Naved Ahmed

UR2008

Water Refuge

Sarkhej roza emerged as an important religious and traded centre in the mid 14th century. The complex was built beside Makarba lake and later a tank was excavated by Mehmud Begada. As a result, the lake and the tank become an anchor point for Sarkhej. The region of Sarkhej went through rapid urbanisation which polluted the lake and turned it into a mere detention pond. The speculation prompts a scenario where the existing is used as an opportunity for the attachments to perform while performing a specific function. They have been classified as collectors, generators and activators. The collectors collect rainwater which falls on the rooftop of buildings. The generators deal with generating new out of the existing while treating the water and the activator act as an activating module. 

View Additional Work

Report Content

Intimate infrastructure is a critic on the banality of a muted water infrastructure - the Gaula barrage. It recognizes and brings to foreground the unplanned uses of the infrastructure and the way in which the spaces have been claimed on a machine purely meant for resource distribution.

The speculation delves into an alternative where the existing infrastructure promotes the ongoing activities by additional elements known as activators. The speculation not only deals with the present but it also tries to investigate the future of the barrage by instigating these activities.

The mapping reflects the changing morphology and the land use conditions of the area around the lakes in the last two decades.

Data highlights the shrinkage of lakes and the reasons associated with it.

Current condition of the lakes.

It highlights the emergence of Sarkhej as an important religious and trade centre. The complex was built near the west bank of river Sabarmarti and it was well connected with other prominent religious centres of the city.

The mapping is a detailed representation of the past and the present. The top part highlights the complex, lake and tank while the bottom part reflects the activities and rituals which are performed on a daily basis by the local communities of potters.

Sluice gate

View of Sarkhej tank

Floating wetland: The plant roots take up the nutrients and contaminants from the lake