TYPES OF

VA R A N A S I S I L K W E AV I N G AT E L I E R WEAVING
K O T WA , VA R A N A S I
AND HOUSING IN VARANASI U T TA R P R A D E S H
AIM AND INTENT “Benares is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old
To provide the platform for the town to revive its heritage and culture as all of them put together” -MARK TWAIN
of silk weaving by establishing the concept of community weaving
among the distributed existing weavers in the village. SITE JUSTIFICATION
Located along the banks of the Ganges River, Varanasi represents a melting pot of cultural and
OBJECTIVES spiritual convergence, uniting Indian people of Hindu, Buddhist and Muslim faiths. Varanasi is also
#betterlivelyhood #weavingcommunity #weavinglifestyle PLAIN home to the 500 year-old banarasi handloom silk weaving tradition, whose luxurious fabrics were
#homebased enterprise #workshed cum housing once widely sought after; however, since the rise of the power loom and the outsourcing of cheap
PROCESS labor to factories, the number of handloom silk weavers in Varanasi has nearly halved in the past
ROLE OF DIFF. ACTORS
PATTERN ten years.Kotwa ,Sarai Mohana and Lohta are the major handloom pockets of the Varanasi with
REELING DYEING MAKING MASTER
their major occupation as weaving.
WEAVER
•RELATED TO •RELATED TO
WEAVING •RELATED TO TRADING
PRODUCTION
UNIT
FINAL Site Connectivity
PRODUCT FINISHING WEAVING WEAVER GADDIDAR
TWILL
16 km 5.8 km 7.3 km

LAL BAHADUR LOHTA RAILWAY MODILA CHANDPUR BUS

SHASTRI AIRPORT STATION STATION

DIST. FROM TRADE FACILITATION CENTRE AND CRAFT

MUSEUM……………………17 KM

DIST. FROM WSC,VARANASI………...16KM

PAWRI TANCHOI JAMDANI BROCADE SATIN
INTRODUCTION TO
TYPOLOGY

TOURIST
AND
VISTORS

DESIGNATED SITE TRADE FACILITATION CENTRE AND

WEAVERS SERVICE CENTRE
SKILL CRAFT MUSEUM
WEAVING PROD.
DEV.
ATELIER FACILITY
CENTRE

HOUSIN KOTWA VILLAGE

G

RESIDENTIAL ZONE
The site is exclusively marked along river Varuna
and lies in the residential zone but the development
near the Varuna river intends to support all tourist
facilities and handloom village according to Varuna
VARUNA RIVER CORRIDOR LOHTA BAZAAR Corridor Project.
DEVELOPMENT
 S I T E A N A LY S I S The Site lies along the river Varuna which will be
developed under the corridor project providing cultural
BENARASI LOCATION- KOTWA, VARANASI, UTTAR PRADESH influence across the nearby weavers community and
SAREES exposure to the ancient art.
SITE AREA- 7.50 ACRES
LATITUDE- 25°21'03.3"N LONGITUDE- 82°55'16.3"E
VARANASI The Site is sandwiched between the River Varuna and the 18 m
S L O P E A N A LY S I S & S O I L
proposed road facing one side of the site coming from the 24 m road TYPE
connecting the Kotwa Weaving Community with Weavers Service
Centre,Chowkaghat.

Kotwa Weaving
Community

Ayodhyapur
Proposed Park

SITE

SLOPE GRADIENT- 5M DIFF. AT BOTH ENDS OF SITE

The slope gradually decreases at regular intervals of
25 M providing site the natural drainage towards the
S I T E L O C AT I O N Varuna Corridor.The Site lies between the contour
TO P O G R A P H Y P R O F I L E levels 77m and 72 m each of which pass through one
SITE DIMENSIONS of the two halves.The soil is of Alluviam type varying
S E RV I C E S a n d FA C I L I T I E S from clay to sandy loam .

