Cultural Archaeology -Experience the bereaved landscape

Malaviya national institute of technology

Project idea

In the process of ongoing construction in cities and the need for minerals in industries, we cannot completely avoid engaging in the activity of Mining. The mining industry is a big contributor to growing economy.
Driven by profits, different interest groups extravagantly mine the mountains, which results in quarries left behind everywhere which bring about a serious harm to the ecological environment, landscape and the people nearby.

Why are we not concerned about the tragic effects it has on the natural environment and landscape of the region?

Why don’t we feel the pain of the natives who are forced to relocate?
The vision of this thesis is to develop an Architecture that would

Create awareness regarding the after effects of mining through contrast of dead and live landscape,

To plan for the rejuvenation and rehabilitation of the landscape that would otherwise be lost with the expansion of mines,

To preserve and promote the age-old native cultural heritage of Chhattisgarh.

Project description

Site and the surrounding
Bastar is the southernmost district of Chhattisgarh, rich in mineral and forest resources. It is home to various skilled tribes that are expert in metal, wood, bamboo and terracotta craft. Due to the natural environment, climate and the cultural heritage, Bastar provides an attraction for recreational activities.

My thesis involves the study of an inactive stone mine of Kirandul, Bastar. The proposed area lies between the city of Kirandul and the old railway tracks (to the south and north respectively) and the Bailadila range and coal mines and surrounded by small villages.

The Bailadila range is rich in iron deposits. Today, the economy of the area is based mainly on the operating mining sector, which absorbs the largest part of the local workforce. The mining has gradually decreased the vegetation cover and degraded water and land. It has also influenced the cultural and social standards of the area.

Therefore, after a thorough study of the region and relying on the construction of an Industrial Park, in a surrounding area, which aims to become a center of raw materials for Iron industries, I consider it would be necessary to collect and house the history and the civilization of this region in a one site-memorial, a cultural park in the inactive quarry of the area. Bailadialla ranges have large areas of forest land have been expropriated for the mining of Iron, stones, which are transported from the mines to the factories by a conveyor. The dumping of this ash into the hills imposes enormous morphological changes in the terrain of the area, which would in normal circumstances require numerous years to occur. Finally, the excavators penetrate the earth's crust revealing underground water which springs on the surface of earth creating lakes.

Technical information

The topic taken up for my thesis derives inspiration from the background to which I belong. The present condition of my native place and the hidden treasures which it preserves acted as the driving factor which inspired me to return the favors which I received from the place, by the means of Architectural innovation.

With the value of experiencing space through our senses, I propose a linear reconnaissance walk and a remembrance site that is crucified with rustic Industrial cage and showcases the transitions of interior elements and light.
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The walk of the senses serves two purposes: the enhancement of the experience we are currently having of this surreal landscape and the sudden transition experiences, and also the inner workings of the quarry. The concept behind the design of the course of this walk is based on the change of visual and physical connection to ground, sometimes just touching it and other times seeing through it, and sometimes hiding it. Walking further up the mountain ridge's shape changes dramatically on every step as we approach the site.

During the course, there are times when we glance the site and some other times when our gaze is captured by the broken space of center.
During the course of the walk, the only constructed elements that the visitor encounters are the Blocks floating on the truss creating a play of dark shadows in the landscape and the path.

The design concept of the museum is to blend in with the quarry's landscape, by using the mined raw material and Industrial steel turning it into a building material.

The site becomes a Museum and Building Becomes the site. The approach was to have a minimal Impact of built form on the site. The form is simply inspired by the industrial setup surrounding site depicting the Industrial cage in the destructive landscape.

The severity of its form is degraded by the engraving of the promenade and at individual points by slits present in the core of the building, creating visual springs.
The glass block enhances the user’s experience of the sculptural landform, and the observatory evokes a contrast.
The visitor has a choice to either pass underneath it through the trench, or wander inside. Anyone who opts for the second move will be introduced to a visual rotation between the landscape and the exhibits of the museum. The sculpture that emerged after the mining operations is a set of bumps and cavities with intense altitudinal differences that reach 32 meters. As a result of these territorial variations, violent shadows are imprinted on the ground.
One enters from a dark cage into a path filtered by lights and shadows, which reminds him of the dense jungles of Bastar. One sees a light of positivity for future (as the alternative innovations and researchers to revive what was lost) in the research block.
It is followed by the training pavilion that showcases the cultural heritage of Chhattisgarh - craftsmen working under broken pavilions of stone and brick, inspired by the archeological sites nearby. They are trained about health care, environment and the Digital world under the trees preserved.
The landscape complements the quarry and the minimal vegetation, surrounded by abandoned industrial buildings, some of which are in a rustic condition.
The cavities of these landscapes change with time and one sees a transformation from a dry rustic landscape to the waterfall and to lakes that becomes a recreational and spiritual environment for the person.

The aim of this work is the creation of a community recreation area, a space in memory of the quarry, its activity, and its results. My intention is to highlight the existing landscape and to reinforce the experience and the sensations caused by wandering in it.