Brahamaputra River Front Development

Overview

The Brahmaputra River is an iconic element in defining Guwahati’s identity. For the new image of Assam, the Tourism department took a bold step to set out attractions like River Cruise across navigable Brahmaputra river. An ambitious plan was sketched to turn the city’s riverfront into a vibrant place with recreational activities for people of all ages and reflects the ethos of the state. The department needed a radical scheme to set out as a docking point with facilities on the bank in downtown Guwahati and that provided respite and release from the sprawling urban development.

Concept

Riverfront in the Brahmaputra includes a technical challenge. The design was conceptualised on the way the river works. It brings a lot of debris from the above which made the concept to focus on the designing of the retaining walls. The retaining walls have to be strategically designed to make them such that they sustain the moving soils below. Emphasis was given on the major reorganization and development of roads along the riverbank, development of a cultural precinct, street furniture, separate lane for non-motorised vehicles like bicycles, lighting, car parking and construction of jetties. The project was fairly long and the stretch lies in the area which was a converging point for tourism. The stretch had its native responsibility towards other social contexts all around.

Along the long and dynamic stretch of the river with lots of different bank conditions and city fabric, the site was sandwiched between the pressures of parking demand, tourist facilities and respite areas. The solution was to integrate these requirements into the design.

Design

On one side of the stretch, there are temples and the parking was given access from outside to be used by the temples and the stretch itself. On the other hand, there is a drain coming in from the main city. This was incorporated within the stretch which filters itself before it joins the river.

The central area was developed for the embankment of the cruises. Other facilities like Assam huts, museums, an open gallery for exhibiting the culture and food and other conveniences were provided within the stretch in a manner that is native to the contours that were there. As well as a landscape walk area was created for those who only want to enjoy the riverfront scenery.