A Bend in the Ganges

This thesis examines the Indian government’s Namami Ganges project and related river cleaning and sewage treatment projects along the Ganges river in India. One of the challenges of these water cleaning projects is that the waters of the Ganges are sacred to millions of Hindus, and interfering with the flow can cause significant cultural resentment and frustration. This design-led architectural research investigation looks at how river purification and urban sewage management along the Ganges can be strategically integrated into urban architectural infrastructure in ways that enhance, rather than damage, cultural relationships that are fundamental with local communities. The thesis argues that by embracing architectural links to cultural narratives, these new industrial typologies can transform urban sites along the Ganges into rejuvenated public spaces, while reconnecting them to their environmental and cultural contexts.

This design-led research investigation proposes to develop embedded industrial filtration systems that are integrated into a framework that responds to the local identity. These can be integrated into efficient wetlands and bioswales to enhance the natural biodiversity of the area. This investiagtion examines how contemporary architectural design can help integrate effective pollution mitigation with the cultural, spiritual and pragmatic ways people actually use the river basin. This investigation proposes that in this way the community’s cultural and civic needs can actually be enhanced through the use of design as architecture and landscape blended water purification systems.