Treating Wastewater, Kachhpura, Agra (India), 2009-11
London Metropolitan University
Members of the Projects Office and students from the School of Architecture at the CASS have been collaborating with Indian NGO Centre for Urban and Regional Excellence (CURE) on an-going live project focused on water, waste and sanitation in the settlement of Kachhpura in Agra, India.
The second phase of the project – construction of a decentralised wastewater treatment system (DEWATS) – began in October 2009 and was fully completed in October 2011. Trialing the use of a DEWATS system to treat polluted drains to provide useful community water sources, a noticeably cleaner public environment and irrigation water for edge of city horticulture, has strengthened the settlement’s links with tourist agencies. Framing and harnessing the results the project to imagine, represent and advocate related projects on a larger scale in Agra has been sufficient to achieve enthusiastic take up by the local authority. They have since completed construction of a new community toilet facility in close proximity to the DEWATS.
This is the first DEWATS system to be installed in Agra and it has been adopted as a model and precedent for development of further systems in other locations in the city. Initiated with the involvement of two postgraduate students (later turned researchers), the project was further developed as a PhD case study at the CASS.
Clients: Residents of Kachhpura settlement, Agra
Partners: NGO Centre for Urban and Regional Excellence (CURE), Agra Nagar Nigam (ANN) Municipal Corporation (Local Authority), Ajit Seshadri (Local Engineer) and Bashobi Dasgupta (Local Architect)
Tutor: Professor Maurice Mitchell
Students: Bo Tang and Shamoon Patwari (Postgraduate/PhD)
Research Question: What is the role of collaborative architectural making as a catalyst for civic empowerment?
Links: Project Site / CURE
India, Permanent, 0-10, Architecture, Self-funded, Postgraduate, +, Years, Sponsorship, Propositional, Collaboration, Extra-curricular, Students with tutor, London Metropolitan Univ.
