Entekochi Urban Design Competition

Ottuceral
Interaction with the environment through sustainable approaches

Canals have been an integral part of the landscape of most cities that have been under the British administration, historically. Kerala, a naturally sound state, has used its canals, estuaries and backwaters in an effective manner. Canals have been historically used as a means of navigation from one point to another, for transportation of material goods, people and so on. However, it is important to note that canals, in various contexts throughout India, have lost their importance as a means of transport. They have become redundant and in almost all the cases dumping areas for the city’s drainage and sewage. The Mullassery canal is a part of an extensive canal system that was a means of connectivity between the west and the east of the city. The Western end of the Mullassery canal has ferry spots that connect the city to the historic islands in the backwaters. However, the canal’s importance as a mode of transportation has dwindled with water transportation within the city slowly fading away.
The main aim of the proposal is to reflect on the association of water with the city scape and increase ‘human dependency’ on canal-scapes. From revitalizing the ecosystem in the canal, cleaning the canal and respecting the associational value of the canal to the city, to introducing sustainable interventions that follow prototype planning and grow with its users in form and function.