THESIS PROJECT 2019 RUPANTARA
The future of upcycling STUDENT:
ADITI BOGGARAM
PROJECT:
CURATING THE CITY
SPONSOR:
Self Initiated
PROGRAM:
Undergraduate Professional Program
AWARD:
Public Space Design (B.Des)
GUIDES:
Shreyas Srivatsa
COLLABORATORS: Team YUVAA, SAAHAS, Locals of Naubaad
Copyrights 2018-2019 Student Document Publication (For private circulation only) All Rights Reserved
Thesis Project (Undergraduate Professional Programme) Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology Bangalore- 560064 Karnataka No part of this document will be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronically or mechanically, including photocopying, scanning, photography and video recording without written permission from the publishers namely Aditi Boggaram and Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Bangalore. Written, edited and designed by Aditi Boggaram Printed at Bangalore
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND PLAGIARISM STATEMENT I, Aditi Boggaram, hereby declare that the content of this student documentation and final design/artwork submission is my own original work and has not been plagiarised in full or part from previously published/designed/manufactured material or does not even contain substantial propositions of content which have been accepted for an award of any other degree or diploma of any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in this thesis project. I also declare that the intellectual content of this thesis project is my own original work, except to the extent that assistance from others in the project’s design and conception or in style and presentation is acknowledged and that this thesis project (or part of it) will not be submitted as assessed work in any other academic course.
COPYRIGHT STATEMENT I, Aditi Boggaram, hereby grant Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology the right to archive and to make available my thesis project in whole or in part in the institute’s databank and website, and for non-commercial use in all forms of media, now and hereafter known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act.
Name:
Aditi Boggaram
Signature: Date:
03rd May, 2019
-PROJECT PROPOSAL-
Abstract Bidar, also known as the ‘crown district’ is situated on the northernmost part of Karnataka, bordering Maharashtra and Telangana. It is characterized by a unique mix of people, environments, practices and is brimming with an extremely rich culture, heritage and history. This dynamic situation seen here seems to work in tandem but the pace and flow of each community tends to differ. Looking at the professions and daily activities of the people, one can observe a lack of public action and synergy when it comes to income and commerce, cleanliness and public hygiene, environmental consciousness and social awareness and inter-community interactions. Collaborating with Deccan Living Labs, the aim of this project is to collaborate with the communities present in Bidar and to build the past, present and future of this humble settlement. DLL has identified five living lab clusters, namely - Livelihoods & Overall well being, Sensitive Ecologies, Syncretic cultures and Practices, Narratives of Reforms and Social Entrepreneurship. Each cluster focuses on various facets of society that define Bidar as what it is today. Certain observations, conversations and readings propped thoughts about topics such as agriculture and urban services including public health and awareness and growth as an economic and occupational necessity for the community. The aim of this particular project is to promote upcycling as an improvised waste management system which in turn encourages reduction and reuse of waste.
Area of Impact and Key Actors As seen, the city does face a challenge in waste management and even though SAAHAS has the taken the initiative to improvise it, it’s on a relatively small scale. One can observe most of the waste being dumped on the streets, highly inefficient recycling systems and a lack of public toilets that prompts men to urinate on the streets. Today, we live in an era where demands and produce are much higher but the disposal of waste is not quite maintained well and recycling and solid waste management hold a major value in our present times. The aim of this project would be too Suggesting a system to eliminate the age old practice of dumping garbage on streets, wells and karez causing public nuisance and unhygienic environments that in turn pose a threat to the health of the community at large. o Bringing out awareness about the need of keeping the wells clean o Promoting upcycling as a better form of segregation and solid waste management o Utilize the waste produced from the wells to create products/toys/spaces in order to set up an example in the market about upcycling The area of impact would be the bawadis of the city. The bawadis in this context are not the wells present in everyone’s backyard but that which are the historic spots of the city. It is important as this the first step towards replenishing the ground water levels as well as preventing one to stop using wells as a dump-yard. Key actors involved would be the locals living in the area. The biggest helping hand would be team YUVAA, SAAHAS and the locals of Bidar. Their role would be to help with the present scenario of bringing out awareness of multiple clean-ups and in acknowledging the fact that there could be something more than just disposing waste systematically. They would also help in the sustenance of this system for the future and help it evolve with time.
