Tag: Landscape and Planning GM

Architecture of the Sacred Commons: Water Landscape of Pamban Island

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Author: Kshitij Churi
Site Location: Pamban Island, Tamil Nadu
Institute: Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute for Architecture and Environmental Studies (KRVIA)
Advisor: Aishwarya Padmanabhan

Description

Pamban Island’s sacred landscape is woven around its 64 teerthams- holy water bodies that once sustained both spiritual practice and ecological balance. These stepped tanks and wells are more than ritual sites; they are decentralized water systems capable of recharging aquifers, resisting seawater ingress in groundwater, and ensuring equitable access to water. Their neglect has led to cultural erosion, ecological vulnerability, and restricted access for communities.
This thesis reimagines the teerthams as active commons- spaces where the nature–culture link is re-established through water. By designing interventions rooted in the stepped tank typology, the project creates equitable spaces of access, ritual, and performance for three key users of the island: the local, the pilgrim, and the tourist. Through architectural insertions addressing the local, pilgrim and tourist, the proposal positions these sacred water structures as anchors of both cultural continuity and ecological resilience and the design becomes a medium to restore lost links between people and place, ecology and ritual, nature and culture.

Drawings

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The Community-centric Livelihood Hub

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Author: Parindra Sur
Site Location: Shantiniketan, West Bengal
Institute: Techno India University
Advisor: Sayan Chatterjee

Description

This thesis investigates the potential of architecture to serve as a catalyst for socio-economic development in rural India through the creation of a Community-centric Livelihood Hub in Shantiniketan, West Bengal. The study addresses the challenges faced by rural artisans—particularly in infrastructure, visibility, and sustainable livelihood—by proposing an architectural intervention that integrates traditional knowledge systems with contemporary sustainable design principles.

A mixed-method research approach was employed, combining site observations, stakeholder interviews, and literature review. Comparative case studies of Auroville (India) and METI School (Bangladesh) informed the design philosophy, highlighting models of participatory, environmentally responsive, and culturally rooted architecture.

The final design comprises multifunctional spaces including training centers, market areas, artisan residences, and community halls—organized around vernacular spatial principles and constructed using local, climate-resilient materials. Emphasis is placed on passive design strategies, community engagement, and the preservation of the local Baul and artisan culture.

By contextualizing architectural design within the framework of rural development and cultural continuity, this project contributes to a replicable model for sustainable rural transformation. It demonstrates how architecture can bridge the gap between tradition and innovation while empowering local communities.

Drawings

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From Mortal to Eternal: Spatializing the Ghat as a Ritual and Reflective Space

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Author: Ananya V
Site Location: Srirangapatna, Karnataka
Institute: School of Planning and Architecture, Mysore
Advisor: Ar. Srikanth K.S

Description

This thesis reimagines the sacred riverfront of Paschimavahini, one of the rare west-flowing stretches of the Kaveri. The site is historically significant as a traditional pilgrimage destination and a place where families perform post-death rituals and rites of passage connected to the cycle of life, death, and memory. It proposes an inclusive, multi-level ritual landscape that honors Hindu non-cremation death rituals such as shraddha, tarpana, pinda pradana, and asti visarjane. The project highlights the quieter yet important practices of remembrance, offering, and connection to ancestors.
The design presents the riverfront as a living ritual spine. It is not just a place for tourism or urban renewal but a sacred ecology where death, memory, and nature are intertwined. The architecture explores multi-level ritual experiences, from horizontal ghats to vertical structures like treehouse-inspired pavilions. These features symbolize the layered journey of the soul while engaging with the river’s edge, water, and vegetation in a sacred way.
In light of Paschimavahini’s cultural and spiritual significance, the proposal ensures the dignity of both human departure and natural cycles. The design emphasizes spatial fairness and inclusivity, providing equal access and respectful spaces for marginalized groups such as widows, poor families, and the elderly, who are often left out of death-related practices. Ultimately, this thesis reweaves death, nature, and memory into a sacred space. Here, ritual architecture goes beyond mere functionality to reflect tradition, ecology, and the dignity of departure.

Drawings

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Kasimedu Karai: A Harbour Front Interface for Coastal Life and Cultural Confluence

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Author: Niveditha G
Site Location: Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Institute: MEASI Academy of Architecture
Advisor: Ar. Reshma Banu

Description

Kasimedu, one of Chennai’s largest fishing harbours, is a vital economic and cultural hub for Tamil Nadu. Yet, its condition does not reflect its significance. Informal market activity spills into public spaces, causing congestion and unhygienic conditions. Community and recreational infrastructure is limited, and a social gap exists between local fishermen and visitors, with few opportunities for meaningful interaction or understanding of the community’s way of life.

