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Intervention at Dodivada

Dodivada, a village located in the east of Gujarat, is famous for its Shree Bahucharaji Temple. 

Being prominent among all the neighboring villages, it caters to a large footfall of worshippers during festivals and people who come to pay their homage to God. The Rath Yatra and the Navratri are also relevant festivals celebrated in the village, with all the villagers gathering at the Main Chowk.

The village periphery can be marked by two water bodies; River Rupen near the Hanuman Temple and the Talav near the Shiv Temple. In the olden times, the temple and the river were in close proximity and there is strong bond between the religious places and the rivers in India. As the years passed, the river has deteriorated and the connection between the temple and the river has also mangled.


The Chowk

The River

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The Lake

Dodivada, like many other villages, also encounters a large outflux of out migrations leaving behind their old houses. A few public buildings and houses are left abandoned in the village that could be put to adaptive reuse or be built again, to serve the village. There are certain areas in the village that are identified to introduce various interventions, that would revamp the village and allow a better experience to the villagers.

The Chowk

Anchor 1

Gathering during the festivals, the Rath Yatra, everything that involves mass participation takes place at the main chowk. Seatings under a Neem Tree, compressed earth for the streets, and the otlas outside the households are some of the feature of the street. The rath is assembled at the Maadh, halts at the main chowk and goes around the periphery of the village. Keeping in mind, that the activities that take place at the chowk holds vital importance, the ideas for the intervention at the square are done accordingly.


Amongst the various public buildings, a few at the chowk were identified to be Re-purposed or Re- built. Amongst the tree identified buildings, the library that stands in the middle of the street is ideated to be rebuilt while the other two buildings serve different purposes.

Being left unused, the strategic Reuse of the buildings in the chowk could prove to be a changemaker in the village, serving different amenities for all.

River always holds a vital importance in every place, so did River Rupen. The river used to flow near the temple in the olden times but now has deteriorated over the years. 

The interventions proposed at the river attempts to re-establish the connection between the river and the temple. The ease of reach for the visitors, the Hanuman Trail and the forest patches created are not only a depiction for the temple and the God but also a strategic proposal to refurbish the temple surroundings. 

 

Taking into account the vital importance of the temple and the community kitchen it holds, a lot of design aspects are conceptualised according to the large amounts of people it caters to. 

 

It aims to restore its ecology and maintain a water network, that would benefit the environment and the villagers.

Anchor 2

The River

Anchor 3

The Lake

Situated at the rear end of the village in proximity to the Shiv Temple, the Talav is currently used as a dumping ground and for cattle’s bathing and drinking. The utilization of the edges as ghats, introducing detention ponds and percolation walls to maintain a water network. The areas in the surrounding of the village accommodates various other functions. 


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From mapping of the village, getting to know about its history and the workings, how the water bodies have transitioned over the years, vegetation currently present and finding out what could benefit them.

All the interventions proposed focuses on the overall long term development of the village, with considerate transformations of the edges and the nodes.

For:
Bipin Patel
Location:
Dodivada, Gujarat
Design Team:
Naomy Parikh

Saumil Patel

Jay

Khushi

Pankaj

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