Water Plus Studio

Constant dependence on groundwater along with diminishing recharge capacity, make urban aquifers vulnerable. Coupled with this, many surface water bodies are affected by untreated sewage and garbage dumping. As a result, they go through the cycle of negligence, degradation, and diminish to become an eyesore, reducing their social connection with people. With climate extremes and dearth of open spaces, there has never been a more urgent need to restore these damaged ecosystems than now - both socially and environmentally. Hence, the studio explores nature-based solutions around these degraded urban water sites of varying capacity and wetness as potential catalysts to generate social spaces. Keeping water positivity and climate resilience as a focus, the unit worked around the Kharicut canal in Ahmedabad. Students had to construct the multi-dimensional problem and then craft adaptive solutions around the disturbed water sites that can be tested across time and adverse scenarios.