The project reimagines the harbour as a Harbourfront Interface, promoting equitable access, cultural exchange and community participation. Zoning addresses all stakeholders, with a dedicated harbour zone near the coast left undisturbed for fishing activities, while markets and recreational areas are strategically planned to minimize fish odor. Recreational and cultural spaces allow visitors to experience local traditions, while bird nesting and watching areas provide habitats for migratory and local birds, integrating ecological sensitivity. A waste management system converts organic waste into plankton and fertilizer. Flea markets and handicraft spaces encourage sustainable local entrepreneurship.

By addressing spatial, social, and ecological inequities, the project bridges the gap between fishermen and the public, creating a resilient, inclusive waterfront that preserves heritage, sustains livelihoods, nurtures cultural exchange, and supports biodiversity.

Drawings

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Tribal Development at Kudampudar, Odisha

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Author: Nashra Hasan
Site Location: Kudampudar, Odisha
Institute: Axis Institute of Architecture
Advisor: Ar. Abhishek Mishra

Description

The proposed thesis project is situated in Kudumpadar, Kundra block, Koraput district, Odisha, spanning across 50 acres of land. The vision of the project is to establish a Self-Sustaining Tribal Ecosystem rooted in harmonic coexistence with nature, integrating biophilic design principles and clustered hamlet-based planning. Inspired by traditional tribal settlement patterns, the master plan draws from the geometry of Kolam design, where grid patterns form the basis of sectoral division and cultural motifs influence building forms. Key facilities include housing clusters, educational spaces, a healthcare center, training and skill development zones, marketplaces with exhibition areas, and communal gathering spaces such as an open-air theatre. The architectural approach emphasizes the use of vernacular construction techniques and local materials, ensuring both cultural relevance and sustainability. The project aims to enhance the quality of life of tribal communities by addressing their social, cultural, and economic needs while simultaneously promoting eco-tourism and cultural exchange. By bridging traditional wisdom with contemporary planning strategies, the project seeks to serve as a model for inclusive tribal development and resilient rural ecosystems.

Drawings

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From Abandoned Mill Ruins to Civic Catalyst: A Case of Connecting DBR Mills to Hussain Sagar Lake as an Equitable Third-Place for Hyderabad

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Author: T Tanishka
Site Location: Hyderabad, Telangana
Institute: Sri Venkateshwara College of Architecture
Advisor: Krishna Priya

Description

“Transforming abandoned mills into inclusive third places of memory, dialogue, and belonging.”
As cities become denser, faster, and increasingly privatized, the everyday citizen is left with few places to simply pause, gather, or belong. This thesis explores the necessity, relevance, and architectural possibilities of Third Spaces in contemporary Indian cities. This architectural inquiry seeks to go beyond conventional redevelopment strategies and envisions brownfield regeneration as a catalytic process, where architecture serves as a medium for, reconnecting, and re- imagining.
Once alive with the hum of looms and the pulse of workers, DBR Mills, Hyderabad now lies silent—its walls weathered, its gates locked, its presence reduced to a forgotten void in the heart of the city. Yet within its ruins rests an unrealized potential, Memory, character, and identity waiting to be reimagined. This thesis proposes re-imagining DBR Mills as a multidisciplinary hub and equitable “third place,” while connecting it to Hussain Sagar Lake where the city can pause, gather, celebrate, and belong. Rooted to where it stands and grounded in character and memory, while introducing new spatial narratives, the proposal reclaims DBR Mills as a regenerative common—open, inclusive, flexible, and ever-adaptive that caters to the ever-changing needs of the city.

