Samruddhi Sarovar
GIFT City, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India
Contrasting the tall sky scrapers of the upcoming Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT city) is Samruddhi Sarovar and the adjoining promenade which becomes the social and cultural hub for the large masterplan. A serpentine path slithers forth, creating pockets of manicured lawns and paved plazas, along the banks of Sardar Sarovar. This path then diversifies and projects outward—acting as a connector, a portal to bring in more people of the economic district towards the lake front. This grand path is called the ‘Samruddhi Path’—a roadway to prosperity. In this way, a functional program of storing water is treated such that it becomes a catalyst for social interaction and cultural celebration. It also serves the dual purpose of providing a sensorial relief to the work community and making the area ecologically sound. Key design interventions in terms of landscape features and details make this a vibrant participant in the public realm of the Smart City.
Site Area : 35 Acres
Services : Landscape Design
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Landscaped Socio-Cultural Civic District Overlooking Storm Water Reservoir Lake
The project entailed developing an active socio-cultural hub along the waterfront created by the civic water reservoir, Samruddhi Sarovar, at the heart of GIFT City, a planned Fin-Tech urban center in Gujarat. The intent was to create a vibrant public realm in natural settings against a aqueous backdrop here where people from all walks could come together to enjoy activities like shopping, entertainment, recreation and socialising This approach creates a more meaningful venue out of the reservoir further than its primary purpose of storing the city’s storm water and allows citizens to use and own the public space.
The reservoir lake fans out in a C-shape around a town center to its south, which is home to some tall commercial and corporate structures on the banks of the Sabarmati River flowing along the opposite southern side. Besides the complete bounding edges of the lake, the design site includes centrally placed entrance pathway leading to it from the main road and metro station located across a distance in the north. The entire stretch from this portal to the lake front and all around it is adorned with soft and hardscapes and water features, with a serpentine elevated promenade called Samruddhi Path woven around the lake, forming pockets on either sides where a wide range of activities are designed.
Array of Activities along Waterfront Promenade
Activities lined up along the northern edge of Samruddhi Sarovar include an entertainment & banquets venue and another retail outlets & café venue, both planned under canopied pavilions which create shaded public hangout spaces on either sides of the arrival plaza. Along the same edge are located more cafes, restaurants, food plazas, indoor and outdoor games facilities besides gardens of various themes ranging from meditation and kids play to leisure walks. The western end of the southern edge has boating jetties followed by an open air concert bandstand. A wilderness walk can be enjoyed at the greens located at the eastern edge accompanied by a sanctuary. All the edges of the lake are developed as ghats that step down to the water offering a serene escape from hectic urban life-cycles.
Intersecting Green Spine Connection between Transit Nodes
A landscaped green spine is cultivated along the central entrance pathway, which further joins the Samruddhi path promenade to complete the green connections. The straight entrance pathway, called Udyan Path, forms a connection from the Tapas Udyan and its metro station located in the north to the diamond metro station of the city centre in the south via a landscaped bridge over the lake. Two more bridges on either sides connect the northern and southern lake edges, while ample parking is made available alongside the peripheral roads bounding the development.
“Exploring Socio-Cultural Sustainability as a Means to Future-Readiness of Urban Centers.”