Critical Inquiry and Research Question Micro-context(s)- Karez system, Bawadis of Bidar The Karez system in Bidar is of great historic significance dating back to almost 500 years. The karez technology basically taps into the ground water sources/ natural springs and transports it through an underground tunnel to the settlement, ending in surface canal and/or pools in the village for various uses like drinking, washing, watering livestock, and also further used for irrigating fields and gardens. Off late Bidar has been facing severe droughts mostly because karez lines are not being used to their strongest potential and hence affecting the ground water levels which would be a lot more helpful than digging bore-wells. Bidar has a lot of wells, also known as Bawadis. Almost every house has their own well in their backyard. The wells are connected to the karez system which provides water comfortably throughout the year. Over the past few years, the wells have started drying up and the city is facing quite a few droughts. The end result was that the wells were either being used as a dump-yard or the people started drilling bore-wells to get more water for consumption, which isn’t healthy for the environment. Jahaz-ki-Bawadi is an example, which is an open well present in the backyard of the Multani-pasha dargah which was being used as a garbage dump amongst the other wells in Bidar. It is said that this Bawadi might be one of the channels of the karez system but it’s unclear because of the cantankerous amount of garbage in there. Accumulated with around 85 feet of garbage, team YUVAA along with the tourism department aim to clean and rejuvenate this well. This bought upon the research questiono How do we replenish bawadis and formulate a healthier system of wells by improvising and implementing a well maintained waste management system in the city of Bidar? o
How can we promote upcycling in Bidar to increase more livelihood opportunities within the city?
Collaborative project Micro-context(s)o Karez system o Bawadis of Bidar The potential collaboratorso Team YUVAA (Youth United for Vigilance Awareness and Action) o SAAHAS o Locals living in Lumbini Nagar, Naubaad o Tinkering labs
The project intends to clean up the negative spots of the city and to improvise the waste management systems around the bawadis of Bidar. Garbage accumulation isn’t healthy for the city as well as the people of the city. While an area (Naubaad) is under the eyes of SAAHAS, a few more areas can be guided into better waste management systems. Whilst the clean-up it can also bring out the awareness about recycling and upcycling the waste generated, the main focus is on opening the karez channels in order to replenish the ground water levels.
Methodology The project would be broken into four phasesEnquire: o Understanding the current waste management system o Reading various articles and books about Bidar Explore: o Listing all the historic and major bawadis of Bidar o Using public life study tools in order to understand the kind of waste generated along with how and where it is usually disposed o Case studies about successful waste management systems Experiment: o Coming up with an improvised waste management system with the help of team YUVA and SAAHAS o Prototyping and getting feedback to fit it to its needs Engage: o Engaging the locals in the implementation of the proposed system o Promoting the use of the suggested system and to maintain in the future too
Possible outcomes o o o o o o
Cleaner drains which helps the karez system which in turn helps with the replenishment of ground water Lesser water borne diseases Promotes recycling and upcycling Cleaner streets Provision of public toilets Repair cafes
INTRODUCTION
“
‘Curating the city’ is offered and facilitated by the Deccan Living Labs anchored in the multi-cultural city of Bidar. It opens a network of people who care about the past, present and future of their city & region, to collectively - think, conceptualise and respond (through making). For the UG Thesis project-2019 we have identified five living lab clusters each with a core focus area in Bidar and surrounding regions, they are - Livelihoods & Overall wellbeing; Sensitive Ecologies; Syncretic Cultures and Practices; Narratives of Reforms; and, Social Entrepreneurship. We invite you to join us in exploring the process of curating, by which we mean, is to care for the place, to capture the unheard voices, to generate ways to include the cultural plurality in Bidar region. The overarching inquiry that will drive these living labs and the project is - how can art and design practices act as a catalyst and mediator to sense, shape and shift developmental paradigms?