Drawings

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Where Nature takes its [Race] Course

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Author: Batul Lokhandwala
Site Location: Mumbai, Maharashtra
Institute: Rizvi College of Architecture
Advisor: Minaz Ansari

Description

Urbanisation inherently excludes the natural components that make up the city and focuses overwhelmingly on the built environment, hence distorting the perception of the environment and disconnecting its citizens from the ecosystem. Mumbai exemplifies this characteristic of cities in terms of not only the scarcity of natural areas but also in terms of what the city classifies as natural areas, a limitation of definition rather than a limitation of availability.
As cities develop, our planning needs to accommodate a cohesive environment for its natural landscape and existing biodiversity. Further it attempts to offer a more holistic design approach. An approach that reconciles the inherent disconnect by ensuring that development acknowledges and respects nature. While demand for land in the city increases, the open spaces grow vulnerable to further destruction. The need for development will forever persist but it should also foster the need to design natural pockets within the dense metropolis.
The Mahalaxmi Racecourse offers a unique opportunity to create a large urban forest within the Island city.
THE REGULATION CURRENTLY FOCUSES ON GENERATING MORE REVENUE THROUGH INCREASING FSI RATHER THAN CREATING BETTER QUALITY OF LIFE BY INCREASING OSI.

Drawings

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Ritual and Right: Water as a Democratic Urban Experience

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Author: Aleena Paulson
Site Location: Kochi, Kerala
Institute: SEED – APJ Abdul Kalam School of Environmental Design
Advisor: Ar. Jills Philip

Description

This architectural thesis explores the democratization of water in urban spaces by reimagining water infrastructure as an inclusive public realm. It emphasizes equitable access for all users, regardless of gender, age, or physical ability, while reviving the cultural significance of communal bathing—once central to social interaction, well-being, and collective identity. The project addresses the disappearance of shared water bodies due to urbanization and privatization, positioning water as not only a utility but also a spatial, social, and emotional connector.
The chosen site at Kakkanad, Kochi, located along the Seaport–Airport Road, provides excellent connectivity through road, metro, and Water Metro links. Its sloped terrain and natural water reserve create opportunities for layered spatial experiences, where water becomes both symbolic and functional, mediating between the dense urban fabric and the surrounding landscape.
Conceptually, the design begins with a simple mass divided into public, semi-public, and private zones. A cross-through access organizes movement, while addition and subtraction of volumes shape a dynamic composition of open and enclosed spaces. Envisioned as an “oasis in the city,” the project ensures physical, social, experiential, ecological, and urban equity through universal accessibility, inclusive water interactions, affordability, diverse modes of engagement, and preservation of natural resources.

Drawings

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Wari The Ephemeral Permanence

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Author: Mrunmai Sujit Patil
Site Location: Pandharpur Wari, Maharashtra
Institute: D Y Patil School of Architecture
Advisor: Anita Shyam

Description

The project explores equitable design interventions along the Pandharpur Wari, focusing on temporary settlements, transitional villages, and urban streets. Typology A addresses rural temporary villages, creating modular clusters that provide uniform accommodation, shared resources, and sanitation facilities for pilgrims while minimizing permanent impact on the land. Typology B intervenes in semi-developed villages like Sansar, where the design balances the seasonal influx of pilgrims with the needs of local residents, enhancing community facilities, circulation, and economic opportunities post-Wari. Typology C focuses on urban areas, transforming streets and open spaces into safe, accessible, and multi-use zones that support both daily city life and the pilgrimage. Across all typologies, design decisions prioritize inclusivity, accessibility, and adaptability, ensuring that diverse user groups—including women, children, the elderly, and differently-abled—are accommodated with dignity. Sustainable materials like sugarcrete and temporary infrastructure strategies are employed to reinforce the principles of circularity and minimal environmental impact. By integrating cultural practices, social behaviors, and ecological sensitivity, the project seeks to preserve the inherent equitability of the Wari while providing contemporary, functional, and context-responsive interventions.

Drawings

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Pravah : Harmonizing Water, Culture, and Environment

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Author: Anish Shinde
Site Location: Poladpur, Maharashtra
Institute: Aditya College of Architecture
Advisor: Rita Nayak

Description

This thesis examines the vital relationship between water, human culture, and ecosystems, highlighting how water influences the identity, livelihood, and rituals of rural communities. Set in Poladpur, Maharashtra, a region with high rainfall yet chronic water scarcity, the project addresses the ecological and infrastructural failures behind this paradox.
In response, it proposes a multifunctional rural node that combines water infrastructure, rainwater harvesting, groundwater recharge, and runoff management with community-focused spaces for gathering, health, agriculture, and learning. Drawing from traditional systems like johads, kunds, and stepwells, the design blends indigenous knowledge with sustainable practices.
Rooted in field research and local engagement, the project also tackles outmigration, declining traditions, and the loss of communal spaces linked to water insecurity. Reimagining water as both a sacred resource and social connector, the design seeks to restore ecological balance, cultural pride, and community cohesion.
Crucially, the intervention creates a space for all villagers, wildlife, livestock, aquatic life, birds, and visitors, fostering a shared environment where water becomes the central unifying force, nurturing coexistence, biodiversity, and an inclusive rural future.

