22 _ TUSHITA SAH _ SYNOPSIS SUBMISSION

THESIS 2020
PORTABLE HOUSING SOLUTION FOR THE KUMBH
MELA , PRAYAGRAJ
A Synopsis
Submitted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the award of the degree of
BACHELOR OF ARCHITECTURE
BY
TUSHITA SAH
(BARCH/10022/16)
THESIS GUIDE
Prof. Pavan K. Tiwari
DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE
BIRLA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
MESRA-835215, RANCHI

CONTENTS:
1. PROJECT INTRODUCTION ……….…………………………… 1-3
2. RELEVENCE OF STUDY ……….……………………………….. 3
3. PRESENT CONDITIONS ……….………………………………... 4
4. BUILT ENVIRONMENT AT KUMBH MELA ……….………… 5
5. JUSTIFICATION ……….…………………………………………. 6
6. SCOPE OF WORK ……….……………………………………….. 7
7. LIMITATIONS ……….……………………………………………. 7
8. AIM AND OBJECTIVES ……….………………………………… 8
9. CASE STUDIES ………….………………………………………… 9-10
10. SITE ANALYSIS ………….……………………………………….. 11
11. AREA REQUIREMENTS ……….………………………………... 12
12. BREIF DESIGN CONCEPT ……….……………………………... 13

Once upon a time ….
The only one time when the Devs
and Asuras unite for the churning
of ocean, insted of devasur sangram;
‘So’
With the Devasur co-operation with
each other, finally Amrit or the
nectar of immortality came out, and
to attain it every being devoured,
therefore then, Vishnu becoming the
deluder Mohini; for securing the
amrit, in course of which four drops
of Amrit fell-off, of which one of
the place is prayagraj.
Therefore,
This is how this religious,
cultural and knowledge sharing
mass gathering started, which is
Celebrated till date in bigger and
smaller avenges every year….
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1. PROJECT INTRODUCTION
Kumbh Mela, is the largest human gathering which is attended by millions of people
on a earth irrespective of all worldly barriers of caste, creed, region. The Kumbh Mela
has wielded a mesmeric influence over the minds and the imagination of the ordinary
Indian. Devotees believe simply by bathing in the Ganga zone is freed from their past
sins (karma), and thus one becomes eligible for liberation from the cycle of birth and
death. Other activities include religious discussions, devotional singing, mass feeding
of holy men and women and the poor, and religious assemblies where doctrines are
debated and standardized. Kumbh Mela (especially the Prayag Kumbh Mela) is the
most sacred of all the Hindu pilgrimages. Millions of holy men and women (saints,
monks, and sadhus) attend this spectacle of faith.
As the location of the world's largest single-purpose gathering of people, the Kumbh
Mela obviously required a significant organizational effort from those charged with
planning it - but what is less obvious is exactly how this need to plan can be squared
with the nature of the Kumbh Mela itself. Located in the flood plains of the
river Ganges, most of the 30-square-kilometer area of the festival, which is divided
into 14 sectors (commonly referred to as the Nagri) remains underwater until a few
months before the festival, and organization is at every stage challenged by the
uncertainty and ephemerality of the festival itself.
Braving the diurnal range of temperature differences, and extreams of cold and fog at
nights, the festival takes place for about 50 to 55 days on the river banks of ganga,
yamuna and mythical saraswati, in the months of January and February.
Around five thousand tents setup by the government and several other private
sectors. Different community centers
- 348 shops in clustures of 40 each
- 48 milk booths
- food courts, And many more amenities.
22 pontoon bridges built across the yamuna river. Checqured plate roads for
vehicular movement.
2

