Design Project 2

WALKING TO WATER

Sumegha Mantri. Semester 5. Exhibition Design

National Institute of Design 2008
Brief
Design an ‘interpretive experience’ for the stepwell,
‘Rudabai-ni-vav’ at Adalaj village, incorporating
light and sound.

The stepwell above the ground

Well

Lake

Central circle of the village

Village

The subterranean part of the well The well, open to sky.

Context
Historical
‘Rudabai - ni - vav’ was built in 1499, by the Vaghela queen Rudabai.
It is on the caravan route from Ahmedabad to Patan. This route is
dotted with several other step wells, ranging in size, form and
ornamentation. These step-wells served as a resting place for
travellers and as a source of water to the village. Therefore, these
places also evolved as community spaces.
As we enter the International Decade for Action
Water for Life 2005–2015, this report makes
clear that achieving the target of the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) for access to safe drinking
water and basic sanitation will bring a payback worth
many times the investment involved. It will also bring
health, dignity and transformed lives to many millions of
the world’s poorest people.The humanitarian case for
action is blindingly apparent.

Architectural The economic case is just as strong.

The step-wells are unique to the Rajasthan - Gujarat arid belt of India.
Architecturally, this step-well is none short of on engineering marvel. At US$11.3 billion a year, the
Built in sandstone on the principles of the ‘post and beam’ form of dollar costs of achieving the
space making. Only a minor portion is visible above the ground level. MDG drinking water and
It is built five storeys underground to make the ground water table
directly accessible. The entire space is linearly constructed and the
sanitation target are affordable;
‘forest of pillars’ frame the space. There is a connection built between the human costs of failing to do
the water and the sky, by keeping the entire structure partially open. so are not.

Contemporary -WHO Water report 2005

The village of Adalaj draws its entire water supply from the ground
‘Water for Life - making it happen
water table, through two bore-wells. Over the years, this resource was
exploited. Water consumed from the aquifer was not replenished.
This coupled with the erratic monsoons and global weather changes
resulted in the village suffering a drought three years ago.

2004 2008
Testing out ideas of the waterfall in models
The leaf and droplets of water falling from it
into the well. The sound of the splash!
The amphitheatre and the interactive music
 The final proposal
WALKING TO WATER...
WALKING TO WATER : THE PROPOSED SCHEME Water is a precious resource. ‘Rudabai - ni - vav’ was built in 1499,
glorifying the importance of this resource. The monument is 500 years old
and functionally redundant. However, the philosophy of ‘Universal
sustainable availability of water’ has never been more relevant than today.

The village of Adalaj draws its entire water supply from the ground water
table, through two bore-wells. Over the years, this resource was exploited.
Water consumed from the aquifer was not replenished. This coupled with
the erratic monsoons and global weather changes resulted in the village
suffering a drought three years ago.
Entrances to the well
‘Sustainability of water’ is the keynote of this project. To achieve this,
rainwater harvesting is proposed for the entire village. The collected
rainwater feeds the lake adjacent to the step-well. From the lake, arises a
stream, that runs for a distance in the landscape and then becomes
Amphitheatre sub-terranean. On the surface, the stream is a layered reed-bed, that
With different forms naturally purifies the running water by using biotopes like
that produce sounds,
that are manifested Ausralis fragmitis. Part of the sub-terranean water fills a tank that stores
as lights on the
leaf midrib, ‘the
water for the ‘drop fall’ from the leaf, and the rest is allowed to percolate
keyboard of lights’ to the ground water table, through a gravel filled bore.

Water drops down from the leaf tip into the well. Inside the well, the sound
of the splash resonates due to the nature of the space. This resonating
sound would excite different emotional responses in people.
Performance cradle
Mound The area around the lake
and the stream is
conceived as a ‘walking
park’. The experience is
that of walking through the
woods. This zone is
landscaped with evergreen
and deciduous trees.
Stream vanishes underground Following the path and
the stream, one emerges
from the woods into a
raised clearing that hides
the step-well and the light
2008 2004 weight leaf structure.
[Picture underneath]

Walking up the gentle slope reveals both these elements

and the amphitheatre. The leaf acts as a backdrop for
the amphitheatre, which in itself is a community
Stream from the lake
meeting space and a space for periodic performances.

In the evenings, the edges of the midrib of the leaf

Path light up. It is also proposed that the amphitheatre have
Morning Evening seven large, sculptural sound producing forms. When
played, their sounds are manifested as corresponding
Plan bands of light on the midrib. A string of sounds [music]
Scale 1:200 would therefore create a ‘dance of lights’ on the midrib,
thus creating a visual-acoustic experience.

The ‘dew drop’ leaf A lit midrib and the ‘keyboard of lights’

Transparent lamina of Texlon solar

Amphitheatre Walking along the stream, through the woods into a clearing
Water rises up the
Entrance to mi d
r ib
the well
Sloping landscape, to allow access to all

Mid-section detail of leaf [1:200]

Water from the lake
Leaf tank and
Octagonal landing anchorage Seeps down, recharges
the ground water table

Well 1 Well 2

Section
Detail of the storage tank and anchorage Sumegha Mantri . Semester 5 . Exhibition design . National Institute of Design. 2008.
Scale 1:200