To TFC,Bada Lalpur To Weaver’s Service

Centre,Chowkaghat

24 M ROAD
ELECTRICITY HEALTH

18 M ROAD

Drainage for the site is to be provided under EDUCATION

Varuna Corridor project in which pipelines To Lohta
were laid on either side of the river. The drains LEGENDS: 24 M ROAD Railway
are connected with pipelines taking water to Varuna Corridor Project_____________ Station
Deenapur water treatment plant. Road Hierarchy : Proposed Existing To Bhadoi

SANITATION Nearby Places: Proposed Park Kotwa Weaver’s Community

 A
C L I M AT I C D ATA WIND DIRECTION
The average wind speed
Rainy Season-Mid June to September during dry season is 1-2
Winter Season-October to Mid Feb kmph and kept on decreasing
Summer Season-April- Mid June in Monsoon season..The

PROPOSED 24 M ROAD
The Average Rainfall at Kotwa is predominant winds usually
635.4 MM comes from West South-West
Max Rainfall-43.8
ADJACENT RIVER
in dry season and blows
Min Rainfall-3.44 TREES DEMARCATED towards North-West in
A’
Monsoon.

TEMPERATURE
May and June are the hottest
months with temperature
rising more than 44 C. “Loo”
blows during these months. EXISTING APPROACH.
ROAD
SUN ALTITUDE ANGLE

Winter Max-40.82 degree

Summer Max- 83.1 degree

MANGO TREE INSIDE NEARBY RESIDENCES EXISTING VEGETATION

THE SITE PERIPHERY
A north-facing slope
increases the potential VARUNA
for access to northern
RIVER
sun and is ideal for
higher housing densities.
18M Road SITE BOUNDARY
EXISTING SITE SECTION AA’
S W O T A N A LY S I S
• Large existing weaver demographic within the city. • Being near the river, also restrict design boundation in built
• Proximity to the rail and road transport hubs of the mass within 50m range from the river acc. to Varuna
city. Corridor Development.
CLIMATIC CONSIDERATIONS • Proximity to the existing local weaver community. • Infrastructure around the site is minimal.
• Varuna Corridor Project also give a major boost up • Water supply, drainage & sewerage are not maintained
APPLICABLE BYE-LAWS to the tourism segment across new peripheral properly in the existing situation.
AND areas. • Trees on the site could limit design possibilities.
BUILDING REGULATIONS • Varanasi is a commercial and major tourism center • No accessibility to the site from any other boundary of the
Strength site. Weakness
Threats Opportunities
• The project will increase vehicular traffic in the • An opportunity to design a new typology bringing new
precinct. dynamic to the site that aids learning and earning.
• The site may lose its rural urban bridge character as • Since no similar project exist in Varanasi ,the project could
city grows and engulfs the areas around site into be a landmark of its own in the city.
urbanizable area. • Dev. of program can become Prototype model at other site
K O T WA – A C E N S U S TO W N C A S E S T U D Y
Location- Kotwa, Varanasi,Uttar Pradesh
• It14th biggest census town by area in the sub
Area-1.83 sq.km.
district.
CD Block- Kashi Vidyapeeth
• Population density- 7866 persons per km2.
Tehsil-Varanasi
• There is only one ward in this census town which is
Kotwa Ward No 01.

DEMOGRAPFHICS
VARANASI MAP PIE CHART: Land use in various sectors PIE CHART: Number of Households by
type of Structure
S PA C E D I V I S I O N 6%
4% 1% 1% Permanent
WORK
9% Semi-Permanent
Net space per person within the room is 2.3 sqm .50%
of total built-up area is used for home based enterprise 43%
Residential Total Temporary
.At night same area is used for sleeping purpose of the
males of the family. 57% Serviceable
DOMESTIC Mixed Use
Net space per person within the room is1.6 sqm for Non Serviceable
three female and three children. 24% of the total built
79% Unclassified
up area is used for residential purpose.

ARCHITECTURAL CONTEXT
S E RV I C E S
• Both open and closed drainage
• No. of Latrines
-Pit System 720 Flush/Pour system-288
Waste from the domestic uses get
mixed with the waste from weaving
process
WATER SUPPLY
-Uncovered Well
-Covered Well
-Service Reservoirs
ELECTRIFICATION
Total no. of Connections for domestic purpose
is 1607 G+1 STRUCTURE G+3 STRUCTURE
LT comes from Kotwa substation. PERMANENT HOUSES