Community
Trichy Commons
The Citizens For Uyyakondan (CFU) is a citizen-led organization that brings together various stakeholders to restore and revive the Uyyakondan canal that runs through the city of Trichy. The current project aims to extend the reach of the CFU from a grassroots organization to testing out models that can actively transform the city through participatory urban transformation.
This pilot project is part of an initiative to restore the canal banks that are subjected to the dumping of solid waste and sewage. The site is a piece of land acquired from the corporation and cleared of debris. The planned Miyawaki forest plantations along the banks aim to protect the bank from further misuse. Due to the lack of access, the canal forms a physical barrier between the two banks – the west bank borders the highly-dense neighbourhood and the east bank is relatively unused.
“The project aims to cultivate and encourage civic engagement and the culture of sharing while tackling the issues that affect the canal”
The Uyyakondan canal runs through some of the dense and poor neighbourhoods in the city. These neighbourhoods often lack quality outdoor leisure spaces, proper waste management facilities, or community infrastructure. The project includes a collective waste management facility, community spaces for co-learning & co-production, and appropriation of unused spaces as spaces for leisure. The project aims to cultivate and encourage civic engagement, social and economic progress, and the culture of sharing while tackling the issues that affect the canal – solid waste and sewage dumping and the apathy of the citizens towards the canal.
The Duraisamipuram neighbourhood that lies along the canal is densely packed & lacks quality outdoor spaces or civic facilities. Covid 19 and the subsequent lockdowns showed the importance of quality outdoor spaces in dense urban communities. Furthermore, school closures during those lockdowns have left behind many children who lack remote learning facilities.
The Duraisamipuram neighbourhood that lies along the canal is densely packed & lacks quality outdoor spaces or civic facilities. Covid 19 and the subsequent lockdowns showed the importance of quality outdoor spaces in dense urban communities. Furthermore, school closures during those lockdowns have left behind many children who lack remote learning facilities.
The project initially started as a ‘Miyawaki’ forest plantation drive to protect the canal bank from misuse. The scope extended to include a local waste management centre to increase awareness, implement household-level waste segregation, & provide opportunities for recycling & reuse. The community centre provides space for gathering which can be used as a local study centre. A shared library of school textbooks & others along with dedicated WiFi for students is proposed to support them through remote learning. A small workshop with shared tools could function as a local Fablab or a skills development centre
Project Details
Site
Trichy, Tamilnadu
Design
2020-2021
Status
Ongoing
Program
Urban transformation
Project type
Competition | won
Team
Kapilan Chandranesan
Collaboration
Vijay Architects