Drawings

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Humanitarian Monastery

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Author: Syeda Nabila Fatima
Site Location: Hyderabad
Institute: Poojya Dr. Shivakumar Swamiji School of Architecture
Advisor: Ar. Anju Wanti

Description

The Humanitarian Monastery is conceived as a place of peace, learning, and community that transcends religion and embraces universal human values. Planned across a 10-acre site, the design approach emphasizes harmony between people, nature, and the built environment. The site layout follows a flowing, circular, and oneness, and the rhythm of life. Each pathway, landscape, and structure emerges as part of a larger ecosystem, where movement feels natural and interconnected, much like the flow of water.
The project is structured around the idea of equitability through design. Public areas are positioned near the main approach for accessibility, while contemplative and private monastic spaces are placed deeper within the site to ensure tranquility. Curved roads, gardens, and water bodies create transitional zones that balance openness with seclusion. The contours of the land are integrated into the planning, allowing the landscape to guide placement and orientation of spaces, reducing intervention and enhancing sustainability.
This thesis is not just an architectural exploration but a humanitarian vision—where planning, landscape, and design techniques unite to create a sustainable, inclusive, and spiritual environment. It demonstrates how architecture can become a medium of healing, equity, and coexistence.

Drawings

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Metamorphosis of Sonsoddo: Bridging the Gap Between Waste and Public Consciousness

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Author: Muhammed Swaleh Beg
Site Location: Margao, Goa
Institute: Goa College of Architecture
Advisor: Dr. Uma Jadhav

Description

Metamorphosis of Sonsoddo – Bridging the Gap Between Waste and Public Consciousness reimagines the Sonsoddo landfill in Margao, Goa, as a catalyst for renewal rather than neglect. Once a peripheral site, now encroached upon by residences and schools, Sonsoddo symbolizes both environmental degradation and systemic failure in waste governance. This thesis proposes a transformative model that integrates waste management with public life, positioning the site as a shared urban resource.

The project critiques the prevailing linear “take-make-waste” economy and instead advances a circular approach, where discarded materials are reintegrated into productive cycles. Facilities such as upcycling workshops, training centers, an eco-market, awareness spaces, and landscaped trails transform the landfill into a place of learning, opportunity, and ecological restoration.

At its core, the proposal envisions a pilot ecosystem where enterprises, artisans, craftsmen, students, and the elderly work alongside each other, creating social, economic, and cultural value. Recyclable materials and RDF become resources for industry, while other materials are recycled, displayed, and repurposed, breaking down barriers between waste, knowledge, and community.

Through thoughtful site planning, sustainable infrastructure, and inclusive programming, the thesis positions Sonsoddo not as a symbol of exclusion but as a model for collective growth, resilience, and renewal.

Drawings

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Devrai – New Context to Cityscape

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Author: Pranav Kokare
Site Location: Aurangabad
Institute: Yashoda College of Architecture
Advisor: Ar. Shaunak Kadam

description

Devrai is a tradition in our societal culture that serves nature & society. It is the forest that functions as a social and environmental institution. Organizing & hosting, Societal & cultural events by providing collective intensions to the society, is the main medium for functioning of devrai as a social institution.    Belief system of Devrai & Its Disciplines –
The reason behind the sustainability of the devrai is that the devrai has its own ‘self sustaining belief system’. Conceptually it’s a set belief that states if we use devrai (the forest) as resources or if we hunt the animals in devrai then the deity will curse on individual or the village. In this concept fear is the main emotion that is been used.
This project is an attempt to make a new structure of devrai based on modern cultural context, carrying both functional aspects of traditional devrai.
The site is located in Aurangabad city and the project is based on the contextual needs of the
surrounding localities.
This project aims –
1. To resolve the community disputes from the city.
2. To conserve the native biodiversity in urban context.

drawings

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Panchal The Zoological Park

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Author: Mohammed Sufyan
Site Location: Pettamala, Kerala
Institute: CAT College of Architecture Trivandrum
Advisor: Prof. K P Geetha

description

The aim of the project was to design a zoological park that gives attention to animal welfare and visitor experience while experimenting on unique structures and concepts which were derived from extensive research. Such a project would also combine architecture with landscaping and research on captive wildlife.

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