TEMPLE OF REINCARNATION: REBIRTH OF LIFE WITHIN ALANG'S GRAVEYARD

The ‘Temple of Reincarnation’ is based in Alang, India. Alang was once known as the land of lakes, sea and temples. Now it is known as the world’s Ship Graveyard. Every year hundreds of ships are dumped there to be cut and reused by low-paid migrants. The once idyllic coast with thriving coral reefs, marine ecology and fishing boats is now critically damaged due to the anthropogenic activities. The Temple seeks to unite Alang’s past identity, building on the traditional Hindu rituals and cultures. Uniting the two identities of the site into a strategy that not only heals people spiritually but heals the landscape and the environment. The scheme seeks to rethink the edge of Alang taking advantage of the ship parts to create a new typology where making and housing are integrated within the temple; in doing so, reincarnating life back into the Graveyard.