The Vishwamitri River, originating from the Pavagadh hills and flowing through Vadodara, is a vital waterway with significant ecological value, including the presence of the critically endangered Indian crocodile. Spanning 220 km, it faces severe degradation due to unchecked urbanization, pollution, and poor water management. Pollution from sewage, industrial waste, and stormwater runoff has caused extensive harm to the river's ecosystem. Immediate action is needed to address these issues and protect the river’s biodiversity through sustainable urban planning, better water management, and pollution control.

This thesis explores the design of a cognitive center for visually impaired children, focusing on the integration of sensorial experiences to facilitate their cognitive development and overall well-being. The research investigates how sensorial stimuli can enhance learning, exploration, and engagement for visually impaired children within an inclusive and stimulating environment.

Lakes, often perceived as uniform bodies of water, actually unveil diverse and constantly evolving ecosystems. Similarly, Bari ka talab showcases a dynamic heterogeneity across various timeframes and spatial dimensions. Internal waves and stream intrusions create patterns of vertical and horizontal diversity within these aquatic realms. Moreover, the interplay of natural phenomena and human interventions generates ever-shifting mosaics across their landscapes. These interactions contribute highly to the lake environment, fostering biodiversity and ecological complexity. The design approach revolves around crafting a responsive renewal plan that acknowledges the dynamics between evolving ecological patterns, influenced by both climate fluctuations and human activities. Central to the vision is the restoration of the landscape, the revitalization of habitats for endangered species, and the cultivation of a symbiotic relationship with local communities. The aim is to forge a resilient and diverse ecological mosaic that thrives amidst changing conditions. Through strategic implementation of ecosystem restoration techniques, the design weaves together habitats, allowing the working of a self-sustaining ecosystem. The design offers a solution to rejuvenate the degraded natural environment, effectively turning the green buffer from a liability into an invaluable asset. By prioritizing ecological integrity and minimizing human intervention, the design aims to maximize the long-term benefits for both nature and society.

Market places are known to be the ones with peak human footfall, be it whatever time of the year. Humans are bound to go shop to markets for their never ending needs which keep on increasing day by day. While shopping, there’s a buffer period wherein people would want to take a pause, hydrate themselves, or socialize. This thesis lays down an approach for the need to introduce public furniture in the Indian market context. Public furniture being a pause point for the people on the streets of a market, would help enhance the overall experience of that space. Humans don’t always need a particular service/product, unless it is offered to them, when they experience it, they then realise the main aim behind that particular initiative. Through observations, surveys and line of thoughts, a few potential furniture systems have been designed for catering the people using the streets/ of a market place.

Indigenous people and their strong links to surrounding resources, nature, landscape, and overall ecosystems are a result of their years of ancestral observation and interaction with nature. The amalgamation of their traditional beliefs, systems, knowledge, activities, practices, social, economic, or political, etc., helps them to live without altering the natural cycle of processes that prevail in the area. Hence, understanding these communities in and near villages housing indigenous communities near Palanpur in Gujarat and documenting their indigenous knowledge and vernacular sensibilities to live around these ecosystems, protecting them while simultaneously letting them flourish and generating an income for themselves, all while living sustainably, is the aim of the research. Keywords: Indigenous Knowledge, Indigenous Practices and communities, social- economical factors, Sustainable, Vernacular sensibilities.

This research aimed to understand how different ideas, behaviors, and conventions are assimilated into a particular way of life. There are some features of the way of life that are considered constant, while others are susceptible to interpretation and change. This dynamic process has been studied using the daudi bohra community as a case study. The process is inclusive, changing the form of rituals and beliefs while preserving the spirit or essence.