Among all the faith, festival and religious activities, pilgrims face a lot of difficulties
during their stay at Kumbh Mela, due to the climate and harsh weather conditions,
also at many sectors the sanitation facilities are very poor, on days when it rains the
whole place becomes in habitable. Also their are always chances of fire and stamped.
My scope of research shall be as follows:
‣Proposal for portable housing settlement, for different groups of society with basic
faciliteis.
‣Arrangement of housing clustures in such a way that it will suffice the need of
private or semi-private open spaces for their daily activities. This acts as a
platform to interact and erase the invisible line of difference between different
communities.
‣A main prayer hall for gathering and knowladge sharing, which is one of the main
pillars of Kumbh Mela.
The limitations / constrains here are the construction materials, that are easily
available, affordable, easy to assemble, light weight, and most importantly it should
be sustainable and does not harm the environment.
The building materials considering these limitations, are bamboo, cane matt, straw,
reed matt, and cork sheets.
2. RELEVANCE OF STUDY
This research is important as it brings forth the social and economical issues at
Kumbh Mela to the mainstream. This would help in improving the living conditions
through Governmental and Private Sector interventions.
The site is located in pared grounds Prayagraj, Allahabad and is itself known as
UNESCO’s 'intangible cultural heritage of humanity'. The festival attracts many
tourists, as they come to celebrate and be a part of the largest religious gathering in
the world which is known as “ world's largest congregation of religious pilgrims “.
3

3. PRESENT CONDITIONS
The present living conditions at Kumbh Mela is not so habitable, and proposal of a
better temporary dwelling is the scope and research of this thesis.
Below are the existing living conditions of the Kumbh Mela.
Rain at the Kumbh Mela , this is what
happens when it rains at Kumbh Mela and
the place becomes inhabitable.
SOURCE: GOOGLE SEARCH
30/11/2020
Public toilets at the Kumbh mela.
SOURCE: GOOGLE SEARCH
1/12/2020
Tent cluster at the Kumbh Mela.
SOURCE: GOOGLE SEARCH
1/12/2020
Left overs of
the Kumbh Mela.
SOURCE: GOOGLE SEARCH
30/11/2020
4

4. BUILT ENVIRONMENT AT KUMBH MELA
TENTS
The tents at Kumbh Mela serves multitudes of uses, as
sleeping, socializing, and eating or religious gatherings,
entertainment, and health care. Accordingly, they vary
greatly in size and appearance but are arranged within
the basic urban grid. The interestial spaces define more
intimate pathways for walking on foot.
MULTISCALER ELEMENTS
The modular enclosure system of the Kumbh allow for
wide range of structures, ranging from small tents to
very large congregation halls and temples. Similar basic
elements are aggregated to generate a multitude of
quasi-urban typologies.
RECOMBINATORY ASSEMBLY
Recombinatory assembly reduces the cost of
construction and assembly, while allowing for greater
design flexibility.
BUILDING MATERIALS USED AT PRESENT
(i)Bamboo(8feettall) (iv)Corrogated Metal Sheet
(ii)Ropes (v)Fabric/Plastic (iii)Nails/Wires/Screws
(vi)Straws
5

5. JUSTIFICATION
This research is important as it brings forth the social and economical issues at
Kumbh Mela to the mainstream. This would help in improving the living conditions
through Governmental and Private Sector interventions.
The site is located in pared grounds Prayagraj, Allahabad and is itself known as
UNESCO’s 'intangible cultural heritage of humanity'. The festival attracts many
tourists, as they come to celebrate and be a part of the largest religious gathering in
the world which is known as “ world's largest congregation of religious pilgrims “.
Better facilities and living conditions will increase the influx of tourists resulting in
increase of GDP.
TO PRESERVE
CULTURE OF
KUMBH
LACK OF
BETTER
SANITATION
FACILITIES
TO
PRESERVE
HISTORY
KUMBH
MELA
LACK OF
HABITABLE
INFRASTRUCTURE
EMPLOYMENT
FOR LABOUR
SECTOR
TO
IMPROVE
TOURIST
INFLUX
6

6. SCOPE OF ARCHITECTURAL INTERVENTIONS
After surveying the situation of the Kumbh mela at Prayagraj, what came out to be the
need and requirements of the settlement is framed as the scope of work which is as
follows:
‣ Portable houses for Kumbh Mela settlement, this will consist of temporary
dwelling units for 1500 people (375 families approx.) arranged in a grid
settlement layout (as they have been following it from centuries, due to ease of
movement and safety purpose).
Typologies of dwelling units are as follows:
‣ Single unit (1/2 people accommodations)
‣ 4 People accommodations
‣ VVIP/VIP accommodations
The dwelling units will be temporary, which can be dismantled and erected easily.
‣ Main prayer hall, accommodating 1500people at a time , for their daily gatherings
and prayers.
The three Cs (Climate, Culture and Costing ) is fulfilled as the shelter units are
designed to fulfill the criteria of climate and costing and the main prayer hall is the
place for knowledge and idea sharing which is the age long culture of Kumbh Mela.
7. LIMITATIONS
‣ Public toilets
‣ Dining areas
‣ Market / stalls
‣ Meeting halls
The above proposals have not been detailed out with within this project.
7