”
“What are we giving back to the community?” Revolving around the principles of co-creation, collaboration and active citizen participation, the main aim is to provide something to the community which helps curate the city. In a span of three months each one of us have tried collaborating in various aspects of documenting heritage, multi-cultural practices, art forms and other daily nuances in the city of Bidar whilst covering multiple micro-contexts and living labs.
-LIVING LABS-
Livelihoods & wellbeing
Sensitive ecologies
Syncretic cultures & practices
Narratives of development
Social entreprenuership
This project was facilitated and guided by Deccan Living Labs along with Team YUVAA. Its vision is to explore multiple developmental pathways through creative impact making in a collective and inclusive manner Living labs cluster was the first layer of compartmentalisation in order to cover the layered city. Under each cluster there were multiple micro-contexts where each one of us could dive in deeper. This process helped us understand the city a lot quicker than individual research. With constant interaction and feedback from the community, our projects evolved throughout.
-MICROCONTEXTS-
Governing systems
Organising structures
Practice
People
Topography
History
Micro-contexts acted as finer filters where we could compartmentalise jobs, practises and ecosystems present in Bidar. It also helps us understand how these elements interact with each other thereby creating an organisational structure. Based on the undertanding of the principles, we had a couple of master classes before we engaged with the community
-MASTER CLASSES-
READING IMAGES
ETHICS AND OBJECTS
SPECULATIVE DESIGN
EESHITA
PAROMITA BHATIJA
NAVEEN BAGALKOT
SITE AS A CONTEXT
DEVELOP -MENT PARADIGMS
WHAT’S A DESIGNER’S ROLE?
INA KAUR
MOHAN
PROF. CHHAYA
EXPLORING BIDAR
-ABOUT BIDARBidar is the nothernmost district of Karnataka and Bidar is also a city within the same district. It is located in the Hyderabad Karnataka region in the deccan plateau and is considered to be one of the most backward region. On the contrary, being near the border of Maharashtra and Telangana, this city is influenced by many cultural practices in aspects of language, food, religion and rich history. This city is also influenced heavily by indo-persian architecture and hence one can see beautiful structures throughout the city. As of 2011 census, Bidar has around 2.16L citizens and is still growing in terms of education and work. Languages such as Hindi, Kannada, Urdu, Telugu and Marathi are spoken there. This is probably one of the few cities in India where different religions live together in harmony and celebrate this fact instead of retaliating.
-SYNCRETIC CULTURESTo understand Bidar, understanding the people is the key. The city is filled with friendly people who are more than welcome to share their history and culture with us. Through a varied set of activities conducted in our first trip, we understood Bidar on a superficial level which later helped us dive in deeper. Places and people such as religious instituitions, local collectors, local games, celebratory acts of Muharam Padagalu, local prose and poetry and the evergreen market area display syncreticism at its highest.
-CONNECTING BAWADISBidar is filled with hundreds of wells and all of them are somehow connected to each other, very much like the karez system. For this project I have scopeed through 6 wells namely Hamilapur bawadi, Chowkhandi, Pari bawadi, Jahaz ki bawadi, Paras bawadi and Shakkar ki bawadi. The current day scenario is most of the wells towawrds the city are polluted thereby curbing the water level from replinishing and making it the ideal garbage dumping spot.
SAAHAS Residents of Naubaad
01
Hamilapur
N
05
04
03 02
06
Old city Ashtoor N
Naubaad karez
01 02 03 04 05 06
Hamilapur Bawadi Chowkhandi Pari Bawadi Jahaz ki Bawadi Paras Bawadi Shakkar ki Bawadi
Bawadis of Bidar
-CONDUCTING WORKSHOPSAfter exploring and understanding the core of the issue and finding possible connections, a few workshops were conducted with the locals to see the scope of collaborations. 1. Speaking to the locals of Lumbini Nagar, Naubaad vis-a-vis SAAHAS in order to promote awareness about ideal waste management system and why is it important 2. Ideating and prototyping with the locals to make daily objects. This pushed their creativity boundaries and also made them understand the concept of re-purposing through hands-on experience 3. Cleaning up of Paapnash lake (conducting by another classmate, Vallabhi Jalan) and inviting the locals to help clean
IDEATION & ITERATIONS
-CLUSTER BRIEFCommunity Wellbeing
Background Bidar is a unique mix of people, environments and practices. Due to the dynamic nature of people, while all these community-based systems seem to be working in tandem, the extent of pace and flow of each differs. Looking at the professions and daily activities of the people, we found an opportunity to build public action and synergy when it comes to income and market, cleanliness and environment; and awareness and communication. During field research, certain observations, conversations, and readings propped thoughts about topics such as agriculture and urban services including public health and awareness and growth as a social, economic and occupational necessity for the community.
