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ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS
In this module, we were given 4 sites from Mira - Bhayandar. My site was Tarodi pond in the Dongri village. The site starts with an open ground which is used by the village people to graze their cattles and horses ; as we move further inside you can see the pond with a small house at its edge. The pond is low lying fish breeding water body surrounded by dense vegetation. The site is an active space with a lot of activities happening throughout the day. Also along with the natural vegetation there is man made vegetation along the edge of the pond.
On the first day of the visit we were told to observe the site and get familiar with the surroundings. Sketch out the surrounding or any details that you like. I personally liked how the settlements were placed in between the dense vegetation so I sketched a part of it on the 1st day.
Along with this we also collected samples of of different plants , soil and things that were new to us. Back in the studio we made a site mapping board to get a sense of how the site was and actually worked. We made drawings and samples to identify the specificities of the different parts of the site. Later we made a site drawing to understand the minute details of the vegetation and the textures and patterns of the soil.
Argumentative Drawing 1
As an exercise we had to observe the site forces and make an argumentative drawing based on it. My observation was the pond as an active edge. Its edges changes with the monsoon rains and tidal effects, causing soil erosion and new sediment layers. Plants and roots around the pond filters the water and holds the soil together, creating a living shifting boundary. Plant roots and mud provide shelter and nutrients for the young fish. Seasonal rains and tidal flows bring oxygen and food, making the pond edge a healthy nursery for breeding.
I started with showing the pond and the vegetation along its edge. I divided the edge in on the basis of how they act in different seasons and during the presence and absence of vegetation. The land gets cracked and the small stones and sand tends to sediment into the pond. In summers the texture of the land has firm damp soil not too slippery whereas in monsoons the land becomes muddy, slippery almost like clay paste. These are the cases for the low and high tides respectively. Also i tried to show how the plant roots holds these different soils together and prevent soil erosion and sedimentation.
But showing the elevation and section drawn separately didn't work so my next task was to make it into a one big drawing showing the most minute details of the textures , being specific with the types of plants and studying of their roots and how the different roots act and hold the soil together, etc ; creating an experiential drawing out of it.
Final Argumentative Drawing
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