Universal Design elective students of BNCA conducted a detail access audit of Pataleshwar caves and Shaniwar wada under guidance of Prof

Universal Design elective students of BNCA conducted a detail access audit of Pataleshwar caves and Shaniwar wada under guidance of Prof. Kavita Murugkar. Pataleshwar Caves situated on the Jangli Maharaj road in the city of pune, is a unique and earliest examples of rock-cut architecture in maharashtra, built during the Rashtrakuta period. Shaniwar wada, is a Maratha period land fort, built by the Peshwas in the heart of the city. Both are national heritage monuments and maintained by ASI. 

A special audit checklist to assess and record accessibility status of these heritage sites was used by the team. Apart from the checklist, physical mapping of barriers and visitor facilities was also done, to identify specific design and architectural issues related to accessibility.

The findings from the study show that there is very less accessibility for disabled visitors including elderly in both the heritage sites. The entrance, signages and foreground landscaping which are later additions are poorly designed and should be redesigned taking into consideration needs of all types of visitors.

Following students from the 4th year B Arch participated in this study - Vidita Mundada, Vinita Wagh, Meghna Majethiya, Megha Bilgi, Khushi Shah, Aditi Phadke, Shweta Sorte, Saee Pawar, Shalaka Sode, Pranali Agarwal.

Special appreciation for the students for their enthusiasm and rigour !