Context Bidar is a mix of communities practicing a variety of professions. While the district is deemed as ‘backward’, in the city there are many well functioning systems such as that of the Asha workers. But at the same time when we look at the data from various sources (6), Karnataka is one of the highest when it comes to farmer suicide rates. The issues of draught, debt trap and farm failure have all resulted in agriculture becoming a difficult occupation to practice. In our conversation with the Bidri artists and farmers, we also realized that the newer generation is looking for opportunities in white collar jobs and abandoning traditional family practices. When it comes to wellbeing from the perspective of people’s physical environment, NGOs such as Saahas are working on the betterment of waste management systems and environmental preservation. However, due to lack of funding, they are as of now working only with a small area. Large scale change and awareness is the next phase of the project. Due to beliefs and traditional practices, the FPAI (Family Planning Association of India) while having worked with the same communities for years, are still are not accepted and find it difficult to initiate conversations about sensitive topics. Change is also difficult from the perspective of the agriculture. The younger “educated” generation are moving away from agriculture due to lack of interest and hardship in the field. An agro brain drain is taking place in the country. Students are looking for a variety of opportunities outside the field of agriculture to areas they are aware of and people and occupation they commonly engage with. Bidar is rich in various craft practices. There is a need to add value to them. These crafts lack market and recognition outside Bidar. Bidriware being the most popular craft practiced does not receive enough exposure and audience within India. State and national awardees are still struggling to make ends meet. Besides market, there is also an opportunity to celebrate these various crafts co-existing by facilitating communication and engagement between each other and promoting social development. Furthermore, because of its geographical location, Bidar has a lot of influence from its neighboring states which they have adopted and modified in terms of its
culinary practices. Now, these practices are not just related to food but a lot to do with healthcare and wellbeing. Each household has its own specific recipes and ways that they perform in their day to day lives which directly has an impact on their health. This way they might be going unnoticed amongst the people since they are so restricted to one household or a single persons’ practice. There is an opportunity for recognition of these practices for a larger part of the community. In all our insights, there is scope for facilitating communication within or between communities and value addition in each field. The focus is on questioning the gap in these observations and looking at the impact from the perspective of the people.
Living Labs Falling under the living lab cluster of Livelihood and overall well being, Social entrepreneurship, Sensitive ecologies and syncretic cultures the interventions look at impact through the context of people and practice.
Micro-contexts Craft practices, agriculture , public health, culinary practices, ayurvedic practices, education and bawadis.
Potential collaborators Saahas, Asha Workers, Family planning association of India (FPAI), Krishi Vidya Kendra (KVK), Archeological Survey of India (ASI), Bidri artists, potters community, bamboo craft artisans, Sindhol thanda, Anganwadi kendras, farmers, Ayurvedic doctor/practitioner (Dr. Ravi Chandra), households, Team YUVAA.
Impact statement The aim of this cluster is to create a positive change in the functioning of community-based systems through multi-disciplinary design interventions. The focus is to look at some of the aspects of well being such as awareness about health, cleanliness, economic growth, human resource and social development.
