Vanshika Tyagi

IR2015

Gandharva vav is situated in Saraspur Ahmedabad. It is 500 years old .It is located along a very busy street on one of the sides the other two sides are adjacent to the small houses in that area.The vav no longer in use and is an abandoned structure. After talking to the people around the vav we observed that there were some of the functions which needs to be incorporated in that area like a play area,area for public gathering, place for women's to work and many others. There was a need for a play area as the children in that area had no space to play and they play on the roads which is really unsafe. The people around the vav don't allow their children to play around the vav as there is no such parapet and can lead to severe injuries. Design Proposed There are three entrances to the vav the existing,one along the houses adjacent to the vav and one which opens to the main road. The entrance leads to the lawn on the ground floor. There are small shops attached to the wall of the toilet block. The lawn on the ground floor serves as a gatherings space and play area. Apart from the steps there is a slide on the ground floor which leads to the ballpit on the basement 1. The basement 1 consist of interactive learning elements like a bird aviary in the second courtyard and a fish pond in incorporated in the third courtyard. There is a sand pit with plinths of organic shapes attached to the wall, under the steps which leads to the ground-floor. The area along the bird aviary consists of the display of the birds on one side and consist of transition area between the vav and the sandpit opposite to the display area . After the display area there are three steps which leads to the area with digital screens incorporated with the Nish in the wall. There is a seating in front of the fish tank. There are display area of fishes opposite to digital screens after the seating. The aviary is enclosed with the metal grid on both the floors and with a metal dome on the top. There is a glass box cantilever form the basement 1 into the water. The steps from the ground to the basement 1 continues to the basement 2.The second basement consist of Library for kids along the bird aviary. The library consist of Nish which are used as bookshelves also used as a seating. There is a huge globe in front of the fish tank on basement 2 with display around it. The wall opposite to the library consist of interactive learning games related to astrology. The ceiling and the floor in that area also consist of artificial lights which creates the scene of the galaxy. The entire space is dedicated to the children to learn more with an interactive methods