Projects | Studio | Awards
PG - MLA - Studio - 3 | Spring 2021 | Treasured Water
  • Student PATIL ANUJA VIJAY
  • Code PLA20054
  • Faculty Architecture
  • Tutor/s Chandrani Chakrabarti,Priyal Shah
  • TA Shreshtha Waghray

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The project Treasured water focuses on re-establishing connection between the water systems through the ravinous land that acts as a threshold. The vision for the site was restoring the network of ravines for reviving the natural hydrological system. This site caters to ecological, recreational and productive aspects in an urban context because of being in proximity with the forests, rural settlement & the Gandhinagar development that indicates the potential for recreational park, but which also threatens the natural landscape of the region and the dependency of the rural users. The design intent is to create a landscape that acts as a sponge catering to these various functions. This would help create a sustainable rural landscape and experience wilderness in an urban domain. 

Understanding the larger context - This region of the Sabarmati river shows the ravinous land across the stretch along with the surrounding land uses. The site has a very diverse seasonal character and is also under pressure from the surrounding urban areas. The ravines form an integral part of the landscape that help absorb water during monsoons & retain it till the summer. With the proximity to Aranya, the project will cater to a larger landmass of protected land.
Understanding the different layers - The site is monotonously flat with mild undulations and formation of deep gully or ravines due to stream bank erosion. The vegetation varies as per the topography.
Understanding the site through vegetation, activities & experiences.
A step towards ecological restoration with community engagement. This would help create a sustainable rural landscape and experience wilderness in an urban domain. Certain strategies used for restoration of ravines involves removal of invasives in phrases and simultaneously planting natives species. Certain soil & water conservation techniques would be used to stablize the soil before planting. The plans show the phasing for broadly over 50 years and also the post dam removal scenario.
Designing the site with varying experiences along the changing habitats. The site has areas conserved for ecological purposes, wilderness park as educational landscape, farming & grazing areas as productive landscapes for villagers as well as allotment gardens for urban users. The dense mix forest has being expanded as being a part of the Aranya udyan. The site acts as Steeping stone, microhabitat, corridor for faunal species.
The Wilderness Park and Community Centre - Wisdom / Ecological trail & Recreational Trail. Experiencing the wilderness park either through the recreational trail that has the elevated pathway and provides a view of the ravines, designed mainly for tourist or the wisdom / ecological trail where one can actually be within those land forms and experience them closely, designed mainly for villagers & nature enthusiast.
The community centre - The area with maximum intervention for public engagement showing programmatically changes. It is the main entrance to the site where villagers can gather for daily activities such as market spaces or eco-school or where the tourist are provided with information and introduced to the landscape and flora of the region.
The recreational trail - Mainly for urban users showing seasonal changes. The section indicates the changing landscape from a ravionous land to a scrubland and the varing experiences. Since the area is prone to flooding, the elevated deck is designed considering the 100 year floodline.
The wisdom or ecological trail - The views show site transformation over the years and how locals as well as nature enthusiasts can become a part of this landscape by getting involved in actives like removal of invasives, collecting native seeds, planting saplings. Since ravine restoration helps reduce velocity of water flow, soil erosion and filtration of water; grasses like vetiver can be used to restore it as seen in the section.
Appreciating the Disappearing - The impact on larger extent. With these kind of ecological design interventions the site can be protected and also become productive for the locals. It can help maintain the hydrological system, increase the biodiversity and spread awareness while also catering to diverse user groups.