Projects 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Promoting upcycling as an approach towards waste management with respect to the bawadis in Bidar Developing employment opportunities within the field of agriculture Looking into the taboos in reproductive healthcare subjects and creating awareness Improving the livelihood of the Artisans by focusing on community awareness and income Facilitating communication between local craft communities resulting in social development and innovation. Understanding local culinary practices that differ from one community to another and its effects on health and general well-being
-THE BOTTLE HOUSECap-Egmont, Canada
Over 25 000 recycled bottles ingeniously cemented together to create the Bottle Houses, it’s a must-see tourist attraction in Canada. They were built by Édouard T. Arsenault. He gave birth to these houses after having received a postcard of a glass castle from his daughter in 1979, an attraction she had visited in British Columbia. From 1980 to the spring of 1984, he cleverly cemented over 25,000 bottles of various shapes, sizes and colours, into three fantasy-like buildings. The first bottle house, the six gabled house, was built in 1980 out of approximately 12,000 bottles; it measures 20 feet x 14 feet with three main sections. Its six gables and the patterns produced by the careful choosing of colors and sizes of bottles. The second building, the tavern, built in 1982, with approximately 8,000 bottles. In this tavern-like hexagonal structure, one can admire a large selection of bottles collected. The third building, the chapel, was constructed with approximately 10,000 bottles in 1983. At sunset, a symphony of light and colors streams in from behind the altar. Visitors are likely to sense a feeling of peace and tranquillity as they admire the final chapter of Arsenault’s work. The structures are one of its kind from its period of time.
-CASTILLO INSPIRACIONBocas del Toro, Panama
Castillo Inspiracion and The Dungeon are located inside Plastic Bottle Village, and the construction of the castle was started by a couple of friends, in July 2016 and was completed in June 2018. It has four levels measuring 14 meters high and contains 40,000 PET bottles. The Castle includes two guest rooms accommodating 4 persons per room on the first floor, a Royal suite accommodating up to 12 persons on the second level, a dining/bar area on the third floor, and a gathering level with a fantastic view on the fourth. The Dungeon Jail contains 10,000 PET bottles. The Dungeon includes 2 jail cell rooms accommodating 4 people, and 4 jail cell rooms accommodating 2 people at a time . Around this fun space, there are residential spaces built too if one wants to switch to a guilt-free home. The core of their project also revolves around bringing about the awareness of hazards with respect to plastic and oil spills and everytime a person visits their structure, the money raised goes to the protection of the environment.
-THE BOTTLE SCHOOLSan Pablo, Philippines
The innovative building was conceived and constructed by Illac Diaz and MyShelter Foundation as a way of turning a negative of discarded plastic bottles into a positive, a brand new place for children to get their learn on. The school is made from 1.5 and two-liter soda and water bottles filled with adobe which is three times stronger than concrete. In order to raise awareness for the school, MyShelter Foundation organized a run in June. They collected bottles which most people were more than happy to get rid of at the event. The Bottle School was constructed with the help of dozens of volunteers who secured the bottles with liquified adobe and steel bars. Even though the school is made of plastic bottles, it is very light and airy in the building. Placing the bottles in a playful manner has created this checkerboard pattern on one of the facades. The building has not been plastered in order to show the rawness of these materials which we consider trash.
-DEVIKA KRISHNANBangalore, India
“By using waste, we reduce material cost and make the product affordable. The largest component in the product’s price goes to its maker,” -Devika Krishnan Devika Krishnan is a well known designer who is also the founder of ‘Joy at Work’. This instituition provides women an opportunity to learn and hone their hand and business skills, empowering them to contribute to their household income. Devika focuses on predominantly upcycling goods out of tetrapak. She has experimented with other materials such as cement bags and other fabric scraps. The Joy at Work women now make around 300 products a month on an average; prices range from Rs 30 for a pair of earrings to about Rs 2,000 for a floor mat. The eye-catching baskets, which typically use 26 cartons, are ultra-strong and can last up to seven years. On an even brighter side, the small-scale setup encourages women to bring and train a friend, leading to solidarity and helping women gain and hone their problem-solving skills. As of now it is still guided by Devika but she is working on making the designs independent of her and would completely be controlled by the locals making it.
-MEETING THE ENDSBased on the case studies, the main focus was on the construction methodology. Post waste profiling, it was easy to state there was an abundance of plastic bottles which can enable this project. Taking spatial elements from Bidar and the principles and possibilities of upcycling from the above mentioned examples, the following ideation followed.
