Shadow Island

A20 Avantika Padalkar & A21 Samkit Racca

ARGUMENTATIVE QUESTION  :

The Dholar village is more of a dry area due to less vegetation, so there is no shade around in the village. The hard surfaces such as the road, the houses and the GI roofs contribute to the high temperature in the village. Also, due to the presence of densely situated houses, the velocity of wind reduces, which lessens the cooling effect. The trapped heat intensifies the effect. All of these also impact on animals as they need optimum temperature to utilize and thrive in the ecosystem. So how can the temperature and humidity balance the space to be created? Also, how can the space behave as a community space for the villagers?

SITE : Dholar Village, Daman.

Observations :

The dholar that comes before the jampore beach is a one street village which starts with the wadi of Coconut, Mango, Banana, Ashoka trees and also ends with the similar wadi. The village in between two wadis. The wadis are owned by the local people. For the boundaries between the wadi and the village one is concrete wall and for the second wadi they have used GI sheets. Because of the wadis on both the end of the village the area near the boundaries is always cool except the village and the street which will be very hot through out the day. The people living here which is the muslim community are more isolated people. The interactions between them were minimal. Also the noor masjid in this village were only for the local people and outsiders weren't allowed in there. The house type they had were old house and an extension to some houses. Some also had a shop attached to their house.

Argumentative Drawing :

PROGRAM :

The lack of vegetation in the village, the absence of shade and the scorching heat was the main concern of the village. Also, due to cultural issues, there was less or no human interaction seen in the village. So, we tried to think of ideas, which could counter the above mentioned problems. Also, the Noor Masjid is the only place in the village, where the villagers gather for their religious prayers, once a day. So, we are thinking of a way to  redesign the Noor masjid.

1) A worship place for the Muslims, as they form the majority of the Dholar village.

2) A Madrasa (A type of educational institution, secular or religious, for elementary or higher education).

3) Community Space for people from different regions to interact and break barriers between different classes amongst the same community.

4) A quiet space for contemplation or a space for discussions.

5) Wazukhana (A Wazukhana is described as 'an ablution pond where the worshippers wash themselves before praying at the mosque).

6) A residing space for the 'Maulana' (A Muslim man revered for his religious learning or piety).

7) Multiple rooftop pockets, with varying levels and extended slabs which create shaded spaces for people to inhabit for various activities during the winter and the summer season. During the monsoons, they act as try like structures that hold water.

8) A rainwater harvesting system- Water collected during the rains can be stored in the storage tank present at the front facade of the mosque.

9) WC's.

Strategy and Process - 

So we tried many iterations. Where we were trying to work with the idea of an open / semi-open masjid. Adding different levels of roofs for the shade. Making a roof with levels and pockets so that people can come and hang around. Where and how to put wazukhana so that it can be a washing space and can also act as a cooling system in the building. We were also struggling with the idea of adding maulvis house into our design.

Iterations and conceptual models.

Design :

We made the prayer hall a little big where at least 50 to 60 people can come for their prayers. More like an open space. We wanted the structure's roof to flow and merge with the road itself so people can also occupy the space without thinking of it as a masjid or worship space.

Desgin plan and sections.

3D views : 

for the material we thought to be it as masonry as it is a 

-Heat Absorber

Resists temp. Fluctuation

-Environmental-friendly

Leading contributor to green building that has a low impact on nature.

- Economic

Use of locally available materials and availability of labor.

- Strength

Strong in compression.