Revival of a Waterfront

Indian waters and hinterlands are replete with cultural affinities that often trigger a much larger sentimental value amongst the people. Negotiating the development of one such edge along the Moran River in the south-eastern Vagad region of Rajasthan, are the Goreshwar Otla and Platforms designed by Ahmedabad-based Impasto Building Workshop. As an alternative to sweeping development, this intervention aims to give back to the community a more subtle and sustainable future that not only safeguards its ritualistic sentiments, but also the associated ecosystem of the place.

In the last decade, India has witnessed a sparse but hopeful revival of architecture in the public realm. As collaborative projects of a diverse nature slowly transform our cityscapes – from public transportation to pedestrian facilities, parks to river-fronts, to even grander gestures in the form of memorials, museums and vistas- a new-found awareness gains momentum in the hinterlands, one that attempts to preserve the socio-cultural context that precedes an ongoing urban transition.

Goreshwar Mahadev (Shiva temple), a temple precinct on the banks of Moran River, has been one of the major centres of faith for the locals. A unique characteristic of this precinct is the ‘Shivling’ situated on the Moran River bed, 6.5 meters below the road level. On Mondays, more than 2000 devotees from the surrounding villages come to the river bed to offer prayers. The need for the project stemmed from a common concern to bring the devotees safely to the river bed. Principal Architect Kanishka Suthar recalls how, “the design fundamentally evolved from the idea to create this experiential journey from the road to the river bed.”

Initial process sketches of the scheme

Drawing of the scheme developed for the local masons

As a native of this region, the architect acknowledged the potential this opportunity had presented in itself to manifest into something aspirational for the community. Identifying the lack of available communal spaces for the locals, and drawing from the potential of the landscape and its people – the project advocates use of regional stonework challenging the contemporary Indian architecture’s predilection for concrete. Within the set framework, the intent of the architecture slowly resolved itself into a humble but sophisticated scheme that is democratic and universal in ambition, susceptible to adaptation for multiple uses.

Projects in the hinterland are met with its own challenges of dispute and resistance at a more intimate level than the cities. With almost non-existent competition in the built environment, the role of the architect here is uniquely challenging. The responsibility is almost similar to a doctor’s – careful diagnosis of the territory, prescribing only contextual remedies that are likely to have a ripple effect, eventually leading to an organic process of evolution.

With the support of the Goreshwar Vikas Trust, it was decided that the project was to be executed in phases owing to financial crunches and a pinch of scepticism. As part of the localisation, the architect gathered a team of skilled villagers who would directly partake in the process of planning and execution.

Often as architects, we are trained in a rather formal drawing language which is not so easy to reciprocate on ground, especially in the absence of a contractor who is normally stationed to execute as per drawings at site.

Kanishka Suthar, Founder, impasto building workshop

An unforeseen challenge of the project, the architect quickly developed a much simpler and readable visual language. Foregrounded in abstraction, the drawings helped nurture an empowering work environment.

The process of construction began with cleaning and silting of the river. Here it was discovered that the Shivling sat on a huge river bed rock which had to be preserved in order to maintain its sanctity. Strategically deploying concrete to protect the original state of the Shivling, a semi-circular wide platform is built over a 9” thick parapet wall. Creating this submersible causeway with punctures at the bottom of the parapet help to maintain the natural flow of the river, respecting the ecology inside the river while allowing the devotees to walk and perform rites safely even in the midst of a flooded condition.

The transition from the land to water is covered with steps, inspired by the stepwells of Rajasthan and Gujarat, imparting a sense of familiarity and belonging. The interaction between people and the water due to the changing water levels provided for numerous opportunities to pause and experience the immediate surroundings through the seasons. For instance, the platforms and ‘otlas’ around planted trees become activity generators.

With a culture so deeply intertwined in the landscape of a place, these hinterlands do not need any formal gestures of monumental landmarks. While the decrease in rural populations inevitably translates to a wider cultural void, the architecture here attempts to reciprocate what is existing, extracting threads of connection to history and layers of meaning as a space of traditions and symbols. The slower pace of villages makes it the ideal backdrop to rediscover vernacular techniques, but to be contemporary these lands need to be sensitively connected back to a wider infrastructural network.

In actuality the intent of these isolated interventions must be studied from a greater lens, one in which the vast rural heartlands of the country are being sensitively defined and developed in relation to the cities, without mimicking the streak of urban development, but appropriated and celebrated by the people⊗

KANISHKA SUTHAR is the founder of the impasto building workshop, Ahmedabad & Dungarpur. He studied B. Arch at Pillai’s College of Architecture, Navi Mumbai and Masters in Theory and Design at CEPT University, Ahmedabad. In 2018 he received the appreciation award from the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Rajasthan for the design of the Mavji Maharaj Museum at Beneshwar Dham, Rajasthan. Currently, he is also the Adjunct Assistant Professor in CEPT Foundation Program (CFP) at CEPT University, Ahmedabad.