Assam: through Epochs
Research
2 Weeks
Visualizing a regions’ transformation through its diverse architecture, culture, and evolving identities.
Tracing the shifts through time: How the project began
Having lived in Assam all my life, I’ve seen its diverse cultures blend seamlessly. This fusion sparked my curiosity to explore how shifting communities shape a place’s identity, culture, and landscape. With this project I examined how cities transform over time by comparing their past, present, and future landscapes.
Assam through Epochs highlights the cultural, socio-economic, environmental, and architectural shifts that shape urban life, revealing how communities evolve and how something like architecture both reflects and influences these changes.
Looking for patterns:
Talking to people gave me clarity on emerging themes and shifts in Assam’s architecture. Their insights shaped the affinities, helping me categorize key changes.
Here’s what I discovered through these responses.
Gist of the findings:
Assamese architecture has modernized, yet traditional elements remain, varying across the state.
While Assamese architecture has modernized, certain elements of traditional design still persist in rural and
semi-urban areas.
Identity of Assamese architecture remains strong, as many still recognize and appreciate traditional styles like Ahom palaces, Chang Ghars, and slanted roofs.
The climate, economy, and urbanization trends have been major factors driving the shift towards RCC and modern designs.
The community aspect of traditional Assamese housing has been affected, with reduced shared spaces and more emphasis on individual homes.
Identifying Recurring Themes
As I delved deeper, I noticed recurring patterns in the responses—common threads that wove together Assam’s architectural evolution. These themes shaped my understanding of the forces driving change.
Key Takeaways:
⦁ Urbanization & Economy → Modernization prioritized functionality over tradition.
⦁ Material Shifts → Cost-effective materials like RCC replaced bamboo and mud.
⦁ Heritage Loss → Decline in craftsmanship and preservation efforts.
⦁ Cultural Influence → Colonial rule and migration reshaped architecture.
⦁ Societal Changes → Nuclear families favored compact, modern homes.
⦁ Environmental Impact → Climate change and floods pushed resilient materials
I interviewed peers on urbanization, material shifts, heritage loss, global influence, societal change, and environmental impact — their insights shaped my research direction..
Stakeholder Mapping
After refining my core affinities—Social Fragmentation, Urban Evolution, Cultural Flux, and Shifting Landscapes—I identified the key stakeholders on the basis of impact and influence over these transformations.
These categories allowed me to structure my research more cohesively, helping to frame Assam’s architectural transformation as not just a design shift but a reflection of deeper societal, environmental, and economic changes.
Mapping User Journeys to trace the Transformation
Gentrification unfolds through diverse experiences, shaped by time, impact, and stakeholder influence. To visualize these changes, I structured user journeys around key themes mentioned below. After mapping the ranked transformations, I compared changes across different eras to spot recurring trends.
Onto the Grunt Work
Here I have cataloged key events across various eras of Assam’s architecture, aiming to uncover the links between them and identify the most transformative milestones.
Ta-Da!
(This took a solid three hours and I got pricked by almost every pin on there)
Here’s a video of me working on clubbing related facts from different historical eras together.
Understanding the scale of change
After connecting user journeys, I ranked key events based on their scale of impact—whether they reshaped communities, altered cityscapes, or influenced governance.
This helped prioritize major shifts ensuring a structured approach to visualizing Assam’s evolving landscape.
Mapping event impacts streamlined my content, providing clarity for data visualization and helping develop a cohesive narrative for my project’s storytelling.
Bringing the vision to life: Crafting the narrative experience
Every transition in this walkthrough was meticulously planned to create a cohesive, immersive experience.
The journey follows a natural progression—from ancient temple-centric settlements to Ahom-era marvels, colonial estates, and modern urban hubs.
Creating the “Town” & structuring the walkthrough
Each scene blends into the next, ensuring fluid movement across time, maintaining spatial continuity, and enhancing the sense of discovery.
Creating the Visual Identity
A painterly, concept-art style best captured Assam’s evolving landscapes, blending realism with artistic softness.
After testing styles and gathering feedback, this approach emerged as the most immersive, reflecting Assam’s vibrant essence and historical depth.
Adobe Caslon Pro
Europa
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Shaping the Experience
Bringing this project to life meant building everything from scratch—research, design, narrative, and visuals. Every element was carefully crafted to create an immersive, seamless journey through Assam’s evolving landscapes, bridging history with modern storytelling. I also have a Blog about my process, do check it out!
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