Title

Author(s)

Ar. Mayuri V Deodhar

Affiliation

Symbiosis school of Architecture, Urban Development & Planning

DOI

https://doi.org/10.65686/QCJX1265

Keywords

Historic Towns, Cultural Infrastructure, Waterscapes, Achalpur

PP

290-296

How to Cite

Deodhar, Ar. Mayuri V. “Reimagining Abandonment: Adaptive Reuse of Cultural Infrastructure in the Historic Town of Achalpur, India.” In Proceedings of the International Conference on Adaptive Reuse. Volume 1, edited by Andrea Crudeli, Francesca Molle, and Emanuele Carrai, 290–296. Firenze: STH Press, 2026.

Abstract

What does abandonment even mean to an architect, to conservation, to memory, both textual and living? If we envision abandoned structures as silent carriers of collective memory, then adaptive reuse becomes a powerful act—not of restoration alone, but of reactivation. In Achalpur town of Maharashtra state in India, the decay of fortifications, water chambers, stepwells, burial sites, weaving industries, and ceremonial streets represents not just physical deterioration but a loss of cultural continuity. These sites are living palimpsests—a coexistence of recollection and forgetting— layered with histories, tradition, and forgotten rituals. Yet, within this silence lies opportunity. This paper investigates adaptive reuse as a principal strategy to reinterpret Achalpur’s historic built fabric—not by erasing traces of decline, but by integrating them into renewed use. Field recordings, historical mapping, and digital tools like GIS and photogrammetry will help reveal hidden systems—ancient water infrastructures, vernacular crafts zones, and urban pathways—to be ready as reactivated cultural infrastructure. The study proposes on-site, responsive conservation reuse strategies, such as transforming water chambers into interpretive public spaces, reviving artisan houses as craft hubs, and linking heritage routes through ritual processions. These approaches will help reconnecting the historic environment with its ecological, social, and emotional contexts—positioning adaptive reuse not as an aesthetic intervention, but as a means to restore meaning, memory, and utility.

Edited by
Andrea Crudeli
Francesca Molle
Emanuele Carrai

Publisher
STH Press, Firenze

ISBN Paperback – 9791281661141
ISBN Ebook – 9791281661158
DOI – https://doi.org/10.65686/SISY7263

Year
2026

Proceedings of
International Conference on Adaptive Reuse
hosted by The University of Pisa, Italy
15-19 September 2025, at the Gispoteca di Arte Antica dell’Università di Pisa.