RE-STRUCTURING THE DEVELOPMENT ALONG A NON-PERENNIAL RIVER, CASE: SABARMATI RIVER, AHMEDABAD, INDIA

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RE-STRUCTURING THE DEVELOPMENT ALONG A NON – PERENNIAL RIVER
CASE : SABARMATI RIVER, Ahmedabad

Water was the initiator of all primary civilisations. Today cities are growing in a haphazard manner. The system of the river and its nature which defined the nature of a city, today has gone into a state of degradation or is considered as a glorified and preserved artifact.

The proposal looks at the development along a non perennial river specifically, the Sabarmati River in Ahmedabad. It considers the hypothesis that the river is still non perennial and has not been channelized as being done currently and thus attempts to create a new/alternate edge and both a city connection and association towards the river and water.

Urban design thus plays an important role in defining and preventing the further eating up of the flood plain and respecting the rivers dynamism. Here, one considers the river and the river bed as one of the major open spaces of the city, owing to its nature.
The vision for the riverfront talks about alternate/traditional water management techniques ( both storm and waste ) to connect the city back to water, owing to the fact that every community in and around Ahmedabad had a water body at one point in time, re-defining the edge towards and at the river , defining accessibility, mixed with utilities, creating pedestrian friendly networks, and to bring about a mix of a dynamic landscape, a hard and a softscape which at times would be submerged and some parts retained , thus making one observe an ever changing and dynamic phenomenon.