Birkha Bawari

{{Short description|Stepwell in Jodhpur, India}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2018}} {{Use Indian English|date=October 2018}} {{Infobox historic building | name = Birkha Bawari | image = {{image frame|content= {{Photo montage | photo1a = Birkha Bawari2, Jodhpur.jpg | size = 250 | color = #FFFFFF | border = 3 | color_border = #808080 | text = | text_background = #F5F5F5 }} | caption = Birkha Bawari, [[Jodhpur]] }} | caption = | location = Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India | architect = Anu Mridul | designations =  | awards = All India Stone Architecture Award (2009) | architectural_style =  | seating_capacity = 17.5 million liters | website =  }}

The '''Birkha Bawari''' is a [[stepwell]] located in [[Jodhpur]], [[India]].<ref name=":0" /> The structure is to designed to conserve water for use by the city of Jodhpur, and is built in the style traditional Indian stepwells. It was designed by Indian architect Anu Mridul and was paid for by the Essgee Group, a real estate firm based in Jodhpur.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.amridul-architect.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=28&Itemid=247|title=Birkha Bawari|website=www.amridul-architect.com|language=en-gb|access-date=2018-02-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181007010842/http://www.amridul-architect.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=28&Itemid=247|archive-date=7 October 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Design history == Stepwells were constructed to capture and hold rainwater for agricultural and domestic use. The water reserves stored by stepwells aided in conserving water during long periods of drought.<ref>Davies, Philip (1989). ''The Penguin guide to the monuments of India''. London: Viking. {{ISBN|0-14-008425-8}}.</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |author=Shuichi Takezawa |journal=Journal of Architecture and Building Science |volume=117 |issue=1492 |date=August 2002 |page=24 |url=http://news-sv.aij.or.jp/jabs/s1/jabs0208-019.pdf|format=pdf|title=Stepwells – Cosmology of Subterranean Architecture as seen in Adalaj|access-date=2009-11-18}}</ref> Throughout its history, the city of Jodhpur was supplied with water from over 50 stepwells.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://jatinchhabra.com/birkha-bawri-a-21st-century-active-india-stepwell/|title=Birkha Bawri - A 21st century active India Stepwell - By Jatin Chhabra|website=jatinchhabra.com|language=en|access-date=2018-02-11}}</ref> However, the introduction of low cost pumps and pipes rendered stepwells obsolete, and none were built after the 19th century.<ref>Jutta Jain-Neubauer (1981). [https://books.google.com/books?id=61fSwBF4bbYC ''The Stepwells of Gujarat: In Art-historical Perspective'']. Abhinav Publications. pp. 19–24. {{ISBN|978-0-391-02284-3}}.</ref>

The Brikha Bawari was designed in the style of older stepwells. The stepwell was designed at the behest of the Essgee Group, a Jodhpur-based real estate firm, which envisioned a modern stepwell as a source of water for a new housing development it was constructing. The firm contracted Anu Mridul to design the modern stepwell. Construction on the building was finished in 2009, after which the stepwell began to be used as a water reservoir.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://cseindia.org/content/rainwater-harvesting-system-umaid-heritage-housing-complex|title=Rainwater Harvesting System at Umaid Heritage Housing Complex|website=Centre for Science and Environment|language=en|access-date=2018-02-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180211131532/http://cseindia.org/content/rainwater-harvesting-system-umaid-heritage-housing-complex|archive-date=11 February 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> Mridul was awarded the All India Stone Architecture Award in 2009 for his design.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/india/regional/birkha-bawari-architect-mridul-bags-national-award/|title=Birkha Bawari architect Mridul bags national award|date=2009-12-18|work=The Indian Express|access-date=2018-02-11|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":1" />

The stepwell is built of red sandstone, and is capable of holding 17.5 million liters of rainwater.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> The stepwell currently provides water for the Umaid Heritage Housing Township, a housing development built by the Essgee Group.<ref name=":1" />

== References == {{Reflist}}

[[Category:Stepwells in Rajasthan]] [[Category:Buildings and structures in Jodhpur]] [[Category:Stepwells in India]]