ZUARI CONNECT

With rivers being nationalised and the declaration of several national waterways, inland water transport infrastructure planning, design and use becomes key in overcoming insularity and connecting places, people and communities. The studio program situates itself in Borim; a taluk village next to Zuari river, Goa. Borim, like numerous insular nodes in Goa fuels local fishing, tourism, shipbuilding, and has potential to connect and interact with greater urban entities. The waterways, mainly rivers, rivulets, estuaries, channels and back waters create an interconnected fluvial ecology with varying degrees of fragility. A central challenge of the studio was to programmatically engage and design with water systems. The program was crafted in response to fluvial conditions: design a construction and repair yard for ferries, a floating ferry terminal, an aquatic exchange and a learning centre. A network of established relationships on landm and water(s) questioned the nature of this facility.