BUILDING RUPANTARA
MATERIAL LIST Ideation
PLASTIC TILES
PLASTIC BAGS
GLASS BOTTLES
PLASTIC BOTTLES
TIN CANS
EARTH & CLAY
CONCRETE
FISHNET
-UNDERSTANDING THE MATERIALSSince the focus is upcycling, the usage of waste wholesomely is the aim. Suggesting using sand packed plastic bottles instead of bricks is an excellent example of an alternative. Glass bottles could be used for structure as well as quirky facade designs. It’s an interesting take on mundane windows. The fishnet then adds to the support of the structure which then allows it to be flexible enough to withstand harsh weather conditions. Plastic bags can still be furthere used to weave mats or add to the flooring. One can cut plastic bags into tiny bags and mould them into tiles or mix them with epoxy resin to give a very different florring. As we know, plastic takes ages to degrade thereby makking plastic a very sustainable material in construction due to its durability. Tin cans could also be used to make walls with interesting facades. They could also be used in making lighting elements such as pendent fixtures and table lamps. Concrete and clay adds to the stability of the structure.
-AWARENESS POSTERSSimple posters which educate the crowd about the basic difference between upcycling and recycling could be used during the workshops. Other posters such as the benefits of this alternative construction methodology or how to constuct such structures have been provided too to explain to the community.
-UNDERSTANDING THE SYSTEMThis simple system suggests that the waste is collected and sgregated by SAAHAS as usual. The usable waste is then used to either build more of these structures or make more daily objects with the help of the locals. Other collaborators can pitch in too. The people visiting these spaces would be predominently students of all ages and other interests individuals ( locals/tourists ) who would then spread the message. As this brings about awareness, the waste in the wells start to deplete thereby giving the water lebels a chance again to rise. Simultaneously, the revenue generated through selling the daily objects and renting out these spaces goes back to SAAHAS which is then funded into maintaining the wells and the building. This completes the loop.
RECYCLE V/S UPCYCLE What’s better for our planet?
Waste is cut into tiny bits and then burnt and molded into an ideal object which then becomes our recycled good. This process is called DOWNCYCLING.
Waste is re-purposed and refashioned into something useful with minimum to no loss of energy and this process is called UPCYCLING.
Upcycled goods usually have more value and finer quality than their original state So what is better for us, for our planet?
UPCYCLING!
Products as simple as lamps, baskets, vases to something as complex as buildings can be made out of waste
WHY SHOULD WE HAVE PLASTIC BOTTLE STRUCTURES?
1 plastic bottle house of 100 m2
ENERGY SAVING
The air in the bottles act like an insulator thereby cooling the entire structure down even more efficiently than a brick
NON TOXIC
Due to the arrangement and plastering of bottles, the walls posses a natural ventilation system which prevents mold growth, mildew and fumes
14,000 -16,000 bottles
COST EFFECIENT
These structures cost about 1/3rd of the price than an average brick building and pretty easy to find in our daily dump.
EARTHQUAKE PROOF
Plastic is a lot more sturdy and durable than brick. The plastic bottles and fish net mesh adds to the flexibility of the structure which helps in resisting tremors.
FLOATABLE
With the appropriate framework, plastic bottle homes could float in water thereby being an ideal solution in tsunami prone areas.
HOW CAN THESE PLASTIC BOTTLE STRUCTURES BE MADE Basic construction principles and methodology
STEP 01
STEP 02
Fill in the plastic bottles with fine Dig a basic foundation of 2 sand- drier, the better! feet depth and fill half of it with concrete. Use steel reinforcements Pack it as tight as possible using a for support and structure wooden stick. Make sure there are no air bubbles or moisture trapped In case of larger structures, use loads of pillars for stability. One We need as many bottles as possible should arrange bottles in a radial and as many people too to fasten fashion around the steel rod the process Once set, wrap in fishnet. This acts Once done, collect all bottles and like RCC and keeps the structure in start building! place and flexible to a certain point
STEP 03
STEP 04
Build like how we build usually!
