Varanasi, or Benaras, (also known as Kahi) is one of the oldest living cities in the world. The land of Varansai (Kashi) has been the ultimate pilgrimage spot for Hindus for ages. Hindus believe that one who is graced to die on the land of Varanasi would attain salvation and freedom from the cycle of birth and re-birth. Ganges in Varanasi is believed to have the power to wash away the sins of mortals. Ghats in Varanasi are riverfront steps leading to the banks of the Ganges river. The city has 88 ghats. Most of the ghats are bathing and puja ceremonial ghats. Beside that streets of Varanasi are remarkable for the traffic, the bazaars, the temples and holy shrines which are found everywhere and of course, the people. The city itself is a living heritage, and to experience and document that, 72 students of IDPT-SCET along with a team of five faculties visited Varanasi for five days. The group was a mix of B.Arch., B.ID and M.Arch students in order to address various aspects at varied scales i.e. city morphology, built fabric and residential typology along with finer details of Architecture and Interior Design. B.ID. II, Semester – IV, No. of students – 12 B.Arch. II, Semester – IV, No. of students – 24 B.Arch. III, Semester – VI, No. of students – 22 M.Arch. II, Semester – IV, No. of students – 14 Study of Ghats:- Overall city morphology, history and evolution of the city and its built fabric were studied by Post Graduate students. The major Focus of third year students was to document Ghats. Apart from understanding overall river edge with all its ghats, detailed documents work has been done for Lalita Ghat, Manmnadir Ghat and temples on these ghats. Study of Residences (Includning cluster & street) :- The major focus of 2nd Year students was to study Various types of Residential cluster with singular/multiple courtyards. They have understood the relation between street with cluster, cluster with house & house with courtyards. Even by observing old houses students were able to understand evolution of construction techniques with change in materials. The intention is to understand influence of various factors such as, socio-cultural-, religious, spiritual and natural on city and its development, and also on its architecture and built form. FACULTIES: Prof. Rikta Desai, Prof. Vishal Shah, Prof. Tejas Patel, Prof. Hardik Gandhi, Prof. Niti Shah.
Varansi