OZAR SABHAGRUHA

          The village of Ozar located on the banks of Kukdi River is an important religious destination for pilgrims and devotees of Lord Ganesha. The temple of Vignahar Ganpati who is one of the Ashtavinayak Ganpatis is situated here. The village is flooded with lakhs of visitors every year especially in the months of August and September during Ganesh festival.            The site is located between the river edge and the temple. The existing Vignahar hall that is occasionally used for meetings and functions needs to be redesigned as a more inclusive public space with better connectivity to the village and which also becomes a lively space for the villagers. The intervention is intended to create a multipurpose flexible contemporary venue, which is sensitive to the context and religious setting, and where both the residents and the visitors can engage with a variety of cultural events all year round. It is participatory in nature and is both a learning center and a performance space for regional masses. The proposed intervention consists of a multipurpose amphitheatre which is flexible to suit the requirements of various performances. It would facilitate cultural events such as dance, music and drama. The amphitheatre would also be used for meetings, gatherings and public celebration. Skits, plays and local shows could as well be performed here. Flexibility of space utility is the key concept of designing the amphitheatre. Various workshops would be conducted to teach performing arts when there is no upcoming event. This place is dedicated to people of all age groups and its main aim is to propagate the importance of Indian culture and assist learning of young minds. The design would also include modifying and improving the surrounding landscape and boating activity to create a recreational place that encourages social interaction for the people.