Author: B Vishnu Priya
Site Location: Sonagachi, Kolkata
Institute: Department of Architecture and Planning, College of Engineering, Trivandrum
Advisor: Arun Cherian

Description

Going into Sonagachi and identifying the real issues inside is one of the most challenging tasks known to India. Over the years, It has formed impenetrable layers of security within itself making it difficult to leave once trapped inside. A sexworker’s  desire to escape from the cycle of prostitution, abuse and illness is overshadowed by fear and a lack of sufficient support systems.

This project aims to provide the sexworkers and children the freedom of choice by providing all required facilities to leave the profession and transition back into society as strong independent citizens. Once a sexworker has chosen to leave Sonagachi behind, this project welcomes them to join the process of reintegration.

The design program involves a newly curated administrative and architectural self-sustaining ecosystem to provide housing, opportunities for upskilling, assistance with child care and access to education, leisure and sense of belonging.

Exclusion can only be addressed by involving the public in the sustenance of this project. Hence the project forms 3 layers of privacy on site. The site level zoning forms a market area where the people of Howrah and Kolkata can freely move about. The second level stacks the housing of the women on top of the commercial zone creating a secondary street network exclusively accessible to the tenants. The third layer addresses the need for institutional facilities required for liberation.

The future of Sonagachi is not written in stigma, but in the strength of its women. A city that no longer defines them by the walls they were once confined within, but by the possibilities they are free to pursue. This project is a step toward an urban fabric that chooses inclusion over exclusion, dignity over neglect, and liberation over silence. In reimagining the lives of the women and children of Sonagachi, we are reminded that architecture is not just about structures—it is about lives, choices, and the collective courage to create change.

Drawings

Click here to go back to the storehouse.