Sekmai Resort, Imphal, Manipur

Water as a source for Regeneration and Recreation was the concept we were working with. Our role was to create a sustainable development manual that focuses on understanding the various landscape types within the site and enhancing its character. The landscape was designed to work with natural systems and processes with water as the starting point for master planning and design through measures for water conservation through a series of detention, and retention ponds along with bio-swales. Some of the strategies proposed were: Bioengineering on the edge of the river - the edge that is shared with the river, is proposed to be treated with sustainable bio-engineering methods that prevent soil erosion, but also act as a fluid edge that allows for the water to percolate. These edge conditions become spaces for introspection and developing a relationship with the river which is an important landscape feature of the site. Proposing Pukhris for the existing Mining pits and allowing the swale on the western edge of the site to enter inside - this was an obvious design proposal, as the pits over time had collected rainwater and would continue to do so. To not make it a stagnant water system, it was natural to include the swale as a part of the system, to allow for a continuous inlet and outlet of water. Most of the built and unbuilt part of the design is positioned keeping in mind the water systems. It leads to interesting space creation between built/water and unbuilt/water.