Redefining an urban void as an adaptive public floodscape in Prayagraj

Abstract

River Ganges is sacred to Hindus along every fragment of its length and serves as a lifeline for millions who live along its course. (Acciavatti, 2015) It forms one of the most sacred pilgrim sites at its confluence with the river Yamuna at Sangam, Prayagraj. As described by Anthony Acciavatti, this holy site is a ‘celestial terrestrial microcosm’ in itself. A unique interface between the ‘celestial’ and ‘terrestrial’ is achieved during the festival of ‘Kumbh Mela’, where myriads of pilgrims reside along the river banks and bathe in the river Ganga. The Mela is an event attended and spectated by the whole country. Most citizens of Prayagraj are invested in the festival in some way or another. As the river banks transform for the festival, the entire city experiences its ripple effect. Thus, the city residents deeply associate the river landscape with the ‘Kumbh’ and the ‘Magh Mela’. The identity of the river banks in Prayagraj is greatly defined by, if not restricted to, the ‘Kumbh Mela’. The Mela, however, forms one part of the annual cycle of the river. Once the festival is over and the pop-up city dismantled, the river landscape returns to its natural state. It is taken care of and occupied by the local communities dependant on the river for their livelihood. The physical changes of state that occur in the river in its annual cycle, the receding and swelling up of the river, are synchronous with the lives of the local community. For example, the community enjoys farming when the water levels are low and battles flooding when the river swells up. Here, weather and climate are intertwined in the matrix of everyday life and all of its manifestations. This thesis aims to expand the narrative of the Ganges floodplains in Prayagraj from being a festive landscape to a landscape in flux. It wishes to strengthen associational value for the city residents by providing a permanent interface between the river and the city through an urban park. The urban park also acts as a connecting point between the city and the local community. It attempts to accommodate the village of Daraganj into this narrative not as a marginalized community that occupies the river edge but as custodians of the river. The design programme mitigates vulnerabilities and provides enhanced livelihood opportunities for the local community. The urban park is designed as a reflection of the river system on a smaller scale. The landscape design and built design are in coherence with the changes occurring in the river landscape and the subsequent changes in the occupation of the local community. Adaptability and multifunctionality are at the core of the design. These strategies ensure that the site responds to community and city needs at all times and can adapt to the same. Besides being an architectural intervention to address community and city needs, the proposed thesis takes it a step further by being and promoting ecological sensitivity. At the heart of the design is a floodscape that acts as a sponge in the dense city fabric The landscape incorporates flood mitigation strategies and, through effective ways, generates awareness about river ecologies. It is the first destination in Prayagraj to do so.