8. AIM AND OBJECTIVE
AIM
‣ Aim of this thesis is, how a better living condition can be achieved without
deviating from the existing culture and rather enhance it more.
‣ Studying the context of location, climate and the culture of Kumbh Mela and
finding out to find out the combination of different materials & construction
techniques to work as one, which can serve all the basic needs of the Kumbh
Mela settlement .
‣ Also their daily activities and the sort of spaces which can be required by them,
and can make the stay better.
OBJECTIVES
Employment
Employment for labour class, as a huge no of labour
work is required in deployment and removal of the
structures.
Community housing for the pilgrims which will provide
them comfort from harsh climate.
Economical upliftment through govt. Interventions and also by
tourists influx, as this festival is organized by public private
partnership
1. C
Sustainable materials, as it takes place along the river sides
of Ganga and Yamuna, there are very high chances of river
pollution and so it needs to be taken care of.
8

9. CASE STUDIES
(1) TRMPORARY EMERGENCY SHELTER, BHUJ - SHIGERU BAN
AFFECTED REGION - BHACHAU TALUKA,BHUJ 2001
NO.OF HOMES DESTROYED - 4,00,000
ARCHITECT - SHIGERU BAN & KARTIKEYA SHODHAN
TYPE OF CONSTRUCTION - TEMPORARY EMERGENCY SHELTER
ONE MODULE AREA - 22m2
TOTALAREA COVERED - 445m2
YEAR OF CONSTRUCTION - 2001
BUILDING MATERIALS - BAMBOO BEAMS, CARDBOARD PAPER TUBES,
CANE MAT, RUBBLE STONE FOUNDATION
9

(2) LOW COST BAMBOO HOUSING, VIETNAM - H&P
ARCHITECTS
PROJECT DETAILS
Architect - H&P architects
Location - Middle of Vietnam
Architect in charge - Doan Thanh Ha & Tran Ngoc
Phuong
Team - Dang Xuan Hoa, Tran Ngoc Thach, Nguyen
Xuan Tung
Status - under construction (testing)
10

10. SITE ANALYSIS
Site selection was done on the basis of no. Of pilgrims
in a particular akhara (Juna akhara) which was around
1500 people.
GEOGRAPHY
As kumbh mela is observed during the cold months
and also it takes place on the river beds of ganga and
yamuna the soil is Sandy and also moist through out
the mela period. Allahabad's elevation is over 90m
(295ft) above sea level.
CLIMATE
Humid subtropical climate
Highest temperature- 48°C(118.4°F)
Lowest temperature- −2°C(28°F)
Precipitation - 38.10 mm (min.)
HAZARDS
Rain, cold weather and sand storms.
254 mm (max.)
ACCESSIBILITY CHART
Nearest police station - 8.7km
Prayagraj fort Allahabad - 10km
Distance from city center- 12km
Total Kumbh Mela stretch -19.36km 2
Site area - 25.25 acres
Population - 1,117,094 people
Density - 3,200 people per.sq. Mile
Religions - Hinduism 76.03%
Islam 21.94%
Christianity 0.68%
Buddhism 0.28%
Other 1.34%
11

11. AREA STATEMENT
12

12. BRIEF DESIGN CONCEPT
EXPLODED VIEW
Use of eco-friendly
and sustainable
materials, this will
eliminate the use of
plastic which is the
major residue after
Kumbh Mela and
which results in
polluting the river
bed.
STUDY MODEL
This shows the step-by-step making of the temporary dwelling unit
which can be made compact by a process of folding each element
into its simplest form making it easy to transport store and construct.
And all of the materials are eco-friendly and cheap.
13