Devashree Dipak Damodare

ID4020

Dekho Sabarmati || Behold Sabarmati opens its doors to visitors and enlightens the story of the river that mend the city Ahmedabad. The visitor center set on the tourist attraction site, West Bank, Sabarmati Riverfront. The site also adds a valuable asset to the center by being a stop for ‘Dekho Amdavad’ one day bus tour organized by Gujarat Tourism. The design is made such that the tourist center not only becomes a visitor center about the river, but also provides a few more facilities of a booking center, information center; while defining contextual values. The Boating point on the west bank of Sabarmati riverfront is the major tourist attraction, attracting locals and tourist to the riverfront. People of Ahmedabad have always been connected to the river in numerous ways through different times. We can see people’s association with the river through many stories, now it is time for the river to tell its story. The riverfront, a gray concrete canvas, unfolds the colorful journey of the river and how the city evolved with it. The site is a patch of land between the upper promenade of the riverfront and the Riverfront road, currently informal parking space for the Boating point. The design is an amalgamation of architecture and visual arts putting light on the evolution of the city with respect to the river, Sabarmati. Right from the Emperor Ahmad Shah laying the foundation stone, to arrival of Peshwas and Marathas and then the British Government to emerging as a trade center to becoming a hub for arts and crafts and a major place for Independence movements. The river has seen it all. The massing of the containers is in a way representation of flickering and randomness of a river’s behavior . The three shipping containers create a common open space which has multiple uses.