This research is done for the project "Trans-Aggregation" as a part of the studio at Columbia University, NY. Our project challenges the top-down masterplan approach to designing Varanasi. By seeing the city as a system of transactions in the hands of people as city makers, we adopt a ground-up approach to design that recognizes that change can be generated by people who live in the area. We see transactions as dynamic sites of exchange that occur between actors on multiple scales almost constantly in Varanasi. We will focus on them as opportunities of intervention that in the future will be play a critical role of restoring the habitat and elevating the living quality of residents by addressing issues of water quality, the treatment of the city’s edge and waste management.
To read more about this project, click here.
Existing water infrastructure and the physical region of boatmen, weavers and farmers
Mapping the historical landscape of Varanasi
Zooming into Dashashwamedh Ghat and the associated marketplace we begin to study the granular activity in areas of concentration. We then identify the types of industry in which these transactions occur in order to determine the scale at which they can occur.