Small structures such as houses, schools, workspaces, and so on Leave frames open for the doors can be made as well as large city and windows scape. Make sure a good amount of earth The waste could also be used for mix/ cement is used. This only the roofing or flooring, depending ensure the stability and durability on the needs of the structure Waste has a strong potential to act Lime plaster can be done for a as construction fillers as well as the smoother finish which also aids in core construction material and this cooler temperature regulation should thus not be wasted away
WASTE
collected and segregated by SAAHAS
Workshop space Workshops conducted by
Practicing locals
Tinkering Labs Team YUVAA
SAAHAS Depletion of waste
Open to students of all ages Open to all interested locals
Daily Objects Lamps Boxes Jewelery Bags Vases
REVENUE GENERATED
Multi-functional Hall Exhibition space Community center
Function hall Sale space
AWARENESS
-RUPANTARA-
As proposed, the entire structure is made of plastic and glass bottle walls instead of the conventional brick and mortar. The area is divided into three blocks - an office space, worshop and a multi-purpose hall. The office space is for SAAHAS. They control and collect revenue generated from this space. They also help in conducting worshop with other collaborators such as Team YUVAA, Tinkering Labs and other interested individuals. The workshop suggests as its name - the commuity can conduct workshops here to bring out the awareness about the potential of upcycling. The space itself enables one to work freely and a storage room is provided in case if needed. The multi-purpose hall could be used either as an exhibition space, a function hall or even a community centre. Since the space is flexible, each function is easily doable. The structure in itself is inspired by the indo-persian architecture which is seen throughout this historic city. Arched doors and full length windows are present to bring in as much light as possible. Windows are strategically placed to enable natural ventilation throughout the building. A common toilet block has been provided in the outdoors for the ease of maintenance. The space is surrounded by a few trees in attempt to make the space relatively cooler. Other simpler tasks of upcycling waste into daily objects is something which will run in the background. The structure is a hyperbole when it comes in explaining the potential of upcycling.
-REFLECTIONIn the span of four months, it’s important to know that the project cannot be a real-time project and that proposing a plan with 50-50 possibilities is basically reality. As interesting and fun it was interacting with the humble people of Bidar, it was difficult to keep in mind that we aren’t problem solvers and we cannot over promise. We also need to learn to be a part of the community and not force ourselves into it. Another tough point was actually understanding the underlying issues which either people are unaware about or have accepted and turned a blind eye to it for whatever reasons they pose. Bidar as a city has so much potential to develop on the right track since the population isn’t massive and are open to learning more about whatever topic we had. The city in itself is so rich of various cultures and history, one can see it literally on every street of Bidar which is extremely fascinating. It takes time to build rapport and even ore effort to keep up this relationship over a distance. This project has been frustrating at times but equally thrilling due to its challenging nature. My aim was to try keeping it on practical grounds and I feel I have done it justice for the first step in the very least. Even if it brings up the thought on the various possibilities in their very own city, it’s an accomplishment.
-ACKNOWLEDGEMENTI thank Srishti for providing us this golden opportunity to learn and practice design in such a rich context. Special thanks to the people of Bidar for being so warm and welcoming throughout and for providing us so much information and the multiple cups of chai! A big big thank you to Team YUVAA for being so supportive and helpful at all times! I thank my parents and my friends who have helped me a lot in terms of motivation in this project within the limited time frame and for dealing with the last minute struggle and chaos. Lastly, I’d like to thank our facilitator Shreyas Srivatsa for being patient enough to handle all of us single handedly. This project truly has taught plenty in terms of what is actually needed and keeping it extremely grounded. Thank you all.
THESIS PROJECT 2019 RUPANTARA The future of upcycling
STUDENT:
ADITI BOGGARAM
PROJECT:
CURATING THE CITY
SPONSOR:
Self Initiated
PROGRAM:
Undergraduate Professional Program
AWARD:
Public Space Design (B.Des)
GUIDES:
Shreyas Srivatsa
COLLABORATORS:
SAAHAS, Team YUVAA, Locals of Naubaad
FINAL EXAMINATION PANEL COMMENTS
Examiner 01: Examiner 02: Examiner 03: Date:
Academic Dean: (Rustam Vania)
ADITI BOGGARAM Thesis project 2019 (Undergraduate professional program) Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology Bangalore- 560064 Karnataka