Lalnunmawia

1516

Designing for a site along a river (Vishwamitri) provides an opportunity to restore the natural phenomena of a river. The intend of intervention in the site is to give more spaces for water which is dealt with various processes such as diverting and ponding flood water from the meander, expanding spaces for the meander, understanding the meander, allowing water to gradually reach the meander. All these processes will lead to decrease in the velocity of the river flow and increase in the journey of the river. Subsequently, a river may be perceived as valuable resource once again not as a destructive and unwanted creation. On attempting to do so, five options of design methodology has been explored namely ‘ Expanding the journey of the river’, ‘Increasing spaces for water’, ‘Pushing back the embankment’, ‘Immediate direction of storm water into the river’, ‘Creating an imprint of a meander’. Out of these, a final conceptualization has been made which allow more spaces for water in the site, decreasing the velocity of flood water and creating an imprint of a meander. The exploration process which follow up the conceptualization is studying and analyzing different characters of water, the impact it has on ecosystem, vegetation and the duration on which it remains in a dry semi-arid climate. These unique characteristics of water has been utilized in the design so as to create an environment which will allow water and river to be perceived as a valuable resource. Finally, adding the response of vegetation and soil to water into accounts, a site in which water settles has been achieved. The site will help water both rain and river water to settle during monsoon and the site will try to hold the water in attempt to retrieve the Vishwamitri meander to the people of Vadodara